The News and the Truth
One very everyday thing is the news.
The headlines are alarming. The trends are disheartening. The need for prayer is great, the list long. It can be overwhelming, and anxiety-producing.
Jesus says not to fear nor be anxious, but to take heart and never stop praying.
Good luck with that…I routinely fail to obey half of those!
When God commands us to do something (especially something we perceive as impossible), how should we proceed?
Maybe we are supposed to tighten our belts, grit our teeth, pull ourselves up with our boot straps? Maybe we’re supposed to make sure we have a year’s supply of food on hand, a weapon under our pillow and a trained Doberman in the yard.
None of those sound like Jesus. He didn’t own a weapon, have a dog, own his own house, or even wear boots! Yet He faced the fiercest opposition from His enemies and took as His own ALL our sins with a beautifully baffling peace!
How did Jesus do it? And how can we follow Him into peace and courage?
I don’t have all the answers; I’m not sure I have any “answers,” but I can look at the way He prayed.
Many mornings, His biographers report, He left the dozing dozen and went off by Himself to pray. I don’t think He had a yard-long prayer scroll full of requests like we would: “God would you please help Andrew and Peter to get over their sibling rivalry, and do something about the temper in those sons of Zebedee…”
The template for prayer that He gave the twelve started with “Our Father.”
He was chatting with His Dad.
And not being exclusive about the relationship, either.
OUR Father: The One who gave us birth, who feeds us and keeps us clothed, who is saving and investing for an inheritance for us; the One who has given us access to all that His name carries; the Dad who always follows through, rescues, disciplines us appropriately and lovingly, and never out of personal hurt or revenge; the One who gets our jokes and laughs big belly laughs when we tell them; the One who beams broadly when we talk about him to others, even when we get mixed up or tongue-tied. This is the Dad who shows up for all the games and concerts, cheering loudly for every catch or goal, every sweet note, encouraging us to grow and get more skilled.
He’s the One who always has time to listen and comfort us when we are sad,
the One who is always ready to forgive when we are ready to confess.
With a Dad like that, the headlines don’t matter. Dad’s got us.
The trends don’t make any difference. Dad never changes.
That’s how Jesus can say, “Don’t worry about it. Dad’s got it!”
Following Jesus every day in the everyday,
Christi
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