God Are You There?

12/29/2010

God Are You There?

Some may say silence is golden, but I feel silence can be very lonely. The full proverb goes: “Speech is silver, but silence is golden.”  You may ask yourself “What is that proverb all about?” The bottom line is speech has value if it is of benefit, but in the hard times silence can be the best thing in a situation in order for us to draw close to God to fulfill all our needs.

I am one who hates silence and loves to have an answer on circumstances at hand (maybe because of culture or upbringing or just personality), but that is not how God works. It is said that a wise man is one who knows when to be silent.

Holidays can be the most difficult time of the year when it comes to that time of silence. Furthermore it can be the loneliest time of the year if you are going through a heartbreaking circumstance; divorce, illness, death in the family, or many other things. The last thing someone wants during the holidays is silence.

As I was driving around on Christmas Eve, my heart was shatter because of what I have been going through and decisions I need to make where those I love may get hurt in the process, something I do not desire. As I was driving I listened to a song from Meredith Andrews named “Can Anybody Hear Me?”

This is the question that is so commonly asked in those lonely and quite times. Everyone from Elisha to Moses to even Jesus asked that same question even though they knew their assurance was in God.

Have you ever felt that God abandoned you in the hardest and most difficult times of your life? Maybe you have heard a promise from God and as you moved toward the direction you felt Him calling you then start thinking that maybe you did not hear Him correctly or worse yet felt as if you wondered off course somewhere along the way and God turned His back on you.

In Meredith’s song she as a gripping phrase;

“When will You come?
If there is anything at all
Coming in between our love
Please show me, ‘cuz I am barely hanging on

Can anybody hear me?
The silence is deafening
Why do You feel so far away?
When I know You’re here with me
But I just need faith to see
Nothing can separate me from Your love”

 

Have you ever been at that point to where you don’t even know if God is there? Maybe you feel that you have been faithful in following God that all became silent and you are just barely hanging on asking for God to give you the strength to faith your eyes to remind you that nothing can separate you from His love.

God does not just sit back throwing the world into motion and watch you as a lab mouse trying to make your way through the maze to get the cheese. No God is there all along. Look at what the prophet Isaiah said about God’s character and the reason for Christ coming to earth.

Isaiah 61:1:

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners.

Isaiah stated that God’s purpose was to bring healing in those dark times which is the complete opposite of silence. Maybe the reality is God just saying “I will never leave you or forsake you” showing you that you are on the right track. Maybe it is God saying that you have arrived where He needed you according to His plans. Regardless the silence we need to remember His promises.

Let me share two promises from Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 29:10-12 (The Message)

^10-11This is God's Word on the subject: "As soon as Babylon's seventy years are up and not a day before, I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. ¹²"When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen.

Jeremiah 33:3 (The Message)

^2-3"This is God's Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: 'Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.'

Here is the answer to the initial question: God is there even when all is silent. He is asking for you to stay on course where He has called you then stay in full communication with Him. Doing that with others continues our silence because it is only through God that the silence melts away and before you know it you are on the other side of the Jordan thanking God for bringing you through that dark time.

CAL

God Heard My Prayer

November 12, 2010

“God Heard My Prayer”

In the time of Nehemiah, he had a monumental vision to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, but the task seemed too great. In fact it was so large that Nehemiah had times of being discouraged, but God led many people into his path to share the vision that God gave him. One of those men, which was mentioned only once in scripture, is Jadon who was a laborer willing to do whatever it took to get the job done.

In 2002 my wife and I found ourselves pregnant and expecting our last child. We had a name picked out should it be a girl, but were stumped should we have a boy. Neither one of us could agree on a name. When we found out that we were having another son we moved into frustration with each other and desperation. As time wore on the day was getting closer and closer to his delivery. One day at lunch time I decided to stop over at Borders to look at names and their meanings.

One of the big problems that drew us to a dead lock is I wanted a “J” name grouped with my first name being his middle name. This was symbolic to me for many reasons. You see his initials would personify the testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The name we finally agreed on was Jadon Christopher.

Jadon meaning: “God heard our prayer or God will judge the matters at hand.”

Christopher meaning: “The one who bears the name of Christ.”

When I sat down to think of his full name together, I was set back by the joint meaning. Together his name means “I, Christ, heard your prayer and the Father will judge all matters at hand.”

The joy that was so amazing was this little boy was born on my 31^st birthday and has been the best gift I have ever received. As we were going through the pregnancy we never knew how important both his name and initials would be.

The pregnancy of Jadon was odd and very risky and at the time no one would explain the issues or repercussions of the pregnancy. During the pregnancy we found out that he had a 2-vessel umbilical cord making for high risk pregnancy, which all umbilical cords have 3-vessels for nutrition. With a 2-vessel cord the baby does not get the proper nutrition resulting in a large gamma or complications from deformities, liver problems and even death. As we stressed out about this issue we prayed the verse we used from our wedding, Ecclesiastes 4:12, over our son and the pregnancy.

Ecclesiastes 4:11-13 (New King James Version)

¹¹ Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
      But how can one be warm alone?

¹² Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
      And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

We did not know at the time that my wife was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes. This issue during a pregnancy can cause the baby to grow too fast and can create for complications to the mother. What we found out was the combination was exactly the way that God allowed Jadon to survive and be born as a healthy 8lb. 2oz. baby boy.

Forwarding to today I have had my ups and downs with this struggle and trial of a journey, but I have learned that it is God who hears my prayers. When Jadon turned 7, my heart was ripped out of me since I did not have the chance to celebrate his birthday together due to the decisions of my wife. That day was very lonely, degrading and miserable to me seeing that we shared the same birthday.

As time has gone on I never expected a change of events that would affect me so dramatically. As my children have been struggling to understand the separation between my wife and I and our shattered family, as they have called it, I have found them loosing hope and looking to me to bring our family and marriage back together. I have been encouraging them to pray to God about that as it were my desire as well. This has been a very difficult task to do and because of it the children have become upset with me and disheartened, with the exception of one; Jadon.

It has been through him that when I have lost all hope his young voice has boosted me to carry on. Just the other day as I called my children, to see how they are doing, my youngest son signed off with “Dad, I wish you were here.” I told him that I wish I were too because I would give him hugs and kisses. He responded to me “Dad if you were here I would give you hugs, hugs, hugs, kisses, kisses, kisses, hugs, hugs and kisses, kisses, kisses.”

Of anything I have heard in the past two years that was the sweetest thing I have ever heard. God has heard my prayers and has said “I am with you even when it seems as if I am not.” I have never thought that in my times of struggle, pain or hardship that God would take MY child and show His love through him.

This is just how God is. He is our advocate, cheerleader and the judge of those things going on around us. God is just looking for our prayers rather than watching us try to solve the problems. It is God who wants to give us the ‘Hugs, hugs, hugs, kisses, kisses, kisses, hugs, hugs, and kisses, kisses, kisses.’ Are you seeking after Him and calling Him as He is waiting on your call as my children do mine?

CAL

Filling the Empty Vessels

November 9, 2010

“Filling the Empty Vessels”

Luke 6:38 (New King James Version)

³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

I just cannot get out of my head this past Sunday’s sermon my pastor gave. He preached from 2 Kings 4:1-7. This section talks about a woman who was married to a prophet who died and their debts were so great that the creditors decided to take her sons if she did not pay off the debts they incurred, and then enters Elisha. His question to her in such a time of despair seemed so obscure, but he asked “What do you have in your house?” Her response was just a little jar of oil.

As my pastor continued on he stated that she minimized that which she had because of the despair of her situation. She was instructed to go to her neighbors and ask for their “empty” jars. She was instructed to ask her neighbors for their emptiness which would testify of God’s work in an impossible situation. The jars must have varied in size symbolizing the size of emptiness and despair of her neighbors.

While sitting there thinking of this concept that my pastor was talking about the question came up to me “What do you have?” Sometimes we have this tendency of demeaning God’s ability to do the miraculous only because we demean that of what we have thinking of it as “Thanksgiving Leftovers.”

In 1871 a man by the name of Horatio Spafford had an incredible run of what some might say “Bad Luck.” Spafford a wealthy man who was strong in his faith and was highly regarded in society found all his belongings wiped out over night in the Great Chicago fire. Understand, today this would be bad, but not nearly as bad as what it was at the time where property insurance did not exist and if tragedy befell you, you would be out of luck.

Spafford could have sat on the curb and mourned his loss, but he didn’t. Instead he looked for ways to help those around him who were affected in the same regard helping them put their lives back together.

Several weeks later the next tragedy befell him. As he had sent his wife and children ahead of him to relocate to Jerusalem the boat his family was on hit another boat and sank. He received word that his wife survived, but his children had died.

This was not the end of Spafford’s story, but the beginning. The thing that was important was how he dealt with his tragedies. This man when asked how he was dealing with everything as he was making his way to meet his wife responded “It is well with my soul.” Here is a man who was riddled with such horrible things that could happen found himself writing a song explaining his hope in Christ because he found that it is well in his soul.

What looked hopeless, he poured out into empty vessels. He went on to start a foundation which helped the poor and later became the subject of a Nobel Peace Prize. When we take that little that we still have, the remnant, and mix it with faith that God can change the circumstances for our benefit as well as that of others, that is when we will see those things that count in the Kingdom of God and change the lives of those around us.

Several years ago I listened to a speech giving by Corrie Ten Boom. She was talking about, understand this was many years ago and have had a hard time finding exact words, how there were times when they had nothing. They had no food, but the faith of her parents. Her mother would set the table in anticipation that God would provide something for them to eat. They would sit down at a set table without food and pray for God to provide. As their prayer came to a close they heard a knock on the door. Upon opening the door they found a basket of vegetables and a chicken. They were so elated and encouraged to see God provide when it seemed all hope was lost. They saw that they had a table and a place to eat as well as faith that God would provide which made all the difference.

So looking at my life seeing that all I have is the “Thanksgiving Leftovers,” not thinking much about it, I hear the words of Elisha say “What do you have to change your circumstance?” I look around and at first tell God all the things I DON’T have (no job, loss of my family, no money, no home, etc.). Again I hear God ask me “What do you have and what do you need?”

As I sit hear writing this journal I am about ready to fall apart answering the question. “God, all I have is hope in You, that You will change the circumstances. It is in You that You can mend my marriage, my family, give me a good paying job, a home and take care of my every need.”

It is at that very point that God says find all the empty vessels around you and fill them. Don’t just drip a little oil (hope) in those empty vessels, fill them to the brim. I can relate to this woman. That which I have to offer seems insignificant but maybe you are the one who is the empty vessel seeing your marriage disintegrating or find yourself plagued with illness, jobless or any other thing and seeing yourself on the ledge waiting to jump. Then it hits you, “What do you have to change the circumstance?” Can you change your perspective or are you willing to hold on to the little bit of leftovers you still have not able to see God’s miraculous hand just waiting to do something new in you?

I have realized everything both great and small is not mine, but God’s. If He wishes to reduce that which I have down to what seems like nothing or just a remnant to get my attention and build my faith, I have no choice but to trust Him.

“What do you have to change your circumstance? Are you willing to give it away to fill those empty vessels around you?”

Chris Andexler

God is there Hope?

Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

It is so easy to give up when things are difficult and seem to be dragging on forever without reprieve. Relationships can have their times of being very daunting and very discouraging especially in marriage. You may think all hope is lost, but look what Isaiah says, “but those who hope [put their hope] in the Lord will renew their strength.”

One of my most favored historians of the 20th century happens to be Sir Winston Churchill. Here is a man who was voted in as prime minister during World War II and watched as his beloved country and the surrounding countries were falling to the hands of a dictator named Hitler. His country men were ready to give up, but did not because of this one pivotal man. In fact most people thought of Churchill to be the wrong man for the hour and just a crazy man, but God knew better.

Just three days after taking office he announced to parliament "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering." (Finest Hour: Battle of Britain) You see Churchill had taken the office after the previous Prime Minister, Chamberlin, felt it best to negotiate with the enemy only to find himself betrayed and his country being damaged through bombings and the take over by the enemy.

Instead of Chamberlin changing course he gave up hope and ran from the situation. God rose up the proper person for the job to restore the hope needed to defeat the enemy, Sir Winston Churchill. This was a man who was looked at as the wrong guy for the job, crazy and out of his mind and in fact maybe even a little green.

Churchill understood that the journey was going to be monumental, but they had no choice but to press forward. Giving up was not an option. He understood that there were two things that where to be involved for success; time and hard work.

In broken relationships we can look at our marriage from Chamberlin’s eyes or from Churchill’s eyes. We can either give up during the task seeing that it is too great to handle or we can see it from the angle of it being too great of a loss not to try not to be victorious. The question boils down to which seems the best, giving up not even trying to get over the hurdle or trying to cross the hurdle knowing better days are on the other side?

The only way we can be successful is to stop looking at the situation and looking at the promise, stop looking at the ground and looking up to the Creator. Too often we become consumed by the defeats rather than celebrating the victories.

When the Brits started changing their perspective and trusting their leader their moral started to return. As they celebrated the victories that came their way they became more and more confident that they could get to the other side and be successful.

When World War II came to a close in 1945 the British saw themselves on the other side of hope and a new day. They endured and took credit and pride, rightfully so, for what happened, but went one step further. They fired the man who gave them hope and brought them to the other side of victory.

Just a few years after World War II Sir Winston Churchill was replaced by Attlee. Britain lost her first love, the one who gave them protection and hope thinking that the grass was greener on the other side. Little did they understand that which they thought would be the best really was not only to come back to the one that proved himself to be their protection and victor, Winston Churchill (yet again learned through time and tears).

This is the way relationships can be. We end up getting rid of those who can help us through the hardest times and replace them with another love, whether it is another lover or just an activity. We find that because of the exchange we shed a number of tears, pain and many months and even years of recovery to a heart that needs so badly to be healed and protected.

God feels the same way. We have the tendency of giving up on Him in the hard times giving up on hope and replacing our hope with the answers of another. Our hope lies in God alone. God gave us our spouse as a reflection of His grace and sovereignty for us. Walking away in hard times shows that we do not trust God in all things and we have better ideas.

“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb. “
Sir Winston Churchill
“We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. “
Sir Winston Churchill

Put your hope in the Lord. It is through Him that we will not grow weary or faint. As Churchill did not loose hope or grow weary he found that God put him back in power. Do not loose hope if your relationship is in peril God can and will restore.

Chris Andexler

11/4/2010

Out of the Ashes

When all hope is lost we must turn our eyes to the Lord.

A marriage in spiral is likened to a forest fire. Do not loose hope because God can change the circumstances at hand. As long as both parties are alive there is hope and that hope is through Jesus Christ.

Guys I hate to say it but our wives have been carrying our families through tumultuous times and this should not be. If an intruder broke into your house would you maintain your position in front of Monday Night Football being apathetic to what is going on as your wife and children are tormented? If you would answer no to this why then do you sit back finding other things to do when the enemy comes in where you should be fortifying your family by seeking God and getting into the word (putting on the armour- Ephesians 6)?

We are the first line of defense. As fire fighters try so desperately to put out a fire or at best control the situation, we need to be doing the same. If we have fallen short, do not despair for God can restore.

Look at a forest fire. After a forest fire has happened you see acres and acres decimated, charred, smoldering and what looks like a place without hope. After a few years comes new growth from the ashes, stronger more fruitful and more nourishing than what was originally there. Forest fires are a part of life burning off all of the dead brush and junk that cannot or has not been cleaned up.

Marriage is very much the same way. There are little things in our marriage that get under our skin about our spouse or our children or even our extended family from both sides. If we are not willing to clean up these issues God will do it for us. When this happens we look at it in great despair and hopelessness as if nothing can happen to restore what was lost.

Here is the truth, God is a refining fire (Proverbs 17:3). God wants to see your heart pure and sometimes that requires the stripping away of everything you think is good because He has something better. It is only after you go through the forest fires of life and stand strong will you look back and see the new grow God has in you and your marriage, your family and your relationships will look so much better than what you were living.

Reading through Job you notice he was stripped from everything; family, friends, belongings, health, marriage-everything. He had times were he was in such great despair that he was close to giving up, but remembered that his ONLY hope was in GOD alone. Many tears were shed, then you get to the last couple chapters of the book. God tells Job's friends that He would utterly destroy them if they do not repent, bring a sacrifice to Job to offer to God and ask Job to pray for them.

Something very interesting happens at this point. As Job is praying the dynamics of HIS situation changes because he pleads to God mercy over the lives of his friends. He could have so easily allowed bitterness to control the demise of his friends, but instead he allowed God to heal his heart so he could pray mercy over them and in return God blessed Job more abundantly then all he initially had for his heart was pure.

If you are going through a rough time in a relationship whether it is your marriage, children, friends, or parents pray God to have mercy on there lives. That is when God will show up in your life as in Joel 2 God will restore that which the locust or the devour has stolen from your life and bring in you new growth to finish the race strong.

CAL

The Great Divide

Blue Bell Ice Cream has an ice cream called "The Great Divide." It is half dutch chocolate and half french vanilla. Seeing an ice cream that is brought together as such is like that of marriage.

God brings two flavors together; husband and wife, which He said in Genesis 1 "It is good" (speaking about what He made). When going into marriage it is like the ice cream. Early on it is sweet and good, but as you keep eating, it starts to taste the same maybe even boring and by the time you get to eating too much you may have regrets and feel done with it. Marriage can be very much the same where if you go through the motions not savoring what God put together you may find yourself getting board, betrayed or come to the point of regrets and being done with it all.

DON'T BE DISTRACTED BY BY YOUR FEELINGS FOR WHAT GOD PUT TOGETHER! Look I know that marriage and relationships are hard, but do not doubt that which God brought together is wrong. He knows what He is doing in your life and the life of your spouse and family, don't doubt it for a second.

In the movie "War of the Roses" it starts out with a couple where things seem to be perfect, but as the movie goes on the little things start ruining the good things. One quote that Danny De Vito said in the movie was, in regards to a break down in a relationship, "It is not a matter of who wins, but how greatly you loose."

As the economy was good so also were so many marriages. Now that the economy is in the tank I have seen so many marriages and relationships just falling apart as well. I personally know at least a dozen couples or families in some stage of marital turmoil, separation or divorce. Go to the grocery store and look at the magazines, it has even touched Hollywood.

Over the next several weeks I will give some suggestions on how to survive the turmoil that awaits you if it has not already effected you and restore that which the devourer has stolen. Remember this, "What God has put together, let no one (person) separate." (Matthew 19:6). If you are ready to give up on your relationship, evaluate what you can do differently to make the situation better and try to see things from God's eyes.

CAL