Jigsaw Bits- Look, See, Pray

This jigsaw was completed by a team of dedicated puzzlers at our drop-in cafe recently. After false starts, mistakes, and lots of co-operation, the job was done. Oh, the satisfaction of fitting the last few pieces in the right places!

Honesty compels me to say that not every word spoken over that puzzle was positive during the assembly process.

Making sense of life has similarities! The Bible gives an overview of what we should be like- and why we exist at all- but doesn’t always give precise indications of the next step.

So many things to fit in. So many bits looking the same- nearly.

I was looking at the prophecy of Ezekiel tonight- and struggling with it. There are sections that are far from easy to comprehend. (Even the straightforward bits are quite difficult.) Chapters 40-42 are a detailed description of the Temple. And I mean detailed. Then in chapter 43 comes a statement: “Then the spirit took me up and brought me into the inner courtyard, and the glory of the LORD filled the Temple.”

The design, the puzzle, is complete. Does that mean Ezekiel is now easy to understand? I wish!

“Then the Spirit took me up…” is a recurring theme through the prophecy. Perhaps this statement is key? Like finding all the edge pieces of a jigsaw. That’s something to work with, anyway.

I don’t think I could ever write a commentary on Ezekiel… that’s a job for wiser and better scholars. But I’ve found a grain of sense that applies to working out my faith in practice. My life is a sequence of plans & events, and the key is the Spirit “taking me up” and putting me in the place where God IS- the inner courtyard, the Holy of Holies- for THEN the glory of the Lord enters in.

Christians are described as the Temple of God- “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3 v16).

May the Lord take us up, place us in His Presence, dwell in us, and glorify Christ in and through us. May He complete the work begun in us- and then the jigsaw we are living will finally be perfect.

Shame in Tears? Look, See, Pray

Overnight rain has passed, memories of the storm still rumbling through our senses, and leaving teardrops caught in the alchemilla leaves.

Sparkling like crystals, these tears are for the passing of summer. It was the first of a wave of storms heading our way- and weakened by the drought, trees have fallen and the leaves of the survivors have been persecuted to the point of giving up. Autumn will seem short this year.

Many of us work hard to conceal our struggles and try to “be brave” by bottling up our feelings. Yet tears are a safety valve; crying is a reflex to help us process strong emotion, grief, and pain.

Charles Dickens makes this point: “Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before–more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.” ― Great Expectations

We are improved by our tears! The apostle Paul made another point about the way our crying may help us let others know how much they are loved: “I wrote that letter in great anguish, with a troubled heart and many tears. I didn’t want to grieve you, but I wanted to let you know how much love I have for you.” – 2 Corinthians 2:4

Tears can even be a form of prayer. Having run out of words, having reached rock bottom, facing problems and sadness… what better way to express ourselves and communicate with God? There is even a verse in Psalms (Ps. 56 v8) that says the Lord “treasures” our tears as a keepsake of love.

Even Jesus wept at the passing of a friend. (John 11:35) After His tears came a miracle…

I wonder how the Lord values- and could use- OUR tears?

How to Flourish- Look, See, Pray

What does faith in God offer to the political debate that consumes the time and energy of the news media? Quite a lot!

When looking for leaders who will serve the people, we should look at character and attitude. As the Bible says, God looks at the heart not the outward appearance. May I suggest a meditation to form the basis of our prayers? The beginning of the Book of Psalms sets out a conditional blessing based on the essential choice to seek out goodness and godliness in place of selfish greed and ambition…

Let’s pray that the Lord will be at the centre of the situation: that we as a nation may know God and His ways. That is the way to mercy and blessing.

The Way of the Godly – Psalm 1:1-3

How blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

But their delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law they meditate day and night. Such a person will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither. In whatever that person does, they will prosper.