Finding Sanctuary in a Storm-Tossed World

A pastor was guiding a visitor through his church’s new, state-of-the-art worship center. “Your church is beautiful!” the visitor exclaimed. Replied the pastor, “Sanctuary much!”

 

It’s an old joke, but the term “sanctuary” predates it by centuries. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines sanctuary as “a place of refuge and protection,” while Dictionary.com describes it as “the most sacred place of worship; a building for religious worship.”

 

The church at the Italian
city of Assisi, home of
St. Francis of Assisi

For many of us, convening at the place we commonly refer to as “the church” indeed feels like entering a place of refuge and protection. Just as naturalists establish sanctuaries for various kinds of animals and birds, a sanctuary where spiritual services are conducted can often seem like the proverbial port in a storm.

Surrounded by men, women and children sharing a common faith in Jesus Christ, hearing worship songs that point to Him and His glory, and listening to messages anchored in the timeless, unchanging Word of God, we can enjoy a brief retreat from the continual bombardment of untruths espoused by many in a society that has determined it no longer needs the Lord. 

 

This is why Hebrews 10:23-25 urges, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

 

King David alluded to this when he wrote, “I have seen You in the sanctuary and beheld Your power and Your glory” (Psalm 63:2). Considering all the opposition David faced during his reign, it’s easy to understand the delight he experienced in places where he could worship the God of Israel. 

 

Alas – as Shakespeare and the poets of old used to phrase it – we can’t remain permanently in physical sanctuaries. We must return to a God-denying world and the sin-filled byways of everyday life. Even so, that’s not reason for despair.

 

Thanks to God’s Spirit, leaving a physical sanctuary doesn’t mean leaving His presence. We’re told in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” To make sure this important truth isn’t forgotten, it’s restated in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” 

 

Early in my spiritual life, when I would have been considered a “churchian” rather than a Christian, I somehow believed that when I departed the church building, I left God behind. I proceeded to live as if He didn’t exist until it was time to “visit” Him again the next Sunday. Only years later did I realize how deluded I had been.

 

David wrote about this in his collection of psalms: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there…if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10).

 

Sanctuary can also be found whenever we spend time reading and studying the Scriptures. Unlike any other book, the books of the Bible are like God’s love letters to His children, tangible evidence of His presence even when circumstances in the world seem swirling out of control.

 

David wrote in Psalm 32:7, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” That verse serves as the basis of a wonderful song, “Hiding Place,” recorded by the Christian group Selah and others: 

“You are my hiding place. You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance. Whenever I am afraid I will trust in you…. Let the weak say ‘I am strong in the strength of the Lord.’”

Those times when we can break away from the outside world and convene in a physical sanctuary, standing and singing worshipful music with fellow believers are inspiring and necessary. But as the Bible assures us, no matter where we go we can find sanctuary in the Lord our God. He is our fortified tower, our refuge, our stronghold, our rock, our hiding place. 

Not Recognizing the Work Behind the Scenes

Over my lifetime I’ve attended a number of stage plays, including a couple on Broadway in New York City and others produced by local theatre groups. Members of the audience get caught up in the action, the singing, the storylines being performed. But usually, the stuff that’s happening behind the scenes escapes our attention.

 

Things like the simple but necessary acts of raising and lowering the curtain; moving scenery and stage props around; controlling the lighting for maximum impact; helping actors with costume changes. If done properly, we shouldn’t be consciously aware of such things. But we’d notice, wouldn’t we, if the curtain didn’t go up on schedule or if it suddenly lowered at the wrong moment? Or if an actress’s wig were askew? Or if the percussionist in the orchestra hit the bass drum or cymbals at the wrong moment?

 

What brings this to mind is understanding that of all the great things God does, one of His best is working behind the scenes, fulfilling His plans in ways we can’t always see and sometimes couldn’t even imagine. 

 

Our pastor has been taking us through the Old Testament book of Ruth, a wonderful story of tragedy and loss, redemption and restoration. The account of widow Naomi, who lost her husband and two sons years after moving to the pagan country of Moab, and Ruth, her faithful daughter-in-law. The story includes numerous circumstances that “just so happen” – seeming “coincidences” that prove integral to God’s overall purpose and plan.

 

To summarize the story, after Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, and her sons have died, she resolves to return to Bethlehem, her hometown. One daughter-in-law, Orpah, decides to remain in Moab, but Ruth utters the words (Ruth 1:16) that songstress Patti Page turned into a hit tune decades ago: “Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; your people will be my people….”

 

When they arrive at Bethlehem, Naomi and Ruth are destitute. In those days there was no welfare program; all they could count on was the law of gleaning, at harvest time leaving some grain behind for the poor and aliens to gather.

 

Naomi sends Ruth to gather what little food she can find. Ruth unknowingly “happens” to start working in a field owned by Boaz, a member of Elimelech’s family. Boaz “happens” to be a kind man who takes compassion on lowly Ruth, even though as a Moabitess she is from a people despised by the Jews.

 

Boaz introduces himself to Ruth and decides to reciprocate the favor she has shown in staying with Naomi. He directs her to work in his fields only, knowing men in other fields would likely take advantage of her. He generously feeds her and instructs his laborers to leave extra gleanings for her to collect.

 

The story gives other examples of how Boaz, much older than Ruth, extends kindness to her exceeding anything she could have hoped to receive. On the face of it, this story might seem like a simple case of being in the right place at the right time. 

 

However, in reviewing the human lineage of Jesus Christ that opens the New Testament gospel of Matthew, we read these words: “Boaz, the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth” (Matthew 1:5). It goes on to state Obed was the father of Jesse, the father of King David. Boaz, through Ruth, became the great-grandfather of the king of Israel. 

 

God had a plan. God carried out His plan. And Ruth, an unlikely heroine, became a key part of His plan.

 

Looking over the course of our lives, if we are followers of Jesus Christ, we too can find instances of things that “just so happened,” seeming “coincidences” that were actually God at work in His way, in His time, for our good and His divine purposes.

 

I think back over my life. My first newspaper job was in a small Ohio town where I worked as a journalistic jack-of-all-trades, doing everything from news reporting to editorials, to obituaries and wedding announcements, to taking photos. During that time, I also met my wife. 

 

Nearly seven years later I was hired as editor of a community newspaper in Texas, where I not only honed my craft as a journalist as well as a publisher, but also began attending a church with my family where we met Jesus Christ. A few years later I was looking for the next step for advancing my career when the only job opportunity that presented itself was an editorial position with a marketplace ministry called CBMC.

 

I won’t recount dozens, even hundreds of other circumstances that transpired as God unfolded His plan for me and my family. But I assure you, these were not coincidences. They could not all have happened, one following another, if God had not been at work behind the scenes “[doing] immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20).

 

The words from the old praise song remind us, “When you don’t understand, when you can’t see His plan, when you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.” I love the promise of Philippians 2:13, “for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.”

The Problem with Being a Servant

Reading the Scriptures, we find a number of terms for identifying people we commonly refer to as “Christians.” Among them are “children of God” (1 John 3:1), “sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:3), “followers of Jesus” (Luke 22:49), “saints” (Philippians 1:1), and “believers” (James 2:1). Each of those individually is deserving of discussion, but one term we don’t hear spoken nearly as much is “servants.”

 

One reason it’s not used as frequently is probably because, after all, doesn’t being called a servant sound demeaning? If we believe what the Bible says, the answer to this question is both ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ 

 

Consider Mark 10:45, in which Jesus Himself declared, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Imagine that! The Son of God – God incarnate – determining not to demand the honor and position that He truly deserved. Instead, He assumed the role of a servant, doing things like shunning earthly comforts, ministering to outcasts, healing the sick, miraculously feeding thousands, riding a lowly donkey into Jerusalem, and dying on a cross to atone for sins He did not and could not commit.

Following Jesus’ example, His followers used the same term for themselves. The apostle Paul opened his letter to the church in Philippi with, “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:1). He started the book of Romans the same way: “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus….” 

 

The apostle Peter asserted the same, opening his second New Testament letter with, “Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:1). The apostle James referred to himself as “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1).

 

But what does that have to do with us? Actually, it has everything to do with us. In the gospel of John we read of Jesus performing the demeaning task of washing His disciples’ feet, truly the role of a hired servant. When He was finished He told them, “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14).

 

Ah, but this is easier said than done, right? We enjoy being served – whether it’s at a restaurant or having someone perform some necessary service for us. But when the tables are turned, figuratively if not literally, not so much.

 

My friend Ken in Omaha, Neb., in one of his brief weekly email reflections, made these observations about serving and servanthood:

“You’ll know you are a servant – when you are treated like one. I want people to view me as a good servant of God. I want folks to be impressed with my self-sacrificing commitment to the Lord and to others…. But that’s not the mark of a real servant.

 

“A true servant is in the shadows, invisible, never drawing attention to self, simply knowing and anticipating and meeting the desire of the master.”

 

Genuine servanthood – being a servant to God and others – isn’t optional for Christ followers. It’s part of the job description. Paul exhorted believers in ancient Ephesus, “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free” (Ephesians 6:7). He presented essentially the same admonition in Colossians 3:17-23 for believers in ancient Colossae. 

 

As my friend Ken said, you’ll know you’re a servant when you’re treated like one. When someone of greater importance or position arrives and you’re directed – not politely asked – to perform acts of service and after you’ve done so, you’re not shown the gratitude and appreciation you feel you deserve.

 

At such times we need to remember and follow the example of the Lord Jesus, who humbly announced that He “did not come to be served but to serve.” If Jesus was okay with that, shouldn’t we be?

When God Instructs Us to ‘Do Nothing’

Many of us are products of the so-called Protestant work ethic which puts a high premium on productivity and personal initiative. It’s an oversimplification, I know, but we learned that if you need or want something, the best method for getting it is to work for it. 

 

This overall philosophy of work and its rewards still holds true today, although it’s not as widely embraced as it once was. This “work ethic” long ago filtered its way into the spiritual realm, prompting many seekers to wonder if they’ve done enough, if they’re good enough, to earn God’s favor. 

 

However, working, we might even call it performing, to gain God’s approval runs counter to New Testament teachings. Many passages affirm the concept of grace – the Lord’s undeserved, unmerited favor – but the first one I always think off is Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” 

 

By God’s grace, we respond to Him in faith and receive His gift of salvation and eternal life. But what about our works? Are they unimportant? The next verse, Ephesians 2:10 elaborates, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Yes, the Lord wants and expects us to do good works, but not to receive salvation. Our works should be motivated by the reality and recognition that we have received salvation – we respond out of love and gratitude for what the Lord Jesus Christ did for us. As Titus 3:5 asserts, “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”

 

When we read in Philippians 2:12, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,” it’s not a command to work for God’s acceptance but an admonition to work out what God has already put into us. The next verse clarifies, “for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.” What a blessing and a privilege it is to be used by the Lord to accomplish His perfect plan.

 

So, we can rest in the knowledge that if we’re His children, there’s nothing we can do to make God love us more – and nothing we can do to make Him love us less. We can point to one passage that actually seems to instruct followers of Christ to do nothing.

 

Those verses are Philippians 2:3-4, in which we’re told, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

 

Okay, this passage isn’t directing us to literally do nothing, to sit idly on a stump. It’s more about the motivation behind whatever we’re doing and the spirit in which we’re doing it. In our actions, words and thoughts, God desires for us to put Him and others first. 

 

This can be challenging in our contemporary society that often promotes self above all things. Even some of the popular Christian praise songs these days seem more about “me” and “I” than they are about the God of all creation and Jesus Christ, His Son. We could say they’re more about “me-ology” than theology.

 

What if we started each day and reminded ourselves repeatedly during the course of each day to “do nothing” – to check ourselves by evaluating whether we’re acting out of “selfishness or empty conceit,” or “in humility regarding others as more important that ourselves,” as another translation expresses Philippians 2:3?

 

Humility might seem like a vanishing virtue in today’s world when pride is placed on a pedestal. But imagine the difference we could make by consciously seeking to “look not only to [our] own interests, but also to the interests of others,” as the following verse admonishes.

Such a radical approach to life and the personal encounters we have each day, even more than the best conceived evangelistic strategies, could enable us to fit the description of being “blameless and pure children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe” (Philippians 2:15). Wouldn’t that be worth a try? 

The Indispensable Role and Importance of the Father

With all the holidays and celebrations observed in our nation, it’s fitting that Father’s Day is among them. Fathers, obviously, are an indispensable part of the process of producing a child. Sadly, it’s increasingly true that fathers aren’t always a part of the parenting process.

 

Leading up to the 1960s, approximately three-fourths of all families were intact with both a father and a mother present in the home. Today, that statistic has been turned almost upside down, with a majority of homes being led by single parents, and most commonly, that parent being a mom.

 

To paraphrase a popular song of the early ‘60s, “where have all the fathers gone?”

 

This question is complex, and like many societal issues, has no simple answer. It’s not my intention to suggest any solutions other than to affirm the importance of fathers, not only for individual families but also for the well-being of society as a whole.

 

This in no way diminishes the roles and importance of mothers. As I noted in a recent post about Mother’s Day, they’re indispensable not only for giving birth but also for providing a secure, stable environment in which their children can grow and flourish. But for a variety of reasons, in recent decades we’ve seen the role of father downgraded in the eyes of many, even disparaged.

 

Blessed with the privilege of being a father myself and having grown up in a home where my own father was constant in character and integrity, I believe fathers fit into the multi-faceted category of “unsung heroes.” Fathers who not only goes to work to provide for their family’s material needs but also attend their kids’ ballgames, school programs and other activities have an immeasurable impact.

 

Over the years I’ve met and interviewed hundreds of men, highly successful, well-educated and fitting the description of “man’s man” who, at the mention of their fathers, struggled to avoid turning into a blubbering mess. This has been the case both for men who loved and admired their fathers, as well as those who experienced less than healthy relationships with their fathers. In designing the family, God’s intent for fathers and mothers was for them to fill equally important, but distinct roles.

 

In what is widely known as the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus opened with “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9). His choice of words was not by accident. The fifth commandment – the first that is not specifically concerning God and the Sabbath – instructed the Israelites, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12).

 

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul concurs. He writes, “Honor your father and mother…the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2-3).

 

We could invest much time studying and discussing the theology of fatherhood and the importance God gives it, but a serious look at the Scriptures clearly shows the role of father is not secondary; fathers aren’t disposable, like excess baggage.

 

The Bible doesn’t stop with its command for children to honor their parents. It also explains how fathers are to relate to their offspring. For instance, Ephesians 6:2 states, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring their up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Other translations challenge fathers, “do not provoke your children to anger [or wrath]” but instead to provide them with “discipline and admonition of the Lord.”

 

This echoes teachings from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, For instance, Deuteronomy 4:9 admonishes, “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”

 

Speaking of the commandments and other laws God had given, Deuteronomy 6:7 admonishes, “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 11:19 says essentially the same.

 

These are telling us, among other things, that fathers and mothers both have the responsibility for teaching their children about God and that they are to serve as consistent, faithful followers of the Lord themselves. Setting a holy example for their children to emulate.

 

In our age when father-absence too often seems the rule rather than the exception, tragic ramifications have resulted. It’s evident this is not as God intended. Perhaps Father’s Day would be a good time to revisit the significance of fatherhood amid the ongoing discussion and debate about society’s ills.

Can We Find You in the ‘Impatient’ Parking Lot?

When I was a newspaper editor, there were a few embarrassing moments when we overlooked obvious typos in large headlines. The problem with newspapers on actual paper is that once they’ve been printed and distributed, you can’t press autocorrect and fix errors.

 

I can’t recall the specific instances, but I’ll never forget the feeling of egg-on-face when I picked up one of the papers and spotted the error. Why those stood out like sore thumbs after being printed but seemed invisible prior to that, I never figured out. In today’s digital age, newspapers, blogs and Internet sites have the luxury of being able to correct typos, hoping they were caught before anyone noticed.

 

Do hospitals
need proofreaders?

Imagine how the person felt who produced the large metal sign for a hospital that read, “Impatient Parking.” In-patient, impatient. They’re close, aren’t they? I have no idea how long that sign stood proudly before someone picked up on the problem. But the sign might really have been more accurate. Actually, a sign that reads ‘Patient Parking’ seems like an oxymoron.

 

Because if you’ve ever gone to a doctor’s office or a hospital, you quickly realize that while physicians are instructed to ‘have patients,’ the patients themselves are required to have patience – and lots of it.

 

The issue of patience vs. impatience isn’t restricted to medical facilities and offices, of course. When I’ve sat behind the wheel of my car at a traffic light that’s slow to turn, you could describe my idling vehicle as impatient parking. The same applies to waiting while a shopper at the supermarket leisurely loads his or her groceries into their car while I sit restlessly waiting for them to move so I can claim their parking spot.

 

It boils down to this: I wouldn’t mind waiting if it didn’t take so long. Impatience has been a defining characteristic for much of my life. I’ve never been good at ‘hurry up and wait.’ That’s probably true for more of us than we’d like to admit. Some societies around the world might choose to proceed at slower, more relaxing paces, but many of us in America have grown accustomed to marching orders like “ASAP,” “stat!” and "immediately – if not sooner.”

 

This can present problems for us spiritually. Because God works at His own pace, and often it’s not at all the pace we’d prefer. In fact, one of the common traits of a growing, fruitful follower of Jesus Christ, as described in Galatians 5:22-23, is patience: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control….”

 

Why is this? Because the Lord operates according to His own schedule. Like it or not, it’s always perfect. Not early, not late; just right on time. Consider Philippians 1:6, which declares, “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” 

 

At those times when I attempt to assess my spiritual progress, I typically shake my head in dismay considering how far I am from where I think I should be. The verse above does give me hope and encouragement, since it promises that what God has started in our lives He’s determined to finish.

 

Many of us would like to think we’re making a difference in this world, being used by God in some small way to participate in what He’s doing, but sometimes it seems like nothing is happening. This is when we need to read and meditate on verses like Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

 

In another of his epistles, the apostle Paul expresses similar sentiments to believers in ancient Corinth, a very pagan, ungodly city. He admonished them, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

 

When we think about it, the Christian life is a continual exercise of patience, clinging to faith even when circumstances seem beyond hope. As Paul wrote to Christ followers in Rome, “…but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” (Romans 8:23-25).

So, if you find yourself in the “Impatient Parking” lot, you’re not alone. But we should take heart. God’s not finished with us yet. He’s busy completing the work He began in us, as well as the world around us. As an older New American Standard translation phrases it, “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” 

It All Depends on What Perspective You Take

We’ve all heard about the two types of people – the glass-half-full ones and the glass-half-empty types. The former are positive, optimistic folks who maintain total confidence that things will work out for the best, no matter how bad they might seem at the time. The latter fret that even when things are going well, some form of misfortune is lurking around the corner.

I did have one friend who defined a third category for himself. He used to say, “I’m a very positive person: I’m positive…things are going to get worse!”

 

There are times I’m inclined to agree with him. After hearing one Chicken Little after another shouting, “The sky is falling!” – news of carnage due to cars, guns, diseases, natural disasters or economic calamity – it’s tempting to conclude that “living on the edge” starts with the simple act of getting out of bed in the morning. We’ve long heard warnings that the world headed non-stop for the netherworld in the proverbial handbasket. We suspect maybe it’s really happening this time.  

 

At such moments it would be nice to have Bobby McFerrin pay a friendly visit, singing his lilting tune, “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” Before the gloom settles in too deeply, I come to my senses and determine it’s a better idea to start accentuating the positive and eliminating the negative (someone really ought to write a song about that). 

 

This doesn’t mean talking oneself into being a naïve Pollyanna. It’s about making a conscious effort to shift our mindset. Someone has observed that a bad attitude is like having a flat tire – you’re not going anywhere until you fix it.

 

President Abraham Lincoln understood this concept. He once said, “We can complain because roses have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” This was the perspective of a man who had more than his share of thorns to deal with, not least of which was his final evening on earth while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865.

 

There are hundreds of other quotations we could cite for similar inspiration and encouragement, but I’ve found the very best are found in the Scriptures. There are many verses from which to choose, but one of my all-time favorite passages is Philippians 4:6-8.

 

This passage actually consists of two parts. The first two verses admonish, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” 

 

When we focus on the Lord, instead of the circumstances that are troubling us, and entrust our concerns to Him through prayer – and thankfulness, peace can reign in our hearts despite the chaos all around us.

 

The third verse exhorts, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” It follows that if we determine to make the Lord central to our thinking, we become freed from negative thoughts that everyday living can foster.

 

If we focus on what’s going on in practically any element of society, we can easily identify things that are untrue, far from noble, wrong and impure. God has given us a beautiful world to live in, but humankind has turned some of it ugly and despicable. Things of excellence and deserving of commendation – we’re to look for and concentrate on those.

 

This challenge is directed toward me probably more than anyone else who will read it. I need the great reminder from Ecclesiastes 3:11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” The Lord is still causing all things to work for the good of those who love Him, as Romans 8:28 declares. That promise was true many centuries ago, and it remains true today. 

Even when things outwardly look darkest and seem most dismal, we need to cling to the assurance, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). He hasn’t changed – we can be positive about that! 

More Connected Than Ever, But Desperately Alone

Being a career journalist and writer, I’ve always been fascinated by communications. I often marvel in thinking about how much the art of communicating has changed just in my lifetime.

 

For instance, my first memories of the telephone: it was the old-fashioned kind, with receiver cradled on its base, a rotating dial for placing a call, and a simple combination of letters and digits for a phone number. The first one I remember was CH (for Charter) followed by five numbers. We didn’t have an area code yet.

 

For a while we had a “party line,” sharing the same phone line with one or more neighbors. Occasionally we’d pick up the receiver to make a call and hear someone else’s voices on the same line. We’d have to wait for them to hang up before we could use the phone ourselves. When our phone did ring, we had to pick up the receiver and hear the voice to find out who was calling. Can you believe it? 

We’d fret over missing a phone call because there were no answering machines – and nothing vaguely resembling voicemail. Printed telephone books contained the names, addresses and phone numbers of everyone in our town. If the city was large, the phone books were huge. The alternative was to dial ‘0’ and get a real person called an “operator” who could provide needed information and phone numbers. Social media? The only thing remotely akin to that was secretively listening in on a party line conversation.

 

Fast forward to today: Never in the history of civilization have people been more connected. We’ve got phones, email, texting, the Internet, hundreds of TV and cable networks, streaming services, and video communications platforms. Everything literally at our fingertips. And yet, people have never been more isolated.

 

Why do we, surrounded by such a vast communications jungle, sometimes feel so desperately alone? Because no matter how many “friends” we may have on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or any other social medium, there’s no substitute for eye-to-eye contact and a human touch.

 

We were created for relationship, first with God and then with one another. In the creation account given in the opening chapter of Genesis, after He created animals, birds, fish and other living things “according to their kinds,” the Lord decided to create humankind. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…’” (Genesis 1:26).

 

God clearly desired relationships with His foremost creations – man and woman. After all the wondrous but non-speaking living things He designed, the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit wanted a mutual love relationship with mankind. But after “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7), the Lord understood the man needed companionship. We might say, someone with skin on.

 

“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’” (Genesis 2:18). After introducing Adam to “all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air,” God determined “for Adam no suitable helper was found…. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh….’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife…” (Genesis 2:19,22-24).

 

Ever since that time, human history has been an unending saga of relationships, good and bad, healthy and unhealthy. As we were designed, God wanted us to yearn for eye contact, touch, conversation, and even the scent of other human beings.

 

Despite its many benefits, technology can provide no substitute for these needs. That’s why we read declarations such as Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” – as we interact and rub shoulders with one another, we can help each other become better people. 

 

In relationship we can support one another and help in carrying each other’s burdens: “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their work; if one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).

 

During the pandemic, many churches were closed, ostensibly for health reasons. But those closures didn’t enhance spiritual vitality. We need one another – followers of Jesus Christ aren’t intended to function in desperate aloneness. This is why we’re admonished in Hebrews 10:24-25, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another….”

Relationships are hard. It’s easier to press “Like” on social media or type a quick reply to someone’s post. But relationships are vital. We need to be intentional, to look up (from our smartphones) not only to smell the roses but also to enjoy and engage in the real relationships all around us. 

Inspired By the Mountaintop, Mired in the Valley

 A while back, some friends and I were engaged in a discussion about moments when we each felt the presence of God most profoundly. For some it was one or more palpable, almost tactile experiences; indelible impressions that resonate years later. They expressed a yearning to revisit those times or to experience more of them.

While I can’t claim having a singular Damascus Road encounter such as Saul had, resulting in his dramatic conversion from zealous Christian-hating Pharisee and transformation into the apostle Paul, a number of “mountaintop experiences” have become landmarks - watershed moments - for my spiritual pilgrimage. A couple of them occurred on a literal mountaintop, during CBMC family conferences conducted at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga. 

Such experiences can and should etch themselves upon our minds – enduring reminders not only of God’s presence but also of lessons He was teaching to enable us to advance in our journey of faith. Alas, we can’t remain on mountaintops, either physically or spiritually. For one thing, there’s not much room there. Also, angelic, inspiring mountaintops aren’t where real life takes place. Sooner or later, we must descend into what some writers have referred to as “demon-infested valleys.” But that doesn’t mean the Lord’s not still with us.

 

This is true for spiritual pilgrims of the 21^st century, but also was the case for saints dating back to biblical times. Moses is one of the earliest examples, climbing up Mount Sinai to meet with God one-on-one and receive what turned out to be Israel’s marching orders for the next 40 years. 

 

In Exodus 19:20 we read, “The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain.” There God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and numerous other statutes and regulations for conducting lives of righteousness, justice and mercy. Meanwhile, down in the valley, the Israelites with short memories were into all sorts of mischief, fashioning a golden calf and worshiping it as a god while they burst into riotous revelry.

 

Another poignant mountaintop experience is recounted in Matthew 17:1-9, when Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain where they witnessed His visage transfigured: “His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.”

 

How did the three disciples respond? They must have been more than astounded. Perhaps at a loss for words, Peter blurted out the only thing that seemed appropriate: “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters – one for You, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

 

Then came the clincher, the moment that inscribed the experience into their psyches like a hot brand: “While [Peter] was speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well-pleased. Listen to Him!”

 

Understandably, the trio of disciples fell to the ground face down in great fear. But Jesus instructed them to get up, not be afraid and, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Then they went down from the mountain.

 

Do you think their descent into the valley below was quite the comedown, not only physically but also spiritually? To top it off, they had been commanded not even to mention their experience to anyone else. They had to play ‘I’ve Got a Secret’ long before anyone would conceive of creating a game show by the same name. 

 

I’d imagine Peter, James and John hearkened back to that surreal moment numerous times during their three-year rollercoaster of following Jesus. Maybe more than once they looked knowingly at one another and said, “Hey, you wanna go back to the mountaintop?”

 

We’re not much different. We long for those times – even fleeting moments – when God seemed so close it was almost as if He were clutching our hand. However, while we can be thrilled by the mountaintop, He intends for us to exist in the valleys.

 

Even there we can be assured of His presence, even if the sensory or emotional impact is lacking. As King David wrote, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me…” (Psalm 23:4). 

 

His presence is with us on the mountaintop, those life-changing moments we’ll never forget. But He’s just as present in the valleys we travel through every day. God has promised, “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or terrified…for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). His presence is with us here, there, and everywhere.