155 Coronas

En el Nuevo Testamento, hay al menos tres veces más recordatorios de la bondad de Dios sobre los creyentes que se señala lo lejos que todos nos quedamos, pero me asombra la frecuencia con la que otros creyentes se recuerdan entre sí que no son dignos de nada bueno.

Pablo y otros escritores nos recuerdan repetidamente que si creemos en Cristo estamos libres de los pesos de plomo en nuestros pies y, ahora, somos coronados por Dios mismo. Así es, coronado. Quienes están en Cristo pasaron de ser dignos solo de la muerte, a ser coronados, consagrados y muy favorecidos. Bastante increíble, ¿eh? Me veo de pie sobre la alta plataforma de la horca del verdugo, con la soga apretada alrededor de mi cuello, el verdugo encapuchado riéndose cruelmente. Poco sabía yo que la vida estaba a punto de cambiar radicalmente. De pie allí, quizá recuerdo haberme identificado estrechamente con Judas el traidor, o con Pedro que negó públicamente a Cristo, o quizá como alguien en el liderazgo que comprometía los principios justos de bien y mal y era indiferente al lamentable estado de los demás. Quizá estaría pensando en mis vulgaridades secretas, aprovechándome de los ignorantes y comprometidos, pensando solo en mí mismo, eligiendo cualquier cosa menos Jesús, poniendo mis esperanzas en los planes del mundo. Y mientras estoy allí, sabiendo que soy digno de morir mil veces, miro a la derecha y veo a Jesús de pie entre la multitud…silenciosamente le susurro “¡Ayúdame!” y al instante, paso de tener la soga del verdugo alrededor del cuello a sentarme en la sala del trono con Dios Todopoderoso… coronado de misericordia y salvación. ¡Sí, bastante increíble! Habrá quienes entre nosotros escuchen esas palabras y, claro, llorarán, pero serán solo lágrimas finas, tibias que solo bajarán un poco. Luego estarán los demás, que también lloran, lágrimas gruesas y calientes que corren por su barbilla, resbalando por su pecho, al principio por la tristeza de su estado, pero luego se convertirán en una alegría abrumadora por la bondad de Dios, que los ha coronado con Su bondad.

Si eres creyente en Cristo, ¿has leído Proverbios 4:9, que dice que la sabiduría infinita de Dios solo tiene gloria por sus límites, trayéndonos alegría y … ¿Una corona de alegría? Se supone que debemos vivir nuestras vidas coronadas de alegría. Necesitamos saber que una corona de resplandor es una señal dada de la victoria de los justos que han resistido y vencido. Si no eres radiante, ¿por qué no? Jesús vive en tu corazón y él es radiante. Tú también deberías serlo, ¿o es eso demasiada bondad para soportar considerando que alguien te ha arraigado en la cabeza que solo somos pecadores salvados por la gracia? Apenas logramos entrar en la puerta del cielo con el leve olor a azufre sobre nosotros porque fue un momento cercano a ir al infierno.

En Éxodo 39:30, la palabra misma para corona es la imagen del portador como heredero y héroe, el hombre coronado con la espada del espíritu. Oh wow, más que un simple pecador salvado por la gracia, pero coronado por Dios como quien vence en Cristo.

En 1 Crónicas 20 hay otra palabra para corona que se refiere al portador como alguien sobre quien reposa gracia y aliento, que tiene ojos para ver como tener “vista hacia adelante”, y como alguien que camina en el conocimiento de Dios rodeado de Su bondad, ¡y todo eso se sienta sobre su cabeza! Hebreos 1:9, “Has amado la justicia y odiado la maldad; por lo tanto, Dios, vuestro Dios, os ha ungido con el aceite de la alegría más allá de vuestros compañeros.” Dios considera el aceite de unción como un tipo de corona y literalmente significa “separación de Dios sobre tu cabeza”. 1 Juan 2:20 utiliza la palabra “unción”, y el griego allí significa “la pasta espesa de la unción”. ¡Somos nosotros! sí, tú y yo, ungidos por Dios, y Podemos llevar una corona de alegría. Eso sí que es increíble. Pero sabes, si estás ocupado siendo solo un pobre viejo pecador salvo por la gracia, pasando de pecado en pecado en lugar de gracia en gracia, asegurándote de recalcar que cualquiera que diga que no tiene pecado es un mentiroso, apostaría a que no eres demasiado radiante, y apuesto a que tampoco tienes muchos días paseando con los bolsillos llenos de alegría.

Proverbios 1:9 dice que la disciplina del padre y la advertencia de la madre son una corona para los hijos. ¡Oh wow, coronado otra vez! Una corona es un símbolo de victoria, conquista y vencimiento, y somos más que conquistadores, vencedores en Cristo. El Señor nos corona con salvación y protección.

Pero me desconcierta por qué algunos solo cuentan la mitad de la historia centrándose solo en la parte del pecador, porque detenerse en la parte de ser solo un pecador no es el consejo completo del Señor. Por el contrario, otros solo hablan de la parte de ser coronados y omiten la necesidad de arrepentimiento y de ser responsables de nuestras acciones y pensamientos. Ninguno de los dos es el consejo completo del Señor, así que contemos toda la historia. Vale, volviendo al tema de las coronas.

La coronación está asociada a nuestro testimonio de liberación, y a través de la puerta de nuestro testimonio podemos ver la conexión con la vida y la luz viviente que pulsa en la oscuridad, saliendo y entrando, en prosperidad. Y ser coronado con la idea de prosperidad de Dios, no significa hacerse rico, sino que se trata de que el Señor te haga ser tan totalmente robusto, tan enorme en espíritu, que el yugo de la esclavitud literalmente se rompe de tu cuello. ESO es prosperidad, amigo. ¡Imagínate!

Nuestro lugar de shalom en Cristo tiene límites que son la corona de nuestro espacio, como las murallas de Troya que se consideraban una corona de la ciudad. Que nuestros límites piadosos también sean una corona definitoria.

Estamos coronados con Cristo mismo, como en Apocalipsis 4:10 cuando los ancianos quitaron sus coronas y las arrojaron a los pies de Jesús, lo que significa, oh wow, esto me encanta, estaban tomando a Dios mismo como su corona, dándole todo su honor, toda autoridad, todo poder y bendición, intercambiaron todo lo que eran para llevarle como su corona. Él ES ¡Nuestra corona! ¡Qué extraordinario es eso!

Jesucristo está coronado con toda la gloria y el honor, y su corona es un símbolo de alegría y respeto, vida y luz, y una señal para todos los que creen que Dios se sienta como el Único en el trono para mediar en bendiciones, poder e iluminación, alejando el mal y concediéndonos protección. En los escritos antiguos, las estrellas que rodean el Cielo eran llamadas “la corona del Cielo”.

Dios corona nuestros años con bondad y la cosecha se considera una corona para todos los que trabajan. Con lo que se nos corona es tan importante como la propia corona. Así que debo preguntar, ¿estás coronado con Cristo, o coronado con todos los recuerdos de lo trastornado que estabas antes de conocer a Jesús, aún tan obsesionado con lo pecador que eres, llevando siempre un techo autodefinido que te impide ver a Jesús? ¿O quizá has decidido coronarte con títulos, reconocimiento y autodeclaraciones de mega poder personal porque Dios no parece haber llegado lo suficientemente rápido para ti? Seguro que no ves eso, Cristo. es tu corona y, de alguna manera, necesitas establecer tu propio nombre y valor. ¿No es Él lo suficientemente importante para ti como para que debas animarte? Oye amigo, piensa, si realmente hay solo un Nombre bajo el Cielo, y el Señor es todo lo que dice que es, eso debería cambiar radicalmente la vida de todos nosotros. Echa la corona de todo lo que eres a Sus pies y acepta a Cristo como tu corona.

2 Timoteo 4:8 dice que Dios nos coronará a cada uno con una corona de justicia, y Santiago 1:12 dice que recibiremos la corona de la vida cuando perduremos porque amamos a Jesús. ¿Sabías que llevamos 4 coronas? La primera es Cristo como nuestra corona. Gálatas 3:27, “Porque tantos de vosotros que habéis sido bautizados en Cristo estáis puestos a Cristo.” La segunda es que somos coronados como un sacerdocio real. 1 Pedro 2:9, “Pero sois una raza elegida, un sacerdocio real, una nación santa, un pueblo para su propia posesión…” Tercero está la corona de la autoridad de Dios. Porque Él reina como poder supremo y tiene soberanía en manos de una sola persona, y Jesús vive en nosotros, tenemos el respaldo de Dios para hacer lo que Él nos pida. La cuarta es la “corona de un buen nombre”, el nombre de Cristo que se sienta sobre nuestra cabeza.  Proverbios 22:1 dice que un buen nombre es mejor que las riquezas y el oro, y Eclesiastés 7:1 dice que un buen nombre es mejor que un ungüento precioso, y allí esa palabra “ungüento” significa, de nuevo, la pasta espesa de la unción, que es un tipo de corona. La corona de la unción significa “separación de Dios sobre tu cabeza.”

Gente, esto es muy bueno. Si eres creyente en Cristo, sobre tu cabeza se sientan la gracia y el aliento, eres alguien que tiene ojos para ver y camina en el conocimiento de Dios, rodeado de Su bondad. Por la sangre de Jesús has sido hecho heredero y héroe, viviendo esta vida como hijo coronado del Rey que posee la espada del espíritu. ¡Coronado!

¿Qué opinas?

Gracias por escuchar. Soy Social Porter para el Ministerio Viviendo en Su Nombre.

154 Imagen y Reflejo

Génesis 1:26, “Entonces Dios dijo: “Hagamos al hombre a nuestra imagen, según nuestro parecido”.

Hmmm … a Su imagen Y a Su semejanza. En Su imagen, imagen es básicamente una palabra, que se refiere a una representación. ¿Pero qué tipo de representación? Cinco veces se usa para el hombre como creado a imagen de Dios. Sabes, algunas traducciones parecen simplificar demasiado la longitud y el ancho de la palabra de Dios hasta que empezamos a perder el contexto, pero déjame añadir que no soy, ni mucho menos, un profesional ni alguien muy educado. Sin embargo, no es difícil entender que somos más que brazos, piernas y ojos, similares al Señor. Algunas personas parecen querer relacionarse tanto con Dios que están dispuestas a redefinir al Alto Rey del Universo como alguien similar a ellos. Eh, sí, no hagas eso. Es como si quisieran que Dios fuera como ellos, en vez de encontrar identidad siendo como Él. Se supone que debemos ser como Él, no refabricar a Dios a nuestra imagen, pero temo que para muchos, eso es exactamente lo que hemos hecho.

Podemos decir que está demasiado alto por encima de nosotros como para que podamos relacionarnos con Él, pero eso no es cierto. Jesucristo vino a nosotros para que nos relacionáramos con el Dios todopoderoso, Él niveló el terreno de juego, por así decirlo. Él se acercó y se puso junto a las personas justo donde sus ojos y los de ellos estaban al mismo nivel, física, metafórica y espiritualmente. Se puso a nuestra altura, justo donde vivimos. No solo vino a relacionarse con nosotros en nuestra apariencia, sino también a buscar a quienes reflejaban Su corazón. No solo una imagen, sino también su reflejo.

Entonces, lo diré directamente, no todo el mundo es hijo de Dios. Puede que tengamos una imagen de Su persona, pero tenemos que hacer más que simplemente parecer similares en forma. Podemos parecernos a nuestro vecino, pero no somos de su familia y ellos no son de la nuestra. No actúan como nosotros, no tienen ideas ni valores similares y nosotros no tenemos los suyos, y Dios es igual. A menos que reflejemos Sus preferencias y estándares, y poseamos Su fe y valores, lavados en la sangre del Hijo, simplemente no estamos en la Casa de Dios. Yo no hice esa sentencia, es el estándar del propio Señor.

Hasta la llegada de Jesucristo, el Señor no estaba “a nuestro nivel”, pero cuando Jesús llegó a la ciudad, Dios se puso justo donde podía mirar directamente a los ojos de la humanidad. Dios nos dio Su rostro.

Algunos simplificarían todo el concepto diciendo que es “encontrarse con las personas donde están”, lo cual es realmente una buena idea, pero creo que el Señor tiene algo más profundo en mente. La idea de “al nivel de ojos” tiene todo que ver con dónde están tus horizontes y qué Exactamente es tu punto focal. Poder ver nuestros horizontes nos ayuda a poner objetos, tanto cercanos como lejanos, en la escala y perspectiva adecuadas en relación con el lugar donde estamos.

Está bien que algunos solo quieran que todos estén bien, que todos se lleven bien, sentados alrededor de la hoguera cantando “Kumbaya” y “Todo Va a Estar Bien”, pero eso es un sueño. Si todos pertenecían a la familia de Dios, y cualquiera era considerado hijo de Dios, asesinos, violadores, políticos corruptos, primeros intervinientes, incluso los desacreditadores totales, sin importar en qué creyeran, si es que creían algo, entonces Cristo no tenía que ser crucificado ni resucitado para traernos de vuelta. Ya estaríamos en casa y su sufrimiento y muerte hubieran simplemente qué? ¿Estas bromeando? Ni un poco, ni nunca. Considera que en Cristo, que es la verdad, se revelan las puertas de la gloriosa ciudad, Él es el príncipe del Reino que reina supremo en la ciudad de la presencia de Dios, y en Su persona justa hay toda sabiduría en la que podemos apoyarnos. En la apariencia externa e interna de Dios está nuestro estándar de cómo mirar y cómo tener nuestro ser.

Para reiterar entonces, cuando Dios dijo que hizo al hombre a Su imagen y semejanza, se refería a su apariencia externa e interna.

En la palabra para “imagen”, su apariencia externa, vemos que a través de la cruz se revelan las puertas de la ciudad de Dios de donde fluyen ríos de agua viva. Todo eso apunta a la idea de que el carácter de la cruz fue obrado en el corazón de Dios desde antes de que se pusieran los cimientos del universo.

Y en la palabra para Su “semejanza”, o Su apariencia interna, significa que es alguien en quien la humanidad puede apoyarse, AQUEL en quien podemos encontrar seguridad, estándares correctos y salvación. En su apariencia interna está la voz suprema de autoridad como líder fuerte. Él conoce la verdad y Él es la verdad, porque no existe tal cosa como una “pequeña falsedad” o “pequeña mentira”, y no hay ninguna en Él.

Romanos 10:9-10, “porque, si confiesas con tu boca que Jesús es Señor y crees en tu corazón que Dios le resucitó de entre los muertos, serás salvo. Porque con el corazón uno cree y se justifica, y con la boca se confiesa y se salva.” Más que decir palabras mágicas y boom, todo está bien, simplemente bien. No. Es más.

Desde el principio, Dios puso en marcha que, a través de la crucifixión y resurrección de Cristo, se encuentra la puerta de la salvación para todos los que quieren venir a Él.

Gálatas 2:20, “He sido crucificado con Cristo. Ya no soy yo quien vive, sino Cristo quien vive en mí. Y la vida que ahora llevo en carne la llevo por fe en el Hijo de Dios, que me amó y se entregó por mí.” Una vez que le pedimos a Jesús que viva en nosotros, tomamos Su persona, Su reflexión sobre nosotros mismos como una nueva creación. Nosotros, los que estamos en Cristo, somos más que una apariencia exterior, sino también el reflejo de Su persona. Sin el reflejo de Dios, solo somos la mitad de lo que el Señor nos ha llamado a ser. No TODOS somos hijos de Dios, y solo podemos estar en Su familia por la sangre de Cristo, que se dio un rescate por nosotros.

¿Qué opinas?

Soy Social Porter para el Ministerio Viviendo en Su Nombre.

Trepidation Nation

Trepidation: a nervous or fearful feeling of uncertain agitation, or apprehension. i liked this definition too, “reluctantly trembling”. The word carries connotations of disquiet and foreboding about a potential upcoming threat. A 1940 issue of the Circleville Herald, an Ohio newspaper, printed this statement: “A trepidacious Europe today remained tense, worried, fearful, for the outcome of what military men predict will be the greatest battle in the history of the world.” That meant all of Europe was trembling at the thought of conflict and bloodshed. And as we all know, soon to follow was World War II, a war which nearly swept the entire world into calamitous collision, strife, and struggle, not to mention the swirling arduous uncertainties as to everyone’s future. People were inundated with arduous uncertainties!

Tense, worried, fearful, and reluctantly trembling. Most seem to have no understanding of the trembling going on in their hearts, minds, or the ground under their feet. It’s almost as if there’s an incredible number of small earthquakes going on, in the physical, spiritually, and metaphorically.

In fact, physically speaking, according to IRIS, that’s I-R-I-S, an organization which tracks earthquakes as they happen, in 2005, there were, on the average, less than 300 every 30 days. In 2011, there averaged around 350-400 in a 30 day period. in 2013 there were 794 earthquakes of 4.0 magnitude or higher in the earth in only one month alone. To date, in 2025 there are now 1449 earthquakes in December 2025 alone. Yes, that’s just in December.

Baby, there’s a whole lotta’ shakin’ goin’ on, and that’s just speaking of the physical shaking under our feet.

I’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, cool jazz and thought provoking conversation …. tonight’s conversation piece is titled: trepidation nation, or maybe that should be trepidation nations, plural, as in all nations of the earth are presently trembling, all together, for the first time in history.

i hope to not present this topic of ponderance in too much of a political fashion, and i’m saying that so we’ll know this isn’t headed toward getting anyone to vote for anyone other than Jesus Christ.

Stan Reynolds of Sage Point Financial, Inc writes:

“In 1970 America, gold was $35 ounce, gasoline was .20cents/gallon, an average house was $15,000. The total debt was $2 Trillion.

In 2012 America, gold is $1700/ounce, gasoline is $4/gallon, an average home is $170,000. The total debt is $16 Trillion.”

In 2025 America, gold, on the average, is $3435/ounce, and on high days it’s around $4300-$4500/ounce, the average gasoline price was $3.10/gallon, an average house is around $410,000, and the total debt is around $37.6 trillion.”

Mr. Reynolds continued, “Our government went off the gold standard 57 years ago last August. By uncoupling the gold standard from the dollar our government gained enormous flexibility with what it could do with the dollar. BUT, unfortunately, to date, no government of any nation, anywhere on the planet, anytime in history has ever been able to resist the temptation to spend what they do not have through their power over the creation of money. Like everyone else in our nation of trembling, unsure, and nervous people, governments are just people, and like everyone else, they are flawed by selfish desire to get things without paying the full price in pain to get them.”

“In 2012, our country was spending $3.8 trillion/year while only bringing about $2.5 trillion, which means we must borrow $1.3 trillion.”

That was in 2012 and this is 2025, although things have changed for the better for sure, with the concept of “better” being pretty subjective, the idea of spending far more than we take in still exists. And even if the current administration has improved things, we, as individuals are still practicing the same habits which bottomed the nation out in 2008, only with a renewed vigor. It is not “their” fault we, as individuals, are, on the average, terrible money managers. Each of us is choosing and so many are constantly only one pay check away from the street.

Ok, i know this is a lot of numbers, so don’t get lost, go with me on this.

Let me continue to quote Mr. Reynolds, “The ONLY area Congress can budget for contains everything we call government, example: highways, health services, the military, courts, FBI, CIA, etc, etc. The amount they will spend is, honestly beyond my ability to deal with amazingly large numbers. Which means, this year, to make all the functions of government to continue, we must borrow every dollar Congress budgets for.”

“There are only two options to balance the budget at this point, either….1. Shutting down, not just take a break, but shutting down every governmental department from the military to the department of transportation to the FDA!

  • OR –

Raise taxes on EVERYBODY by 50%!

Mind you, this program was written in 2012, so keep your shirt on. Continuing on, there is no money left, we spent it all and then borrowed much more than we spent. From 2025 looking forward, the next president, and it doesn’t matter WHO it is, will not be able to get this nation back on track without a lot of pain shared by all.”

Let me add, due to America’s collective unwillingness to embrace such pain, or any pain for that matter, we will get what we are given by those who we wish weren’t in leadership but yet we put them there.”

Now let’s move this into the “now”. We can aim our fingers at government till the cows come home, but the bottom line is each of us must change the way we handle our lives. i don’t know about you, but without Christ, in no way fashion or form, am i smart enough to do life by myself. We need Jesus.

i believe Stan is speaking VERY plainly to something the American

public is VERY blind to, purposely or not. These are facts that are disquieting and may very well be a main ingredient in the shaking ground we all seem to be standing on….

It is virtually impossible to take something away from people once they have been promised it and it’s been given to them for so long. Usually riots and chaos in the streets and in government follow. Maybe printing more money would help but in the long run it just becomes green ink on white paper. i tell ya’, when people realize, i mean really realize they are not safe, almost anything can happen. When the calendar ticked from 1999 to 2000, there were a lot of people who suddenly said, “I don’t feel safe.” i remember thinking, you’ve got to be kidding! You weren’t safe before, and without Christ, your illusion of safety was just that…an illusion.” i heard other people say, “i feel like big brother is listening.” Are they kidding? Big brother was listening all along, the difference is you guys are just now waking up to the realization. And what’s worse, after they found out they were being watched and listened to, by way of tacit approval of the governments actions, people became indifferent as long as they got free food, education, free college and houseing.

How to deal with this in a pragmatic, prayerful, watchful way without being panicky and overly reactive is a good question. It’s easy to quote 2 Chronicles 7:14 which says, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” God said it, it is absolutely the truth, but i’m pretty certain the “heal their land” part does not mean we’ll all get to live on easy street, dining on sweet things, riding merry go rounds, and dreaming in the moon light. i sincerely doubt God’s idea of restoration means to restore us to our old “let us exclude-God” state of mind and heart. When most people quote that scripture, i believe what they’ve got in mind is to go back to some sunny, whimsical, magic time in their life when they felt all things were good and they were catered to, hoping to devise a way to escape our trouble by getting away on a vacation. What we don’t realize is that even if we went back to that time when “everything was ok”, today, it is all different now. Old friends have moved on, we ourselves are different, roads have changed, businesses have ebbed away into the past and new ones have sprung up, the old home place is long gone, and the farm is now a shopping mall or parking lot. There is no going back.

Let’s look at a simple 10 year window at how things went when we, as a nation, purposely started excluding God, which began around 1960-63. Between 1962 and 1973: Teen pregnancies jumped 400%, sexually transmitted disease jumped 272%, sexually active teens jumped nearly 400%, murder arrest for ages 13-18 up 230%, violent crime in general crept way up over 400%, reported child abuse leapt 330%, and the list goes on and on. Here’s a real zinger, since the introduction of Viagra, sexually transmitted disease among men over 55 has skyrocketed over 600%. That’s right, 600%.

i’m sorry, but without the Lord, that’s where we are, and the same downward trend is to follow. Without the love, protection, and direction of Jesus in our lives, there is no choice for society and all those in it but to spiral downward toward self destruction.

So, here we all sit, feeling apprehensive, arduous uncertainties keep us awake at night, we have a nervous trembling in our hearts, and all around us the world changes moment by moment. There’s this funny tension in everything, have you noticed? It’s like everything and everyone is trembling with either anxiety or expectancy. Like i said, there’s a whole lotta’ shakin’ goin’ on!

So, so many people can’t sleep so they have gone to their doctor and gotten a prescription for a pill, a sleep aide, completely ignoring the side effects. i kid you not, i saw an advertisement from a pharmacy company of some sort the other day, and it said, with calm smoothness, “If you are sleepless, tossing and turning, your anxiety is high, we can help. One pill a day will keep anxiety away.” i thought to myself, you’ve got to be kidding! Don’t deal with your emotions, Heavens no, why would you do that? Just take a pill where you’ll be zipped off to la-la land, never too high, never too low, just always in the middle of calm. You’ll sleep like a child!. Gosh! And how many people think all that’s a good idea? Did they even read the atrocious short-term side effects not to mention the long-term use side effects?

One of the goals of the FDA is to ensure that drugs marketed in this country are safe and effective. But c’mon, have you read those side effects? Oh my gosh! The side effects of so many drugs approved by the FDA, is absolutely terrible, in fact so horrible it’s like a comedy to read the list. If i take medication which causes me to bleed through my skin, from my position that is so VERY not safe, and often, the horrible side effects seem to far outweigh the effectiveness. Yet the over watch governmental agency has approved it as safe and effective. Safe according to who? Their profit margin?

Many have such daily anxiety over everything, they are literally trembling inside, to the point of taking drugs to reduce their anxiety and depression with such longevity, they now are dependent on those drugs to make them somewhat functional in society. We are trepidacious over going to the store, leaving the house, walking in public, being noticed and not being noticed. We have an uncertain agitation about our finances or the lack thereof. It is incredible the number of people who are apprehensive over any close relationships because of what someone might know about them. This is going on, on a national scale. Don’t believe me? Do your own survey, really listen to the people you interview and you’ll begin to hear the thread.

Hebrews 12:26-27 “ … this time—he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern. This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain

But in the middle of all the shaking going on, in the middle of all our internal trembling, arduous uncertainties, and apprehensions we need to hold on to Colossians 3:1-3, “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Is it possible so many in our nation are trembling in the foundations of their hearts because, as a whole, we no longer listen to or trust in God? Is people’s disquiet and apprehension due to their general unbelief? Do we not actually believe God is who He says He is and we’re sort of satisfied to keep living in tourist-type Christianity? Satisfied to merely walk on the beach looking for interesting things but never going out in the water? At what point will we, as a whole, turn our eyes to Jesus? You know, we don’t have to wait until the sky is falling to turn and embrace the Lord.

Most folks sort of skip over the book of Daniel. It’s literal and metaphorical, it’s very pointed and speaks a bit cryptically at the same time. Most don’t seem to understand it, including myself concerning parts of it, so we all do what we usually do when we don’t understand, we smile, move away, and keep silent.

But, on the long shot no one will be inclined to close their ears, let me read what is for many people, a very uncomfortable scripture: Daniel 12:1-3,  At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever
.”

Hmmmm … do you believe we are in the last days? And don’t listen to manipulative people who have changed the definition of important words in order to make old prophecies fit their agenda. How do we stop the apprehension and trembling in our hearts? We need to stop the bleeding.

The 12th chapter, vs. 1-3 of Daniel basically says that God’s people are to let their testimonies shine before men, and they are to lead people to Christ in the last days. He went on to say in vs. 10, “Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand”.

In the last days, evil people will continue to act with evil and to live in darkness. But God’s people will understand what’s really going on. God’s people will not live in fear and confusion, but will have wisdom and insight on how to live in a world filled with turmoil and change. We are to have a close relationship with God and do great things in His Name. It’s not enough to simply be near Jesus, we’re supposed be knowing Him in a relationship, a full blown, everyday walk around relationship. Dan 12:12a says “blessed is he who waits”.

Focus on the Lord, set your eyes upon Him. Psalm 123:2 “Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He comes and has mercy on us.” Strength will come when we wait upon the Lord!

In Titus 2:12-14, Paul tells us we should, “live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

There it is, Jesus is how we stop the trembling in our hearts and minds. He alone is the stay and stanchion, He is our hope. Jesus alone, Jesus alone, and there us not another. Think about it.

Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Thank  you for joining me here at Outposts, a fine establishment by the Ockluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge and every evening is pleasant. i’m Social Porter and this program has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Area 22 Guitars, Miss Jackson at the

De-Luxe Beauty Shop, Frank Edney at the Hot Spot Cafe’, Bruce and Mildred Harrell over on Fleming Street, the amazing Paul Powers, and of course, our greatly beloved Jeff and Karen at Trinity Bakers where there’s always something good in the oven.

Music was by Bill Bruford, and Jazz for a Rainy Day.

Don’t let our trepidatious nation get to you. It’s not an accident these things are happening. None, i repeat none of the present day, arduous uncertainties are happen stance. The Lord has pointed to these days from long, long ago, so let’s not be surprised. Jesus is our fountain and foundation, not the structures nor designs of men. He is supreme, superseding “all things” – He is holy and righteous above all nouns, all pronouns, all adjectives, all cases and numbers, all forms of manners, methods and times and seasons, above all titles, positions, and platforms. Prov 8:22-31. He is the appointed one, the radiance of Glory, the representation of God’s person, He is all things by the power of His Word, He provides purification from sin, and sits at the right hand of the Father and the Holy Spirit in absolute governance of the universe. All things.

He, Jesus, is our starting and stopping point, every time, without fail, it is Jesus, and there is not another. Cling to Him and Him alone, not your friends, not your job, not your pastor, or your ideals, but to Jesus. Rest assured He knows exactly what to do and that is exactly what He will do. Let’s count on it with all our heart. What a super idea, huh?

Until we meet again, be blessed and wise. Amen!

Accents

Accents. Life is bright more often than we think. The glow of fellowship after a meal, the warmth of coming home to a friendly place, going to sleep knowing God has got your back and things are well with you.  Seeing friends who are glad to see you and you them. That’s some of the wonderful things we gather to ourselves when we know God. Let’s not forget the glow of the goodness of God in the midst of all the distressing circumstances around us.

i was in a meeting yesterday and i noticed there was much talk about the things that might not be, the fear of what might not happen, or the fear of the bad which might happen. i noticed the lifestyle of deep concern over the phrase, “might be”, or “might not be”. i realized people don’t take out insurance because of the good things that might happen. All the same, it’s true, unkind things can and do happen to us all, but what about the good things which come our way also, what about the bad things which didn’t happen? There are many bright things in my life and i was thinking how easily i forget those times.

What bright moments have been salted into your day this week?

In the news a while back there was a story about a young man on a motorcycle who was in an accident and became pinned underneath the burning car. The bystanders rallied together and literally lifted the car off of the man then pulled him free. Presently he’s alive and recovering. That certainly was a bright moment, but how about the smaller ones, little things, the smell and flavor of your coffee or tea this morning? Fresh baked brownies, the leather smell of a sports car, being warm when the snow is blowing outside, the bird that came and sang outside your window? The phone call you got from someone who didn’t want anything from you and was just calling to say “hello, how are you?”? Maybe the view you had of the sun rising across the other side of a pasture, or the laughter of children playing? All of those are things worth remembering as well as the negative accents. It’s not like we should forget anything that wasn’t good which happened to us, after all, we don’t grow and mature when everything we do is a success. But let’s take a moment to remember the good times, the pleasant moments, the colorful accents of our days.

When i was growing up my sister had an old Brownie camera, and then one Christmas she got a Polaroid. You know, the one which, after you take a picture, it slides out the film that develops right in front of your eyes. i think i’ve got thousands and thousands of Polaroid pictures in my head – the time the neighbor boys, myself and my brother played football all afternoon. In my head is a snap shot of us all laughing, dirty, skinned up, but laughing. Forever in my mind as a good time. Or my son’s favorite hunting dog when he tree’d his first racoon. i’ve got a snap shot in my head of that moment! i can still see the pleasure on my son’s face and the dog’s face. Or my wife’s eyes reflecting in the stripe of sun light coming through the shades in the morning.

Leviticus 23:40 has a Polaroid picture in it of a bright accent. “And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook;” Hmmmm, beautiful trees. Does just saying that inspire a picture in your mind? It’s as if the Lord is pointing out beauty. He calls them “beautiful trees”. Do we notice? Do you remember the big old tree in the park, or behind your house? The bark, the leaves, the shade? Remember how it looked and when you played near it or in it? Can you see it? All through the Bible God speaks of beautiful things, like He’s pointing them out for us to notice. God does not tell us things or point things out to us just so we can know. “Seeing” is very different than “purposefully taking note”, and then there is the idea of “seeing” meaning “to look with eyes wide open in amazement”. Can you see? Take note of beautiful words like in Genesis 49:21, beautiful cities in Deuteronomy 6:10, beautiful houses in Deuteronomy 8:12, beautiful children, women, or men, Queen Vashti in Esther 1:11, “was beautiful to behold”. Psalms says the city of our God is beautiful the way it is positioned, that praise is beautiful, that holiness not only is itself beautiful but make us beautiful, and that God makes all things beautiful in its time. God points out to us that Moses was a beautiful child. 1 Peter 3:5 speaks of a beauty not necessarily seen with our eyes, it speaks of an inner beauty that was gentle and gracious. Colossians 3:11-12 reveals to us that the glory-strength God gives, is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

What is beautiful in your life? All through out the Bible, God is pointing out these types of things that we would take notice of the beautiful, the bright, the accented, His highlights. Star filled skies, sun rise, sun set, little girls eyes, seasons – like winter and spring, summer and fall, holidays, eating together, good companionship, the smell of the forest and the flowers, fresh cut lawns, evenings on the front porch, or the spiritual flavor of faith and a promise. Do we notice that God is highlighting those things to us, or are we so neck deep in the mire of the world we constantly miss the bright and beautiful around us? The Lord set the Proverbs 31 woman as a standard of beauty … her accents are a glowing luster of goodness.

God hasn’t invited us into a disorderly, unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful—as beautiful on the inside as the outside. All the things around us which God has made beautiful and bright, none compares to Jesus. Psalms 50:1-2, “The Mighty One, God the Lord, Has spoken and called the earth From the rising of the sun to its going down. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth.”

He is called “the perfection of beauty”. He is more beautiful than flowers, and according to God, as far as earthly things go, flowers take the cake. Do you notice? What kind of snap-shots to you have of the beautiful and bright things in your life?

In Psalms 90:17 we are beautiful when the beauty of the Lord is upon us. Isaiah 28:5: The Lord, Himself, will be our crown of glory and beauty.

Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Amid the media barrage of bad news, vicious circumstances, and questionable reporting, let’s lean into Jesus, think on the bright and beautiful things around us. Remember the memories you’ve got of good times, good friends, good fellowship, worship and praise. Like Philippians 4:8 says at the end, “…think on these things”.

What do you think?

i’m Social Porter with Living In His Name Ministries.

IP040 ԱՐԴԱ՞Ր։ Ի՞ՆՉ ՉԱՓԱՆԻՇՈՎ ՈՐՈՇԵՑԻՆՔ, ԹԵ ԻՆՉՆ Է ԱՐԴԱՐ

Ի՞նչ չափանիշով ենք մենք հաճախ որոշում, թե ինչն է արդար։ Մի օր մի մարդ գոռաց ինձ վրա՝ ասելով. «Քրիստոնեությունը արդար չէ՛, ո՛չ էլ Աստված է արդար»։

Խաբեությունը, մեզ կամ ուրիշներին արժեքավոր ինչ-որ բանից զրկելը խաբեության կամ խարդախության միջոցով, հատկապես հեշտ է արդարացնել, երբ մենք ինքներս մեզ համար կերտում ենք իրավիճակներ և կարծես մեր «սեփական ֆիլմում» ներկայացնում ենք մեզ որպես ինչ-որ տեսակի անարդարության զոհեր: Եվ այո, ես կարծում եմ, որ շատ մարդիկ իսկապես կերտում են իրավիճակներ և իրենք իրենց ներկայացնում են որպես անարդարության դժբախտ զոհեր: Եդեմական Պարտեզում Եվայի գործողությունները մեղադրում էին Աստծուն՝ անարդար լինելու մեջ, քանի որ նա կարծում էր, որ Աստված ինչ-որ կերպ իրենց բռնած պահում էր:

Երբ մենք մեզ անարդարության զոհեր ենք դարձնում, դրանից հետո, մեզ համար կարևոր է դառնում հաշվեհարդար տեսնելը, մենք սկսում ենք վերանայել մեր վրա եղող «ճնշումները» և ինքներս մեզ ասում. «Ես չեմ խաբում, ես ուղղակի վերականգնում եմ արդարությունը»։ Արդարության վերականգնո՞ւմ։ Սա այնքան ծիծաղելի է, քանի որ նման է նրան, երբ ես ինքս ինձ խոսելով ասում եմ. «Ես չունեմ մոլուցքային անհատականություն, ես պարզապես ամեն ինչ շատ եմ անում»։

Մենք բոլորս լսել ենք բազում պատմություններ այն մարդկանց մասին, թե ինչպես են լավ կերպով սկսել ամեն բան, բայց հետո սխալվել ու շեղվել ուղիղ ճանապարհից։ Նման պատմություններ լինում են աշխարհի գրեթե բոլոր վայրերում։ Երբ մենք նման պատմություններ ենք լսում, գլուխներս թափ ենք տալիս, լեզուներս կծում և ինքներս մեզ ասում. «Ինչպե՞ս կարող էր սա պատահել նրանց հետ։ Չէ՞ որ նրանք լավ մարդիկ էին»։ Բայց այսպիսի մի հարց. «Որքանո՞վ է այդ մեր ասած լավը բավականաչափ լավ, իսկ որքանո՞վ է վատը՝ չափազանց վատ։ Ի՞նչ չափանիշով ենք որոշում, որ լավ մարդ ենք։ Ամեն ինչ սկսվում է փոքր խախտումներից կամ զանցանքներից, որոնք բոլորն էլ այնքան նուրբ են, ինչպիսին որ այս ու այն կողմ  «թափառելու» գաղափարը։

Մենք փորձում ենք աշխատել ինքներս մեզ վրա, որ կատարելագործենք մեր մեջ հղկված անտարբերություն։ Մենք փորձում ենք հմտորեն թաքցնել մեր ներսում եղող  վախերը, դրանով կարծես վատ ենք զգում, որ նմանվում ենք «խաբեբայի», ով չի ուզում բացահայտ խոսել իր ներսում եղող վախերի մասին։ Մեզանից ոմանք էլ նմանվում են նրանց, ովքեր փորձում են սովորել գրանցամատյանից փոքր քանակությամբ տեղեկություններ կորզել։ Հաճախ էլ փորձում ենք կոծկել մեր ներսում կատարվող շատ բաներ։ Եվ մեր մեջ սկսում է ձևավորվել հատուկ վարքագիծ։

Արդյո՞ք նկատում ենք «խավարի միջով սողացող համաճարակը» և մտածում, թե արդյո՞ք արդար է, որ այն մեզ էլ կարող է առնչվել։ Շատ հաճախ մեզ կարող են գիրացնել ոչ դե ինչ-ինչ քաղցր կամ խմորային կերակուրները, այլ մեր այն կենսակերպը, որում գերակշռում են մեզ տանջող մտքերը։

Ոչ ոք երբեք մի օրում չի զարթնում և որոշում գող, խարդախ կամ խաբեբա մարդ դառնալ։ Ոչ էլ մի օրում պարզապես արթնանում ենք  և մտածում. «Կարծում եմ, որ այսօր կսկսեմ իմ գող-թմրամոլի կարիերան»։ Գող, խաբեբա, թմրամոլ և նման վատ կենսակեպի ձևավորվելը սովորաբար երկար, դանդաղ ընթացող հրապուրանք է, որն ի վերջո տանում է դեպի կործանարար  քաոս և խավար։  Եվ «խավարի մեջ քայլող համաճարակը», կամ «աղետալի տանջանքը» (տե՛ս Սաղմոս 91-ը) գալիս և տիրանում է մեր սրտին «աղետալի մռայլության» մեջ։

Աստիճանաբար անդունդ իջնող կյանքի պատմությունը երբեմն դժվարացնում է նշմարել, թե ինչպես է մարդը աստիճանաբար գնում դեպի խավարը։ Շատ անգամ, մարդիկ առանց լուրջ գիտակցելու՝ ենթագիտակցորեն են ավելի շատ փնտրում կարճ «ուղիներ» իրենց խնդիրները լուծելու համար։ Մեղքերի մեջ ընկնելը, երբեք միանգամից չի պատահում, ինչպես օրինակ հանկարծակի մեր գլխին ընկնող աղյուսը։

Սովորաբար այն աստիճանական ընթացք է, որ դանդաղորեն տանում է դեպի ոչնչացում։ Մեղքը քիչ-քիչ, դանդաղ քայլերով է ներխուժում կյանք, մինչև որ մի օր էլ արթնանում ենք և հասկանում, որ խորը «կեղտաջրի» մեջ ենք։ Հաճախ մենք գիտակցված որոշումներ ենք կայացնում՝ լուրջ խաբելու համար։ Ինչպես օրինակ, ազարտային խաղերի տեսության մեջ, խաբեության և այլ վատ վարքագծի դեպքում պայքար է ընթանում կարճաժամկետ և երկարաժամկետ շահույթների միջև։ Գրեթե միշտ կա լարվածություն՝ ավելի արդարացի և պակաս սկզբունքային ընտրության միջև։ Եվ հետո մենք մի օր էլ նկատում ենք, որ մեր կյանքում մեղքն է «տիրակալը»։

Ե՞րբ են մեր կատարած ընտրությունները բավականաչափ ազնիվ։ Կրկին, որքանո՞վ է լավը բավականաչափ լավ, որքանո՞վ է վատը՝ չափազանց վատ։ Ո՞ր պահին ենք մենք այնքան խաղաղության պակաս ունենում, որ պատրաստ ենք Աստծուն օգնության համար աղաղակել։ Այնուամենայնիվ, հոգեբանները նշում են, որ թերևս ամենաուժեղ ցանկությունը՝ անպատվաբեր լինելու, բխում է անարդարության խորը զգացումից։

Հենց մարդիկ սկսում են մրցակցության մեջ մտնել և համեմատվել ուրիշների հետ, նրանք նաև սկսում են իմանալ ուրիշների թաքնված առավելությունների մասին։ Օրինակ մրցակցություն կարող է առաջ գալ մասնավոր ուսուցիչների միջև, կամ ո՞վ է ընտանիքում ամենաշատը գումար աշխատում, կամ ուսուցիչներից ու դասախոսներից ո՞վ է ավելի շատ կապ պահում շրջանավարտների հետ։ Մրցակցություն կարող է առաջ գալ օրինակ նաև գոլֆի կանոնավոր խաղի ժամանակ՝  ղեկավարի հետ։ Մարդիկ կան, որ օրինակ վարկ են վերցնում՝ մրցակցի հանդեպ առավելություններ ձեռք բերելու համար։ Եվ այս ու նմանատիպ ամեն բան կարող է արդարացի թվալ։

Շատ բաներ կարող են մարդիկ համարել անարդար՝ իրենց հասկացողությամբ և շատ բաներ էլ արդարացի համարել ու համակերպվել դրանց հետ։  Հաճախ ասում են, որ որևէ սարսափելի հիվանդություն այդքան էլ սարսափելի չէ հիմա, երբ գրեթե բոլոր մարդիկ այն ունեն։ Կամ օրինակ, երբ զավակը ծնողին ասում է. «Քո խրատներն ու խորհուրդները, կամ արածները այդքան էլ իրենցից բան չեն ներկայացնում։ Քո խրատելով դու պարզապես չես ուզում, որ ես կյանքը վայելեմ։ Դա արդար չէ։ Իմ շրջապատում բոլորն էլ իմ պես են ապրում»։ Իսկապե՞ս։ Արդա՞ր չեն օգտակար խրատները։

Եվ շատ դեպքերում արդյո՞ք մենք մեզ դեռահասների պես չենք պահում, երբ Աստծու մասին ենք մտածում կամ ուզում ենք մոտենալ Նրան՝ մեր ուզածը ստանալու համար։ Ու երբ մենք մեր ուզածը չենք ստանում Աստծուց, սկսում ենք մատ թափ տալ ու ասել. «Ո՜հ Աստված իմ, սա արդար չէ։ Ինչո՞ւ ես այդպես վարվում ինձ հետ, Տե՛ր»։ Կամ էլ ասում ենք. «Չէ՞ որ Դու Աստված ես։ Եթե այդքան բարի ես, ինչպե՞ս կարողացար թույլ տալ, որ այս ամենը պատահի ինձ հետ։ Ո՛չ, աա արդար չէ»։ Ի՞նչ։ Արդա՞ր։ Արդյոք արդա՞ր է այն ամենն, ինչ կատարվում է մեզ հետ։

Իրականում, Տերն ավելին է, քան զուտ արդար լինելը։ Նա գերազանցեց արդարությունը և Իր կյանքը տվեց մեզ համար։ Այո՛, ճիշտն ասած, քրիստոնեությունը արդար լինելը չէ զուտ, այն ավելի՛ն է, քան արդար լինելը։

Այս կյանքում բոլորս ենք սայթաքում և սահում ինչ որ տեղերից, բայց մինչ մենք մեր ուղին տանող ճանապարհով ենք ընթանում, եկե՛ք ընտրենք Հոգու Պտուղները (Գաղատացիներին 5.22-23) և թույլ չտանք, որ մեր աչքերը սովորեն մեր շուրջը տիրող մռայլությանն ու խավարին։ Բարեկամնե՛ր, թույլ մի՛ տվեք, որ ձեր աչքերը սովորեն խավարին։

Աստված իսկապես արդարադատ է և արդար, և մենք պետք է չհենվենք մեր սեփական հասկացողության վրա և գիտակցենք, որ Աստված Աստվա՛ծ է, իրականում Նա է այն Միակը, ով ինչ որ անում է, իսկապես լավ է անում՝ արդար ու ճշմարտապես։

(Թարգմանությունը՝ Արթուր Իսպիրյանի / Translation by Artur Ispiryan.

The Weight of Being Misunderstood

All my life, at least as far as i’m concerned, i’ve felt misunderstood. What is even more interesting is that among many Christians i have met, i don’t know it but i’m fairly certain, many also feel largely misunderstood. What is up with that? It seems no matter how much i try, other people just don’t get me, and i’m left feeling pretty sad. Can you relate?

What started this ponderance upon being misunderstood actually began in a different conversation concerning belonging and connecting, and even though most say they belong and connect, at least somewhere, by far and large, if you’re allowed to ask and given an honest answer, those same people can’t actually tell what belonging and connecting mean, and they themselves don’t actually feel like they belong anywhere. Why? After many conversations i’ve also concluded that more people than i imagine feel largely misunderstood. There’s grief in it. The unbelonging and unconnected quietly suffer repeated longing for a connection that almost happened but didn’t. It’s kind of like being witnessed but without translation.

The phrase “the weight of being misunderstood” captures one of the quietest, heaviest burdens a person can carry. It’s not dramatic or loud like anger or grief — one author describe it as more like an invisible backpack you never asked for, one that grows more dense every time you realize your words, actions, or intentions landed somewhere entirely different from where you meant them to. Even in a room full of people, sometimes it feels like there’s this private exile where no one quite sees the version of you that actually exists. The more you try to clarify, the more tangled it all gets — i think it’s like trying to untie a knot with gloves on. And to make matters worse, people tend to fill silences with their own assumptions, fears, or stories, and your reality gets overwritten. We can try and reframe ourselves but our reframing doesn’t erase the immediate, human cost: the loneliness, the fatigue, and the temptation to just go quiet forever. i have been that lonely, tired person who just went quiet for a large part of my life. Yet God intervenes, He steps in. Thank you Jesus.

Being misunderstood comes with weights not wings. What will we do with that? Because being indifferent doesn’t actually solve the problem, and caring too much just makes us needy and will break us in half eventually. Being misunderstood is actually quite painful, it strikes at our core need to be seen, known, and accepted for who we really are, and when we aren’t seen, it triggers a whole cascade of difficult feelings to deal with. If our identity is not in Christ, well, then, who are you?

There is another side to the weight of being misunderstood that is strictly within our own responsibility and control, and that is when being misunderstood drives an addiction in us to be seen, the desire to be recognized and respected, to be important, to be admired and celebrated beyond us being wounded, it now becomes a driving need. We can be led by the Spirit, Luke 4, or be driven by darkness, Luke 8:29. Scripture says in Matthew 6 that “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly”, and when we turn the weight of being misunderstood into taking action for ourselves it can be very destructive. Kathryn Kulman once said, “We want the reward without acting in secret before God; we want the platform without the prayer life, we want the nobility without brokenness, and honor without humility.” Sitting in our sad place feeling alone and misunderstood is one thing, but when we decide to m-a-k-e people notice us, m-a-k-e people listen, and m-a-k-e them understand, little by little our desperation begins to sink our boat. Think! Leah was unloved and overlooked, Hagar was cast out and forgotten, Rahab was labeled by her past. All were misunderstood. It hurt. It gave them grief. But God has a better idea.

Maybe our propensity for feeling misunderstood is why God is also known as El Roi, God who sees me. The Biblical Counseling Coalition has this to say: “Over and over again, in the grand narrative of the Bible, God reveals Himself as the God who sees us personally and intimately, but the first time He reassures a struggler with this truth, she uses a new name for Him that seals this attribute as an unchangeable part of our understanding of God: El Roi.

Through Hagar’s story of pain and desperation, found in Genesis 16, God reveals Himself to be the One who knows us intimately, seeing our sorrows and struggles and caring about the specific details of our lives in ways that move Him. For Hagar, when life was as desperate as it could get, God saw her. It is more important that God sees us than all the platforms and titles in the universe. It is more important God understands us than if the whole world suddenly understood. For Hagar this was not the “seeing” like merely being observed, but rather, this was a “seeing” of inestimable, limitless love. God saw Hagar and Hagar knew she was seen. God saw her for who she was and God El Roi was gracious and kind to her by making her to know she was seen. Her despair of being completely unknown had turned into something amazing and new. El Roi, God who sees me made Himself known to her.

When she realized the King of the Universe knew her and saw her, she no longer needed to carry the invisible backpack full of the weight of being misunderstood. You know of course, on some low level, we are choosing to let the backpack ride. She saw with new eyes, her heart was strengthened, and courage replaced her bitterness, fear, and disappointment.

Don’t even let yourself blow off Hagar’s story because it’s Old Testament. Romans 15:4, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope”. Let us take courage from the story of Hagar and her encounter with El Roi, God who sees me. Hagar’s hope can become ours by the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus.

And here’s a great angle to see this. Jesus was foreshadowed in Hagars story that she was seen by El Roi, and then Jesus came to us and got eye to eye with all mankind, all at once. For the first time in history God came to us and got eyelevel for one of several reason but this one in particular: so we would know God sees us. Jesus foreshadowed in Genesis 16 as being El Roi for one person, and then Jesus, getting eye level with us, being El Roi once and for all forever in the New Testament. Do you see it?

What if we decided that it was enough for us to be seen and understood by God, even if we’ve been misunderstood all our lives? God doesn’t misunderstand us, He sees us perfectly and clearly and loves us regardless of all the reasons we think He shouldn’t. It’s your lucky day! God didn’t ask you if it was ok to understand you and get eye to eye with you and love you beyond the vanishing point.

Would you be willing for God to break through a dark place in your life? Would you be willing to give up that invisible backpack of all your reasons to isolate, be sad and overwhelmed in feeling so completely misunderstood, there sitting on the back porch, staring at the garden and beyond, just wishing things were different? God can take your burden. Let…It….Go! Give Him your long woundedness of being misunderstood. Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

i’ll go with you on getting free if you want cause i’m in the same boat. Let us daily live in the reality that we are seen and known by Jesus, He’s the one who truly matters the most. El Roi, God who sees me.

I’m Social Porter for Living In His Name Ministries.

Arduous Uncertainties

Psalm 32:7, “You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of need.”

John 16:33, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Trouble. Oh man, there’s enough of that going around for everyone, everywhere a thousand times over, and sometimes it comes in singles, or triplets, and other times in droves and herds.

From the small trifling town of Greatly there was the Trouble family, making the Greatly Trouble family a most well established clan in the area. There was Big Trouble who was married to Pretty Petty Trouble, and they had a child who’s name was More Trouble. Pretty Petty Trouble also had a sister, and therefore a niece named Even Worse Trouble, whom they called “Even” for short. The Trouble family were always bad news, no one was glad to see them and all sighed the sigh of great relief when they left the party. They were always in the middle of some turmoil, in fact, they seemed to literally breathe drama, and they were constantly in the middle of arduous uncertainties. Oh yes, the arduous uncertainties.

There is a subtle dread to even saying, “arduous uncertainties”.

The Bible is absolutely filled with stories of people who faced arduous uncertainties — long, grueling periods of not knowing what would happen next. It seemed to involve prolonged waiting, intense trials, and what appeared to be even silence from God, or what i would call “life altering unknowns” which severely tested their faith. So, for you and i, what will we do in the middle of our times and seasons of arduous uncertainties? And it’s real easy to quote someone a bible verse or two that, if they’d just believe this or that, their troubles would be over. Maybe they are technically correct, but often their scripture quoting is really hard to do. Jobs friends did that and Job called his friends actually no friends at all and the worst counselors there ever was. Job 16:2. But i tell ya’, when we are in the middle of a terrible storm, the mast has snapped, and God appears to be asleep, the miracle that is about to happen doesn’t look much like a miracle until it happens.

“Arduous” meaning steep, difficult, and requiring strenuous effort, and “uncertainty” is the lack of sure knowledge concerning the future outcome of something. It is not just not knowing, but suffering through the not-knowing over time, often with high personal stakes. In other words, if things don’t go like i hope and God doesn’t come through like i wish, i am doooooomed.

We love to quote Psalm 116:2, “Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live“, which is absolutely true, but in the late hours between awake and asleep, we toss and turn and worry to God. We know Jesus is the answer, but actually trusting God to supply help to us in our time of need and us actually coming to full rest in that … Well, yea, that’s another thing in itself.

Many are wholly disturbed in their inner most person. Yes, arduous uncertainties sift through our thoughts and dreams. We love to quote Romans 10:12, “… for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him“, which is absolutely true, yet, there we are in the mirror with worry lines on our down turned faces.

The idea of arduous uncertainties captures seasons where God’s promises seem distant or impossible — like Abraham waited decades for a child, Joseph seeming he would likely perish in prison, regardless of prophetic dreams, and the longer he was there the farther away the possibilities of those dreams would come true. The Israelites wandering 40 years in the wilderness even though God made daily provision, yet they constantly doubted about the promised land, and the longer they were in the wilderness, the farther away the idea of promised land became.  i’ve had my share of arduous uncertainties, but i need to say, 40 years, 40 years! of not merely uncertainty but arduous uncertainty is beyond my ability to even imagine.

For us today, arduous uncertainties might appear as years of job instability, on going chronic illness possibly without diagnosis, many in what i would call “relational limbo”, even global crisis that just drags on and on. The idea of the phrase captures pretty well seasons where God’s promises seem fairly distant or even impossible. Friends, if God said it, we can stand on it.

But think, what is the end result if we trust God as He asked? i believe it all builds resilience, and profoundly builds faith. When clarity is absent, when we don’t know what tomorrow brings, the testing refines our character through sustained pressure. The arduous uncertainties strip away any illusions of control we might have had and builds a deeper understanding of our absolute dependence on God for growth and fulfillment in Christ beyond what we were, of ourselves, able to imagine.

In those long trials, through thick and thin, beyond high and low, we come to see Proverbs 3:5-6 as one of our stabilizers, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.”

One author wrote, “If we don’t learn how to look to God and rely on God, it will be difficult to see the work God does in us, and if we can’t see these things, then the matter of whether or not God exists, whether or not He guides everything in our lives, will, in the depths of our heart, will likely always end with a question mark. Not with a period or an exclamation mark but a question. If, by doubt, distraction, or becoming mired in arduous uncertainties, if we don’t allow our own true belief in God to rise, then the question marks will forever be there with everything God does, and there will be no periods.

God’s absolute, infinite goodness is everywhere. He is not influenced by any people, events, or things, or other distracting elements of this life which we habitually give more power to. As long as we truly rely on God, He will be our ever-present help. It may take a while of struggling forward in faith, but stand firm, He was our ever present help in the beginning, He is our ever present help in the now, and he will be our ever present help in the future. Just as the Bible said, Psalm 18:2, and believe this, “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” That is the truth and i’m not lying. Jesus is Lord and there is not another.

Let us get rid of the question mark at the end of our thoughts about God’s goodness and trustworthiness, and let Him be who He is: God.

i’m Social Porter with Living In His Name Ministries