Faithful

The Wilderness.

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There was a time in my life when I felt abandoned, forgotten, and invisible. It was a series of events which led me to this place. This place was lonely and desolate. It was a wilderness. I felt surrounded by lies, false realities, loneliness, and sadness. 

And yet, in this place I met Jesus.

This was the hardest and driest season of my life. BUT GOD. He was with me in my wilderness. And each day, I remember coming to him…

Weak.

Frail.

Hopeless.

Needy.

Hungry.

Alone. 

Sad.

I remember coming to him because in his presence was the only place I felt true peace. In his presence I felt like I could breath again. In his presence I could finally rest. 

And day by day, as I came to Jesus for renewal, for life, and for daily sustenance…

He restored my heart.

He lifted my head.

He strengthened my lungs.

He gave me purpose. 

And then, one day, through the encouragement of some co-workers, I felt the Lord say, “Daughter, I see you. I care for you. I love you.” 

And when someone says they see you, and they really do see you for all that you are, both good and bad, both beautiful and ugly, both success and failure… you believe them, and you trust that their love for you is real. 

So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”

Genesis 16:13 (ESV)

That day, I felt the love of God pour out on me, giving me new strength to stand, and new joy to live into! I felt like I could finally breath again as the Lord picked me up out of my wilderness. 

And now, although I am fearful of going back into a time of wilderness, I know, without a doubt, that if that is where the Lord is, then that is where I want to go. Yes, even back into the hard, the lonely, the frail, the helpless…because I know that God will sustain me with everything I need.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Isaiah 26:3-4 (ESV)

Today, maybe you need to be reminded of God’s presence, his care, his compassion. Maybe you need to hear, “I see you. I am with you.” And maybe you need to be reminded, as do I, that wherever the Lord is, that place is far better than any other place or situation void of him. 

So run to him. He will care for you and give you strength to stand and help you breath again. He is a good good Father, who deeply cares for his kids. I know this love, but do you? 

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Psalm 86:15 (ESV)

Where is the Lamb?

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The story of Abraham is a fascinating one found mostly in Genesis 12-22. These chapters tell of the beginnings of this key character in the Bible. But here’s a quick run down.

Abraham is married to a woman named Sarah, though at this point their names are actually Abram and Sarai, but that gets confusing. Anyways, they are married and they are about 75 years old. They have no children. But then, God shows up and promises Abraham that he will have a child! Through this child their family will grow so large that they will be a nation, and God will give them a land, and God will bless all the families of the earth through this family!

[1] Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. [2] And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV)

This promise is called the Abrahamic Covenant and it is a key detail in the storyline of the Bible! This is a promise, given by God, to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. So it seems like a ridiculous sort of promise. How will a couple at the age of 75 have a child?! We see God reaffirm this promise in Genesis 15 and make a true covenant with Abraham. God is telling Abraham to continue to trust Him, even though it seems like there is no hope.

Time continues to go on, and there is no child. Abraham and Sarah try to take things into their own hands around chapter 16, but this is not the promised child. God is holding fast to His promise, even as Abraham and Sarah reach 100 years old.

Then in chapter 21, God gives them a baby boy named Isaac. He is the fulfillment of this promise that God gave to them. This is their promised son! They see that God is faithful by doing exactly what He said He would do!

Now, this would be a great story if it ended here! An even better story if this was in fact the one we were told about back in Genesis 3:15 (the first covenant God makes with us). God promised that a savior would come and defeat sin and death, but is this the one they were waiting for?

Genesis 22 reveals something extreme. God tells Abraham to go and sacrifice his son, his only son. This is the son who was born in the promise, who fulfilled the words of God, who Abraham and Sarah waited for 25 years for in their old age to have! And now God is telling him to go sacrifice his son!? WHAT!?

Abraham is obedient so he does as God tells him. Abraham and Isaac make preparations and head up the mountain. Then Isaac, the only son of Abraham, asks an important question:

[7] And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

Genesis 22:7 (ESV)

Isaac realizes they have everything they need except for the lamb. And at this point in the narrative of the Bible, I believe that we as readers should also be asking this same question: “Where is the lamb?”

God created the world good, but sin entered the world. Then God made a promise that a Savior would come and rescue us from Satan, sin, and death. This Savior would be the lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world! And yet, this is not him. He has not come yet. Has God forgotten His people? Has God forgotten His promises? Where is the lamb?

Now, if you have read the New Testament before, you know that the lamb is in fact Jesus. We know the end of the story because most of us have God’s Word sitting on our nightstand or on a shelf somewhere. And many know the end of this story with Abraham and Isaac as well. As soon as Abraham raises the knife to kill Isaac, God appears to him and tells him to stop. Then God provides a ram for the burnt offering, and Abraham and Isaac walk down the mountain together.

What’s significant about this story is that God has always kept His promises. God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son, their family would be incredibly large, and through them, all the families of the earth would be blessed.

And each of these promises came true. Hundreds of years after Abraham and Sarah, in a small town in the Middle East, a baby was born. And this baby was named Jesus. He was in the family line of Abraham and eventually died on the cross as the lamb who would take away the sins of the world!

So this Christmas, will you celebrate Jesus as the fulfillment of every promise of God? Will you celebrate that the Lamb of God has come to take away the sins of the world? Will you celebrate that God is a faithful God who always keeps His promises? This is the true story of the world. We have a faithful God who loves us so much that He sent His only Son down to earth to live and dwell among us. And that Son’s name is Jesus, or Immanuel, which means God With Us. God came to dwell among us and then die for us so we could be with Him! I pray that you will rejoice in the gift of Jesus this season as you trust in our ever-faithful God!

Make Me Like Caleb.

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Today I was reading in the book of Joshua, chapter 14. In this chapter we see Caleb talking to Joshua, but first a little backstory:

Joshua and Caleb have been part of the biblical narrative at this point for a long time. They were part of the group that was sent by Moses to spy out the land. But Joshua and Caleb were unique even in that group because they were the only honest men who returned. They remained tethered to the Lord and faithful to Him. The rest of the group made the people’s hearts “melt with fear” but Joshua and Caleb remained steadfast to the Lord. They were the only two allowed to live long enough to enter the promised land. Joshua now leads the Israelites and they have just defeated Jericho along with a slew of other nations.

Now, let’s get back to chapter 14. We know (because the text tells us) that Caleb is 85 years old. Joshua and Caleb are the oldest people in the nation of Israel since all of their peers and elders were killed prior to entering the land they are now taking. So it is likely that Joshua and Caleb have this sort of power, influence, and respect from the rest of the people.

In chapter 14 we see Caleb speak with Joshua. If you have time, go and read Joshua 14:6-15. It’s worth the read. The thing that stood out to me is how Caleb described himself. In verse 8 he says, “I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.” Wow. What a statement to make about yourself, especially in comparison to other people.

But I don’t believe this statement is proud or self-serving. This is true. Both Caleb and Joshua are described in this way by others throughout the scriptures. We even see that Moses said this about them! So we can know that Caleb is not full of pride in this moment.

As I read this statement though, I began to think, “I want to be able to say that about my life, and I want others to describe me in that way too!” How incredible would it be to live a live of following the Lord wholeheartedly and to be known by that.

I want to be like Caleb. I want to follow the Lord wholeheartedly until the end of my days. And I want others to know that the LORD is who I follow in all circumstances of life. I don’t want to follow God with lukewarm faith or with “half-trust” or with more faith in myself than in Him. No! I want a full, wholehearted trust and following all of my days!

I can’t imagine all that Joshua and Caleb went through in their lives. They saw the promised land, and then had to wait to enter it. While they waited all of their friends, parents, and other elders of the community died. They experienced a lot of loss. And yet, the Bible would describe both of these men as those who followed the Lord wholeheartedly. Clearly they remained steadfast and tethered to the Lord in some difficult times.

Today, I pray that these words encourage you as much as they encourage me. Take some time to think about what this means in your life to “follow God wholeheartedly.” What needs to change for this to be true of you?

Friends, He is worth it all. I want to give up my life to follow Jesus with my whole heart for all of my days, and I will do that without hesitation because I know that life with Him is the only way to truly live.

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

Revelation 4:11 (NIV)