I’m trying to find my rhythm on adding in this new stage of writing. This week is not how I want or envisioned it going. Bear with me as I work through this. These answers are my personal reflections on the questions I include at the end of each lesson. I give them to everyone and have this lofty idea of what they do with other people but I haven’t been sharing what they do at my end. This year, I intend to include my personal answers and my own faith walk with subscribers. I think I’ll keep them on the free side for the month of January but at some point I’m going to be sending these out to just subscribers. This will be dirty and unedited, straight from the keyboard as it appears in my personal journal. Some minor formatting will be done to make it “pretty” but otherwise it is the trainwreck that is my thought process. If nothing else, it reinforces why I NEED an editor.
Question 1 Where do you think you are at the moment; in the storm, out of the storm, walking the path through the storm, abandoned, or accompanied?
Michele's surgery looms over our family. I see the clouds gathering on the horizon. I'm not sure if it's a quick summer storm, a light drizzle, a lasting soaking rain, or a tumultuous thunderstorm but I know rain is coming. We also have Gavin's pending graduation which means once Michele is recovered we have the task of figuring out where we are going to live because we are moving. This task also has a lot of moving parts for us; where is Gavin going to school (or is he), what must we do to successfully sell our house, where will we buy our new house, a new job for Michele, what am I going to do, etc. There is not a lot of calm in my future and whether or not it is tumultuous or not remains to be seen, but there will be some hardship coming.
Question 2 Consider Peter’s example in light of your answer to Question 1.
29And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
30But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
32When they got into the boat, the wind stopped.
33And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”
Matthew 14:29–33 (NASB95)
Peter's Model from the lesson
Ask God to guide us (command me,) listen to God’s guidance (come,) follow God’s guidance (Peter got out of the boat,) and keep our focus on Jesus (and came toward Jesus.)
Peter's example is one of obedience. It is one of asking to discover God's will for my life, to listening to what His Holy Spirit has to say, and to work to implement the changes needed to align with that guidance. If I align properly I will always have Jesus in my view. There will never be an activity I don't have Jesus on my mind while I do it. That level of attention to Christ is very, very hard. There are a lot of aspects of my life where I do not consider Jesus in what I'm doing.
For a long time I didn't know how to do that or what that should look like. I'm getting closer to a personal answer on that one. Unfortunately, while I could pen what that answer looks like it would fall on deaf ears for most as it did for me when I read it from others. The problem is that it is so very simple and yet so very hard. What does having Jesus involved in every aspect of life look like? It is simply embodied in the old phrase, "What Would Jesus Do?" It really is that simple. That phrase doesn't mean we drop what we're doing as a job and go preach on the street corner. It might, but likely it doesn't mean that. What it means is constantly looking at the present situation and deciding for ourselves, "Would Jesus say this/eat this/act this way/buy this/sell this/do this?" The list of questions added on to Would Jesus…. This is endless where "this" is whatever we happen to be doing at the time. That's very hard. It is also going to make me feel very convicted most of the time because I don't think I act in a way Jesus approves of most of the time during the day. We are supposed to repent of those things we discover Jesus doesn't like in our lives and change. However, most days I'm fairly overwhelmed with things and do not make those changes. Fortunately, Jesus' example for us and instructions on what we should do are how He does things even when we fail to do them.
21Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Matthew 18:21–22 (KJV 1900)
That means infinite.
10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Hebrews 8:10–12 (KJV 1900)
Question 3 Does Peter’s example present any new actions, preparations, or next steps based on your considerations in Question 2?
Today is Thursday. I've been trying to get to these questions more frequently, trying to find a rhythm to my writing with this new chapter opened up. I'm not doing that well yet. It will come.
I reviewed what I wrote for the other questions and know my intent with them. I was hoping to spark one, two, or three ideas of concrete change that can move people in a direction closer to God. However, with the surgery pending tomorrow, and all the events that have surrounded my family in the last several days I cannot see beyond Friday's events. Honestly, I don't want to either. I don't have a lot of tasks in the next twenty-four hours but the angst of the moment ahead crowds out all the calm. Perhaps I can look at Peter who, when he stopped looking at Christ and focused on the wind and rain began to sink. What if I don't do what Peter did?
I have an idea.
I'm going to make sure I have my pocket Bible with me at all times starting now. If I don't have that one, I'll at least make sure I have access to the scriptures. Any time I start dwelling on the surgery tomorrow, I'll open the book and read a few passages.
That for me is the answer to question 3. I'm going to try and keep my focus on Jesus for the next 24 hours.
Question 4 Compare today’s passage with the steps presented to us by Peter.
I already did this in question 2.
Question 5 Pray and ask the Holy Spirit for guidance concerning your contemplations surrounding Question 4.
Questions 4 and 5 seem redundant to me after what I just wrote for question 3. I will add to my scripture reading saying the Lord's prayer before and after that reading to center myself. We'll see how that goes.
10The name of the Lord is a strong tower:The righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Proverbs 18:10 (KJV 1900)