CamDevo

The “self-help” aisle of bookstores and libraries (physical and virtual) are filled with books trying to convince weary people of the importance of a healthy work-life balance and to teach them how to accomplish that. Before all those books were written, Jesus modeled this balance for His disciples.

Jesus sent out His disciples on their first missionary journey. They went out into the surrounding villages to teach, heal, and comfort the people the way Jesus had been showing them. I’m sure this was an exciting adventure with many highs and lows. They returned, excited to tell Jesus about all that had happened to them, but they were clearly exhausted.

“He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.’ For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place,”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭CSB‬‬

The crowds of people were still hungry, confused, and needing healing, but Jesus knew the value of putting aside their demands for a while. He knew the disciples needed a quiet break.

He knows I need this too. I’m no better than the disciples. Despite what society says, I don’t have to run myself ragged to be successful or productive. I wasn’t created to function 24/7. I should build meaningful and restorative breaks into my schedule, surrounded by trusted friends.

But it’s important not to over-correct. God’s mission must come first, and it can be demanding work. Sloth is not acceptable.

Obedience followed by rest is the recipe. That’s Jesus’s wise advice and better than any self-help book ever written.

Dear God,

Thank you for taking care of all my needs, even my need to rest. Forgive me for working too hard and losing efficiency and effectiveness. Also forgive me for resting too much and being too lazy to do your will. Teach me the right balance today.

It’s rare when someone asks me to help carry a bag or box or package for them. But I am almost always happy to help.

However, I am frequently asked to help carry someone else’s emotional “baggage”. And I realize that I am almost never happy to help with that.

When sitting on a plane, I put on my headphones so I don’t have to listen to the person next to me talk about why they are traveling, what they are worried about or excited about.

When I’m in a store and someone tries to strike up a conversation with me, I smile and try not to engage lest they mistakenly think I would enjoy hearing about what or who they are shopping for and why.

Even with friends as we gather to play tennis, I get annoyed if there is too much chit chat between games.

For an introvert like me, listening is a burden. And when the story I’m listening to is upsetting, sad, or frustrating, it’s a heavier burden.

“Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ ‭CSB‬‬

But listening is loving, kind, and generous. Listening is exactly what Jesus modeled for me during His time on earth. He listened to people. He heard their problems. He cared.

I can’t imagine Jesus turning away and putting headphones on when He sees a leper approaching. That is not the Jesus I read about in the Bible.

And it shouldn’t be me either.

Dear God,

Please forgive me for my selfish habit of keeping to myself to protect myself from other people’s burdens. I trust you to give me the strength to bear them. Remind me to open myself to people I encounter and to be ready to listen and to help, if only with an encouraging smile and a patient demeanor.

One of my favorite places is Joshua Tree National Park. Fortunately I live fairly close and can visit often. I like it because it is so unusual looking. It is like no other place I have seen and definitely not at all like the landscape I grew up in. Between the Joshua trees, that look like they came straight from a Dr. Seuss book, to the fascinating round boulders in bewildering formations, I always feel like I am visiting another planet.

Those alien rock formations exist because millions of years ago magma bubbled up from fault lines below and cooled, creating very hard rock pockets deep in the ground. That hard rock was very resistant to erosion. When wind and water washed all the dirt, sediment, and other rocks away, all it did to the hard gneiss and granite was wear away the edges a little, making them rounded.

“Trust in the Lord forever, because in the Lord, the Lord himself, is an everlasting rock!”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬

God is a rock even harder than those magma-formed boulders. Wind and water has no effect. He never changes. His corners don’t wear away. He never changes shape and is never dislodged from His place. Millennia pass, and He is exactly the same — my loving and holy God.

If I stand on God, I can be sure I will be safe and secure, exactly where I was before the storm and the flood and the earthquake came. Forever. And ever.

Dear God,

Thank you for your permanence and consistency. It’s a hard thing to understand because everything in your creation seems to change. Thank you for the example of granite rock formations and mountains. Thank you also for assuring me that you are even more solid than the hardest rock on earth. Teach me how to stand on you with every decision I make today.

“Trust no one.”

I’ve heard these words whispered in dark and desperate places on countless TV mysteries and movie thrillers. But sometimes it seems appropriate for real life.

Salespeople come and tell me my tap water isn’t healthy so I need to buy their filtering system; while the water utility tells me my tap water is fine.

Politicians tell me they are working hard to make our government work for everyone, but they spend all their time right-fighting and making sure “the other side” doesn’t get what “they” want.

Even so-called Christian leaders say they follow Jesus, but according to the way they behave and the things they say, I have a hard time believing they are actually aware of His teachings.

It’s hard to know who to trust.

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭24‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Jesus said the only thing I can trust is His word. It’s the only rock I can turn to again and again for truth. I can base my life and all my decisions on His teaching. It never changes and is always reliable.

So what is Jesus’s teaching? He boiled it down for us: prioritize loving other people and leave the rest to God.

Dear God,

Thank you for providing a safe and solid place to anchor my life in this turbulent world. Forgive me for getting panicky when truth seems slippery and is sold to the highest bidder. Teach me how to trust you to take care of me while I focus my energy on obeying you today.

When I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, I was going to meet my neurologist and discuss it for the first time when my husband insisted he join me for the appointment. I was scared and overwhelmed. I didn’t know anything about the disease. So I was beyond grateful. Even though there was nothing for him to do at the appointment, it gave me great peace knowing he would be there, listening and loving.

When doing something difficult, scary, unknown, or potentially dangerous, it can be helpful to have someone along for “moral support.” Even if that person doesn’t say or do anything, it can be an immense comfort.

Some of the most comforting words I know are: “I’m coming with you.”

God commanded Moses to take the Israelite people into a foreign land where they would have to fight off the people who already lived there. And those same Israelite people had just proved how untrustworthy they were by building a golden calf idol to worship as soon as Moses stepped away to meet with God.

Invading a foreign land is a daunting assignment. Doing it with a treacherous group of uncooperative non-soldiers made it seem impossible and terrifying for Moses. So much so that Moses cried out to God about the situation.

And God replied, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭33‬:‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬

What a great comfort to know that I don’t have to be alone in any situation. God will come with me. He’s always here, in my corner, providing moral support (often in addition to actual, physical support.)

Dear God,

Thank you for always, always being here when I turn to you. I so often forget to turn to you though! Forgive me for attempting to rely on my own strength and then whining about how difficult life is. Please remind of your presence and don’t ever leave.

For the majority of my adult life, I lived alone. As a single woman, it can be unsettling to hear things go bump in the night. To make matters worse, I have historically enjoyed reading scary books and watching scary movies. (One in particular that I saw as a young child haunts me to this day.) When I began to live on my own, I had to put a stop to the scary movies and TV shows. They contributed to too many panicky moments in the wee hours. (I still read the occasional creepy story, but I avoid certain topics.)

My husband was out of town all this week, and I made the mistake of watching a TV show that brought those middle-of-the-night chills rushing back.

“I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Lord, make me live in safety.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

I have found that the only things that brings me peace during those late night terrors are verses like today’s verse. When I contemplate God and all that He is, the ultimate power that He holds, and the vastness of His love, my fear drifts away like clouds being burned off by the sun.

God is God — omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient — at noon and at midnight. There is nothing in all of creation to fear when I trust in the Creator.

Dear God,

Thank you so much for your promise of protection under your wings. Thank you for all the times you have told me, “Don’t be afraid. I’m right here.” I’m sorry I keep needing to be reassured. Help me to remember your love and faithfulness late at night when things seem hopeless or out of control or menacing. I trust you to deliver peace at those times.

When I was in high school there was a new trend where kids wore bracelets with the letters WWJD on them. The first time I noticed one, I assumed it was that person’s initials. But when I saw a couple more, I started to wonder.

This was before the Internet so the fad spread very slowly. And I couldn’t just look it up, but eventually I learned what it meant: What Would Jesus Do?

I remember thinking that was a rather helpful way to gauge my actions and words as I went about my day. However, I never got a bracelet. (I have always been loath to follow trends. Probably because by the time I discover them, they are already passé.)

One of the goals of Jesus’s incarnation was to show us how God wants His children to live. We needed a model. Because we were not getting it!

“Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
‭‭Micah‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Despite writing His guidelines in stone and sending prophet after prophet to explain them and remind us of them, God’s children seem to keep forgetting how we were supposed to behave. Today’s verse is from one of those prophets reminding God’s people again of the simplicity of obedience to God.

Today we have the entire Bible and the Holy Spirit inside us to speak truth to us.

And yet we keep forgetting. Or maybe we allow ourselves to be confused by advice from our culture. Either way, we claim not to know God’s will. Hence the desire for WWJD bracelets.

Dear God,

I’m so sorry that I whine about not knowing your will when you have made it very clear in your word and through the life of your Son. Thank you for making it plain and simple. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to live in me and to remind me of all that Jesus taught. Please open my ears so I can hear and understand.

“Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.”
‭‭3 John‬ ‭1‬:‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬

In order to “do good” I have to know what good is. (I don’t need to know what evil is because once I know what good is, evil is instantly defined — it’s anything that is not good.)

So what is good?

Well, God is good. But that’s not very helpful because I can’t “do” God. I’m not all-powerful and all-knowing and ever present.

God built good into our hearts when He created us. However, evil came and tempted us, and we were seduced by it. So, the good we were created with was spoiled and confused. It remains confused to this day.

At first God sent the law and the prophets to help straighten it out for us. But the law was really only meant to show us how far from good we were. We are very far.

So then God sent His Son to bridge that gap and show us “good” the way the law could not. Jesus lived out what it means to be good, and because of Him I can be good too. He said to be good, I must love God and love other people as much as I love myself. The way He did.

So what is good? Love is good. Love is the standard by which I should measure all my actions and decisions. If something I do is loving another person — putting their priorities first, meeting their need, improving their life, lifting them up — it is good. If it does anything other than that, it is evil.

Dear God,

Thank you for sending your Son to clarify the question of what is good. Thank you for building good into my heart. Forgive me for allowing it to be confused and buried beneath definitions proclaimed by society and customs and anything other than you. Teach me to do good, to imitate you, and show me what that means for me today.

The mind and body are clearly connected, but they don’t always have the same goals. This was illustrated to me clearly in college when I needed to study for an exam but kept falling asleep. My mind wanted to stay up and read, but my body wanted to lay down and close my eyes. My body won that battle quite often.

In fact, the body often wins those kinds of conflicts. When there is pain in my big toe from arthritis, it doesn’t matter how much my mind wants to focus on playing tennis. I can’t. My body says we stop, so we stop.

If you’ve ever had a mosquito bite or a healing wound or an allergic rash, you understand how powerful your body can be. My mind knows that scratching that itch will only make matters worse, but it’s a nearly irresistible urge that steal’s my mind’s ability to concentrate on anything else.

“Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬

The conflict between my mind and body is like the conflict between the “mindset of the flesh” and the “mindset of the Spirit” that Paul is talking about here.

The mindset of the flesh encompasses my desires, urges, whims, worldly goals, dreams, and longings. The main objective of that mindset is to feel good, physically and emotionally. And my experiences and observations of my life inform the decisions about how to achieve that goal.

The problem is, it’s a very self-serving goal with a strategy based on faulty and incomplete data. And I never reach my goal. There may be moments of good feeling, but they are never complete and never long lived. In the end, focusing only on myself causes pain, loneliness, and death.

The mindset of the flesh is death.

The good news is that there is an alternative. The mindset of the Spirit. Instead of listening to my urges and ideas, I listen to God. Instead of strategizing how to feel good, I strategize how to reach God’s goal of loving people. Instead of focusing on myself, I focus on Him.

God’s goal is the best. He wants all His children to be in His presence where goodness and love are complete and eternal. The mindset of the Spirit aims for that goal and follows God’s roadmap to get there.

The mindset of the Spirit is life and peace.

Dear God,

Thank you for providing a way out of my dead-end mindset. I’m sorry for getting distracted so often by wanting to feel good, at the sake of everyone else. Thank you for showing me a better way — the only real way to feel good forever. Teach me how to have the mindset of the Spirit today and to make choices that are in line with your goals, not mine.

Memorial Day weekend just passed and instead of encountering a lot of stories about gratitude for our military personnel’s sacrifices, I was bombarded with “Memorial Day Sales” ads. I’m not sure how Memorial Day came to be such a widespread sales event, for everything from furniture to skin care products, but all of the ads stressed the urgency of buying now before time runs out and while supplies last.

I don’t like admitting it, but the “while supplies last” tactic is very effective. No one likes to be without, as we learned during the pandemic when toilet paper was being hoarded in vast quantities. Shelves are emptied of food and other staples at the mention of a large storm. And if there is predicted to be a shortage of turkeys at Thanksgiving, some people will inexplicably buy two, “just to be safe.”

Scarcity is scary.

But one thing I will never have to worry about running short of is God’s grace.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬

God has plenty of grace to go around. Riches. He has storehouses full. A deep, deep well. Don’t worry, those supplies will last.

But, like the Memorial Day Sale, there is a time limit. The coupon for one free salvation has an expiration date. When Jesus returns, the grace window closes. All sales will be final. So act now before time runs out.

Dear God,

I’m so glad that you have more than enough love and grace to go around. Thank you for offering it to me even though I can’t afford it and don’t deserve it. I accept your free gift of salvation. Show me how to tell other people who didn’t see your sales flyer about your limited time offer.