Moving On

An early morning conversation with my son;

Me- "Matt, it's time to get up"

Him- "Not yet, in a second"

Me- "In a second? why not now?"

Him- "Because I am comfortable. I have heard it said that sometimes it seems like God is in the business of comforting the afflicted, but other times it seems His cheif purpose is to Afflict the Comfortable.

I have also heard it said that we will not change until it becomes too painful to stay the same.

As I think any of you who read this on a regular basis can tell from my posts the last couple of weeks- life has been hard. There has been waiting and dissappointment and regret- Plenty of discomfort.

The central question in all of it has been,

"Where is God in all this?"

or maybe,

"Why hasn't He given me what I wanted?"

I will tell you He has been present.

He has shown Himself in Clouds and Streetsigns-

In conversations with friends-

In His Word-

In other books I am reading-

In time with my wife-

In time alone-

In bike rides and I am sure a million other ways that I have not even recognized.

In all of it the choice has been clear-

He has driven me to a place of discomfort-

A place where I must take hold of the reality of His Love and Care for me-

Really- Deeply- In my heart of hearts -

Or I must deny Him-

Lose faith and go my own way.

My own struggles have been real, but He has been so merciful to strengthen my faith through what really are trivial struggles compared to things I know others are going through.

It really is a shame that my transformations have to come through discomfort-

Maybe it is the only way my heart will take hold of what is in my head and own it.

It is time for me to move on from old dreams.

I have done all that I could to make them come to pass.

God has shut them down.

It is time to move on- to move on into what He has for me.

Romans 8:32 God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all- how will He not also with the gift of His Son- Graciously give us all things.

Lord God Almighty I will trust You- That what You have in mind for me is Good and the Life I long for will be right there in it. Give me clarity day by day to see and walk the path You have laid out for me.

Amen

Now come on Matt- It's time to get up!

Just Some Clouds

I was driving down the road yesterday evening- taking my son Matthew to his Mixed Martial Arts class-when I could not help but notice the horizon off to my right. As we came to a stop light I was captured by the beauty of the picture God had painted-

The sky- The clouds- The sun's reflection.

I wish I had words to describe what I saw.

I will try.

The clouds were majestic as they seemed to rise from out of the ground. Those closer to the horizon were an ominous but shimmering steel gray. They looked to be impregnated with Anger- Anger and Power- The power of some impending thunder god A god that might send forth hail and bolts of lightening in an unbridled expression of wrath. But as I lifted my gaze just a bit higher, these very same clouds changed- They subtly shifted in color from that ominous steel gray to the whitest of whites- Bright beyond anything I can ever remember seeing before. The power was still there- the majesty was still there- But in this higher place, instead of being filled with wrath- These very same clouds seemed to be bursting forth with Joy and Hope and Goodness- Power, but a different display. Now all of this was worthy in and of itself to spend a moment taking in- But there was one other piece to this picture God had painted for me- A clear message that captured me there at that stop light at that moment in time.......

Rising up out of the ground and positioned so that it's top was set directly against the backdrop of these magnificent clouds was a red and white triangular street sign with the word YIELD spelled out directly in it's center.

Oh, the messages of God- they come in the most unexpected places as I go about this business of life.

Yield- Yield to My Power Charles- Yield to My Joy and Goodness and Hope and yes even to My Wrath. Be as amazed with Me as you are with this cloud I have sent you today.

Exodus 34:5 -6 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with Moses and proclaimed His name-The Lord. He passed in front of Moses proclaiming, The Lord, The Lord- The Compassionate and Gracious God- Slow to Anger and abounding in Love and Faithfulness.

Lord God Almighty- show me where I need to yield to You today. By Your Holy Spirit move in me to be still and know that You are God. Empower me and let me feel Your Power and Courage and Love and Faithfulness so that I may take hold of who You are and yield.

Amen