Out of the desert and into God’s purpose

A note from Janet: One of my great blessings in 2020 was the addition of Trace Kennedy to our ministry team. Trace is the Brand Manager for the JanetDenison.org brand and has been an invaluable asset as we expand the outreach of our ministry. Trace will be guest writing for my blog for a couple of weeks while I am away. I know you will enjoy her thoughts. Thank you, Trace, for everything you do!

The evidence of spring is everywhere in central Texas, with a heavy emphasis on green and yellow. (As a Baylor parent, I like to think it’s a shoutout from God to the Baylor Bears’ basketball championship title.) 

I have to admit, I’m embracing this spring with a deeper gratitude than in years past. The weeklong winter storm of Texas was enough to make me beg not just for warmer temps, but hot temps! 

Soon enough, the mild temperatures of spring we’re enjoying will be replaced with the blazing heat of summer. Streets and sidewalks will appear wavy, the new, fresh foliage of spring will be limp and tired, and regular walkers will resemble their panting dogs. The once welcoming enthusiasm of summer will be replaced with the longing for more refreshing, fall-like temperatures. 

Inevitably, seasons outlast their welcome, and most of us are always ready for the refreshing or relief that comes with the season that follows. 

AN EMPTY NEST LED TO EMPTINESS 

Spiritual seasons are similar. 

In recent months, I have come through a summer, or “desert,” season in my faith walk. A few years ago, when God led me into it, I reveled in the “sweat” that was involved, knowing that the Holy Spirit was moving in me, changing my direction, and shifting my purpose. 

When my last child went off to college, and I became an empty nester, I suddenly found myself with a whole lot of time and not a whole lot to do from a meaningful standpoint. At first, I embraced it, excited to see what God was going to do with me. But then, the waiting and wondering led to wandering. 

It’s easy to get discouraged when it seems like God isn’t answering, doesn’t it? 

Where in your life do you feel like God may be stonewalling you? Maybe it’s in situations, circumstances, or relationships you have prayed about, yet it seems as if God isn’t answering, or really even listening. 

We’ve all had seasons that start out full of promise and new beginnings, only to stagnate and foster discouragement, impatience, and restlessness. 

JESUS NEEDED GOD’S RESTORATION, AND SO DO WE 

I’ve been studying Luke 4:1–13 extensively for the past several weeks, researching the temptations of Jesus for a work project. My initial thought was how easily Jesus fended off Satan’s attacks. Reading just those verses, resisting the devil genuinely seems like a walk in the park for Jesus despite his physical hunger from forty days without food or water, his emotional fragility due to desolation and isolation, and his spiritual battle to glorify God by remaining in his perfect will. 

But Matthew’s gospel reveals something crucial to Jesus’s desert experience that Luke doesn’t mention. Matthew 4:11 says, “Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” Here, Scripture points out clearly that resisting the Enemy wasn’t easy for Jesus; in fact, it was so difficult he needed divine help to recover and be restored. God allowed the hard time in the desert to show us that Jesus was strong enough to withstand what the Enemy threw his way, but Jesus didn’t do it without being depleted. Before Jesus left the desert and returned to Galilee to begin his Spirit-powered ministry (Luke 4:14), God had to refuel and refresh him. 

Isn’t that a beautiful picture of God’s tender love for us? 

He wants us to know that when we walk through the desert seasons of life, experiencing scorching days where we become like wilted plants oppressed by the heat, we are going to need a divine refreshing—not relief the way the world relieves, which is temporary and unsubstantial, but Spirit-powered sustenance that strengthens and endures and readies you for what he is calling you to do. 

THE DESERT JOURNEY 

For over two years, God allowed me to walk, sometimes stumble, and oftentimes crawl through a desert season. Frequently, I took matters into my own hands, believing that my way was a more comfortable and convenient way to where I thought he wanted me to go, only to end up deeper in the desert and even more desperate for relief. 

Isn’t that just like human nature? We seek out our versions of a mirage, hoping it’s the oasis we are looking for. We pursue short-term solutions, make impulsive decisions, or seek worldly comforts thinking they will give us long-term relief and direction.

But, in reality, worldly resolutions fade quickly and can often leave us feeling unworthy, hopeless, restless, and frustrated. In desert seasons, it’s so easy to relate to Paul in Romans 7:15: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” When we are exhausted, thirsty for something satisfying, and hungry for genuine spiritual food, why do we tend to seek our own solutions instead of God’s? 

Much like the Israelites who wandered around and around in the desert, I felt like God had me in this holding pattern with no clear exit plan. After sharing this thought with a wise friend, she told me that I was perfectly positioned to receive God’s replenishment and ultimately his plan—not the world’s. In that moment, I realized I was doing the exact opposite of what Jesus had done in his desert time: focusing on the Father, trusting in the strength of his word, and relying on him to meet all of his needs. 

EXCHANGING MY WILL FOR HIS 

When I stepped into faith, humbly surrendered my will to his, and began walking obediently behind him, the Lord restored my soul. 

My former pastor has often said that the most miserable people he knows are believers living outside the will of God. Is it because we choose to settle in the desert, preferring temporary relief through worldly comforts? Relief and departure from the heat only came when I chose the restoration that only Jesus can supply. 

When we position ourselves to receive all God wants to give us, God is able to bless our lives and use us for his divine purpose and plan. My former Sunday school teacher and longtime Bible study teacher has continually instilled that truth in me over the last fifteen-plus years. And over and over, I have seen this truth played out in my life. 

Never would I have imagined that one day she would be my boss and that I would be working for a ministry that has been instrumental in my spiritual training and maturity. 

OUT OF THE DESERT, READY TO SERVE 

This last year of COVID has been a long and trying season. 

Many of us are probably weary from battling the extreme ups and downs, and we are parched for fellowship and hungry for anywhere but home! This year may have left you feeling anxious, lonely, depressed, or worried. Maybe you ate too much, drank too much, watched too much TV, or spent hours wandering on social media. In the moment, those solutions probably offered some level of comfort and relief, but they ultimately just created more dissatisfaction and a thirst for something more enduring. 

I pray that as you make plans to embark and enjoy this much anticipated season without all the restrictions COVID created, you will first allow God to tend to those places of your heart in need of refreshing. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). 

Jesus walked out of his desert time, restored and replenished by his Father, and entered into his calling that changed the world. Because of his high calling, we as believers now have the very same power that God gave him indwelling us. 

When we surrender to his divine plan and choose to follow him in humble obedience, he truly is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20–21).

Merry Christmas… in July

Whoever thought of the marketing tool “Christmas in July”? 

But, there is something hopeful about looking forward this year. Maybe things will be back to normal by then? 

I watched QVC sell their Christmas merchandise for a while this weekend. Then, I noticed Hallmark had Christmas movies all weekend. (Apparently, they release their annual ornaments each year in July.) 

I had just finished doing some last-minute work on this year’s Advent book. I wrote a Bible study lesson on the faith of Mary and Joseph. I’m surrounded by thoughts of Christmas and it’s been great. 

Why is Christmas in July a good idea?

Look backward to look forward 

When I study a story from Scripture, I see real people dressed in their robes and sandals and living as history teaches they lived. I read the Bible as a history book, not a novel. One of the most important ways to understand Scripture is to view the biblical passages through the eyes of history before seeing it from our own. 

Looking back is a good way to see into the future. 

People spend a lot of time “looking to the future.” Businesses study trends and projections because it helps them be ready to meet the needs of the future. It was interesting to see the Christmas merchandise that quickly sold out on QVC. A lot of it was designed to be nostalgic and remind people of a different time, a memory of a simpler Christmas. 

What projections and trends should we be noticing today? 

First Chronicles 16:12 and Psalm 105:5 say the same thing: “Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered.” Jesus told his disciples to continue to celebrate that last Passover meal, saying, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). 

One of the best ways to understand what God is doing today is to look back on what he has done. The Lord has always done wondrous things and he always will. God is going to redeem these days for a greater good. That’s why God allowed them. 

How will he do that in your life? 

Live in the present 

Life today isn’t normal. We don’t randomly get in our cars and go wherever we want to go. The news we most want to hear are the predictions that offer hope for the future. QVC sold over 140,000 of their Christmas-related “Today’s Special Value.” (Confession: one of those is on its way to my house.) Apparently, a LOT of us enjoy thinking about Christmas in July! 

But, today matters or the Lord wouldn’t have given it to us. 

I’ve always loved Psalm 118:24: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” That verse is for July 2020 too. 

When you remember July 2020, will you realize you survived it or remember how you lived it? 

What are you learning about yourself and about God during these months? 

What will the Lord teach you today? 

This season of “captivity” seems long. We don’t need to be Pollyannaish about it, but neither do we need to be like Scrooge. 

Daniel and the others who were taken captive to Babylon spent seventy years in Persia. Our present situation looks pretty good with that perspective. The nation of Israel returned to their land, humbled, poor, and knowing their need of God. Captivity was a “reset” for God’s people. God knew they needed a new course, and so a new course was provided. 

Is that what God is doing today? 

Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). That would be a good perspective for God’s people right now. If we are simply “waiting” for the present to pass, we are going to miss what God has for us to discover, learn, do, and learn to “redo” today. 

Practically speaking: 

  • What are you accomplishing right now? 
  • How are you growing? 
  • Whom is the Lord using you to encourage and bless? 
  • How have you changed and learned to do things differently? 

Every day we receive God’s daily bread. That bread is for today, and it won’t be any good tomorrow. 

We should pray as Jesus taught us to pray and then live with what we have learned.

How does the Bible teach us to look forward? 

Spend some time today thinking about a favorite verse as it relates to July 2020. 

The Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome when he wrote the book of Philippians. His perspective should help ours today. He said, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). 

What if Paul had shut down his ministry when they put him in prison? We wouldn’t have Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, or Philemon. 

Paul had no knowledge that those letters would one day be considered Scripture. He was just a servant of God who adjusted his life to continue doing ministry, even though imprisoned. In fact, it is almost certain we wouldn’t have the letters had he not been in prison. 

Paul was “sure” that the Lord was still at work, continuing the completion process, until “the day of Jesus Christ.” The Apostle was sure he wasn’t finished serving because he was still alive. 

Christians have a lot to look forward to. What God said in the past will come true. What God promised for the future will happen. Paul was “sure” of it and that confidence inspired his ministry.

Today…

Live with the certainty that if you have been given today, God has a plan for it. 

If Jesus hasn’t returned, we still have things to learn, people to love, and ministry to accomplish. 

“This is the day the Lord has made.” How will you rejoice, and be glad it in? 

You will have that answer when you ask for and receive your daily bread. But, when you take of it, remember Jesus. He died to provide you a future, filled with hope. And what you do today has eternal impact. Today is a gift God has given you for the sake of heaven. 

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end” —Isaiah 9:6–7 

Merry Christmas . . . in July.

The Parable of the Dog and the Geese

It rained all day, but that was fine with me. 

Rainy days are perfect days to spend writing, and I had this year’s Advent book to work on. 

By the way, my thanks to all of you who sent me your Christmas memories and traditions. I’m enjoying them and the process of putting the book together! 

Now, the rainy-day story:

A boy and his dog 

I was busily writing that stormy day when something caught my eye outside the window. 

The rain had slowed to a soft drizzle, and a boy was draped in a pink-and-white beach towel, walking down the road. 

I was curious and needed to stretch my legs anyway, so I got up to take a look. 

Obviously, he had drawn the short straw because he was out in the rain, on the other end of a dog leash, waiting for the family pet to . . . well you know. 

At that moment, the drizzle turned back into a full-blown shower. The boy and the dog went from damp to drenched in 3.8 seconds. 

At one point, I saw the boy bend down and say something to the dog. The dog just looked up at him. 

Apparently, the dog’s “schedule” wasn’t in sync with the boy’s, or, for that matter, the rain’s. The look on the dog’s face made me laugh. 

I guess some things just can’t be rushed, even in bad weather. 

Floating nearby 

Meanwhile, a hundred yards away, eight wild geese were happily floating on the pond. They didn’t care if it was raining; they were just happy to paddle around. 

There were plenty of other geese to keep them company, and they were all free to come and go as they pleased. In fact, I think they were enjoying the boy and his dog’s show as much as I was. Several were looking in that direction. 

That’s the moment I thought, I am going to write a blog post about this. 

Two perspectives on similar circumstances 

The news is filled these days with a lot of noisy, frustrated people from any and all sides of the quarantine. 

Some want to work; others are afraid to return to work. Some think everyone should wear a mask while others shout about personal freedoms. Some think the government should send more money and others think the government should let them make some money. Some don’t think there is any reason to stay home and others think home is the only place people belong. 

Some people feel like they are that dog, on a leash, being forced into doing a “job.” (Okay, forgive that illustration!)  

Others are like the geese: out in the rain but making the best of it. 

How would you describe yourself? 

Are you more like the dog or the geese? 

A simple truth for a complex issue 

If reopening the country were an easy choice, we would pick the easy choice. 

But, there are no easy or perfect choices when it comes to the complex issue of opening our country. 

Everyone has different circumstances in the quarantine situation, and everyone would probably say they wish some things would change. People are going to be hurt if we don’t reopen, and people are going to be hurt when we reopen. 

How do we make a right choice with no right answers?

Jesus set a great example for us. 

Many times, I’ve thought that if everyone on all sides obeyed this one truth the complexities of these days would be greatly simplified. 

The pure wisdom for doing right 

The Pharisees, the most “religious” people of the day, had heard that Jesus had stumped the Sadducees, the most intellectual of the Jewish leaders. 

One of the Pharisees, a lawyer by trade, asked Jesus a question hoping to “test him.” The man asked Jesus, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:36). 

Pharisees believed in strict obedience to the letter of the Law. They also studied the books of the prophets and the wisdom literature. In fact, the Pharisees added their own words to those, including hundreds of extra laws they thought people should obey. 

The Sadducees only believed that the first five books, the Torah, should be considered Scripture and nothing else. They didn’t follow or respect most of the laws and behaviors the Pharisees considered essential. 

The question presented to Jesus was intended to test which side he was on: the Pharisees or the Sadducees. His answer baffled all of them. 

Jesus answered them saying, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37–40). 

Basically, Jesus told both groups how to settle their disagreements and choose wisely. 

The same pure wisdom he gave the Pharisees and Sadducees works today. 

Truth lives somewhere in the middle 

The reason it is so difficult to reopen the country is that people, on both sides, are right about some things—and wrong about others. The first step to finding answers is realizing that no one side has it. 

Truth can be found in the perfect answer Jesus gave. 

Love God completely and walk in his perfect will, then solutions will be clearer. 

Secondly, pay attention to the solutions that treat others the way you wish to be treated, or maybe the way you have chosen to treat yourself. 

The parable of the dog and the geese 

The dog was at the end of a leash, in the rain, because one of its masters had decided it was a good time to take it outside. The geese were stuck in the rain as well, but they were just fine. 

Today, the sun is shining and the rain is just a memory. What is the lesson of the parable? 

We are all in the rain, but some of the population is held by a leash while others are able to float freely, unbothered by the conditions. Some people just have things easier in this life while others adapt to things more easily.  

Either way, all can know that things will be different in the morning.  

Rights vs. right 

A few blogs ago, I wrote about the fact that we really aren’t in this together because we all have different circumstances and inclinations. There is one virus but a variety of possible harms. There are quarantine rules that apply to everyone, but the rules impact all of us differently. 

If you are a dog on that leash, find joy in the fact that soon you will be home—warm, dry, and surrounded by people who love you. 

If you are a goose on the pond, find joy in the fact that you are already at home, even in the storms. 

If you find yourself in the midst of a debate over rights versus right, remember what Jesus said: our job is to love God and others. 

The right things to do will be whatever can be done rightly in God’s eyes, for the good of others. 

Some are dogs and some are geese in this world, but everyone has the right to be loved. 

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8).

Best Practices for God’s people

It’s been months since I made the mistake. So why did I wake up thinking about it today?

That’s how God gives blog nudges and authors a message to teach. 

The problem with this one is that I have to be my own illustration. 

I only needed a few things 

It’s been months since I made that quick trip to the grocery store. I don’t usually shop in that store, even though it’s close to my house. It’s just not as “nice” as some of the others. But, I only needed a few things, and I was in a hurry. 

I grabbed one of those plastic baskets they stack by the door. The handle was sticky and I thought, “Yuck . . . I can’t wait to get home and wash my hands.” 

I quickly ran through my list of “needs” and decided to grab a dozen eggs as well. I went to the back of the store, hoping they would have the brand I like to buy. 

As I approached the refrigerator, I saw a woman moving small, cheaper eggs into the carton of the brand I like to buy. One by one, she exchanged those cheaper eggs for the better, more expensive eggs. 

I watched her do it, and so did her young daughter, who was sitting in the basket. 

I was appalled at her actions and she knew it. Yet, she just smiled at me and continued to steal. No remorse, no change in her behavior. 

A few minutes later, I told a manager about it. 

She just smiled and shook her head. “You can’t imagine what we see happen in this store.” 

No remorse, no change 

So why did I wake up thinking about that experience today? 

It was only a moment in my life and it took place months ago. A woman did something wrong. She stole with no remorse and no change in her actions. 

Has she done the same thing over and over again these past months? Maybe, but that isn’t the point. 

God didn’t wake me up with these thoughts so I could point out her sin. It was my sin that the Lord wanted me to fix. 

The woman stealing eggs had no remorse and made no change. She continued to steal eggs. 

The woman watching her, me, has remorse this morning. And the Lord told me I needed to change. 

I should have helped her switch the eggs back, and then I should have bought her the good eggs. I blew it and I know it. And I’m supposed to confess that in this blog post—for my sake and, possibly, yours. 

This morning, months later, God reminded me of my sin and gave me the chance to repent of it. Maybe, if I had done the right thing months ago, it might have helped that woman want to do better as well. And it would have been a good witness to her young daughter. 

I should have helped—but I didn’t. I just watched with righteous indignation. 

Maybe this blog post is my Romans 8:28 for a past mistake. It’s the first verse I ever memorized, and it’s the verse God gave me again this morning. That verse says, “We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” 

God’s in the business of redeeming our mistakes into something good. This morning, I’m writing a blog post because I believe it’s his purpose, born from my mistake. 

The Salvation Army’s best practices for our days ahead 

Most organizations have a “best practices” policy. Merriam-Webster’s defines the term as “a procedure that has been shown by research and experience to produce optimal results.”  

We can implement a best-practices policy for the days ahead. I’m adopting the message the Salvation Army has used in their work. Their motto is “Doing the most good.” 

The core value of the Army’s mission is “to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name without discrimination.” Their website states, “Faith gives us the motivation that goes beyond simply doing good. We have a passion for doing the most good for body, soul and spirit.” 

The Salvation Army’s best practices are not simply to “do good” but, instead, they want to do “the most good.” 

That’s a best practice every Christian should adopt. 

Paul, Oswald Chambers, and us 

I’m spending this year teaching 1 and 2 Corinthians. In other words, I’ve been spending a lot of time with the Apostle Paul. 

In his early years, Paul condemned Christians and passionately pursued them, hoping to throw them in prison. The road to Damascus changed everything. His passion for what he believed was right became his passion for doing what God told him was right. He began to live redeemed, and his calling was for God’s purpose. 

Oswald Chambers wrote the content for his famous devotional, My Utmost For His Highest. The devotional was actually written after his death, by his widow. She wrote each day’s entry from messages her beloved husband had preached to seminary students. 

The title for the book came from a message to the students about the need to sacrifice anything for the sake of their ministry. Oswald spoke from Paul’s words to the Philippians: “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20). 

Oswald Chambers told those students, who had chosen vocational ministry, “When we consider what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He does not know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point; He does know. Shut out every other consideration and keep yourself before God for this one thing only — ‘My Utmost for His Highest.’ I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and for Him alone.” 

Oswald Chambers thought he was preaching a message to students that day. He had no idea that millions of millions would be blessed by his words for decades to come. 

Do the most good 

“My utmost for his highest.” 

“Do the most good.” 

“I will not be ashamed, but with full courage . . . Christ will be honored.” 

Personal remorse, redeemed for God’s holy purpose, will do good and fulfill God’s purpose. That’s my hope for this week’s blog post. 

How will you be your utmost for his highest? 

How can all of us do the most good with the opportunities before us? 

I know this: next time, I will speak up, try to help, and buy her eggs. I passed judgment when God wanted me to give kindness. But I’ve felt remorse and will make a change. 

I’m adopting the best practices of Paul, Oswald Chambers, the Salvation Army, and countless others who live holy lives for God’s glory. 

My prayer today: Wherever she is, Lord, bless her life and her daughter’s. And please, Lord, give me, or one of my readers, another chance to help. You make all things good . . . if we just live for your purpose. Thank you for second chances. I pray my weakness will lead others to a place of strength. 

For your glory, Lord. 

Amen.