One of my favorite Olympic memories involves a runner who was the last to cross the finish line. Derek Redmond was an elite athlete who had a chance to bring home a medal in 1992 as Great Britain’s 400-meter representative. After an injury-plagued career, Redmond seemed ready to leave a lasting legacy at the Barcelona Games. He had recorded the fastest time in the first heat and won his quarter-final race.
Redmond started well in the semifinal, but about 150 meters into the race his hamstring snapped, and he collapsed in agony.
Medical personnel rushed to his aid, but Redmond waved them off. He struggled to his feet and began to hobble around the track. He was going to finish the race.
Cheers rang out for the actual winner of the race, but then the crowd of sixty-five thousand in the stadium began to comprehend the drama unfolding of a solitary figure limping in agony toward the finish. The spectators rose as one to encourage the courageous athlete. Another official offered help and was brushed away. Suddenly, a man broke through security and ran onto the track.
It was Derek Redmond’s father. Derek heard a familiar voice and recognized this helper. He buried his face in his father’s chest and sobbed.
Jim Redmond told his son that he was loved and didn’t have to do this. But Derek set his eyes toward the finish and simply said, “Yes, I do.”
His father replied, “Then we will finish this together.”
Leaning on his father’s shoulder, Derek Redmond limped to the finish line. Near the end Jim let his son go so he could cross the finish line on his own. A standing ovation greeted Redmond. The Olympic records state that Derek Redmond did not finish, because he received help. I would argue that no Olympian has ever finished better than Derek Redmond. He refused to let adversity keep him from the prize of finishing the race. Not winning. Finishing. That is such a beautiful image of how our earthly race often looks. I suspect that many who achieve heavenly standing ovations will finish with a limp and with eyes focused solely on Jesus.
That is how I see my race that Paul describes so beautifully.
Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:13-14)
There is one huge difference in this story and our journey with God. Derek’s father had to join him on the track. Our Father God is with us every step of the way. We don’t always feel that or believe that to be true.
It is true.
I can make it to life’s finish line no matter how that final lap looks. When I fall or am hurt again, I know that I can bury my face in the comforting chest of Abba Father and we will finish together. And I can joyfully receive the amazing heavenly prize granted through the finished work of Jesus.
This past week I taught a lesson at my church on the minor prophet Habakkuk. He lived in Judah just before the Babylonian destruction of that country around 605 B.C. The role of Habakkuk as a prophet was completely unique because it appears he did not speak to the people. Instead he spoke directly to God with some honest and uncomfortable questions. Two-thirds of the book outlines that back and forth dialogue. Habakkuk has been described by some as the “man who scolded God”. Not sure I would want that to be my ministry distinctive but his interaction is transparent and instructive for believers today.
The book of Habakkuk has been very helpful to me in processing how to deal with the evil that is happening in our world. Habakkuk saw violence and injustice happening all around him and He was asking God why He was allowing this to happen. God didn’t shoot him down for asking those questions. God didn’t respond in anger. He didn’t tell Habakkuk to be quiet. He didn’t discipline his prophet for his amazingly direct questioning.
God answered him with a simple response.
He had a plan.
Habakkuk’s first interaction with God was titled Habakkuk’s complaint. His questions were courageous and unsettling for me to read.
How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. 3 Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight.(Habakkuk 1:2-4)
We often question what God is doing. Why does He seem to ignore the evil in the world? Yet God’s interaction with Habakkuk demonstrated that He is always present. God is Sovereign. He knows what the future holds. I have witnessed how the Holy Spirit can use challenging events of life in positive ways. God allows us to go through storms to make us stronger. Hard times cause us to wake up to our spiritual need and turn to Him. We don’t know why things happen. The one thing we do know throughout these challenging seasons is that He loves us. Jesus died and paid for our sins on the Cross. Why would the Father allow such a sacrifice and then simply turn away? I believe that God has a plan that gives us hope in Him. A lack of trust and patience can lead to anxiety instead of peace.
The answer that Habakkuk received was not what he had hoped to hear. Yes, God was judging the leaders of Judah for their sin and corruption. But He was allowing the evil Babylonians to invade, conquer, and punish His unfaithful followers. God sometimes uses ungodly people for godly purposes. Habakkuk absorbed God’s response and offered a second complaint but with more acknowledgement of who He believed his God to be.
2 O Lord my God, my Holy One, you who are eternal— surely you do not plan to wipe us out? O Lord, our Rock, you have sent these Babylonians to correct us, to punish us for our many sins. 13 But you are pure and cannot stand the sight of evil. Will you wink at their treachery? (Habakkuk 1:12-13)
At the end of his second round of questioning Habakkuk had an interesting response.
2 I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint. (Habakkuk 2:1)
Habakkuk realized he needed to focus on God and patiently wait for His response. We often question God but patiently waiting for His timing and response is hard. How often do we willingly accept the answers we receive? Our way is often not the best way and our short term desires can lead to a bad outcome.
This is the verse in God’s response that was a game-changer for Habakkuk and still is for us today. You can make a solid argument that Habakkuk 2:4 changed the world!
“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.
This thought is quoted in Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38, and Romans 1:17,
Martin Luther was struggling with his faith a mere 510 years ago. He was overwhelmed by the weight of his sin. He spent years trying to find out what he needed to do for God to grant him righteousness. In 1515 Martin Luther read Romans 1:17. A phrase in the verse struck his heart in a way he had never experienced before.
“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” (Romans 1:17)
This was the moment of awakening for Luther. He wrote this.
“Paul is not talking about the righteousness by which God Himself is righteous, but a righteousness that God gives freely by His grace to people who don’t have righteousness of their own.” Luther now understood that righteousness didn’t come from what he could do. It came as a undeserved gift of love and grace.
Martin Luther said, “When I discovered that, I was born again of the Holy Ghost. And the doors of paradise swung open, and I walked through.”
The impact of this prophet is profound. He believed that God had a plan. He believed that God was his hope. And this praise in Chapter 3 shows that no matter what circumstances he would face his hope, joy, and strength was in the God of his salvation.
17 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! 19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.
Here are a few takeaways from this amazing book.
It is okay to ask questions of God. He knows your heart.
God’s ways are not our ways. Trust in His ways.
The world may feel chaotic and frightening but remember that God is sovereign and in control.
My job is not understanding how God’s plan will work. My job is to trust Him.
Our hope and peace are not tied to our circumstances. Those come from God.
God’s timing is perfect. Be patient.
This quote from Henri Nouwen beautifully sums up the need to live out of faith no matter our circumstances.
“Our life is full of brokenness – broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God’s faithful presence in our lives.”
If my Mom was born in today’s world I have no doubt she would have flourished with her strong, independent, and intelligent personality. But life for women in the 40’s and 50’s was limiting and I would guess a bit frustrating at times.
I loved my Mom but our relationship was often challenging. She was raised in a family where love was not openly expressed. She could be negative and her comments often impacted me. I knew that she loved me fiercely but I will admit that I grieved for a more gracious expression of her love.
As her health declined I prayed that her relationship with God would be clear to her and to her family. In the summer of 2006 I journeyed to Ohio to visit her. A group of Christian friends in Texas told me they would pray that I could discuss salvation with my Mom. I thanked them for their concern but in my heart I felt they were naive. They did not know my Mom.
Fast forward a few days as I am sitting with her. The conversation was mundane. Out of nowhere she dropped this bombshell.
“How can you be sure that you are going to heaven?”
You could have knocked me over with a feather and I immediately thought of those saints in Texas praying for exactly this moment. And I felt a bit of shame because I was the naive one who doubted the power of prayer. I shared the gospel with my Mom. She assured me that she had trusted Christ as her Savior. The next question was nearly as surprising.
“What if you trusted Christ but haven’t lived it?”
Wow. What do you say to that? I chose to tell her the truth. That she was always a child of God but she had likely forfeited some joy by not walking more consistently with Him. She had likely missed chances to serve and probably many blessings the Lord had desired her to experience. Still, there was a nagging question in my mind that I lacked the courage to address. I knew there were people who had hurt my Mom deeply and she had showed no signs of forgiveness. I was fairly certain she would take that bitter anger to her grave but I knew that was forgiven by the grace of God.
But Mom took those comments about living for Jesus to heart. She chose to live for Him with the rest of her days. She told my niece that she had prayed more in the last year than she had in her whole life. She regularly asked me to pray for her and told me she was praying for me and especially for Joni as my bride battled breast cancer.
My Mom began to regularly tell me she loved me. That was something you didn’t say in her family. You were just supposed to know it. She told me she was sorry if she had hurt me with her words or actions. That was the first time I had heard those words from my Mom in 53 years. It was a powerful moment of grace and reconciliation between us. When I saw her the last time she kissed me and said, “you don’t know how much you mean to me.” But she was wrong. I finally did.
But the real miracle happened in her last days. My niece asked Mom about a woman she had felt so much bitterness and hatred toward. When I was told about her response the words sent chills through me.
“Oh honey. That was in the past. I have forgiven her.”
What irony that I have been writing about forgiveness and my Mom gave me a miracle of forgiveness as her final gift. Forgiveness can happen. It is never too late. For those who think they cannot forgive I will tell you that with God it is possible. I am saddened that my Mom is gone but I am rejoicing in her victory. She was able to lay her burdens at the foot of the Cross and pass unencumbered into the presence of the Lord. She finished her days living out this verse.
“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32 NLT
Seventeen Mother’s Days have gone by since she passed away. I praise God that I have not really lost my Mom. Nope. I know exactly where she is.
Bella seems surprised by the blog title but a song from Kenny Chesney caught my attention. In the lyrics an interviewer asks a man celebrating his one hundred and second birthday about his secret to life. His response?
He talks about how life seems to be a blink from childhood to reaching the century mark. I’m still a ways from the century mark though my shoulder feels that old this morning. It seems like just yesterday that I was playing sandlot baseball as a kid. Moments ago I was in high school being Attention Deficit before ADD was cool. Just yesterday I met the stunning Joni Banks and somehow talked her into dating me. Wasn’t it just weeks ago that three adorable baby boys came into our lives?
Don’t blink.
Married almost 49 years. Five decades of directing live TV sporting events. Seven grandchildren. Are you kidding me?
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond, In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body – but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillion of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act, the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn’t going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one or you’re getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life: The goal is to grow in character, In Christ-likeness.
If this is the warm-up act for my eternity gig on the main stage then all of this is merely preparation. Football players hate the two-a-day practices in the brutal heat. But they love the exhilaration of victory that the difficult preparation allows for later in the season. Sometimes the two-a-days of life seem cruel and without purpose. But my understanding of the God who made me and His purpose for me allows me to believe there is purpose and design. I don’t always see it. I love being happy and carefree. But if my purpose is preparation for my real gig then I need to live out of my new identity and trust God to mature me in Christ-likeness. Paul wrote this in the book of Colossians.
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits at God’s right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your real life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. (Col 3, NLT)
The lyrics quote the wide old man telling others how to finish strong.
I was glued to my TV when it looked like he looked at me and said “Best start putting first things first.” Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand You can’t flip it over and start again Take every breath God gives you for what it’s worth
The songwriter is correct. We have a pre-determined number of grains in the hourglass so I choose today to live in the moment in grace and freedom. Every breath is a gift even on the toughest days. Enjoy today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not promised.
In no time at all on the eternity clock I will be with my Lord and Savior. I will be home. For my fellow sojourners I pray that you will trust that truth. You may face storms and deep valleys along the way. The secret to life? Trust a God who is trustworthy. And one more thing.
Don’t blink. His blessings are all around you when your eyes are looking.
Every year they rudely awaken Punxsutawney Phil long enough for the reluctant rodent to let us know if six more weeks of winter awaits. Phil always looks as happy as I do when when I am disturbed in the morning. Thirty-two years ago a funny and underappreciated movie came on the scene. Groundhog Daytold the story of a self-absorbed news reporter (redundancy alert?) that finds himself stuck in an endless repeat of the same day. Bill Murray is perfect in the role of reporter Phil Connors. Reporter Phil is less than thrilled that he has been assigned to cover Punxsutawney Phil. He feels he is “above” such an inane assignment. Connor’s looks into the camera and cynically reports:
“This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.”
The premise of the movie is that Phil Connors is doomed to live the same day over and over and over. For Connors, Groundhog Day begins each morning at 6:00 A.M as Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” blares out from his alarm clock radio. The twist is that his (and only his) memories of the “previous” day remain intact, trapped in a seemingly endless “time loop” to repeat the same day endlessly.
So what is the point of these ramblings? Maybe followers of Jesus can get stuck in a Groundhog Day life of their own. They wake up every day and feel trapped in a repeating pattern of frustrating behavior. Why is that? I lived a Groundhog Day kind of faith for years. The Apostle Paul wrote about this very thing (not the giant rodent part…the repeating behavior part) in his letter to the Romans.
I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. (Romans 7, The Message)
Wow…can I relate to that. A bit later Paul writes…I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?
That is the real question. And there is a real answer offered by Paul.
The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
So what can you do to get out of this sin spiral?
Nothing.
Wait! Don’t let depression set in. This is good news! You and I can’t do it. I am incapable in my own efficacy to escape my spiritual Groundhog Day. Only Jesus can enable me to escape this endless loop of frustration. Further advice from Paul follows in Chapter 8 of his amazing letter to the Romans.
But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him.
Allow the truth of that verse to soak in.
Want to get out of your Groundhog Day existence? Most readers of these humble ramblings realize they couldn’t deal with their sin separation from God on their own. We needed Jesus. So why do we think we can deal with our ongoing sin issues on our own? When the Father looks at me on my very worst day this is what He sees.
Jesus.
That is step one. I don’t have to clean up the sin to please God. He loves me already because of Jesus. Step Two. I am learning daily to recognize that the Spirit of God has taken up residence in my life. I am learning that I am the one who limits His power by restricting access and not trusting Him with my thoughts and actions. I am learning that I don’t need to wake up to the frustrating effects of repeated self-effort. I can wake up trusting God, trusting that Jesus has my sin covered and trusting that the Spirit of God will allow me to resolve that sin. Trusting God and what His Word says to be true allows me to escape the Groundhog Day syndrome.
The moral of the movie Groundhog Day was that Phil Connor needed to learn that he was self-absorbed and dependent on his selfish efforts to get ahead. The moral of the spiritual groundhog day is to learn that we cannot depend on our self efforts to live a joyful and free Christian life. I come to Jesus by grace and total dependence. I live for Jesus by grace and total dependence. While the other groundhog is busy predicting weather I would suggest you try this for the next six weeks. When the alarm jars you awake remember this truth. Instead of the Sonny and Cher song you can sing “I Got You Lord”. The two of you can end this “Groundhog Day” of frustration. I can’t help you with the weather.
Many historians believe that 1968 was one of the most turbulent years in American history. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy were assassinated. Race riots and Vietnam war protests created massive unrest. International peace was unsettled as the USSR invaded Czechoslovakia. A bestselling book by entomologist Paul Ehrlich called the Population Bomb predicted that overpopulation would lead to hundreds of millions of people starving and there was nothing we could do about it.
In the Christian world a movie called Thief in the Night came out with a frightening story about the rapture and tribulation. I didn’t sleep well for weeks because I did not want to get left behind. My parents thought the end was near.
I was 15 years old. The news was terrifying. I was a new Christian and I had virtually no discipling for what faith in God meant when confronting fears.
I didn’t know if I would get a chance to drive, vote, get married, have children, have a career, or see the Cleveland Browns win another NFL championship. By the way, all but one have worked out.
Fast forward fifty-seven years (and trust me it feels that way) and the cultural climate in our country feels even worse. I have had a few years to see how God works in my life so that is a big difference. But I will be honest, it is still unsettling.
Psalm 27 addresses a major issue. Where do we find hope in a seemingly hopeless world? How can we address the fears that confront us consistently?
In the Psalm David is being pursued and he believes an attack on his life is imminent. He states his hope without ignoring the danger of his current situation. Instead of downplaying his trouble he looks through a different lens. Yep. Things are a dangerous mess. Yep. I could be attacked at any moment. He starts Psalm 27 with the things he needs to remember as he confronts a deadly threat.
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
God is my light in the darkness. God is my salvation and eternal hope. God is my strength when I am weak. Wow. Believing those truths alone will make a difference when fear rises up in my heart. But let’s be honest here. No doubt that intellectual knowledge is encouraging but how can we live out those truths when danger and fear are lurking? Let’s look at an amazing statement from the Psalmist.
3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
Wait? What?
If war breaks out against me even then I will be confident? That is not the circumstance that gives me confidence in my journey.
How can he possibly be confident? I found it fascinating that the Hebrew word for confident translates literally to “I will trust”. David’s confidence was not in his own strength. He was trusting God and that gave him the confidence to be unafraid.
Again, that is a comforting intellectual concept. God is my light. My salvation. My strength. I trust Him. I still need a plan to implement those truths. How do you trust God when danger is all around you? David’s plan is simple and instructive for us today.
He wanted to be present with the Lord.
My natural tendency would likely be to agonize over the circumstances. Instead David chooses, and it is a choice, to make God his priority in uncertain and difficult times.
My first instinct would be to desperately pray for protection. That God would remove me from this situation. But what did David want first and foremost?
4 One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
He wanted, more that anything else, to be in the presence of the Lord.
Author Max Lucado wrote, “The presence of fear does not mean you have no faith. Fear visits everyone. But make your fear a visitor and not a resident.”
You do that by seeking God’s presence and peace. God wants His children to commune with Him. He wants us to learn more about who He is. Then we need to bring those things we learn about God’s character into fellowship with Him in honest prayer and reflection. Knowledge alone often falls short. Knowledge combined with intimate fellowship with the Lord is a game changer.
Now more than ever that we need to place the truths of Psalm 27 in our hearts. David’s words remind us that even in the difficult times we can persevere because our God has perfect timing and the perfect plan. There is no need to panic and force our plans to fix the problem. We can have confidence that if we turn to God for strength, knowledge, and wisdom, we will know what our part in the solutions is.
There is a famous saying that fits this Psalm of David.
Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered. No one was there.
When we trust God and seek His presence I believe that can be true. When we feel fear rising up we need to remember God is our light, our salvation, and our strength. The next time fear knocks on the door gather up those truths and have faith answer. It makes a powerful difference.
I love this quote from E. L. Doctorow about writing: “It’s like driving a car at night: you never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
That is profoundly simple and true. I think this principle applies to writing, living, and especially for living a life of faith.
Life is like driving in fog. I wish I could see farther ahead on my journey, but the truth is, I cannot. I can see only as far as the light that illuminates my path. Because I’m a Christian, that is all I really need to know. Christ, my Light, reassures me that I can (and will) make the whole trip in that way. But there is fear in the unknown of the future, and it is easy to dwell in the predictable events of the past.
Not dwelling in the past is a huge issue to address on my journey to trust God even in difficult moments.
Paul described his past to the church at Philippi. He wrote that what he used to view as valuable he now viewed as garbage, compared to the priceless value of knowing Christ. He explained his desire to know Christ better. And then Paul gave a note of encouragement and a path to achieve that goal by focusing on Christ and always moving forward.
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:13-14)
That is the plan. I forget the past, look forward, and then take one stride at a time to the finish line. I can’t backpedal and finish the race. I can’t run in place and finish the race. I can’t take one mighty leap to finish the race. I certainly can’t stop and finish the race. It is about putting one foot in front of the other.
Forgetting the past is hard. I know that. I have struggled mightily, and at times quite unsuccessfully, with letting go of things that wounded me in the past.
Because of Christ, I know that I will not be abandoned or unloved. Every day that I wake up and focus on my Protector, Jesus, I know that I can relax and live in the moment. Some days I can live with joy. Other days are not so joyful, but I can always live in the assurance of the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Satan wants desperately to have me wallow in regret or shame of the past. Followers of Christ have an escape plan. It’s not always easy to implement. The power for healing is there. Bible teacher and author Warren Wiersbe offers a good perspective on this challenge, as he analyzes how Paul related to the past.
“Forgetting those things which are behind” does not suggest an impossible feat of mental and psychological gymnastics by which we try to erase the sins and mistakes of the past. It simply means that we break the power of the past by living for the future. We cannot change the past, but we can change the meaning of the past. There were things in Paul’s past that could have been weights to hold him back (1 Tim. 1:12-17), but they became inspirations to speed him ahead. The events did not change, but his understanding of them changed. ”
I can’t magically erase the events and pain of prior events, but I can break their power. I can change the meaning of the past. I can live for the future. I can believe that I am a new creation because of the finished work of Christ. And I can begin to see myself as God sees me. The past does not define me; Jesus does.
