Just the Facts

 Devotion for the Week...

While looking through old blog posts last week, I found this devotion from 2018 that I had completely forgotten about. It seemed perfect to share it again today as we approach Good Friday.

I read one morning last week about a fellow quilter who lost her grown step daughter suddenly a few weeks ago. I can't even imagine that pain. That family stayed in my mind all day as I grappled with the enormity of losing a child.

Somewhere along the way, it made me think of my grandparents, who lost their firstborn in infancy. I can just barely remember when I learned that the 13 siblings in Dad's family actually had another brother who had died as a baby, but I can't say I've ever thought about him much. I certainly never thought before that day last week about how it must have been for the young Eileen and Michael to lose their son, probably because I never heard anything about what it was like for them. By the time I learned about the child who died, both of my grandparents were gone as well.

I know I've said this before, but one of the things I find hardest about reading the Bible is that it gives us all the facts, but very few of the details. It is so easy to skim over really hard, painful stuff without taking in how hard and painful it was because there are no details to help us make that connection.

Just look at the moment when Pilate "ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified" (Matthew 27:26). That comma between ordering that Jesus be whipped and giving Him to the soldiers to be crucified, that comma is all that represents the actual whipping. If that were written in a modern-day novel, that one comma would be rendered as a full paragraph or more. Readers would be given details about the man who did the whipping, the sound of the whip through the air, the sound of it hitting Jesus' back, the sounds Jesus made as lash after lash landed.

It's not easy to think about, is it? And so, often, we don't. We read the facts as they are written in the Bible, but we don't slow down enough to consider the details that would have gone along with those facts. Along the way, we lose the emotional connection we could have with the facts.

It's not only the hard, painful things that we miss because of the lack of details. Think about the moment when the thief crucified next to Jesus said to Him, "'Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.'  And Jesus replied, 'I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise'" (Luke 23:42, 43).

What did Jesus' face look like in that moment, when He looked at this man who believed and so would spend eternity in heaven because of the agony Jesus was feeling at that exact moment? I picture a smile through the pain as He saw a glimpse of just how worth it that agony would prove to be. Did He close His eyes for a moment as a feeling of victory washed over Him? Did He choke up a little as He spoke, overwhelmed with love for this sinner who had come home?

Everything Jesus would have felt in that moment, for that thief, is what He also feels for every other sinner who believes in Him. It's what He feels for you and for me. Without the details, though, it's all too easy to read the story without ever thinking about what Jesus was feeling.

Obviously, the Bible couldn't possibly contain all the details a novel would include. If it did, the Bible would be large enough to fill a room! But there's no reason we can't slow down and imagine those details and so allow ourselves to feel that emotional connection with the facts we read.

My challenge for you this week is just that - when you read the Bible this week, read slowly. Imagine the details that aren't written and allow those details to connect you more deeply with the facts.

Old Childishness

 Devotion for the Week...

Whatever your views of President Trump were, there was no denying that he didn't like when people spoke negatively about him. He came to mind, and I actually laughed out loud, recently when I read 1 Kings 22 and 'heard' how King Ahab responded to someone who spoke negatively about him. Let's set the scene: King Ahab (king of Israel) asked King Jehosaphat (king of Judah) to go to battle with him to recover the town of Ramoth-gilead from the king of Aram. Ahab didn't follow God at all, but Jehosaphat did. So Jehosaphat said he would go to war with Ahab, but "then Jehoshaphat added, "But first let’s find out what the Lord says'" (v. 5). Ahab summoned all of his 'prophets,' who were very good at telling the king exactly what he wanted to hear, and they told him "Yes, go right ahead! The Lord will give the king victory" (v. 6). 

Jehosaphat, of course, knew Ahab's reputation and that of his prophets, so he asked, "Is there not also a prophet of the Lord here? We should ask him the same question" (v. 7).

Ahab replied, "There is one more man who could consult the Lord for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me!" (v. 8). That was where I laughed out loud. Can't you just see Ahab scrunching up his face in distaste and shaking his head? He had no interest in what this man, Micaiah, had to say because he never had anything good to say about Ahab. Never mind that Micaiah was only speaking the truth from God - the fact that it didn't make Ahab feel good about himself was the only thing that mattered. Man, that childishness is OLD!

None of us like it when people speak negatively about us. We can write them off completely, as Ahab did, declaring they are horrible people and never even considering any truth there might be in their words. Or we can pause for a moment to see if we could learn something from what has been said. Sometimes there's nothing to be gained from the negative feedback and we can then cross that person off the list of people we listen to. But sometimes there will be nuggets of truth in the negative feedback. 

No, it's not easy to listen to people talking negatively about us. No, we don't want to do it. It would be much easier to simply insist they're terrible people and we should ignore them. While that might be easier or more comfortable, it's not very helpful. 

If I'm being honest with myself, I know that I'm not always right in everything I say and do, which means that sometimes people need to correct me. I'm willing to guess you would say the same about yourself. If we just ignore the people who correct us, we'll keep repeating those same mistakes. Who knows what damage that will do to our relationships, our reputations, our finances or our health. If, instead, we choose to consider what has been said, we could grow into better people for having listened to the hard things. 

Proverbs 12:1 says it pretty plainly: "To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction." Most of us like to think we're not stupid. While we may hate the experience of being corrected, we can't automatically discount it.

Stronger Together

 Devotion for the Week...

When my husband comes home from work, he generally doesn't hang out with me and the littles I babysit. He'll come and talk with me for a few minutes and then he goes for his run or goes to read somewhere quieter than where a crowd of toddlers are playing. There have been times over the years, though, when he has come home to find me at my wit's end because of behavioral issues with one of the kids, so he has stayed with me until the parents have all picked up their kids. Just having him in the room helps to get me through the last bit of the day.

Those days, and his support, were what I thought of when I read 1 Kings 19 last week. Elijah had just defeated the prophets of Baal and then, in retribution for killing her prophets, Queen Jezebel "sent this message to Elijah: 'May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them'" (v. 2). Yikes! She was a real winner of a queen, let me tell you. Understandably, "Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died'" (vv. 3-4). Later, he also says, "I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too" (v. 10).

Elijah was done. He had nothing left. Dealing with a toddler who has been hitting the other kids all day doesn't really compare to running for your life, but I still feel that I can relate to that feeling of just being done and not able to deal with the situation anymore. Have you felt that way? Those are the times when it's good to have someone else there to support you, even if they don't do anything except stay in the room with you.

In his moment of despair, Elijah gets a visit from God, who comes to him as a still, small voice (v. 12). God tells him to go anoint a couple of men to be future kings and then to "anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from the town of Abel-meholah to replace you as my prophet" (v. 16). This wasn't a demotion for Elijah. God wasn't upset with him for feeling overwhelmed, alone and unable to cope. God knows we need other people, so he provides that support for us. In this case, He provided Elisha as an assistant who would one day take over for Elijah, which I imagine was a relief in the moment since Elijah was no longer alone, but also a mental relief since Elijah could stop worrying about who would lead the people after he was gone. The burden wasn't only his anymore.

Over the course of our lives, we'll probably have times when we are like Elijah - in despair and unable to cope. We'll need someone to come and hang out with us and help us get through the situation. Other times, we'll be like Elisha, providing that support to someone else. Whichever side of the equation we are on, we can rest assured that we are stronger together. 

Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken."