WINDS OF CHANGE

Colorado tends to shift seasons quickly so this fall has been a pleasant surprise. The leaves fell and there was time to rake them into big piles for the kids to leap into prior to the next snow. The colors have been bright and vibrant, the weather unpredictable, and the hand of the creator has been unmistakable, whether in the brilliant sunshine or the fluffy snowflakes. God beckons to me in these moments and leads me to embrace the transitory existence that exemplifies the change of seasons.

This year, God seems to be talking to me in the fall moments. For the first time in many years, I am seeing the vibrant life in the harvest season. The leaves have turned brilliant hues of red and gold while the fiery sunsets have been filled with startling pinks and purples. The other night, I awoke to the howling of the wind. I could hear it shaking the house and whistling between the fence posts outside. And it seemed like God was saying, rise up and use the winds, set your sails, spread your wings to ride the winds of change to the new place I am taking you. It reminded me of the verse in Isaiah (40:31) where we are told to ‘rise up on wings as eagles’.

A few weeks ago, a word was given in church about Joseph in the pit and the caravan having been sent two months before. It was a clear word of much needed encouragement. A few days later, God started talking to me about the pit. Joseph would not have considered going in the caravan if he had not been thrown into the pit. Joseph had been content in his old life, despite the harassment of his brothers. If the brothers had not thrown Joseph into the pit, he probably would have continued to live in Hebron with his father. Yet God sent a caravan, and what his brothers meant for ill, God turned to good.

Joseph ended up in Egypt, honorably serving God. The bible says everything he undertook was successful because God was with him. Yet Joseph would not have chosen this path of his own volition. He would probably have never considered leaving home and going to Egypt. Nor would he have chosen to work for Pharoah’s commander of the guard. Yet there he was, bringing blessing to all he undertook. Yet even in behaving honorably with Potiphar’s wife, he ended up being thrown in jail. Another transition. But Yahweh was with Joseph and he found favor with the chief jailer. Eventually Joseph found favor with Pharoah, becoming his second in command.

What struck me was if Joseph had never been thrown in jail, he would have never had an opportunity to become such an influential force in Egypt. And if he had never been thrown into the pit, he would have never made it into Egypt in the first place. I can’t imagine Joseph was thrilled about being thrown into the pit – there was no water; and I am sure being sold into slavery did not feel like the favor of God was upon him, yet these challenges helped lay the foundation for greater purposes. Joseph needed to let go of the past and embrace the new so he could be present with God in the new place. He needed to be present in the moment with God in Potiphar’s house and in doing so, he brought blessing to himself and others. If he had spent the time bemoaning his fate and wishing to return home, he would not have been engaged with what God was doing in the present. God made sure Joseph knew the door to returning home was closed so he could move forward and stay engaged with God in the moment. When Joseph was thrown in jail, another door to a past life was closed, and in the transition time, Joseph continued to focus on God and live in the present. He blessed those in jail with him, which eventually led to his visit with Pharoah, and his opportunity to save Egypt and his relatives from a devastating famine.

All of which sounds great as a story. Yet in a place where all that seems familiar has been shaken and changed, I recognize the challenge of letting go of my expectations and allowing God to lead me to the next step. God has been about removing old places, people, jobs, and preparing for something new. The wind is starting to blow and God is bringing new things. Yet He does not seem anxious to share the big picture. In looking at the life of Joseph, I wonder if maybe we are in one of those transition moments where it is all about relying on God to guide the way as we would never get there on our own. So the question I hear in the wind goes something like – Will you trust me with the next step? Change is coming; good things are on the horizon. We have needed a season to release our hold on the things of the past and old comfort zones so we can embrace the new life God is walking us into. Yet, it requires us to keep our eyes on Him and to trust Him for the moment-by -moment directions. The big picture is too big for us to see from here and that is good news! My prayer as we approach this Thanksgiving is that we will all have the faith to mount up with wings as eagles to ride the new currents to God’s highest heights.

TEMPTATION

Temptation comes in many forms and calls to us based on our own internal issues. What may tempt me may not be an issue for someone else. However, there are some commonalities for how most temptations manifest. In looking at Jesus' time in the desert, we can examine how Satan tempted Him and ascertain how temptations may approach us.

According to the book of Mathew, the first temptation was the suggestion that Jesus command the stones to become bread. So the question we need to consider concerns where we go to address our needs. Are we hungry for food? Maybe approval? Recognition? Glory? Money? We may find ourselves fighting a pull to fit in or maybe to excel or perform. The list is as endless as our imagination. While many of these things are good in moderation, just as bread is, none of them can bring life when we turn to them instead of God. A stone is neither good nor bad yet the tendency to turn it into something to sustain us corrupts the soul. Jesus responds with 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God'. The true answer to our heart's cry is relationship with God, not bread, or significance.

The second temptation manifests as a dare. Satan suggests Jesus throw himself over the cliff so the angels can lift him up. The appeal is to leap into some wild endeavor and expect God to show up. Presumption beckons through the door where we assume we know God's plan and many a well-intended church program has started and fizzled under this lure. For example, suppose someone wants to go on a mission trip. The desire seems genuine and the people could really benefit from the assistance. Instead of instantly moving forward, we need to go to God and ask some questions. Is it His timing to go now or later? Are there certain people God would like sent, not just the ones who volunteered? How does God want to minister to the people in need? By seeking God in prayer, we are activating His will instead of moving in presumption by responding to the need presented.

The third enticement appeals to pride and worship. If Jesus will fall down and worship Satan, the devil will give him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. How many times have we been enticed by the promise of glory if we will only compromise our integrity? Have we ever chosen to do things our own way instead of God's? We tend to rely on our own understanding instead of asking God and before we know it, we have aligned ourselves with forces and people we would have never intentionally collaborated. We need to answer like Jesus and say 'Away with you Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve'.

Then the story gets really good. After Jesus faced the last temptation, the devil left Him and angels came and ministered to Him. Hanging out with angels instead of Satan certainly improves the atmosphere. And allowing them to minister to us instead of striving to hear God simplifies the faith process. If we can recognize the temptations facing us and respond as Jesus did, then we will enter into a new realm of abundant life.

TRUST

Sometimes we encounter a season in our walk with God where He seems present yet our circumstances don't appear to reflect that presence. This is where the rubber meets the road and the question God asks is "Do you trust me?" It can be hard to trust God when a friend dies unexpectedly, a job is lost due to budget cuts, one's child gets inexplicably hurt, or your savings disappear in a stock market crash or bank collapse. All of these things are out of our control and they remove any illusion one has of control. Suppose all those events happen within the span of a few months. Where do you go with your questions?

God whispers, "Do you trust me?" Trusting God is not just merely acknowledging Him to be God despite our circumstances. He calls us into so much more. He wants us to run to Him with our questions, our confusion, our concerns, and still trust His heart towards us. When a number of things have not gone as hoped and you go through a season of loss, where do you go to get answers? We can talk to friends and spouses and receive encouragement and support but not necessarily answers. When Job talked with his friends, they lectured him and said he must have done something to either open the door to calamity or deserve God's punishment. Yet that was not the case. God was working something new in Job and for His kingdom. Numerous prophets in the Old Testament did exactly what God told them yet ended up thrown in prison or exile. The apostle Paul went from prison to shipwreck to prison. Are we to believe those instances are some kind of judgment from God against Paul?

I think not. Instead, these stories detail how God allows challenges to build something more powerful and more significant in the believer. He continues to use seasons of delay, loss, and discouragement to perfect His purposes. In such a season, we are forced to reconcile our false notions of Christianity with reality. Do we think being a Christian will assure us of an easy life? Let's examine that thought - did any of the followers of Jesus really live an easy life? They were stoned, jailed, crucified, persecuted, and hunted. Who would want that kind of life? Do we believe that if we are Christians everyone will like us? The Apostle Paul could not even get along with his own disciples, sending at least one to serve with others and having several quit altogether. Do we believe everything we lay our hands to will be blessed and we will reap riches just because we are believers? Jesus called the rich young ruler to sell everything he owned and follow Him. Yet, despite calling people to a harder life, Christianity spread like a wildfire even while those spreading the message met horrible fates. Why?

Because God was at work – for His kingdom and on behalf of His believers. Old thought systems and strongholds were being torn down so a new system of life could be established. Could it be possible God uses the same principles with us when we encounter hardship? When in the pressed places, we can more easily recognize our brokenness. It also becomes apparent our efforts are insufficient. We need God to work on our behalf and we more readily grant Him access. The challenge now, as then, is to recognize what forces are truly at work. When bad things happen for reasons out of our control, our first enemy is fear. We recognize control is an illusion and where do we turn? Do we turn to God? That is the first step of faith. God whispers, "Do you really trust me?" The next relates to whether we choose to acknowledge God is in charge of our circumstances or if we will fall back on our own understanding. We say we want to walk out on the water like Peter yet many times, like Peter, we fall back on our own understanding and start to sink in the waves. We must choose to keep our focus on God not our circumstances. Fear prowls nearby and growls at our uncertainty. Who will be God here? My own finite understanding or will I loose God to move beyond my limited perceptions? Again, God asks us, "Do you trust me?" And the question goes to the very heart of the matter. Do we REALLY trust God? Do we trust God to do better than what we ask for? Will we really go where He leads or do we want Him to respond in the manner we want and refuse to listen to anything else? When the answer to a healing prayer is 'no', do we still trust God?

The fundamental question God comes to us with is – "Do you trust me?" In our pressed places, we have the opportunity to allow God to reveal and free us from false perceptions and remove strongholds. We simply need to choose who will be God here, - God, fear, or our own understanding. Make no mistake, one of them will rule in this land. Fear will assail you repeatedly to keep you from moving forward in the plans God has for you. Our own flesh will rise up and insist on rational plans for escape from the pressed place. And God will whisper, "Do you trust me?" The whole process is about freeing us to move into the new land. Remember Joshua and Caleb who focused not on the giants in the Promised Land but on what God said. To move into the Promised Land, we have to surrender our earthly perceptions and choose to align ourselves with God more closely. Many times we want the promises of God but refuse to go through the transforming faith walk. The Promised Land is out there but we can only occupy the new place by trusting God.

So when God whispers, "Do you trust me?" He is really calling us into battle. The battle over faith and over the heart of God. Will I walk on in faith, trusting God's plan, despite what the circumstances scream? Will I give in to fear or move forward in spite of it? Shakespeare sums up the battle well in the play Henry V – "Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more …"