Looking Forward to Looking Back
I’m certain beyond doubt that some who read this post may be surrounded by circumstances you wish could be left behind. Relationships, Finances, Health. Whatever. Any or all of these, and more, have become almost more than you can bear. You’re looking forward to the time when you can look back.
I’ve been there, and my family. Nothing seemed to go right, disappointment led to disillusionment and that turned to despair. If that’s you today, don’t lose heart. God is faithful. He is worthy of your trust.
About 30 years ago, when the faint light of hope started to brighten our future, I wrote Looking Forward to Looking Back, and share it now in hopes that it will be an encouragement to you. Looking back I can see that He was always there, and that his plan always held a hope and a future.
Looking Forward to Looking Back
It’s time to write.
Write about hospitals and hopelessness.
Of pride, arrogance, and judgment.
About pain. And how it changes things forever.
About humiliation. And standing in its harsh glare.
Of prayers that fall unanswered.
And some never offered.
Is Anyone listening? Is Anyone there?
The panic of helplessness.
The fear of being discovered.
Roller coaster emotions.
The absence of feeling.
A hardened spirit.
Lord, soften him.
Financial freefall.
Losing a job.
A house
And almost a marriage.
Of surgery failed. I had to try.
Of healing services that didn’t. And wondering, why?
Yes, it’s time to write.
Write about God’s faithfulness.
His kindness.
Daily mercies.
Forgiveness.
About His power not just to change, but make new.
Of His promise to complete what He starts.
Even when we don’t see His hand.
He is there.
Always.
And write about friends.
Who were there also.
Listening.
Sharing.
Praying.
Caring.
Demonstrating that they know Him.
By their love.
Our story.
Its telling is not easy.
Because it was not easy.
But it is told with great joy.
Because it brought great joy.
Lord, bless its telling.
A Critical Crossroads
We need to decide what kind of world we want to live in, and what kind of a world we want our children to inherit.
The choice has never been more clear. Do we want a world where we can never move beyond our mistakes, where once we’ve fallen we can never recover? A world that rummages through our past, no matter how long ago and what has happened since, in order to discover something now considered a “sin” so it can be used to discredit us forever? Is this the world we want for ourselves and our children?
Or would we rather live in a world that knows forgiveness, permits restoration and offers grace? Which world will we choose?
“He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” These were the words of Jesus to the Pharisees of his day. But our modern “Pharisees” only define sin in terms of what others do. They only recognize their own authority, and in doing so they become authorities unto themselves. The Constitution that has been America’s written governing authority for nearly all of our history, is now being swept aside and replaced because it constrains the desires of a privileged few who claim to be on the right side of history. Their claims, though, are false, and either expose ignorance of actual history or their fear that historical knowledge is a threat to their goal of erasing and re-writing it.
When anyone in a position of authority is not under authority themselves, there is no accountability. Until very recently America’s ultimate authority was our Judeo-Christian heritage as reflected in the Declaration and Constitution. If these defined and limited authorities are now to be abandoned they will be replaced by an unlimited power exercised by a small number of privileged authoritarians. Are we prepared to forsake our proven and time-tested authorities, for the certain uncertainties of authoritarianism?
Increasingly our founding documents are dismissed as ancient nuisances rather than timeless wisdom. Our freedom of speech, our freedom to worship and assemble, and our freedom to be governed by the rule of law that is applied equally to all – these freedoms are now in danger of extinction.
Values have consequences and we are now witnessing the consequences of values unchecked by any objective authority. We need to ask ourselves – how’s that working for us? America has never been perfect, and never will be, but America has reversed many wrongs since its founding and was on course for righting many more. It was once a place where atonement for sin made a difference, and allowance to forgive, redeem and restore was possible. In America it was never too late to be better.
So now we must choose: What will our future be? Tyranny or freedom? Cancelation or restoration? Division or unity? What future will we bequeath our children?
Values have consequences. Which consequences will we leave to the generations that follow?
All Sufficient Grace
All Sufficient Grace was originally written as one of 42 Deep Roots, Strong Faith daily devotional thoughts for Crossroads Church in Temecula, California.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
– The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth, chapter twelve verse nine.
I remember back in the late 1970s when America experienced a severe oil shortage. Lines of cars waited for the gas stations to be resupplied. At the height of the crisis, gas could only be bought on “odd” or “even” days corresponding to the last number on the car’s license plate. The problem was that there was not enough supply to meet the need.
The story is also told of a self-important man who was shopping for a new Rolls Royce. He thoroughly examined the showroom car, looked under the hood, and asked the salesperson “how much horsepower does this engine have?” “Enough,” was the answer, “it has enough for whatever you need it to do.”
Isn’t it reassuring to know that whatever our need is, no matter how difficult our situation, the time will never come that threatens to exhaust God’s all sufficient supply of grace. His grace is enough. It is never rationed, and we will never have to wait until tomorrow to receive the supply of Grace that we need today.
But sometimes it can seem as if our need is too great and our faith is too weak. We can’t see any way out of our circumstance. If you’re there, remember Paul’s message: God’s grace is sufficient and his power is made perfect in our weakness. In those times, in the circumstances that seem most hopeless, we are able to see God’s power work on our behalf. It is in those times that the roots of our faith are strengthened and grow deeper.
The oil shortage was caused by a breakdown between the source of the oil and its availability to meet the need. God’s constant presence ensures that there will never be a gap between his grace and our need, because the promise of All Sufficient Grace is supported by the presence of its All Sufficient Source.
We’ve Seen This Before
The title on the marquee promotes the current counter-cultural phenomenon: “Gender Confusion.” But those familiar with the teaching of Scripture know that it’s not an original script. They’ve seen this movie before. Lucifer, the highest of the angels, starred in the first playing, and Isaiah records for us the key line: “I will make myself like the Most High.” It didn’t end well.
Lucifer later enticed Eve and then Adam with similar thoughts. We find the recruitment early in the book of Genesis. “You will be like God, knowing good from evil.” Man believed Lucifer’s lie and the remake ended no better than the original.
Little has changed in the thousands of years since. Today, surgeons without a moral compass are joined by self-deluded social “scientists” in declaring that they, not God, create male and female. The wise have seen this before, and know that it will end in disaster.
There is but one God, and He does not share His glory with rebellious creatures. There will come the day when the curtain will come down on the current screening, the theater will go dark, and right will be restored. He will not be mocked forever.