Wait a Minute…

God stopped me in my tracks this morning. Jesus reminding me of who He is and how quickly I forget. There have been some really close calls in my own circle of family and friends and with me, myself, and I had the nerve to wonder where He was in all of it. There have been some horrific things in the news and it can make me wonder, in all of this mess of life that pulls and presses, sometimes to the breaking point. The breaking point of my own strength and understanding.

When will I learn that at this point is where I should live every, single day? When will I learn to stop charging into busy days and start changing my view of them by giving all the details to God?

Jesus is in the Father God and the Father God is in Jesus. The Scripture that got me this morning was: “Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? “ John 14:9. Jesus was talking to his disciples and preparing them for the time when He would be crucified and physically leave them. He needed them to know in their hearts and minds that all of the power of God was in Him and He was God in the flesh that came to live in their world and die for their sins. It was very important that they got that. That He and the Father were One. And that He would not leave them “alone” (16 -18)  but send His Holy Spirit.

As I read that verse, I kept hearing it his way, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Vickie?” Oh my, I had been looking for Him and He was there all along. This is how the Holy Spirit speaks to me through His Word. And I had been caught by the Word that would set me free. The only way to know God better is by reading His Word and listening to His Holy Spirit. I’ve known Jesus as my Savior since I was a little girl. A long time. But I needed to be reminded that I could trust Him. Even with the things I do not understand or want to believe can happen to the innocent here.

This can be hard to live by but, as believers in Christ, we are really not all here. Nope. Sounds kind of negative, but it isn’t, really. Scripture teaches us that we are the recipients of eternal life now and so much more of our lives are in heaven, with Christ.

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set you mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3

With the belief that Jesus is our Savior, we have all we need to live here joyfully. So why do we allow the here and now to defeat us? It is clearly a memory problem. A mind thing, possibly caused by a heart thing, but maybe not. Remember, we are to:

“…love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ‘This is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30)

It is Him we are to love with all we are. Not our lives here. I didn’t think I loved Jesus any less, yet I neglected to renew my mind with the truth that He has all that concerns me, and this entire world, in His hands. He is working it all out for my good and His glory. So why the choking dark days when I think the unthinkable and walk with my head down?

I am not alone. The great patriarchs of the Bible struggled like me. All I need to do is go to the Psalms. In Psalm 28, David cries to God for deliverance from his enemies and I too have an enemy. After lamenting and seeking God for help, David says in verses 8 and 9:

“The LORD is their strength, and he is the saving refuge of his anointed. Save your people, and bless your inheritance; shepherd them also, and bear them up forever.”

This prayer is for me and for you. This same God is my strength and your strength also. And though our bodies are here right now on this planet, we are only here now, and for a very short time, to be a light for others, to point others to Him and this life that can be abundant when we choose to remember the truth. No wonder the enemy attacks. Say it with me:

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) (emphasis mine)

Wait a minute. Stop in your tracks. Take ever so long as it takes to renew your mind. To take those thoughts captive and speak the truth to yourself, lets say one more:

“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31