Serve the Word!

This is our calling 
when we follow Jesus: 
we are “servants of the Word.” 
He is the Word! 
He speaks to us, 
through Scripture texts 
(the written Word) 
and also through his Spirit, 
our Counselor, our Guide.

He lives inside me,
makes my heart’s eyes
see the highlights
he has stroked across
those texts so relevant
to me, my life.
Do I take note?
Do I get up and follow through?

How do I feel the nudge,
or hear that still small voice
that is the GPS 
showing the path ahead;
note the amber alert  
when danger is near;
hold to the word of truth
that tells me to go,
to keep on running 
to spread the news?

My part is to be still,
to stay attached
and welcome his instructions
and then to carry through.

My inner ears will learn
to carefully discern
that precious voice
that worms its way
through all distractions
to direct my moves,
my steps, my words –
to guide my growth
in this profession,
this divine obsession:
that I might learn the ways
to be a servant of the Word!

Easter worship brought intense joy as we contemplated all that Messiah Jesus accomplished for us on the cross, and reveled in the truth that he is alive! Then his last words to his disciples hit me in a very personal way: “I am now the authority over the universe, the Savior of the world! Go and tell this news to everyone, your kind of people and those who are very unlike you, even far away! I have died and risen for you all, for them all, and I long to offer them the gift of life that never ends! Cling to this: I will walk with you and guide you the whole way. Just serve me, doing what I give you to do.” (my interpretation–see Mat 28:18-19).

His disciples wrote his words down so that they could be passed on. They also did as the Master had said, traveling to many places in the Roman Empire including Greece and Lebanon to tell people the Good News about Jesus. Thomas went to India, Matthew to Mediterranean regions and Ethiopia. All were martyred except John, who nevertheless was confined to the island of Patmos because of his faith.

This has always underlined for me the truth of the historical account of the resurrection. If it were not true that Jesus died and rose to life, and had then told his disciples to go spread the news, would these men have given up their lives rather than be killed or imprisoned? No! They had known Jesus intimately and experienced his living presence after his resurrection. It was worth losing their lives. It was also worth doing exactly what he had said to do. One of them stayed in Jerusalem to lead the church there and do what the Lord gave him to do. The rest scattered, wherever they were led to go.

They were serving the Word of God! As John, one of them, wrote in his introduction to his written account of Jesus’ life and ministry:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (Jn. 1:1-5 NIV)

And Luke, making sure that his friend, Theophilus, would know the whole truth about Jesus, started his  book by writing:

I have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. (Lk. 1:1 NIV).

 The disciples themselves told the congregation in Jerusalem that this was their priority:

We ourselves will continue to devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.”

If it had not been clear to them that the “word” was Jesus himself, this calling would not have meant so much. They had known him intimately, and they knew that God had communicated his good news of salvation through Jesus, through his teaching and his life. To serve the word was to serve him!  I would write it this way: to serve the Word was to serve Jesus! And that was what life was now about.

Is that our passion too? Do we do what he says to do, go where he wants us to go, live out his love? When he is the Master, that is our life work. We can trust his goodness and his plans, since he is God and God is completely good. And God is love! He has given himself for us. We need to give ourselves over to him in gratitude and joyful obedience!

So how can we know what he is telling us to do? First of all, let him renew us, change us. When our inner focus switches to him we will be able to discern how he is leading. Paul put it this way:

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is– his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom. 12:2 NIV)

The world is enticing, with all that it offers in the way of fun and riches and even power. But walking with Jesus requires turning our backs on those as goals. They are not what we are to spend our lives grasping for. Instead, when we are transformed we will learn to listen to our Master and recognize when he is the one speaking. He is the Word, the one trustworthy Word, and he does gift each of us with ways to spread his Good News. He will empower us to bless others, to serve them with the best of food: the bread of life and living water! Remember these words:

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (Jn. 6:35 NIV)

Let’s keep on serving the Word who supplies us with all that we need to accomplish what he has planned for us! May we each learn the ways he has in mind for us to be a servant of the Word!

Parade of the Lamb

Two disciples, eyes full of questions, 
brought him the donkey and her child, 
gave him a hand, and he sat on the colt  
(never ridden before) and began trotting 
towards Jerusalem, the City of God, 
its King displaying humility. 
He breathed in deeply, then exhaled,
moving toward his finish line
where the last scenes of his incarnation
would play out in horror.

The crowds were dense by the city gates,
come to celebrate this great Feast
when the Passover lamb would again be killed,
memory of rescue from their chains.
Those who loved him felt portents
swirling: Why a donkey? Why a parade?
Some, inspired, took off their cloaks
and spread them on the path ahead
to be clopped on by donkey hooves.
Palm fronds waved in joyous arms,
some thrown down, a carpet, too.
People now began to chant
songs drawn from prophetic Word:
Here comes the King in David’s line!
Praise him, envoy of  I AM
who just raised Lazarus from his tomb!
Praise him in the highest heavens,
praise the one who brings us peace!

His heart was heavy as he rode.
The crowd was happy now, but knew 
just half the story, hoping this
would be the day when all would change.
Yes, their king was riding in! 
But they had no idea he
would be the final sacrifice,
Passover lamb for all the world,
that this was God in human flesh,
come to be killed by their own hands
when it would suddenly become clear
that his goal didn’t match their dream
of earthly freedom, battles won.
They would shout a different song,
disillusioned, blind, distraught.

He knew this, but he moved ahead,
bracing for insult and pain,
suffering to fulfill God’s plan.
“Hosanna!” was the people’s cry,
“come save us!” If only they had known
that rescue was indeed his goal!
There were a few who saw his grief.
They’d heard him speak of gruesome death
and stored that deep inside their hearts,
questions roiling in their minds.

Now, we know. We celebrate
the slaughtered Lamb, Messiah, Lord,
the Most High King, our Rescuer!
He let us kill him, knowing that
he would transform malign intent
into a gift of freedom—Home!
If one thinks it clearly through
and realizes who it was
who rode the donkey through the songs
and palm parade, to face the cross
and hang to die, to bring us peace.

This week is one for contemplating the Lamb of God, sent to be our “once-for-all” sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10) Those of us who did not celebrate Passover like the Jews did in their ancient history can miss the powerful symbolism. The metaphor began when Yahweh liberated his people from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:4-14). The lamb’s blood on their doorpost protected them from death; those without that proof of a lamb sacrifice died. It was a strong message that was to be remembered every year at the Passover feast.

Then Jesus came. He fulfilled so many prophecies that week as Passover approached. This slaughter of an innocent lamb, which could not have any blemish, is the one that captures my heart this year. If I had had to kill a lamb each year at Passover it would have broken my heart. Lambs are so cute, so beautiful and helpless. Jesus knew that he had been sent to be the final lamb sacrifice, the one that would bring true protection from death—eternal death—to those who would accept his own blood as their salvation. He gave himself to offer them that.

It was, of course, not only rescue from death but also the promise of life forever with him. That we will celebrate next Sunday. This week as we move towards the remembrance of his death on the cross, may his humble obedience to God’s plan flood us with gratitude. He knew what was coming: emotional, spiritual and bodily suffering of incredible magnitude. But he got on that donkey’s colt and entered the city, willing to fulfill the requirement out of love for us, eyes on the ultimate goal. He did come to save us. Let’s be deeply moved with thanksgiving:

. . . fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2 NAU)

 For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate the festival (1 Cor. 5:7b-8a ESV)

*Photo credit Kat Smith

Keep on Running!

Run! Run! Run! 
The track is long 
getting longer 
not what I 
expected 
but this is race 
to the finish 
step by step 
to the goal 
He put in place. 

He planned out
the path ahead
prepared his runner
with practice runs
and breaks for rest
time to eat 
be refreshed
water for thirst
then shows the path
so run! Run! Run!

I’m not actually a runner—I much prefer speed walking—but I definitely relate to all the imagery in the Scriptures about running the race. Life that has purpose is like that: you have a goal, and reaching it takes energy and commitment. It includes a goal for service here on earth. It is also that ultimate goal of joining our Lord in life forever.

When my Master made it clear that he wanted me to analyze an unwritten language and produce its alphabet, then clarified that he was leading me into Bible translation in that language, I had no idea what a long race he was telling me to run.

As with any race, there are moments when it is fun, full of discoveries as you go around a corner and see something new or exotic, or maybe you hear the voices of faithful companions cheering you on with encouragement or prayer, or see someone personally touched by your race and its goal. Here’s an example of that last one: a newly translated psalm was read to a Nyarafolo group and a woman burst out, “I had no idea you could talk to God like that, pouring out your feelings, not just creating an elaborate prayer!” And someone else, hearing a New Testament passage, said: “So that is what that verse meant—I always wondered!” 

We knew we were working for our Master and he had purpose in all the long days of plowing through details, dealing with edits and figuring out how to communicate key meanings. But it definitely took perseverance. That word has become a banner for me, an underlying principle which reminds me that spiritual work, ministry for Jesus, is a long-term investment. And it is not done for nothing:

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58 ESV)

It may seem ironic that we are to be “immovable” while working hard. Work takes activity, right? But here it means we are to remain solidly committed to the task given us. We need to keep on applying ourselves to what the Master puts before us. In the imagery of the race, we run hard, we keep on running even when we reach a challenging section of the path that requires leaps or swerves. This is what the writer of Hebrews was underlining by remembering how so many faithful followers of the Lord had kept on keeping on, putting their faith in the Lord:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2-2 NIV)

Jesus showed us how to run. He knew that he was here for a very special purpose, so he ran through every hard space and even up to that agonizing death, reaching the finish line set before him. He knew what joy was waiting for him past what looked like the end to those on earth watching him be murdered. He knew that he would rise to life, and that his death and resurrection would offer amazing gracious rescue to anyone who would accept it. So he threw off the hurts and the slander of those opposing him. He accepted the tough path. He did not give up. He made it to the goal and brought us the path to Life!

Along the way, Jesus did have moments of great encouragement has he saw people healed, as he saw crowds gather to soak in the truth of his messages, and also when he went away to quiet places to be refreshed in the Presence of God. He knew who he was and why he had become a human. All of it was a part of his race.

So it is with us. We gladly gobble down the nourishment he gives us, strength for the race. We rest in his loving care when we stop striving on our own and converse with him. And we keep on running the path that he lays out for us, trusting his guidance. He has promised:

 I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. (Prov. 4:11-12 NIV)

On those days when we have clear direction, we soak in the joys of ministry, of seeing fruit. Then there are also days of strenuous training when the Master builds up our endurance so that we can run longer stretches or deal with more uphill slopes. All of that is training that is normal for athletes; they have to build up their strength in order to compete.  And we are definitely in a kind of race and need to have our strength and agility increased. He said we would not stumble, but that is if we rely on the wisdom he provides. We have to listen to the Coach! As Paul said:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Cor. 9:24-27)

This race requires strict training! It demands self-discipline which is actually a willingness to release control of my own self to the Coach. When an athlete goes into training, he is directed into grueling practice sessions to build up strength and competence.

So it is with us as we run this spiritual race. We must relinquish our selfish yearnings and instead enjoy the delight of delighting our Leader, our Coach and Sustainer. He does give joy! We are to remember to thank him for the joy of knowing him, the joy of knowing what he is saving for us as a prize, the joy of living life with purpose that is far beyond anything this world can offer. Someday all the darkness will be gone and we will live with him in the kingdom of light. For now, we do all we can to respond willingly to the coaching of the Spirit and run the path set before us wherever it leads, trusting him. Paul’s prayer for the Colossians can become our prayer for ourselves as we run this race:

[I] continually ask God to fill [me] with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that [I] may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that [I] may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified [me] to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. (Col. 1:9b-12 NIV)

Let’s keep on running!

*photo credit Daniel Reche

Our One Hope

This is not what I thought it would be, 
a quiet safe place with time to rest 
and peace my constant cup of tea. 
Instead I toss and turn, my heart 
churning with yearning for that 
final resolution of these conflicts,
a revolution that turns the world
upside-down, filtering out the evil
and cleansing the cup so it can fill up
with harmony and purity, with love
that heals the hurts and starts
a whole new space, one blessed
with holy truth, security.
This is no usual war, no common
battleground where drones can see
insidious manoeuvers of the enemy.
No, it’s in the air! It’s everywhere,
in hearts and minds, targeting souls,
spreading fear and power grabs 
so that worlds rip and shred apart.
We cannot win without the aid
of One who rules the atmosphere,
the ins and outs of every home
and ups and downs, the One who knows
the ways the Enemy uses ruse
 to conquer for his purposes
the human race. So we cry out
to you, the Sovereign King,
our only hope when we see dreams
go up in smoke! Bring out your guards,
defend your own! Devastate
the darts that come with poison
intent to bring us down!
You have soldiers we can’t see
but we know they can overcome
the wiles of the Unruly One
and all his nasty hidden troops!
Our hope is you! Just you!

Do we believe he is God Almighty? We sing it. Do we live it?

These past two weeks I was involved in the official checking of our translation of Isaiah into Nyarafolo. The true meaning of one of the names of God came up when the consultant asked my co-translator, Moise, and I, why we had chosen to render  “YHWH sabaoth”  as “Yahweh the Commander of Heaven’s Armies.” Sure, that’s what the name means in Hebrew,  but doesn’t that scare people, he asked?

Moise chuckled. “No! They never reacted in fear when they heard it!” The Nyarafolo people are constanly aware of the spiritual forces all around them. Their traditional religion requires all sorts of sacrifices to various gods for different needs, and dangers from tripping up keep them in fear. When they realize that in Christ they are now serving the God in charge of the heavenly armies, they know they are in the hands of the One who can defend them and win over those lesser spiritual beings. They know the reality of spiritual warfare.

In English most translations render this as ”LORD Almighty” or “LORD of hosts”—in French, it is often “SEIGNEUR de l’Univers.” These all capture some of the relevant truths communicated by that name. Yahweh is all powerful, and reigns over the universe. He is lord of hosts, but growing up I always wondered who those hosts were: armies everywhere? crowds?

I processed the truth again this week. When we serve the One who is commander of his own huge and mighty army of beings we know are his loyal servants, the angels, the spiritual forces are the ones who need to be scared. We, Yahweh’s loved ones, are protected.

And when we are his servants, under the command of the One who rules his army of heavenly beings, we are also told to wear armor that is based on our faith in him. That brings hope in the crises as he tells us how to be prepared when battling these evil entities we cannot see:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph. 6:12 NIV)

The New Living Translation does translate this name more literally: “the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.” LORD stands for his name, the “I AM,” YHWH. More and more preachers and translations are ceasing to hide God’s real name, the one by which he revealed himself to humans from the time of creation to Noah, Abraham and Moses (Genesis 7-9, 12-15; Exodus 3, especially verses 13-14). God is the one who always has been, who is, who always will be, and his name is YHWH: the I AM. An English pronunciation of the Hebrew tetragrameton YHWH is Yahweh. (A misunderstanding of the later Hebrew written form that added the vowels for adonai, “lord”, led to the pronunciation “Jehovah.”)

When Israel began to suffer extreme threat from enemies, it was Yahweh the Commander of Heaven’s Armies who spoke to them again and again through the prophets. They needed to know that whatever armies came against them, they had be completely loyal to the Commander; then they could be saved. When they chose not to trust him, there was an inevitable consequence: the enemy would win. Under the Commander’s protection they would win. This brought confidence in both rescue and justice:

O [Yahweh, Commander] of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you. (Ps. 84:12 NLT)

For [Yahweh, Commander] of Heaven’s Armies has a day of reckoning. He will punish the proud and mighty and bring down everything that is exalted. (Isa. 2:12 NLT)

So, bringing this home to our contemporary world, we must remember who it is that sends us into battle, or hides us in his protection, or takes down the wicked forces. He is truly ruler of the entire universe, which includes the earth and the spiritual domain. What we see as corruption, power grabs and cruelty by the powerful here on earth is a result of sin and the machinations of the Enemy to do all he can to tear down what is right and mess up this world. He will not win in the end, but right now we are in a constant battle, whether we are aware of it or not. Remember:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph. 6:12 NIV)

We tend to attribute the waves of evil around us to human brokenness, which is not wrong—it is just a war that goes way beyond that into the heavenly realms.  I am reminded of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, in which he imagined how a more experienced devil would coach a novice in strategies to make his assigned human wander from the Truth and be corrupted. If you haven’t read it, pick it up! For those of us who live in Western cultures, it opens the curtains between the physical and spiritual worlds and makes the spiritual battle very real.

There are times when we have truly felt the resistance of the Enemy to our work of translating God’s Word into Nyarafolo. We would get to key points, ready to finish a certain book or move ahead to complete the New Testament or Psalms, and the attack came: a translator fell off his motorcycle and ended up with severe back injuries that incapacitated him for months; a mysterious fire was sparked inside the translation office at dawn and destroyed many of our commentaries and dictionaries as well as a translation desk, severely damaging the electrical wiring and ceiling; just as we hoped literacy work was taking off, we discovered that the man hired to do it was morally corrupt . . . the list goes on.

I was constantly reminded that this project was the Lord’s. He had launched it and would finish it. We needed to be sure that we were wearing all of our battle and defensive gear:

13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, 16 and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. (Eph. 6:13-18 NET)

We pressed on, praying continually, supported by the prayers of many of our friends and “companions of the Road.” The Word is still being completed in the Nyarafolo language, and attacks continue. But the New Testament, Pentateuch and Psalms is in print, in the hands of the people, and the harvest is increasingly visible! God, Yahweh the Commander of Heaven’s Armies, will complete what he has started!

Where do you see ongoing spiritual battle in your life, your community, your world? Make sure you constantly wear your armor and are ready to act as the Commander says to. And “with every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert”! The warfare is ongoing, but we know who is in charge every step of the way: Yahweh, the Commander of Heaven’s Armies!

*If you would like to hear more of the exciting story of how  the seed planted in this people group, the Nyarafolo, one of the “least-reached,” is in a season of harvest, you can hear it from my husband and I and the descendants of the first missionary to the Nyarafolo this coming Friday! We will be interviewed live on WorldVenture in Review:

http://www.worldventure.com/events 10 a.m. EDT, 9 a.m. CDT, 8 a.m. MDT, 7 a.m. PDT

At Pisankaha, January 2025: Lori Gould McKee, Greg Gould, Baba Philippe (son of one of the first Nyarafolo believers) and Hannah Gould

Power Paradox

When I let go 
take my hands off 
lose control 
then I am weak 
powerless to 
influence 
situations 
fix the problem 
do it my way.

Then paradox
takes over:
his hands firmly
in control
he is strong
powerful
able to
accomplish
the miracle required.

And there’s 
a corollary:
when I live
within his grace
I have his power
to use for him:
the paradox
of mutuality—
Christ in me.

Have you come up against a situation where you become aware that you, by yourself, cannot do what needs to be done? I’ve often been there, wondering how I can meet the challenge. My own resources, whatever they are, are either disregarded or insufficient. I feel that I’ve been preparing for this but now find that I cannot change a thing. I pray, and this is what my Master tells me: when you realize that you are too weak to push that heavy obstacle off the path, lean on me—let my powerful hand help you, let it do the work! It’s like the times I’ve begged my husband to come help me open a jar lid that is absolutely stuck and my hands are too weak to turn it; I take my hands off, he puts his strong fingers around it and there! It turns! Or I am struggling to take suitcases to the car, wondering who is around, and my son comes running up to take the heaviest ones out of my hands and carry them for me!

A key element here is belief that the person coming alongside you is strong enough to do what needs to be done. The more we grow in our faith in God, the more we learn that he is always able to do what is essential. True, he will do it his way, in his timing. But he does use his humble servant to get the job done when it needs to be done, when that servant leans on him for strength and direction. But if the servant insists on doing it on his own, refusing help or guidance, he can easily fail. He may push that obstacle with all that is in him, but nothing is accomplished.

Paul had to learn this the hard way when his arrogant self-reliant pride had to be crushed so that he could recognize his own insufficiency and rely on his Lord (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Whatever his weakness (a “thorn in the flesh”) was, when he recognized it and gladly accepted the Lord’s strength instead, he found joy in that tough situation:

But [the Lord] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Cor. 12:9 NIV)

He would “boast” about how he could not do his service on his own! That is a huge step, a growth in humility and recognition of human inadequacy, as well as growth in knowing God and his desire to give his servant the strength that is needed.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Cor. 4:6,7 NIV)

As we become increasingly close to God we learn to recognize his goodness and power that are shown in how the Messiah lived and worked. Paul even explained that although his light shines into us, we are just like clay jars that only show some of that glory. God alone can display his immense glory. But the light that we do radiate to the world reveals that it is no mere human gift: it is extraordinary light since it comes from God himself!

When we feel weak, like a clay jar that has no light in itself, it causes us to turn to the source of light and strength—like turning on a strong electric light when a little candle burns out, leaving a room dark. We have to believe that God who rules the universe is the one who can do what we ourselves cannot do. And going through the process of learning to rely on him, recognizing our “weakness,” is an essential learning curve in our spiritual journey.

So when we are in a place where we sense strong opposition from the Enemy, we ourselves are weak in comparison. We probably even look weak to the world around us. Why? Because we are obeying God, faithful to him, and this makes no sense to them. For example, we are not to retaliate in a way others may consider normal, because our Master has told us to love those who oppose us! We are to speak the truth in love rather than in derogatory put-downs. We are not to bear grudges, but forgive. All of that can be interpreted as weakness.

Christ himself did not retaliate when he was cruelly sent to the cross, knowing that his death would accomplish salvation for whoever would believe. He had not hidden who he was, but the very people who should have believed that he was Messiah rejected the truth and killed him. That did not destroy God’s plan or his power: Jesus was raised to life and now lives in us when we put our trust in him! As we serve him he empowers us.

For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you. (2 Cor. 13:4 NIV)

Douglas Moo explains the “weakness” this way:

“The ‘weakness’ is not physical frailty or moral impotence but rather the ‘weakness’ of non-retaliation or non-aggressiveness before people and the ‘weakness’ of obeying God. People who are weak in human estimation because they seek to do God’s will are supremely strong. But that ‘weakness’ of Christ is past. Now he lives a resurrection life sustained ‘by God’s power,’ ‘the Spirit of holiness’ (Rom 1:4). As a result of his union with Christ (‘in him’) through faith, Paul shared the ‘weakness’ of Christ’s passion. But in his dealing with the Corinthians, he would be fully alive (‘we will live’), along with Christ (‘with him’), ‘by God’s power.’[1]

In other words, Paul was stepping aside from wielding his own authority to let Christ’s authority be his constant direction and strength for the task. He made this clear when he wrote to the Galatians:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20 NIV)

So when we are “weak,” laying aside self-assertiveness to let Christ call the shots, we are now serving the Almighty, the God who is love, light and life.

LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you. (Ps. 84:12 NIV)

How are we blessed? He is our Father, our Guide, and when we rely on him, his strength is active and he accomplishes his purposes even through us. We have joy in the reality of that relationship. I am repeating this to myself every day as I go through an extremely challenging time. He is my strength!

 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. (Ps. 28:7 NIV)

[1] Douglas J. Moo, “The Letters and Revelation,” in NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 2097–2098.

Moaning in the Desert

Bleak, dry ground extending 
to every horizon, 
sun beating down—no shelter, 
no way to move forward 
but step by tired step, 
feet filthy, sore. 
No food! I just scraped 
the last dried scraps 
from my shoulder bag. 
My children are crying: 
where are we going? 
where is home? not here! 
Is there really a promised land? 

We saw what our God did:
he shoved our angry enemies
into roaring waters. They’re gone.
But all we see before us
is desperation!
My friends say so too.
We groan. Hold hands.
Did Yahweh save us
just to laugh while we cry,
stranded out in nowhere?
Our leaders have lost it.
They took us from our homes!
Sure, we struggled there too
but we had food to eat!
Now all we see is desert. 
Deserted. Hope gone.

What? They say to turn,
to face over there,
to come near to Yahweh!
How can that be? Oh wow! 
That cloud we followed
just lit up like a blaze!
What is going on?
Now they tell us we’ll be
eating all we want
when the sun goes down
and breakfast will be served!
Really? Out here in the dust?
And yet—look—it’s happening!
Unbelievable! But oh so real!
Yahweh is here after all,
even in this bleak desert!
       (cf Exodus 16)


Sure, the Israelites were grumbling. They had just run through a crazy path in the Red Sea with a wall of water towering each side of the wet sand. The Egyptian army was coming! It must have been exhausting, especially for women with children. Then there had been the huge sigh of relief when Yahweh did that miracle and crashed the water walls down on the enemy. They were finally safe! Miriam led the celebration!

After that they walked three days without finding water to drink. And the one source they found was Marah, “bitter”. Another miracle: God told Moses to throw a certain tree in the water, and wow! it was drinkable. Then yet more trudging, with rest at a lovely oasis, but they were told to move forward again. Now no end was in sight. The world around them was becoming increasingly dry and barren. Ah, the “Wilderness of Sin” it was called. And the people sinned.

Worn out, hungry, with no idea of how much longer this was going to go on, they grumbled and cast blame on their leaders, who said they were following Yahweh’s orders. I probably would have grumbled too. There was no map, no end in sight, no rest stops, nowhere to get supplies. Did Moses and Aaron really know what they were doing?

Then, speaking through those two men, their God Yahweh answered them.

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'” 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”  (Exod. 16:9-12 ESV)

Now that was the first time that they had been told to come near to Yahweh! And he showed them visually that he was present, lighting up the pillar of cloud that that they’d been following. He truly is the God who loves being with his people. A verse that has influenced me all my life is this one:

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (Jas. 4:8a ESV)

What Yahweh promised the wanderers must have seemed impossible: dinner and breakfast  for thousands of people there in the wilderness. But he did do what he had said: he sent a flock of quail huge enough to fill each Hebrew’s hungry stomach, and in the morning he rained down “bread” no one had ever seen before. They named it “what is that stuff?” (manna). And in spite of not having had anything provided for them until that evening and morning, they were now being tested. Did they trust Yahweh to provide manna again the next day too? He said that they had to trust him—if they gathered more than their family needed, it would rot. A test of faith it was indeed!

We may find ourselves in a place of similar testing. Will the Lord actually make a way through the wilderness? One of my childhood songs comes to mind:

My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,

all I have to do is follow!

Faith for today is mine all the way

and all that I need for tomorrow!  (Sidney E. Cox)

Trust in God’s promise to guide us is something he teaches us as we follow him. To learn it, we have to practice it, stepping out in faith that he will provide what is needed. It’s easy to just recite The Lord’s Prayer without realizing that even there he was teaching us all to depend on him for “our daily bread.”

In order to demonstrate their trust that Yahweh would keep sending manna each day, the Israelites were forbidden from hoarding. They were not even allowed to save up for just one more day (except when the next day was Sabbath), and as day after day Yahweh came through with bread from heaven, they learned to let go of their need to do everything for themselves. “Let go, and let God!”

The Israelites had already seen God Yahweh destroy the enemies that intended to kill them. Their trust in his promise to bring them safely into the land he had prepared for them would be tested over and over, even after arriving there.

That kind of trust is a challenge for us, too, but Jesus made it clear that we need to trust our Father in heaven to be our provider and our rescuer. Another line of The Lord’s Prayer makes that clear:

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matt. 6:13 NET)

While they tramped through the wilderness the Hebrews were on a long learning curve, getting to know this amazing God who had saved them from slavery and slaughter,  and who could feed them and give them water while they walked for years—no road, no way to know the future. But he did it, and the story was written down to teach us the same lessons. Our God is trustworthy; what he says he will do, he will do. It may not be the next day. Or even the next year. But we are not to doubt his goodness and dissolve in grumbling. The evil one would be very happy with that! Instead:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. 6 Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov. 3:5,6 NET)

Putting these threads together, this is how we must grow in our intimacy with God and trust him. The context of that special verse in James gives perspective: we not only need to draw near, but repent and turn around, living wholeheartedly for our Lord.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.  (Jas. 4:1 ESV)

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (Jas. 4:8 ESV)

We might feel like no end is in sight. There is one way to rest and to trust:  we  must count on our Sovereign God Yahweh to come through!

Rooted, Held Firm

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,

17 that 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!

Confession in the Storm

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.

3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

 4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit 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.

 7 Be 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.

 8 Refrain 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!

Morning Thank-yous

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!

Caught Inside a Wider Web

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!