Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”- Lamentations 3:22-24
“Sometimes we stand to learn the most about God from the situations we understand the least.”- Beth Moore
When I was taking some graduate courses at Concordia- River Forest, a friend and former classmate, Sharon “Tex” Lauder, approached me about taking her new puppy Taco (left, almost fully grown). Dogs weren’t allowed where Tex was moving. Since my parents were on a two-week Hawaiian vacation, I seized the day- and the puppy! For the next two weeks, Taco and I were inseparable. As I taught Taco to sit, roll over, and give her paw, an incredible bonding occurred. On my parents’ return home, Taco warmly greeted them with a wagging tail. Since my parents weren’t comfortable with a dog in the house, Taco found a home with my mother’s cousin, Dorothy. Whenever I’d come to visit, Dorothy would say to Taco, “David’s coming!” Taco faithfully gazed out the living room window until I arrived.
Along our desert, transitional journey to revitalization and revisioning of our calling, fear and anxiety threaten to consume us. Seeking glimpses that God is our faithful friend, no matter how miniscule, will counter that threat. Anne Voskamp (One Thousand Gifts) describes the faith that sees God’s glory peeking through the seemingly impenetrable clouds of adversity: “Faith is the seeing eyes that find the gauze to heaven torn through.”
Focusing on God rather than on ourselves enables us to affirm His everlasting faithfulness with ever-increasing certainty, as the psalmist wrote: “But you, O God, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.”- Psalm 102:12
The ultimate act of God’s faithfulness and grace is Jesus’ death and resurrection. John Ortberg (Who Is This Man?) defines the hope released that Easter:
“What got released on Sunday was hope. Not hope that life would turn out well . . . . Hope that called people to die to the lesser life of a lesser self so that a greater self might be born.”
Without sacrifice, there is no harvest. Our friend and faithful Savior has recreated life. Holy is the Lord!
