God had miraculously protected David, once again, from the angry King Saul who was spending the last part of his life attempting to kill David. It seemed as if Saul had David and his men surrounded (1 Samuel 23:26), but a messenger informed Saul that the Philistines were invading the land (1 Samuel 23:27), which caused the King to return to his land to defend it against his enemies. When David knew that Saul had left the place where he was, he called the location the “Rock of Escape” (1 Samuel 23:28). David and his men departed from the Rock of Escape and hid in the strongholds of En-Gedi (1 Samuel 23:29).
Continue Reading...I only needed three items at the store, most importantly, food for our 8 month old puppy, Bella. She was completely out of food so a trip to the store was necessary, unless you believe it is okay to go a day without giving your dog some food. I don’t normally go to Target, but it was on my way home so I thought I would stop in just to purchase the few items. My first indication that this would not be a good idea was the crowded parking lot; however, I suppressed the feelings and ventured inside. The lines did look a little long but I thought that they would open a few more lines by the time I was ready to check out. I grabbed a cart, you know the one that always pulls to the right, and wandered around the store until I found the three items on my list – deodorant, Izze (my wife loves these), and the puppy food. I returned to the checkout area but noticed that it was still pretty busy so I scanned all the lines to see which one looked the shortest. After making a decision, I committed myself to a line. There were only three people in front of me. The cashier checked out the first and second person quickly, but then I noticed the guy in front of me began separating his purchases into three different transactions. I remained calm. When the cashier finished scanning the first transaction, he politely asked if they would like to save 5% by opening a credit card. Their eyes lit up and they agreed that opening a credit card was an opportunity they could not refuse. The cashier politely looked at me and said, “It’s going to be a few minutes.” I smiled back and said, “No problem.” I was lying. I was getting impatient. The people behind me began line jumping which, in my opinion, should be outlawed. Once you’ve committed to a line, you should not be able to depart from it. I was getting restless. Finally, a young cashier came to the rescue and opened up a register right beside our line and said, “I can help the next person.” The people behind me also heard the offer and the race was on. They began pulling their cart in that direction, but I grew up in Charlotte, NC, home of NASCAR and rednecks, so there was no way they were going to check out before me. When they saw that I was serious, they said, “Oh, you only have a few items. You can go in front of us.” WHAT! “Don’t you even think about giving me permission to go in front of you when it is rightfully my turn!” I didn’t say that, but I sure was thinking it. I just smiled and said, “Are you sure? Thank you so much.” I was lying.
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Wouldn’t it be great if every circumstance, obstacle, or question had an obvious explanation? The longer I live, the more I realize that lots of things have no human explanation or easy answer. As a Christian I know that the normal response or thought pattern is, “God knows what He is doing.” Don’t get me wrong, I wholeheartedly believe that God knows what He is doing in each and every circumstance; however, it is hard to wrestle with the human side of it. The older I get and the more I see, the more I’m convinced that I will die with more questions, than answers. Am I okay with that? I’m not sure I can answer that with any amount of certainty, but I do know that my soul yearns for something better than this life can offer. I yearn for everything to be put back together…to work the way God intended it to work. As I see the suffering, injustice, and brokenness around me, I long for my friends and family to be redeemed, to be restored, and to know what it means to live without pain and suffering.
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As I pulled up to the stoplight which was changing from yellow to red, I noticed a little white and brown-spotted dog by himself sitting on the street corner. When the light turned red and I had come to a complete stop, the dog marched across the street as if she had done this a thousand times. Needless to say, I was impressed with the dog’s confidence so I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture of this dog as she crossed the street without incident. Granted, it’s not like the dog was walking a tightrope across a busy street, but it amazed me that she (I’m only assuming it was a female because she was smart) knew when to walk across the street. Although this dog looked liked she knew what she was doing, I do know that it is not safe for dogs to be navigating the real world by themselves. We all understand this. That is why when you see a dog running around by himself you think, “That dog is going to get hit by a car!”
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Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend my daughter’s spelling bee at her elementary school. She was among the top spellers in her school and the spelling bee is a way to determine the best speller in the school. I arrived right on time only to find a gymnasium packed with the entire school as well as the parents of the ones participating in the spelling bee. I found a seat and felt the anticipation building as they entered the “practice round.” Most of the words were easy and provided an opportunity for the kids to introduce themselves and shake out the nerves. After finishing the practice round, the real competition got under way. I’m not sure what came over me, but I must admit that I kept hoping for each contestant to get hard words so that they would misspell them. I know it is wasn’t right, but I couldn’t help pumping my fist when a kid got it wrong. I’m exaggerating. I didn’t literally fist pump, but I kept playing it out in my mind…over and over. Of course, when it was my daughter’s turn, I welled up with pride and hoped that she would get it right. I really did feel guilty for wishing bad on someone else’s child, but I wanted to make sure that my child was the best.
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I wonder how much effort is spent on attempting to gain what we do not have, rather than being secure in who we are or using what is already at our disposal. We often believe that attaining what we do not have or changing our status will fill a void in our life. So, instead of being content with what we have or who we are, we spend our time in pursuit of change. Although I’m a proponent of change, change does not guarantee joy. Joy is often a result of contentment and does not fluctuate with circumstances. A little more money. A little more love. A little less stress. A little more notoriety. A little more success. A little more certainty. A little more doesn’t always result in contentment.
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Everyone has problems. Everyone. I don’t care how confident a person looks or how some families seem to exude perfection, every individual and every family has problems. Some people are just better at covering up their problems. After working as a pastor for 15 years, there are two types of people concerning the problem issue: people who try to act like they don’t have any problems and people who think that they are the only ones with problems. I wish these two groups could meet each other.
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My dog is currently wearing a cone around her head. I absolutely hate it, although, it is possible that I have always made fun of and laughed at dogs who had to wear unsightly lampshades around their neck. All kidding aside, I do feel sorry for her as I listen to her whining and crying, and I even wonder if she will break her neck attempting to sling it off of her head. Why is she wearing a cone, you ask? Since we have no desire for puppies in our near future (or ever), Leah and I decided that it was time to get our eight-month old maltipom fixed. The neighbor’s Chihuahua has wandering eyes. Following the surgery, we knew that we would have several challenges; however, the biggest challenge was to protect her incision and the stitches which held the incision together. Puppies are not naturally prone to leave their stitches alone. They like to lick and chew, which is not good for an incision. Enter the e-collar or the “lampshade, as I like to call it. This cone is used to restrict the dog’s access to the incision, which is necessary for proper healing. Although I hate restricting my puppy, I know I am guarding her from causing herself further harm. She doesn’t understand it, but I do.
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Clark Griswold is not really my neighbor, but there are several people in our neighborhood who have crazy good light displays for Christmas and they remind me of Clark Griswold. The guy directly across the street from me has fantastic decorations and I estimate that probably 50 or more cars drive by his house every night to see them. No one ever stops by our house to see the pretty lights because we don’t have any. Before you accuse me of being Ebenezer Scrooge or the Grinch, let me explain. Although I love to decorate the inside of our house, I am not the gifted type for exterior decorations…and I am 95% confident that decorating the outside of my house would end with me burning it down! However, just because I am not gifted like Clark Griswold, doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy his house decorations.
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God is perfect. God is sovereign. Most of us would say that we wholeheartedly believe these two truths. Since God is perfect, He never makes a mistake. People may make mistakes, but God does not. Since God is sovereign, nothing is outside of His control. People may feel out of control, but God does not. Bible lesson learned, right? Wrong. How can we believe that God is perfect and sovereign, yet fail to trust Him with every detail of our lives? It’s a valid question. Here is what I have concluded, as least for myself. My struggle with trusting God is usually not an issue of if He can do it, but how He will do it. Trusting God for the outcome is the simple part. Adverse circumstances and obstacles leading to the final outcome usually get in the way.
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