Faith In the Wilderness

Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea, as the Lord had directed me.
Deuteronomy 2:1

A common misconception that many people have regarding faith is that all of our questions will get answered, all of our doubts will be erased, and all of our struggles will be disappear. In fact, often times our faith calls us into asking more questions, causes us to have more doubts, and makes us endure greater struggles. So why would anyone in their right mind become a person of faith? It’s because spiritual growth and peace is found in the questions, doubts, and struggles. Staying in the valleys of life will ensure one thing: we stay exactly the same. It’s precisely when we traverse the mountainsides and enter into the wilderness where genuine spiritual wholeness is found. Faith invites us to enter into the wilderness.

The Hope of Easter

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12

What is hope? The definition of hope can differ from person to person. When people speak about hope in a spiritual sense, it might mean believing good things will happen with faith in God. For others, it might mean always looking on the bright side and seeing challenges as opportunities. In other words, always “hoping for the best.” Merriam-Webster’s definition makes “hope” seem close to “wish.” “To cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true.”

In general, hope is the belief that life will get better. Now, that could mean that your circumstances may not change; maybe you’ll change to be able to better handle life’s difficulties. Perhaps God will send people your way who will help carry your burdens. Maybe God will give you a spiritual fulfillment that will outweigh the hardships.

I don’t know about you, but my life is still really difficult. One thing is certain, it is impossible to experience any joy without hope. This is what Easter is all about: hope.

Road to Jerusalem

The great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him.
John 12:12-13

There’s an old adage: all roads lead to Rome. The reason why this saying came to be is because the Romans developed an advanced road system that connected various cities in their expansive Roman Empire. In ancient Jerusalem, however, there was only one path to Jerusalem because of where the city was situated on top of a plateau. The walk to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday was the longest walk that Jesus ever took in his life because he knew what waited for him in that holy city; joyous welcome, healing miracles, meals with friends, malicious religious leaders, and his  death on a cross.

We all walk long roads sometimes in our lives that lead to heavy endings. These ends are often mixed with positive and negative experiences. Yet thru it all, God has a purpose or purposes behind them. While not “everything happens for a reason,” we can always learn, grow, or heal from every experience.

Life After Separation

They have told [others] about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God.
3 John 1:6

Let me be vulnerable with you. I have abandonment issues. Whenever a church member leaves, a friend cuts ties, or a family member passes away, I experience great feelings of rejection and my childhood traumas come flooding back. So the thought of separation or divorce scares me to death. This is why I felt it was important to host this seminar on “Life After Separation” this Sunday. There are many people who go through difficult separation, divorce, or breakup yet there is very little resource available that show us how to move forward with life in healthy ways after that happens.

What’s important when friends, partners, or family members separate is that both sides can find peace after they part. And sending people “on their way in a manner that honors God” is important for the other’s sake and our own sake. When bitterness, anger, or unforgiveness lingers after the separation, there is no peace.

New Paths

You will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.
Joshua 3:4

It’s been almost exactly two years since we’ve Covid was declared a global pandemic with various quarantine, mask, and social gathering mandates. Things are finally opening up again and life can move forward, but life doesn’t feel quite normal. In fact, many parts of our lives feel messier than ever before. Countless businesses closed down, many relationships are broken, and communities are left in shambles. 

According to the Four Stages of a Crisis, it appears we are entering the Third Stage of a Crisis, which is called Chronic. This is the “Clean-Up” stage. After the dust has settled, you assess the damage done and you start to cleanup the broken pieces. Most of us have never been this way before, which is why we need guidance from God, support from a community, and love for ourselves.

As a brother from Perch told me recently as I shared some difficult news, “Just take it one day at a time.” That’s all any of us can do right now. Take it one day, one step, one task at a time.

Hiraeth

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:11

When I took a counseling class in graduate school, my professor instructed us that we should be careful when beginning a question with the word “why.” Why, you ask? It can often put people on the defensive. “Why does that make you angry?” “Why are you quitting?” “Why are you depressed?” 

This is why the verse from Psalm 42:11 made me feel like I was being interrogated. However, this is a shortcoming of the English language and a tone that was misrepresented in translation. When the Psalmist asked, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?” it is not to make us feel shame about feeling downcast or disturbed. It is simply an invitation for us to explore our deepest feelings. This is a practice that is seldom encouraged in Western culture; exploring our emotions is uncomfortable for us to do, let alone admit or share with others. Yet, it is necessary for clarity, self-awareness, and spiritual maturity.

So ask yourself, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?”

Art of Lingering

Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

Lately, I’ve been learning the lost art of “lingering” in conversations. “Lingering” in conversations means waiting, being comfortable with silence, and giving the person plenty of time and space to process what they’re feeling and thinking. Since I’ve been a pastor (who’s also a man) for nearly 20 years, I’ve gotten so accustomed to “figuring out the problem and finding a solution.” Lately, I’ve realized that’s not usually helpful in conversations. In fact, it can detract from what’s more important: allowing my friend, church member, or care seeker freely express their emotions, articulate themselves and find clarity.

Lingering in conversations is becoming more of a lost art because it’s becoming increasingly difficult for people to just wait. In fact, very few people need to wait anymore. While we’re waiting in line to order food, we’re listening to music or a podcast. When we’re waiting at the doctor’s office, we’re scrolling through social media. When we’re waiting in traffic, we’re responding to texts. Is it possible that we might be missing out on something really important when we don’t wait? Contrary to what some may think, when we’re waiting, we’re not doing nothing. Waiting is only a waste of time if we treat it as a waste of time. When we’re waiting, we can be thinking, reflecting, or even praying. When we’re waiting, we can be renewing our strength.

Most Common Ragrets

See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.
2 Corinthians 7:11

Where did the motto “no regrets” come from? But do you actually know anyone who lives with no regrets? They’re kind of weird. In fact, psychologists and researchers have found that there are only three types of people who live without regret: children 5 years old and younger, people with brain damage to their frontal lobe, and sociopaths. So when people say they live with no regrets, they are either lying to themselves and others, they are unable self-reflect, or they have a misconception of what regret really is. Not only is regret perfectly normal, it can actually be really helpful. If utilized correctly, regret can be one of life’s greatest teachers; albeit painful and difficult, regret or “godly sorrow” can shape us into more virtuous human beings. And what do people regret the most? In his most recent book “The Power of Regret,” NY Times Bestselling author Dan Pink reveals the most common form of regret in people’s lives.

Over time, people regret what they didn’t do more than what they did do. Regrets of inaction are far more common than regrets of action.
–Dan Pink

The Heart Is Deceitful

The heart is deceitful above all things; who can understand it?
Jeremiah 17:9

I was once told to trust my heart
It would guide me in the right direction,
It would lead me to where I must start
And it would take care of any correction.

I had trusted my heart once before
And it guided me to where I ended,
That road that I would not take no more
Sadness and hurt is what I apprehended.

My heart had guided me to my love
And truly and deeply I had loved her,
I gave my thanks to God above
But, to my heart she was a saboteur.

The heart does not reason or think
All that it wants is love and care,
It can be tricked by a smile or even by a wink
Or even by a deceptive stare.

I was once told to trust my heart
But, the heart is deceitful as the prophet had said
Love will cheat and lie and will also depart
So, now I trust only in God instead.

Randy L. McClave