Look how fears have presented themselves, so have supports and encouragements; yea, when I have started, even as it were at nothing else but my shadow, yet God, as being very tender of me, hath not suffered me to be molested, but would with one Scripture or another, strengthen me against all; insomuch that I have often said, “Were it lawful, I could pray for greater trouble, for the greater comfort’s sake.”
-John Bunyan (1628 – 1688)
I’m never bored in the mountains. They are always the same, yet different with every moving cloud, every angle of sun, every shift of season.
I am never bored with God. Like the mountains he never changes, and yet I see many different views of him depending on what aspect of himself he wants to reveal in this season of my life and how willing my heart is to pay attention.
I found myself wanting to jump into a heated discussion about which is more in the character of God, giving his adopted children prosperity and perfect health or teaching them through poverty and suffering. As often happens each side made assumptions about what the other side meant without taking time to listen to their definitions and explanations of terms. I think they were closer than they thought, but somewhere between the lips of one and the ears of the other words morphed into strange bloated thought clouds from another source. Straw men make great flashy bonfires and due to volatility tend to erupt into conflagrations which usually produce more heat than light.
Still, they prompted me to research what the Bible says about the topic. There is a lot of material in there on the dangers of the love of money, the blessings of abundance, the abuse of power and resources, the rewards of trust, the ugliness of selfish wealth, the riches of the Father’s house available to all his children, the unacceptable neglect of the poor … Finding verses to back each person’s hobby horse (proof-texting) is easy.
The following passage caught my attention. (This was after the warning story of the man who hoarded his wealth in new barns only to die that night.):
Then he added to the disciples, “That is why I tell you, don’t worry about life, wondering what you are going to eat. And stop bothering about what clothes you will need. Life is much more important than food, and the body more important than clothes. Think of the ravens. They neither sow nor reap, and they have neither store nor barn, but God feeds them. And how much more valuable do you think you are than birds? Can any of you make himself an inch taller however much he worries about it? And if you can’t manage a little thing like this, why do you worry about anything else? Think of the wild flowers, and how they neither work nor weave. Yet I tell you that Solomon in all his glory was never arrayed like one of these. If God so clothes the grass, which flowers in the field today and is burnt in the stove tomorrow, is he not much more likely to clothe you, you little-faiths? You must not set your heart on what you eat or drink, nor must you live in a state of anxiety. The whole heathen world is busy about getting food and drink, and your Father knows well enough that you need such things. No, set your heart on his kingdom, and your food and drink will come as a matter of course.”
“Don’t be afraid, you tiny flock! Your Father plans to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give the money away. Get yourselves purses that never grow old, inexhaustible treasure in Heaven, where no thief can ever reach it, or moth ruin it. For wherever your treasure is, you may be certain that your heart will be there too!” (Luke 12)
Some people read this and say, “See? The poor have more faith. So God wants you to be poor.”
Someone else reads it and says, “See? The wealth of the kingdom is ours! Receive it now by faith.”
Someone else says, “See? The point is to obsess about neither poverty nor wealth, but to trust God, give generously and be content.”
I was thinking about this when I drove by these mountains. Storm clouds, caught by high winds near Pincher Creek, changed the look of the range every few minutes. By the time I found a place to stop my car, they shifted again. The view reminded me that every time I think I have some aspect God figured out he obscures the familiar and comfortable and shows me another side of his character.
God is not only good, His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts. He is very, very big and has very, very many facets. One snapshot, or one verse of scripture, or one experience is true about him, but perhaps does not reveal the whole truth. There is more. Much more.
But sometimes it is the storms in life, when the familiar is obscured by dark clouds, that reveal important truths about God that we missed before.
Lord, I will lift my eyes to the hills
Knowing my help is coming from You
Your peace You give me in time of the storm
You are the source of my strength
You are the strength of my life
I lift my hands in total praise to You
You are the source of my strength
You are the strength of my life
I lift my hands in total praise to You
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
-Richard Smallwood
I was praying for people I care about as I drove through Kootenay Park yesterday. Some of these dear folks are chronically ill, or depressed, or broke, or facing heart-breaking circumstances that seem to drain hope from their lives. The dark clouds and rain fit my mood. Sometimes I feel the weight of their burdens myself and I forget the Lord’s instructions to come up higher and trust Him. I had another health scare myself earlier in the week and the resulting loss of sleep was making me feel quite weak physically and emotionally.
Sometimes it seems like the same problems and the same type of people and the same situations keep showing up in our lives. Sometimes it feels like God is not taking us seriously enough.
Sometimes we miss the point of the exercise because we do not take God seriously enough.
We tend to ask for relief from suffering and, when the stress is over, forget the one who has given us so many benefits. God longs for relationship with us, and frankly we sometimes only pay attention to him when we want something instead of someone.
When I reached the summit of the pass near Radium, B.C. the rain was lighter, but there was still enough to keep my windshield wipers labouring. I decided to stop at the pull-out and walk for a bit, hiding my camera under my rain jacket – just in case the sun broke through and lit up the peaks on the other side of the valley. I thought the contrast of the snow-tipped mountains with dark ominous clouds might make a good black and white photo.
I was alone up there and I told the Lord I sure could use some encouragement. I know we walk by faith and not by sight and that it is all about relationship with Him, but I could use a hug about now.
Suddenly a rainbow began to form right in front of me. I happily snapped some photos, but it kept growing until a double rainbow I couldn’t entirely fit on my screen filled the valley. I think it was the brightest I have ever seen.
After a while passing cars stopped and folks jumped out with their cameras – but for a while I felt like the rainbow was all mine.
Then, of course I felt silly. “Ideas of reference” some people call it, when a person thinks a general event was meant specifically for her. Crazy people think like that.
So I decided that if I was going to be crazy I would do something even crazier. I asked the Lord that if this was a reminder of His promises if he would do it again.
He did.
About two hours further down the road another rainbow glowed in the sky ahead. I raced ahead to a place overlooking the valley where trees and electric lines wouldn’t block the view. It remained in the sky for quite a while and again, the colours shone in glory.
A promise.
When I finally got home (11 hours after I set out in the morning) I turned the corner to see a third rainbow arching over my town. In dream symbolism the number three can represent confirmation – as “in the presence of three witnesses.”
How can I help but praise him?
I didn’t ask for three rainbows on my journey last evening, but they showed up as gifts that reminded me of the glory of the One who makes and keeps his promise to respond to us when we call out to him.
God is Good. He is relentlessly kind and loving. He is not on a budget.
And he gives great hugs.
Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by the beauty of God’s creation I just want to cry and thank him from the bottom of my heart for moments like these.
But they are moments. I am anxious to get out there with my camera because I know these sunny wild flowers will fade and die within a week or two.
Other flowers will replace them later -the lupins, the daisies, the bright red salvia- and they will be just as beautiful. And they will also droop and fade and die.
In landscape photography much depends upon the season and the weather conditions and the time of day and angle of the sun. I think my desperation to get out there when the conditions are right, even though the timing may be inconvenient for other obligations, is about an awareness that life is fleeting.
But temporary beauty is like a sign post that points to a greater, more permanent beauty that will not fade.
I’ve been thinking about this verse:
But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. (1 Peter 3:4)
I disliked it in my youth because of the way it and the surrounding verses were applied. The result was a rather oppressive less-than-lovely interpretation of freedom. Today I see something different. Some translations use the term incorruptible beauty, meaning beauty that is not subject to ugly decay like a corpse. Other translations say unfading loveliness or lasting beauty. All of them talk about a higher form of beauty -a gentle, quiet, peaceful spirit. “Not anxious or wrought up” in the Amplified version. Peace comes from within, but so does beauty.
I would not want to return to the type of sexual harassment I experienced in some of my first jobs, nor would I want to be embarrassed by the wolf whistles and remarks that came with walking past construction sites when I was 18, but like many woman I never realized how far my looks took me until I lost them. There’s that moment when you realize that being called a femme fatale is now more about your absent-mindedness behind the wheel of a car than your ability to be a lust-magnet. It’s actually kind of a sad day when attractive men confide in you about their romantic problems as if you have been neutered by “fading loveliness.”
Beauty is not the only currency. Many of my friends who are reaching retirement age have to face the realization that the currency that earned them a place of respect or usefulness in this world is not holding its former value. Surgeons lose their dexterity, musicians lose their hearing, and teachers lose their patience. Athletes and dancers face this reality sooner than actuarians, but eventually the time comes when we are replaced by those with brighter newer beauty, talent, or skill. We fight it. Man, how we fight it, but reality hits us square in the mirror eventually.
“Inward beauty” is not a euphemism for “nice personality” or “a great face for radio.” Inward beauty is more like the light that glows in a dark and dreary season. Inward beauty shines when a person knows they are deeply loved and cherished. The inwardly beautiful will not be plucked, stuffed in a vase, admired and tossed a few days later; they are at peace with God and themselves and can afford to love others gently and extravagantly because they know they have been forgiven much. Inward beauty does not fade or droop or shrivel or rot. It keeps growing through all the seasons of life because their intimate relationship with the Creator of such beauty grows on for eternity.
We’ve only just begun.
I look forward to this week here in the mountains. The sunflowers are in bloom on Eager Hill. The minor surgery I had last week has knocked the stuffings out of me a bit, but taking the climb slowly allowed me to appreciate the scents and sounds and changing light as spring showers shifted through the sky. I took frequent breaks and simply breathed in joy.
Mein gläubiges Herze,
Frohlocke, sing, scherze,
Dein Jesus ist da!
Weg Jammer, weg Klagen,
Ich will euch nur sagen:
Mein Jesus ist nah.
My faithful heart,
delight, sing, play,
your Jesus is here!
Away with sorrow, away with lamenting,
I will only say to you:
my Jesus is near.
-J.S. Bach
Release your heart’s joy in sweet music to the Eternal.
When the upright passionately sing glory-filled songs to Him, everything is in its right place.
Worship the Eternal with your instruments, strings offering their praise;
write awe-filled songs to Him on the 10-stringed harp.
Sing to Him a new song;
play each the best way you can,
and don’t be afraid to be bold with your joyful feelings.
For the word of the Eternal is perfect and true;
His actions are always faithful and right.
He loves virtue and equity;
the Eternal’s love fills the whole earth.
(Psalm 33:1-5)
I love You, Eternal One, source of my power.
The Eternal is my rock, my fortress, and my salvation;
He is my True God, the stronghold in which I hide,
my strong shield, the horn that calls forth help, and my tall-walled tower.
(Psalm 18:1,2 The Voice)
Peace comes from within -when the Prince of Peace dwells within.
I [Paul] am a servant appointed by God to preach the Word of God until it is known to you and all over—what I am talking about is nothing less than the mystery of the ages! What was hidden for ages, generations and generations, is now being revealed to His holy ones. He decided to make known to them His blessing to the nations; the glorious riches of this mystery is the indwelling of the Anointed in you! The very hope of glory. (Colossians 1:25-27)
I’m homesick, God, for your salvation;
I love it when you show yourself!
Invigorate my soul so I can praise you well,
use your decrees to put iron in my soul.
And should I wander off like a lost sheep—seek me!
I’ll recognize the sound of your voice.
(Psalm 119:174-176 The Message)
Charis: Subject to Change 
