Searching for Sanctuary

I have such a difficult time disengaging my mind.  It has always been a battle for me.  I would consider it a blessing if I believed that my thoughts aligned with Paul's admonition to the Philippians to think about what is "true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy," but that is not always the case.

Instead, my thoughts often take me back to words that were spoken to me, conversations that I had with people, issues that trouble me, questions that haunt me, regrets, unfulfilled hopes and dreams -- in short, a myriad of things that are seldom, if ever, helpful to me or my spirit.  Last Sunday in church my pastor, Doug Newton, said, "Satan will take negative words and make them hurt more, cut deeper, sink in."  Yes, indeed.

I truly envy people who can disengage their minds.  People who, when you ask them "what are you thinking about?" can honestly say, "not much really."  How is that possible??  And how can I get that??

I am searching for a sanctuary.  Not a physical place, but a spiritual place of peace, relief, comfort. A place to soothe my troubled mind.  A place where healing oil can be applied to the deep wounds that are in the dark corners of my spirit --  hidden to everyone -- everyone but the Lord.

I admit, I've searched for sanctuary in lots of places over the years.  One of them has been the movie theater.  Yes, I go for the movie and the popcorn, but the truth is, I also go to escape.  A movie theater is a place of diversion where for two hours I am transported to another place, another time, another life.  And honestly, I am often inspired by movies.  I really believe that God speaks to me many times in the theater.

But the recent event in Aurora, Colorado has changed my view of the movie theater.  My heart is so heavy for the victims, the families, the rescue personnel, the entire Aurora community.  When I look at their faces on TV, I see the faces of my own college students, family, friends -- it could have been any of us.  I haven't entered a theater since that happened, which is unusual for me.  I am not afraid for my physical life.  It just is no longer a place of escape for me -- no longer a sanctuary.

Thankfully, the story does not end here.  The journey is not over.  At this point in my life, I am discovering a very important truth.  It is a truth that I have "known" for a while, but I have struggled to apply it.

The truth is, the only real sanctuary is within, when in a deeply spiritual sense I allow myself to be held by my Heavenly Father.  And I can actually CHOOSE to go there.  In fact, I MUST choose to go there.  But the good news is that I DO have a choice.  I am not at the mercy of my mind to take me wherever it desires, or wherever the enemy wants to direct it.  I am a child of God -- I am the Father's beloved -- and I can choose to run into His arms whenever I need to.

God wants to grant us peace, a deep sense of security, a profound awareness of His love for us.  The enemy is a liar who seeks to destroy us.  But we do NOT have to listen to the lies.  We CAN choose -- choose to listen to the One who loves us, who offers us true sanctuary.

Sanctuary -- a place of peace, comfort and rest.  It is HERE, because HE is here.  True sanctuary is in the arms of our Heavenly Father.  And His arms are always open.  Always.

"Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?" is the Wrong Question

"Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?"

(The Wrong Question)

I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago.  We moved into our neighborhood the summer before I started kindergarten.  I have fond memories of kindergarten.  We made butter, took naps, drank milk, and played house.  That was before they taught kids to read Russian novels and solve multilevel structural equations in kindergarten.  My teacher's name was Miss Specken, and I adored her.  I don't remember the names of most of my classmates from back then, but I do remember Timmy.  He was a small-framed boy with blond hair, and he was really quiet.  One day he just stopped coming to school.  Over the course of the next several days we heard the story of how Timmy's home had caught fire.  Because he was afraid, Timmy hid in the closet in his bedroom.  Timmy died in that closet, at age 5.
  
When I was a freshman in college there was a senior named Myra.  Everyone who knew Myra loved her.  She was a bright student, gifted athlete, faithful friend to many, and wholly committed to Christ.  When it was discovered that Myra had cancer, people prayed and prayed.  People believed she would be healed.  But Myra died of cancer in her early 20's.

Two good people -- representative of millions and millions of other people -- for whom bad things have happened -- through no fault of their own.  Why?  Why do bad things happen to good people?

Natural disasters have taken countless lives throughout the history of the world.  Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes -- people who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Disease, famine, poverty -- all have taken their toll on people created in God's image -- good people.  Why do bad things happen to good people?

And then there's man's inhumanity to man.  In 1673, Samuel von Pufendorf wrote, "More inhumanity has been done by man himself than any other of nature's causes."  People have done unspeakable things to other people -- horrible things.  We know of the horror of the Holocaust and the genocides that have occurred in countries like Rwanda, Cambodia and Sudan.  But there are countless other stories of individuals who have been victimized, abused, and deeply scarred both physically and emotionally by others. Why do bad things happen to good people such as these?

When suffering and evil happens in the world, a common human response is to ask "Why?"  I've asked the "why" question hundreds of times throughout my lifetime.  I want to know -- I want to understand -- I want the world to make sense.  But it doesn't.  As often as I've asked the question, I cannot find any logical reason for why a five year-old boy would die in a fire, or thousands of people would perish in an earthquake, or people would be allowed to commit such horrible acts of evil against other people. 

I cannot completely put the "why" questions to rest, but I've found there are far more important, more productive, more Godly questions to ask -- and they begin with the words "what" and "how."  "What can I do in response to this suffering?"  "How can God use me to change the situation?"  "What can I learn from this?"  "What can I teach others?"  "How can I learn to love God more through this?" And perhaps most importantly, "How can I best demonstrate God's love to others?" 

I have a friend who continues to suffer incessantly with headaches that are so bad she cannot get out of bed.  Our church is praying.  Individuals are praying.  Groups have gone to her home on several occasions to pray with and for her.  Medical advice and treatment have been sought from dozens of experts.  And yet she is still not well.  No one knows why.  But we know this -- we can, and will, continue to pray.   We can continue to trust and believe in God and His Word.  And we can show God's love to her, and her family.

God is not absent -- God is NEVER absent -- when His children suffer.  To the contrary, we have a Heavenly Father Who not only knows of our suffering, but through His Son has given us One Who suffers with us.  Jesus is Himself "a Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief."  Jesus entered into our world and experienced for Himself what it means to be human.  God knows.  Our God is a personal God Who hurts with us and feels our pain, as a parent feels the pain when their child suffers. 

So why do bad things happen to good people?  Ask the theologians.  They will all have an opinion.  But the best ones will tell you that they really don't know.  Not only that, but they'll lead you back to the God of all comfort, the source of all peace, the One Who loves us with an everlasting love.  And hopefully they'll tell you to find a way to make a difference -- to find a way to love.

We Have This Moment

We Have This Moment, Today

"We have this moment to hold in our hands and to touch, as it slips through our fingers like sand.  Yesterday's gone, and tomorrow may never come.  But we have this moment -- today."

Bill Gaither wrote this song in 1975.  I thought the lyrics were powerful back then.  But now its message seems to speak directly to my life and circumstances.  Perhaps it will speak to yours as well.   

A moment is "a particular point in time."  We all have them.  Many of them.  A lifetime of them.  In fact, life is really just a series of moments.  They are how we remember our existence.  We don't remember minutes on a clock, or dates on a calendar.  We remember moments -- moments marked by experiences.

"We have THIS MOMENT to hold in our hands..." And yet, living "in this moment" can be so difficult.  I have spent an enormous amount of time and energy living in the PAST -- regretting what I did, or didn't do.  Lamenting decisions I made, or didn't make.  Wishing I could go back and change things.

I have spent an equal amount of time and energy worrying about the future.  What will tomorrow bring?  What does next week, next month, or next year hold for me and those I love?  Will I be up to the tasks that lay before me?  Will this body, this heart of mine, allow me to be there when my children graduate from college, choose to get married and have children of their own?

What a waste of precious time and emotional energy!  This moment is all we really have.  We cannot go back to the past, and we are not guaranteed any future time on this earth.  This moment is literally all there is.  But -- this moment is a TREMENDOUS gift from God.   We DO have THIS MOMENT.

God does not encourage us to regret.  Nor does God encourage us to fear and worry.  In fact, God's Word commands us NOT to engage in any of these activities.  Regret that brings us to repentance of past or present sin IS of God and restores our relationship to Him.  But too often regret has no purpose other than to discourage and dishearten us.  Regret usually allows no room for hope, restoration, or renewal.  And God has "great plans" for us.  Plans to give us a "hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11).

Fear and worry are also not of God.  "Fear not" is one of the most common phrases found in Scripture.  And the reason most often given to "fear not" is simply this -- because GOD IS WITH YOU.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right Hand."  (Isaiah 41:10)

"The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life -- of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)

There is value in looking at the past.  I am the person I am in large part because of my past experiences, and God continues to teach me so much from these experiences.  And there is value in thinking and planning for the future.

But we must LIVE in the present.  This is where God is working.  Right here.  Right now.  In this moment.  It may seem like an ordinary moment -- just the passage of time.  But God is doing extraordinary things here, in this moment of your life.

"Yesterday's gone, and tomorrow may never come.  But we have this moment -- today."