Author: Rebecca Edwards

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God is Good

Dear Sister,

Lately, I have found myself squirming in my seat when I respond, “God is good!”  Why do I squirm?  Because I type or say that when times are good and when times are bad. Just last night, I stopped to ask myself am I being a hypocrite?  No, seriously—is this an appropriate comment at all times or am I just fooling myself and using God’s name incorrectly?

After some introspection, I concluded the comment is absolutely appropriate at all times. Here is why:  God created the world.  He created man and woman.  After every day of creation, He said, “It is good!”  He didn’t make a single thing that required a “do over.”  After finishing His creative processes, He blessed Adam and Eve with the privilege of joining Him in managing this new, perfect world and in doing some creating of their own (“be fruitful and multiply”).

Thus far, all was good in the garden where God placed them, life was perfect.  Then woman and man used the good freedom God gave them to choose selfishness.  With one bite of forbidden fruit sin entered the world.  Humankind had ONE law to follow and we failed.  Now, daily, we fail abundantly.  To my sorrow, I choose self over God with tremendous ease.

Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ He provided a way of escape from this cycle of death!  Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, I can say, “God is good!” at all times, for though I may be walking through the valley of the shadow of death that I richly deserve (and more besides), He is with me.  I may be profusely showered with blessings despite my sins, and again, He is so very good!

I, we, deserve nothing but condemnation and death.  Yet even while we wallowed in the mire, God gave us the life and blood of His Son and many other blessings besides.  Our very breath is a gift.

God       Is      Good,    Indeed!

Running with you,

Rebecca

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Wrestling, Wandering, Worry or Peace

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Dear Sister,

Our family recently returned from a trip across the eastern half of the United States. We visited Arkansas, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida. We drove to those states throughout the month of September with 5 kids and a ton of luggage in one van. We survived. We had a great trip. And, I was surprised!

We had planned and prayed for this trip for months prior. We prayed throughout the trip—prayed for safety, for good attitudes, for physical and financial health, for good relationships with family and friends, for good memories. God overwhelmingly blessed us. We arrived home at the end of September without any accidents (only a cracked windshield from an errant stone), all family members are still on speaking terms with us, no one got sick on the trip, the kids did a great job sitting and cooperating on the long drives, and we came home slightly under budget. Above all, we got to spend time with many family members and great friends along the way—fantastic connections.

I mentioned we prayed. God blessed us. So, why was I surprised? Don’t get me wrong, I was grateful. We got home and I breathed a tremendous sigh of relief and disbelief. Then I stopped. I serve a big God. He delights in giving good gifts to His children, and I asked for His blessing; but I was acting as if I anticipated disaster. Oh me of little faith. Granted there is no assurance that a perfect vacation will happen; however, if He loves His children and will work all things for good, then I should rest in His provision. Breathe. Rest.

Paul accomplished his trip to Rome (Acts 27-28) with a shipwreck, snakebite, lives saved, and sharing the Gospel of Jesus. It was more eventful than ours, but full of blessings regardless. The lessons I learned? 1) Never underestimate our great God—both in His ability to give good gifts and in creating unexpected riches in the midst of seeming tragedy. 2) Stop wasting time gnashing my teeth over possibilities. Plan, work hard, and leave the rest in His hands.

Dear sister, how many times I wrestled with this trip and my wrestling was in vain. Events happened, awful or outstanding, nevertheless my wrestling. How many hours I could have chosen to smile instead of wandering around in a frowning fog of worry! Please know His peace is extraordinary and we can experience it if only we allow Him to shower us with it. Rest in Him and in His plans for you, for your family, your town, our nation, and even our world.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7

Running with you,

Rebecca

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Did You Say, Rejoice? Really?

Dear Sister,

To my mind and apparently the minds of many others, these are dark days for our country—politically, economically, and spiritually. It seems our way of life as well as our freedoms are threatened more and more every day. I find myself tempted to wring my hands and pull my hair, muttering, “What to do? What to do?” Don’t you?

Well, STOP (and please remind me if you see me succumb)!

First, this is not our forever home. Think about that—breathe it in. Our eternal existence is not dependent on our saving this world, this country, or this government. Remember our church fathers? Even Jesus’ very disciples existed in a world full of slavery, religious oppression, political oppression, and nonexistent or bad plumbing! They were a mess. Yet, in the midst of that mess, in fact in prison himself, Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4-7)

Second, it is not our job to save the world! Jesus has already accomplished salvation for those whom the Father has given to Him(John 17), all we are charged with doing is sharing it, discipling those who receive Him and endeavoring to travel the path of righteousness (cross-carrying/dying to sins… NOT comfortable, but filled with His peace, His joy), for His name’s sake. (Psalm 23:3b)

Finally, remember those Israelites—the ones who were slaves in Egypt for forever, rescued by God, then living in tents in the desert for 40 years before finally managing to move into their new home (that makes my two month wait for a house in a hotel room with seven people look like an awesome vacation). That poor group of people finally got their dream home only to lose it later because they stopped following God’s heart and ended up in exile/slavery again. Well, I found it interesting that in the midst of their troubles, they finally got permission (permission from the pagan king who held them captive) that they could rebuild the house of the Lord. “And they sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying, ‘For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.’ And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.” (Ezra 3:11) They were not comfortable, they were not free, they were not sure of anything really (and even the temple rebuild had setbacks); regardless of their worldly difficulties, they shouted, “God is Good! His lovingkindness is upon us forever!” Today, right here in the mess we are in, He is still faithful, good, and full of lovingkindness for us. Rejoice, dear sister, rejoice in the Lord!

Running with you,

Rebecca

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Pride and The Torture Rack

Dear Sister,

I am a woman of strength and confidence. My parents did an amazing job raising my sister and me. They prepared and encouraged us. They praised our successes. One success led to another and another. They were a strong foundation for my life and adulthood. My confidence in who I was as their child, a woman, and a child of God was great. However, I have heard it said (Love & Respect marriage seminar) that “every strength has a back sided weakness”. Thinking through the devil’s tactics and knowing he likes to tailor his attacks to each individual (particularly by honing in on their weaknesses), I wondered what the weakness of this wonderful strength was.

I almost choked when I realized what it was.

Pride.

Just about every conflict I have found myself deeply wounded by was because someone pointed out an area that I thought I had handled, covered, or was competent in—and they felt otherwise. I’m not saying they were always right, but as soon as I heard something other than a positive, I got (get) defensive and hurt. The funny thing is I don’t tend to question whether I am still a strong woman, capable and able to get things done; but I mope around and tend to be consumed by the criticism for a time (often a loooong time).   If true, I should allow the criticism to shape me into a better individual; if untrue, I should toss it out. I have done neither. Instead I have allowed the devil and my own prideful heart to condemn me to a torture rack that I am on, but not tied to.

Yes, you read that right. Christ freed me at the cross yet I am the foolishly jump up on to that torture device and allow the devil to gleefully turn the screw. And he will, until you and I realize the game he’s playing and GET OFF!

I am jumping off and running away with this in mind and in action:

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others. Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Phil. 2:3-8

If that doesn’t keep my pride (and the devil) at bay, I am confident I can find another verse (or more) to attack my pride. Dear sister, please join me and run out of Satan’s torture chamber. He can’t hold us there unless we choose to stay. Christ saved us from more than just Hell. He saved us for an abundant life!

Running with you,

Rebecca

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God’s Good “No” Answers

Dear Sister,

I recently read we should thank the Lord in the midst of our sufferings, in fact for our sufferings. That act draws us closer to Him and helps us through our dark times. In one of my all-time favorite books, The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom and her sister do exactly that as they travel roads of unspeakable horror, yet find themselves blessed by God over and over again. My husband and I have also found God’s grace in His “no” answers.

Sometimes, though.

Oh, there are times that my spirit simply cries and hangs on for dear life. I cherish the verses in Romans, “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom. 8:26-27) No formula, just remain in Him. He pleads for us. With His Father, with God. For us. There couldn’t be a better advocate, no one who understands me better.

How blessed are we?

I had to laugh through tears as I looked up this passage. I know I’ve read the chapter untold times, but until tonight I did not realize that these verses of the Spirit interceding for us is sandwiched between, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Rom. 8:18) Unspeakable joy to come!

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Rom. 8:28) Satan’s plans for evil are thwarted by our loving Lord and turned to good.

“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? … But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:35, 37-39) His assurance we are ever His beloved.

From crying out in desperation, too crushed to even formulate words in defense, to knowing with great surety our trials are not without a purpose, we are conquerors through Jesus—and not just that, but the best we can even dream of is merely a shadow of what is to come. Sweet sister, as you cry in your dark hours, cling to Him—He has great, beautiful plans for your tomorrows!

Running with you,

Rebecca