Smile!

“I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, ‘Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill?’” Nehemiah 2:1-2

Several decades ago, an upbeat, red-headed orphan hit the Broadway stage singing, “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile,” but sometimes in the morning—and all throughout the day—we forget to keep ours on.

Though life has legitimate times for looks and feelings of concern and sorrow, quite often the grounds for our frowns are rather shaky.  Yes, the schedule is hectic, the boss is demanding, the kids are crazy, the employees are inept, and the person driving in front of us obviously needs his license revoked, but does any of that really justify our scowls?  Of all the people on the planet, Christ-followers have the most reason for upturned lips, and when people see us, they should see a smile—almost always.

Nehemiah’s cheerful countenance was such a constant in the royal court that when he was sad, even the king took notice. “I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, ‘Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill?  This can be nothing but sadness of the heart’”(Neh. 2:1-2).  Wow!  Day after day after day after day as Nehemiah went to work at the palace, pouring the king’s wine and tasting the drink to make sure it wasn’t poisoned  (how’s that for hazards of the job?!?), he had done so with a smile and with a cheerful expression and attitude. His relationship with the “Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love”(Neh. 1:5) was the reason for his cheer, and it took something really big and bad, not just the normal irritations and frustrations of life, to turn his gladness sad.

Don’t spend today not fully dressed.  The joy of Jesus should be on your face—not just down in your heart.

Smile!

 

Tell, Then Ask

“Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of the king.” Nehemiah 1:11

What do you say when you pray?

 If you’re like most, mostly “please.”  “Oh God, please help him, please heal her, and please hold me.  Please protect and please provide and please do it all really soon.” 

While I am not proposing that we limit our “please,” for we are instructed to ask for what we need(Matt. 7:7) and we know that our Father delights in giving good gifts to his children(Matt. 7:11), let’s make sure our communication with God involves more than just requests. Since prayer is simply—and amazingly—talking with God, what we say, even when we ask, should be about Him as well as us.  (No one on earth really enjoys an “all about me” conversation, and I have my doubts that heaven does either!)

As we do, we find that instead of detracting from the urgency and importance of our pleas, this actually focuses our prayers and clarifies what we ask for.  Nehemiah was specific in his appeal to God.  “Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of the king”(Neh. 1:11), but his request came at the end of a longer and loaded conversation.

Nehemiah began his petition with a declaration of God’s character.  “O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands.”(Neh. 1:5).  Since it’s good to know about your audience, Nehemiah states where God is—heaven, how God is—great and awesome, and what God does—keeps His covenant.

Acknowledging who God is makes us aware of who we are and moves us to repent of where we’ve gone wrong.  “I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself, have committed against you.  We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave”(Neh. 1:6-7).

God’s assurance of forgiveness and grace gives us confidence to then recount and remember His promises.  “Remember the instruction you gave saying…if you return to me and obey my commands, I will gather and bring you to the place I have chosen”(Neh. 1:8-9).  We do this not to jog the memory of the One who never forgets but, instead, to show and strengthen our own faith that God will keep His Word.

At this point, having declared God’s greatness, admitted our weakness, and remembered His promise, we are in a good place to know what we truly need and to ask for it honestly.  “O Lord, let you ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant…Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of the king”(Neh. 1:11). Nehemiah’s prayer is not a “formula for success” but a beautiful reminder that focusing on the One we’re talking to puts us in the right frame of mind and heart to ask, seek, and knock.

Requests are best made in relationship.

Next time, before you say “please,” say “praise.”

Not Doing Nothing

“When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.  For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah 1:3-4

As soon as tears filled Nehemiah’s eyes, his knees hit the floor, and for several days he did nothing—nothing but cry, nothing but fast, nothing but pray.  “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.  For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven”(Neh. 1:3-4).  With his broken and burned down hometown in dire need of repair, Nehemiah just sat still—or so it seemed.  

But his weeping eyes, rumbling tummy, and desperate pleas were accomplishing things far greater than any aid package or hasty assist ever could.  Inactivity is not inaction, and Nehemiah was knowing His God—the only One who could bring a solution to this dismal situation. 

“Be still and know that I am God,” we’re directly instructed, yet surely this verse is meant for the placid times in our lives when circumstances are calm and nothing urgent is on the agenda.  But it’s not.  The context of the psalm which contains this famous phrase is chaos. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble”(Ps. 46:1) begins this  declaration of faith even as things quickly fall apart with the earth quaking, mountains crumbling, and  waters churning(vs 2-3), with nations roaring, kingdoms falling, and the world melting(vs 6).  And as God overpowers our terrestrial  calamities by breaking bows, shattering spears, and burning shields in a blistering blaze, we are told to “be still and know that He is God”(Ps 46:10).  Knowing who God in the middle of the mess lets us know what we should do next, but we must begin by being still.

When your calendar is chaos or your world comes crashing down, the best thing you can do is nothing—except know that God is God. 

 

The Folks At Home

“Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace.  The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” Nehemiah 1:3

“How are things at home?”  When we’re away, we want to know, so we ask those who are there—or who’ve recently been there. (If you don’t believe me, check my phone bill!)  A good word is reassuring, but news of calamity or strife sends us rushing back down the boulevard or across the country to help the ones we love who live at a place we love.   This caring curiosity has made significant differences in the lives of many families and communities, but one day, the concern and courage of one man in a rather important position in a rather pleasant place changed the course of an entire nation….

“How are things at home?” Nehemiah asked his brother who had just returned from their native land of Judah. “Not good,” was the reply.  “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace.  The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire”(Neh. 1:3).  A bit of background about this book which we will ponder upon for the next few weeks:  During the reign of King David’s grandson, Rehoboam, the northern ten states (tribes) of Israel seceded from the union because of high taxes and heavy labor.  For the next two hundred years, this Northern Kingdom (still called Israel) was ruled by nineteen ungodly kings who led the people further and further away from God’s will and God’s ways until eventually these ten tribes were killed or carried away (never to return) by the conquering and not-so-kind Assyrians.

The two southern states that were left when the nation split, Judah and Benjamin, were known as the Kingdom of Judah and for almost 35o years were ruled by a succession of 20 kings—8 faithful, 12 unfaithful.  Sadly, most people went for the worst and became wicked idol worshippers.  As God had stated centuries before when setting up the nation through Moses(Duet. 28), He allowed the consequences of their choices to come upon them, and Judah was invaded, defeated, and exiled to the foreign land of Babylon by the very ruthless but rather refined King Nebuchadnezzar (think the blazing fiery furnace and the beautiful Hanging Gardens.)

 When their national time-out of seventy years was up, God caused Cyrus, the Persian king who had since conquered the Babylonian Empire, to issue a decree that all the Jews living in his realm could return to their homeland and rebuild the temple of the Lord(Ezra 1:3).  Some packed up, headed west, and finally finished the Temple after a two decades long construction project, but one hundred years after receiving permission to head home, the Jewish people in Judah were still living with a burned out, broken down capital, and their spirits felt much the same.  “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace.  The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire”(Neh. 1:3).

Such sad news from his native land was not what Nehemiah had expected or hoped for, and his heart was broken.  “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept”(Neh. 1:4).  He was sad for the people and he was sad for the place—a place Nehemiah had never lived but loved because the city was the special to the Lord.  His willingness to hurt with them and then to help them started a fascinating and faith-filled series of events that altered the course of Jewish history.  Adventures do abound when you focus on the folks at home!

Remember, you don’t have to be there to care, but you won’t be there unless you do care.

Find out today, “How are things at home?”

 

 

Going For Gold

“We run to get a crown that will last forever.”  1 Corinthians 9:25

The Olympics are over, and though the torch was extinguished ten days ago, my family is still experiencing withdrawals.  Since we had waited four long years to enjoy this spectacle of summer sport, we took in all we could— morning, afternoon, and prime time.  Most days we avoided media outlets which announced winners and results as events occurred, and instead, waited until evening to watch the finals together as though they were live.  Most days.  But sometimes I just had to know and would check on the sly to see who won.  Why?  Why couldn’t I just wait and find out?  Why did I have to look and see?

Part was curiosity. Part was impatience.  But the main reason was excitement , and so I read ahead.  Guess what happened!  Instead of causing me to lose interest in the evening broadcast, I excitedly anticipated watching it all play out.  I could enjoy the details of each moment because I was assured of the outcome at the end.  I didn’t have to wonder or fret because knowing who stood on the victor’s podium to receive the medals removed nervousness and anxiety of what might happen. 

Our Christian lives should be a lot like my Olympics—but with nothing on the sly. On the contrary, we are encouraged and instructed to read ahead, and in verses throughout the Old and New Testaments we find that at the finals death and the devil are defeated, the conquering Christ calls us to Himself, wipes the tears from our eyes, eliminates our mourning, crying, and pain, makes all things new, and we will live together with God forever in His glory and His grace.  Knowing ahead of time about this amazing finish will surely not cause us to lose interest in life but should only increase our anticipation of our part in the action.  Because we know who stands as ultimate Victor, we don’t have to wonder or fret about what might happen, and our nervousness and anxiety about His provision and protection should be removed.  We can enjoy (or endure, depending on the circumstances) the details of the moment because we are assured of the outcome at the end, and no matter how hard or long the race, we always have hope.

Because we know what happens tomorrow, we can live with hope today.

Make the most of your race.

 

 

 

The Silver Lining

The Silver Lining

“Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 28:31

Long before the Apostle Paul ever set foot in Rome, he sent ahead a letter—a sixteen chapter note jam-packed with sound doctrine and straightforward application for the Christians in that city.  In the center of his correspondence, Paul had written these words:  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”(Rom. 8:28). All things? Really?  Does every single cloud have a silver lining?

This verse can seem hard for those with an empty cradle, an empty bed, or an empty heart.  It can sound almost harsh to the abused, betrayed, afflicted, or evicted.  But the words are honest—the solid pledge of a holy God whose sovereign plan and purpose allows stuff we struggle to understand on our side of forever.  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Though this truth calms the anxiety of irritating delays and the sting of disappointing defeats, don’t quote this verse quickly or blithely.  It is not a Band-aid for pain, but a deep healing ointment that brings wholeness and hope when we face the woes of “trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword”(Rom. 8:35). It is the unfailing and unchanging assurance we cling to when things fall apart and we are left dealing with the devastation of “death, life, present, future, height, depth, and anything else in all creation”(Rom 8:38).  The proof of God’s promise is a blood-stained cross and an empty tomb, and when heartaches and heartbreak numbed Paul to see nothing else, he kept God’s grace in his sight—even as he walked as a prisoner into Rome.

It seemed as though Paul’s best days of sharing and serving might be behind him, but he “was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him,” and, “for two whole years, Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcome all who came to see him.  Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ”(Acts 28:16,30-31).  For the first time in a long time, Paul could preach without fear of persecution for the soldier sent to guard him became his protection.  His audience was eager and attentive because all who heard had to walk through his door, and from his prison, Paul penned four books—bestsellers which have encouraged and inspired until today (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon). 

Yes, the sky of Paul’s situation was dark.  Yes, the forecast for his future seemed dreary. But the God whose love cannot be severed (Rom 8:39) worked for Paul’s good even in the rain.

Don’t get down when the sky gets dark.

Clouds have a silver lining because the Son will never stop shining.