Dear Subscribers and Readers of my Deep Water Musings blog,

I appreciate you reading my writings. I am humbled and honored and thank you for the privilege of your time. Since my stroke in November 2021, everything takes more time and effort. I need a short break. Therefore, I will be taking a couple of weeks off from writing to rest and recharge. In the meantime, if you are so inclined, you can always find old posts on the Archives page. You can anticipate seeing new posts sometime in the middle of February. Until then, peace, out.

Dave

You have likely heard the saying, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

I disagree with the saying. I believe that the bruises caused by sticks and stones heal much quicker than the deep wounds often caused by name calling. I was made fun of as a young child and into my teen years for my speech impediment and to this day those wounds still rear their ugly head from time to time. My many broken bones and bruises, cuts and scrapes, are all long healed, long forgotten, but the name calling, it still hangs around. Just being honest.

The harmful words that come out of our mouths are sometimes well calculated, fully intended to cause hurt, other times, they just come out in the heat of the moment. And sometimes it is not so much what is said, but rather how it is said that causes hurt.

Words spoken to someone can also bring great encouragement and hope to them. My college football coach, while often critical of on and off the field actions, never once spoke harmful words. His criticism of what we did or did not do motivated us to become better.

When I sat for an interview for acceptance into Vineyard’s ministry school, as I was bumbling my way through telling the director my life’s journey, at some point he stopped me, and said these very words – “Dave, there is something in you that I just love, and even though you don’t believe in yourself, I do.” The trajectory of my life changed in that very moment, and over two decades later those words still sit sweetly in my soul.

When I regularly preached, on the drive home, I would ask my wife for feedback. Regardless of the critique, her words were always honest, shared out of love. They were helpful not harmful. That is why I always asked her.

There are times when things need said that are difficult for the listener to hear. We cannot be afraid to say what needs said, but hard words do not need to be harsh words. Hard words tend to hurt in a helpful way whereas harsh words, they hurt in a harmful way.    

The Bible speaks frequently about guarding what comes out of our mouths. Let me share four verses –

 Proverbs 12:18 (NIV) – “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Swords inflict deep wounds.

Ephesians 4:29 (GNT) – “Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.” Are you a builder-upper or a tearer-downer?

Colossians 4:6 (ESV) – “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” Salt has six functions in food: preservative, flavor, texture, and color enhancer, binding agent, source of nutrients.

Proverbs 16:24 (ESV) – “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” Is there anything sweeter than honey?

So, is what you speak to others seasoned with salt, preserving, enhancing, and helping? Sweeter than honey? Or do your words cause harmful and deep wounds that pierce like a sharp sword?  

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We all know two types of people. Those who play it safe and those who are risk-takers. Some people love the adrenaline rush that comes with risk taking. I, on the other hand, am not normally much of a thrill seeker.

Even for the most adventurous risk-taker, I am sure they try to eliminate as many potential risks as possible. Removing needless danger makes sense, in all aspects of life, not just in thrill-seeking activities. You don’t spend a day at the beach without putting on sunscreen. You don’t go outside in sub-freezing temperatures without a coat. You don’t take a hot muffin pan out of the oven with your bare hands. Not putting on sunscreen or a coat or using oven mitts, that would just be foolish.

But, for Jesus-followers, risk is part of the game. John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard Movement, spelled faith – r i s k. Obeying God is regularly a risky thing. Uncertainty is an element of faith.  

All throughout history, and on the pages of the Bible, we find people who obeyed God in risky situations. The list of well-known names is almost endless. But think about those folks who risk it all for the sake of Jesus and never make the pages of history. That list is endless as well. Maybe you know someone like that. Maybe you are that person.

How about Ananias, a little-known disciple of Jesus, whom God sent to minister to the recently converted and now blind Saul. Ananias was keenly aware of Saul’s history – an unyielding persecutor of believers in Jerusalem. Saul was on his way to Damascus to do more of the same when he encountered Jesus along the way (Acts 9:1-9). What if Saul turned against Ananias? Sounds risky, right?  

Here is what we read – Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight” (Acts 9:10-12).

Ananias, probably not too excited about the request, answered the LORD this way – “But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name” (vv.13-14).

The text goes on to tell us that Ananias did the risky thing. He went to find Saul. The result – So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened” (vv.17.19).

We never hear about Ananias again. Saul became Paul, who is arguably the greatest and most effective preacher who ever lived. Both men took risks. Both were used mightily by God.

(There are two other men by the name of Ananias found in the Bible. The first, along with his wife Sapphira, were wealthy members of the early church. And the second, a high priest in Jerusalem during much of Paul’s early ministry.)

So, let me ask you, and I ask myself as well – Where is God calling you to trust Him, stepping out in faith, a faith spelled r i s k?   

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We live in a world that is orderly and predictable. Everything goes as planned. There are no surprises. Think of words like balance, unanimity, systematized, normality. All words to describe the planet on which we live and the cosmos that surrounds it. Wait? What? Right now, you are asking – what world do you live in?

Okay, I must be dreaming. Chaos is more like it. How about these words – disorder, confusion, unpredictable. Is there anything in us, under us, around us, above us, that is anything but chaotic? The world in which we live is one chaotic mess, spinning faster and faster, out of control. And not just on the ground, above us as well. Last year, physicists predicted that due to human activity, not only is the earth warming up, but we are headed toward chaotic climatic behavior, for which there will be no fix.

Since my stroke in late 2021, my brain has a difficult time in multi stimulation environments. I have a hard time differentiating between background noises or movements and the ones I am paying attention to. For example, say you are in a restaurant. You most likely are attentive to the person sitting across from you, enjoying conversation with them. And everything else around you are nothing more than in the background. You can hear the noises throughout the space, but it is only noise. The servers moving about around you, nothing more than movement. The guy playing the piano over in the corner, lovely music to add ambience. However, my brain wants to listen to all the noises and turn to watch all the movement. As you can imagine, that creates tremendous chaos within my brain.

So far, you might be thinking – this writing has conveyed a message that is anything but encouraging or hopeful. And you would not be too far away from the truth. This world that we find ourselves living in, on its own, is a big chaotic mess of colors.

Okay, is there hope or should we all just lock ourselves in the basement and ride this train to some bitter end? Let me be to the point. Without God, there is not real hope. With God, who turned chaos into the heavens and the earth, there is tremendous hope, not just for today, but for every moment in time hereafter. The Bible opens this way – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:1-2a).

God started with a world that was formless and empty, that was chaotic, and turned that chaos into an orderly creation. With God, disorder and chaos give way to order and peace. In Corinthians, we find these words – “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33a). Revelation gives us a glimpse into the end of the age which culminates with a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21); God restoring order to his creation after sin brought chaos and disorder.

And all throughout the pages of Scripture, from the first creation to this new creation, we find God offering you and me order instead of disorder, calm not chaos, hope rather than despair. Will you, today, and every day, put your hope and trust in an orderly God, rather than sink into hopelessness in our world, one filled with so much chaos, disorder, and hopelessness?

I do art therapy as a way to help by brain interpret and communicate the chaos swirling inside. Last week, as I started to paint, my overstimulated brain “saw” a chaotic mess, but gradually, as I continued putting paint on the canvas, and as my brain worked to quiet itself, I began to “see” what you see, a three-colored circle. A circle, that while not perfect, was no longer just a mishmash of colors either. Chaos gradually gave way to order.

The same can be said of God, and with God – chaos gives way to order!

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Imagine that you woke up this morning to find plaster crumbled on the living room floor and a small hole and crack in the wall. Not how you wanted to start your day. You sweep up the crumbs, so your cats don’t track them all through the house. The damage appears to be minor; you plan to fix it yourself after work by filling the hole, patching the crack, and then sanding and repainting the damaged area. The repair took longer than you hoped, but once done, you are pleased how it looks.

However, several weeks later, much to your dismay, once again there is a crack in that same wall. This time, rather than fix yourself, you call a professional. This handyman comes to your house and after a lengthy inspection tells you that your problem isn’t with the wall, but rather it is due to a shifting foundation. Your house’s foundation is cracked, thus causing it to shift, which in turn causes the plaster to crack. You need to stabilize your foundation first and then fix the cracks in the walls. If you do not first fix your foundation you will forever be repairing the cracks in your walls.  

Just as an unstable foundation in your house can cause all kinds of structural and interior problems, if you build your life upon the wrong foundation, you too will experience all kinds of “cracks and holes” in your walls. So often we rely on man and manmade things – job, financial security, investment portfolio, good health, good looks, family, reputation, government, etc. – only to have them fail and then we find ourselves sitting amongst a pile of bricks that has crumbled all around us.   

This principle of building our lives on Jesus’ foundation is about an attitude and a willingness to be obedient to God and God’s Word. It is the answer to this question, “Do you trust more in God and His promises or man and manmade things?

Jesus taught on this principle. In Matthew 7:24-27 we read these words – “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock.But everyone who hears these words of Mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. And its collapse was great!”

Today I encourage you to look at your own life and before you repair the cracked walls you should check to see that your foundation is on solid ground. Without a solid foundation the walls will just crack again and again. Where is your foundation weak? What do you need to do to shore it up? Did you know that “shore” has two very different usages? When used as a noun it usually references the land at the edge of the body of water. But, as a verb, it typically means to prop up, as in “We used wooden beams to shore up the damaged wall.”   

I will end with these lyrics, “On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand,” from the hymn “My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less” written by Edward Mote. Is your foundation built upon solid rock or shifting sand? Ask God today to give you a faith that helps you anchor yourself to His firm foundation, to shore you up. Then you can begin to repair the cracks in your walls. 

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We are a society that likes to stockpile food and supplies. We buy many things in bulk; sometimes it is because we get a better price per unit for buying in bulk, other times it is simply because we want to have enough for today and tomorrow, and the ninety days after that! Have you ever gone to the grocery store right after a hurricane or blizzard has been forecast? Some shoppers really seem to be “stocking up.” You think to yourself – are the effects of the storm really going to last that long?

In cold weather states, transportation agencies have a stockpile of de-icing products ready to spread on roads when conditions become hazardous. Some states mix beet juice with the salt brine because the sugar from the beets helps to further lower the freezing point of ice. The CDC’s Strategic National Stockpile, which came under tremendous scrutiny during the height of the COVID pandemic, is our country’s repository of medicines and supplies. This stockpile dates back to 1998. Then-President Clinton, after reading a novel in which a mad scientist spread a virus throughout New York City, met with scientists and his cabinet officials to discuss the threat of bioterrorism. Soon thereafter, funds were appropriated by Congress, and the stockpile was created.         

On the contrary to stockpiling, God gives us what we need only when we need it. He does not give us today what we will need tomorrow, only what we need for today. Tomorrow’s provision will come tomorrow, when we need it. Even though we would like tomorrow’s provision today, we really don’t need it until tomorrow. And He wants us to trust that what He provides today is all we need for today.

In Exodus 16, after the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea and as they were on their journey to Sinai, they began to grumble at Moses and Aaron, frustrated that before Moses led them into the desert they “sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death” (16:3).

The Israelites were accustomed to having all the food they wanted, which was more than they probably needed, and now they are in the desert and food was becoming scarcer by the day. God responds this way (vv.4-5) – Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

God is testing the faith of the Israelites. The test is really very simple. The people are to gather food provided by God each morning, but only enough for that day. On the sixth day they are to gather enough food for two days. The lesson to be learned is that God is the supplier of our every need, and He provides what we need when we need it, not necessarily what we want when we want it. Jesus offers a similar petition in the Lord’s Prayer – “Give us today our daily bread.”

In Psalm 145:15-16 we find this – “All eyes look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

So, I ask you – are you willing to trust God to meet all your needs, when you need them met, not when you want them met? There is no need to stockpile.

If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.