In the midst of the storm

Here in Colorado we are in the middle of an extended storm. Actually, multiple storms have collided with each other from different directions, and they've hit us one upon another. The roads are so dangerous to drive on that schools and businesses are closed for all but the most essential of services.

Sounds a lot like the way the storms of life hit us, doesn't it? If they could only come one at a time, we could manage them so much more easily. But they tend to pile up in the most inconvenient of ways, and they get stalled over our hearts and lives.

While snow storms bring misery and danger to those who are driving on icy roads, or dealing with power failures, they also bring joy to skiers, or to the children who have a day off with sledding and snowman-building.  The very same snow can bring an avalanche to those trapped in it, as well as life-giving water to those who will benefit from the rivers carrying down the melted snow in the springtime. 

We know our loving God can and will use the our struggles for good when we are suffering. Knowing this does make our pain more bearable. The same God who protected the disciples in the midst of their storm-tossed lake with Jesus will protect us in the midst of our own tempests. 

And please, while you're suffering, don't ever try to discount your crisis because you've compared it to someone else's. Jesus told us not to compare ourselves to others for a reason. Your life is the only one God is interested in when he's dealing with you.

As a therapist friend once said, "How many shotgun blasts does it take to count? Isn't one enough?"  If you heard your problems described to you by someone else, you'd have compassion on yourself. Your heavenly Father certainly does, so get into his perspective, would you please?

Our God offers you a place to hide in his loving shelter when you need to, and you are no coward if you take his offer of protection and mercy when you need it. Take it now, until your storm is past.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until this violent storm is past.

Psalm 57:1

Need an attitude adjustment?

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can keep God's love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:38,39

Everyone I talk to these days feels bombarded and oppressed in some way. Of course, the economy is affecting all of us. Add to that the health problems, family problems, and any other normal stresses of life, and we end up traveling from stress to distress before we know what hit us.

I remember a character on an old TV show saying, "When everybody's out to get you, paranoid's the way to think!" 

Sometimes it does feel like everything is going wrong, and it is easy to give in to our weaknesses, to let our depressed, self-pitying, or frustrated sides crawl on in and take over for awhile.

The insidious nature of Satan is that this kind of attack is less easy to spot than if a demonic battalion showed up on our doorstep, isn't it? You would have the sense to call out for the help of God immediately if you saw overt Satanic attack, wouldn't you? But if you are merely crabby to your spouse or kids, or down in the dumps, you don't recognize it until you have been out of commission for the Lord for a day or a week. The result is the same as if you had been trying to fight a huge army on your own, though.

However, when it feels like the forces of hell--or depression--are right in the room with you, you are still under the protection of God's love. Of course, God never left you, and you do know it when you come to your senses.

Face it, we all are a bunch of failures for the Lord. Why do you think the above verses were written?  Our failures cannot separate us from the love of God. Hallelujah!  We will get depressed, angry, self-centered, and all sorts of not very pretty emotions that God knows about.  We don't like our fellow believers to see them, but God does.

So, rejoice that his forgiving, unconditional love also fills your heart with comfort and protects you in your distress. Let it bring you relief from your burdens, whatever the cause of them.

Never forget that you are a soldier in God's army, and he is looking to you to stand tall and fight your position. You cannot do anything for him when you are battered and defeated by the enemy.

Tradition has it that Martin Luther was awakened one night with Satan standing at the foot of his bed, menacingly. 

"Oh, it's only you," Luther said, as he rolled over and went back to sleep.  Martin Luther was secure of who he was as a child of the King, and who Satan was: defeated at the cross, unable to harm him.

No power of Satan or weakness in yourself can change God's love for you. Jesus gave up his own life to demonstrate that love, so take a moment to let that love wash over all the aching places in your heart, giving you fresh hope.  May you feel that love this very day in ways you never thought possible. 

Remember that nothing can separate you from that love.  Rejoice in it, take hope in it, and be courageous in Godly confidence of that love, everywhere you go.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can keep God's love away.

Romans 8:38

Auntie Grace and the Robber

So many of you have told me how much you enjoyed the remembrance about my grandfather, Clifford Clinton, that I've decided to give you another story from the family tales.

This one is about Clifford's youngest sister, Auntie Grace, who was in her fifties at the time this story took place. She awoke one night, to find a strange man standing over her bed with a knife to her throat. 

"I want your money," he said gruffly.

"Honey, I don't have any money, but I bet you're hungry, so I'll fix you some pancakes."   Yes, I know there was a lady in Atlanta in recent years who made pancakes for an escaped prisoner, but Auntie Grace did it in the 1960's. 

She got herself out of bed, took the startled man into the kitchen, and went about making him pancakes, all the while telling him about how much God loved him, and how Jesus had died for him. He was either so shocked she was not afraid of him--or actually hungry--that he went ahead and ate the pancakes. She bid him good-bye and he left without any money.

Over the years, she told her friends and relatives about how she had fixed pancakes for the robber, and how she never knew what became of him.  What a surprise when a story appeared in Reader's Digest about a man whose life had been turned around when a humble woman he was trying to rob had made him pancakes instead!  He said he had no way to thank her for sharing the Lord with him.

The rest of the story is that Auntie Grace had two adult men who rented rooms from her, also in the house that night.  If she had called out to them, they might have helped her fight off the robber, had she chosen to use human strength to fight him. Instead, she took her own inventory and turned to God for help in her childlike faith.

Obviously, there are times when God wants us to use the human strength and resources that are available to defend ourselves, but for that night, God used Grace's compassion and pancakes.

What are your resources?  Recognize what God has given you to use today.

"How much food do you have?" he asked. "Go and find out."

Mark 6:38

When you need perspective

Just because you aren't in jail for your faith, you may not think your suffering has much meaning in the grand scheme. When we're suffering, our focus gets pretty narrow, and perspective goes out the window. No matter what the cause of your suffering is, other people are watching how you handle your daily struggles.


My mother has endured at least eight hip replacement and/or restorative surgeries on one of her hips, due to the incompetence and cruelty of a physical therapist who ordered her to exert too much pressure on that fragile hip immediately after the original operation was performed. The exertion caused her hip and joint to break, which could never be completly returned to the condition God had designed for a hip. Subsequent repairs and replacement surgeries have gone wrong, become infected, become dislocated, and have generally been agony for her.


I truly doubt she would label this suffering in the name of Christ, and yet throughout it she has been a faithful prayer warrior for the Lord to her family, for the country, and for the church in its many extensions around the world. She has served as an ambassador and inspiration to her doctors and hospital staff where she has stayed.


Yet, when Satan wants to attack her, he makes her feel that she is not able to do enough for the Lord, because of the limitations required of her because of this same hip.


I stand in awe of my mother and the example of prayer warrior.  She reminds me of the spiritual battle described in Ephesians 6:12,13: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand." She may not run any marathons, but she stands her ground and fights in the spirit with her prayers.


To you, my dear mother, and to you, my dear reader:

You have no idea how many people are going to be inspired by your strength, or what God does for you during your hard times. You are representing Christ through your reactions, your patience, and your life, so look for the comfort God promises to you.  Ask him to open your eyes to see his comfort being showered on you as you suffer for him. And may he open your eyes to see his face as he fills you with his grace.


You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:5

When you think there is no plan

This past week was a tough one, and I let myself fall into the slime far more than was fun. How wonderful to feel God's restoration every time I remembered to turn back to his word, or heard encouragement from a friend.

You may be looking at chaos in your own life, and you may not see a plan at work right now--or at least not one you like. Our hearts long to make sense out of the disorder in our lives, for life to be fair and right.  In spite of everything, life is frequently messy and unfair, no matter how hard we try to control it.

But our God does have a plan, and no matter how things look at the moment, this is a part of the larger picture.

In 1931, my grandfather, Clifford Clinton, had a wife and three young children. He had just been fired from his own father's business by two men who should have had no right to fire him. Clifford had a vision, however. He felt called to run a cafeteria based on the principles of the Golden Rule. He also believed he could honor God by feeding people in need and running an honest business.

Clifford spent many years of his childhood seeing starvation in China, in the beginning of the twentieth century, and he was never the same. He resolved to fight it any way he could, including through his business. But here he was, in the height of the Depression, surrounded by hungry and unemployed people.

His policy was never to turn away a customer who could not pay for a meal. He trusted that God would somehow provide for him and his employees.

My grandfather later wrote letters, remembering those hard times, which our family has kept. As I read them, he talked about turning to God for direction, and seeing God's hand at work to bring in supplies at reduced cost, and miraculous provisions to keep his business running.  One of his early customers was a bankruptcy judge who told him he'd expected to see him within the first year!

While Clifford did not make any cash profit in his early years, he was able to keep his doors open, pay his employees, and provide four million meals for people who could not pay.

Remember Who holds your future, and Who guides your plan, no matter how today looks.

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

Jeremiah 29:11

Stop the gift that keeps giving

I had a phone call a few weeks ago from a good friend. The call reminded me of a powerful conversation we had maybe five or six years ago that might encourage someone else, so I'll share the essence of it here.

Guilt was ransacking her life. She had been raised in a family that used guilt as a motivator. Lots of families do this, because it works so well. Parents use it because their parents used it on them. The problem is, Guilt is the Gift that Keeps on Giving.  It can last a lifetime, and not for good. As a family therapist, I've seen lots of guilt's effects through the years.

My friend was making terrible choices about her friends, her job, and how she was letting people treat her in general, all because she thought she needed to be punished for all of the wrong things she decided she had done in her life.  She kept asking God for forgiveness, but she never felt forgiven.

I asked her, "Do you believe Jesus died for you?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"OK," I said. "Do you believe his death was enough to get you forgiveness?"

"Well, sure, but...I just don't feel it." At least she was honest.

"So," I said,"you're saying that your standards are higher than God's standards?" I was praying for real guidance to help her get free of this terrible burden. She's very smart--so logic seemed like a starting point to get past her emotions.

"Well of course not," she said. "I know it's just a feeling. But I still feel guilty, and it won't go away."

God gave me an idea. "Okay, how about if you stop asking him to forgive you, and start thanking him for the forgiveness you already have? Every time you feel guilty, thank him until you start to believe what he has done for you."  In spiritual warfare, praise and thanksgiving are powerful weapons against the evil one. Why not use them here, with false, self-induced guilt?

She agreed to try it.  I didn't see her until about a month later.  When I did, her face was transformed, she was glowing with a freedom she had never shown before. She told me her life was turned around by the reality of what Christ had done for her. She now lived it daily when guilt tried to nip at her heels.

And for more of the story: my friend made many good, tough, longterm decisions. She's come a very long way in her journey with God, and I've had the honor to watch from the sidelines as he works in her life. As she has in mine.

How about you? Are you carrying guilt from family shame?  Are you trying to live up to standards that are higher than God's? Realize false guilt for what it is, and start thanking God for the forgiveness he has already given you through Jesus' death on the cross. It is enough.

Thank you, Lord, for providing for me though your Son. Because you are worthy, you have made me worthy. Praise your Name!

God presented Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood.

Romans 3:25

Don't give up

Last week, my program gave us four quizzes, and next week brings two midterms and another quiz. These are stressful times.  A new career depends on passing these classes.  Pressure. 

You have pressures in your life, just as large for you as mine are to me. I recently re-read  something I wrote several years ago that helps put the quizzes into perspective. Skip to the last paragraph if you don't have the time to read it all.


God rescued me from the grave, and now my life is filled with light. Job 33:28

I have been there. I know what the darkness of despair feels like, so when I talk about being filled with the light of God, I'm not a chirpy Pollyanna who never had a problem. Hang on, dear one, because God has a plan for you, and the plan is for good.

God reached into the grave and pulled me out, more than once. Perhaps the most dramatic was when I drove a babysitter home late one night. On the way back from walking her to the front door, a large man jumped out of the darkness and held a knife to my throat, trapping me in the wedge of my open car door. I could feel the metal blade. I looked into his eyes, and they were filled with hate.  He said something. Years later, the exact words came echoing back in my ears. The essence was that he had caught me, and he could do whatever he wanted to me.

I knew there was no one on earth who could help me, and it was completely instinct in me that called out loud, "Jesus."

In a second, the man's face changed: his eyes became confused, as if I'd struck him in the head. He looked into my car, grabbed my purse, and ran off. This was a time before cell phones, so I ran up into the babysitter's apartment and called the police. They wouldn't even take an incident report, because the crime rate in that area was so high, and I couldn't identify the man.

My rational mind knew that he was not in my car, but I couldn't think straight. All the way home I was certain that somehow he was still in the car, or following me. Not until I was in my own house did the nightmare remotely seem over.

Yes, the Lord delivered me that night, and I still praise him for the deliverance. But God allowed me to have enough of that horror to know what it is to drive home alone in the station wagon, knowing that my robber now had my wallet and he knew where my family--my little daughters--lived.

I would still awaken in the middle of other nights in a cold sweat, re-living the terror of being absolutely without power in the presence of another person who wanted to do me harm. It took a long time to recover, and I still over-react if I'm startled (my husband has learned I don't mean to gasp if I don't hear him coming up from behind me--some things are burned too deeply into PTSD brains).  Because of that experience, I was able to work for 20 years in the field of Post-Traumatic Stress and Sexual Trauma recovery. God was able to take my experience and multiply it to help others. 2 Corinthians 1:4"Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

And I can tell you truly that the light is much more dazzling after you have been without it; hope is the sweetest when you thought you'd never taste it again. There were times when I didn't think I could keep on going, days of defeat and interrupted nights. 

I pray God will send you a glimmer of the good to come this very day.  In the meantime, hold on until there are more of them. They will come. God has promised them, and he can be trusted.