Raining on the Just

The scripture says it rains on the just and the unjust alike. Christians use that verse as a crutch to explain away a lot of areas in life that we - as Christians - were responsible for protecting. We fail to act or pray for this or that and as a result, when calamity claims a victim, we just say that it rains on the just and the unjust alike. In the words of Col. Potter, H-O-R-S-E H-O-C-K-E-Y.

There is a reason why that scripture was worded the way it was.
When I was just a baby, I went through some severe storms. My dad kept me safe under a roof, while other babies in our fair city got wet, because their fathers' didn't care enough to provide them shelter. It rains on the just, and the unjust. That's true. But there is still the Father-factor.

Our nation has rejected God, socially and governmentally. As a result, we experience the fallen world without a roof over our heads. It rains on the just, and the unjust. Don't confuse our exposure to the elements with judgment - that is still coming at the end of the age. It is what it is. We're getting wet as a nation. But as a person - I'm dry. My Father shields me from the elements. My house is covered by Him - even if my nation is not. Does that mean bad things don't happen? What it means is that nothing happens that He hasn't already made provision for.

When Your Father Asks "What's Wrong?"

So many times, the simple question, "What's Wrong?" is rhetorical. When my own child is crying, most of the time I already know why. Sometimes I just witnessed the crash landing, or the ill treatment from sis, or the fright from the cat. So when the tears start, I pick her up and ask "What's wrong?".

The question is really meant to start a self-examination; inventory, if you will. Do you ever sense that from God? There are times I find myself really struggling through a day or a week... or a month (*sighs*) but I hear a small voice that says, "What's wrong?". That really helps me! Because after I do the inventory, I realize that truthfully, most everything is okay. Yes, things have been rough but they're getting better. Yes, I've been feeling bad but I'm feeling better.

A good friend of mine left me a voice mail today. He and I have not chatted directly in at least a few weeks, but since we are spiritually connected, we've sensed each others' struggles. He said this: all that stuff you've been going through... it's just stuff!

Yes! It is! It's just stuff! The enemy is trying to cloud us up so that we can't see God move, but it's just stuff! It's the best the enemy can do. Applaud. So what's wrong?

Little Mermaid Bathmats

I'm in my bathroom today and notice a Little Mermaid (copyright Walt Disney 19xx) Bathmat. Yes... my life has changed. Now there was a day when I would have looked upon something like that with TOTAL disdain. Maybe a sneer... maybe a grimace, but at the very best - indifference. But now I look upon that silly object with fondness because my daughters like the Little Mermaid (copyright Walt Disney 19xx). I don't want it to get dirty, I don't want it torn, I don't want it moved or stolen or misplaced. I want it there - for their enjoyment.

I'm serious, serious, dead serious, too.

So when I take a step back and look at that, I think of all the things that I get pleasure from that my Father in Heaven protects. Maybe it's the late-night walk in the neighborhood. Maybe it's that old truck I drive, or the bike trail, or chocolate chip cookies, or... you name it. It's entirely possible that the ONLY reason certain parts of Beaver Lake haven't been blown away by the enemy is that my Father knows I love to go there.

Do you know what you Father protects for you? Do you know what He has preserved simply because He knows how much you delight in... whatever it is? It's like this... you plant a little tiny tree in your yard. You hire a lawn service to come in and mow, but you give them specific instructions to mow AROUND that tree, or there will be hell toupe'. I hear the enemy mowing, but I strongly suspect my tree is safe.

The Unimagined Promises of God

My daughters LOVE to sit in my lap when they play. They are just over 1 year old but when given an opportunity, they would rather look at a book than to play with toys.

This gives me so much joy. It's hard to describe why... but their curiosity is so attractive, and they receive much happiness from looking at pictures. My spirit rejoices within me because I know this is the start of a love affair between my daughters and the word of God.

As a result, I have promised to them in my own heart to give them all the books they wish to consume, and that they should never be without a word to feed their spirits. It's a promise from me to them that they have no concept of. It's unimagined by them.

How many promises has our Heavenly Father made us because He takes joy in what (or whom) we are pursuing?

John 16:22-24(22) And therefore you now have sorrow. But I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.(23) And in that day you shall ask Me nothing. Truly, truly, I say to you, Whatever you shall ask the Father in My name, He will give you.(24) Before now you have asked nothing in My name; ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.

So Jesus says that the more we sit in the lap of the Father, and the more we read His face, it will be so that we ask those things that we know He delights to give us - just as my own daughters are learning to do.

This scripture says that God gives us the answers to our prayers in order to make our joy 'full'. When we ask Him to give us things we already possess... we rob ourselves of the joy of receiving. Instead, we replace this miraculous, joyful experience with the boring task of grocery-list prayer... and perceive we've received nothing. That's a different blog... or a past one... or something...

I want my girls to be full of joy when they are in my presence. I wish to give them all they long for... yet I don't concentrate too much on providing more of what they are already holding in their hands. Nor are they asking.