A WHOLE LOT OF SHAKING GOING ON

Our daughter thought we were playing a trick on her, shaking her bed, until she realized that other bedroom items were swaying as well.

Down the hall, our bed was shaking too, but we thought it was our golden retriever getting stuck under it again, trying to shake his way loose—until both dogs were on the bed and the telling shaking continued a while longer.

We walked down to the corner grocery and saw food cans strewn through the aisles. 

Later that day I was giving a talk at a resort when suddenly I noticed the carpet-adorned floor roll before me, like when you press on a waterbed and see its contents shift.

Yes, it was an earthquake—mild as they go, about 3.5 at the New York/Vermont border.  We felt it in northern New Hampshire.  I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like closer to an epicenter.

In addition to shattered nerves and a nasty headache throughout the day, I was amazed to find my balance askew, as though I was trying to walk upon the deck of a moving ship.  Californians may be more used to it, but the Midwestern-born are trembler-challenged.

What does all this have to do with peace?  Everything.

Without trusting God to deliver you, you are subject to every shaking that goes on.  When the symbolic earth beneath your feet begins to move, you will be shaken to the core—unless you are on the Rock.  Your very sustenance may be under attack, but relationship with the Lord yields provision in diverse ways and diverse channels as needed.  When your “earth” shakes, your head may ache, your nerves may frazzle, and your walk may indeed be out of balance.  The angst that you find yourself in, though, will reverse when you reverse course, and walk with (instead of run from) Him.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 60

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us, thou hast been displeased; O turn thyself to us again.
 ²Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
 ³Thou hast shewed thy people hard things: thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.
 ⁴Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
 ⁵That thy beloved may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.
 ⁶God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
 ⁷Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the strength of mine head; Judah is my lawgiver;
 ⁸Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
 ⁹Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom?
 ¹⁰Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, O God, which didst not go out with our armies?
 ¹¹Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man.
 ¹²Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

RELATIONSHIP

How often did you date when you were courting your spouse—once a year?  Once a month?  I venture to say it was weekly at the least, not including countless phone calls, numerous letters, and the daily black hole fog that settled around your head, impairing your ability to think clearly—or even at all. 

How often do you go on a date with God?  Once or twice a year?  Once a month?  Once a week?

Daily involvement with your fiancée had its privileges, and daily intimacy with your Lord will benefit you likewise.

When you love someone, you let them know how well you know their various qualities.  Naturally they respond with gratefulness.  God is no different.  You experience the peace of God when God has a piece of you—and He’ll look out for both forms of that word as well. 

The indoor mini-golf we had was about 90 miles north of the arcade we owned.   Because of the distance between the two businesses I relied on others to run it for me.  Our manager was horrible, and when it came time to fire her I really didn’t relish the idea, especially as I figured she’d try to get others to cause me physical harm. 

In the great ‘Live free or Die’ state of New Hampshire, people are allowed to conceal guns they have permits for.  Before entering the mall, I put my Colt .38 revolver into the back of my pants and lowered my shirt over it.  While waiting for my now ex-manager to show up and get her final check, I decided to play one of my favorite arcade games—the shooting gallery.  I liked the game but I didn’t excel in it—but today was different.  I couldn’t miss—literally, a perfect score.  As I was shooting I heard a few big guys talking just outside the arcade.  One said to the other two, “No, guys, he’s too good.  Don’t fool with him.”

I presumed they were talking about me, and rightly so, but I couldn’t understand to save my life as to why three guys would be afraid of me.  Just then my new manager called me over.  “Did you know that your gun is showing?” he asked.  I didn’t.  I had been so active in the shooting game that the real gun had come out of its hiding place.  I began to leave the arcade—so did the three guys; we wound up going opposite directions.

Because of the relationship that my God and I have, He saw fit to preserve my life, and without my having to fire a single shot.

Proverbs 16:7 says that ‘When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him (KJV).”

Before and since that fateful day in 2002, the Lord has repeatedly seen fit to deliver me from other enemies as well—and I likewise see fit to continue a daily walk of intimacy with Him.

b(Les)sings

HOUSING: TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT

The word abide, found in the first half of the first verse of Psalm 15, refers to a temporary home—a tent, for example—whereas the dwelling place—in this case ‘God’s holy hill’—would be your house; your home away from home—or, as it were, heaven.  So then, the rest of the verses of the psalm answer the question as to who may walk with God, both in this life and the next.

Jesus takes away uncertainty about the afterlife—and the consternation that naturally follows such uncertainty-- for those that trust in the truthfulness of His words, when He told us in John 14:2-3 that He was leaving to prepare a place for His followers, that He was going to His Father’s house, and that where He was, there also would be those that believe in Him.  He states that if this were not the case, He would have told them that.  When you have confidence in another, and that person tells you not to be afraid—to have peace—you listen.

The remaining four verses discuss the attributes of such a “follower”.

For one thing, they do what is right, and would not be considered by others to be a hypocrite; they do what they say they will do, even when no one is watching.  Doing what is right brings peace, because we lack it when we do the things contrary to what God would have us do (or not) do.  It is the conflict that rages between the flesh and the Spirit.

For another thing, the follower doesn’t gossip about his neighbor nor does he accept gossip about him.  This of course begs the question, “Who is my neighbor?”  The same was asked of Jesus, and the answer is given in Luke 10:25-37.  In a nutshell—per Jesus--a neighbor is you, when you show mercy to another, be it friend or foe.

Likewise, such a follower has utter disdain for the things of the wicked.  I did not say he hates the wicked, but rather, the things the wicked person does.  Merely hating the wicked would not qualify such a person as a follower to begin with.  Such a person has no peace from the onset, for out of the abundance of the heart their mouth speaks (Luke 6:45).

As for verse 4 (“…He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;”), two personal stories readily come to mind (I’d love to hear yours as well—please leave a comment or email blogczarus@gmail.com). 

Years ago a fellow church elder was in dire financial straits through no fault of his own, and he was ready to lose his home—he was $15,000 in arrears and the deadline to satisfy the debt was rapidly approaching.  After much prayer, my late wife and I determined to refinance our mortgage, borrowing an extra $15,000 to extend to the family—I told him we would do this, and he was grateful.  When I was ready to close—literally at the table—the bank officer said, “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, we made a mistake.  If you borrow this extra $15,000, you’ll have to refinance for 30 years at a higher rate, not 15 years at the lower one (which we were going to do—keeping our current payment about the same).  That was going to mean much more indebtedness on our part—we kept our word, and our brother kept his home.  I told him he could pay back whatever he could whenever he could—to this day (about 20 years later) he hasn’t been able to—and that’s OK.

Many years later, we prepared to move back to Illinois from New Hampshire.  I was trying to sell the indoor miniature golf we’d started from the ground up.  Time was of the essence, as we had to vacate our leased space by the beginning of the following month.  Additionally, we had a home in Illinois that had been built for us, and was ready (we thought) to be moved into.  I’d advertised the business for about two months with no result.  Finally, 48 hours before my deadline, I told a man he could have the business for a song.  He was going to give it away to a friend in Vermont that needed an outside course to help augment his income.  Since our indoor course was made with pressure-treated wood and had never been outside it was a perfect fit.  I gave the $75,000 business away for $300.  And then, within the next 24 hours, I got several offers, including one for $100,000—all of which I turned down—because a promise was a promise.

The last verse of Psalm 5 explains that one that enjoys the company of the Lord will not lend his money expecting exorbitant interest in return, nor will he try earning money by accepting a bribe to pervert the justice of another.  He/she who does or doesn’t do as noted in the psalm, will walk in regular fellowship with the Lord—and that, is the greatest peace one could possibly have.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 15

New King James Version (NKJV)

Psalm 15

A Psalm of David.

 ¹ LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
         Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
     
 ² He who walks uprightly,
         And works righteousness,
         And speaks the truth in his heart;
 ³ He who does not backbite with his tongue,
         Nor does evil to his neighbor,
         Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
 ⁴ In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
         But he honors those who fear the LORD;
         He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
 ⁵ He who does not put out his money at usury,
         Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
     
         He who does these things shall never be moved.

THE DICTATOR NAMED ME

Do you ever feel like your prayers are not getting beyond your cathedral ceiling?  When you do feel that way, it can be because you’re not getting the answer you want to the request you’ve made.  There is a difference between, “God didn’t answer my prayer” and “God didn’t answer my prayer the way I demanded.”  Let me explain.

When we came back to Illinois from New Hampshire, once plentiful jobs were obsolete, and my lack of employment was not for lack of effort.  Finally, I got the second interview callback and things looked absolutely stupendous—I was going to start in a couple of days.  When I read the job description I told the Lord that’s the one I wanted—it was the “perfect” job for me.  After the second interview I was careful to thank Him and give Him praise—only something was wrong—they weren’t calling me back like they promised, nor were they responding to my requests for return calls.  Finally, I went back there in person and they simply told me, “We hired someone else.”

I was furious.

I was mad with them and I was especially mad at God.  Their being ignorant was one thing, but God was without excuse.  After attending my Saturday morning men’s prayer meeting the next day, my wife and I got into the car to go the local supermarket.  We had no sooner entered the store when I heard that blood-chilling, “Les?”  It was my stalker from three years ago—and had I gotten the job I wanted, he would have been working for me!  To say that I felt about as tall as worm dung in the presence of God would be an understatement.  The sovereignty, omniscience, and love of God prevented me from the disaster that would have been, had my prayer been answered the way I wanted it to be answered.  I was able to thank God for the peace I kept as a result of His saying, “No.” 

Help from your (Heavenly) Father is one thing—trying to help your earthly father can be quite another.

When I was four, I used to “assist” my dad in cutting the grass.  He had one of those turquoise blue Sunbeam electric mowers with the really cool start-up sound.  I had a plastic model that I pushed along behind him.  Of course I wasn’t doing a thing to help my father (except possibly keep him company), but I really did think I was.  Truth be told he was worried I might distract him and that consequently he’d run over the cord and electrocute himself like he had heard others had done. 

We’re all a little bit like four year-old Les.  We tell God what the problem is and what He needs to do to fix it.  We know we can improve our “chances” by helping Him along, but all we really do in the process is get in His way. 

Ironically, we have peace when we just let God be God without requiring Him to either get our permission or opinion before He acts.  Though our intentions may be right, if we demand how God can best do his job , rather than allowing Him to do it His way, He may just give us our request, and then have to listen to us complain about His having granted it—poor God.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 10

A Song of Confidence in God’s Triumph over Evil

 ¹ Why do You stand afar off, O LORD?
         Why do You hide in times of trouble?
 ² The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor;
         Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
     
 ³ For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire;
         He blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD.
 ⁴ The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
         God is in none of his thoughts.
     
 ⁵ His ways are always prospering;
         Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;
         As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
 ⁶ He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
         I shall never be in adversity.”
 ⁷ His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;
         Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.
     
 ⁸ He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
         In the secret places he murders the innocent;
         His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
 ⁹ He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
         He lies in wait to catch the poor;
         He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
 ¹⁰ So he crouches, he lies low,
         That the helpless may fall by his strength.
 ¹¹ He has said in his heart,
         “God has forgotten;
         He hides His face;
         He will never see.”
     
 ¹² Arise, O LORD!
         O God, lift up Your hand!
         Do not forget the humble.
 ¹³ Why do the wicked renounce God?
         He has said in his heart,
         “You will not require an account.”
     
 ¹⁴ But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
         To repay it by Your hand.
         The helpless commits himself to You;
         You are the helper of the fatherless.
 ¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
         Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
     
 ¹⁶ The LORD is King forever and ever;
         The nations have perished out of His land.
 ¹⁷ LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble;
         You will prepare their heart;
         You will cause Your ear to hear,
 ¹⁸ To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
         That the man of the earth may oppress no more--NKJV

IN GOD WE TRUST

Trust.  It’s the best place to start in a relationship.  It is true for people, and it’s even more true for God—not that He needs to trust us, but us Him.  Psalm 118:8 says it most succinctly:  “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man”—KJV.  Verse 9 continues that it’s even better to trust the Lord over those He establishes in authority over us (Rom. 13:1).Proverbs 3:5-6 remind us that we’re to trust Him with all our heart, and not lean upon our own understanding—that we should acknowledge God in all we do, and He will direct our paths. 

Have you ever been through one of those huge mazes?  They have someone watching over things from above, to help direct those that may have lost their way.  That’s God.  As we travel the maze that is our life, we can trust One whose vantage point is higher than ours because He sees the things we don’t, and can direct our steps accordingly.  David begins Psalm 7 discussing his trust in the Lord—therein is true peace.

One of the two businesses we owned in New Hampshire years ago was an arcade, located inside a major mall.  Unfortunately it was about 90 miles south of our other business, and management in absentia allowed for those with evil intent to flourish.  One incident in particular involved a youth that I’d caught stealing money from us.  I told him he was fired, and he pled for his job back—he was really, “sorry”. I thought long and hard about it and finally acquiesced.  “Ok”, I said, “just give me back the $40 you stole.”  “What?” he asked, shocked, “I thought you said I could get my job back.”  “I did,” I responded, “But that doesn’t negate your responsibility.”  He decided being fired was better than working.  This was a youth who, unlike the psalmist, was unwilling to take responsibility for his actions.  Even though he maintained a sense of innocence, David was still willing to be subjected to correction if his deeds were found to be evil.  That’s peace on two levels—that he was not wrong, and that even if he was, he was confident that God’s correction would be loving and beneficial.

The psalmist seeks the Lord’s intervention against their mutual enemies, assured that He’s fully capable of delivering it.  He is trusting God to make the best decision on his (David’s) behalf, and we can trust Him for such decisions in our lives as well.

Road rage is just one modern day example of an aggressor positioning himself on life’s throne, so that he may execute vengeance on another, yet there is peace in allowing God to do the work in your stead (Romans 12:19—“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”—KJV).

Do you want real peace?  It’s available to all those that choose for God to sit upon the throne of their lives, rather than themselves.

b(Les)sings

Psalm 7

1 O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:

2Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

3O LORD my God, if I have done this; if there be iniquity in my hands;

4If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace with me; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is mine enemy:)

5Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine honour in the dust. Selah.

6Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded.

7So shall the congregation of the people compass thee about: for their sakes therefore return thou on high.

8The LORD shall judge the people: judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.

9Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.

10My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.

11God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

12If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready.

13He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.

14Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.

15He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.

16His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.

17I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high.

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