Settling Into Our Friendship Home

A flock of birds flying in the air, against a background of a tall building and a power line.
Proverbs 27:8 (ESV)—Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.

Sunset, in Denver, Colorado, shadows streaked across the sky, a flock of birds dancing as one while twenty or more lined up on a power line in the distance. Their back-and-forth dance, a choreographed masterpiece, lasted about five minutes. My feathered friends then, all at once, as if they’d heard a signal, shot down from the sky and into the trees lining the sidewalk, and a symphony of birdsong exploded into the air.

A sight to behold, for sure, and a reminder of God’s design for seeking wisdom in friendship. When we flock together and seek heartfelt, biblical wisdom from one another, our friendships become a restful “home” and a safe, secure place for our relationships to grow and thrive.

With our friendship homes, we don’t need to stray to find our heart’s desires; instead, we settle into the firm foundation of God with a community of believers. We pray for, gently guide, serve, and confide in one another. Most important, we love one another, settling into the tree and creating a symphony of friendship that puts our soul at ease.

Waiting for God’s Answers

To stand watch on the ramparts is to commit oneself to the protection of others.

Habakkuk stood on the ramparts to await God’s answers to difficult questions. Questions such as “Why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?” (Habakkuk 1:13, ESV). He asked these questions to seek answers for the Israelites about their delivery from slavery.

Like Habakkuk, we can stand on the rampart to wait for God’s answers to the difficult questions we want to write about. Our commitment to seeking answers from God can lead to stronger writing with clear explanations for others seeking the same answers.

Before we write, let’s ask God our difficult questions and wait on the rampart for his answers.

Habakkuk 2:1 (ESV)—I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

Fixing God in the Foreground

A highlander cow standing in a grassy field
Proverbs 16:1 (ESV)—The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

A caption caught my attention while I browsed photos telling stories of Frank Lloyd Wright. The simple landscape photo, part of an exhibit in the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin, showed a field with cows in the foreground. According to the caption, Wright pointed out to the landowner that the cows in the foreground made the view of the grassy field better.

The same can be said when we fix God in our foreground. The plans of our heart transform from a flat view of a grassy field to a field with a clear focal point. The next steps of God’s plan for us become more evident.

Before we take our next steps, let us seek the Lord’s wisdom. When we seek his wisdom, we can hear his voice and discern his purpose. Then we can move forward with God in the foreground to guide us.

Finding Refuge

Psalm 25:20 (ESV)—Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

I admit, I love a good airfare deal. The question becomes, do I pay the price as is or do I upgrade? Do I suffer the one-in-the-morning landing time with eight-hour layover or pay more for the arrive-at-a-decent-hour nonstop flight? Do I settle for the economy seat and hope for the best comfort possible or shell out the money for the extra-legroom-included seat?

Such questions tempt us to look to the value of creature comforts, a right-now solution with no guarantees of our future comfort. When this “promise” of comfort comes from Satan, he tempts us away from the best deal in life we’ll ever receive: obedience in exchange for God’s refuge.

Our obedience to God reveals value greater than creature comforts: protection from shame, God’s forgiveness and mercy, freedom from anguish, and God’s instruction.

As we strive for obedience, let us evaluate the value of our choice and ask if it offers God’s refuge.

Sharing Our Story

Your story, in print, for anyone to read. How does this make you feel? Intimidated? Uncomfortable? Like hiding under a blanket and never coming out?

When writing for God, we don’t have to fear sharing our story. Why? Because God can use our story as a lesson for future generations, providing a glimpse of his glory through our writing.

Isaiah 30:8 (ESV)—And now, go, write it before them on a tablet and inscribe it in a book, that it may be for the time to come as a witness forever.

Helping Others Learn

My insights help others learn

It’s a big job being called to write for God, one in which we search and study the Scriptures for insight as well as read commentaries and others sources to ensure his messages shine through our words. And our hard work pays off! The wisdom we gain from our careful discernment of Scripture can be crafted into sentences that help others learn about Christianity.

Proverbs 16:21 (ESV)—The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.

Losing Our Old Self

Luke 9:24 (ESV)—For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

Headphones on a bus to the airport. iPhone on an airplane. Glasses either at a bed and breakfast or at the terminal gate. Reading light and pajama pants in a hotel room.

I am a woman who loses things while traveling.

Although I know these things have only earthly value, and I lost money when I replaced some of the items, I mourn my losses. Especially the pretty purple headphones my hubby ordered in my favorite color. Sigh.

One loss we do not have to mourn: our old self. Because, when we pick up the cross and follow Jesus, the death of our old self saves our new self. Our life in Christ gains us our eternal reward.

As we examine our life today, let’s ask ourselves, “What other loss leads to gain?”

Stewarding God’s Ministry

Beach with seashells and seaweed
Colossians 1:24-27 (NIV)—I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.

The beach teemed with people lounging under umbrellas and tents. Cooler tops were popped open and towels were draped over chair backs.

The perfect beach scene…until I looked more closely. The tide touched an abandoned plastic bottle, pulling it out to sea. A broken bottle cap played hide-and-seek in the seaweed.

Beach lover that I am, I picked up the trash. I wanted the aquatic life to live by God’s design, not live a shortened life caused by clumsy human disposal.

Like stewardship makes a more beautiful beach, our stewardship of God’s ministry on earth makes God’s word more meaningful. Our rejoicing in our God-appointed commission even during our afflictions reveals to the people around us the mystery of God, our hope of glory.

Because Christ lives in us, we do not suffer for nothing. Our suffering acts as a beacon of light for other sinners to find salvation. And when other sinners find salvation, they too, like us, live life by God’s design.

Writing in Service of God

I work with fellow writers in God's service

Last weekend, I attended She Speaks 2024 online. One big lesson I learned came not only from the many wonderful speakers but also from the attendees.

Success scares us.

My thoughts tread along a steep, rocky path of fear: If I become published, do I have to live in the spotlight of social media rather than in my cozy wallflower home? What if I botch the message I want to share? What if God calls me to reveal something deeply personal?

For these questions, I found encouragement in 1 Corinthians 3 about our work as God’s servants. First and foremost…

  1. we are all servants of God (v. 5). We belong to a community of like-minded believers, writers wanting to nurture our readers with God’s truth, a truth we can plant alone but not nurture alone. As part of God’s ministry team…
  2. we have built-in writing support (v. 6). This team supports us in our writing and we support their writing as well (through critique groups, through book launch teams, on social media, through prayer, etc.). By tending to our own stories as well as contributing to others’ writing journeys…
  3. we work together in God’s service (v. 9). Our writing offers fields of nourishment, for example, a soldier might write a book of their experiences with PTSD that provides spiritual nourishment for other soldiers. Our writing offers a shelter of understanding, for example, a blogger whom God has healed from alcoholism might build a shelter for an alcoholic seeking refuge from temptation. Our writing ministry combined with others’ expands our Kingdom reach.

When we write in fear of success, our work may stay merely a seed in the ground. And seeds that stay in the ground end up rotting. Instead, let’s call upon our fellow workers to help us build stories on the foundation of Christ. Let’s come together in his name to grow bountiful fields and to build useful buildings. Let’s turn the spotlight from us to God, whose love helps us grow through our community and uses our writing as part of his ministry.

1 Corinthians 3:9 (ESV)—For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.

Canceling on God

Job 42:2 (ESV)—“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

Cue a sad face. Our household had been struck. With the virus. The excitement of our weekend getaway dissolved like salt in hot water, the salty brine a damper on our weekend, no more so than when I hit the Cancel Reservation button for the very first time. Sigh.

Have you ever tried to hit the Cancel button on God? Cue an inward cringe, because who hasn’t been there? Hitting this button obscures the truth that God is sovereign. The message confirming the cancellation says we’re free to question, complain, and challenge God, because why else does debt rule our lives, why did our friend abandon our relationship, why did our child die in a car accident?

The answer to these questions (and more): God is sovereign. He has the power to give and take abundance. Just ask Job.

Thankfully, God also rejects our cancellation request. He fixes our broken spirit, giving us eyes of faith and lips that confess and repent. He restores our souls.