Countdown

In the corner of the computer screen, a number starts flashing.

What, 5 minutes? What? Auuggggh!

Stop-silent-screaming-and-start-clicking...and-praying!

Deep breath. Repeat. Again. Click.

Skim. Click! Skim. Click! Skim. Click!! Sk-

“This section of the test has ended.”

That last mutter was out loud. Quiet.

Pray.

Deep breath, sit up, on to the next section.

Once the certification test is over, the one needed to retain my new job, I don't know what number I'd stopped at, only that I'd barely passed the midway point of that section. And that all sections must be passed to pass the test. I ask the receptionist how to set up a retake. She gives me a number to call, and I thank her for her pleasant test-side manner.

I call and get the details for re-registering. But then I remember, this is my opportunity to ask God for more.

“I hope that I passed this test, and I don't have to do this again.” This I make sure to say and pray out loud, and my husband amens.

Funny. Multiple-choice tests used to be like my video game: aim, fire, pkrrr, goal hit!

As a couch potato, I wonder: Is this what it's like to be an athlete, and then one day you're sucking for wind, and the finish line seems farther away than it used to be?

Three days later, I'm clicking online for the score report.

In wonder, I read and re-read. “Passed...Passed...Passed...Passed...Passed.” With a score just above the minimum needed on the section where time just ran out.

Back when tests were my video game, I knew where that ability came from, and prayer was part of test-taking: before, during and after. Prayer was about seeking God's blessing, leaning on Him, and thanking Him then.

It's interesting, though, how much more our dis-ability engages us in seeking God, in leaning on God, and in thanking Him in awe and wonder.

There will be tests in this new year. There will be trials. But the most seasoned of us test-takers will come to know God's providence, and His nature, all the better.

Jesus came to show us how to take these tests, and why. As we do so, and choose to trust God for the results, His nature will become ours, more and more. Like Jesus, we will seek to speak what God has to say, to those around us. Like Jesus, we will expect to be about our Father's business.

Like Jesus, we will seize the time given, addressing our earthly countdown with an eternal mindset.

A 23rd Psalm Attitude

My dog Al came looking for me. I was the only one upstairs, and he’s like a sheep herder’s dog, checking up on the flock.

Nah. He’s more like a sheep himself. After gazing into my face, he leaped into my lap and curled up there.

He’s a good sheep – for a miniature schnauzer.

I wanna be like Al.

My dog leaps into my lap because he knows he has a place there. He leans his head back all the way, just to gaze with adoration at my face. I want a 23rd Psalm attitude like my dog Al.

Whatever we’re eating, he wants some. He’s there, as close to the stove, table or dish that we’ll allow. Yes, his dog dish is full, but he’s still eager, for the crumbs we’ll surely drop. After we’re done, he’s allowed to leap up again, where he’s eager to even to sniff the fragrance of what we had.

He knows that staying close means sharing even more in what we’re enjoying.

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.

Freedom from fear — the fear of going without — is the idea that opens this psalm. The rest details tender tending for a sheep. Al, who’s carried, petted, entertained at length by the members of his household, would relate.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

In this psalm and elsewhere in the Word, we get the heads-up that we will face tribulations, and we are glad to get the Word that we will know victory. But that victory is more than the relief we experience when our tribulations are over. It’s so much more, because God also provides us the rest, comfort and peace we need before, during and after those tribulations. He tends us tenderly with healing for our souls – our minds and emotions – and strengthens and soothes our bodies.

In the midst of all this providence we find in the next verse the reason for great trust: our undivided awe for God, who is omnipotent within us and around us.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

God acknowledges and addresses what we face. Enemies stand against us; and we are given time to receive and be strengthened by whatever we need in that day – our daily bread. Disease and injury threaten; and we are fortified, soothed and healed.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Because God is everpresent and eternally faithful, our faith endures. And we always have a place to turn to, a place with Him.

Surely Al knows he has a place to go – a place of goodness, lovingkindness. He has a place to abide, and an abiding trust.

He’s so eager to draw closer. He’s leaping at the opportunity.

Let’s take a leap of faith today.

How to Count

By June Pulliam
Guest blogger

I was awake most of the night with arthritis-type joint pain. This was my opportunity to put into practice "counting it all joy".

I was thinking about my study of suffering, using a guide by Kay Arthur based on the book of Job. Job never tells us why people suffer, Arthur points out.

To cope with suffering, she says, we aren't to find the immediate cause but instead find out who God is: our Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer, with whom we need a deep, personal relationship. She references James 1:2-4 "Consider it all joy...".

My meditating started there – I’ve always realized that my understanding of what James' words meant was not as deep as I'd like – and I began writing my own thoughts:

In God's presence there is fullness of joy. As we focus upwardly on Him, we become more and more aware of His vibrant presence, and less focused on the trial. Being surrounded by His presence – His light, His love – moves our joy from being only a mental choice, to being a feeling and more – a full experience.

To "count it all joy" or "consider it all joy" (depending on the translation) means to mentally put suffering in the category of joy. We first need to see for what purpose we are doing this.

James’ verse says that the testing of our faith will lead to endurance. It furthermore says that we need to continue to endure, until our endurance has attained its "perfect result" – that we are "perfect and complete, lacking in nothing".

I meditated on this: We can't stop at endurance. God wants us to keep at it until it has its "perfect result". If we endure for a while, even a long while, but then stop, this verse tells us we will lack some things; we will not be perfect or complete.

So then the question is: Will we "count it all joy" when trials come? The thing is … we all count it as something when trials come. The alternative to counting it as joy when we have trials, is to do what most do – count it as disastrous defeat, or a reason to rage and seek revenge.

If we are inwardly focused, we probably count it as pain that makes us feel defeated, depressed, disillusioned, disappointed.

If we are outwardly focused, we probably count it as pain that leads to anger, rage and desire to blame and lash out at others – either those we think responsible, or those who we resent simply because they aren't suffering too.

But if we are upwardly focused, we wisely and courageously count it as joy. We do so in spite of our initial pain, because we are looking not at ourselves, and not at others, but at God, who is our Creator, our Sustainer and our Redeemer. He has a covenant with us to never leave us, and to vindicate us in the end.

Why We Suffer
1. We are God's children, co-heirs with Christ, who first suffered for us. Romans 8:16-18
2. We suffer sometimes so others don't have to. Colossians 1:24
3. It’s evidence that we belong to God and He is refining us. 2 Thessalonians 1:3-8
4. It's sometimes God's will. 1 Peter 2:18-23
5. So we will rely not on ourselves (in our strength or wits to get out of
the problem), but instead, totally on God. 2 Corinthians 1:9

What to Do When Suffering
1. Don't jump to the conclusion God isn't on the job. 1 Peter 4:13
2. Trust God, don't fear. 1 Peter 4:19
3. Be glad you're in the thick of what Christ experienced. 1 Peter 4:14
4. Think of our suffering as a way to be weaned from the sinful habit of always expecting to get our way. 1 Peter 4:1
5. Like Jesus, don't threaten or retaliate. 1 Peter 3:17
6. Continue to do good 1 Peter 4:14
7. Be ready to tell people courteously why we have hope and are living the way we are. 1 Peter 3:17
8. Stand firm. Remember it's not just you, but also Christians all over the world who are suffering.
1 Peter 5: 8-10

Results of Suffering
1. God will restore you and make you strong,
firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10
2. You will be free to pursue what God wants instead of always being so driven to just pursue what we want. 1 Peter 4:2
3. You will be blessed. 1 Peter 3:14
4. You will receive justice later. 2 Thessalonians 1:8
5. You will share in Christ's glory. Romans 8:18