The Lord Gives and Takes: Job

   When looking at the Bible many people were tested. However, there was one person who was tested to the extreme measure: Job.

   In Job 1 we find out that Job was very rich and followed God. By all accounts Job was what we would consider by today’s standards, a good person. He cared for his servants, possessions, family, and God. Then one day disaster struck: one servant after another came to tell Job bad news. In the end it turned out that Job’s oxen, donkeys, sheep, servants, camels, and children were all taken or dead.

   Could you imagine if all of your possessions were taken from you in one fell swoop? That’s exactly what happened to Job. He had all of his possessions taken. He had his children taken. Many of us would have yelled at God and asked him why this happened. Job said “the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job.1.21).

   Job recognized something that many of us have a hard time understanding. God has given us everything we have. You may say, “well I worked for my money and used it to buy everything I have.” Who gave you your job? Who gave you the talents you have to get that job? That’s right, God gave you those things.

   These days we are going through are not easy. But rather than look at what we lost maybe we need to be like Job? Job lost everything that we consider important on the earth except for his spouse. And, he didn’t even know why it happened! Job had extreme faith in God. He trusted that God was still working for good. He gave thanks to God even in his difficult circumstance.

   1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” We are to give thanks in all circumstances. That means when we are offered a job promotion we give thanks. When we lose our job we are to give thanks. When things don't go the way we planned we are to give thanks. When a family member or friend is diagnosed with a serious illness we are to give thanks. We don’t just give thanks in the good, we give thanks in the bad too. We do that because we trust that God has a plan, even if we don’t know what that plan is.

   I encourage you to think about what you lost and what you still have. Think about what God has blessed you with over the years. Thank him for all he has done, is doing, and will do in your life.

   Image from here.

Faith in the Unknown: Noah

   There are many people who have gone through hard times in history. In the Bible, in particular, there are people who had to go through things that required lots of faith. Noah was one of these people.

   In Genesis 6-9 we find the story of Noah. There was wickedness all over the earth. God looked on the earth and saw that evil was all that the people on earth thought about all the time. Could you imagine everyone only thinking evil all the time? Well, that’s the world Noah was living in. He was fighting a spiritual battle by himself. Actually, not by himself, he had God on his side. God saw that and asked Noah to do something that had never been done before.

   You know the rest of the story. Noah built the ark, had 2 of every kind of animal on the ark, stayed on the ark for many days during the flood, and when he got off the ark he built an alter to God. Noah was asked to; in essence, spend many years doing the impossible. He obeyed God in every instruction; and, because of that, he and his family were spared.

   Like Noah, we may feel we are facing an impossible situation right now. The virus is changing our society very quickly. Many stores are closed and many are out of work. We are being asked to stay home so we don’t spread the virus. We don’t know how long it will be this way. Like Noah, we have many unknowns at this point.

   But, from Noah’s story we can see that God does have a plan. We may not know that plan at this point but we know that God works everything for good for those who love him. Romans 8:28 says: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” It is hard to be living this way right now. Many people are unsure of what to expect next as each day brings new challenges.

   I encourage you to remember Noah’s story. Remember how Noah was asked to do something never done before. Remember how in faith he obeyed all of God’s commands. Remember how God works for good for those who love him.

   Image from here.

Power of Perspective: St. Patrick's Day

   Okay ya’ll, it is getting crazy out there. People are all freaked out about the virus. Many states are in lockdown of some sort. Grocery stores are rushing to keep up with supply and demand of items. And, worst of all, there is a toilet paper crisis! Alright, that last one seems a little ridiculous but it is still a fact that paper products are becoming endangered species in America. To top it all off people are panicking for multiple reasons. Many people don’t have jobs right now, there is a national state of emergency, people are sick, and people are dying.

   With all of that going on it may be difficult to remember that today is St. Patrick’s Day. When one thinks of St. Patrick’s Day they probably think of green, leprechauns, clovers, and luck. About now, I’m pretty sure many of us are not feeling too lucky. In fact, we may be feeling unlucky. But, I think our perspective needs to change.

   You may be saying, “what does my perspective have to do with anything?” I’m glad you asked. Rather than focusing on all the things we don’t have we should focus on what we still do have. Do you have shelter? Do you have food? Do you have electricity? Do you have family, friends, health, love, etc.? If you have any of these consider yourself lucky. Actually, strike that, consider yourself blessed. Some people may not have those things. Those are the people we need to help spread our blessings to and we need to pray for them.

   God promised his people many things. His chosen people started with Abraham. Abraham was promised 3 things: land, seed, and blessing. He was told that God would bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him (Gen.12.3). God kept his promise and blessed his people.

   God gives us blessings too, just as he blessed his people. James 1:17 says: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” God has given you everything you own. He gives and takes away. We don’t always know why God takes certain things away but he has a plan for our lives. He doesn’t change. He still wants good for us.

   So yes, it seems like many of us are unlucky because we don’t have jobs, are on lockdown, are running out of food, are sick, or dying; but, God gave us all of the things we have in the first place. He gave us blessings that we have. We are to share those blessings with others, even in hard times. I think we need to focus on banding together to make it through whatever is going on right now. We need to care about others, pray, and trust God.

   Image from here.

How Are You?

   A typical greeting that my friends give me is "hi." Then I cringe inside a little because I know what their next question is probably going to be: "how are you?" Now, that's not normally a question people would cringe to. I didn't used to cringe at it either. Then I thought about the question and how people usually answer. That's what makes me cringe.
   Normally, when asked that question, people answer with "fine, good, alright, etc." Those answers are okay, if they are the truth. But, many times when you are asked that question do you answer honestly? I'm not saying you need to pour out all of your problems to a stranger or even a good friend; but if you don't answer honestly then you are not being real with others. You know how people say that Christians seem holier than thou or perfect? Well, this might be one of the reasons why. We are not truthful with others.
   Like I said, I'm not saying you need to say everything bad that's going on with you. But, if you answer that question by saying, "I'm not doing too well." That then strikes up a conversation. That person then gets to see a bit of you they may not have seen before.
   I'm not saying that we need to be pessimistic when we answer this question; and we don't need to tell our life story. What we can do is be real and lift up God at the same time. We can say, "I'm not doing too well but I know God's at work. Here's how I see him working..."
   That's not the only reason why I don't like this question. I also don't like asking it because I know I'm probably not going to get a real answer. I'm a coach and a teacher. I enjoy lifting others up if I can. I work with High Schoolers when I coach. High Schoolers have many problems and their answer to this question can change from hour to hour. I tell all of my players that when I ask this question that I expect a real answer. I'm there to help them grow in soccer as well as life. I want to build relationships with them because I remember how hard that time of life can be.
   I ask my players: "how are you, really?" I'm fairly good at reading people and if I can tell a player may not be telling the truth then I say: "are you really doing alright?" That's when I usually get the truthful answer. Then I try to help that player if I can.
   See, people need to know you care before they care to let you know. If you ask that question then move on, it seems like you don't care. Jesus told us the greatest commandment is to love God; and the second is like it: love others. If we are not willing to stop for 5 minutes and show someone we care then we are not doing what Jesus commanded us to do. People may not open up to you right away but if you keep showing you care they may eventually. Then we will be following Galatians 6:2 "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." We are called to encourage one another and love others.
   So, when someone asks you: "how are you?" Will you answer honestly? When you ask someone "how are you?" Will you actually care about the answer and help if you can? What can you do to show someone you care today?

   Philippians 2:4, 1 John 3:17-18, John 13:34-35

   Image from here.

The Blessings of Memories

   Wednesday, March 4th was rough this week. It wasn’t rough because we had a birthday snack that we gave to fourteen 4-5 year olds (yeah, lots of clean up and children with crazy energy after that). It wasn’t rough because I was beginning to plan for soccer next week. It was rough because a ghost haunted me. Correction, a memory haunted me. Some memories are really great: winning a game, a promotion, or getting something you worked really hard for. Others are not so great. This past Wednesday marked 1 year since my dog died.

   You know, you try to do many things to put a balm over the scars of some memories. You may try to bury it deep so you won’t remember. You may try to think of the good times you had with that thing or person. Or, you may try to move on and do good things in memory of that thing or person. I’ve tried all of these things when it comes to the memory of my dog.

   There’s a problem with trying to do all these things: they normally don’t work. I can still remember the look on his face as I called him to come to me but he couldn’t. I can remember giving him CPR to try to keep him alive. I can remember when he breathed his last breath. It still hurts. I still miss him. And, it will probably always hurt. I will probably always miss him.

   This week I was reminded about something else too. I was reminded that yes, that day I lost my dog hurt; but, I was also reminded that I had a lot of good times with my dog too. See, this week at school we were celebrating Dr. Seuss. We did a lot of fun activities like painting Lorax trees, reading Dr. Seuss books, and making Oobleck. I also look for a motivational quote for the teachers each week. This week’s quote was by Dr. Seuss. Seuss says: “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.”

   I mulled that quote around a lot in my mind this week. Each day I make a lot of memories. Some are more memorable than others, but I still have many memories. I have a lot of memories with my dog. Some, many people would consider good. Others, many people would consider bad. However, if this experience has taught me one thing it is that, sometimes, memories are neither good nor bad. We like to label things a lot: I had a really good day, that was a really bad burger, and so on. Maybe, instead of labeling things so much, we should just be thankful for the days we are given. Maybe we should be thankful for the memories we have. If you can remember things, it means you still have the capacity to remember things. If you cannot remember things but you are still here, it means that God has given you the gift of another day.

   We are given so many gifts. God gives us so many blessings. I think, at times, we focus too much on the negative and not the positive. We focus on the things we label bad and not the good things going on around us.

   Today, I encourage you to focus on the blessings God has given you. If you cannot do that, or if you have too many bad things happen, I want you to think about how God can use those things for good. If you are hurting over the loss of something or someone, I encourage you to remember all the memories. Remember the good and bad times. Be thankful for the blessed time you were given with that thing or person.

   Matthew 11:28, Isaiah 41:10, and 1 Thessalonians 5:18

   Image from here.