Category: spiritual lessons

Waiting, for More?

“but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:31, ESV

This is a well worn scripture, and it gets much attention from commentators.  This is good.  But there are certain things that still go unnoticed.  These will prove themselves as critical, especially as we press into an understanding.

It starts with understanding the Hebrew word “kawvah.” We   translate this into English as “waiting” or “hoping.”  Certainly that is quite reasonable.  But this Hebrew word has a definite complexity which we really must look at.  “Kawvah” literally means “to bind together by twisting.”

It carries with an idea of binding.  This alone carries out the concept of connecting and uniting.  It strongly suggests a unity and securing.  It most certainly stresses a deep sense of intervening into things beyond us.

When you bind something, it is like ‘handcuffing” someone to another.  This is an attachment, which can’t be broken.  Where one goes, the other must follow.  But there is an idea of being pliable.  And soft, and tractable, and quite reasonable considering.

This idea, “to bind together by twisting,” intrigues me.  It is a lot like a rope, and the strands weave.  Two strands aren’t enough.  But three strands woven together starts the idea of a rope. Your effort to combine these different strands will make things quite amazing.

What is it like, to be intertwined with the Holy Spirit?  We wrap into Him, and He follows suit.  We get connected with Him, and we start to realize we have become completely different people.  Twisting and winding, we incorporate us into the Father.  We wait. And twist. And then blend right into this special place.

There is a certain softness we absolutely must enter into.  A certain flexibility.  We wind into Him, and we come to a point of not really knowing, where we are and were He begins.  And that is a wonderous place to be.

“Waiting” on Him brings us strength.  Isaiah anticipates the deep need of people.  We are only strengthened when we decide to “wait” on Him.  And remember dear one, to wait means we are now woven into Him.  And that changes everything.

Happy Thanksgiving to You!

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,
3 And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.

Psalm 107:1-3, NKJV

 

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Understanding Bread

I have learned a lot about my Christian walk in the last few years.  Most of it has been gathered from ordinary life experiences.  Like working on a farm, hanging wallpaper, driving too fast in a cornfield (!).  If I set long enough I can list 100 more, each with a lesson or two.

Been thinking about baking bread though.  The flour, and water, and yeast are combined and mixed (kneaded).  It takes some patience and timing.  Experience is really helpful.  My Great-grandma made the best bread in Northern Wisconsin.  (As a little kid, I got a slice of bread soaked in cow’s milk for a tasty snack.)

After I grew up, got married and moved to my cabin in Alaska.  I decided I would show off my bread-making prowess to my young wife.  I floured the table and set myself to making “Grandma’s bread”.  I was going to be the star, hotshot baker!

As I worked the dough something just didn’t feel right.  I surmised that I didn’t have enough flour–it just wouldn’t come together.  I kneaded the dough for quite sometime, while I racked my brain trying to fix the out-of-control mess on the table.  I was getting embarrassed.  It was taking far too long, and the texture was all wrong.

I was getting very irritated at this growing mess. It was then my brave wife graciously pointed out that perhaps it was because I was not using white flour like I thought, but powdered sugar!  See, we had just moved in, and she had been wanting to label the canisters but hadn’t got around to it.

I took the lump outside and buried it in the yard.  It’s been over 20 years but I’ve been told that grass still doesn’t grow there!  The funny thing was I thought I was making bread, but I guess what I really was making was humility. (I keep having to learn this).

When you make bread, you need clean ingredients; pure flour and good water.  If you just came in from the barn you should wash your hands–throughly.  Whatever you mix in, stays in.  (My mom would get a little crazy and throw in raisins or nuts, which I hated.)

You do not sweep the floor and add it to dough, nor do you add chalk or anything that may look like flour.  In the same way, you and I make spiritual bread.  It  takes experience and good and wholesome ingredients.  It takes patience.  You can’t accelerate the process of baking bread.

I hope you can see my point.  We try to mix up a fresh batch of our discipleship everyday. The table is our hearts–it must be clean.  We add the flour and the yeast.  We only use clean water, purity must be maintained.

I’ve been struggling with some things in my discipleship.  I haven’t been too picky about many things.  Purity of heart and mind are areas of compromise.  As a result, I have not been pleased with the outcome.  I am embarrassed by the quality of what I serve up to my guests.

I believe there is nothing as tasty and fresh bread from the oven, served up with homemade jam!  Man, that is good.  Maybe, I’ll make up some bread.

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Depression and Diabetes

DepressionCaseStudy_clip_image001For some reason lately I’ve been thinking about the similarities between diabetes and depression. I know that depression can be one of the complications of diabetes, but that is something I learned only when I did a little research about diabetes and isn’t what I want to share about these two diseases.

I do not have diabetes, but I do know people who do. Diabetes is a disease for which there is no “cure,” though there are treatments that can minimize the symptoms and complications that can arise from this disease. Some people with diabetes do a great job of taking such good care of themselves and following their doctor’s orders that they are virtually symptom free. You would never know they had diabetes unless they told you. I’ve known other diabetics who don’t follow doctor’s orders, and the outcome was terrible.

Dealing with diabetes is not an easy road. For people with Type 2 diabetes, a strict diet and exercise are a must, and monitoring blood sugar levels is essential. For people with Type 1 diabetes, insulin injections are also necessary because their bodies do not produce any of this necessary hormone. It is a lifelong affliction, the potential effects of which can be minimized but never forgotten or ignored.

I believe that for some people depression is similar to diabetes in that it is never cured. These people are prone to depression, and may have suffered through one or more episodes of major depression in their lives. From a statistical standpoint, a person who has had more than two major depressive episodes is highly likely to have another in their lifetime. But it isn’t inevitable that they will. Just as the symptoms of diabetes can be prevented or minimized with careful management, so the symptoms of depression can be prevented or minimized with proper care.

Caveat: I am not a doctor and this post is not intended as medical advice. It simply an observation that has been on my mind lately and is helpful for me in understanding my own challenges to keep depression at bay.

There are some people who, like the person with Type 1 diabetes, need medication to help keep them stable and to prevent major depression from setting in. (Though this may be a small percentage, just as Type 1 diabetes is much rarer than Type 2.)  But everyone who struggles with depression can help prevent or minimize the effects of a relapse by taking steps to truly care of themselves. Diet and exercise can be part of this self-care, but for the person who lives with the knowledge of depression there is a mental and spiritual component of their self-care that goes beyond what is required of the diabetic.

Many years ago the doctor I was seeing told me I would be on antidepressants for the rest of my life. Having now been off them for 13 years and not suffered another major depressive episode in all that time, I think I can safely say she was wrong. But in the last few years I have come to understand that I am one of those people who cannot take for granted that depression is strictly a part of my past. It is forever a part of who I am and I must never forget the misery it has caused me and could cause me again if I do not take care of my mental and spiritual health.

For me, warding off a relapse of depression requires that I choose to engage in regular prayer time; to listen to music that is encouraging and uplifting, and avoid music that is depressing; to talk to a Christian friend if something is bothering me; to take a periodic inventory of my own actions and attitudes, and correct any that are negative; and to trust in the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts, putting on the whole armor of God. When I do these things, I can live in such a way that others would never know that depression is a part of my life. But if I neglect these things for too long, I will soon detect the specter of depression looming in my heart and in my mind, and the outcome will be terrible.

Just as the diabetic can never forget that they have diabetes and neglect their diet and health regimen, I can never forget that depression is ever a part of me and neglect my mental and spiritual regimen. I must be ever vigilant and cling to Jesus as my Rock, trusting in His promises, and following His commands and precepts to love, forgive, and be content.

 

ysic, Linda K.

 

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