Drops of Mercy

By Brenda Black

Just a drop and the earth is resurrected anew! A little drink and the grass is sprouting like spring! For so long we've waited for a refreshment. But I have to admit, I wondered aloud time and again whether the land could bounce back from such neglect. Now there's proof that so little rain in such a short amount of time has already made such a marvelous difference!

For me, these are signs that God is still on the throne --signs that God cares for His world and His people. Mysteriously, life continues even when we can't see it. Under the dusty, hard, barren land remained a wellspring of life, waiting to surface! He created it to be so from the beginning.

“Then God said, 'Let the land produce vegetation...and it was so...And God saw that it was good.” (Genesis 1:11-12)

Like most of the land that's lain parched this summer, I've been feeling a little dry myself lately. Some of my drought-like conditions developed from dwelling on what-ifs and fearful worry over politics, money and all things worldly. The troubles of this world often leave me dried up and discouraged.

The Lord offers a remedy. He says, “If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” (John 7:37)

Just like the creek that holds deep pools of water when every other stream has ceased to flow, inside of the believer remains a pure trickle that neither doubt, nor anxiety can evaporate. There remains a bottomless spring that drought cannot dehydrate. Even a steady dumping of crime, corruption and craziness crammed down our throats from pathetic news sources can't cease its continuous current. I call it the River of Hope. You may recognize it in your life as Living Water or the Wellspring of Life. When you feel dry, the best way out of the drought is to let it bubble forth!

“Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord...For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.” (Lamentations 3:22-26, 31-32)

This is the God I serve! One who sees the sin and suffering. One who knows the hearts of every individual and longs to be our filling. He is good to those who pursue Him and right here with us when we fail Him. We just may not always see it.

Still, I must ask whether I mistakenly blame God when times get tough; or more accurately do I blame myself for becoming lazy in the pursuit of holiness and His help. When the landscape of my life looks cracked and cavernous, it's time for a dribble of renewal. I need his drops of mercy to bring forth new growth and joy. I'm pretty sure it's going to take a little lightning and thunder to start the process – an awakening and acknowledgment that I need to get down on my knees in order to get filled back up.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:6-11)

I can feel the grass greening in my soul already!

Photo courtesy of https://www.facebook.com/BunkhouseBlessings

copyright 2012 The Word's Out

If It Weren't for that Woman

By Brenda Black

Eve – She was fashioned by intentional thought and loving consideration from the heart of God and the side of man. Her name means life-giver and she was designed to bear the seed that would populate the earth. One would think such a woman so notable would be talked about over and over in the Holy Bible, yet her name is spoken only a handful of times in all of Scripture.

Though referenced in Gen. 3:1-19, she is identified as “the woman” and “his wife,” but never called Eve until the twentieth verse when Adam names her because “she would be the mother of all the living.” He only learns that bit of information when God pronounces the curse. “I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children in anguish. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you.” (Gen. 3:16)

Again she was called by name in Gen. 4:1 when the conception of a child is discussed. And this woman acknowledged that Cain was delivered “with the Lord's help.”

Eve is called by name again in the New Testament, but unfortunately only when temptation is mentioned. Paul says it this way: “But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a complete and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Cor. 11:3). And sadly, she is tied again to the dangers and consequence of weak resistance in one final mention in a letter to Timothy. Eve's sins are immortalized; the fall emphasized.

She barely existed before she blundered and the rest of history remembers only her folly. Did she do anything right? Did God not call her good the moment He laid eyes on her? Adam said of this gift from God, “This one, at last, is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called 'woman,' for she was taken from man.” (Gen. 2:23) And remember: “Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.” (vs.25)

It started out GREAT! And then it went South! And Eve fell from perfection to the butt of bad jokes passed down for generations. She exchanged her innocence for cruel insolence directed at her name and every daughter of Eve since that time. All because of her own weak will and a deceptive enemy, who was a crafty liar and evil destroyer.

Oh sure, I've been mad at Eve myself – especially during child birth! But I've also grieved for the first woman who made one terrible mistake and went down in history as a failure. We have to remember, God is in the business of redemption. That didn't begin at Calvary, it began in the Garden. God covered the shame of both man and woman. In his punishment, He also protected. And though we never hear how old she was or when she died, I have to believe that Eve was loved – by God, by Adam, by her children and friends she knew and lives she touched. We'll never know her whole story. But I do know, God blessed her from the beginning. He saved her from her sin. I'll get the rest of the story when I see her in heaven.

None of us are perfect. We all give in to temptations through far less threats than coming face to face with that serpent of old. If our names were written for all the world to read, how many times would we be mentioned in shameful terms? How many times would our sins be documented as bad examples? Before we cast the first stone at any other, we should look first to our own blunders that need God-covers.