These very unusual times have forced us all to experience things we're not used to. They're uncomfortable and they seem at times foreboding. Some of us are struggling with different realities in the midst of it. Whether it's a loss of jobs and income or the stark realities of isolation and the effects of not being able to be around those who we are close to or being stuck in the same place without any ability to enjoy the freedom this country offers us, as time moves on the stagnation is depressing, to say the least.
I just got back from spending a couple weeks with my dad. While I was there I met and walked with my cousin Paul. Paul's wife, my cousin Carol whom I was very close to since childhood, passed away a year ago at the age of 69. We walked in the cemetery where she is buried. Most of the parks here in St. Louis are closed so the cemetery is big. It was a great time to get out in the fresh air, have conversation and spend time with God.
As I walked there, the thought began to grow in my mind as I looked at so many graves about the brevity of life. I started thinking about all the things we take for granted and the inconveniences that are, well in many cases really not so inconvenient. I thought about all the people who pass us by everyday, all headed to the same destination.
Each day I began to look at the tombstones and read about some of the people who are there. A few stood out, grabbing my attention. So I thought I'd share one with you that might just inspire you to grab on to what God has given you and appreciate it more than you ever have.
Charles and Margaret Eime were both born over 150 years ago. Like many of us, they were a typical couple who fell in love and spent their lives together. But the Eime's were different in that they experienced a series of tragedies that would stop most of us dead in our tracks. Charles and Margaret lost 7 children, four of which died in infancy while the other three were 1, 2 and 9 over 13 years. To add sorrow to the story, their second child, Laura, died in the same year as their third child who has no name. As I put my hand on their stone, and having lost a child myself, I could feel the reality of their pain and loss, their deep sorrow and grief. As I was feeling the sadness I began to realize the incredible power of their love for each other. That in the midst of such tragedy their love held them together through the most horrendous of times and moved them forward through the years in spite of it all. I can't imagine losing 7 children over the course of 13 years. Margaret and Charles held each one of those children in their arms and then laid them all to rest.
In this time of deep uncertainty and all that faces each one of us, I want to encourage you, take nothing for granted. Cherish every moment. Live like each day is your last. Don't come out of this and go back to life the way it was. Don't long for the past or the good old days. Reset the agenda. Reboot! Realize that as quickly as this happened, it can happen again and probably will. Love hard, love deep. Find God, and if you've already found Him, make Him a priority. Take time to talk to Him, but even more, take time to listen. Don't waste another minute on things that don't matter and make time for those that do. Matthew 6:25-34 is a good reminder.
May Adonai bless you and keep you; may He make His face shine on you and show you His favor; may He lift up His face towards you and give you peace.
Steven Bliss
© 4/18/20
Take me to a place where the water is still and the air clean. Where the images that penetrate my mind are majestic and awe-inspiring. Take me to a place where my ears hear the sounds of tranquility as they alter the consciousness of my mind and deliver me from all my worries and fear.
Can you see that in your mind? Can you smell that air so crisp and clean? Can you see the regal mountains jutting to the sky as they reflect off of the perfectly still waters of a crystal blue lake in front of you? Where the most beautiful sounds of songbirds fill the air and your mind empties of all it faces. Where fear melts like ice cream in the Sun and everything you worry about and fret over no longer comes to mind as you’re instantly delivered from it all. It’s a dream right? This is a type of peace we all want in this time but is far from our grasp. But there is actually a peace that won’t disappear.
Peace is a commodity that has suddenly evaporated before our very eyes. Every single person, no matter what your financial status, no matter what your race, no matter what your gender is faced with uncertainty that no one on this planet has ever had to face… and it’s everywhere all at once! If you could bottle peace right now and sell it you would become the richest person in the world. There’s no app that can give it to you. No meditation or guru. No amount of money or the accumulation of things. No political power or level of control can give us the one thing everyone wants.
I have a solution, an answer, a definite hope and assurance that won’t vanish like a dream or turn off when your phone goes to sleep or shuts down. There is a key that unlocks that door. That key is faith. That picture I painted above that you want to never fade away or leave you is only found in Jesus. That’s right, Jesus. In the Bible in the book of John he tells about his experiences of walking closely with Jesus for the final 3 years of His life just prior to His crucifixion and shares what he saw and heard Jesus say and do. But of all the wonders that he personally experienced, it was the few simple words that Jesus spoke that would alter his consciousness forever and give him the confidence to go on, no matter what he faced. Before He went to the cross Jesus said this, “Peace I leave with you; My [perfect] peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. [Let My perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you courage and strength for every challenge.]" John 14:27 AMP These words were powerful enough to give everyone who heard and followed Him the confident assurance that, regardless of what they faced, even death, His peace would be with them and give them the strength to arrive safe on the other side.
There is no peace in the things we see and hear. Everyday it becomes a little bleaker. Things become a little tighter, a little more uncertain. But I want to encourage you with this. If you don’t know Jesus as you are reading this, if you’ve only heard about Him but never really connected the dots with who He really is… that He took your sin and rebellion and nailed it to the cross taking the punishment you deserve and paying the debt you owe to God, then it’s as simple as this… ask Him to forgive you of your sins. Tell Him you surrender and give Him your life. Tell Him that you accept Him as your Lord and Savior. Ask Him to fill you with Himself and His peace as well as the courage to overcome your fears.
If you are a believer, and you’re in a place of fear and panic, STOP… realign your heart and mind with the truth. Resist the temptation to let darkness weave its insidious lies in your mind that are contrary to the truth of God. Put these words in your heart. Read them out loud to yourself. Speak them over yourself and your family. Speak out loud,"GOD HAS NOT GIVEN ME A SPIRIT OF FEAR, but of LOVE, POWER and a SOUND MIND! Today, I declare that I will not be anxious for or about anything, but instead I will talk to God about everything and trust Him for all my answers, knowing that His peace, which is nothing like the world and even beyond my comprehension, will guard me, comfort me and keep me safe. I choose right now to focus my mind on the things that are true and what is good; on what is authentic and real, honorable and admirable. I choose to focus on what is pure and holy, merciful and kind. And I will thank God moment by moment for His perfect peace. AMEN!” If you need to say this 20 times a day, DO IT!
I promise you, if you seek God in these very difficult days, in the midst of it all, He will not only hear you and answer you, but He will bring you through in perfect peace.
Steven Bliss
© 4/2/20
