Sage Words

Posted By Paula Wiseman on March 11, 2010

I get to lead a Bible study group and we’ve been doing a leisurely study of the Psalms. Yesterday morning, we came to Psalm 88. Now, I have one of my characters say, “There’s always hope at the end of a psalm.” That’s not the case with this one. The writer pours out his heart- he’s sick, abandoned by family and friends, ignored by God, miserable in soul and spirit, and despairing of life itself. And that’s it. There’s no rousing ‘but God is my refuge’ ending. In fact, the last word is ‘darkness’. God never speaks. The psalmist walks away just as depressed as when he started.

But there is hope and comfort in that psalm. Here are some things I took away from it.

It is not uncommon to feel this kind of anguish. And that longing for God to hear, to intervene, is a sign of genuine faith. You won’t long for a God you don’t trust in.

There are times when prayer is like that. We leave our knees with no answer, no resolution. Sometimes, we get sweet peace and relief as quickly the words leave our hearts… and sometimes we don’t.  In both situations, God is still God. He still loves us and still hears us. He doesn’t have to explain Himself to us though. He is GOD.

Then sometimes, I think God doesn’t answer because our judgment is so messed up we wouldn’t listen anyway. Maybe the psalmist was wrong about being abandoned and ignored. Maybe God’s answer was something like “You’re upset. I can’t talk to you when you’re like this. Calm down. Get some rest, and then we’ll talk.”

God is always at work. He will never leave leave us or forsake us. He’ll never abandon us or leave us to fend for ourselves. Regardless of our circumstances, our feelings, or our thoughts.

Category: Devotional | 1 Comment »
Tags: hope, Psalms

Posted By Paula Wiseman on March 10, 2010

We’ve examined several reasons for studying Scripture. By far, the most significant reasons is what we learn about God from His word.

In Psalm 36, verses 5-6 outline a few of God’s attributes.

• Mercy vast as the heavens
• Faithfulness beyond the clouds
• Righteousness like mountains
• Justice deep as the sea

All of these are poetic images used to convey the idea that God is limitless. He is infinite. That’s one of the simplest ways to distinguish God from the rest of us. I am constantly aware of my limitations. I get tired, irritated. I fail in my dealings with others, withholding mercy at times, crossing a line from justice to vindictiveness on other occasions. I know my righteousness doesn’t measure up to a dirt clod, much less a mountain.

Thankfully, the psalm goes one more step and includes God’s precious unfailing love, and as an outworking of that He offers shelter and provides for us, satisfying the deep longings of our souls.

Sometimes, in my quest for intimacy with God, I lose sight of His uniqueness, His God-ness, of everything that makes Him God alone. It’s good to be reminded regularly, because it is in recognizing that separate-ness of God that I begin to grasp how wondrous, how beyond description, His desire for a relationship with me truly is.

[This is an updated repost. And I'm a day late besides. I sent a query to a publisher and he asked to see the full manuscript, so I've been preparing it. Thanks for understanding!]

Category: Study Tip Tuesday | 1 Comment »
Tags: Bible study, Psalms

Posted By Paula Wiseman on March 8, 2010

Last night, our pastor preached from Matthew 14, where Jesus walks on the water out to the boat full of disciples in the middle of a storm. It’s one of my favorite stories. Four of those twelve guys were fishermen and had no doubt seen their share of storms on the Sea of Galilee. The other eight, however, were complete landlubbers and probably didn’t even know how to swim. Now imagine being terrified, seasick, cold and wet. It’s somewhere between three and six o’clock in the morning, you see a … man (?) Jesus (?) walking (?) out to you. Then he says something completely crazy. “Be of good cheer! I AM; do not be afraid.” Yeah right. Be of good cheer? If the disciples weren’t so miserable they would’ve caught what Jesus said to them – I AM. In English, it gets translated,”It is I”, but in the original, Jesus says the same words God said to Moses. This was HUGE. I AM [JEHOVAH].

Then Peter does the unthinkable. “Lord, if that’s really You, call me out there on the water with You.” And Jesus did. Then Peter did. Imagine sitting in that boat, listening to this exchange. Peter wants to go OUT of the boat. We’re about to drown IN the boat. Why would he want OUT?

Because Peter got it. There’s a storm. It’s beyond what I can handle. My own ideas of what’s safe and secure (the boat)are failing me. I want to be where Jesus is. It’s calm where Jesus is. That’s where peace and safety is. I’m not gonna wait for Him to come to my boat. I’m going to Him.

And Peter walked on water. Sure, he sank after a little bit, and Jesus had to grab him, but what about the nameless guys in the boat? What about the “they”, and “them” who sat and watched it all? They all worshipped Jesus when He got in the boat, but Peter worshipped Him before that. Jesus didn’t have to calm the storm before Peter knew Jesus was God.

So many times, I’m a “they” hiding out in the back of the boat, trying to handle things the best way I know how, never admitting that my boat is taking on water. Jesus has already said, “I’m here.” How much longer am I gonna stay cold and wet, tired and scared, before I realize I need to be where Jesus is? How long before I get out of the boat?

Category: Living | 1 Comment »
Tags: Matthew, Peter

Posted By Paula Wiseman on March 5, 2010

Writing this week: I made all the adjustments and corrections to Contingency and just completed what I hope I the last read-through. Proofreading. I hate it. Probably because I’m not very good at it. Part of the problem is I know what it’s supposed to say, so that’s how my brain reads it- with a built-in auto-correct. I don’t catch my mistakes.

Writing this week: I made all the adjustments and corrections to Contingency and just completed what I hope I the last read-through. Proofreading. I hate it. Probably because I’m not very good at it. Part of the problem is I know what it’s supposed to say, so that’s how my brain reads it- with a built-in auto-correct. I don’t catch my mistakes.

The reader doesn’t have that advantage of reading my mind. (Except Amanda- She’s worked with me on this for so long, she reads what I ‘meant’ not what I typed.) To all of you who have read for me in these early stages, I can’t thank you enough for helping me out. You assured me that the ideas were coming across, that the emotions were being touched and connections were being made.

My plan is to submit it all on Monday. (The 8th. It’s a good day- divisible by 4. Yeah- it’s my biggest superstition. Born on 8-24, married on 4-4… The manuscript is 428 pages… Monk has 10. I have 4.)

Reading: Finished Doubting by Alister McGrath. Quick easy read, but some profound statements and observations. I need to go back through it and soak it in a little more. I also read Jacob Have I Loved for school.

No nerd stuff this week. Jon has a plan to scan ALL (yes, ALL) his mother’s family photos so we’ll have a digital record of everything. He got a kickin’ hi-res scanner to do the job. I’ll let you know how that progresses.

Other lessons: God IS there. He DOES listen. I knew that anyway, but I LOVE it when He shows Himself.

The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9

PS: My mother got home from the hospital yesterday evening. Amazing.

Category: Friday Update | 1 Comment »
Tags: 2 Chronicles, Alister McGrath, Contingency, proofreading

Posted By Paula Wiseman on March 4, 2010

If you had been with us Friday evening, standing in this spot, you would have been looking at the back end of our car after it slid off the road. The car came to rest at a 60 degree angle with all five of us (and the dog) in it. God worked a series of miracles for us that evening, not because we are extra special, but because He has a purpose in them. When Jesus performed miracles in the Gospels, it was always to underscore His deity and power over the natural world.

God showed His power over physics Friday night in several ways. Our car should have flipped on over. (Jon even felt the driver’s side wheels leave the ground.) It didn’t. We had cell phone service- four bars! Jon’s brother, Steve, came to help rescue us. The big diesel truck that stopped to check on us quit sliding before it bumped into our precariously perched vehicle. (We didn’t stop sliding. He did. Hmmm.) The car didn’t flip over when the tow truck pulled it out. There was not a scratch on it. We even had the extra money to pay the tow truck driver.

So what was the purpose in all that? Hard to say at this point. However, my kids all understand that it means something to ask God for protection when we travel. It’s not just a silly routine to pray before we leave our driveway. It reminded me that God is there, in every situation. What could have been a devastating wreck was only mildly annoying. Even my little laptop was safe. (I had just finished the latest round of edits on Contingency. I’m almost ready to submit it. And the computer was on the downhill side. If the car had flipped, all the luggage would have landed on it.)

All safe. All sound. God is good.

In last Friday’s post, I mentioned that it had begun ‘raining’ as my mom was rushed to the ER. She’s out of ICU now, but each test result gives us additional issue to deal with- pulmonary edema, bilateral pneumonia, congestive heart failure, gastritis, colitis and on and on. A heart cath yesterday revealed two additional blockages. (She had triple bypass surgery a year ago.) Yesterday afternoon, they found an abdominal aoritic aneurysm.

I still trust God’s goodness. Especially when it rains.

Category: Living | 2 Comments »
Tags: Contingency, miracles, Mom, Traveling