Spiritual issues and physical causes

I’m not always as smart as I think I am. (Before you snigger, that’s probably true for you too!)

It took me YEARS to put together the experience of spiritual struggles with the gloominess of winter. I began to notice that I had a “pick up” every year round about April. I laughed more, was less moody, and generally enjoyed living more. I prayed better, and read the Bible more and was “up for God.”

If I wanted to pretend to be really super-spiritual, I’d probably say it was all to do with the Easter experience. Resurrection re-ignited my rejoicing… and so on.

That’s partly true. The resurrection of Christ IS seriously GOOD NEWS. Bound to have an impact on me. Or I’m in a real mess!

Yesterday I saw these technicolour tulips, backlit by the spring sunshine. Seeing them struck me with joy. I could have done a little dance, a jig, and shouted honking great hallelujahs. The beauty of these flowers filled me up and made me grateful to God for being alive.

Back to the beginning. “It took me YEARS to put together the experience of spiritual struggles with the gloominess of winter…” Spring sun and colour simply thrills me, delights me, and makes me feel better. I’m excited. I feel alive. I begin to turn my attention to God again. This is a simple but profound principle: our physical bodies and our experience of the climate & season will be linked to our spiritual well-being. My sense of closeness to the Lord is stronger. My ability to live my faith increases.

We are physical beings as well as spiritual. Bad health, tough circumstances, stress, horrible experiences (etc) are likely to have a knock-on effect. Realising this means we can be better prepared and geared up for the battle. I do love the experience of the prophet Elijah, who after amazing triumphs then abruptly crashes down with exhaustion and depression. We find Elijah in a cave, asking God to finish his life. What does the heavenly doctor prescribe? Sleep, eat, rest, and carry on like that until Elijah’s sense of purpose is renewed. “Spiritual” issues often have a physical root cause.

Diagnosis and prescription: Enjoy the colour of these tulips. Get ready to laugh just for joy. Jump up and down if you like. Stop beating yourself up for being physical, and remember Elijah. Rest, recover, renew- and get ready to rejoice. Be grateful to God for the wonderful triggers He has put in us, the physical things and beauties that remind us we aren’t “only” physical. We are reborn in Christ, renewed in the Spirit, and reconciled to our Father. We have an eternal destiny and a purposeful life. God has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy! God bless you and give you a mouth full of laughter.

(Read Psalm 146 v2-3)

Photo (c) Richard Starling, 2018

Flourishing

Dear God,
It was sunny today- quite warm, actually.
That was nice- thank you for a lovely day.
The garden is looking better.
Even the shrubs & trees have new shoots,
even the scruffy ones. Here’s a picture of one.

We complain about the rain, or the cold,
even though we know we need rain to survive.
We’ll probably moan “It’s too hot” before long!
King David wrote about people whose lives
have what they need to flourish.

Psalm 1:3 says “They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.”

That sounds rather good. Lovely, in fact.
Please, Father God, help us to put our roots
where they draw the Living Water of Life.
Help us to flourish, to show the life within us,
and growing the fruit of the Spirit
so everyone we meet is blessed
with the grace and love of Jesus.

That’s a good life, with new life showing.

In the Name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- Amen.

Every day is a gift

Every day is a gift.
Every day is an adventure.

Help me, O Lord, to grasp the new day with courage and faith.

Open my heart as well as my eyes so I may recognise You.

May every new moment, new sight, new friendship, excite me.

May my soul rejoice and worship, because You are with me.

Should the gift feel heavy, or the adventure seem too frightening,
Remind me that You will ALWAYS be with us,
on good days and the difficult ones too.

Come, O Holy Spirit, touch my life and my lips
so I may praise God my Father wholeheartedly,
and love my fellow pilgrims as Christ has loved me.

This gift is what I can give to You:
the obedience of love and the trust of my heart,
the thoughtfulness of my mind,
the determination of my will to subject myself to You.
For You are my everything since You gave all for me.

Such grace, mercy, and joy lead me always back to You
even when I have wandered and strayed.
As a prodigal child, I seek Your faithful forgiveness,
As a wayward one who should know better
I place my life into Your welcoming arms.

Bless the Name of the Holy Three-in-One,
the True and Living God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Snow hope?

Two outbreaks of snow in mid-March is quite unusual. The “Beast from the East” and its smaller cousin, the Lesser Beast, have been and are now almost gone. In my part of Sussex the snow was an inconvenience rather than a major threat- but we’re still happy to see the thaw.

I remember years ago- probably 40 years ago- that a small group of keen friends decided it would be OK to go camping at an early Easter. Despite the forecast, we went anyway; taking a group of about 25 teenage boys. We had proper gear, and a small marquee to cook in. We had a whale of a time! Snow that is two inches thick on the tents is quite good insulation.

One unforgettable memory: I was cooking breakfast. There is nothing like the smell of frying bacon to get people up on a cold morning. I sat in my big greatcoat, on one of those fold-up camping chairs with metal tubing as the frame, and set the big frying tray on the gas burners in front of me. Sizzling is such a satisfying sound. Slurping tea from my big orange mug, I stirred the bacon thinking “What a great job…”

Strangely, the bacon seemed to be getting taller and harder to reach. This became puzzling as I couldn’t reach the pan to stir the bacon! Looking down, I discovered the chair frame was sinking six inches deep into the mud. Oh the joy of roughing it!

One reason we went camping was to share our Christian faith with the young men in the group. We drank tea, and shivered in the marquee, and talked. We sang a bit- trying to play guitar wearing gloves is tricky- and described what Christianity was all about. Our focus was on Jesus, and since it was Easter, the cross and resurrection were central. Several of those young men decided to become Christians. I wonder where they are now…

Our message was one of hope. A better love, freely given by Christ, leading to a better way of life. A purpose and a challenge. Some answers, but also loads of questions to wrestle with throughout life. Some truth revealed, some mysteries left open. My photo is of a snowdrop near to home. It survived the first cold blast, and was poking out of the snow that came this weekend. Snowdrops are a sign of hope: winter is leaving.

Psalm 62:5 (NLT)
“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.“

That’s a good Bible verse to ponder on a chilly day. Patience and hope often go together. Soon it will be full Spring and we will celebrate life. Let’s remember to look for the signs and reminders that life is stirring- and the Life-Giver is still faithfully loving us all.

There will be Thorns- Look, See, Pray

There will be thorns… A perennial “weed” in my new garden is proving troublesome. Brambles are growing through the established shrubs- we even had a few decent blackberries in the autumn! The previous owner of the house had become too frail to keep up with the gardening. It doesn’t take long for the brambles to grow and many other weeds to thrive.

Careful gardeners wear strong gloves. There will always be thorns, or splinters, or sharp stones… So it is the whole of life. For every flower, there is a weed; for every rose there will be thorns. I’d love to jump straight to the glorious Resurrection of Jesus- but there are a list of lessons to learn. Peter, John, James and Thomas all struggled with what Jesus began to teach on the road to Jerusalem. There will be stones in their shoes and thorns in their feet before they experience the deepest joy of meeting the Risen Christ.

Mark 8:31 (NLT)
Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead.

Lent gives us time and opportunity to consider the reality of being a Christian disciple. Most of us would welcome some assurance that our life is safe and secure. We may even start to believe that all trouble should pass us by- after all, did not Jesus promise to bless us and keep us? Yes, on the Way of the Cross. Discipleship means sharing the sufferings of Christ: they will come to those who faithfully witness to the Good News of the Kingdom.

Challenge those wishful thoughts of an easy road, today, as a Lent meditation. Jesus suffered literal thorns- the crown of mockery- in order to fulfil His purpose of bringing in the Kingdom of God. He warned that we too would face trouble and even persecution because we follow the Way of the Cross. He also warned that we might suffer as a consequence of our own faults and sins. So… how shall we respond?

Although we do not welcome the “thorns”- troubles and pain- can we, will we, accept thorns as a fact of our reality instead of blaming God? Secondly: can we think of some “gardening” we need to do in our souls to pull out the brambles and weeds that are spoiling our walk with the HOLY Christ? Gardens that are well-tended have fewer nasty surprises. Some troubles and suffering will come to us. If we allow dark corners and overgrown tangles of self-centredness, pride, or impure thinking, that is where the thorns will grow. We can, with care and Spirit-led humility, avoid the self-inflicted scars that afflict the unwary.

Thank You for the honesty of Jesus who warned us of the cost of discipleship. Lord, grant me patience and the spirit of humble repentance. Amen.

Credits: Quotation from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Heavy weather

There’s always heavy weather. As the south-westerly gale brought the breakers crashing against Portland Bill, one feature stood out. Pulpit Rock stands four-square against the elements, unshakeable and solid. The conditions were, in typical British understatement, “bracing.” A few of us had braved the rain and gales to stand in awe at the ferocity of the sea. One brave soul climbed to the top of Pulpit Rock (using the carved footholds) and looked out to sea. Then, shortly afterwards, a small lobster fishing boat lurched into view, rolling and plunging in alarming fashion. The photo cannot do it justice!

I expect the crew thought it was a normal February day’s work. I thought “I hope they didn’t have greasy bacon for breakfast!”

Behind us stood one large and two smaller lighthouses, put there to warn and guide passing ships. The rocks of Portland Bill are hard and dangerous. Sailors must be warned, and if that fails, rescued.

I feel rather like the climber. If the Rock represents my faith in God, much of my time for over 30 years has been spend on a solid foundation- looking out for and encouraging those going through the storms. The wind buffets me, but I am safe above the raging seas. Part of my responsibility has been to watch over and pray for the ones caught up in the storm.

I haven’t always succeeded. May God forgive me, and bless the ones that I failed.

Even when I have faithfully kept to my task, I can claim no credit for the help given, or even for the rescue of those caught in the heavy weather of life. What can I say to people, or even pray to God, when:

A much-loved child is ill, or is being bullied.
When work is so hard and the rewards are too few.
When the BBC News has only bad news and stark warnings.
Their diagnosis is serious, possibly even terminal.
A couple have reached the end of a marriage and want only to divorce.
God seems distant, and the storm is too strong.
At the graveside when deep love collides head-on with deep grief.

I have no easy answers. I have learned some lessons, though.

Being there matters more than what I say.
God can do things that I cannot do. It doesn’t all depend on me (thank goodness!).
For me to stand on the Rock of truth means I am seen, a witness and herald, and recognised as one who depends on God. Then my faith in Jesus brings comfort to those who struggle to hold onto their own belief and trust in the crisis.

There will be stormy days. Being caught at sea is dangerous. But our call is to go to those in peril, whatever the risk or cost. This is the motivation for Christians to go to wild places, and to look for those in danger of drowning; to give up their own hopes and ambitions so others might find solid ground on which to stand. Even standing on the rock can be cold and hazardous. That at least we can do!

Remember there are things that cannot be achieved without risk. Someone has to sail the boats. Who are you going to call? Who is watching out for you? Here’s a prayer of trust:

O LORD, I have come to you for protection; don’t let me be disgraced. Save me and rescue me, for you do what is right. Turn your ear to listen to me, and set me free. Be my rock of safety where I can always hide. Give the order to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Psalm 71:1-3 (NLT)