PEACE

Some of the last buds of summer at my home were this duo or roses, one which graced the bush for a few days, and one bud nearby, ready to take its place. A few weeks after this, I pruned all our roses to prevent snow breakage. Our rose beds edge the driveway, meaning snow shoveling can damage them. But I have no other options when I wake up to a foot of snow and need to clear the driveway.

The prophet Isaiah had similar observations, though certainly not with “snow load.”

The grass withers and the flowers fall. (Isaiah 40:8a)

Well, duh. It's called the cycle of life. It works for both the plant and animal world. But the opposite is this, in the very next verse:

But the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40:8b)

There's another verse in Isaiah that gets repeated exposure during the Christmas season:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,

And the government will be on his shoulders,

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace

there will be no end...(Isaiah 9:6-7)

Prophecies are glimmers of hope, reflections of God's good and just character. This one reminds us that Christmas is not just about a miracle Baby, destined to be a Savior, swaddled and put for safekeeping in a feeding trough. It's about the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace. “Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end” (v. 7).

I could be wrong—I'm not the world's greatest authority on roses—but I think the bloom I photographed is the “Peace Rose.” I didn't plan it that way, but it's a fitting illustration for our longings for the Prince of Peace—the Lord Jesus---to infuse this broken world with healing and peace. It's God's long-range plan.

Will He come Monday, which our calendar (though not historically true) assigns to the celebration of His birth? Or in about a week, when one old year bows aside to welcome the new? Only God knows. His Word tells us it will happen in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52).

So yes, summer's flowers will wilt and their petals drop Their canes will blacken and die as cold sets in. But Peace, real Peace through the Prince of Peace, is in God's plan for this battered world. This is Hope worth celebrating. No presents, cards, trees, feasts, Black Fridays, or fancy decorations required. Just pure, worshiping hearts.

PEACE

There are a few peaceful pools as the Wenatchee River winds its way from the mountains to its confluence with the Columbia River. This pool is near a locally famous candy (and more) store called “The Alps.” What a great place in summer to pause during a trip, sip something hot or cool, and nibble just-bought candy! Of course, it's also a drinking fountain for local wildlife that prefer calm waters to the boisterous rapids.

Such scenes bring to mind the imagery of Psalm 42, which begins:

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.(42:1)

I'd like to end the psalm right there, but it goes on about missing the sweet fellowship of worship at the temple. Apparently the writer was at some distance from Jerusalem, and because it's inscribed “a maskil of the Sons of Korah” he may have been part of the temple worship team. He is, in fact, smitten with sorrow. “My tears have been my food day and night,” he goes on, “while men say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'” (v. 3). He's not among people who share his spiritual outlook. Thus, the image of this graceful animal, so thirsty it is panting as it seeks out a source of water.

The restrictions placed on “worship gatherings” during our contemporary pandemic remind me of a deer seeking water. My husband and I are in the high risk, gettin'-old category. We've been “back to church” a few times, masked and seated apart from others. But we noticed many skipped the masks, thinking some “distancing” was enough. Not with singing! I'm grateful the services were videotaped for those whose health issues would make it better to stay home. But I still felt like that deer, panting for something to quench my unique spiritual thirst.

I'm probably not the first of “Covid Congregants” who have stopped at other shorelines for spiritual quenching via the internet. I am careful where I visit, but I know God sees into my heart and knows the messages I need for my particular circumstances and growth. At one “sermon-visiting” place, the pastor is going through Hebrews and the “heroes of the faith” list. How apropos, as Covid-19 stokes up the fear factor about disability and death from this phantom disease. These stalwarts of ancient times had their own “fear factors” of enemies and disasters. Many died without seeing wrongs made right. But, the writer of Hebrews says God commended their faith (Hebrews 11:39) even though they didn't receive on earth what they thought they should have.

That's the balance needed for the doleful tone of Psalm 42 and its companion, Psalm 43, which keeps lamenting,
Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (42:5, 11; 43:5)

“Feeling downcast” has been a theme of most of 2020. Besides COVID, there's been racial unrest, a tumultuous campaign season, and unprecedented weather and fire disasters. At times I feel parched and wonder, “When can I go and meet with God?” If anything, it has reminded us that “church” isn't the only way God reaches out to us. He can do so through the encouragement of other mature Christians and carefully selected Christian programing. But best of all, He speaks through His Word, through those quiet times of opening scriptures, and being quenched at His river of hope and truth.

This past year I've found it hard to sleep through the night. No problem: I go to my recliner, open my Bible, and drink it in like a parched deer. We have a Savior! We have a God who cares! And we have eternity ahead....

SLIPPING (Psalm 94)

Boots with hearty traction (or at least pull-on cleats) are our choice

 for January traction. But in posing these boots for a photo,

 I thought of the scripture that urged us to "walk" with care in representing 

Christ--to be "shod" with the Gospel of Christ (Ephesians 6:15)

(Part of an ongoing series on the 48 psalms recommended for times of “feeling down,” from pastor-counselor David Seamands’ book, Healing for Damaged Emotions.)

We expect super-fast in our lives. Microwaves, internet speeds, supersonic flights—any ways we can shave time off things, we want them. But it doesn’t work that way in life’s tough places. “How long,” the psalm-writer whines to God, “will the wicked be jubilant? (Psalm 94:3). He feels his hope and opportunities are slipping away (v. 18). The psalmist wants God to do something about the bad people and situations in his life—and quickly. He’s saying, “I can’t do anything about it, God, but You can.” He addresses God as “the God who avenges”—and that last little word is a key to unlocking this psalm’s truths.

REVENGE VS. AVENGE

It’s human (and sinful) to exercise vengeance—to act negatively out of revenge for a hurt. But a slightly different word, avenge, rightly describes God’s role as our legal advocate upholding His holiness and sovereignty when we are wronged. Long ago, He clearly stated that His role is to avenge and pay back an enemy (Deuteronomy 32:35, quoted Romans 12:19-20). Our role when wronged is this:

Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. (Romans 12:17-19a)

IT’S GOD’S PROBLEM

I tend to bottle up my hurts and problems, with unwanted results for my physical and emotional health. I echo the psalmist’s complaint:

Who will rise up for me against the wicked?

Who will take a stand for me against evildoers? (Psalm 94:16)

But God’s way is reflected in this quote attributed to Martin Luther:

I have held many things in my hands and have lost them all; but whatever I put in God’s hands, I still possess.

The psalmist reached a similar conclusion:

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your love, O LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” (Psalm 94:18-19)

IT’S OUR EARTHLY HOMEWORK

One day my body demanded that I rest but my mind swirled with thoughts of someone’s negatives toward me. “Change the channel, Lord,” I prayed. “I don’t want to keep thinking about this.” I believe the Lord wants me to recall just enough to keep praying for this person,  but to leave to Him the issue of avenging for the wrongs done against me. In learning the grace of letting go, especially of bitterness, and letting Him handle it, I experience the lesson of Hebrews 12:14-15:

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.  See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

The psalmist ended up with that conclusion, too, calling God his fortress and the rock of refuge (v. 22)

I’d like God to right all wrongs and make things all happy-and-dandy during my lifetime. But it may not happen that way. So when I ask, like the psalmist, “How long?” and He answers, “Trust me,” I must. He sees life from eternity past to eternity future. The negatives I may experience now are but a blip on eternity’s screen.