God's Got This!

When you’re 3-1/2 years old, you fear nothing. And sometimes, no one.  It seems we grow our fears as we grow up.  Last evening, I took Sophia grocery shopping with me. Normally, she is a little wiggle worm with an enchanting smile and sparkling eyes.  Last evening, she was unusually well behaved; didn’t argue too much about riding in the grocery cart; walked beside me and held my hand – not tugging to run  and helped me buckle her into the car seat in the back seat of my car.  During our little adventure, there was no need for Sophia to fear.  She was holding Mimi’s hand and she knew I would protect her.  As she grows up, she should develop healthy fears like most little girls – about strangers; crossing busy streets; first days of school; first dates. . .but for now, Mimi was there. I would protect her!

Our heavenly Father is just that way.  He holds our hand as we grow up in Him.  We may want to whine a little, pull back or tug to go faster, but He just holds our hand and gently insists that we walk beside Him.  He will keep us safe.  He promised. “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. In their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.” (Psalm 91:11-13)

Unfortunately, though, unlike my granddaughter, I have fears. . .some are good for me.  I have a healthy fear of my heavenly Father that I do not want to displease Him. Do I practice the presence of God in my life each day? Do I let his light shine through?  What will the world be like for my children and my grandchildren in the years to come.  As I age, will I be able to continue to work and provide for my family?  Will I fall prey to “things” that plague aging adults?  With my orthopedic issues over the years, will I be able to walk and use my hands?

And then I remember. . .God’s got this!  Over the years, He lovingly wrote me a long “Letter” to remind me of just that.   I need only to pull it out and read it whenever my unfounded or unhealthy fears attempt to overwhelm me.  In Isaiah 26:3, He reminds me, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” And in Philippians 4:7-8, I know that, “. . . the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, and finally. . . whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Just as I know I would never let go of my granddaughter’s hand and would protect her, I know that my Heavenly Father does the same for me – always.  I just have to hold to His hand and be reminded of His promises.  Yep, God’s got this!  -RS

What a Character!

As a little girl, and quite honestly, even as an adult, I have often been referred to as a character. Aunts and Uncles would say to my Mom, “She’s quite a character, isn’t she?”  And, teachers at parent-teacher conferences would say, “Your daughter is quite a character at times.”  Oh, granted, I could be a stinker.  I could agitate another child to the point of tears or terrors – that included my older brother, friends, classmates, cousins, or anyone that I felt was easy prey.  I just liked to have fun.  I was often a joker, a clown of sorts – sometimes it was to hide my own inferiority, insecurities, fears, and inadequacies.  Sometimes, however, I was just being “me”!

The dictionary defines “character” as the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.  Further down the definition reads: “qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity”.  Hmmhmm. . .I did look a lot like my father. . .so I was always told. 

Proverbs 11:6 (MSG) Good character is the best insurance. . .and Proverbs 20:3 (MSG) it’s a mark of good character to avert quarrelsome.  Some people will equate character with integrity and there are numerous scripture references to concur.

Hebrews 1:3 presents character in a way that when someone says to me today, “you’re a character!” I rather smile for the Greek word character used in this scripture is the word charaktér. The scripture represents Jesus as the “exact impression” of the nature of God.  Used here it means a stamp or impression that was used in the first century to refer to the “character” or impression made by a seal or a die-cut like an engraver would use to me the exact impression of a seal or letter.  Jesus Christ is exactly like His father and revealed the Father when He walked on this earth.  In John 14:9 we read “To see me is to see the Father.” Over the past two years, our ladies’ Bible study has studied the character of God through Worship in the Old Testament Tabernacle and most recently in the Feasts of the Tabernacle.  Wow!

I’ve thought a lot about the character I’ve become. And while I know that the word “become” is a process so I am still “becoming”, but, I wonder, “do I reflect the “exact impression” of the One about whom I have spent years of my life studying; who was willing to give His all, to willingly sacrifice and lay down His life so that I might be able to have a life? I have always looked like my earthly father.  I have his hair, his eyes and many of his features and mannerisms. When my oldest son was a little boy, many would say how very much he looked like us.

As children grow, we do hope they take on our good charaktér. How much more, then, as we grow in our faith, does our Father want us to take on His charaktér?  I have the traits of my dad, his work ethic, his honesty, his integrity, his sincerity, and his logical abilities. . .do I have the traits like my heavenly father as well?  Do I have his features of compassion, of love, of caring. . .am I a charaktér?  An exact impression of Jesus? 

In the book of Acts, we read that the word “Christian” (literally ‘little Christ’) was coined first in Antioch.  While it is true that this was a mocking term, I am certain that it came about because the disciples had charaktér, the impression of their Father stamped indelibly in each of them. 

When anyone now says, “you are a character!” I think to myself, “yes, I am a charaktér . . .I am the image of my Father – my heavenly Father and it doesn’t bother me one bit to be a character or a Christian for in so doing, I am letting the world around me know that I belong to a family – one that is out of this world! - RS