The Quintessential Rearview Mirror

Friday, September 30, 2022

The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.  I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.  Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:  The faithful love of the Lord never ends!  His mercies never cease.  Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.  I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”  The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.  So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.  Lamentations 3:19-26

When you’ve either been through, or going through a rough patch (COVID, War, Divorce, Prison, or a thousand other nightmares), the tendency is usually to stare into one of two places – the road ahead, or the rearview mirror.  To be glued to the rearview mirror is to hold on to the anguish and pain of the past, embracing the rough patch as the future.  To dwell on the past means you are driving blindly into the future, and we know where failing to keep your eyes on the road will lead.  (Laws against texting while driving were placed on the books for a reason!).

However painful the rearview mirror can be, at times we must shoot a quick look there, to be sure of two things:

1.    We are aware of what we left behind.

2.    We are still progressing away from the road that led to the rough patch.

If knowledge is power, running on a low battery is a dumb thing.  It is foolish to not remember what got you into the rough patch, or the dangers that might lead you back there.  Real wisdom is the common sense that puts knowledge (good or evil) to good use.  As the wise person once said:  if we fail to remember the mistakes of the past, we are doomed to repeat them in the future.

Even an ostrich in a hurricane has enough sense to look above the storm to chart his course.

For You Today

So, to be (at least) as wise as a bird-brain, use the rearview mirror to poke your head out of the hole in the ground so you can get above the harsh conditions, and get a bead on where you need to go.  In short, look above, you’ll find plenty of answers as the Lord leads you out of the rough patch, even if the road seems rocky.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Has God Forgotten to Be Gracious? and Hard Times & Growing Churches   

[1] Images:  via Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

A Covid-broken Heart

 

Monday, February 21, 2022

O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage!  Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me.  Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins.  My guilt overwhelms me—it is a burden too heavy to bear.  My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins.  I am bent over and racked with pain.  All day long I walk around filled with grief.  A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken.  I am exhausted and completely crushed.  My groans come from an anguished heart.  You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh.  My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind.  My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease.  Even my own family stands at a distance.  Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me.  Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me.  All day long they plan their treachery.  But I am deaf to all their threats.  I am silent before them as one who cannot speak.  I choose to hear nothing, and I make no reply.  For I am waiting for you, O Lord.  You must answer for me, O Lord my God.  I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies gloat over me or rejoice at my downfall.”  I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain.  But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done.  I have many aggressive enemies; they hate me without reason.  They repay me evil for good and oppose me for pursuing good.  Do not abandon me, O Lord.  Do not stand at a distance, my God.  Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior.  Psalm 38:1-22

David’s self-diagnosed situational distress symptoms parallel takotsubo, commonly known as broken-heart syndrome.[1]  Assaulted by raging fever, exhaustion, and difficulty breathing, the heart, crushed and broken, groans in shock-induced cardiomyopathy; it’s a sad parallel to what modern-day pandemic grief is pushing on the world’s human family.

Our reality the past two years has developed a worldwide epidemic of languishing in lethargy and misery as a response to the ruin of COVID’s bio-physical symptoms.  It is the essence of King David’s spiritual malaise, his sins have “found him out,”[2] and his life has come to a grinding halt in an overwhelming sense of guilt/grief.  His heart can only stand in shock against the revelation of life’s fragile and tenuous nature.  What looms before him is the very-real possibility of slipping into the darkness; all else, kingdom, family, riches, and even the simple act of breathing, are superfluous compared to getting relief from the approaching darkness.  If it’s truly possible to “languish” in a panic-attack mode…this is it!

David’s reaction to the monster that stands ready to chew him (even the memory of him) to pieces, is confession.  As one who, in his youth, knew the presence of God well, David’s understanding of his guilt brought an outpouring of shame and inner urging to return to the place of forgiveness.  He longed to be clean.  Accepting responsibility for the calamity which now defined his character, David asked God to purge his guilt and shame, and come close.

Perhaps the pan-human response to the takotsubo broken-heart pandemia is a return to God the way David knew was right…confession…owning who we are, and what we’ve done in ignoring our Creator’s way.  That seems to be the only first step in the right direction.

For You Today

Each of us can only take the first step in our own journey.  I cannot take yours, nor can you take mine.  With God, repentance is a singular affair.  Like breathing, air in my lungs does no good in keeping your life afloat.  There are some things each of us needs to do to address that which breaks our Heavenly Father’s heart.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title and other images:  Harvard Health Publishing  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©   

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[1] Harvard Health Publishing

[2] See Numbers 32:23

Through the Valley of Weeping

 

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs.  The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.  They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.  Psalm 84:5-7

Scripture speaks to us on many levels in the same passage.  On one level, the Psalmist speaks of longing for the temple in Jerusalem; on another, this is a picture of those longing for the eternal temple in the very presence of God.  The pilgrimage of which the Psalmist speaks is a journey in this land; for the Psalmist, the valley of weeping is like arriving near Jerusalem through the western Valley of Hinnom, or Gehenna.  It is the place of the most-despised history of Jerusalem’s past, a garbage dump of child sacrifice, tombs, and demons.  It is the place Jesus referred to when he warned people of the dangers of the fires of hell.[1]

By contrast, the Psalmist said passing through this place that borders Jerusalem, would unveil the most refreshing waters of beauty imaginable.  This is what it is like to have walked the arduous pilgrimage road to Jerusalem in those days, braving the dangers of mountains, wild animals, robbers, and thirst, knowing the ground was cursed with the blood of thousands of criminals, sacrificed children, and garbage lit on fire, only to arrive at the holiest of cities.  To call it refreshing hardly does this image justice.

A deeper, more eternal view of this Psalm, casts even the holy city as a place to leave, in favor of the holy city not made with hands – the New Jerusalem.  For any who kneel in honor and reverence of JHWH, this is the end of our holy journey.  We call it Heaven, God’s haven of rest, the throne room, and a thousand other euphemisms of joy, peace, strength, and eternal life.  We call it “home”.

Shortly after I got home from church this past Sunday I learned of the passing of a dear friend.  Donna was the one my bride called “Sissy”.  Elizabeth was an only child so the longing for a sister, and the deep friendship we shared over the years, was a natural.  Along with her husband, Dan, this couple was, perhaps, the happiest, most joyful pair we know.  You could not spend more than a few minutes with them before the laughing began. 

Having served together at a church early in our ministry, we knew of some of their sorrow which was mingled with the joy.  Dan and Donna buried a son, taken too soon. 

I think of my friends this morning because I love them, and because I mourn Donna’s passing, and share some of Dan’s grief.  We talked with Dan by phone on Sunday, sharing memories and past times of joy.  And we spoke of the reunion of God’s family that’s coming one day.  We spoke of what the Psalmist calls those  refreshing waters of the holy city.  And I’m envious of Donna’s day today, splashing around in refreshing, complete, unhindered joy.

I am so happy for “Sissy” and so broken for my friend.  And that’s the way it is on this life’s road…each mile has its own sorrows and joys; each pathway holds its dangers and snares. 

But….one day….

For You Today

Have you set your mind on a pilgrimage to God’s holy city?  The Psalmist says that is where you find joy and refreshing.  That’s a pretty good place to be when your journey takes you through the valley of weeping; it’s where the masks come off, and social distancing evaporates!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!  

[1] Title Image:  Courtesy of Pixabay.com    Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

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[1] Matthew 5:22 (also see James 3:6)

Shade for Mount Zion

 

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

But in that day, the branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of all who survive in Israel.  All who remain in Zion will be a holy people—those who survive the destruction of Jerusalem and are recorded among the living.  The Lord will wash the filth from beautiful Zion and cleanse Jerusalem of its bloodstains with the hot breath of fiery judgment.  Then the Lord will provide shade for Mount Zion and all who assemble there.  He will provide a canopy of cloud during the day and smoke and flaming fire at night, covering the glorious land.  It will be a shelter from daytime heat and a hiding place from storms and rain.     Isaiah 4:2-6

When you live in a warmer climate shade is a wonderful thing.  Earlier this year the two churches I serve decided to meet jointly…outdoors.  Both churches are in a rural location and have exceptionally large oak trees.  The shade was more than welcome.  (Especially to the preacher!)  The parking lots became our sanctuary, complete with folding chairs, coolers full of water bottles, and fans.  But there is no substitute for shade from those gigantic trees.

In 2007 I went with a group for a short-term mission to Zimbabwe, Africa.  We were building an addition to a Bible College in the middle of nowhere.  Trees were in short supply there.  The only reprieve from the scorching midday sun was to go inside the existing building and collapse on the hard-baked dirt floor, and enjoy the shade, which was only 105° (which seemed like 205° when you factor in the flies).

Isaiah paints a portrait of Israel’s shabby, sin-scorched condition after the fall of Jerusalem.  Jerusalem, including the temple atop Mt. Zion, is destroyed.  But God promises restoration.  God Himself will complete the cleansing and be shade for everyone who worships Him.  He is the shelter from the daytime heat and a hiding place from storms and rain.  These are metaphorical images of God’s protection and provision.  It is God taking care of God’s people. 

There are many scriptures that describe the arid, parched condition of a land, or a soul that has forgotten how to worship God.  For many of us, baked in this COVID season of doom, this image is our focal point of rescue…our rest within a weary land. 

Isaiah’s pictures begin with the statement, but in that day.  As with the other prophets, Isaiah speaks of Israel’s restoration on a local level, that which pertains to his time, and the conditions he sees with human eyes.  At the same time his words are inspired by God for a meaning beyond what the prophet can see.  The ultimate meaning of God’s prophecy through all the prophets is God’s final move in history, the eternal move which results in total and permanent restoration of God’s people.  The prophet points not just to a rebuilt temple with bricks and mortar, but a temple and city made without hands, God dwelling with God’s people.  He points to a New Jerusalem, and the perfect reign of Christ.  This is the eternal shade for Mount Zion! This is God’s heaven.

For You Today

Times are tough now.  People are suffering, tempers are flaring, and the climate is more than a global warming; we are in a scorching season.  For those who follow Jesus Christ, this is no time to join the negative voices of doom; this is a time to look up, for your redemption is drawing nigh!    

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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Title image, Pixabay.com and    W   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For other posts on Heaven see:  Fresh Start and Connected in Time and For Eternity