Confirmation

 

As the daily news seems increasingly to confirm that we are in the End Times, it reminds us that time is short to experience precious moments with our families, adventures we have often dreamed of, and especially opportunities to spread God's Word. Shortly after I wrote the post below about a trip my husband and I took in 2018, the world experienced the Covid pandemic, which kept many under lockdown and severely curtailed opportunities for travel. So I thought I would repost this as a reminder to "Carpe diem -- Seize the day!" 

While browsing through my junk emails, I spotted what appeared to be a good deal on a trip to Costa Rica. My husband and I have always heard of the pristine beauty of this country and had spoken of visiting one day, yet that day had never yet seemed to come.

And while I’m not a fan of bucket lists, I also had come to realize that zip lining was an adventure I had always longed to experience – a perfect blend of my love for “flying” (which partly explains why I so love Theatre Arts dancing) and for nature. There are several such attractions in Florida where we live, but somehow hanging suspended over alligators didn’t sound too appealing.

My husband was also intrigued by the opportunity to visit Costa Rica, but we both wondered whether we should spend the time and money, when there were so many pressing concerns in our lives at home that we needed to address. So we agreed to pray about it.

After a few days of prayer, I still had no clear sense of direction, so I asked the Lord to give me some sort of sign. Although Jesus spoke of the Pharisees as being a wicked and adulterous generation because they needed a sign (Matthew 16:4), His Word also promises to give wisdom liberally to all who ask Him (James 1:5).

Shortly after I prayed for confirmation from the Lord, I ventured onto Facebook, where the first post I saw pictured a wistful elderly woman with the caption beneath, “Do what you’ve always wanted to do today, for we are not promised tomorrow.” (James 4:14)

“That seems pretty clear, Lord,” I prayed. “Would you mind very much just sending me one additional confirmation?”

Now I felt like Gideon, asking God for yet another miraculous sign, except that I felt even more presumptuous as I was asking for guidance about whether or not to take a vacation, and not about a decisive battle that would affect the lives and destiny of many people (Judges 6:36-40).

But the Lord is interested in all our needs (Matthew 6; 10:29-31), and no matter is too large or too small to bring to Him in prayer (Philippians 4:6). If we don’t bring our prayer needs to Him, how can we expect Him to answer? (James 4:2-3)

So as I happened to check my emails, the most recent message was a solicitation from Barclay’s Bank, which caught my eye as Barclay is my maiden name, even though I am no relation.

“Make this the year you resolve to travel more,” said the message!  I rushed out to tell Richard that God had sent me two clear confirmations that we should take this trip, even though they came from sources as unlikely as Facebook and a solicitation email.

It is true that God most often speaks to His children through His Word (Psalm 119:105), through sermon messages (Romans 10:17), and through Godly counsel (Hebrews 10:25; Proverbs 27:17). But we should not put God in a box and apply our expectations to His infinite powers, for He can also speak through dreams (Genesis 31:11), nature (Proverbs 6:6), and presumably even seemingly trivial communications crossing our desk, mailbox or computer screen.

We both then felt at peace about embarking on this journey and eagerly planned our stay and excursions. We continued to pray (1 Thessalonians 5:17) for safety and health while we were gone, both for ourselves and for our loved ones; for safe, smooth, comfortable travel; for pleasant accommodations, excursions, food, weather and company; and to grow closer to each other and to Him (James 4:8) as we experienced the majesty and beauty of His creation (Psalm 19:1).

Praise God, He answered every prayer! He allowed us to experience a land we had long dreamed of, to see a vast variety of wildlife in its natural setting, and to interact with pleasant people and to share God’s love with them (John 13:34-35). We distributed Gospel tracts carrying the message that all who trust in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only Way (John 14:6) to Heaven will have eternal life (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; John 3:16).

The trip was a much needed opportunity for relaxation and continued restoration (1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 23:2-3) after a long period of stress and illness, and we are blessed and thankful that we interrupted our usual routine to take it, and to be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10).

We honor God when we turn to Him for guidance in all matters, great and small (Psalm 27:8), and I believe He honors His promises to answer prayer in the best possible way, from His perfect, omniscient, omnipotent viewpoint of infinite love. Jesus told us to seek, and we would find; to ask, and it would be answered; and to knock, and the doors of opportunity would be opened (Matthew 7:7-8).

As the zip line guide fitted me with heavy rigging before we sailed over the treetops, she asked if I had ever done this before, and if I were nervous. “This is my first time, and I’m not at all nervous, but I am praying a lot,” I answered truthfully, filled with the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).

This peace (Isaiah 26:3) carried me through some challenging moments on the zip line, such as when my body weight was insufficient to carry me to the next platform and I had to turn myself around on the cable, climbing hand over hand backwards along the cable to pull myself to my destination!

Perhaps being just a little closer to Heaven added.to the joy of experiencing the jungle canopy, the plunging descent of the waterfall beside us at one point, and the exhilarating feeling of flight. Praise God that He guides us, answers prayer, wants to bless us with good gifts (Matthew 7:11), and gives us richly all things to enjoy!  (1 Timothy 6:17)

© 2018 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Restoration May First Mean Removal

Photo by Kanko 2007

I dreamed that I was attending a church retreat at a rural location in which there were several small, primitive outbuildings scattered in the woods. After the long drive to get there, I wanted to change my clothes and freshen up before the services began, so I went into a shed, locked the door and sat at a small dressing table. There was no electricity, but enough light penetrated the small grimy window for me to barely see my reflection in the mirror.

As I began applying my makeup, I was horrified to see that the blush and foundation were disintegrating in their containers, and that clumps of bristles were falling out of the brushes. I realized too late that the shed where I had chosen to change was actually used for antique furniture refinishing, and that the fumes from paint stripper and other solvents were eating away at the cosmetics, not to mention my skin and lungs!

I ran out of the shed in a panic and was relieved to breathe the fresh air outside, to experience the light breeze and warm sun on my skin, and to rinse my face and hands in a bubbling fountain. As I discarded the cosmetics and applicators, I was surprised to experience a sense of freedom, rather than anxiety or embarrassment, at not being able to conceal my imperfections.

When I awoke the next morning, I was reminded of a sermon I had heard the day before on God’s power of restoration. Before God can restore a believer to spiritual wholeness, sometimes He allows His child to experience a great financial, physical, or emotional loss.

The symbolism of the dream reminded me that before a fine antique can be restored to its original beauty and design, it must first be stripped of layers of paint, varnish, and grime. Thoughtfully applied makeup may enhance our physical appearance, but we must remove it and thoroughly wash our face at the end of the day, or our skin will break out in blemishes. Cleansing is essential not only to take off the makeup, but also dead skin cells and dirt that accumulate during the day.

As we go through life, we become adept at quick fixes: a dab of concealer to hide dark circles after a sleepless night; a forced smile when our heart is breaking; or a white lie about our friend’s new dress complimenting her figure, to distract us from addressing her shopping addiction resulting from emotional neediness.

But these quick fixes cannot fool God. There is no sense in trying to hide our weaknesses from Him, for He knows all about them and us, even better than we know ourselves (Job 42:3; Psalm 139:1-6). He knows not only our sins of omission or commission, but even the dark thoughts that seep from our wicked heart (Psalm 139:23-24). He knows our physical, financial and emotional problems and is working on the solution before we even ask Him (Matthew 6:8,32).

Yet sometimes the solution to our crisis, or even to our chronic challenges, is radical removal of what we think we need to solve the problem on our own. In the dream, the makeup fell apart and became useless before I could even apply it, and the paint stripper fumes forced me outdoors into the light, where cleansing and healing could begin.

The breeze and fresh air symbolized the renewing power of the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:2; Acts 2:1-4), and the sunlight and fountain represented Jesus, the Light of the world (John 8:12) and the Living Water (John 4:10-14; Revelation 7:17) from Whom all blessings flow (James 1:17).

Jesus taught that on our own, we can do nothing (John 15:5), but that with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, The apostle Paul realized that God’s grace is sufficient, and that His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Yet so often we turn to our own feeble, manmade strategies that give us a false sense of control, rather than taking our burden to the foot of His cross and leaving it there for Him to handle in His perfect way, with His perfect timing (1 Peter 5:7).

But sometimes when we feel we are being stripped of our own illusory powers, we panic and fail to realize that His greater plan is at work. Sometimes He must bring us to our knees and remove all that we hold dear before we accept that He alone holds our future; that He will allow no trial into our life unless it is for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28); and that His infinite love (1 John 4:8), power (2 Samuel 22:33; Psalm 62:11) and wisdom (Job 36:5; Daniel 2:20) will restore to us many times over what we have lost.

This is clear in the story of Job, who through no fault of his own suffered the loss of all that he had, except for his life and that of his spouse. God allowed Satan to strip Job of his children, wealth, and health, to settle a dispute between Himself and Satan, and to allow Job the opportunity to prove himself faithful to God even in extreme adversity (Job 1).

But when Job was faithful not only to accept God’s will, but also to pray for his “friends” despite their lack of encouragement and support, God restored to him his health, his wealth many times over, and even blessed him with more children  (Job 42).

The ultimate example of removal before restoration is when God brings a nonbeliever to his knees by whatever means necessary – danger, disease, financial crisis, loss of a loved one. As the saying goes, there are no atheists in foxholes. These extreme trials may result in devastating loss, yet if they bring someone to abandon their reliance on self and trust in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way (John 14:6) to Heaven, the eternal restoration infinitely outweighs the removal of temporal assets.

When we experience loss in our lives, may we prove faithful as Job to trust God for the ultimate, manifold restoration of priceless blessings!

© 2018 Laurie Collett