Bullish Bravery in the Black of Night

By Brenda Black

A phone call late in the evening can mean any number of things at our house. Could be a son who is up late studying and realizes he needs some money in his account by tomorrow morning. Might be one of my advertising clients who frequently calls at ten o'clock at night – the only sure guarantee that either of us is available to talk business. Sometimes it is the troubling news of a member in our congregation who needs the comfort of the pastor. And then, there are the calls that just get you in an instantaneous bad mood. A neighbor calls to report your bull is out.

On one moonless night under hazy, overcast skies, our big, black bull was wandering. To the farm we headed, ill equipped, since there is never a flashlight that really works and the spotlight burned out months ago.

Sure enough, he had covered more ground than we had hoped. We discovered the escapee standing along a ditch on the thankfully seldom traveled gravel road. We convinced him to turn and head north toward a fenced lane that would usher him back to his herd. That part wasn't too difficult since we operated by the pickup truck lights and both of us could push the burly bull with balanced pressure from rear and side. But when he turned down the lane, I was left alone and afoot to keep driving him while my husband returned to retrieve the truck.

By the time the beast and the bedraggled beauty angled down that lane and were headed west, it was eerie dark. A one ton black bull, followed by little ol' me, also dressed in black, moving blindly through the night. I honestly had no idea how far ahead he was or how close I was to him. My only clue was the crunch of gravel from rocks pulverized under the pressure of four hooves hauling one ton of bovine muscle. I'd walk a little, then listen to make sure he was still on the move. Only one thing would signal which way he was facing, the flash of white from his baldy head. By the time the truck whipped in the drive and shined it's headlights hundreds of feet beyond me, I could see what I suspected. There he stood, broadside, looking back at me obstinately.

The comfort and assistance from the beams aided our progress, but one more daring mission awaited the final step. While Alan sped down to the gate, I was left again, persuading the rebellious bull to keep moving the right way. A few cow-cutting steps and a cattle prod convinced him he had met his match and he relinquished pressing his cause. He turned and trotted increasingly faster toward the pen.

I've been around cattle my whole life and have a healthy respect for livestock that large. I prefer to work them in the daylight than in the dark and I never take for granted that one wrong move could be dangerous. As I walked that darkened lane, a bit of fear kept me safe. I would have been foolish to get too close or to run up flailing my arms. I kept my distance and I kept talking so he'd know who was in charge. Even when he stopped, he did not turn fully around and come back toward me. I intimidated him just enough to hold him at bay until help showed up.

So it goes with spiritual strongholds. When dark enemy forces break the boundaries and wander where they hope to endanger me, I call on courage and experience to help me face fear. I keep on moving confidently. I keep on speaking to the enemy. I carry a stick! And, most importantly, I wait for the Light who promises to help me.

“I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42:16)

The more I call the enemy's bluff, the more he has to regard me and move according to my authority. And when the Light of the World shows up, he has to leave!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For 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. Therefore 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.” (Ephesians 6:10-13)

If I can turn a one ton bull in the pitch black of night, I know I can face any foe, any time, with Jesus on my side.

The More Excellent Way

By Brenda Black

Most of us will never aspire to be nuclear physicists. Only about 6,000 pursued the occupation in 2009 in the United States. Even fewer will paint their face and put on a polka-dot jumper and giant slippers to fill the role of a circus clown. Fewer than 300 of these slap-stick acrobats work in the United States. So which is the more specialized craft and which is more important – the one who splits atoms or the one who makes people laugh? Booker T. Washington may have known the answer before the question was asked when he said, “Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.” Based on that, scientists, clowns, engineers, doctors, dog-walkers, garbage men and custodians are each capable of mastery and worthy of honor in their given field.

Most of us will be employed somewhere between Bill Nye the Science Guy and Whizzo the Clown, but will we carry out our task with excellence? “If a man is called to be a street sweeper,” Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or as Beethoven composed music or as Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'”

I don't know about you, but I am tired of mediocrity. Pride must be taken in whatever task we encounter, whether it is completing a school assignment or securing a multi-million dollar contract. And the collective whole needs to turn this rig around and start setting standards of excellence again in this country.

A friend shared a disheartening statistic this week that symbolizes the ugly contagion of apathy. Only 36% of the teachers at one high school would participate in nominating students so the students could be recognized for good behavior, good attitude and willingness to put forth extra effort at school. Seven turned in their reports late! Oh, the irony! And oh, the pitifully sad statement it makes about what we value, celebrate and perpetuate in ourselves and in others.

Even a clown knows attitude matters. Just ask, David Solove, a Ringling Bros. And Barnum & Baily Circus performer. Reporter Olivia Crosby did, and she discovered what kept Solove out on the road for seven years. “You have to have a great sense of humor and a big heart,” says David. “It’s hard work, but if you love it, it’s great!”

Aha! Hard work isn't the problem. Work ethic is a heart issue and the desire for excellence is a gift from God.

Paul instructed Titus to always do what is good and to have a pure heart in every task and he asked him to share such admonishment with others. “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.

“At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” (Titus 3:1-8)

Profit isn't the reason we work. Our mission is to glorify God in our work and to operate out of love for our Lord. It is the more excellent way.

Because I Said So

Because I Said So
By Brenda Black


I vowed I would never say it. Surely I would be smarter, more articulate. Shear determination would trump any momentary weakness to spew those predictable, hollow words. Then I had children. And on more than one occasion I sharply spouted the parent mantra “Because I said so!” in shrill frustration.

We expect our kids to just do what we tell them, without debate. We long for compliance not “tude”. Instead, we get stubborn opinions and temper tantrums. Now tell me, how do you think God feels? Not about our kids' reverence towards us. Rather – what does the Father of mankind think about our lack of submission to his authority.

I would hate to think that my God stands with his loving arms folded tightly across his chest, fuming out a mandate through clenched teeth while I protest peevishly. Yet, I must admit, I have done just that. I stubbornly deny his guidance. I question his purpose or wonder out loud about his timing.

In order to cease this on-going and amply immature power struggle, I must first rightly define my humble place and God's marvelous omnipotence. In 2 Chronicles 20, King Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly at the temple of the Lord and declared the difference.

"'O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, “If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.”

"'But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.'" (vs 6-12)

Here it is in a nutshell: God is the Father and Ruler of All. He is Powerful. The Lord is our Leader, Savior, Friend, Protector and Judge. And where does that leave us? Under his authority and dependent on his provision!

That is a great place to be whether we realize it or not. For the Lord is able to win the wars we encounter if we follow his leadership without question. Just as he did for Jehoshaphat, the Lord will do for us.

“He said: 'Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow march down against them...You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.'” (vs. 15-17)

Now what if Jehoshaphat whirled on his heels and flipped his Jewish locks in the face of God as he refused to do what was just told him. I hate to think of the outcome. For the sake of the Israelite nation and for our sake each time we read the story, he did not.
“Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with very loud voice.

“Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa...Jehoshaphat stood and said, 'Listen to me...Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld.'” (vs. 18-20)

Jehoshaphat's obedience rendered the Lord's miraculous rescue instead of inviting a disgruntled God's chastisement for a wayward son. As his army began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against their enemies and they were defeated. “And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side.” (vs. 30)

Our God's wise counsel is sufficient. When he speaks the instruction “Because I said so,” we ought to heed and obey. The only good thing that will come of such submission is blessed protection and peace. Isn't that why we want our children to obey as well.