Honoring heroes even in tumultuous days

No matter how uncertain and stressful these days are, I’m grateful we can still take the time to commemorate Memorial Day.  To remember the brave heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in service for the United States of America is humbling.  Harry Truman once said, “Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid.  They have our undying gratitude.  America will never forget their sacrifices.”  (Source: Quote #14 from - https://www.bustle.com/articles/163151-15-memorial-day-quotes-from-us-presidents-that-remind-us-why-this-holiday-is-important)

We also can’t ever miss the emotional reality accompanied with this day.  A loved one answered the call to serve, and they didn’t return home to their family.  This day is filled with mixed emotions for so many families.  Those left behind are proud of their loved one’s noble sacrifice for their country, but they are also immensely sad when they see the empty chair, or hear that person’s favorite song on the radio. 

The way I look at it, we honor the memory of these amazing heroes by following their selfless example.  Ronald Reagan put it this way: “Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply.  It has a cost; it imposes a burden.  And just as they whom we commemorate were willing to sacrifice, so too we must – in a less final, less heroic way – be willing to give of ourselves.  (Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/memorial-day-reagan-quotes-2831788)

Kevin

Glorifying God in the dark times (Part 2)

It’s on to part 2 of Brett Ferguson’s remarks on glorifying God when times are difficult.  Once again, he gave these at his dad’s memorial service in 2002.  Incidentally, as I said last time, Brett also gave thoughts on glorifying God in happiness and in death on that bittersweet day.  Perhaps I will share those points one day as well, but now, I want to just focus on this category.

Number 3: we glorify God in the dark times “by knowing there will be joy again.”  Let me give a contemporary example of this.  Almost a month ago now, Pierce Brosnan recorded what was called a live watch along.  It featured Pierce watching his first appearance as James Bond 007 – the film “Goldeneye” (which was released back in 1995) from his home in Hawaii.  As he watched the film, Pierce shared fascinating behind the scenes stories about it.

I thoroughly enjoyed viewing this watch along on a you tube video.  This was quite relevant for me because it was actually the iconic Nintendo 64 video game – based on this movie – that introduced me to the character of James Bond in the first place.  A little over 30 minutes into the video Pierce said, “How is everyone doing?  I hope you are well…I send much love to you all, in these harsh times.  They will pass…one has to keep good faith and strength.  It’s almost like a Bond movie, the times we are living through here; an extreme Bond movie [with] not many laughs.”

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_btdGN9uUeY)

Pierce’s confidence assertion on how this chapter won’t last forever was an encouragement to me.  And it ties to the point Brett made about knowing, in the dark times, that there will be joy again.  The Psalmist said, “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13).  As Brett pointed out, “the land of the living” is here and now.

 

The fourth and final point is “by learning what God wants us to learn.”  In one of his last sermons before his unexpected home-going, Rick Ferguson shared that his life verse was John 15:5.  This is where Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches.  He that abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; apart from Me, you can do nothing.”  Brett pointed out that it was only after a time of very intense suffering in Rick’s life when John 15:5 became a driving force in his life.  There are lessons, Brett contended, that can only come from pain and suffering.

Matt and Beth Redman’s book “On the Road Marked with Suffering” has been a source of help for me on these difficult days.  They have a wise word that I want to share, as I conclude.  They write, 

“A word of warning: we’re not trying to advocate that every kind of suffering is merely a blessing in disguise.  That could be a massively insensitive stance to take, especially in light of major world tragedies…Or even in the light of something far more individual and personal, such as losing a loved one.  We can’t simply tidy away the issue of suffering into an “every cloud has a silver lining” drawer.  The issue is far more complex than that – and many times we ourselves cannot provide a satisfactory answer to the question of why suffering occurs.  To always attempt an explanation may at times put us at risk of belittling someone’s experience of suffering…Some situations are far beyond our fathoming.”  And all those in the grip of suffering said “amen!”

Kevin 

Glorifying God in the dark times

In July of 2002, I had one of my first tastes of loss and grief.  The pastor that I mentioned in the last blog, Rick Ferguson, passed away in a car accident.  He was 46.  His oldest son, Brett, preached at Rick’s memorial service.  Brett’s outline focused on ways to glorify God in happiness, in pain, and in death.  I want to share the points from that middle category, because we are facing crazy days right now.  These are days of chaos, uncertainty, and stress; Brett’s words are just as timely today as they were back in 2002.  Incidentally, there’s no way I can cover all of this in one singular blog.  This is going to be part 1.

So, with that said, let’s dive in.  How do we glorify God when life is tumultuous and chaotic?  Brett’s first point was: “By believing that God is sovereign.”  The sovereignty of God is found all throughout the Bible.  To give just one example, Psalm 103:19 has been a verse of immense comfort to me.  It reads, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all” (New American Standard Bible).  In other words, God is in control.  Nothing takes Him by surprise, or makes Him nervously wring His hands.

Last time, I quoted from the foreword of the book “You can Trust God to write your Life Story” by Robert and Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth.  They have a good word on this.  In chapter 1 of the book, the authors write, “Far from being a crushing burden to be borne or diminishing our value, the Providence of God is a great and precious gift.  To be helpless victims of chance, tossed about on the storms of life – that would be forever disconcerting and tragic.  Thank God it is not the case.”

Secondly, we glorify God in dark days by “trusting in God’s sovereignty.”  As Brett said that day, it is one thing to intellectually understand that God is in control.  But it’s another thing to say, “I know you have a plan, God.  I trust in that plan, and I trust in You.”  He quoted Psalm 91:1-2 at this point; which says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”  In the margin of his Bible, Rick had written these words: “What good is a God you cannot trust?”

 

In conclusion, let me state this plainly even though you already know it: I don’t write these blogs from an ivory tower somewhere completely unaffected by the pain of this chapter in history.  Like everyone else, my world has been disrupted and turned upside-down by this coronavirus pandemic.  Further, as an “essential worker” I have been in the trenches every day.  I have felt the intense weight of these times on my shoulders, believe me.  I’m the one that needed to be reminded of this content.  From there, I decided to pass it on to you.

Kevin

Trusting God in a chaotic world

Back in January, in my other blog, I shared a statement that my dad said in a prayer back in 2010.  Even though I missed submitting this on the National Day of Prayer yesterday, I want to present his words here.  He said, “We surrender our goals, plans, and dreams to You, knowing that Your dreams for us are better than we could even imagine.”  This prayer is quite apt at any time, but particularly now, in these days of difficulty from the coronavirus outbreak we are all facing.

A while back, I actually read a magazine article that proposed that many are realizing they are not where they thought they would be at this point in their life.  But this article was written several months before all the chaotic and uncertain days ensued.  Now it seems as if this subject is on everyone’s mind.  For instance, did you have the Easter you anticipated?  How about that Mother’s Day celebration on Sunday?  Have you had to revise the way you are honoring Mom?

In the foreword of Robert and Nancy Demoss Wolgemuth’s excellent book, “You can Trust God to Write your Story”, Joni Eareckson Tada speaks of returning to the college she had originally planned to attend years before, but due to her diving accident, she never did.  She describes her return not with a heart of envying the life she had once planned, but with inspiring faith in God.  She writes, “My best life-chapters were not the easy, breezy days of being on my feet; they were the deep ones when I was suffering and groping for the arms of my Savior.”

Proverbs 16:9 states, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”  That’s why I love my dad’s prayer of trust and surrender to God.  He understood that we have our plans, but God may have other ideas.  And the wisest course of action isn’t to get bitter and angry, but to surrender to God’s authority.

Speaking of my dad, it has been nearly five years since he passed away unexpectedly.  I have subsequently heard numerous stories of intense suffering, heartache, and anguish.  I empathize with these accounts because I have been there.  Thus when I speak of suffering and the surprises of life, I do not do it glibly; to the contrary, I confess I do so with a degree of hesitancy.  I can envision the pain someone is facing right now, as a result of coronavirus, or whatever your present crisis may be.

 

But with all that said, it doesn’t negate the truth we find in the pages of the Word of God.  Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  Pastor Rick Ferguson has been in Heaven since he entered his eternal reward in 2002; his life and ministry are still impacting people today.  One of the statements he often made was this profound thought: “If we knew what God knows, we would always want what God wants.”

Kevin