Fountains of Life

Rest. Rest. Rest.

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By Cyndi

About a week ago I tweaked my back a little. It was the last day before the beaches were closing here in Jacksonville due to the Coronavirus, so knowing this, I surfed until I could hardly move. I let my body rest for about a week, but then I started feeling better, not all the way healed up, but enough to work in the yard a little. Well, you guessed it — my back went out again. Bummers. Gotta rest it again! I do not like not being able to do anything physically; I love to exercise, walk, be outside, be in the water — anything to be moving. I’m a doer. 

Here I was once again stuck not able to do much of anything. I needed to let my body rest and heal. Funny thing, our nation, along with so many others right now, are all supposed to be staying home to stop the spreading of this COVID-19 virus. Many are even quarantined and entire cities are locked down. (As of this writing we are not yet.)

I think Father may be trying to get a message to me. And maybe not just to me, but to His whole body world-wide during this crisis. 

He’s not calling us to DO something. He’s calling us to BE something. Be the church. Be His hands and feet. And be at rest!

It’s very easy to get a feeling of helplessness with this pandemic going on. Everyday we see the numbers and statistics change — mostly for the worse at this point in time — but it will eventually get better. We just have to wait and be at rest in Him.

The Lord never guaranteed us that we will not have trials and tribulations. In fact, He flat out says we will! But He said He’ll be with us through them, even in the midst of them. In John 16:33 Jesus tells us that, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

So what things did He tell us previously before this verse? That going through these troubles are hard, but on the other side of them, it’s so much better:  

  • Jesus had to leave so He could send the Holy Spirit;
  • Jesus left His disciples so they could go directly to the Father;
  • A mother goes through travail to give birth, yet afterwards has the joy of a child. 

My friends, I believe on the other side of this it’s gonna be worth it. (Great song from Rita Springer.)

Rest, my friends. Breathe deeply. This is a time to invest in your families. This is a time to reveal to strangers the Hope we have. This is a time for the fruits of the Spirit to grow and develop in us if we allow them to. 

Let us be the Father’s love expressed here on this earth — right here, right now!

Stop doing and start being. Rest. Rest. Rest. 

God Is Our Refuge

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By Cyndi

There’s a lot of fear and anxiety out in the world today. Some may say hysteria. The unseen enemy of the Coronavirus is running amuck and normal life is becoming something like we’ve never known before.

Yes, it’s pretty crazy watching the news, seeing people in stores, the lack of traffic on the streets, businesses closing. Things have changed. Well, except God. He never changes. He hasn’t moved nor fretted one bit. 

He is still good and always will be.

Look at Psalm 34:8 — “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” The Hebrew word for refuge here is Chacah meaning to take refuge, flee for protection, put trust or hope in. Many other verses also refer to God as our shelter, our strong tower, our place of safety and security.  

A picture that comes to mind and gives me great comfort is from Matthew 23:37 where Jesus is saying how He wants to cover us with protecting love just like a mother hen takes her wings and shields her chickens. However, both in this verse and in the world today, some of us are not allowing Him to cover us. We have to choose to rest in His love. 

Perfect love casts out all fear. (1 Jn. 4:18) I encourage you to take some time to be still and just rest in His love. Put on some worship music and soak in God’s presence. It’s true we don’t know how everything is going to turn out, but we can at least live in peace as we wait.

And much of the world is looking for that peace right now. Historically after many plagues and disasters, Christianity spread. People are looking for hope in the midst of their fears, comfort for their concerns, and quiet for their turmoiled souls. We have a Father who is big enough to shelter us all. 

Father’s Kids

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by Cyndi

I love to see kids playing at the park, climbing over monkey bars, swinging on swings. just having fun. It’s a shame we tend to stop “playing” when we grow up. But should we?

Recently we held a pastors retreat in the Dominican Republic where we gathered a group of leaders at a retreat center out of town to experience the Father’s Love deeper. It was a wonderful time, especially without television or lots of media distractions. So what did they do between teachings?

They fellowshipped — a churchy lingo way to say they hung out together — and they played. As they drank coffee, shared stories, shot basketball hoops, and swam in the pool, there was lots and lots of laughter.

I’ve never heard so many jokes (all clean ones) and such loud laughter from a group of people. And most of the antics came from the men! During the breaks they jested about sermons they could preach or unusual books they could write. One of the funniest ideas was a message about the good things you could learn from the bad girls in the Bible. For instance: Delilah cut hair very well; Eve was very sharing with her husband. On and on it went till everyone was chuckling and throwing in their own suggestion. It thrilling to see these sweet men and women of God relaxing and having some fun. 

Sometimes I think we believe that once we grow up life has to be serious all the time, where anything “fun” is looked down upon. Yet, I imagine when Jesus was hanging out with His disciples, there were probably plenty of jokes and horseplay between the guys. Think about it, twelve men traveling together, eating together….  I bet farts were funny even back then. 

I think this is also why the Father likes to remind us we are still children, His kids. 

Kids need time to play. Yes, chores are good and studies are important, but many things are learned simply by playing. Unity is formed with teamwork; awe and wonder is found in looking at details; creativity comes with trying and experiencing new things; ideas are sparked by role playing; and reverence is renewed in Nature itself.

More and more studies are showing that play is vital to our health — which is at least one good reason God calls us His kids. Father keeps us secure in His love where we don’t have to worry about performing for His acceptance. Like a child, we can just enjoy His goodness and play. 

Separately Together

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By Cyndi

Recently I stepped through a side door at a church in the Dominican Republic and noticed these steps (see photos). It struck me as quite beautiful, all those pieces of tile — separate, yet together. Each one had its own color, shape, and texture, but when placed within the cement and form, it made  a functioning and colorful step. 

The step could have been made from solid plates of tile, whole and perfect, but there was something beautiful about the broken pieces put together.

It reminded me of how we operate as the body of Christ. Each separate, yet together. Each of us are broken in some ways, yet beautiful when closely bonded to others. 

God has a way of using our brokenness, our weaknesses, and our failures to be the very basis that bridges a gap between us and others. When we share experiences, we become a family; we find unity and understanding in the midst — and in spite — of our differences. 

We each have our own look, color, and texture that makes us unique, yet when we combine ourselves as one, we become a beautiful mosaic. We become a picture, a decoration, of God to this world to show off His power and glory. 

And His love.

It’s His love that is the cement which holds us together and makes us a doorstep whereby others may walk upon us on a path towards Him. 

Unity binds and includes, no matter what age, shape, or size. It spruces up the dull and mundane with colors and character, flavor and flare. It glues us together to function as one body, fitly joined together. (Eph. 2:21)

I don’t know which piece of tile I would be on this threshold — a big one, a small one — but it doesn’t matter. It’s the combination of all of them that makes this mosaic more than just a step, but a work of art — and a means to enter His sanctuary. 

Being Flexible

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Every January I like to seek the Lord for a specific word or phrase for that coming year. It’s like a slogan or motto to refer back to throughout the months whereby God reminds me of things He told me at the first of the year. For 2019 one of the words was “flexibility.” A good word, I had thought then; and as in most cases, the Lord was referring first to the natural, then the spiritual. 

As I have gotten older and am now in what I refer to as the “Fabulous Fifties,” I try to exercise regularly and have particularly been working on my mobility and agility over the last couple of years. I’ve gotten into the habit of stretching every morning, so being flexible has been a goal for my physical body.

But being flexible in the spiritual realm is a different matter entirely. And there’s nothing like having a storm to come along to test it. 

Yes, really—a real, physical storm. Hurricane Dorian, one of the longest living hurricanes ever in the Atlantic Ocean, passed by us here in Florida after wreaking havoc on the Bahamas. Fortunately we were only brushed by winds and rain in Jacksonville, however, my spiritual flexibility was left wanting as some travel plans required changing. 

For months we have been planning a pastors retreat in the Dominican Republic. Guess when that was supposed to be? Hurricane Dorian swept gently by the DR without much trouble, yet, as it hurled towards Florida we quickly surmised we would not be able to fly through the storm to get there and needed to safeguard our house instead. Postponement was necessary; the retreat was not going to happen that weekend. 

After contact was made, airline tickets changed, new dates set, and we settled in to ride out the storm, my heart filled with disappointment. Getting things prepared around the house was drowned with sadness (and a little anger too, to be honest). I had been looking forward to this pastors retreat for months! It was to be a culmination of working in the DR for the last few years, bringing pastors in from around the whole country! I could feel my inflexibility as I was left with no control of the situation. 

(Don’t you hate that—when you’re supposed to just roll with things, giving up whatever desires you have and going with the flow of God’s path? Oh, yeah, that’s called walking in the Spirit. I fail at that sometimes.) 

In John 16, Jesus speaks to the disciples about Him leaving them and some of what was forthcoming when He would be gone. This was not what the twelve thought was the plan. They were formulating and imagining their future in a whole other direction. I can empathize with the disciples in this situation as their flexibility was challenged too. As in many cases with them—feeding the five thousand, crossing a lake in a storm, Jesus’ crucifixion—walking with Jesus doesn’t always go the way you think it will.

When objects are inflexible and they require bending, either they break or they eventually bow. My attitude finally softened into submission after choosing to accept these changes and acknowledge Him in all my ways (Prov. 3:6). I flexed because I know Father God loves me and wants the best for me. I am His child. 

Knowing God is always good brought me back into rest and my sadness soon turned into excitement. Who knows all the reasons why (spiritually) this retreat got postponed, and does it really matter anyway? Not really. Now I just move forward by faith.

He loves me. Period. That enables me to be flexible.  

____________________

(photo courtesy of NOAA)

Here’s another post along these same lines.