If you’re fearful today, just believe.
If you’re feeling doubts weighing in like the coming storm, just believe.
If uncertainties cloud your mind and swirl around your life like a tornado, just believe.
He came to give you peace. He came to give you life.
He rose to prove His promise, and He went away to prepare a place for you.
Just Believe.
He rose once. He will come again.
Just Believe!
I know the present pandemic isn’t quite over, and for many, it has brought a whole new normal. I grow angry at those who perpetuate the fear, and I am broken-hearted for those who have lost so much. I neither trivialize nor magnify this crisis. I live with precautions; yet, I absolutely refuse to live in fear.
When I am surrounded by media outlets constantly trying to manipulate the masses to think a certain way, or even act a certain way, I have red flags and sirens immediately go off inside my mind. I stop, watch intently and listen beyond the headlines. I read more, seek more and yes, even pray more to find the absolute truth not the perpetuated and opinionated half truths/half lies.
So, with all that being said, I’d like to tell you what I have learned during this 2020 pandemic… (These are in no particular order…just thoughts brought from heart to pen and paper.)
1. There are many things in life which I thought I needed, and I have found I can live without.
2. There are many things in life which I thought I needed, and I have found I was right.
3. You can confine and restrict, but the old adage stands true, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
4. School can be cut out from the children, but they will learn in more way than you first realized.
5. Even in brokenness and poverty, kindness can override…and the opposite is also true.
6. Even in health and prosperity, selfishness and hatred can thrive…and the opposite is also true.
7. We all need our friends and our support systems.
8. We all need our downtime and to be alone with our thoughts.
9. If you are always the smartest person in the room, Leave. You’re either not as smart as you think you are, or you’re not surrounded by enough challenging people.
10. Your wellness and happiness does not depend upon your wealth, your posterity, your location nor your relationships
…neither does it depend upon your poverty, your failures, your content nor your friendships… but these all (good and bad) can make a defined difference in your life, your destiny and in your legacy.
11. Some people are angels, no matter their circumstance.
12. Some people are devils, no matter their circumstance.
13. It can be very comical what people will buy in a panic.
14. It can be very heart wrenching what people will need in a panic.
15. People are resilient when given a chance to choose.
16. People are assiduous and persevering when left without an easy alternative.
17. Our older generations are valuable, genuine and full of tenacity.
18. Our younger generations are cherished, authentic and full of vigor.
19. People who have determination and purpose can thrive in adversity and in abundance.
20. People who live in fear can be controlled by those who appear to have the confidence to give direction.
21. People who live in doubt can be contained by those who appear to know the answers.
22. If you can believe in the Creator of this universe, He will give you hope, grace and peace like you’ve never seen.
23. God is God, and His name will be glorified in the good, in the bad, and yes, even in the ugly.
Isaiah 43:1-3
But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…”
Isaiah 43:16-21
This is what the Lord says—
He who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.”
On Saturday…and a week late!
(Please, forgive me!)
Step out from those four walls that confine and remember there’s a higher authority.
Do something to remind you there is a God. He is still in control, and He still holds you in the palm of His hand.
He is more than able.
Just rest. Just trust. Just believe.
Romans 8:37-39
Are you whimsical, you mighty, magnetic beast?
Are you playful, fun-loving and free?
Your roar makes my heart tremble with trepidation.
Your paws make my eyes widen with awareness.
Your power is unmatched and unrivaled.
Your strength is uncontainable and unrefined.
Your tenacity is unfathomable and uncontrollable.
I stand in humble awe of all that You are.
Yet, in all your power, and in all your might, You loved me still.
In all Your awesome, overwhelming sovereignty, You entice me to stay near.
Your fierce protection and unyielding dominance gives way to mercy in me.
Your relentless graces consumes my wayward soul and calls me back to You.
Penned – MG – 3/3/20
Oh, Whimsical Wednesday
Where is your whimsical way?
I feel a little weary in this rainy, cold, blustery atmosphere.
I’d feel better if the warm, cozy, bright sunshine were near.
Yet, I am reminded, it shouldn’t be the outside that brings me cause and effect.
It should be the inside, the inner workings, my deep, hidden thoughts I should dissect.
In these, I find the wayward blues and those things that distract my way.
So, I will throw out the negatives and bring sunny smiles back into my day.
I will perform a little surgery on my soul and my mind.
Remembering to Whom I am to look and to whose words I am to align.
Penned – MG – 2/18/20
She twirls. She swirls. She takes a bow.
She looks up to see Him now.
She takes His hand to receive her guide.
He leads her down the path not wide.
Upon the journey, darkness falls.
In the fog, to Him she calls.
He is there, reminding her she has His hand.
As long as she holds on, she will always stand.
Creatures and sounds try to distract her way.
Screeching and screaming, making her jump in dismay.
She holds tightly through the pitch black night.
And sees His loving eyes in the morning’s shining light.
Penned – MG – 2/12/20
Is God good, because of His own goodness, or is He good, because He does good things for us?
Many who are believers would automatically reply, “God is good simply because of His own goodness.” However, I’d question if you truly believe this truth. If this is your stance, let me challenge you with a question. “The last time a tragedy hit your family, did you say, ‘Praise God! He is so good!’ or did you rant and rage, wondering where God was in your hour of need? Did you rejoice and celebrate Him as the afflictions came into your life, or did you curse His name for ever tempting you with His promises of love and mercy?
Yet, for many nonbelievers, you might reply “God is good only when He proves He is good by bestowing blessings and goodness.” You might demand His eternal goodness for you to ever be obedient to His Word and submissive to His authority in your life. If this is your stance, let me challenge you with a question or two, “Why do you trust in all kinds of entities in this life that are proven to be untrustworthy; yet, to the one Deity that has been proven time and again (by scripture and by personal testimonies) to be trustworthy and faithful, you don’t hold the same standards?” You might wonder what I mean. Let me expound a bit…
So many, who question the integrity of God (because they feel “He has let them down” in one way or another) completely depend upon, and keep faithful, in entities of life which have proven to be faulty at one time or another. One example would be money. You hold onto that money, buying, selling, giving and receiving, as if it will last forever. You never question it’s worth. You never question it’s reliability. You never question if it will remain stable tomorrow, next week or even years from now, because you simply trust you will receive that paycheck, cash/deposit it, and withdraw it and use it at anytime you need. Yet, time has brilliantly proven the stock market can crash in a moment’s notice, and poverty can beset us all!
Another example would be government. (*Now, don’t get hostile on either side of the “party lines.” I’m not choosing sides here; I’ll hit you both. Lol.😂) You support that system; you trust that system; you invest in that system; you defend that system, and you live by whatever rules and regulations that system hands down to you or demands of you. Yet, time and again, through political scandals, bailouts, voter frauds, twisted officials and structural brokenness and gaps, that system had proven to be faulty and less than trustworthy.
There are so many examples to give, but I will give one final example here, and that would be simply the human condition. We all have people we have loved, people we have trusted, people we have leaned on, and people in whom we’ve confided our greatest fears and failures, our hopes and dreams. Yet, there have been people in each of our lives who have wounded us, damaged us or simply failed us in a multitude of ways (And if that’s not you, well, keep on livin’, my young friend). People have proven to just be people, with ups and downs, strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures, and so much more. Yet, we keep repeating this cycle of trust time and time again.
So, with all of this on both ends of the spectrum, let me repeat the question, just so we are still on the same page…
Is God good, because of His own goodness, or is He good, because He does good things for us?
God is good, because He, in and of Himself, is full of goodness. Nothing He does can have bearing on His deity or on His character as God, because He is consumed of goodness and everything good comes from Him. He cannot lie. He cannot be untrustworthy, and He cannot fail.
Our believing the sun isn’t hot simply because we can’t touch it or feel it on a rainy day doesn’t change the gastric heat it contains. Our believing the ocean is no longer wet, because we are in a desert land and can’t presently be immersed in that sea doesn’t change a bit of the moisture it holds. Just as our believing God is no longer good because of a tragedy or because He didn’t grant our every wish never changes the goodness He is nor the goodness He can give.
God is God, nothing more and nothing less. His promises are true, and His goodness flows like a river for all to receive. All we must do is have the right perspective. We have to see Him clearly, and we have to believe.
Today, many of us celebrate what we call, Good Friday. The day Christ died on the cross with the promise of rising in three days. The day the earth shook, the sun darkened, the veil was torn, and the believers were scattered with their dreams of majesty shattered. The day the Holy Lamb of God was beaten, bruised, pierced by those who hated Him and forsaken by the very Father God who claimed to love Him.
So, if all this bad happened on this day, how can we call it Good Friday? How can we join together to celebrate such a horrific, gruesome, unimaginable death? How can anything good be taken from such a terrible day that is forever written in the annals of time?
If you don’t know Him, I can understand why you’d wonder. If you’ve never realized His love for you, I can believe your confusion and doubt. If you’ve only heard of Him in storybooks and seen Him portrayed as “just a man” in cults and Hollywood box office hits, I can comprehend your skepticism, ridicule and even rejection.
But for me, I know Him on a personal level…
He was there before I even took a breath. He was there when I was in my mother’s womb, and her guidance counselor tried to convince her to “get rid of the dilemma,” because, after all, she was just 16. He was there when I was born six weeks (8 wks to today’s standards) too early and fought for life for those 10 days in that tiny incubator.
He was there when I was six months old, and my alcoholic parents split up. He was there when my four year old self waited by the door with packed bags for a father who never showed up. He was there when my twelve year old self received a “new daddy” who took us away from a comfortable, small town to a great big city with so many unknowns.
He was there when I met the man of my dreams and said, “I do.” He was there when our first child never grew in the womb, and we buried him under those great big oaks at my childhood home. He was there when our firstborn aspirated meconium, and we were told by a young nurse that it could be fatal. He was there when our second son fell off the changing table onto a tile floor while being babysat. He was there when I lost my precious grandfather to cancer, the man who had protected me, loved me and cherished me, the man who been my “Daddy” for so many years. He was there through all of the grief and sorrow.
The stories could go on and on with so much more detail, but I won’t bore you with my life story. I can just say, with 100% confidence, He was there. In my darkest days and in my happiest hours, in my finest moments and in those times that I wish to never be repeated, He was there.
He has always been there.
So, I call it Good Friday, because I know He was there hanging on the cross pouring out His blood for me for redemption. I call it Good Friday, because I know He rose just a few days later with the promise of victory, and heaven and eternity for my soul if I just believe. I call it Good Friday, because I am a witness to all that has come from His sacrifice, His love and His grace just in my own life.
I call it Good Friday, because often times, out of the bad, the horrific, the most unimaginable things comes such beauty and goodness and promise that you can’t call it anything but GOOD!
Watch and listen…
No one said this life would be fair. No one said you’d always walk along a path of daisies and roses. Sometimes, life just stinks, and you have to live through the pain and agony it presents.
Sometimes, this life is going to be set on fire, and you’ve got to decide whether you’re going to grab a bucket and put out the flames , stand your ground and walk through the blaze, or lie down and become the ashes. The choice is yours, and no one can make that choice for you.
You can be destroyed in the fire, or you can allow it to refine you, strengthen you and teach you. If you decide to lie down and allow it to consume, you must know that your life may not be the only one that is devoured. There may be children, grandchildren, friends and family who are devoured. Often, we do not realize, we stand as a shield for those coming behind.
If you choose to walk through, the road may not be easy, and it may get hotter and more strenuous before it gets better, but there is One who promises you will not be diminished from the inferno.
His name is Jesus.
And He loves you.
With God by your side, the flames may lick at your being, and the temperatures may rise beyond comfortable, but YOU WILL MAKE IT. He will walk beside you. He will guide you, and when needed, He will carry you.
Give Him a chance. He will not disappoint. He is able. He is faithful. He is true, and His promises are unbreakable… inflammable… and even in-consumable.
When you choose to walk through the flames with Him, you become resilient to the wildfires. You become a pillar of stone that cannot be singed. You become the firefighter who rescues others from the flames.
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