Rising From the Ashes

How many times have we been in a situation where we cannot see how any good whatsoever can come of it? How many times has a door closed on an opportunity that felt so right? How many times has it felt like God has changed His mind when the answer seemed so clearly a "yes?" I can name at least six or more in the last five years, two being in the last three months. These are the situations that often leave us feeling desolate, hopeless, and afraid. Because we are so torn apart, we have no way of seeing how these situations can eventually turn out beautiful. We find it almost impossible to wait for God's timing, and nearly fail to realize what God is doing underneath the surface. But from the ashes of those fallen dreams, God is creating something elusive and captivating...if we are willing to persevere and trust Him.

When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, it created devastation...and a wasteland in what was once known as the most lush and beautiful place of Washington. Spirit Lake was completely filled with volcanic mud; fifteen square miles of trees were reduced to what looked like fallen down toothpicks; a combination of ash, rock and mud covered the earth for miles and miles, and killed all the surrounding wildlife. When I got to visit Johnston Ridge Observatory in 2001-twenty one years after the eruption- the area still looks like a wasteland. Nearly three miles from the foot of the volcano, you can see just about every square inch of ground. It is barren. It is a wasteland. It is dead. But this is only to an observer who does not look at the area around them. We were taking a walk on one of the trails, and all along on the sides, there are these tiny little flowers just starting to break through the earth. Twenty-one years of devastation! Yet, there is still new growth surfacing all over the ground. There are tiny trees beginning to grow again, but ever so slowly. And this new growth is beautiful; the bright colors among all the grayness of the devastation, the simple color of the tiniest flower is brilliant. It could take hundreds of years to get anywhere near what it once was, but God is making it happen, and creating something new from something that was destroyed.

Now think about this; we have experienced something horrible, something that shattered our dreams, or God said "no" to an opportunity that seemed right in so many ways. Our first reaction is to mourn the death of this thing, whatever it may be. We cry, we get angry, we can't see how on earth we could have hoped for this, or we blame God for ruining our lives. But what if we looked past what once was and begin looking forward on what could be? What is God doing in your life through all these things? They may not be enjoyable, but they could bring you unfathomable joy. It may take a long time, but God will never put any of us through a) more than we can handle, and b) something that is not for our own good. But we can only see these things if we're willing to persevere and allow Him to work in us at those times.

When these things happen, which they always will, one of our first instincts is to simply close our hearts up and not let anything or anyone in. Ultimately, even if your not intending to do this, your denying access of your heart to God. Scary, huh? When we need Him the most, we tend to shut Him out the most. It's definitely not easy, but if you let God in and allow Him to sculpt your life and character from the ashes of whatever has happened in your life, He will create something glorious and captivating. The road may not be easy- actually, that's an understatement. The road will NOT be easy, but it will be worth it if your willing to struggle through it and keep faith that God knows what He's doing. After all, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" -1 Corinthians 2:9

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

What I find incredibly discouraging is when we think we've finally learned to deal with or live with something, and it's in the back of our mind, our fondest memories begin to get clouded over by the thought of it. You can be having the time of your life, then suddenly something reminds you of it, and your past begins to take hold of your life again...and again...and again. That's when this journey we're on becomes a slow walk.

Another Page, Another Grand Adventure

What's really exciting in life is when we can turn a page in the story, and there's an illustration on the other side....you can see where God is taking you, and what He is doing in not only your life, but also your character as your continuing to let Him take hold of your life. That's when this adventure becomes exciting again.

The North Wind and the Sun

The North Wind and the Sun had an argument one day. They disputed which of them was the stronger. A traveler came along the road at that time, and the Sun suggested a way to resolve the argument. Whoever was able to cause the traveler to remove his coat would be the stronger. The Wind accepted the challenge and the Sun hid himself behind a cloud. The Wind began to blow. Yet the harder he blew, the more the traveler clutched his coat about himself. the Wind sent rain, even hail. The traveler clung even more desperately to his coat. Finally, in despair, the Wind gave up. The Sun came out and began to shine in all his glory upon the traveler. Quite soon the man had removed his coat. "How did you do that?" asked the Wind. "It was easy," said the Sun. "I lit the day. Through gentleness I got my way."

Something about this struck me when I read it today. I remember hearing it when I was younger, but never really got anything out of it. Funny, I can see so many areas where it can apply now. Church, friends, life. Isn't this what God calls us to do? When the bad times come, aren't we supposed to cling to him more? When the wind blows more fiercely than it ever has before, shouldn't we weather through it and wait for the sun to come through? It's amazing how easily we lose sight of that; how when one thing goes wrong, we tend to just lose hope and stop waiting for the good to come out again.

But guess what? It does. And even if we feel that nothing else can go wrong, it usually does. But in the end, it's all for a purpose, we just can't give up. If we give up, we give up faith as well. We begin to doubt, and to pity ourselves. But if we keep even an ounce of faith, and continue believing what we know is true, God will begin to unveil the things that we are here for. He'll begin showing us things we never dreamed were possible, and He'll begin showing us that faith really can move mountains, just not the type of mountains we think need moving.

And above all, He'll show us our hearts and invite us to share in this amazing mystery with him.

The sun will shine brighter tomorrow

I find it incredibly mysterious that when we think we can't take anymore disappointment or problems, and we basically hit the rock bottom we've been afraid of touching, we find the way out and can begin the journey back into the sunlight. It's amazing how when things aren't going anything at all the way we want, we lose sight of what God is doing in our lives because we're so focused on what we want to be doing, when all along He's been showing us where our true passions lie. It shocks me how mysterious God can be sometimes, and am honestly speechless that sometimes it takes crushing our desires to pieces in order to build up our passions

If we stick together, we can survive.

Dissension. It's a word right now that breaks my heart. As believers in Christ, we are called to work together against the forces of evil in the world and work for the development of the Kingdom of God. We are called to live lives in accordance to God and his teachings, and ultimately, to help each other along the way and stand as one.

During the first fight at the Colusium in Gladiator, Maximus (played by Russell Crowe) makes the statement "Whatever comes out of those gates, we have a better chance of survival if we work together. Do you understand? If we stay together, we survive." During the course of the next few scenes, you see man after man leave the circle of many to try to fight his own battle, each falling with the same fate; death. The men crowd in a circle, with their shields raised (for those of you that saw "300" it's much like what they do at the end.) and as chariot after chariot threatens to crush them all, Maximus can be heard shouting "Hold! Hold! As one! Stay as one!" One body, one shild, one defense.

Shouldn't the church be much the same? We are all standing on the same Solid Rock, with the purpose of serving God and others; worshiping; obeying; learning; teaching; loving one another and growing from one another. Look how strong we could be! But as a result of a fallen world, the church we live in today is no longer such a thing as Eden. We must fight to stay strong as ONE wall.

Look at the church like a dam; It is solid, bulit of steele, cement and rock. Impenetrable. Immovable. Unsinkable. It holds trillions of gallons of water with it's strength and does not give way, as long as it is in one piece. But then something creates a scratch. As tides and currents wash over it, it becomes bigger and deeper, under the surface where no one knows about it. Then it becomes a crack, and water starts seeping through, constantly corroding the solidness until one day, the crack becomes a leak, and the dam gives way all together. If the scratch had been seen, and something done about it, could the flood have been prevented?

Of course. Don't you see? As we become stronger in our faith, daily walk with God, and life, and as our churches and bodies of Christ become stronger, we give Satan more of a reason to try to "scratch" us, knowing that as human beings, we have the free will to look at a small situation and let doubt take hold of us. If one member suffers, we all suffer. If one member goes on his own way to find the way himself and secure his own victory, he is forced to fight his way alone; instead of being attacked only on one side while reinforced on the others, he can be attacked on all sides. Satan knows that if just one person begins doubting one simple fragment of truth, that person will eventually let it fester and will turn to another believer for help, wisdom, discernment. But then that person may look at it too with the same doubt. It all boils down to how people react to things, and how much pride we will eventually take on and where we let things go wrong. Satan's plan eventually leads to the doubt of many, and once the leak begins, there is dissension and distrust.

Why can't people let go of their pride and listen to logical reason (not even logical really, but biblical) and realize that they are under attack? If they stand as one again, they could be even stronger than they were before. But how long will it take to fix the crack?