Shadows & Mirrors

by Brenda Williams

3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. - Colossians 3:3-4 (NIV)

I recall one of the final chapters in C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” books speaking of the Shadowlands -- the idea that this world, in all its beauty, glory and mystery, is a mere shadow of the heaven to come. That the reality we currently see is as hazy as a reflection in a pond, compared to the real splendor that awaits. And that once we arrive in God’s domain, all will be revealed.

1 Corinthians 13 paints this image and no doubt inspired Lewis’ theme, declaring that now we see through a glass darkly but one day will see with wide open eyes, face to face. Our life -- not this clumsy, blurry, faulty existence but real life -- awaits us and promises to surpass our hopes, wishes and dreams.

That life is hidden in Christ for now, so while we live and breathe and cry and shop and get our cars fixed and rage about government spending … that perfect, authentic life is elusive. It‘s just beyond the mirror and our fingers can‘t touch it, our eyes can‘t focus on it. I often wonder if we will ever see it. But God’s promise says at the perfect moment, Christ will appear to fulfill and reveal the life we’ve entrusted to Him. It’s been in His hands since the beginning and we can hardly wait.

Out of Focus

By Brenda Williams

Romans 7:13 (MSG)
Sin simply did what sin is so famous for doing: using the good as a cover to tempt me to do what would finally destroy me.

I pondered the plight of a friend today as I read this verse. My friend was confronted with sin in a loved one’s life -- and the loved one did not agree that it posed any danger; their choices seemed harmless and perfectly acceptable to them. How could this happen, my friend wanted to know; she thought her loved one knew better.

Insidious sin is just that -- lurking, hiding, waiting for you to relax and acquiesce to the half-truths and dismiss the full truth. It’s possible that wrapped in the layers of what seem to be goodness and light and understanding are the tiny, inch-by-inch steps that lead to ultimate Darkness. In the face of right and wrong, sometimes our sense of wrong is diminished and blurred by daily exposure and cultural acceptance.

So are we doomed, unable to protect ourselves from being fooled by what looks like benign benefit? Not so! God’s word says even though we falter and fail, if we have His Spirit living in us and focus our being on Him instead of ourselves -- our own understanding -- we are free from being condemned, free from worry about our lack of discernment, free to see things clearly, to enjoy the good, to live and fulfill our promise and His vision.

God, help me to focus on You and allow Your Spirit to help me see the good from the feel-good, and discern Your life from sin’s deception.

My Pregnant Condition

by Billy Williams

Romans 8:26-27 (MSG) Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God.

I know all too well the “wordless sighs and aching groans” of my spirit. Lying awake at night, my mind spinning and churning in the worries of the day past and the day ahead. I want to pour it all out in a conversation between me and my Maker but I cannot make enough sense of it to form even the simplest sentence. Can God make sense of all that I am thinking if I can’t even bring it to Him? Does my lack of focus dismay or confuse God?

I think not. My ability to put thoughts and words together has absolutely no bearing on God’s ability to understand my needs, worries or thoughts. “He knows us better than we know ourselves...” I can remember so many times in my early Christian walk well-intentioned people trying to “teach” me how to pray... “Here is the formula,” “This is how Jesus prayed;” one kind soul just told me to say The Lord’s Prayer over and over -- you can’t go wrong there. But I need a deeper prayer life, one that lays me at the feet of God. Actually, God went one better and gave me His Spirit to present me before Him and interpret my senseless babble and random thoughts.

God, let me take advantage of Your Spirit and feel the freedom to express the weight of my prayers through wordless sighs and aching groans, knowing that You hear and understand me. Amen.

Sitting Idly By

By Brenda Williams

Hebrews 10:37-39 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." 39But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Christ is coming without delay; we who are righteous live by faith until then and do not shrink back.

Here the author gives every believing heart a lift, encouraging us with the immediacy and urgency of our faith: Christ IS coming, he is coming SOON, and we are NOT to be faint of heart, NOT to “shrink back” -- from persecution, from ridicule, from challenge, from our tasks, or from our own doubts. Meet them head on, or He will be displeased with us!

He “will not delay,” it says. That gives me hope that though I await his return and wonder, Christ is not sitting there idly waiting. He is actively engaged in God’s plan, and will arrive in a little while when all is ready. There is no delay -- he will come right on time. And the time is God’s to determine. And we should be doing the same. Take heart and be encouraged to know that Christ is preparing and we are to be working hard as well.

Father, help me to trust in your timing, in your return, and to be engaged in the business at hand while we await your return.

The Will of God

by Billy Williams

Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see. (Heb 11:1 GWT)

Doing the will of God. The ultimate goal of all Christians should be just that - God's will. But what is God's will for our lives? We know the easy answers to this question: to love God, seek the kingdom, make disciples. Getting more specific seems to be the problem. What kind of job does God want me to have? What dreams and aspirations in my life should I seek out and which should I let go? How do I know for sure what God wants me to do? The answer is, we don't. If God laid out every move that we are to make like a road map in front of us, there would be no need for faith.

We get so caught up in knowing the exact will of God that we become paralyzed, unable to make a move toward a dream or goal because we fear it might not be the move that God wants us to make. We choose to stand still when God wants us to move ahead, trusting (having faith) that He is in control. Doing God's will is desiring God's will. We should be willing to move ahead with reckless abandon seeking God's guidance and provision. If we do this, we are within the safety net of God's plan for our life. If we set out to accomplish a goal and our game plan is to trust God in every aspect, He will surely not let us go astray. Not to say that we will not experience failures and stops along the way. What we consider failure today might be God's success tomorrow - a way for God to fine tune our course. It is a great privilege to be able to live life knowing that we have the wisdom and assets of the Creator of it all. How can anything seem out of reach?

Heavenly Father, help me today to know that you guide my steps. Make me bold in my dreams and confident in my decisions. Bless the roads that I choose and in all things bring glory to Your name. Amen