Hebrews 6:9-12
I’m sure that won’t happen to you, friends. I have better things in mind for you—salvation things! God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it. And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
We cannot escape talking about what happened in Oklahoma yesterday. As a former teacher, and the aunt to nieces, nephews, cousins and other little ones for whom I would walk across hot coals, I was heartbroken to learn that young children were missing and/or injured – and dead. When I heard that a third grade class was involved, I immediately thought of my precious 3rd-grade cousin, Olivia… and my eyes filled with tears. I tried to busy myself with other things…but I kept being drawn back to the television news reports. I prayed for those involved… particularly the little children – “LORD, please don’t let them be afraid. Shelter them. Comfort them, as only You can.”
Very clearly, I was reminded of a passage in William P. Young’s novel, The Shack. A six-year-old girl has been abducted while on a family camping trip. She has been brutalized and killed… and her father is understandably distraught. Jesus comes to sit beside the father, who says that he keeps thinking about his little girl being all alone with her deranged attacker. Jesus tells him that she was not alone – not for one minute. He and the Holy Spirit never left her… He could never do that!
This greatly comforted me. I felt as if God was saying, “I never left the people of Oklahoma. They were not alone for one instant.” And somehow, I felt that they were wrapped safely in Jesus’s arms… and they were peaceful, sheltered – and unafraid in those horrifying moments.
We are heartsick for this community and its residents. We are eager to help. For several hours last night, my Facebook wall “lit up” with comments like “Prayers for Oklahoma,” and “Our hearts are with the tornado victims.” But by this morning, people were beginning to post recipes, pretty pictures, and other mundane thoughts that crowd this social media venue on a daily basis. It didn’t happen to us directly, so a lot of us have moved on already. And to a degree, we are supposed to get back to living our lives. But we must not forget completely. We must not drag our feet in doing what we can to help…sending donations and manpower – or even stopping to pray.
In any situation where our immediate instinct is to “do something,” we must not let our adrenaline wane as time passes. We must remain vigilant in checking on those who are in need, whether it is tornado victims, someone who is sick, elderly, shut-in, or hurting emotionally. We must continue to reach out to others… to think of the person who is grieving six months later - and not just for the first six days… to encourage those who are struggling financially even after they find a job or obtain some sort of assistance… to pray for those who might appear to have rebuilt their homes and lives after a “disaster” of one sort or another.
We were playing with Timothy and Zola in a local park a few weeks ago when our high school football coach and his family arrived… the mom and younger children by car… the coach and his two older sons by bicycle, where they had ridden over from a nearby nature trail to play with the rest of the family. When they were all ready to leave, the mom suggested they go for frozen yogurt. The coach/father said that sounded good… but he and the boys would have to ride their bikes back to the trail and get their car, which would take about twenty minutes. One of the boys did not want to do this… he wanted to load his bike into Mom’s car and ride over. His dad told him that he must ride his bike. He explained to the boy… “Son, it’s not how you start… it’s how you finish!”
I’m sure the coach has told his football team this more than once. But it was great advice for all of us… especially as Christians. How we start to care for others is important… but how we finish is even more so. We must be diligent in our efforts to help others… and patient with them as they grapple with the struggles and challenges of rebuilding and recovery. We are all a work in progress. The GOOD NEWS is that we are not alone on the journey… Jesus never leaves us – not for one instant! This should give us courage and incentive to persevere with patient endurance.
As you pray for the people of Oklahoma – and others who are in need – thank God for never leaving us, especially in the midst of such horrific disasters as the Oklahoma tornado. Ask Him to show you “salvation things”. Ask God to reveal how and where He wishes you to minister to others… and call on Him to grant you a hefty dose of patience and persistence. As important as it is for us to get up and get going, it’s equally important that we not drag our feet in ministry and service. The question we must ask ourselves today is “Where do I begin?”… but just as importantly, “How will I finish?”
©2013 Debbie Robus
The Shack – ©2007 William P. Young – Published by Windblown Media.
Showing posts with label The Shack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Shack. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for December 1, 2011
Psalm 140:1-2
Rescue me from cruel and violent enemies, LORD! They think up evil plans and always cause trouble.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
In William P. Young’s book, The Shack, he tells the story of a four-year-old girl named Missy who was abducted by a serial killer who preyed on young girls. He abused them physically and sexually, then killed them… always leaving behind a painted ladybug as his “signature.” The father of the little girl in the story is given a chance to visit with three characters who represent God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Like any normal human being, he cannot wrap his brain around how horrific this experience must have been for his precious child. And he cannot fathom how God could allow such cruelty and violence – especially toward such an innocent little girl.
What the man discovers is that God was always with the little girl. He never left her, even in the depths of the brutality committed against her. God shielded her from much of the evil and pain. He shifted her focus onto Him, and He lifted her to heaven and wiped away every memory of the indignities committed against her.
There are several important messages presented in The Shack. One is that God can rescue us from the most insipid cruelty and violence. He may not accomplish this in the way we envision, but He will do it just the same. In other words, He did not stop what happened to this little girl from taking place… but He rescued her from it by holding her hand and leading her to the eternal safety of Paradise. As my grandmother would say, “There are worse things than dying.” Sometimes our healing and rescue comes in the form of death and a home with Jesus.
There is another message that I got from this book… there comes a point when you have done all you can do – and now it’s time to let go and let God. We spend an awful lot of time trying to fix things ourselves… to fight God’s battles for Him…and this never works. I told someone recently that I am really bad about giving my burdens and problems to God… but then I pick them back up again. It’s as if I want to say, “Yeah, but did You think of this? Did You remember that? And what about such-and such?” And this is not truly letting go and letting God have control.
We will never understand why bad things happen… why people have to suffer… why our plans don’t always work out like we hoped, even when we think we’ve done everything right. This passage speaks the truth… there are evil, cruel people who are busy 24/7 thinking up plans to cause trouble. The devil never sleeps! But God doesn’t either! He will rescue us.
When we have done all we can do and we finally turn to God and say, “I need your help,” He will say, “I’ve been here all along.” Truly, God is often just waiting for us to ask Him to take over. He is waiting for us to realize that we are out of our league. Are you recognizing God’s presence in your life today? Have you asked Him to rescue you from violent and cruel enemies? Isn’t this a good time to do “let go and let God?"
©2011 Debbie Robus
Rescue me from cruel and violent enemies, LORD! They think up evil plans and always cause trouble.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
In William P. Young’s book, The Shack, he tells the story of a four-year-old girl named Missy who was abducted by a serial killer who preyed on young girls. He abused them physically and sexually, then killed them… always leaving behind a painted ladybug as his “signature.” The father of the little girl in the story is given a chance to visit with three characters who represent God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Like any normal human being, he cannot wrap his brain around how horrific this experience must have been for his precious child. And he cannot fathom how God could allow such cruelty and violence – especially toward such an innocent little girl.
What the man discovers is that God was always with the little girl. He never left her, even in the depths of the brutality committed against her. God shielded her from much of the evil and pain. He shifted her focus onto Him, and He lifted her to heaven and wiped away every memory of the indignities committed against her.
There are several important messages presented in The Shack. One is that God can rescue us from the most insipid cruelty and violence. He may not accomplish this in the way we envision, but He will do it just the same. In other words, He did not stop what happened to this little girl from taking place… but He rescued her from it by holding her hand and leading her to the eternal safety of Paradise. As my grandmother would say, “There are worse things than dying.” Sometimes our healing and rescue comes in the form of death and a home with Jesus.
There is another message that I got from this book… there comes a point when you have done all you can do – and now it’s time to let go and let God. We spend an awful lot of time trying to fix things ourselves… to fight God’s battles for Him…and this never works. I told someone recently that I am really bad about giving my burdens and problems to God… but then I pick them back up again. It’s as if I want to say, “Yeah, but did You think of this? Did You remember that? And what about such-and such?” And this is not truly letting go and letting God have control.
We will never understand why bad things happen… why people have to suffer… why our plans don’t always work out like we hoped, even when we think we’ve done everything right. This passage speaks the truth… there are evil, cruel people who are busy 24/7 thinking up plans to cause trouble. The devil never sleeps! But God doesn’t either! He will rescue us.
When we have done all we can do and we finally turn to God and say, “I need your help,” He will say, “I’ve been here all along.” Truly, God is often just waiting for us to ask Him to take over. He is waiting for us to realize that we are out of our league. Are you recognizing God’s presence in your life today? Have you asked Him to rescue you from violent and cruel enemies? Isn’t this a good time to do “let go and let God?"
©2011 Debbie Robus
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