I am not much of a thrill seeker. I have no desire to step out of a perfectly safe airplane or jump off a cliff tethered to a harness only secured by a rubber band. Fast motorcycles, not my cup of tea either. I do however like roller coasters, so long as the lap bar keeps me safe and secure in my seat. Let me explain.
 
When Robyn and I were dating we often went to Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which was near her hometown. We enjoyed riding the wooden roller coaster known then simply as The Coaster. It has since been renamed the Thunderhawk; built in 1924 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, the most predominant manufacturer of roller coasters in the United States.

One beautiful summer evening we boarded the ride as we had done many times. We sat in the first car. Prior to the ride leaving the station, the attendant checked that all the lap bars were locked into place. We snuck a quick kiss as the coaster began its chug up the first hill. Near the top we heard a click and suddenly our lap bar unlocked. We looked at one another with fear in our eyes as we anticipated being thrown from the car as it sped down the first hill. I cannot remember much about the thrill of the ride that evening, but needless to say, we survived, probably no worse for the wear, and it sure does make for a great story.

Life is like that roller coaster. One minute you are slowly chugging up the hill and then the next minute you are plummeting down the other side at breakneck speed with the g-forces pushing you into your seat. Then, all of a sudden you whip around a turn, and even with the lap bar tightly securing you, you are lifted out of your seat, feeling if you are about to be launched into the air. After several more minutes of being bounced around, the ride comes to a rapid screeching halt, and you jerk forward before being snapped back into your seat. You get off dazed and dizzy only to get in line once again. Sound familiar?
 
While life constantly changes like the movements of an amusement park ride, and we tend to be happy or sad, excited or discouraged, energized or exhausted based upon whether the roller coaster of life is traveling up the hill, down the hill, or flying around a turn, one thing remains the same through it all, and that one thing this – God is forever loving, faithful and unchan

ging. The theological word is “immutable,” which simply means not changing or unable to change.
 
There are numerous references in Scripture to the immutability of God. One such reference is found in Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” This unchanging nature of Jesus also gives a measure, a model, for our conduct, conduct that should not change with the shifting tides of culture.

In Malachi 3:6, God affirms, “I the LORD do not change.” The context (v.7) of this verse is that while unfaithful Israel deserved annihilation, survival is not due to their own merit. Quite the opposite; the only reason they have not been wiped out like Edom (Malachi 1:1-4) is because God is faithful, He does not change, His promises are both unchangeable, certain, and eternal (Hebrews 6:13-20).

In the Hebrews passage referenced above, v.19 talks of “a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.” To read more about its significance, click here.

So, whether you are slowly chugging up the incline or rapidly speeding down the hill, whipping around a turn, being pushed into your seat, or lifted out of your seat, you can be assured that while life’s lap bar does occasionally come unlocked, failing to keep you safe, in God, through Jesus, you always have a safe and steadfast anchor for your soul.

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When is the last time you said to yourself that you have too much – too much money, too much love, too much success, too much time, etc.? I am sure most of you have never said that, not even once. But on the contrary, many of us see ourselves as not having enough. You say if I only had more money, more friends, more time, more energy, more influence, more education, and maybe even more trust in God. You see yourself as not having enough. We limit what we do because we don’t think we have enough. We don’t think we don’t have what it takes. We feel under-supplied, under-funded, and under-trained. We convince ourselves that we just don’t have enough.

Right now, as I continue to recover from a stroke, I have real thoughts as to whether or not I will have “enough” neurological or physical capacity to do the things I still want to do in life. It is a reality that I am not able to function in some areas of my life at the level in which I did before my stroke. But it is also true that if I allowed myself to buy into my “not enough” feelings, those feelings could become excuses for not doing those things I want to do. And maybe worse yet, not fulfilling the plans and purposes God has for me.      

While the culture often tells us that we don’t have enough – isn’t that the underlying theme of most advertising – God, on the other hand, tells us that in and through Him, we will always have enough. You are probably familiar with a story found in all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) in which five loaves of bread and two fish feeds a very large crowd. We are told the people ate until they were satisfied, and that there were leftovers. This story, while it does involve a miracle performed by Jesus, more directly points to the source of the miracle more than the miracle itself – it points to Jesus as being both our source and our provider. 

There is a similar story found in the Old Testament in which the prophet Elijah has an interaction with a poor widow who barely has enough flour and oil to make bread for herself and her son. Elijah instructs this widow to make him a small loaf of bread and then to go home and make a meal for herself and her son, promising that the jar of flour would not be used up and the jug of oil won’t not run dry.  

This woman was probably very confused, worrying about the scarcity she sees, yet she went away and did as Elijah told her. The story tells us they all ate for many days (v.15). Pretty cool, right! Well, the story does not end there. Here is what we read in v.16 – “For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.”

Did you get that? There was flour and oil left over! What at first appeared to be not enough, then looked to be just enough, was in fact more than enough. 

(To read this story in its entirety, 1 Kings 17:8-16.)

What does all this mean? It is about trust and obedience. This story is really nothing more than when you say, “I can’t do that,” God says, “Yes, you can!” It is about looking to God, through His Son Jesus, as your endless source and your faithful provider.

God wants you to offer everything you have, and everything you are, to Him, even if it is nothing more than a handful of flour or little jar of oil.

Where do you need God to make your not enough more than enough? What He did for the widow He can do for you too! So, today, will you trust God’s promise of “more than enough” rather than your “not enough”? It starts just as it did for the widow… “And she went and did as Elijah said” (v.15).

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When we moved back to Pennsylvania a few years ago, the farmhouse we were living in at the time had no office space, so I did most of my writing at the kitchen table. Every day as I wrote, one of our cats would very patiently wait for me to pet him. He just sat in the windowsill, in no hurry to go anywhere, simply waiting and waiting. When I got up, he got up, and followed me wherever I went. When I sat back down, back up into the windowsill he went. Just waiting. And to this day, as I sit at the computer and write, he still waits for me to pause and pet him, sitting in the chair next to me, just purring, just waiting, For the record, our other cat also sits at my feet, waiting as well. He has an agenda, however. He is waiting for me to give him treats. I could learn a lot from the patient waiting of our two cats.

In 2016, the Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians in seven games to win baseball’s World Series, which ended the 108-year drought for the Cubbies. Not only did winning the Series end that long drought, it also put to rest one of the longest running superstitions in professional sports. According to legend, in 1945, Chicago’s Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis brought his beloved pet goat to Game 4 of the World Series at Wrigley Field. Because of the goat’s odor, he was asked to leave the ballpark, and upon exiting, allegedly shouted, “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more.” The Cubs, who were up two games at the time, ended up losing Game 4, going on to lose the best-of-seven series, four games to three, and thus, “The Curse of the Billy Goat” was born.

Cubs fans had waited and waited for a championship, and they were tired of waiting. I imagine many of them had given up waiting, thinking the Cubs were destined to never again win baseball’s highest prize. Regardless of what you have been waiting for, I think you will agree; we are not a society that waits very well. I wrote a similar musing last week on this theme of waiting. If you missed that post, click here to read it.

For some of you, you too are in the midst of a long dry spell, and you wonder when it will end. Or maybe you have been praying for something for what seems like an eternity, but so far, no answer from God. Or at least not the answer you hope for.

Usually when we think of waiting, we think passive, sit back with feet propped up, and wait – “I will wait until it stops raining to go outside.” But waiting on God is anything but passive. In Psalm 27, David expresses that waiting on God involves trusting (vv.1-3), seeking (4-6), and praying (7-12). And the hopeful psalm ends like this – “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (13-14).

“I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5).

So today, even if it seems like you have been waiting forever, maybe patiently, maybe not so patiently, know this – “The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him” (Lamentations 3:25).

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When my wife and I lived in North Carolina, we experienced firsthand the effects of hurricanes. The winds, the rain, the flooding, all of those caused us great distress, wondering when the roof would blow off or when a flying object would come through our window or when one of our many trees would come crashing down.

During one storm we did have the top half of a 120-foot tall tree snap off in the wind. Our wooden deck and patio took a direct hit, but thankfully, our house only had minor damage. Our safe place that day – sitting in our living room, fearful, hearts racing, praying. Two months later, the bottom half of the tree also came down, this time however, not by the wind, but safely, by tree removal experts.  

In advance of another hurricane, we were forced to evacuate. Our safe place during that very devastating storm was in a hotel 140 miles away.

Where is your safe place? Where do you run to when you feel threatened or in need of rest? We all like those places of safety. As a child, the first place you probably wanted to run to when you were afraid was into the arms of a parent. Those comforting arms wrapped around you, holding you tight, offered a safe haven in the face of danger and fear. As a young boy living in Columbus, Ohio, my friends and build hideouts out of plywood, dirt, and tree branches. Without the secret password nobody could enter our fort. We were safe from grownups and girls. Maybe you ran and hit under your bed when your abusive father came home from a night of excessive drinking. As adults, we sometimes “run” to alcohol or medication to “hide” from the pain of life.  

Every one of us has a place we go, or an activity we engage in, when the storms of life begin to toss us to and fro. We all desire an anchor to hold us fast when the waves grow dangerous.

The truth is, no matter how secure we think that safe place is, it is not permanent; it can only bring temporary, not lasting, safety and security. The living room we sat in was only “safe” because the tree didn’t come crashing through the roof, potentially injuring or even killing us. The hotel room we sat in, it only provided us safe shelter for a few days, then we had to return to New Bern. Those comforting arms, they only hugged you for so long. That fort we built as kids, it usually collapsed within days, despite our architectural expertise. Your abusive dad found you hiding under the bed and you were safe no more. That bottle of wine you drank to soothe your pain, all it did was leave you with a nasty headache in the morning.

There are many names for God in the Bible. Just a few are: Elohim, which means the Creator God; El Shaddai, the Almighty God; Jehovah Jireh, the Lord Will Provide; Jehovah Rohi, the Lord My Shepherd; Jehovah El Elyon, the Lord God Most High; or how about, Emmanu-el, which is God With Us.

Today I want to look at another name, one found in Psalm 62:8; God Our Refuge – “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God (Elohim) is a refuge (Machase Lanu) for us.”

Psalm 62 is filled with other phrases, such as: God alone is my rock, my salvation, my fortress, my hope is from Him, and, in Him I will not be shaken. Do you believe that today?

We find this in Proverbs 18:10 – “The name of the LORD is a strong tower, the righteous runs into it and is safe.”

So, today, will you run to Elohim Machase Lanu, God Your Refuge? And will you thank Him for providing you shelter both in the storm and from the storm? God is your refuge, your protection, your unfailing and trustworthy strong tower.

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Think back to your childhood. You and a friend are walking home from the ice cream parlor and it is hot and humid, so you decide to take a shortcut through the neighbor’s shaded back yard. What sounded like a good idea turned out to not be so good when their big dog chased after you, almost biting your leg as you run for your life, and in the process, you dropped your ice cream, only to see that dog lick it.

Today many people put shortcuts of their computer’s desktop, which are nothing more than a quick and easy way to access frequently used programs, files, and folders. 

In life we often look for shortcuts as a way to get something done in less time and with less effort. The marketplace is flooded with “guaranteed” ways to do things quicker, cheaper, and easier. A wise person does find ways to work smarter not harder, however sometimes shortcuts lead to less than desired results, while other times, shortcuts simply do not work. 

The same can be said of your relationship with God. Shortcuts do not work. In order to have a meaningful and intimate relationship with the triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) you need to pursue Him with every ounce of fiber within you. You cannot simply cut through someone’s backyard to make the journey easier. Psalm 42:1 puts it this way: “As the deer pants for water, so my soul pants for you, my God.”

Think of it this way… Someone holds your head under water for a period of time. Your lungs become emptied of oxygen and in those moments all your focus is on getting your head above water and taking another breath of fresh air. That is the same passion in which we are called to seek after God. And not knowing about God in the same way as you learned about George Washington in school, but rather, spending time with Him and in His Word, and in the process getting to really know God, allowing Him to change you, making you more like Him!

In Chapters 5-7 of the Gospel of Matthew we find what is known as the Sermon on the Mount; a collection of the teachings of Jesus. In one of those teachings, found in 7:13-14, Jesus talks about truly pursuing God and the ways of God. In Bibles that have chapter titles and subtitles this section is often titled, “The Narrow and Wide Gates.” Here is what we read, as taken from The Message:

“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easy-going formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life – to God! – is vigorous and requires total attention.”

So, today, I ask, are you content to casually look for God or are you desperate for Him? Are you happy just to know a few things about Him or are you longing for real intimacy with Him? The way to God and an abundant life requires your full effort and attention. Shortcuts do not work.

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How well do you know plants? Here is a quiz. Do all plants have leaves? Do all plants have flowers? Do all plants have roots?

If you answered yes to the question of whether all plants have leaves you would have been wrong. Leaves are defined as having veins, so plants such as ferns and algae that lack veins don’t technically have leaves.

If you said that all plants have flowers, you would have been wrong again. There are a number of non-flowering plants; plants such as horsetails, ferns, conifers, and mosses. These non-flowering plants reproduce by spores rather than by seeds or pollen from flowering plants.

And if you answered that all plants have roots, you would once again be incorrect. Single-celled plants that float on water, namely green algae and some varieties of seaweed, do not have roots and absorb water and minerals through their all their parts rather than through roots.   

Other than water-floating plants, roots are critical for plant growth and survival. Roots serve several functions: anchor and support the plant, absorb and distribute water and minerals, storage of carbohydrates, sugars and proteins for winter survival of perennials, creation of new plants, and help to prevent soil erosion.

If you have ever tried to dig out a bush from your yard, you know that the root system usually seems to take up half the yard. But without this complex root system, the bush you are removing would not be a living plant – it would be an assortment of dead brush. 

Just as plants need energy from sunlight, carbon dioxide from the air, and water and minerals to be absorbed and distributed by their roots to thrive and survive, they also need the roots to support and anchor them in all kinds of weather conditions. We human beings also face all kinds of conditions that threaten our foundation. Life is filled with expected and unexpected twists and turns, periods of drought that leave us feeling dry and parched and seasons of endless rain that cause us to feel as if we are drowning.

Without roots to feed them, plants will die, and without roots to anchor them, they will not survive droughts or hurricanes. Without being firmly grounded in Jesus, we too will not find nourishment and strength to sustain us through life’s never-ending cycles of prolonged periods of either not enough or too much rainfall.

Scripture tells us that we need to be rooted in Jesus. Here is what we find in Colossians – “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk with him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (2:6-7).

We find similar words in the Old Testament, a contrast between being rooted in (trusting in) man and manmade things or being rooted in God. Click here to read Jeremiah 17:5-8.

In the Parable of the Sower, we find what happens when Jesus cannot grow his roots deep within us. In this parable, one about the condition of the soil, the farmer scatters seeds, which fall in various places. When we are like the stone path or the rocky places in this story, neither well suited for growing anything, here is what we read is the result – “But when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away” (Matthew 13:6). I encourage you to read both the parable (Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4:1-9) and the explanation of the parable (Matthew 13:18-23, Mark 4:10-20).  

So, where do you find your nourishment and strength? How deep and how wide do your roots go in Jesus? Or maybe, I will ask it this way – Is your soil well-conditioned, allowing the roots of Jesus to go deep and wide in you?

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