Sometimes Faith Is about Nothing

I believe that God intends for me to write. And when I seriously consider the question (and seriously consider actually sitting down and spending time at the laptop), He usually confirms that for me. He did that again through a sweet friend this morning.

Actually opening a blank Word document when I have absolutely nothing, no thoughts, ideas or creativity at the front of my mind is a scary prospect. I say that I believe He wants me to write. But that means also that I must believe He will provide. I have nothing to offer here. Never did.

A couple of years ago, a friend and I felt led to write a devotional book together. While we didn’t finish it, we did each write about forty or so devotions as we were working toward that goal. It was an exciting time for each of us because it was such an exercise in faith and trust. Neither of us had written devotionals before and we had no thoughts out of the gate. We were literally just waiting each few days for God to give us something.

And He was so faithful to do just that. One of us would call the other one and say, “Guess what just happened? I found some crickets in my garage!” And out of those strange circumstances, God would give us some kind of message to share.

So here I sit with you. Waiting and trusting that He will provide. I am determined to post today, so grab some sweet tea because this may take a while. It is the first time I’ve done this with utterly nothing to go on. Usually I have at least seen a field of daisies or something to get me started. Well, Travis killed a spider this morning, but I’m not feeling any messages there.

But isn’t that sometimes the point? We have an issue or a relationship that requires what only God can give. We don’t have what it takes to fix it – we know this. So we read the Bible and we pray and we confer with friends. We say we will trust – we will have faith and be strong.

But the weeks stretching ahead – sometimes even the long hours of a single day – tell us by their very lack of activity, that this thing isn’t going to get solved soon. And we’re frustrated by the lack of control. If we could just DO something.

Wow. I left to go get a sandwich. And you, friends that you are, stuck with me. I looked throughout the house for some small token that would trigger something to help me bring this one home. And here I stand, hands still empty.

The process of writing (and life) sometimes requires that we toss the worries out the back door, settle into the rocker with a cup of coffee, and trust that this long, dry spell is God’s way of forcing us to get quiet and do some listening.

If this is your first trip to the back porch, welcome and believe me when I tell you this is a first. I don’t usually hang my empty screen out to dry in front of everyone. But today I feel like this “nothing” is the message. That the waiting is something we all do and the confident expectation that God will deliver is more important than the field of daisies.

Psalm 5:3; 27:14
In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

I Want It Now!

I belong to a certain generation. You know us. We’re the ones who walked to school in the snow – uphill – both ways. We love to comment on how our kids are behaving, how the government is going to the dogs and how disciplined we were as kids growing up.

Seriously, if we wanted something, we earned the money or saved our allowance. Nothing came easily; more important nothing came quick! We planned and we waited and we yearned. When we finally got the treasure, we appreciated it for a good little while.

This will not be a sermon about how young people today don’t appreciate what they have. Or how easy it is to get it. The desire to have it now affects each one of us. Immediacy is the name of the game. We missed that movie? On demand! Oh, I loved that song. Itunes! (Okay, this one is a particular issue for me these days. I have a new ipod and I’m concerned for our retirement income.) Food on the run? We’ll get you through the drive-thru in less than five minutes.

But what about the burdens we’ve been carrying for weeks, for months? Where is the answer?

We want what we want yesterday. Why is it not in our hands now? Why do I have to wait? This year, the message I’ve been getting loud and clear is that, if it is an issue that we have to deal with, Jesus has probably experienced it.

I heard an author/speaker, Lisa Harper, with whom I was unfamiliar at the Charleston Women of Joy conference this year. And what a pleasure to get to know her! I am reading her book, “untamed”, and getting to know the wild side of Jesus. She is one of those people to whom I particularly relate – seemingly slightly irreverent, but not really when you read the whole message. A little rebellious and totally in-your-face honest. She has a refreshing take on scripture and one of her chapters deals with Jesus’ temptation in the desert.

And as I read about it, it occurred to me that His final temptation was right down my alley. I’ve always thought, no big deal. Satan offered Him the world and He refused. Well certainly He did! He knew that He would get it anyway! But let’s break it apart a bit. Take a look at Matthew 4:8-10:

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Jesus knew the end of the story. He knew what He was facing. And here Satan was saying, “Listen, I’ll give it to you now. Just worship me. No death, no suffering, everything you want NOW.”

He knows what it feels like for us to wait – how hard it is when He asks us to just believe that He has it under control. We don’t know the end of the story; we don’t know the answer. But we do know that, even when Jesus knew, He waited. He’s been there and He doesn’t ask us to do anything He hasn’t done Himself.