Redeemed

Whenever I hear the word "redeemed my first thought is always the glass counter at the Chucky Cheese containing all the stickers, bouncy balls, and random odds n' ends you could hope for. After all, that is where you redeem that piece of paper the ticket counting machine printed out for you after swallowing all the tickets you won bumping those crocodiles on the head. It's where you upgrade from one piece of paper to six mood rings and a hello kitty pencil with an eraser, thank you very much. It's the highlight of your visit to the mouse with the moves.

While I haven't been to Chucky Cheese in quite some time,  I do hear the word "redeemed" a lot and I always find myself relating to that piece of paper the ticket counting machine prints out for you. Out of context, that paper doesn't have much value. It's easily torn, destroyed, or trashed. It has no worth, unless there is a redeemer on the other side of that counter ready to exchange it. It symbolizes all of your effort. It's a record of all the times you flipped that coin into the dinosaur's mouth. But that effort doesn't get you the prize, it gets you that piece of paper and no matter what the number on the paper says, it doesn't matter unless there is a redeemer of that paper on the other side of the counter.

My piece of paper might not be evidence of my human effort to make as many baskets as I can in 30 seconds, but my piece of paper is caked with times where I've missed the shot. It's a record of my sin and the times where I've trusted myself more than I've trusted my God. Times where I've boasted in my own strength, not realizing my weakness. Times where I've turned to things to satisfy desires, only to be left unsatisfied. Times where my effort just didn't measure up. Times where I was hoping my effort would get me the prize, forgetting that unless there is a Redeemer in the mix, I can try all I want but there's no redemption. Only a Redeemer can redeem.

But when you hand that piece of paper over the counter into the hands of the Redeemer, suddenly instead of holding a useless piece of paper, you've got that sticky gak that caught your eye the first 30 seconds you walked in and the best part is that when it's in your hands, it's even better than you imagined. It feels so much better than when you were holding onto that paper. And that paper you held on to so tight, is thrown out, forgotten, not given a second glance. All of this made possible by the fact that the ticket redeemer showed up to work and was there on the other side of the counter.

How thankful I am that the Redeemer of my life is always there. That He can take my tattered heart, my failures, my measly efforts and turn them into something better than I even imagined.  That He takes that worthless piece of paper willingly into His own hands. That my worth is not dependent on that paper, but on the fact that my Redeemer showed up. That I am not known by my sin because my Redeemer has thrown out the paper and in it's place given me the prize from the highest shelf. Oh, how thankful I am that my Redeemer lives.

The Valley of Baca

Because I have the dictionary.com app, I know that the definition of a valley is “an elongated depression between uplands, hills, or mountains” or “a low point or interval in any process, representation, or situation” or any of the other 6  definitions that my app gives, which I’ll summarize for you in saying, valleys are low places. I don’t know about you, but if it were up to me, I’d like to avoid any and all elongated depressions, but the reality is valleys are inevitable.

In Psalm 84, the Psalmist talks about a valley. Psalm 84 is about a group of people who are on a journey to Jerusalem to the tabernacle which held the Ark of the Covenant and the “manifest presence of God”. It was a place of worship and joy, but to get there, one had to pass through the Valley of Baca, or the Valley of Weeping. The Psalmist writes: ^“ Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Passing through the Valley of Weeping (Baca), they make it a place of springs; the early rain also fills [the pools] with blessings. They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power]; each of them appears before God in Zion.”- Psalm 84: 5-7 AMP

Okay, so it doesn’t take much to make me giddy, but those verses are jam packed with way more than much and holy moly, giddiness ensues. As previously mentioned, valleys are low places usually laced with negative connotations. (Sidenote: It’s taking everything in me not to break out in the first verse of the song You Never Let Go.) When I’m walking through a valley, I feel at my weakest. I feel tired, defeated, and in no way do I want to exert the effort that it’s going to take to climb up out of the valley. But lucky for me, the Bible says that at my weakest, God is strong. “but He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). And Psalm 84 says that “blessed is the man who strength is in You”.

I’m no mathematician, but I think 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 + Psalm 84:5 = I’m blessed.

And if that wasn’t enough, the Psalmist isn’t finished yet, continuing with “Passing through the Valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs; the early rain also fills the pools with blessing…” If you read that too fast, you might have just missed one of my favorite parts of the whole passage. PASSING THROUGH. ( Sidenote: I am now refraining from singing the bridge of You Never Let Go and simultaneously wanting to break out the chorus of “You make Oceans from the Rain”.) Valleys are for passing through. They may seem forever long and the temptation to give up might constantly be knocking at your door, but God promises that “….the nights of crying your eyes out, give way to days of laughter” (Psalm 30:5) and that there is a light that is coming for the heart that holds on (okay, so the bridge snuck out there a little bit).

But to stop there would be missing a very important part of how we are to pass through the valley, the verse continues with “they make it a place of springs”. Another translation says “make it a well”. How does one make a well? They dig. Digging is hard work and takes effort, but so does walking victoriously through a valley. I once heard someone say “it’s about praising when you dig and digging while you praise.” And well, doesn’t that quote just fit so appropriately right there? Seriously though, I think there’s more to this whole “make it a well” thing. Once you make the well, it’s kind of like a reminder of God’s goodness. Psalm 119:29-32 MSG says “barricade the road that goes nowhere; grace me with your clear revelation. I choose the true road to Somewhere, I post your road signs at every curve and corner. I grasp and cling to whatever you tell me; God, don’t let me down! I’ll run the course you lay out for me if You just show me how.”

When you’re walking through the valley, it sucks, but the wells you make in the valley are going to be the road signs that keep you on the right path. It is my assertion that the times I find myself the most lost in a valley are the times where I have forgotten to dig the wells, so when I look back for a reminder of the path I’m on or when I’m parched and looking for a drink, I find other things to satisfy my thirst, which leads me down the path to nowhere because unless it’s God filling the pools, I’m going to become thirsty again. (Sidenote: You know I just sang the line “Jesus, You’re the Cup that won’t run dry” from “Your presence is heaven to me”). Isaiah 41:17-18 MSG reads “The poor and needy search for water, but there is none. Their tongues are parched with thirst, but I, the Lord, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water and the parched grounds into springs.” If we make the wells, He will fill them. I can dig that. Pun intended.

And still, there’s more. Verse 7 of Psalm 84 says “They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power]; each of them appears before God in Zion.” Not only will God continue to fill the wells dug in the valley, breathing hope into the lowest places, but we will go from strength to strength until we get to our destination. The people the Psalm is written about had a final destination in mind. They wanted to get to Zion, and after walking through the valley and digging the wells, God brought them through it and to it. And now, ladies and gentleman, there’s no way I’m going to refrain from singing: “Hallelujah, You have won the victory. Hallelujah, You have won it all for me.” Because seriously, who is like our God?

God Does Not Waste Pain

Well, today is "Write It Wednesday" and I don't feel much like writing, which complicates the whole "write it" part. So, instead of writing something new, I'm going to post something I wrote during my undergrad program called "God Does Not Waste Pain". I hadn't read it, probably since I originally wrote it five years ago, but in the last two weeks, two different relatives brought it up in conversation and it made me curious to read it again. So I did and it's not the most well-written, but it was a reminder that I needed to hear: God Does Not Waste Pain.

In 1 Peter 1:6-9, Peter is talking to a group of Christians who are undergoing a season of suffering. Peter says “ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer all grief in all kinds of trials. They have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

I never truly understood this scripture until five months ago when I received a phone call that changed my life. I was at the beach with a friend when I realized I had missed a call from my mom and she had left a voicemail. Thinking nothing of it, I listened to the voicemail. It wasn’t my mom, but rather a friend of the family. In the voicemail, she was clearly upset so I called my mom’s cell phone back immediately. This time, my mom answered crying and asked me to come home right away. At this point, I still had no idea what was going on so I asked my mom what had happened. She said to just come home, but because I am stubborn and didn’t think she should be allowed to cry on the phone to me and tell me to come home without telling me why, I persistently kept asking what had happened. Eventually she told me that there had been an accident. When I asked her what the accident was she finally told me that my brother had committed suicide. The moments following that are unclear. I just remember instantly breaking down and in a state of unbelief. I could not tell you how I made the drive home from the beach that day or what happened once I got home, but I can tell you that from the instance my mom hung up the phone, I was thrown into the biggest test of faith in my life.

I would be lying if I said that my initial reaction was to trust God or that I immediately understood that there was a reason for all of this to happen. And I would be lying still if I said I understood any of it today. But I do have the reassurance that God does not waste pain. Peter tells us that. He reminds us that suffering exists only for a little while in comparison to an eternal life of glory. He reminds us that suffering is necessary to refine our faith.

In verses 6 and 7 of the highlighted text, Peter says that it is necessary for us to have all kinds of trials for a little while so that our faith can be of greater worth than gold. So when we are struggling, because we all do, whether it is stress, death, depression, arguments, relationships, etc., we can be encouraged because Jesus is redefining our faith so that it will result in praise, glory, and honor when He is revealed! He is not wasting our pain, but rather using it to make our faith genuine. He is allowing our suffering to turn into praise.

The week after my brother’s death with the calling hour and funeral preparations seemed to last forever. However, in the midst of all this, it was impossible not to see God’s greatnesses. God was in every food plate my family received. He was in every person who took the time to visit, to call, to write. He was in every donation, every prayer. He was everywhere. It is easy to believe in God when everything is going right for you. But in a situation where nothing seems to be right, you find out if your faith is genuine or not and you grow in that faith. My heart was absolutely broken, but in the midst of my suffering I had to praise God for this incredible out pour of love my family was receiving. An outpour that could only be explained as demonstrations of God’s love. At my brother’s funeral, they sang Chris Tomlin’s song, “How Great is Our God.” And at first, I was mad at my mom for choosing that song. It was one of my favorites and I thought I would be sad every time I heard it from now on. But instead I find myself praising the God who gives and takes away every time the words come on the radio or the band starts playing it at church. Only a Great God could allow for us to smile in that kind of sadness. Only a Great God could allow us to grow in faith when all we think we can do is break. Only a Great God could refine our faith in our suffering.        

We all have struggled whether it is personally, financially, emotionally, or physically. We have all been there and I am sure we can all agree that in the struggle is not a place we truly enjoy being. But Peter tells us to not lose faith, but rather realize that God is refining our faith in the struggle. He is making us into the person He wants us to be. He is not wasting our pain.

In the book, Why?, by Anne Graham Lotz, she talks about the difference between a turkey and an eagle and how they react to storms. She says “I understand that a turkey and an eagle react differently to the threat of a storm. A turkey reacts by running under the barn, hoping the storm won’t come near. On the other hand, an eagle leaves the security of its nest and spreads its wings to ride the air currents of the approaching storm, knowing they will carry it higher in the sky than it could soar on its own. Based on your reaction to the storms of life, which are you? A turkey or an eagle?” 

And I pose a similar question: Do we want to be turkeys who only see the pain in our suffering or do we want to be the eagles trusting that God is molding us more into the person we are supposed to be in our suffering?”