Flying High

Now that the holiday craziness has wound down, it’s time to slip back into normal life—whatever that means. I am a creature of routine, and I stay much more grounded and productive when I can keep one. I try to stay ahead of the curve, which means planning out my work schedule so if it gets interrupted (like it did over Thanksgiving and Christmas) then I don’t panic.

I might be lax on writing or keeping up with my social media requirements during the holidays. I’m not as good about eating healthy or taking the opportunity to rest, either. But there is one thing I will not give up—my morning quiet time with the Lord. Even when my eyes were at half-mast, and my mind was spinning with all the holiday preparations I needed to make, I made that hour a priority every day.

Chris and I are both early-morning people, so we’re out of bed before the sun dares to peek over the horizon. First thing, I get my cup of coffee and slip up to our bedroom where I spend an hour with my devotionals, studying God’s Word, and writing in my prayer journal. It quiets my mind and reconnects me to the One who holds the entire world in His hands. Sometimes, I forget just how amazing God is. Does that ever happen to you? And then I read a passage that brings it all back with such clarity, I wonder how anyone can stay sane in this insane world without knowing that.

I’m not saying that I don’t nearly hyperventilate on occasion. If I could just hang onto God’s promises through every newsflash, Twitter feed, and dire headline, I wouldn’t let the enemy creep into my mind. But none of us can be on guard 24/7, can we? If you’ve been able to achieve this level of faith maturity, give me a call; I’d love to get some spiritual soundbites from you.

One of the devotionals I read daily is Paul David Tripp’s New Morning Mercies. It doesn’t speak to me every time, but there are often kernels of wisdom and scripture that meet me just where I am. Everything he writes is based on scripture. There is a reason the Bible is described as the “living, breathing Word of God.” If I had to be stranded on a desert island or locked away in a prison cell, and I was allowed only one book, it would be the Bible. Every read-through is like a whole new experience.

On January 4^th, I opened up New Morning Mercies, as usual. The heading for this day was The best theology will not remove mystery from your life, so rest is found in trusting the One who rules, is all, and knows no mystery.  Since I purchased this book mid-year, it was my first exploration of January. Mr. Tripp discusses a personal tragedy that occurred in their family which involved their daughter, Nicole, and a car. Since my own Nicole was in a near-fatal car accident when she was eighteen, my heart sped up.

This excerpt from the devotional was a great reminder of who God is, and how He has every nuance and detail of our lives in the palms of His loving, grace-filled hands. Mr. Tripp wrote, I held onto the thought that our lives were not out of control. We were comforted again and again with the thought that when it came to Nicole’s accident, God was neither surprised nor afraid. You see, there is no mystery with God. He is never caught off guard. He never wonders how he is going to deal with the unexpected thing…your darkness isn’t dark to him. Your mysteries aren’t mysterious to him. Your surprises don’t surprise him.

For further study, Mr. Tripp suggested reading Isaiah 40:12-31. I’ve read this passage several times, but I saw it in a whole new way—through the eyes of a woman who can sometimes become fearful over the political climate, cultural dysfunction, and evil intent of those who seem to hold all the cards. But they don’t, do they?

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?

Oh, but to envision God creating the sea and sky, oceans and heavens. Doesn’t it bring things into perspective? If God holds the waters of the world in the hollow of His hands, how gently is he holding us?

Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?

What a great reminder that there is no other person in all of creation who can even come close to understanding the wisdom of the Lord. We try and understand God’s ways with our finite, little minds, but even the most intelligent, well-studied, brainiac individual cannot begin to fathom how God works. And it doesn’t matter the defense budget of any nation, none have the power that our great God does.

Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. To whom then will you compare God? What image will you compare him to?

He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. 

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. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 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.

Oh, Heavenly Father, how marvelous are Your works? What do we have to fear? Who is more powerful, more loving, more wise, more protective, more giving than our great God? We are not a mystery to Him, and His placing us where we are in this time in history was not by accident. We are here for a reason. If you’re unsure what that reason is, I encourage you to seek the Lord. He does not promise us ease, but He does promise us everything we need to walk by faith and achieve what He has for us. Stand strong. He is still in control!

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