Life is not always easily explained. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations and circumstances that make perfect sense to us, while other times, it feels like we are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometimes the reason we find ourselves in a certain place or situation becomes evident right away while other times that answer eludes us, and we scratch our heads wondering, “Why?” And isn’t it true that often the reason is made evident when that situation is in our rear view mirror, and at that time the light bulb comes on and we say, “Oh yes, now I understand.”

It is also true that God has us in certain situations that from our limited perspective just makes no sense. While we can only see to the horizon, God sees past the horizon. He sees all the way around the planet. God knows the whole story; His plans and timing are always perfect.

In the Bible we see the story of Esther and Mordecai. In the Old Testament book of Esther we read that King Xerxes had a falling out with Queen Vashti and he then handpicks Esther to become the new queen of Persia (2:17). Mordecai, who is Esther’s cousin, refuses to bow down to Haman, who is a high official of the king. Haman becomes angry and plots to destroy all the Jews (Esther and Mordecai are both Jews) in the kingdom. Mordecai hears of this plot and reports it to Esther, but she does not want to tell the king of Haman’s plan because nobody, not even the queen, was allowed to approach the king without his invitation to do so.  

Mordecai persuades Esther to help, and we read these words in 4:14 – “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”  

Esther agrees to talk to the king (4:15-17). She begs for protection of her Jewish people from Haman’s wicked plan. The king believes her story (7:1-6) and he eventually impales Haman on a pole that was intended to kill Mordecai (7:7-10). Fast forward to the end of the story and we see that Esther’s faith and courage saves her people.

So, today I ask – Are you trusting that whatever position of life situation that you find yourself in, it is because God has allowed it “for such a time as this?”

Now I encourage you to read the entire book of Esther. It is a short book, only ten chapters. And did you know that Esther is one of only two books in the Bible that do not specifically mention God by name? However, the second, Song of Solomon, has one verse (8:6) that can be interpreted different ways, thus leading to some translations to insert LORD into the text while others do not.   

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The start of the college football season is less than one week away! The game today looks nothing like it did back in 1869 when the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) Tigers and Rutgers Queensmen played the first intercollegiate game, won by Rutgers 6-4. The teams played again a week later, this time with Princeton winning 8-0. The two games were played with rules very different from today’s game and were also played under home field rules that differed from each other.

The origins of what we in America call football can be traced back to the Middle Ages when opposing teams would kick around the cranium of a dead person. Mercifully, by the 1400s, skulls had been replaced by inflated swine bladders. Thus, the nickname for a football – pigskin.

Walter Camp is commonly referred to as the Father of American Football. He first played halfback at Yale University from 1876-1882, then went on to coach at both Yale and Stanford while becoming an innovator of the game, creating, among other things, the 11-man team, line of scrimmage (taken from the scrummage in rugby) and the system of downs. His Yale coached teams went 67-2 during his five years in New Haven, Connecticut.

Football continues to evolve and change. Every year rules and safety committees, from rec leagues all the way to the pros, are continually improving the product on the field as well as making the game safer. Not only does the game itself to evolve, but as players get bigger, faster, and stronger, the pads and protective gear continue to improve as well. Football at all levels   

We too need to look at our own lives and evaluate what is and is not working, looking for ways to continually improve ourselves. We should always be a work in progress, seeking to become a better version of ourselves. The ability to do that comes from the Holy Spirit. If you are a follower of Jesus, you are called to become like Jesus. In 1 Peter 2:21 we read – “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”

When you said “yes” to Jesus, you also said “yes” to the Holy Spirit. He lives in you, desiring to guide your every step and thought. These words are found in 1 Corinthians 3:16 – “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” The problem is that we leak, and we need to continually be re-filled with the Spirit’s presence.

So, today, ask God to put His finger on those areas in your life that need to be remanufactured and retooled, what needs to made better, changed, or scrapped altogether. Ask Him to guide you and help you turn from a life focused on the desires of your flesh to more fully walking by the Spirit. (Read Galatians 5.) Ask Him to re-fill your leaky cup with His Spirit. In Ephesians 3:19, the apostle Paul prays that the faithful in Jesus Christ will be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

And I will just end with these cheers for my two favorite teams – Go Bucks and Marauder Pride!

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In a world of perpetual change, what is the one constant every morning? You might not always be able to see this event, but it happens every day, regardless of what day of the week it is or whether is it spring, summer, fall or winter. It happens whether you are awake or asleep. Nothing stops it, nothing speeds it up or slows it down. At places like the eastward-facing beaches, people wake up early, often on vacation, just to witness this event. Any guesses as to what it is?

I am sure you know the answer… sunrise.

Technically speaking, although the sun appears to rise from the horizon, it is actually the motion of the earth that causes the sun to appear. And astronomically speaking, sunrise only lasts for a brief instant; that moment in time when the upper limb of the sun appears tangent to the horizon. While sunlight is actually a blending of all colors, as it is low on the horizon and travels through the atmosphere, the shorter wavelength colors (blues and violets) get scattered out, leaving more of the longer wavelength colors like yellow, orange, and red, which are then reflected off clouds and other particles, creating a beautiful sunrise. But let’s not get bogged down in the technical and astronomical aspects of a sunrise. Who doesn’t like to watch the sun rise in the morning? To see the sun pop up over the horizon is always such a beautiful sight.   

When the sun comes up a new day is dawning. A fresh start. Yesterday is in the history books and tomorrow is still another sunrise away. So, don’t let the troubles from yesterday or the worries about what may or may not happen tomorrow steal the beauty and joy of today. Ask God to provide all that you need for today. Accept what He gives you as your “food” for today. See Exodus 16 to read about how the Israelites were grumbling to Moses and Aaron about what they perceived as a lack of food as they journeyed to Sinai, and how the Lord responded to them.  

In the Lord’s Prayer, when Jesus teaches us these words, “Give us today our daily bread,” He is telling us that we should pray for our needs and not our greeds. Jesus taught this in the context of the workers of that day often being paid one day at a time, so they truly knew the meaning of living hand to mouth. 

And in the third chapter of Lamentations we find these words – “The LORD’s unfailing love and mercy still continue, Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.The LORD is all I have, and so in him I put my hope. The LORD is good to everyone who trusts in him” (22-25).

Lamentations is a series of expressions of grief (laments) regarding the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. I believe the heart of this book is found in those four verses, challenging us to be devoted to hope in the Lord, standing strong amid a crumbling world around us.   

A new day is dawning! Will you make the following words your prayer right now and then again tomorrow and every morning thereafter?

Dear Father, I look to You today as my Provider for all that I need today. I will have faith that today’s bread is all that I need today and that tomorrow You will give me tomorrow’s bread. Thank you for being my Loving Father and Provider. Amen  

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Close your eyes for a minute and picture yourself walking through a beautiful garden full of spectacularly colored flowers, along a deserted beach as the waves lap at your feet, or through the rainforest in Brazil with its magnificent array of color. Maybe you’ve vacationed in the Caribbean and been captivated by the crystal clear blue water and stunning white beaches. Or it could be you have visited New York City during the Christmas Season, with all its spectacular lights and pageantry.

Regardless of the location, we humans enjoy beautiful scenery or landscapes. Psychologists state that we experience a positive mental effect or sensation when we see beautiful scenery and landscapes. We often describe those moments as breathtaking or “it took my breath away.”

There is also something about mountains, with their lush foothills, snow-capped peaks, and spectacular views that is breathtaking. In between mountains are valleys; that low area formed by erosion of the land by a river or stream. Valleys are often picturesque, but we sometimes miss their beauty due to the grandeur of the mountains that surround them.

Life’s journey is often described using mountain and valley language. When something has given us joy or excitement we say “I’ve had a mountaintop experience” and when the opposite occurs, we find ourselves “in the valley.” We want to walk on the mountaintops, but want nothing to do with the valleys.

It is in those moments when we find ourselves in the valley that God does His best work. We tend to cry out to God when we are looking up at the big looming mountains more so than when we stand on the top of the hill looking down at what is below. I have been there, and, be honest, so have you. Maybe you are there right now.

We learn more in our valley experiences than on our mountaintops. We learn more about ourselves and we learn more about God. And even though you might not always be able to see God in the valley, He is there. When the resurrected Jesus spoke to His disciples in what is known as the Great Commission, His final words to them, and to you today, were – “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mt. 28:20b).

So, today, in the midst of the whether the scenery you are looking at is stunning and spectacular, or all you see are the sides of mountains that seem to rise to insurmountable heights, hear these words found in Deuteronomy 31:8, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

The images in this post were taken by and are the property of my friend Tom Herr.

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Aging isn’t always a fun process. Everything just seems to take more time and more effort with each passing year. What I could once do without thinking now sometimes takes a concerted effort to pull it off. My mind says “yes, go for it” while my body says “ain’t no way!” I walk downstairs or into another room only to forget why I went there in the first place. On the flipside, with age comes maturity, but even that I sometimes wonder about.

While it is inevitable that our bodies and minds begin to fail us, and we become physically weaker, if we continue to pursue God and grow in intimacy with Him, our faith grows stronger, even as everything else is deteriorating. We find that very truth in 2 Corinthians 4:16. While I want us to focus in on v.16, let’s look at that section within its context. I encourage you to never just read one verse. Instead read that verse within the verses that come before and after it. All meaning is context dependent. In this chapter Paul is writing about his confidence in God’s ability to sustain him and in his great hope in the future.

Now here is vv.14-18 – “(14) We know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and present us with you. (15) Indeed, everything is for your benefit, so that grace, extended through more and more people, may cause thanksgiving to increase to God’s glory. (16) Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. (17) For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. (18) So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Elsewhere in Scripture we see that if we continue to press in closer to Jesus, and not allow our faith to deteriorate like our bodies and minds, that we will remain green and fresh. Here is what we find in Psalm 92:12-15 – “The righteous will spring up like a palm tree. They will grow strong like a cedar of Lebanon. Those who have been replanted in the LORD’s house will spring up in the courtyards of our God. They will bear fruit even when old and gray; they will remain lush and fresh in order to proclaim: “The LORD is righteous. He’s my rock. There’s nothing unrighteous in him” (CEV).

And as you look in the mirror and see gray hair, know too that is a crown to be worn proudly, as you walk out a life lived in pursuit of God. If you don’t believe me, click here.

So, regardless of your age, or the condition of your body and mind, never stop pursuing more of God. Doing so will keep you fresh, just as God is fresh every day. Let me end with this – “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lamentations 3:22-24).

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Do you find yourself running after one thing and then another, always looking for the proverbial carousel’s brass ring, which offers you some sort of prize, temporary peace, temporary contentment? Let’s be honest, we all tend to look for peace and contentment in a variety of places, many of which if they provide any satisfaction at all, it is only fleeting. What do we when the satisfaction is gone? Likely get back on the carousel ride and hope to grab the brass ring again.

God offers a calming peace to those who trust in Him. It is not a brass ring kind of peace; grab it, rejoice in it for a few moments, then give it back to the ride operator. Instead, He offers a peace that flows like a river. Picture a continually flowing river that brings a perpetual source of nutrients, abundance, and freshness to the land around it. Now let’s read Isaiah 66:12 – “For this is what the LORD says: I will make peace flow to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flood; you will nurse and be carried on her hip and bounced on her lap.”  

NOTE: Isaiah 66 is a chapter about rejoicing in Gods ultimate victory. It is the book’s final chapter and in order to get the context of v.12, I encourage you to take time to read all 24 verses. Click here to read Isaiah 66 in its entirety.  

I believe some background for v.12 is found in Isaiah 8:6-8 and 9:7.

Isaiah 8:6-8 – The prophet pictures Assyria, the cruelest enemy Israel (Northern Kingdom) and Judah (Southern Kingdom) ever faced, flooding the entire kingdom, the Euphrates River deluging the land. In v.8, the metaphor seemingly changes from an overpowering river (rebellion) to some sort of predator in the sky. However, I don’t think the prophet was implying another predator. Instead, how about the outspread wings belonging to the Lord and despite repeated rebellion, He continues to offer protection.

Isaiah 9:7 – The promise of increasing peace because of the Messiah’s never-ending rule and reign.

So, in 66:12, the picture shifts to the overflowing river of God’s protection providing peace and prosperity.

As a rebuke of stubborn Israel, and a warning to you and me today, we find these words in Isaiah 48:18 – “If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.”

I see the takeaway as this – trusting the Lord and obeying His commands offers you and me God’s enduring peace and nurturing! Look at 66:12 again: “For this is what the LORD says: I will make peace flow to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flood; you will nurse and be carried on her hip and bounced on her lap.”  

God’s faithfulness to His children is never-ending, despite our continuing rebellion (our sinful nature). Will you right now, even if you do not feel worthy of it, accept, and embrace the “peace like a river” offered by a God who cares for you? Will you also dedicate your life to following God, worshipping Him and not the endless gods, the brass rings, offered by the world in which we live?

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