Quiet on the Set!

 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him . . .”

Psalm 37:7 (NIV)

 

I was watching a documentary on how movies are made, from beginning to end. But what was most interesting to me was what happened before the actual taping of each scene.

Activity on the set was crazy! There were last-minute makeup and hair touchups as one person ran over to straighten a collar on an actor while the lighting was corrected, and props moved to their correct position by two more workers. It reminded me of ants scurrying to find cover as rain began to pour on their home.

 Then, suddenly, four short words were spoken, and everything immediately changed: “Quiet on the set!” Instantly there was complete silence. After several seconds, an assistant yelled “Action!” and everyone focused on one goal: to film the scene.

              It reminded me of how my life is - a lot of the time. There are Bible studies and speaking engagements and writing deadlines and retired teacher meetings and doctor appointments and meals to prepare and laundry to wash.

 There are groceries to buy and a lawn to be mowed and oil to be changed in my car. There are walls to paint and kids to pick up from school and ball games and email and Facebook. And on and on and on . . .

 None of those activities are bad but when I do not take the time to first simply stop and listen to the Lord – to be “Quiet on the set!” and acknowledge Him as the Creator of the Universe – then I completely miss what His “Action!” is for me for the day.

 My encouragement to you today is this: before one activity is begun, before you make your to-do list with everything that has to be addressed, climb out of your bed and kneel down and simply say “Lord, here I am. . . still before you, acknowledging you as my God, my Father, my Daddy, my Creator. I am yours. My day is yours. Please direct my day to focus on you.

  I promise you that God will give you clear direction as you look to Him and become “quiet on the set.”

 

Lord, each day is yours, from beginning to end. I am still before you now, asking that you direct my every thought and action this day and always. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

 

R.A.P. it up . . .

 

 Reflect

• Do you ever have those days where your list of activities to get done gets longer instead of shorter and you don’t seem to accomplish anything?

 

• Did you seek the stillness of the presence of the Lord before you addressed that list?

 

Apply

• Make your list of activities for the day and lay it on your kitchen table and lay your Bible on top of it.

 

• Sit silently before the Lord for two minutes as you ask Him to direct those activities and your path for the day. Listen for His answers through His Word.

 

Power

• Psalm 37:7 (NIV) “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him . . .”

 

• Psalm 46:10 (NIV) “Be still and know that I am God.”

 

• Philippians 4: 6 (NIV) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

 

Four Little Words

“The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said . . .”

Matthew 28: 5-6 (NIV)

  I am amazed at the significance that four little words can have in our lives. Let me give you some examples:

         “The toilet is overflowing.”   (“Where is the plunger?”)

         “My mother-in-law is early.” (“The house is trashed!”)

         “You have been fired.”       (“I have no job.”)

 

But perhaps the most significant, most important four words that have ever been spoken, I believe, are these: “Just as He said.”

  In Matthew 28, we are told that after the Sabbath, two women went to the tomb where the body of Jesus had been placed after He was crucified. They needed to prepare Jesus’ body for permanent burial.

  However, when the women arrived, they found an angel sitting on the stone that had previously been rolled in front of the tomb opening. In verses 5 and 6 we read “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said . . .”

  If we can’t believe Jesus, if we can’t take Him at His Word - “just as He said” - then there is no need for the Bible. Forget Scripture, forget the promises, forget forgiveness and grace, and certainly forget salvation and resurrection.

  But, if we DO believe those four little words with such a powerful meaning, then nothing prevents us from believing every other promise He has made in His Word.

  Promises like this: Isaiah 41:13 (NIV):  “For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Or the promise in Hebrews 13:5 that “. . . Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

  And one of my favorite promises in Scripture: “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12 (NIV)

  The choice is ours: take God at His Word or rely on our own earthly wisdom. I choose four little words that promise Truth in everything He says.  What about you?

  Father, I do not understand everything that is in your Word but I believe you and trust you with my life every minute of every day. Keep my focus on you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

R.A.P. it up . . .

 

Reflect

• Is God’s Word also God’s Truth in your life?

• Do you find that you sometimes doubt whether God really means what He says to you in His Word?

Apply

• Keep a daily journal of the Lord’s promises to you.

• Begin each entry with “Just as He said . . .” and then write down His promise.

 Power

• Matthew 28: 5-6 (NIV) “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said…”

• Proverbs 30:5-6 (NIV) “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”

• John 17:17 (NIV) “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”

 

 

Focusing My Eyes

  “Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite.

This too is meaningless,

 a chasing after the wind.” Ecclesiastes 6:9 (NIV)

 

Confession time: there are days when I do major battle with greener grass. Not on my lawn but in my life. Please understand that I know what I have been given and I realize that God has truly blessed me. 

Unfortunately, there are times when I allow my focus to shift to what someone else has, and I find myself thinking “If only I could look like that or write like her or have more money in the bank like they do, THEN I would be happy or fulfilled or content or . . . fill in the blank.”

I was having one of those “if only” days when I came across an article titled “What Stars Think of Themselves” and it totally surprised me. All the stars mentioned in the article are extremely successful, wealthy, and beautiful by anyone’s standards. The world says they “have it all” but oddly enough, the stars themselves have a different opinion.

Meryl Streep said that she had no self-confidence in her ability to act; Mike Myers was certain that the “no-talent police” would come to arrest him one day. Michelle Pfeiffer shared that she thought she had the “face of a duck” and Angelina Jolie offered this: “Sometimes I think I look like a funny Muppet.” The very ones that I looked at and thought “Oh to be like you” were themselves feeling that their lives did not compare to people around them.

Solomon addresses this very issue in Ecclesiastes 6:9 (NIV). He says “Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” Instead of longing to be more like someone else, I should be focusing on “what the eye sees” – in other words, on what I am already blessed with rather than “the roving of the appetite” – what someone else has.

Solomon wisely states that always looking somewhere else for what I perceive as better than what I have is as foolish as chasing after the wind. I’m never going to catch it, no matter how hard I try.

I have been blessed with a Godly husband, three beautiful children, and six even more beautiful grandchildren. I have a home to live in, blankets to keep me warm, and food in my pantry. I have laundry to wash and floors to sweep. I can read my Bible and pray to my Father any time I choose without having to ask permission from anyone.

A roving appetite will never be satisfied. But focusing my eyes on what I am blessed with will satisfy for a lifetime.

 Father, thank you for blessings beyond belief. I choose to praise you and not focus anywhere else but on your face. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

• Do you find yourself with a case of the “if only” very often?

 

• What causes your focus to turn from the Lord and what He has blessed you with to other people and what they have?

Apply

• Journal a list of all your blessings in your life, from the tiniest blessing to the biggest.

 

• Now determine if you would give up any of those blessings in exchange for something that someone else has. Thank the Lord for His gifts to you.

Power 

• Ecclesiastes 6:9 (NIV) “Better what the eye sees than the roving of the appetite. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”

• Proverbs 14:30 (NIV) “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”

 

• Colossians 3:2 (NIV) “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

When I Told God No

 “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?”

Romans 9:20-21 (NIV) 

         “Please talk to Mom, please! She wants to divorce Daddy and we don’t want it to happen!” the two young children begged as I hugged them. I heard there had been problems and my heart ached for them. They could see what was happening to their family and they wanted someone – anyone – to try to persuade their mother not to go through with her plans.

         I gave them a half-hearted “I’ll try” but inside I found myself thinking that there was no way their mother would listen to me. I only knew her through our children being involved in the same activities and I felt she would not like me talking to her about such a private situation. And I told the Lord that very thing when I felt His nudging over the next two weeks to go to her and share how much He loved her. “I’m glad to pray for her but talk to her? No way, Lord!”

  Even though I sought advice from my husband and a Christian friend, I knew what I needed to do and finally sat in the presence of the Lord. But rather than say “Your will, Lord” I decided to tell Him MY reasons for not talking to her. “I can feel in my heart that you want me to talk to her but she will be so angry,” I told the Lord.  He did not share my concern.“ I don’t want people to think I’m a busybody,” I whined but God was not impressed.

         Finally, I took a deep breath, prayed for wisdom, called her, and we met. It went about as well as I thought it would. I listened quietly as she told me the marriage was over and it would all be “fine.” I gently shared God’s love for her and her family and how divorce can cause irreparable damage but she said it would only make them stronger. My mind raced as to what I could do to help her see the damage that could happen. “God hates divorce,” I said. “He says that in His Word.” Her next comment floored me. 

“Well, if God hates divorce so much, then He can stop me if He wants to and He hasn’t done that, has He.” I felt my heart breaking. I paused and prayed. “To me, that is like saying ‘if God doesn’t want me to kill someone, He will keep me from getting a gun or buying the bullets,” I pleaded. “We already know what He says about marriage and divorce and why He says it. It’s up to us to do everything we can to work out our differences. What about going to a counselor?”

She shook her head. “Here’s the deal: I want to be happy and I’m just not happy. Period. So I’m done with this marriage and I don’t want to hear any more about it from you or anyone else.” That was it – the beginning of the end of a marriage.  There was no adultery. No abuse. Nothing, she said. She just wasn’t happy any longer.

I managed to drive away before the tears began and then my anger boiled over – toward God! “See, I TOLD you she wouldn’t listen!” I informed Him. “I only made everything worse, not better!” I continued. “How was THAT supposed to help? She has already decided to get a divorce so why have me go talk to her? And besides, I didn’t say anything the right way!” And with that declaration of my earthly wisdom to the Creator of the Universe, I pouted all the way home.

Have you ever been there with me? The Lord nudges you to speak to someone and you absolutely do not want to do it! You can think of a thousand reasons why His idea is not a good idea and maybe, like me, you believe He doesn’t realize how hard it will be on you to do as He asks, so you list every argument against what He says. And you tell Him no. 

Romans 9:20-21 clearly states my problem: I am the clay (human),  the one being formed by the potter, ie the Creator God. And I am trying in my sinful way (because it is sin) to tell God what I do and do not want to do. My reasoning? Again, it comes down to sin. I think I am wiser than God!

Instead of trusting God’s will for me and for the woman He wanted me to talk with, I whined. Rather than being obedient to what He clearly wanted me to do, I was disobedient and focused on myself and my feelings rather than on the woman He loved every bit as much as He loved me. Instead of bowing before Him and acknowledging His right as King to instruct me to carry out His plan, I argued - yes argued - with God. Thankfully, because He is a gracious and merciful Father, He forgave me when I came before Him in repentance.  

How I wish everything had turned out differently for this precious family. She divorced her husband and moved with her children to another state. I never saw them again but I continued to lift her up to the Lord, praying that her heart would be softened as she sought His face. 

 I also thanked the Lord for not giving up on me and my disobedience to Him and His nudging. The Creator of the Universe did not owe me an explanation or rationale for what He wanted me to do. He only needed me to be obedient and trust Him. I pray the next time He asks me to be willing, I will immediately say “Here I am. Send me.” 

Father, thank you for your forgiveness and mercy when I am disobedient. May I always be willing to trust you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

• Can you think of a time when the Lord nudged you to do something and you would not do it?

• How did that situation turn out?

Apply

• Whenever the Lord speaks to your heart, stop and pray “Father, your will in this situation is my will. Show me what to do/say.”

• Pray over your attitude before you speak or act. Ask a prayer warrior to pray over you as well, for wisdom in listening and speaking in love.”

Power

• Romans 9:20-21 (NIV) “But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?”

• Proverbs 3:5-7 (NIV) “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.”

• I Corinthians 1:25 (NIV) “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.”