Facing Uncertainty

It has been hard to sit down and write in the blog for several weeks now. It seems that the day-to-day tasks, events and calamities keep getting in the way. I thought about writing about my daughter's allergic reactions to allergy shots (oxymoronic?) or the car engine throwing a rod one rainy midnight, 4-hours from home or taxes or my son's strep throat or the two-dozen chicks hatching in the dining room or ..., but just couldn't find the time between events.

Fortunately, none of the tasks or calamities have been overwhelming, but then that's sort of the point of the scriptural inspiration for this blog "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

When I finally got around to trying to write something I got to thinking about the great storm described in Matthew 8:23-26:

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?"

My friend and pastor in Virginia, John Kuvakis, wrote a touching and thought provoking entry in his blog on April 8th entitled "More Lessons From Mom". In it he relates what seemed like a great tragedy about his Mother breaking her leg, but which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The break was serious due to her age, but relatively minor since in x-raying her leg they found her knees were almost completely degenerated. So they were able to deal with that condition before an even greater, life threatening accident might have occurred.

Pastor Kuvakis surmised, "How many times has God spared us from far greater pain or grief by walking us through something far easier? I had to ask myself, "How many times have I complained about my circumstances when I should have been thankful for them?""

At about the same time, coincidentally on Tax Day, Dr. James McDonald of "Walk Through The Word" ministry wrote an article about this same subject. He said it just about how I was thinking about it, but wrote much better than I could. So the remainder of this entry is from Dr. James McDonald's "The Weekly Walk" message entitled "Facing Uncertainty".

So, rejoicing evermore, I'll turn it over to Dr. James McDonald.

Facing Uncertainty

by Dr. James McDonald

15 April 2008

Why didn’t somebody tell me earlier in my life that I can’t fix everything? I thought that with due diligence, everything can get resolved. If there were things up ahead that concerned me, I could just make a plan to solve them. In time, I could have it all figured out and then set the automatic “good life” pilot and let it take over.

It’s only more recently that I have grasped that life will never be “together” this side of eternity. It’s hard to accept sometimes that perfect is only for heaven.

There will always be people problems. There will always be financial challenges.

There will always be a home burden, or a crisis of some kind. Every day I live in this world, there will always be some uncertainty ringing my doorbell.

So much for my assumption that if you worked hard enough, eventually everything would be sorted out, categorized, and put neatly on the shelf. I have never gotten to that day and what’s more, I now know it’s never coming.

In Matthew 8:23–24, we land in Jesus’ life on a day that perfectly illustrates the imperfections of human existence. “When he got into the boat, His disciplines followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm.” In the original language, the two words great storm can be translated to mega and seismic. As in, And behold, there arose a mega seismic on the sea, so that the boat was consumed by the waves.

It’s worth remembering that this description comes from Matthew, one of the disciples who wasn’t a fisherman. He had the terrified layman’s perspective on this storm!

I have a few questions about that whole scene:
1. Did Jesus not check the Weather Channel? He totally knew that storm was coming yet He led them right into it. Get in the boat, boys. He knowingly took them into harm’s way.

2. Could Jesus have stopped the storm before it started? Sure He could have but He let the storm come.

3. So is it true to say that He wanted the storm? I think we could surmise that He was actually looking forward to how He was going to use the storm in the disciples’ lives.

Let’s get our theology straight. Sometimes Jesus disguises exciting opportunities for personal growth as difficult circumstances. We would choose to avoid trials at all costs, but Jesus sees the bigger picture.

The Full Armor Of God or Who Is Covering Your Backside?

I was reading an entry in my friend John Kuvakis' blog that mentioned the full armor of God described in Ephesians 6:10-18:

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For 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. 13Therefore 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. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Unfortunaly, I can't recall the exact date of his entry so you'll just have to go over to The View From My Chair blog and track it down yourself. While you are there, feel free to read some of his other entries, they are good too.

I've read this passage of scripture a few times before, but for some reason when I recently read it again it struck me that only the front side of the body is protected. I suppose the belt goes around the body or, as shown in the picture, the breastplate covers some of the back, but lets assume that the majority of the back and backside are still exposed.



I wondered why God would leave us so exposed when He knows that attacks come from all sides?


Here are some of the thoughts I had while reading and pondering this topic a little.


It is interesting (in a "I've got nothing better to do" sort of way) to think about what a warrior in battle might do if only his front was protected. One thing for sure is that he would have to take an offensive position facing the enemy and launch head-on into the battle. If he coward or retreated, then his exposed backside would be an easy target for his enemies sward blows and arrow strikes.

Now one might think that his fellow soldiers could cover his backside, but taking that thought to the extreme that would lead to the soldiers running or standing back-to-back or in a circle facing outwards with the enemy surrounding them all-around. That would seem to be a losing position to be in out in the middle of the battle field.

I suppose that is why people end up in so much trouble when we rely on ourselves or on one another without including God in our plans.

In some places I read that Greek heavy armor did not provide any protection for the back. However, there are translations of verse 14 that read "the loins are to be girt about with truth". The loins are the parts of the back on each side of the spine between the hips and the ribs. So in that case there would be protection of vital organs by the belt of truth. Even still, with some or all of the back exposed, a Greek soldier was still forced to face his enemy, and would never consider turning away from the enemy because his back was exposed.

We too should never turn our back on the enemy, we must stand and face him, but by ourselves we are no match for the full strength of the most evil of enemies. Of course we know that when we are clothed in God's armor there is no enemy that can defeat us.

So we know that God must be covering our backside in order for us to be triumphant. Fortunately, He has provided us assurance of that truth once again in His Word:

But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard. (Isaiah 52:12)

I need to go get dressed for battle now. I have this bad feeling of something lurking in the darkness, waiting for a chance to strike. Thank God for a strong rear guard!

Where Does The Time Go?

It appears that neither time nor the world stands still waiting for my next blog entry. Likewise, I've not heard of any deaths by suffocation as readers hold their breath waiting to read my next keystroke. Whew! I was worried there.

Lots has happened in the last couple of months, but all I really remember is fun, fun fun and rush, rush, rush.

We visited friends in Virginia right after Christmas and brought back 3 goats to add to our herd, 2 bucks and a doeling. They got along well with our other goats, so much so that now our Alpine and Nubian does are pregnant so hopefully we will be back in the goat cheese business in June. It's not actually a business, but I like to think of it as one so I can dream of someday making money to cover the expenses of having these pet goats. Thinking about bringing back the goats reminded me of the grueling 24 hour drive each way, ugh! We did have good family time, when we weren't sleeping, reading or watching videos.

I had some comments asking about my Mother's condition after her run-in with the stoplight pole. She just called and told me her doctor says she is doing great. Last weekend we took her shoe shopping and she was able to bend over and tie her own shoes. All-in-all she's not doing too bad for an octagenarian, not to mention one that just recently broke her knee.

So the routine of life goes on without any great excitement. I kind of like it that way, at least for a little while every so often.