Be Careful, Trouble Lies Just Outside

   The phone rang and I stepped out of the church office, because I like to walk and talk on the phone. Long before there were devices tallying my steps, I have preferred to walk and talk.
   I was making my first lap around the historic chapel that anchors our campus when my eyes stopped at something out of place: a nail. It was in the middle of the asphalt that wraps around the front of the building, where hundreds of cars pass each week. It struck me that it could have been entirely possible that someone who showed up to attend worship - to sing praise to God, to reorient themselves to the true north that Jesus provides, to listen to the Word of God offered, to connect in fellowship that changes their heart - could have been the very one to have that nail pierce their tire as they pull away. It doesn't seem right that you could spend an hour doing right only to walk outside and suffer wrong.
   In Genesis 4, right after Cain stands before God and doesn't get what he wants, God warms him to be careful, because "sin will be waiting at the door ready to strike." Cain stepped on that nail.
   In Mark 8, right after Peter proclaims that Jesus is the Messiah, his very next step is to rebuke Jesus to act according to Peter's terms and not those of heaven. Peter stepped on that nail.
   Throughout the teachings of Jesus, both the commandments that point to the truest way to the live and the stories that are laced with wisdom, Jesus is also offering words of warning. In Matthew 24, Jesus begins an entire chapter about what is ahead with the words, “Watch out that no one deceives you." He warning them about stepping on that nail.
   It does not seem fair, but it is true; we must be careful. John Wesley's three simple rules begin with "Do No Harm." Surely that includes the harm that is done to ourselves when we don't watch out for the nails that would pierce our bodies and harm our souls. What do they look like to you? Anger, fear, resentment, worry, doubt, greed, lust, contempt? Don't step on that nail.
   Grace and peace, Scott

The Myth of Control and the Truth of the Present

It’s strange how the mind works. The mind would rather fret about the future or pine over the past so the mind can cling to its own illusion of control. But the current moment? It cannot be controlled. And what a mind can’t control, it tends to discount. Brush past … over. It’s the battle plan of the enemy of the soul to keep us blind to this current moment, the one we can’t control, to keep us blind to Him, the One who controls everything. 

- Ann Voskamp, from One Thousand Gifts Devotional

   One of the greatest drains on our time is the persistent worry that pushes into our thoughts. Of course, Jesus spoke to this when he said in Matthew 6, "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."

   I appreciate the stark way that Ann Voskamp addresses one of the reasons that so many of us turn to worry: we want to believe we are in control. Instead, the limits of our control stop at the edge of our minds, our hearts, our words, and our actions. Regardless of how close or how influential we think we are to others or to a situation, we are not in control of much.
   God's call on our lives is to let go. I think this is what Reinhold Niebuhr was getting at when he penned the Serenity Prayer a century ago. He wrote: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

   Instead of letting go of the myth of our power in the moment, we cling to moments that are not present. This is precisely the work of the one who is working against our lives. Jesus came that we might have abundant life, but there are forces working directly against us. One of the best things that hell ever accomplished was to trick us into picturing a silly, red-costumed little person with horns and pitchfork when anyone mentions the devil. This way of thinking reduces our concern and prompts us to let down our defenses. Instead, we must remain vigilant in our watch for the real faces of evil that would lead us to destruction: worry, laziness, anger, arrogance, greed, or an unforgiving heart.
   God loves you and loves me. Could it be that we are at our best loving God back when we let go of trying to control others or let go of the past or future and instead live fully in the present? There is a word for this kind of living: faith.
   Grace and Peace, Scott

Don't Bother Praying

   My friend Linda had surgery in December, and spent the better part of January in physical therapy regaining strength. She was delighted to once again be in control of her daily schedule, to sleep in her own bed, and to resume her life, but she was also worried. Many of us who have witnessed loved ones try to recovery from a fall or surgery or have even gone through it ourselves know, it is not an easy transition. There are a dozens of daily and weekly tasks that become strenuous to accomplish.
   So, there she was, a few days from returning home after over a month in two different local medical facilities, and worrying about it. She said as much to one of the folks where she was in physical therapy and they offered her a piece of wisdom that she passed on to me. I thought so much of it, I am sharing it with you. The woman told Linda,

If you're going to pray, don't worry. If you're going to worry, don't bother praying.

I love this. Of course, she was reworking the essence of Jesus' words to those gathered around him when he preached the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 6:34 records Jesus saying, "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today."
   In my years of visiting and counseling with friends of all ages, this might be the passage I quote more often than any other. Almost everyone struggles with worry. It is human nature. It is not the nature of one who is seeking after the will of God, though. Worry is about fear, prayer is about trust. We cannot have both. Which do I choose?
   May you choose wisely and live abundantly. Grace and Peace, Scott