Forget the Dirt

I don't have much use for commercials.  But, every now and then a commercial blends humor and message in an interesting and comical way.  I recently ran across an old commercial featuring Peyton Manning, the quarterback of the Denver Broncos.  Manning is bouncing from business to business spouting life clichés.  In one scene he yells out to a coffee server who slips and falls, “Good job, Bobby.  You’ll be okay.  Rub some dirt on it!” 

"Rub some dirt on it."

Our culture knows the experience of human weakness but we aren’t sure how to process it.  Our cliché saturated culture has a few that sound cute, but they don’t help much when you are down-and-out.  Heard these?  “Be the man”.  “Man up”.  “Never let’em see you cry.”  “Big boys (and girls) don’t cry.”  “No mercy.”  “No pain.”  “Second place is the first loser.”  And of course…”Rub some dirt on it.” 

To be sure, we need to be strong and resilient.  It’s good to learn this as children and to teach it to our children.  But, I fear we do mature faith development a great disservice when we provide no room for the presence of emotion in our discussions about faith.  We grow up thinking that wrestling with life’s difficulties should be done with a firm jaw and a white-knuckled grip on our bibles.  A lot of people grew up with that perspective and eventually relaxed their jaws, turned loose of their bibles and...said goodbye to their faith. 

I was reading in the psalms recently and was once again struck with how often the writer – usually David – expresses emotion.  Here are just a few. 

I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It is melted within me” -Psalm 22:14

“My tears have been my food day and night…

These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me…

Why are you in despair, O my soul?” – Psalm 42:3-5

“Give heed to me, and answer me;

I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted.” – Psalm 55:2

“I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched.

My eyes fail while I wait for my God…

Reproach has broken my heart, and I am so sick.

And I looked for sympathy, but there was none,

And for comforters, but I found none.” – Psalm 69:3, 30

Have you ever had such thoughts?  Such feelings?  As I read David’s diary my mind darts back to other descriptions of him:  Goliath’s slayer, his battlefield exploits, the ‘light in Israel’, and the one who drew to himself the company of the renowned “mighty men”.  He was not a wimp by any standard!  He was steel and velvet.  And, he demonstrates that mature faith can be – should be? – emotional.  We can cry out to God about our hurts, frustration, anger at life situations, uncertainty and injustice. 

Jesus was like that, too.  “In the days of his flesh he offered up prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One who was able to save him from death…” (Hebrews 5:7).  Hebrews 4:15 says that Jesus entered heaven in our behalf and invites us to “draw near that we may find help in time of need.”  Jesus drew near to His Father in his time of need.  We can, and should, do the same.   

I take great encouragement in my spiritual walk in knowing that the God who knows us so well has provided us with this perspective of faith.  We just need to remember it and let ourselves “go there” as we need to.  And…you don’t have to bring any dirt with you!

Father, thank you for being near to us – for understanding our weakness and welcoming it into your presence.  May we never run from you – only toward you.  Thank you for allowing us to thrash, kick, scream, and share our hurts openly before you.  Thank you for assuring our hearts through such wonderful texts and stories.  Through Jesus, the Great Physician, Amen.    

Randy Daugherty

Stephenville, Texas

No Matter What

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:11

Hard times have not only shaken my hope, but they’ve allowed me to see I often misplace my hope. Sometimes, I experience disappointment because I have put my hope in material things, in money, a job and even in success.  But the apostle Paul had a different claim, “Hope in Christ does not disappoint.”  That’s good advice from a man who had many reasons to despair throughout his life. He often found himself hungry, naked, shipwrecked, beaten and imprisoned. Instead of losing all hope, Paul preached to his soul, like the Psalmist did in the verse above. They both chose to put hope in God alone. No matter the outcome, Paul was not disappointed.

In our lives, we may lose hope, but the God of all hope has not lost us. That’s when it’s especially important to cling tightly to the truth of 2 Corinthians 4:8, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair.”  

While trouble may surround us, we are not alone. When we feel hedged in by doubt, we can remember we have a Helper, who is our great support. God is our hope. We don’t have to be perplexed, uncertain or concerned about our future. He has promised to deliver us.

We experience deliverance from hopelessness by remembering Christ’s counsel. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Jesus is saying that financial trouble will come, health will falter, children may rebel, and loved ones will die … but He has overcome it all. Christ is bigger than any trouble you and I face.

I am learning to give up the illusion of a trouble-free life. In this fallen world, it’s just not possible. Desiring a life unmarked by pain and problems is misplaced hope. God never promised we’d be happy and healthy. No. He promised if we would trust Him in the midst of adverse circumstances, we would not be disappointed. That, my friends, is a hope we can hold on to.

Dear Lord, I’m finished and done with putting my hope in people, things, and position. Today, I’m putting my hope in You alone. Even if my circumstances don’t change, I will trust You to fill me with Your peace and provide the strength I need to make it. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Casey Dacus
Graham, TX

Love Simply

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God... (I John 4:1).

I’ve always been painfully aware of my imperfections.  In childhood I often felt not-quite-good-enough, smart enough, or capable enough, and my insecurities are still disabling at times.

But God can do surprising things with our weaknesses if we let him.  He took mine and lovingly burdened me with empathy for those who appear less fortunate than I.  Through my chosen profession -- helping those born with intellectual and developmental disabilities – I learned that the ability to love can’t be measured by an IQ test, and that one’s value as a human being doesn’t depend on intellectual prowess.

Chad’s arms and legs were permanently drawn up in a fetal position.  At 22, he could do nothing for himself.  He would spend some time each day in a beanbag chair, placed there by caregivers.  He couldn’t speak, but would cut his eyes and smile in my direction when he heard my voice.  Gary had severe behavior problems.  He couldn’t read or write, but he loved to sing, and I loved to listen:  God is so good…He loves me so…He’s so good to me.

Chad blessed me with a smile – everything he had to give.  Gary taught me with a song  --  simple, yet profoundly eloquent.

I want you to know Tina.  Developmentally disabled, widowed, mother of three children, and grandmother of one.  My husband and I saw her walking one morning.  It was drizzling rain and she was carrying a small grocery sack.  Having known us for years, she let us drive her home.

She said her daughters were coming to visit and she wanted to make them a special treat.  She walked 2 miles on that chilly, wet morning to buy ice cream.  She was making milkshakes for her girls.

Every now and then – if we have an open heart – we can glimpse eternity in a smile, a song, or in the form of pure, innocent, sacrificial love, like Tina’s.  After she was safely inside, I wept at the beauty of it.

God, you are the essence of pure, innocent, sacrificial love.  Help us love this way.  Through Jesus Christ who showed us how, Amen.

Sandra Milholland

Abilene, Texas