Memos from the Middle

Even in This

for Champ

“So take courage! For I believe God. It will be just as he said.” (Acts 27: 25, NLT)

This is going to sound harsh, Friend, maybe even insensitive. But it’s the truth. And sometimes the truth, with absolutely no filter, is what is needed. So here goes: What you are going through is awful and tough, and Lord knows I have no idea what it feels like to experience your exact trial, but SO WHAT? The God we serve is so much bigger than that, and we cannot crumble. That mountain is huge, but our God is bigger. That giant is massive, but our God slayed long before Beyonce ever did. So get up, put your game face on, and walk like one who believes God.

People say that we should study history so that we don’t repeat it. I say, we should study the history of God so that when the winds of life rage, we can stand firm, even in the eye of the storm, with a radical faith that surpasses reason, and know that God will come through, just like He always has, just like He said He would. If that same power that parted the Red Sea, that rained down manna and brought water from the rock, that turned a fearful Gideon into a mighty warrior, that cast out demons, that brought sight to the blind and healed the sick, that took a crucified, murdered, and buried Jesus and raised him from the dead, if that same power keeps us through faith, what have we to fear?

I remember my grandmother. When she was slipping into the fog of dementia, recalling oftentimes with a surety years long past, but not always remembering exactly who I was, she would sit in her sturdy wooden arm chair with her Bible opened in her lap. She would sometimes forget to grab her glasses and perch them on the tip of her nose, which was her custom. But she remembered where she could go to meet God. In the mornings, if I were to go looking for her in the house but couldn’t find her, inevitably she would be sitting on her tiny porch in that painted metal chair with the cushioned seat, looking out over the yard that no longer held the flowers she maintained so meticulously, and she would be humming a hymn softly under the morning sky. She may not be able to hear me as easily as before, but she heard the voice of the Lord calling her to communion with Him. She knew God. She prioritized her time with God. She remembered God even when other cherished memories faded.

What’s our excuse, Friend? As the old folks say, “We rose in our right minds with the ability of our limbs.” Are we choosing to forget God because we are blinded by circumstance? Are we running to man or substances or online purchases because we no longer remember that there is peace in running to God? Have we forgotten that God’s priority is not our comfort, but in our joyful conforming unto Him, and that as we get there, He provides a comfort that is immeasurable and lasting?

Friend, even in this, no matter how tough or strange or debilitating your “this” may be, God is still God! He still reigns. He still provides. He still slays!

Do you believe that? Well, act like it then!

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15: 7, NKJV)