Nobody is more surprised than I am when it works, when it pays off, when something goes right. There is just the residual shadow of a deeply jaded cynic within, and a broken child that is certain despair rules the day and resistance is futile.
“Residual,” kind of like that film in the bottom of your coffee cup, the dregs, flecks of a few grounds that escaped. My favorite example of residual is, “the withdrawal of residual occupying forces.” Those two forces used to occupy and rule over me, cynicism and despair, but God said, they are an invasive species, they don’t belong here. YOU are occupied territory, mine.
He also said, they’re liars, but He said it as if it were amusing, a bit silly, worthy of a good eye roll and not to be taken seriously. No condemnation at all, just a lot of grace and acceptance. That child of despair is lying to you today, just as the cynic is lying to try to guard her heart.
Nobody is more surprised by God than I am. Caught completely unaware, I tell ya. When I was a teen ager and by that I mean well into my late 20’s, I used to rail and rant about how God had abandoned me on a planet full of stupid people. How could a good God do that? People, some trying to be helpful and some not so much, would immediately try to deny that truth, try to claim not everyone is stupid, try to deny the problem and misdiagnose the solution and of course blame me for speaking of it in the first place. Not God! He told me the truth. “Yes, I did. I left you on planet full of stupid people but I have not abandoned you.“
Nobody is more surprised by God than I am. Caught completely unaware. I often do not see Him coming, do not notice Him at work. Sometimes when I look back on my life, I can see evidence that He was there already, like the wake behind a boat. He laid down the foundation long before I even knew we were building a house.
All these words of mine simply to say, the good guys do win sometimes, you know. Resistance is not always futile. He is a God who draws close to the broken hearted, to the crushed in spirit, but He is also a God of battle and of victory, too.
“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory.” -Matthew 12:20
He is all that, and more. I love to read you when you write the “and more” part. You have a way of telling it. They might doubt and no one doubts he is “and more” to you. He is “and more” to me also. Keep ’em coming. God is far from uninvolved!
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Amen, “He is all that and more!” Laughing here but we should make some coffee cups, “Jesus, He is all that and more.” There is a load of truth in those words.
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I am trying hard to keep my focus on God, knowing that sometimes this world looks insanely evil and we have to wait until eternity to see His perfect will done. And yet I know that He can and has done miraculous things in this world, even saving the day when all seemed lost. I am hearing reports of extreme evil and miraculous good (and everything in between) on the horizon. I have no idea who’s right. This is why I want to keep my eyes on the Lord and off the things I have no control over, and commit to praying like mad for His will. Just let me know when it’s all resolved.
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Me too! Sometimes it’s really hard to keep your eyes on the Lord when it looks like the sky is falling down all around you. It’s all been resolved however, 2000 years ago on the cross, so I try to remember that. The good guys won and we win again in the end.
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Yep, I’ve read the last chapter, too. 😉
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I raise my hand for justice. Now that is a great thing to pray and hope for. Jesus is the king of Justice! w00t! You are right, He will bring it through to victory.
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Right?! There’s such a hunger for some justice out in the world right now! Kind of funny, I’ve read that verse about bruised reeds hundreds of times, but that last part didn’t really resonate, “till he has brought justice through to victory.”
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Yea God! ‘Nuff said.
To stay focused on Him requires simply RESTING in Him, trusting His absolute control, while ignoring EVERYTHING else that is really mere deceptive distractions.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Jn. 16:33
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Amen, MJ. Yayyy, God! 🙂
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Amen. Well said.
One of my favorite Bible verses is….”God is there, working in the midst of all the stoopid….” Or something like that. I may be paraphrasing. 🙂
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LOL! I may need to put that one up on my fridge, “God is there, working in the midst of all the stoopid…” He really is! I am absolutely bedazzled sometimes. Did not see His plans coming together at all, but they have, several times. 🙂
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Good, good, and good. Life is an adventure with Him. He is surprising. I think perhaps He revels in surprising us.
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Amen! I think He does delight in surprising us. We people tend to delight in surprising our own children, so it makes sense that God would feel the same. 🙂
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