Update:
On Wednesday I had a number of things to get done, so I was up and out
of the house by about 9:30 a.m. (that was why yesterday’s update didn’t get
posted until late in the afternoon). The
first place on my agenda was to go to my office at the church.
I decided to leave the wheelchair behind and use my walker
instead. I went out the door and walked
down the stairs and down the driveway to the truck. That felt wonderful! It is the first time I walked out of the
house since last November! What a
feeling of power! When I got to the
church, I went in through the office entrance that has three outdoor
steps. Since last November, I’ve had to
go in through the worship entrance and down the hall to my office. This felt so marvelous! When I went into my office, I looked at my
desk and thought, “Who moved my chair?”
Then it struck me; I’ve been in a wheelchair since December and haven’t
needed an office chair. I found where
mine had been stashed and put it back at my desk. When I sat down I thought, “What a
comfortable chair! I love this
chair!” It felt so good to sit at my
desk and enjoy the feelings of joy and happiness of being “back to normal.” And then all that sunshine and warmth fled
away as my old nemesis, the copier, refused my simple command to scan a
document that I needed. Drat! A little dose of reality had to flood back
into my day!
After I got what I needed done at the church, I went to the Fall Creek
PD and talked with the Chief about the break-in we had at the church on Sunday
morning. Once again, walking in is such
a feeling of empowerment for me.
Then I went over to my wife’s office to send a fax out. I haven’t been
in there since November as well. I got
to sit and chat with my oldest daughter who is her office manager for a few
minutes and then came home for lunch.
What a pleasant morning! I look
forward to getting back to work at the church on a regular basis. After my eye surgery next week, I should be
ready to put in more hours at the office.
While it’s worked for me to work from home, it will be great to be back
in office. My desk really needs my
attention. I found that trying to file
and put things away while in a wheelchair was extremely difficult. So right now it is obvious that I have a “piling
system” rather than a filing system.
I made a few phone calls and began working on Sunday’s message during
the afternoon on Wednesday. I made
dinner for Karen (who was running late) and my oldest daughter, Kate, joined
us. I worked on this update and began preparing
things for my departure on Thursday to my medical appointments that start in
the morning.
Thought for the Day:
“Christian Smith, Sociologist, said this, ‘most young American adults
are “practical Deists”—although few of them have ever heard the term.’ Smith means that they see God as a being
whose job it is to meet their needs. The
implicit but strong cultural assumption of young adults is that God owes all
but the most villainous people a comfortable life. This premise, however, inevitably leads to
bitter disillusionment. Life is nasty,
hard, brutish, and always feels too short.
The presumption of spiritual entitlement dooms its bearers to a life of
confusion when things in life inevitably go wrong” [Timothy Keller, Walking
With God Through Suffering and Pain].
That quote explains so much about what seems wrong with our lives and
our society. Even without meaning to, it
is easy to slip into the mentality of “God I’ve been faithfully serving you so
why haven’t you blessed me with a perfect, carefree life?” Although since Copernicus we’ve known that
the universe does not revolve around the earth; somehow we still hang onto the
belief that everything should revolve around us. In our own minds, our happiness must be God’s
primary goal and the focus of His energy because we are so important! It hurts when we find out that life doesn’t
work like that. It is a rude awakening
for some young adults who have been doted upon all their lives to suddenly enter
the workforce and find out that nobody really cares how they feel and what they
think. Your self-esteem and your sense
of fulfilment isn’t as high on your boss’ list as it is on yours.
And if you rate God on how well He is taking care of you and how
pampered you feel—well then He is a failure!
No wonder so many young people turn away from belief in God. As a “Cosmic Santa Claus” He is a dismal
disappointment. But that is like judging
a pro-football player on how good a baby sitter he is. “I’m sorry but we had to cut you from the
team because your diaper changing skills were only mediocre.” That would be a stupid waste a talent! You judge a football player on how well he
plays football—the job he has trained for and has the skills for. So then why would we even think to judge God
based upon things that He never said He would do; but on things we wished He
would do for us? When we judge Him based
upon our happiness and how well things are going for us—that is exactly what we
are doing!
We need to challenge our thinking.
Broaden our understanding. Seek
to know Him and His word better. God is
not dead. God is not wrong or weak or
uncaring. He is alive. He is involved. He is almighty, all-knowing, and all-loving. He is merciful and just. He is patient and kind. He hears our cries and He answers our
prayers. Just because He doesn’t act and respond to us exactly the way we
envisioned that He should does not make Him wrong or a failure.
Isaiah 40:28-31 Do you
not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the
ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is
inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who
lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with
wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not
become weary.
Today's Prayer: “Dear God, You know my heart and my heartaches. You have showered
me with blessings and carried me through the valley of pain and sadness. Thank
you for the godly influence of special people in my life. Thank you for those
who pray for and encourage me. I even thank you for the hard times and trials I
have been through, for they have strengthened my faith. I praise you for giving
me a spirit of hope, love, and acceptance, rather than allowing me to become
angry, bitter, and downcast. I praise you God, from whom all blessings flow.
May I, in return, be a blessing to you. In
Jesus' name, Amen.” [Os Hillman,
‘Today God Is First’ (TGIF) on-line devotional message, 3/27/2014]
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