When I choose to trust in spite of everything I shoot new rootlets into the pulsing burrowing system that anchors me in Jesus’ love.
Living there I am drinking in hesed and agape unending intimate unselfish empathetic forgiving unretaliating love beyond my understanding.
My heart is full my veins are pulsing energy of life and Jesus has become my constant strength and song.
There is so much imagery in the Bible about plants! The Creator made them all, planned out the ways in which they would thrive and produce what his people and his earth need. And we people depend so much on the plants that the word pictures make great sense when we contemplate them.
I think of the Vine and its branches, and the way that the sap flows from the trunk (which is Jesus) to nourish the branches and make them fruitful. Then there is this passage that adds rich depth to understanding the nutrient value of what we coak up from that attachment to him. It references what roots absorb from the soil in the ground that holds them firmly in place. I looked at the ancient tree in the photo above that has lived through countless storms, still flourishing—firmly rooted in the ground, even expanding its reach. It actually has become kind to the town people, giving them a place to store their wares. It is useful in new ways, old as it is.
I wonder how much nourishment it has to drink up in its mature age to keep healthy: Think about these verses :
16 I pray that
according to the wealth of his glory
he may grant you to be strengthened with power
through his Spirit in the inner person,
17that Christ may dwell in your hearts
through faith,
so that,
because you have been rooted and grounded in love,
18you may be able to comprehend with all the saints
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
so that
you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
(Eph. 3:16-19 NET)
The prayers for growth in these verses are powerful, each one linked to a prerequisite. Then it culminates with the criteria for knowing the love of Christ and being “filled up to all the fullness of God.” Which one of us who is committed to him does not long to be filled up like that? No more languishing, wilting, or failing to grow!
We must be strengthened by the Spirit in our inner person for us to get to that point. He lives in us, once we give ourselves to the Lord and devote ourselves to obedience.
This then makes it possible for Christ to live in us: we believe his promises, we accept his salvation and his daily shepherding. We have to have faith, trusting that what we cannot see is nevertheless truly Real, that Jesus is our Rescuer and Master.
It is because of that that we can put down roots into love, roots that hold us steady through storms and sunny days. His love sustains us and empowers us to really know him, to understand what is beyond normal human capability to understand: how incredibly deep and wide is his love! When we finally know what cannot be known otherwise, then we can be filled with God himself! His Presence changes everything in our outlook and our actions. His love is pouring through us, making us able to be healthy and fruitful. He himself is filling every aspect of our person!
So let’s shove our roots down to that love and drink it in. Storms will come, as well as long dry seasons, but that deep love never runs dry. And it flows into us, bringing us to that place of knowing increasingly better our beloved King of the Universe who actually wants to live with us so intimately!
When turmoil seems to rule like waves surging high to crash, foaming— and you, Lord, seem to be asleep— fear also rises and takes control of our thoughts.
We hear the rage of the storm. We feel the cold wind pierce and chill our hearts, icicle spears that do not melt. We run to you, crying out for you to act now!
Your response is rebuke: Why are you afraid? And you act. You reign over the storm even when we fail you, doubting your power, cringing.
Reminder: trust the King of the world! The waves will calm, at least in the view of those with eyes glued on him. He is in the boat with us! We know he will do his thing!
It’s normal for fear to rise in reaction to surroundings that are in upheaval and out of your control. Are you feeling like that when you read the daily headlines? Or is it struggles in your workplace or your family that are wearing you thin? Is God going to intervene and calm the storm? Why is chaos continuing like this?
Once again my Jesus is reminding me that he may seem passive in the moment, but he is ultimately in control. He knows every minute what is happening, way more than I do. He knows where I am and what concerns me. My part is to trust his goodness and his sovereignty. The storm is real, but so is he, and he has purposes I cannot understand. I am not the key point in them; the world is much bigger than I am. But he hears my prayers, and says, “Why are you afraid? Where is your faith?” –just like he said to his disciples:
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mk. 4:35-41 NIV)
The disciples were not yet sure who Jesus really was, just that he had power. When the waves broke over the boat they couldn’t handle the water left behind, and they only had one person to turn to. So they did, waking him up with urgency. They still wondered why he had not already taken care of this! Did he not care about them? Jesus acted, then confronted them about their lack of faith in him. They were not yet ready to trust his character, to believe that he really considered their well-being to be important.
How about me? I know him and who he is. I have the rest of the story! I must remember to let him be the one in charge of the storm. He will accomplish his plan in his timing. Meanwhile I must also remember who I am in the scheme of things, and do my part by participating in keeping the boat afloat in whatever way he tells me to: loving my neighbor, speaking truth in love, sharing his light in darkness, going where he says to go.
And praying! Did you notice that Jesus did not act until the disciples begged him? That had to be a learning curve for them. He wants us to bring our requests, desperate or normal, to him at all times. We are then participants in what takes place as a result!
We must also bring our concerns to him and let him carry them.
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Pet. 5:7 NIV)
Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:16-18 NIV)
Can we give thanks as well, every time we pray? Yes, if we remember that he is always listening, that we can trust him to do what is right, that he is all-powerful. Let’s thank him for that! And then there is that key point: he actually cares about me and you, and takes care of us. He loves me; he loves you! He can be depended on to carry us through whatever storm we are in, doing it his way and in his timing. Of course then I think about the times when, in spite of prayer, a Christian is persecuted and even loses their life. But their faith stood firm—what a witness that is! Or we don’t see the answer we hoped for, not in our time span. That is when trust in God’s character and sovereign plan is essential. We are truly part of a much larger purpose, and we do not have access to all the fine print.
Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; 2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
3Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
4Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
7Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret— it leads only to evil. 9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. 11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. (Ps. 37:1-11 NIV)
Our part is to trust Yahweh’s love and goodness and do the good he tells us to do. He is indeed in the boat with us! With him we can weather the storm!
Thank you for green filaments waving in the breeze on this hot day, for silver sunlight filtered through gray overcast skies, for the solid round edges of mangoes still ripening, hanging pregnantly from bowed branches, and for those that have turned to gold and fallen to thirsty earth to make new wine and maybe children.
Thank you for trees that sing glory as I walk to work, each flower individual in its watercolor hues: themes of white, cream and yellow, rose and bright melon; shower-of-gold blossoms like bunches of grapes; all of them testimony to your infinite imagination, artistic virtuosity far beyond our imitations.
Thank you for soul music in the deeps of night when thoughts carouse and wonder and weep; you caress my distressed mind and stir in confidence in your great story, the one that is not finished yet, that holds my dear ones in your constant grip and patiently designs a future filled with hope.
Thank you for reminding me this morning via mangoes, and frangipani season and the gift of nature’s colors and air movement in these pressured steamy moments, that you are always here and there and everywhere; your banner over us is love, and you delight in our appreciation of the masterpieces you are creatively, constantly painting.
Yes, it has been hot and humid this past week in Côte d’Ivoire, and it’s easy to just notice the sweat rolling off my forehead and the heat rash starting to flare up. On the other hand, there is beauty and hope everywhere. I just need to pay attention. We are about to fly away out of it into the cold winter of Michigan, so I have been reminded to relish the things I’m going to miss—like mangoes, and the tree flowers, and birdsong concerts every sunrise hour.
This was all underlined last week when one of my young African friends asked me why I had chosen my Nyarafolo name, the one that people love to call me whenever I am here. I knew why she was wondering. My name, Penyuɔnɔkuɔ, has a negative meaning. It is the short form of a well-known proverb: “You help people but then they forget to be grateful.” I had wondered the same thing—why that name?—when my women friends decided to give it to me, decades ago, because my foreign name “Linn” was too difficult, not familiar. So I had asked, “Why that one? I wanted a good one like Glenn’s!” (His name, Kajuʔulosori, means that he doesn’ hold grudges!) My friends answered: “It is a good name, because it’s so true!” They are going to love Ecclesiastes.
I had to process the relevance of that meaning for a while. Then, as I was reading the Word, I began to notice how many time my new name was echoed in the Scriptures. God would help people, but they would forget to to thank him! So I started writing “Penyuɔnɔkuɔ” beside those verses. Yes, that name was very meaningul in this world!
You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. (Deut. 32:18 NIV)
. . . they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law. 11 They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them. (Ps. 78:10 NIV)
He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them. 11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived. 12 Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. 13 But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold. (Ps. 106:10-13 NIV)
When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. (Hos. 13:6 NIV)
That is a sampling. But those verses show how dangerous it is to forget what God has done and all the ways he has blessed us. It is not just a matter of forgetting to say “thank you!” The negligence leads to a lack of attachment to the God who provides, and saves, and guides all because he is the One who pays attention to us and loves us. We wander off into despair, seeing only the darkness in the world around us, not even considering our need to “wait for his plan to unfold.”(Psa. 106:13).
Noticing creation’s beauty gives us a daily step into gratitude. When we practice it, we can learn to notice the other things our Father is doing in our lives, our communities, our world as well. It is not only the magnificence of the sky and bits of the universe shining in it, or the stunning mountains or the cute animals. It is paying attention to meaningful words and actions.
As we were saying our goodbyes to Ferke friends this past weekend, we were showered with thank-yous, sometimes about things we didn’t remember doing. Other times it was just touching to find out that some act had been noticed. And when we thanked the friend who brought us her home-made peanut butter as a gift, and the taxi-driver who took me to and from work each day with no fee (serving his real Master), and the little boy who saw me gazing at the golden rain tree blossoms so climbed up and pulled off a bunch for me—each one of their faces lit up with happiness. The gratitude showed them that they were noticed and appreciated.
That is the least we can do for the King of the Universe. In spite of the chaos all around and personal suffering and disappointments, we must express thanks for ways we see his hand at work. I tell myself: Make a list when you wake up, or when you take your walk or drive to work, or when you are cooking or sweeping, or when you are ready for bed. What has been a hint or a neon sign that declared the Lord’s kindness today? Then we can say “thank you!” and experience that uplift that we need. Yes, he is near. Yes, he is good. Yes, he is at work! And we are so privileged to be attached to him!
Baruch sat huddled within his scrolls deep in the throes of despair. Words darkened the parchment and his soul, relentlessly marking out tragedy, punishment! The torrent of eviction, malediction kept screaming in his mind, the prophet’s warnings and lament.
But at the Throne his pain was seen, framed by the stain of hemorrhage from a heart off-center, rubbing on the cross-grain of life gone contrary to all hoped for, one by one the dreams of grandeur snuffed out (people hanging on words so carefully stirred in ink and sorrow, smitten at last with heartsick yearning and turning to the prophet and his scribe...) .
And so, the prophet’s lips now spoke to Baruch, passing on a word from Yahweh: This is no time for pout or concentration on one’s own small claim to fame nor on the joy of feeling used for good and seeing things work out: relationships restored and people back in place, accepting grace . . . and yet within it all desiring rest for self, your peace the unsaid goal.
God’s purposes are broader. This time is one for ripping, not for mending. That time will come, but not for your eyes, Baruch. Your life is but one thread appearing briefly, deep inside the tapestry unfolding of a nation’s discipline. Should your desire for golden resolution, and a spot of honor, or just rest from all the turmoil, come first in Yahweh’s plan?
Baruch kept on scribing, writing for the public even this surprise aside, now spoken not to nations but to him, amazing witness to the Lord’s commitment to his people, to care for them in trouble, even if their hopes get crushed within the slow unscrolling of Yahweh intervening to finally make all well. Time will tell.
So Baruch wept his private tears and kept on serving, writing, passing on the words that burn my heart today: We’re caught inside a wider web but Yahweh is the weaver. Enough. I rest.
I hadn’t noticed Jeremiah 45, a short chapter with five verses, until I read it during a rough time for me. We were evacuated from our Côte d’Ivoire home and ministry due to war, and things were still very unsettled there. My beloved sister was dying from leukemia. And my work in Bible translation was temporarily on hold.
Now I am in a different life phase, actually translating Jeremiah into Nyarafolo with my coworker Moïse. We have not yet reached chapter 45, but the context of the first half of the book builds towards it: chapter after chapter is full of judgment of the rulers and people who are unfaithful to Yahweh their God. Jeremiah is sometimes called “the weeping prophet” for good reason: he wanted to cry fountains of tears (Jeremiah 9:1). It was a tough job he had been given, always relaying God’s messages of coming punishment because of their failure to stay faithful and their blatant wrongdoing.
And then Baruch, his scribe, is suddenly in focus. It’s clear that he and Jeremiah had shared many tough experiences. But most of the time Baruch is in the background, writing what he hears and sees. He is exhausted. It sounds like he not only has burnout but also overwhelming despair. Hope has withered into dust.
What a shock it must have been when suddenly Jeremiah passes on words that Yahweh is saying directly to him, Baruch! He is no longer just an observer and servant! Instead, Yahweh is affirming that he has heard Baruch’s heart:
2 “The LORD God of Israel has a message for you, Baruch. 3 ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless! For the LORD has added sorrow to my suffering. I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.” (Jer. 45:2-3 NET)
Yahweh’s message was not very comforting. This is what he told Jeremiah:
“Tell Baruch, ‘The LORD says, “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth. 5 Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the LORD, affirm that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. But I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you go.”‘” (Jer. 45:4-5 NET)
Quit looking for peace, prosperity or any great future? Those words were tough, but God gave a little glimmer of hope. There are disasters in which not even the innocent are spared, but the Lord was promising to at least let him live through whatever horrors would come. He was just not to expect to see his world healed. Not in his lifetime.
What has hit home to me is the attention of the Master of the Universe to even people with little personal influence or standing. He hears, he knows what is going on even with those of us in the background. When we are walking with him, he is walking with us through everything swirling around us. No chaos can remove us from his love and attention.
Whatever you are facing these days in your family, community, country or ministry, you are his. Our hope is anchored to just one Person, and he loves us. He knows every single thought we think, every struggle we have and every moment that brings joy. He is loving, even when he is ripping things apart to fulfill his purpose. What we often miss is that his purpose is far greater than our personal expectations and what might finally be resolved in our life span. We need to remember our place in the scheme of things:
Your life is but one thread appearing briefly, deep inside the tapestry unfolding of a nation’s discipline. Should your desire for golden resolution, and a spot of honor, or just rest from all the turmoil, come first in Yahweh’s plan? . . . we’re caught inside a wider web but Yahweh is the weaver. Enough. I rest.
The prophecies in Jeremiah are overwhelmingly about judgment, but they do include a promise that eventually there will be restoration. Jeremiah and Baruch did not see that happy day. But they stayed faithful, and their testimony to us is powerful! When the chaos around us wears us out, we need to let the Master of the Universe carry our heart’s burdens while we still continue to do what he gives us to do. It may be to relay messages like Jeremiah and his scribe did—both of their jobs were a part of God’s work. Even those of us who are in the background, doing what he gives us to do out of the limelight, are noticed and loved. He will use us to accomplish his purpose, and eventually his purpose will be accomplished!
You make us your heifer, pulling the plow, you shape us and train us, showing us how to lean to the left when your strong hand presses, to walk straight ahead, cleaning up messes and tearing out weeds, preparing the way for planting the seed in that soil on the day when all is in readiness, soft dirt tilled, and we press in the seeds till the rows are all filled.
You must give the seed; our own is diseased. You show how to plant it and tend it, then please, you must send the rain that will make the shoots thrive, the rain of what’s right and of hope that’s alive. The roots will go deep, the stems will grow tall, the leaves will shout green and the blossoms will fall to make way for grain that is bred up above:: a life-giving harvest of unfailing love.
Wonder why we’re talking about being a heifer? It’s a meditation on Hosea 10:11-12, Scripture that has gained increased meaning to me once again. I will explain! This trip back to the field we worked in for over forty years, here in Nyarafolo land, has been full of a theme that we hear echoed again and again: seed-planting and harvest.
That Sunday in January when we joined the crowd at Pisankaha to remember Jim Gould’s legacy there it came up repeatedly, message after message. Jim had planted seed in hearts in that village and it had grown into the harvest we can see today. It had started with a small group of men interested in knowing Jesus, wanting to understand this Good News never heard before. Then Jim suddenly passed away after just three years of plowing and sowing in that “field,” so others had kept cultivating the seed. God gave increasing strength to the believers, empowering them to keep growing in spite of persecution that included setting fire to the field—to the church and the pastor’s house, and stealing families’ animals. Now we were celebrating the amazing harvest, with most of the villagers in Pisankaha now following Jesus.
Then this past Sunday Glenn and I visited the church plant in Lafokpokaha. Pastor Pekaly has been shepherding the small flock there and reaching out to five other groups. The two largest communities of believers from those groups joined the Lafokpo congregation to welcome us and to celebrate communion together.There was lots of joyful singing and dancing to open up the service. Then Pekaly introduced Glenn and reminded the people that he had been a child in Tiepogovogo when Glenn and Linn had begun working there. Sunday School began with Mariam teaching the kids outdoors during the service. She was a young woman married to the man who is now a Bible translator, Abdoulaye, and I was mentoring her as she taught Bible truths to these young boys who had never heard them before. She was a natural teacher with Spirit-gifting, and they were always mesmerized as they sat on the sprawling root of a tree at the edge of the village. Pekaly remembers how she sowed the seed and it landed on fertile soil in his heart. It grew and grew, and eventually led him to get pastoral training. Now he is also planting seed. And there is ongoing harvest!
I was deeply touched, sitting there in the cement room packed with eager listeners and kids sprawled all over the floor. Back when Glenn was teaching those first believers in Tiepogovogo, and I got the Sunday School going with Mariam doing the actual teaching, we were only seeing slow progress. There was pushback from families in the village who did not want their kids to follow Jesus. One of them, Kifory who is now part of the Nyarafolo Translation Project team, was beaten when he returned home after sitting on the root for teaching; he had not been out in his father’s field chasing away monkeys! That was a long season of plowing hard soil.
Another young man, Fouhoton, had come to Jesus for rescue from scary spiritual oppression he was experiencing after the death of his father. He had been the son designated to accompany his father in making sacrifices to the gods and spirits to beg them for good harvests, health and protection. He would spread the blood of the chicken on the sacrifice tree while his father said the incantations. Longing for release from the frightening spiritual attacks hitting him now that his father was gone, on Sundays he would sit in the back of the tiny building where his older brother and others were worshiping Jesus. He heard Glenn repeating Jesus’ invitation to come to him, everyone who is carrying heavy loads, and they would find rest. “I need that rest, Jesus!” he said in his heart. And all the oppression disappeared! He became Tiepogovogo’s first pastor, and after 20 years there is now pastoring a large church in Ferke and leading outreach to the rest of Nyarafolo land.
There are other examples of seed planted in Tiepogovogo and growing into harvest, but these three stood out for me this Sunday as I remembered those kids craving teaching. We were like what Hosea was referring to: heifers yoked by the Master so that they could be guided as they did their work in the field. First they would need to plow the field, breaking up the tough soil to prepare for planting. That is like God leading us to learn Nyarafolo even though we kept being warned that this was a very resistant people group. It started with language learning, building friendships, showing love. We didn’t know it, but Jesus had already plowed the soil in the hearts of two men by appearing to one of them at inviting him to come to him; that man was Pekaly’s father! And his friend who joined him in looking for Jesus was Fouhoton’s older brother! Fouhoton and Pekaly were young kids when we first began teaching there; they became the first two Nyarafolo pastors, continuing to plant the seed and reap ongoing harvest!
When you study the context of those verses in Hosea, the Israelites were being warned that judgment was coming unless they would return to how they used to be: well-trained heifers, and farmers who knew how to plow tough ground. The application to their lives would be to seek Yahweh, sow seed that was healthy and then reap a harvest of unfailing love!
Ephraim was a well-trained heifer who loved to thresh grain; I myself put a fine yoke on her neck. I will harness Ephraim. Let Judah plow! Let Jacob break up the unplowed ground for himself! 12 Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap unfailing love. Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves, for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers deliverance on you. (Hos. 10:11,12 NET)
“Go back to doing what I trained you for!” That was the message Yahweh was sending his people. If it would actually be done, then there would be good harvest and deliverance.
Jeremiah used this imagery too:
This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. (Jer. 4:3 NIV)
And Jesus referenced it in his parable of the Sower (Mat. 13). Some of what we sow may land on rocks or where thorns grow up, but when he guides to fertile soil there will be harvest.
In those early days Glenn and I were learning what it meant to break up unplowed ground, to sow seed in the hearts of those the LORD, Yahweh, would direct us to. We had no idea what would come of it. We were just doing what he put in front of us, grateful for each opening, knowing we were supposed to be where he had led us. Now we can look back and see how the harvest is continuing, with certain key field workers still planting healthy seed and seeing the fruit of God’s love for all peoples. Unfailing love, faithful love, steadfast love, loyal love—those are all attempts to translate that deep Hebrew word hesed. What a wonderful harvest!
All these stories are just examples of what the Master might be doing where he has asked you to plant seed or plow soil or thresh grain. He determines what is needed to break through hard ground and produce fruit in his timing. Our job is to listen and go where he leads us—obeying the tug of that “yoke” he uses to direct us. It might be to teach Sunday School or Awana, or maybe to reach out to neighbors, or volunteer to help refugees. He knows where ground is to be plowed or seed planted, and he brings about harvest in his timing.
Glenn and I are so blessed to be able to see some of what God has done here, even using stumbling servants like us who had no idea what was going to come out of those early efforts. May you see the fruit of his unfailing love in your daily obedience too!
When even the sunrise is muted by dust, the air polluted with smoke and red dirt, there is one safe place where I can stay, breathing in air that is healthy and clean, a place where my heart-hurts heal as I pray. Here beside you, I’m finding a way to gradually lay each major worry, each broken hope on the palms of your hands.
You stretch them out, your arms of power with soft healing balm poured onto me, gently soothing my fractured thoughts, transforming them into firm understanding that all my hope is truly in you. You are my judge, and their judge too; I cannot see the ultimate scope of what you are planning, of what you will do.
I breathe it in. Your air is pure. There is no dark pollution here. And you will help me to persevere, eyes on you and the final goal, when you make all things whole.
Our family has called the West African harmattan air “smust,” a blend of smoke and dust that carries in all sorts of gleanings it has picked up as it moves south from the Sahara. Here in the city the cooking fires and truck exhaust fumes add their spice. For most of us it just means dusting everything in the house more, but allergies and asthma can decide it is their time to rise, too.
It reminds me of the emotional atmosphere so many of us are living in these days. Whether we are in Africa with all the wars and rumors of wars along with fear of losing aid from other countries, or in the U.S. with all the headlines about political chaos, we can feel fear or disgust rising. It can truly be overwhelming.
The best place to go to breathe in totally different air is to our God:
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isa. 26:3 ESV)
I confess I have clung to that verse in many different circumstances, from sitting in a chair as the dentist starts drilling to trying to remain calm in a war zone. When I repeat it over and over, digesting the words, I am reminded that a mind focused on the King of the Universe who is my loving Father will become distracted from fear and relax. When I contemplate his goodness and wisdom, I build trust where there was none (or very little). His purposes are not within my grasp. The key is trusting that he does indeed have purpose even in hard times.
I’ve been reading the Joseph story in Genesis. When I think of the cruelty he endured at the hands of his brothers, then years in prison due to the false accusation of his boss’s wife, I marvel that he held onto his trust in Yahweh. He obviously trusted him to empower him to interpret dreams when those opportunities opened up. And that brought him (after another long wait) into an unexpected position of power and wealth as he worked to prevent famine from devasting Egypt. Then his brothers came to beg for food too! He couldn’t trust them without first testing them severely, but when they had finally shown some selflessness he revealed who he was and gave God honor for fulfilling his purpose, unknown until then:
“I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt. 5 And now don’t be worried or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. 7 God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. (Gen. 45:4b-8a CSB)
That truly took solid trust in God to see his purpose after all that suffering, forgiving his wicked brothers and being thrilled to save their lives and do what God had sent him to do!
We may not see God answer our prayers on the timeline that we were hoping for. We may not even still be alive when his purpose is revealed clearly! Or we might see it tomorrow—he might turn our world around so that it is no longer toppling, or return to earth and make all things brand new. We don’t know. But if we fix our thoughts on him instead of letting trouble and terror rule our minds, we can keep on keeping on. When we long to grow closer to our Lord and Savior, and become increasingly like him, then we might be able to do what seems so unlikely: find “joy” in trials:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (Jas. 1:2 NIV)
Not easy. Not natural for us. But he is our one safe place. With eyes on the one true God who loves us and lives in us and walks with us, those of us who belong to him can live to fulfill his purpose in us, and trust him to accomplish his purpose in the world. In his timing!
My coworker and I just translated the following verse into Nyarafolo today and it struck both me and Moise deeply. It echoes some psalms—this is truth that has been clung to for generations, that there is one safe place we can always count on, one person who is always there for us, even when the world is full of worthless things that are doted on even though they are not true:
O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refugein the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. (Jer. 16:19 ESV)
The long car twisted through tall grass In the shy darkness following sunset. Suddenly it was before us—the village, Mud huts huddled close like frightened sheep. Our headlights swept across them and then fell On a pile of children tumbling from the night To swarm around the car as we stepped out.
A skinny girl looked timidly up at me, Hesitantly smiling. She held her baby brother, Almost half her size, on her small back. I smiled in return, and almost instantly Muddy little hands from everywhere reached out To greet me. We walked slowly, then, into The cluster of huts, to a courtyard inside.
A boy lit a lantern, and we all sat down On rough wood benches in the puddle of light. A dwarfish man took out a tattered book And we began to sing. Our music wasn’t sweet, Yet with each song that rose and fell Those hearts expressed their new-found joy. A voice spoke quietly, and we all prayed.
A crude green box was passed around, And from two work-worn fists there dropped within it hard-won coins, their sacrifice of love. Dad opened his black Testament, And children playing near were quickly hushed. Behind us women pounded grain and talked, but in the courtyard all were silent, listening.
I looked around at every face, and pondered On those lives. Four boys and men Sat on a bench across from me. One leaned ahead, intent on every word that Daddy said. The others slumped Against the wall. Their eyes were deeply tired. They had worked hard and long that day.
One lonely girl leaned back against a post, Her face a study in hope lost, now almost found. She listened, but kept looking at the ground. Lost deep in inner searching of her heart, I felt for her, and longed that she might come To Jesus, and find peace she’d never known. Then all our heads were bowed again in prayer.
And as we rose to leave, once more I glanced around at those then near to me, And saw contentment in the young girl’s eyes. The earnest listener on the bench was smiling. But his companions’ faces were unchanged. I yearned for these—their need was great. “Oh, God,” I cried, “Please bring these souls to Thee!”
The car was waiting in the pitch-black dark, And as we waved goodbye the headlights leapt into the grass again, and left the village Smothered in the night. Linnea Slater, 1967
I was a young teen when I wrote that poem about going with my parents to Pisankaha for an evening meeting. There were just a few young believers in Jesus there, men who really wanted to learn more. My parents did not speak their language, Nyarafolo, so they took a young man from church in Ferke to translate from French for them . He did not speak Nyarafolo either, just a related language from across the river, but the men could understand a lot of what he said.
Whenever I was home from boarding school I would join Mom and Dad, drawn to the need of these people isolated from so much. Only these few Nyarafolos knew about Jesus. I just sat in the dark and absorbed the scene, never imagining that in 2025 I would be back in that village in a big new church building remembering how it all got started when Jim Gould was following up young men who had come to the Baptist Hospital for treatment. They had showed some openness, so he went out to their village, Pisankaha, to try to meet with them. They were working in their fields; he went there to find them—they remember him trying to help with the work. Then after a while they agreed to welcome him in the village. He was learning Nyarafolo, doing the best he could, and several decided to follow Jesus instead of worshiping the gods of their traditional religion.
Then on Christmas 1965 Jim had died suddenly when his car rolled off the road, just after taking them back to Pisankaha after the all-night Christmas service at the Ferke town church. Mom and Dad and my Uncle John and Aunt Marion Slater all pitched in to continue his work in Pisankaha, joined by Pastor Bazoumana from the Ferke church as they rotated the responsibility.
This past Sunday (January 26) we gathered in Pisankaha with over 200 people, including pastors from other churches, to celebrate what God had done starting way back then. This was prompted by the visit of Lori Gould McKee and Greg Gould, who had been just six and four when their father died in 1965. Greg’s daughter Hannah was with them, and they admitted that she was the one who really had pushed them to come from America and see the harvest that had grown from the seed her grandfather had planted.
Remembering what God has done is actually a critical spiritual practice! It is dangerous to forget to look back, to quit sharing the proofs of the Father’s involvement in our lives. That leads to spiritual dryness and wandering and the consequences of wrong choices (see how it affected the Israelites: Isa. 17:10; Ezek. 23:35).
Instead, we are told to do this:
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. (Deut. 4:9 NIV)
Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. (Deut. 32:7 NIV)
Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered (1 Chr. 16:11,12 ESV)
And the psalmist vows:
I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. (Ps. 77:11 ESV)
This is why I am in the long process of writing my memoir (maybe autobiography), remembering how I have seen the Lord’s fingerprints on my life. I need to pass them on:
We must not hide them from their children, but must tell a future generation the praises of the LORD, His might, and the wonderful works He has performed. (Ps. 78:4 CSB)
Even when I am old and gray, O God, do not abandon me, until I tell the next generation about your strength, and those coming after me about your power. (Ps. 71:18 NET)
A huge part of my story is how God used Jim’s death, and my father’s prayer that someone would be sent to continue his work, to plant an alert in my heart. I thought I was “just a girl” and could never do that. True—I could not do it alone, especially not as a teen, but the Father sent me and Glenn here to be a part of the ongoing struggle to bring the Good News to this least-reached people group. We have seen Enemy pushback, we have seen amazing church growth in spite of it. Beleivers were once “smothered in the night” of spiritual darkness but now they are walking in the Light! The Lord is accomplishing his purpose!
Most of our work has been at Tiepogovogo, a village northeast of Pisankaha, another place God had chosen to plant seeds that would grow. After the small group of believing men was thriving there and some of their wives came to Jesus, we asked those first hardy believers from Pisankaha to come share their testimonies. As they told about the persecution they had experienced and the ongoing peace they found in Jesus, there was response we never expected: the women brought their idols and sacrifice jars to be burned! They had heard testimonies that Jesus’ power is the greatest, that he has opened the path to rescue and that it is worth it to suffer for him. The believers from Pisankaha were remembering the wonderful works of the Lord, how he had brought them through much persecution and had provided for them
We can find it easy to forget the fingerprints of God on our own lives. A few decades ago I was following a study guide that urged me to draw a timeline of my life, with moments of spiritual impact noted on it. These were likened to a standing stone set in a place to mark it as sacred, a monument to a critical moment (cf Gen 28.18). I had just learned what such a marker would be called in Nyarafolo as we translated Genesis: sɔ̀ngidaadiʔɛ: “a place to think and find”. You would mark the spot so it could be found again, think about what happened there, treasure it. I drew my timeline and began that journey of remembering. It was stunning how many different “standing stones” I needed to insert! Looking back we can notice things that we walked through without realizing what the Lord was doing.
Here is a challenge: take time to remember how the Lord has worked in you and in your world. Then share it with others, especially “the next generation”!
In the photo below there is a standing stone at Pisankaha that we just saw: the church that was burned nine years ago by Sacred Forest initiates (the men’s secret society in the traditional religion, who felt threatened by the growing numbers of Jesus followers), and beyond it, the new building with a crowd of people celebrating the memory of how God sent Jim Gould and then others to build his church there!
Its heat beats deep in my veins thrumming tumbling drumbeats off-beat softer scuffling of my feet beside dark feet in the community of rhythms that thump the earth and thrust our souls into one warm hum
Its winds blow gently through my hair flowing even now in wisps of ash, flower powder, dust – night air from sand dunes – blending glowing sundrenched yawns and mellowing my thoughts to rest.
Its skies arch infinite spaces over the curved green flatness of grasslands brushing up the sides of rock mica mirrors glistening in granite tracing water falling down slopes to throw red rust onto the trees.
Its leafy giants stand their ground through multiple generations and shade my momentary passing and the life breath of teeming hordes feeding us, greeting us, seeding us with strength to face the sun.
Its people’s smiles and sparkling eyes fill my heart with gratitude for years spent soaking in their grace and learning who they are, the riches of their culture and their welcoming embrace of me and my beloved ones.
The hard times fade to learning curves and scintillating histories of how God planned it long ago by reaching out through emissaries planting fertile seeds of love to draw them to himself!
We landed on African soil six days ago and they have all been filled with reminiscence and discovery—there is no way to share it all. But deep roots remain firm, and it is wonderful to exult in them
That is the richness that comes with being a TCA (Third Culture Adult), with a background of my TCK (Third Culture Kid) years. It brings with it the awkwardness of never being either totally American or totally African. On the other hand, the blend of all this experience becomes like a rich stew, all the better for the understanding it can bring of different worlds. I am truly humbled by the grace I’ve experienced from Father God.
Coming back this time, what has warmed my heart most has been these kinds of experiences:
walking through the market, when a woman selling vegetables turns around and shrieks surprise then greets me in my local language, Nyarafolo! “Where have you been? How are you?”
going into the fabric shacks and being greeted in Nyarafolo by the owners who know their faithful client!
women friends who work at the Baptist Hospital running over to hug me, eyes moist, so glad we are back.
the taste of local papayas, finger bananas, fresh pineapple, and my favorite pineapple-ginger drink (spicy to the nth power!).
going to church in Tiepogovogo and dancing worship, following my dear friend in the circling ring of women.
waking up to the concert of bird calls all around.
seeing one golden rain tree beginning to bloom.
hearing the stories of how Nyarafolos are coming to Jesus!
I could go on and on, but you get the point. I am in the other garden where God planted me, loving it. We are showing dear friends around, two others who grew up out here (younger than me) and one of their daughters. As we tell them about what has been happening and what we have learned it brings it all back with powerful force. God has done what we never expected, saved us from war and sickness, led us by the hand to those he had prepared to come into his Family. He does whatever will accomplish his purposes.
Where are you on your journey? Think back: what have you seen God doing in your life? Gratitude and appreciation of his gifts promotes health and grows our faith. You may have been strengthened by suffering. You may have seen prayers answered in amazing ways. You have been held in the Father’s arms through thick and thin as he cared for you. What blessing can you thank him for right now? Let’s send incense of thanksgiving and worship to the God who loves us and loves the whole world!
The LORD values the lives of his faithful followers. 16 Yes, LORD! I am indeed your servant; I am your lowest slave. You saved me from death. 17 I will present a thank offering to you, and call on the name of the LORD. 18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD before all his people . . . (Psalm 116:15-18 NET)
Today we will take off, flying up into the sky to wing it through the night to Paris. Then we navigate the airport to find our next flight, wait for boarding, then board. The engines begin roaring; we whip down the runway and glide into the clouds, past eagles and any other winged things. The miracle of soaring so high we cannot see land takes us into the beyond. Then hours later the plane will slowly dip, the rain forest and then the sprawling city come into view. The plane turns around and lands on the African continent.
Wow! We are so used to airplanes that sometimes we can forget what an amazing gift they are. What used to take days or weeks, crossing the ocean on ships, now happens in a day. The time and weather change hits home as we step out into hot, humid Abidjan. Thankfully, the next day we will be driving north into the dry season in the woodland savanna: cool nights and warm days. Not sweltering.
All this contemplation of flight is here to take you with us on a journey into the metaphors of flying!
If you worship God Most High (אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, ‘el ‘elyon in Hebrew) you are aligned with the exalted ruler of the entire universe.
He has astonishing ties of love to the humans he has created, and is intimately involved with those who are united with him:
I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. (Ps. 57:2 ESV)
He not only is King of the World and has a plan for it, he has a purpose for each of his own. When we stay bonded to him, we are still aware of all that is going on around us on this dusty earth but when we look up to the Most High, and keep our heart’s eyes fixed on him, we find hope. He is in charge, in charge of everything. So even though the nations rage, they do not have control over the endgame.
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? (Ps. 2:1 ESV)
Earth’s leaders and local bullies may think they have power to do as they please, but that psalm goes on to say that the Lord “laughs” at them—they are not the ones who rule the universe after all. His Chosen One, his Son, is King. So all should respect his sovereignty! The Lord closes by saying:
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Ps. 2:10-12 ESV)
Earthly rulers tend to exult in their own power, but when they do not respect the commands of Yahweh, the Most High, they will be judged for their evil and all the suffering they have brought about. The opposite is true of each person who is wholly devoted to the Most High, to Jesus the King. They can turn to him for comfort in the present whirlwind, knowing that he holds the future in his hand, and even if they don’t live to see it they have safety in his care forever. Remember, he is preparing a perfect place for them, for all of us who love him. And when we trust the Most High we can soar with renewed strength in the here and now:
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isa. 40:31 NIV)
Another psalm I love is this one that uses the metaphor of a “weaned child” for the person who leans on Yahweh in complete trust:
My heart is not proud, LORD, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. 2 But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. 3 Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore. (Ps. 131:1-3 NIV)
It was originally written to Israel, but we are now part of his chosen people. So think about how this picture of the “weaned child” depicts complete contentment and trust. I breastfed my three babies, so I remember how when they needed comfort or felt hungry, if I lifted them up to hold them close they would start rooting around for that source of milk. But once they had been weaned, if they were crying and I lifted them up, they would sit quietly on my lap, head on my chest—not rooting, just absorbing consolation and love.
Think about it: the King of the Universe wants us to lean quietly against him, finding peace. Are you suffering some kind of foreboding these days? Are you dealing with grief over loss of a loved one, or unexpected disaster like high winds that demolish all that is stable (like in Los Angeles), or political turmoil that feels like high winds? Whatever it is. here is the invitation to fly above the sorrow or angst, to see things from the Most High’s point of view, to rest. Even if this is a good day with great things in view around you, when you fly with the Most High you find yourself wrapped in love.
You say my name and my soul rises to meet with you. You give a panoramic view, instilling understanding in place of hopelessness.
You take my deep fatigue and turn it into rest, the kind where I lay back onto your chest, and when you lift me up to soar like a small clinging eaglet I know your wings hold me aloft.
Endure! Stay strong, not relying on muscle strength because it won’t last. Like the grass, like flowers, you will fade away and dissolve. You will go back to the dust. It is on God you must always focus! Glue your trust on his goodness, his wisdom!
He has known you since he formed you in the womb. He knows your life path, knows when he’ll bring you home.
While you are here, breathe. Bloom where he has planted you. Spread joy in the company of others, or alone, looking up. Cope with the chill as autumn turns to winter. Your Creator loves your unique place in the world he made. He loves you, the gift he gave, the child he holds close to his loving heart.
A friend recently said to me, “You seem so healthy but you have all these little things to deal with!” She was referring to the physical changes that start coming into play with aging. And yes, there are constant new challenges. When a birthday comes, you are grateful that you’ve enjoyed another year. But as the years pile up you wonder if the “autumn” of your life is becoming “winter.”
How can I keep on being fruitful in this phase? How can I bloom where I’ve been planted during this aging process, this “winter”? Am I an evergreen? Or am I like that flower that can’t make it past mid-autumn?
Maybe you are not in your eighth decade like me, that place where you hit the average life expectancy for the U.S. But it’s true that none of us can know how much time we have:
15 The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; 16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. (Ps. 103:15-16 NIV)
That said, worrying about how long you may have been given is not productive unless it is a wake-up call to live every day to its fullest, not focusing on what does not matter in the end. The accumulation of wealth or of little souvenirs will all be left behind. And we have no way to predict what will happen to it or to us in our lifetime. What matters is our faithful attachment to our God and to his daily plan, living according to his commands. Jesus himself said:
As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” (Lk. 6:47-49 NIV)
That firm foundation that keeps your house from being washed away by the flood is putting Jesus’ words into practice. Hearing them is not enough. The greatest ones, he said, those that fulfill all the others, are to love God with everything we are and those around us too, just the way we care about ourselves (Mat. 22:36-40). Focusing on that is a lifelong purpose! We need to learn how to do that. We can dig deep into the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, and ask our Master to show us how to live it out. Then do what he underlines for us. That is a high calling! So are Jesus’ words about living in union with him as his disciple in John 14-17. The fact that he promised to give each one of his followers a Guide, his own Spirit, is what gives us hope. We are not supposed to figure this out by ourselves. When we lean on him and obey his teachings, we can grow up the way he wants us to, blooming where he has planted us.
Relying on God’s faithfulness also gives us peace. All around us the world is swirling with dangers, everything from relational conflicts to traffic accidents to illness to crimes (the list is long). The one safe place where we can have confidence is in our union with him, living each day in the company of his Spirit who teaches us:
25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:25 -27 NIV)
There it is: “do not be afraid!” Don’t even let yourself fall prey to ongoing frustration that wears you down!
Do not fret when wicked men seem to succeed! Do not envy evildoers! 2 For they will quickly dry up like grass, and wither away like plants. 3 Trust in the LORD and do what is right! Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! (Ps. 37:1 NET)
Trust him, rely on him, do what he says; do not stay focused on the evil all around!
Finding joy in the journey often requires making the choice to remember that the hope of God’s children is both in his ongoing Presence here and now and all that he is preparing in the Great Beyond for us. That is a confident “hope”, an assurance that when your end comes, you are welcomed into the Joy he has prepared for you. Meanwhile, if you are one who gets to live a long life, be glad!
When I was helping the Nyarafolo translation team translate Leviticus, many days were filled with tough examination of weights and measures, animal and plant names—lots of tricky details. But when we came to chapter 19, which is the climactic center of that book, we found lots of deep teaching and some delightful applications. Take this one that commands reverence for certain ones of us who have made it into the category of the aged—I asked my cohort to obey, to stand up in front of me! We all laughed:
“‘Stand up in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD. (Lev. 19:32 NIV)
Old people are indeed honored there in Africa where the life expectancy is much shorter than here in America. And long life is a precious gift that brings a wealth of experience—hopefully leading to wisdom:
The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old. (Prov. 20:29 NLT)
God loves us all, the child being formed in the womb, the old lady and old man. Those of us in his Family can rest in his love, no matter what foreboding is attacking us. I had to repeat this to myself in the middle of the night last night, lying awake and wrestling with a long list of must-do’s and what-if’s. Where was that peace beyond understanding? Why was my heart wondering about so many outcomes?
Stop, Linn, I kept telling myself. Keep your mind fixed on the Lord and his goodness, and his promise to empower you to do what he sets before you! Remember to relinquish ownership of plans! He will accomplish his projects!
I finally slept again. May you find peace in the goodness of God as you step into 2025 too!
Linnea's Lines 