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If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 15:19
Several years ago I had to take some classes at a university about 100 miles from home. A friend of a friend of mine had parents that lived just outside the city the university was in. They lived in a large house in the country and, through a weird set of circumstances, offered to let me rent a room for the couple of weeks that I’d be there.
The couple lived on a hobby farm in the country. They were very kind to me, and fed me every day. They charged me very little for a great room. It was a great situation for me except for one thing. I was miserable the whole time I was there. My mindset had absolutely nothing to do with the host family or the accommodations or the food. They did everything they needed to do to make me comfortable.
The problem was all on my part. I never felt at ease in their home so even though they told me to make myself at home it felt strange to be walking around in someone else’s home. Also, I was lonely. I missed familiar faces. I missed my family. I couldn’t get over the feeling that I just didn’t belong.
I think of that time in my life every once in awhile. I think about how there are many things in this world that make us, as Christ-followers, feel lonely. People can make us feel lonely when they have expectations for us that we can’t live up to. Try as we might to please them, to fit in or to build a relationship with them, it’s not going to happen.
Tragedy can make us feel lonely too. We struggle to cope with illness or the death of a loved one or the reality that old-age has set in. We see our children struggle and can’t reach out to them like we’d once hoped. We watch our love relationships grow cool or even die. Religion can make us feel lonely too, even though it’s the one thing that should comfort us. Sometimes we can feel lonely and not even really know why. It can just be a longing for comfort and a search for a place to find it. Loneliness comes when we feel like we don’t belong.
Jesus knew we’d be lonely. He warned us about that. As long as we are in this world we’ll be lonely. We’ll feel out of place. We’ll be misunderstood, judged, criticized and feel the pain of life’s struggles. The reason for that is that we aren’t home.
When I was staying with that family I had every reason to be comfortable, but I wasn’t home. It wasn’t going to happen. In the same way, as long as we are here on earth we will always have a sense of longing for ‘home’. Jesus promises us that while we are here in this foreign land he will comfort us. He promises there will be rough spots along the road but all of it will be worth it when we finally come home to him.
PRAYER: Father God. There are so many times I feel out of place in this world. People judge me for my beliefs. They question the way I live. They don’t seem to understand how I feel. There are times I just don’t feel like I belong. Even when things are going well I have a longing for home. Comfort me with your Spirit during the rough spots in the journey. Strengthen me for the road ahead until I’m able to join you in my real home. In Jesus name, Amen.
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew 10:30
Think for a moment of the person you love more than anyone else in this world. Get a good picture in your mind. Take a few minutes to gaze (in your minds eye) on every one of their features. Focus on the reasons you fell in love.
One suggestion as your doing this. It might be a good idea NOT to do this when you are in the presence of this person. You may find yourself staring at them and freaking them out!
Now, how many hairs are there on your loved ones head? What? You don’t know? Are you thinking I’m the one that’s crazy? Well then, you must not love that person.
Now your probably angry with me. Of course you love them, you are thinking. Your maybe tempted to shout “You have no right telling me that I do or don’t love _______! And you’d be right.
But here’s my point. When you love someone, really, really love them you know everything you can about them. You know their likes and dislikes. You know that makes them scared and what gives them comfort. You even sacrifice your own comfort to make them comfortable.
Jesus tells us that God loves us so much that he knows has the hairs on my head numbered! Imagine that for a moment. It doesn’t just say he knows how many there are. He can point at a hair on my head and say, “Hair number 2,368 is looking a bit frayed today!”.
Now, if God is that familiar with me; if he loves me that much. What do I have to worry about? I like the way Max Lucado says it in his book “A Gentle Thunder”.
“If God had a refrigerator, my picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, my photo would be in it. He sends me flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. When I want to talk, he’ll listen. He could have chosen any place in the universe, but he chose my heart.”
I know I make mistakes. Some days I make more than others. I know I’ll hurt people along the way unintentionally because I tend to be a social klutz at times. There are times when even my closest friends don’t understand my feelings, my fears and the things that make me happy. There are times I don’t even understand me! But my Father does. He even has the hairs on my head numbered.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you for your love. There are things coming my way I don’t understand. Some of them scare me to no end. I thank you that in the turmoil that surrounds me you see me. I don’t get lost in the shuffle. You aren’t distracted from my problems because you are needed elsewhere. Thank you that I’m your number one priority today. Help me to be constantly aware of your presence, love and protection. In Jesus name, Amen.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10
When you are in a love relationship with someone you want more than anything else to do what they want you to do. You’ll go to any lengths to know their likes and dislikes. You want to know what they are passionate about and do you best to bring that to pass.
Your Father knows your heart. He knows your every passion, your every desire, your every concern. He knows what makes you happy and content. He knows the things that cause you to worry and fill you with anxiety. He knows your deepest, most intimate secrets and he wants to bring each of them into your life.
The problem is, sometimes the things we are passionate about and desire with all of our hearts are things he knows will harm us. No loving father will give his beloved child something that will harm him. That’s not love. That’s abuse.
Your Father in Heaven is a passionate father, a passionate lover if you will. And his passion is you! He earnestly desires you give you his very best. To comfort you in the hard times. To encourage you when you are discouraged. To bring peace in despair. To hold you in illness and when you are mourning.
When we pray the words “your will be done”, what we are really asking our Father is to do his will in us. It’s like we are saying, “I know you love me more than anything. I know you want your best to be done in my life for my sake and your glory. Now, bring it to pass in me. What can I do to bring your will into my life?”
The beauty is, much of that answer has already been done. Your Father in heaven provided his Son for us to show us the way to his heart. He’s given us his Holy Spirit to guide us and give us understanding and peace. He’s given us his word, the Holy Bible, so that we will know the promises he has for us.
You may have taken some wrong paths in life. Perhaps you are in a place you don’t want to be. A place you thought you’d never find yourself. You are wondering if he wants you back, if he can even use you after all the mistakes you’ve made and the people you’ve hurt. Face it, some of those things were just plain rebellion and wanting things your way! Can he still do his will in you?
The answer is yes! God’s forgiveness is based on His passion for us, not because we deserve it in any way. May his will be done in your life.
PRAYER: Father in heaven. I thank you that you are a passionate lover and that your passion for me far exceeds my ability to deserve it. Forgive me for the times I’ve failed you and others. Empower me with your Spirit to live in such a way that your good and perfect will would be done in my life. In Jesus name, Amen.
The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. Psalm 27:4 (NLT)
Where does God live? Is there any building that can contain him? Does he have a street address? A post office box? A quaint walkway leading up from some street in heaven to the front porch, complete with wicker rocking chair?
Of course not! There is no place that can contain him. The idea of God being some kindly old gentleman sitting on his porch watching the world go by as he sips on a cool glass of lemonade is preposterous! And the notion that we can escape God’s presence is clearly spoken against in Scripture. For no one can find a hiding place where God does not already dwell.
So what does David mean that he wants to dwell in the house of the Lord all of his days and meditate in his Temple?
Here’s what I think it means. David, the man after God’s own heart, knew that his God was everywhere. He himself writes, ‘Where can I go to escape your presence’. But David never, ever wanted to forget that he was in the presence of almighty God.
During our times of loneliness he wants us to remember that God is our constant friend. During those times we of rebel and sin he wants us to remember that God is a merciful and forgiving Father. During times of illness he wants us to remember that our Heavenly Father holds the soothing oil of healing and is ready and willing to apply it to our lives. During those times when relationships fail and leave us emotionally wounded, he wants us to remember that true comfort comes from his touch.
With our Heavenly Father as our Lord we need not ever feel alone or forgotten or unforgiven. We need never feel that once we have fallen there is no getting up. He never loses sight of us even though sin and worry and guilt can keep us from seeing him.
Because of the grace offered through Jesus Christ our Lord we need never feel that God is not near. Nothing can keep us from enjoying his presence if we but come to him and ask.
PRAYER: Father God. I praise you today for the promise of your constant companionship and friendship along every step of this journey we call life. There are so many times I’ve felt alone or forgotten. So many times people and religion have let me down, but no more. From this day forward I ask that I may always sense your presence with me. Through the power of your Holy Spirit I ask that you never let me forget that you are with me. In you I rest. In you I find all comfort. For I am never apart from your presence. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 