Deep Breath, Right Direction

I have thought a lot about Psalm 23. We went over it in Bible study recently and it was mentioned again on Sunday morning at church. I looked it up in the message and I just love the way the first three verses are translated. It says, “God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. “

What tenderness and care we are given from our good and great “Shepherd”. We are in need of nothing, because He satisfies us, in a way only He can, that we are to want no more. The part of the passage that gives me goose bumps is “True to your word, you let me CATCH MY BREATH and send me in the RIGHT DIRECTION.” What a great illustration of the love of Christ. We all have those days, where they are overwhelming and stressful, and the next person to approach us might just get the effect of the day we have. In those moments we think if we could just take a second and catch our breath that we would be able to continue despite the madness. Where do you run to catch your breath? Do you run to the first person who will listen? Do you scream and fuss out of anger? Do you slam your fist on your desk and moan? Do you think if only you could get a hold of the person who upset you could give them “what they deserve”? I know sometimes I do, especially with people who are upset over the phone and call me at work to complain about something I don’t even have control over, yet I am put on the front line? The fact is, God is True to HIS WORD. He lets us catch our breath. There isn’t even a running requirement. He’s just there to let us catch our breath. I’m guilty of all of the above, but know that it would just be easier to bask in the “air” God gives us. To say, “Okay God, you are IN CONTROL.”

Now what about that “right direction” part of the passage. There are days, when I know and feel that I am where God wants me to be, but there are those days, when I don’t feel like I am where I am supposed to be in my walk with Him. Some days my walk with Christ can feel like a treadmill. I don’t know about you, but if you walk or run on a treadmill, it’s not really something one really desires to do. I mean think about it, who really wants to get up early and run? Okay, maybe those crazy people who really enjoy exercising, but I will be honest when the alarm says it’s 5:45 and time to get up to go to the gym, it’s not all rainbows and skittles, yet I'm still part of the crazies because I do that every once in awhile! Like a treadmill my walk with Christ can feel very repetitive. Going at the same pace, not deviating from the path, trying to do what’s right, over and over and over and over and over again. Some days my walk with Christ can feel like every 5 minutes there is another hurdle to jump over. Trying to trust God with everything, giving Him control once again over those things, that I surrendered to Him before. Some days my walk with Christ can feel like shoveling snow. When you start out and you can finally see a path that you created, just to realize that some of the snow (not all of it) blew back to make the path a little unclear. And other days my walk with Christ can feel like a GPS, saying “turn left, drive 5 miles to destination on right”(YOU MADE IT). But it’s not about the “feeling” of where our walk with Him may or may not be, rather knowing the TRUTH of GOD’s WORD…that HE LET’S US CATCH OUR BREATH, and SENDS US IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION…whether we “feel” like it or not. So whatever your “treadmill-like, snow hurdle GPS”  walk might be in, remember where your breath and direction come from!

Regaining Wonder

According to Webster wonder means to be filled with admiration, amazement, or awe; marvel. In working with children in the past I find that they have a higher awe factor than adults. For instance, take the 4^th of July. Have you ever sat outside and watched fireworks with a group of friends? Did they bring their children? Think about how the children reacted? The adults? Having 11 nieces  and nephews (and 1 on the way), the typical reaction of a child when they see fireworks is complete amazement. They say WOW to about everyone that is set off; that is if they are not traumatized by the loudness they produce and run screaming in the opposite direction. I will be honest, even though I adore children about the 10^th one that goes off, I’m usually annoyed with the ooohs and ahhhs for each one. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy watching fireworks and I’m sure you do as well, but a child regains WONDER come every firework every year. They find something in each one to AWE over. Whether it’s the vibrant colors, kaleidoscopic design, or the noises that can vibrate the very ground you stand on, children love fireworks. For some adults, the colors become dull, the designs become redundant, and they can’t stand the noise.

Just like fireworks, our faith can lose its spark, shape, and joy if we’re not careful. (Maybe that’s why the scriptures say that “anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” The message says it best, “These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.” Mark 10:13-31) How many times have you heard that same guilt-tripping sermon about (insert sermon topic of choice here)? How many Sunday mornings do you roll out of bed, and find your comfy normal spot? How many times have you sang the same worship song, that seems to have lost its meaning? Let’s face it, our faith can become stagnant over time, if we don’t learn, grow, and do all for the glory of Him and for His Kingdom! So why the burnout? Why the lack of spiritual energy? Is it really all those “church” related issues or are those the easiest target to cast blame? I remember growing up and fighting with my sister, and when it came time to confess who “started” it, the first thing that flew out of my mouth was always, “SHE DID IT”! Cause let's face it, it was her fault most of the time...Just Kidding...Sometimes I can get like that when I find myself searching for that “wonder” and “awe”…when in reality I have no one to blame but myself.

So how does one regain that wonder?

In reading Beauty Will Save the World I have discovered what it means to regain wonder in our Lord. Brian Zahnd writes, “We wonder at two things-the beautiful and the mysterious. A life stripped of beauty and mystery is a life barren of wonder, and a life without wonder is a kind of deep poverty.” The author depicts the incarnation of Jesus as a beautiful and mysterious wonder. It’s the idea that the Word, the idea, the reason, the reflection , the meditation, the self-understanding of God became HUMAN! He says, “The tragedy of growing up is not that we put aside childishness, but that we lose the capacity for childlike wonder. As children we dream of finding our own real-life adventure…the loss of wonder is what we experience as boredom, and boredom is a real problem.” I think sometimes we lose the wonder because instead of just looking at something amazing and saying “how awesome”, we try to figure it out or put reason behind its existence. Why does the sun produce such color schemes? How did this gigantic hole become The Grand Canyon? We try to rationalize what we visualize. However, when we focus on the incarnation we find it’s “an eternal fountain of mystery and wonder. And in the mystery and wonder of the incarnation… is found the BEAUTY that SAVES the WORLD.”

In thinking through the incarnation and what it’s wonder I ran across the Lord’s Prayer in The Message version, and I love it, and wanted to share with you what it says…

Matthew 6:9-13

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

What wonder in a simple prayer, prayed by our Father. So this week when you’ve got the “spiritual blahs” remember the WONDER of God. Dig deep into HIS WORD…and just reach out your hand. The beauty is, all you have to do is reach…He will secure your hand in HIS, and bring you into His arms!