future

CBG: Bitterness

May 11, 2020 — Leave a comment

So [Naomi and Ruth] went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

Ruth 1:19-22

You are Naomi. You left your homeland in hopes of a better future. Instead, you lost your husband and your sons. You come home with a stranger-to-the-land. People are stirred up by your presence. You are so bitter, you tell people to see you only by your current feelings. Circumstances, really God, have changed you forever.

You are Ruth. You gained a family and then lost most of it. You give up your hometown, everything you know, to follow a woman you feel you’re supposed to follow. You come to this new land where everyone is staring at you. When people come up to you and your mother-in-law, she doesn’t even acknowledge you. You are part of the empty she is in right now. If anyone should be bitter at this moment, it should be Ruth, right? She gave up everything and the woman she gave up everything to wouldn’t even acknowledge it. But where can she go? She already left her hometown. She might have already broken ties back there. She can’t go back.

Ruth and Naomi are both in situations where there are no other options. Naomi/Mara who is so bitter, so wrapped up in her past and present grievances, she misses the best thing right next to her. Ruth who is in a new land with new rules, unacknowledged, questioning if her loyalty and integrity had indeed led her down the right path.

Are you a Mara or a Ruth right now?

Prayer: God I pray that any bitterness and resentment we are allowing to grip us would be released. I pray that you would give us more room to be soft and an ability to see beyond our losses and grievances. God help us to acknowledge the things we have gained whether physical, mental or emotional. God help us to lean into our loyalty and integrity.

Character: Where in my life is the story I keep replaying, woe is me?

Grace: How have you grown as God as brought you “back home” or “full circle”?

CBG: Blank

April 20, 2020 — Leave a comment

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shown around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground , and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”

Acts 9:1-9

Saul is so angry. The root of anger is a sense of injustice. His system is being attacked. This system where he derives his purpose and identity is being threatened. Because God forbid his system is wrong. What would that mean for his life, his mission, his identity, his everything? He needs to protect and no one better get in his way! And there was probably nothing on this earth that could convince him to do otherwise. So God pulls the God card – appearing as a voice from heaven, and so real that even Saul’s companions can hear it. This coronavirus feels like a God card, blinding us from the path we were set on and making us dependent on whoever is nearby whether we like it or not. Saul doesn’t know he’s going to get his sight back. Saul doesn’t know he’s about to commit his life to the one thing he would never in a million years do. Right now his anger and confidence are simply knocked away by a sense of helplessness and dependancy. An unknowing of what just happened. An unknowing of what will happen. All he has is a certainty that Jesus is real and a nothingness before him.

Prayer: God please show yourself in the blank. What you have stripped away I surrender. What you are preparing I want to receive it.

Creative: Do something that makes you laugh.

Brave: Who do you want to be in 10 years? If you are that today, what is one thing you would do?

Generous: Is there a small business, restaurant, non-profit you can support whether financially or with a thoughtful note?

Day 15: Freely roam in rootedness

December 31, 2018 — Leave a comment

Genesis 46-47; Psalm 15

It’s hard to read Joseph’s current wealth and loyalty to the Pharaoh and not think about the Israelites future slavery. Joseph sets up the structures for the Egyptians to hate the Israelites and for the Pharaoh to have utmost power. But he didn’t know. He was both a person in God’s redemption to presently save his people and to set up a future that enslaves them. What structures am I laying down now that will bite me in the ass later? Where do I think I’m so clever and impervious to failure? I don’t think Joesph knew he was doing wrong, but I wonder if he thought very long term.

To sojourn in God’s tent is to be rooted so nothing of this world can pull you away from his love. To be free in God’s world is to have the range to act like you are already enough. Freedom, grounded-ness, movement and stability are two sides of the same coin.