Author: Polly

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Sovereign

The definition of the adjective sovereign is “possessing supreme or ultimate power”. It is a word often used to describe God. Stay tuned for more on that.

It has been a difficult week for several people in my circle of influence—two had their jobs eliminated and one is having his lung surgically removed following a cancer diagnosis as I write this. And that’s just a small sample of the difficulties people I care about are currently experiencing! Life is hard at times, isn’t it? That’s what makes the timing of this week’s small group lesson perfect. We are currently studying “40 Verses to Ignite Your Faith” by Laurie Polich Short. In her book, Laurie gleans much meaning from 40 lesser known verses from the Bible and shares it with her readers. They are verses that I’ve probably read a hundred times and skimmed right past. Here is one that particularly caught my attention this week, considering all that was going on around me:

“He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.””

Ezekiel 37:3 NIV

Allow me to provide the backdrop of this verse. The prophet Ezekiel is standing in a valley full of dry, dead bones and God wants to know the extent of Ezekiel’s faith. You see, the Israelites were being held captive in Babylon at the time. Ezekiel prophesied a bright future for them in the preceding chapter, one where they would be united and strong. No part of that message seemed possible given their current predicament. It is in this valley of bones that God reveals a vision of miraculous hope to Ezekiel. The impossible becomes possible—the bones come to life, representing the bright future He has for the Israelites.

God often reveals His power to us while we are in the valley of despair. In Laurie’s words, “Our places of despair set the stage for hope.” I have been known to say that God does His best work in the valley. That may not quite be the correct wording. Often, I can look back later from a different vantage point and see the magnitude of His work in me while in the valley. It’s much more noticeable than when I’m standing on top of the mountain. It is also in the valley where we have the opportunity to demonstrate that our faith is real.

Ezekiel’s response to God’s question in Verse 3 has become my battle cry this week as I encounter so many who are hurting. I am at a loss. “Sovereign Lord, you alone know” clears the way for the miracles God has in mind. I imagine, if you’re anything like me, you have an idea for how you would like God to answer your valley prayers (and probably when too!). We limit Him when we ask Him to answer in a specific way and possibly set ourselves up for disappointment in the process. God sees the big picture and by acknowledging His sovereignty, we make room for how He wants to answer our prayers. He’s often up to something much bigger than the prayers we pray.

Let’s open the door and witness the unfolding miracle God has for us.

“Sovereign Lord, you alone know!”

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Misplaced Expectations

Have you ever expected more from people than from God? That doesn’t generally end well, does it? Though for the most part not intentional, people hurt people. Why? Because, other than Jesus, we are all sinners and fall short of His glory. We must be cautious of misplacing our expectations.

Over the summer I experienced a string of events in a short period of time that could be classified as hurt/rejection/disappointment. Call it whatever you like. The point is I didn’t handle these incidents very well. I expected too much from people and ended up disappointed. The first couple people probably never even knew they let me down. I believe that is often the case. We shrug it off and get over it in time without even a discussion. Though the third episode was purely accidental (and also an admittedly minor offense), it was that one that caused the greatest reaction from me. The accumulation of hurt feelings caused me to react more strongly to the one that should have been the easiest to overlook. That, and the fact that this person realized I was hurt and opened the door for me to address it.

As I worked through this with God over the next few days, He led me to this verse:

“A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”

Proverbs 19:11 NIV

My lack of wisdom led to a knee-jerk reaction. In short, I blew it when I failed to overlook the offense. Thankfully, over the course of a few days, we had both forgiven one another and moved forward. The relationship was restored; the lesson was learned. However, I’m sure I’ll get opportunities to relearn it along the way.

Misplaced expectations lead to disappointment, even though that’s the very thing I’m trying to avoid. As a defense mechanism of sorts, I tend to keep my expectations of God low so as not to be disappointed if things don’t work out as I wish. That is warped thinking for sure, not to mention a serious lack of faith! The truth is, He’s the only one who WON’T let me down. He knows me, loves me and knows what’s best for me. Even when things don’t work out as I had hoped, I can be assured that they work out in the way that is best.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Romans 8:28 NLT

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(un)FAITHFUL

There were more takeaways from that Pirate game that I wrote about in my last post, so I thought it deserved a Part II. If you recall, the gist of that post was that even though I had some serious doubts about their ability to overcome a 3-run deficit (twice), I still possessed enough faith to stay tuned. In Part II, I’d like to focus on my lack of faith instead for that seems to be a stumbling block for me at times. Can you relate?

To be honest, sometimes I struggle to demonstrate as much loyalty to God as I do the Pirates. Yet He, unlike the Bucs, has NEVER given me a reason to walk away. In essence, I’m turning my back on Him each time the “control freak” in me tries to do His job for Him, thinking I know best or that “I’ve got this!” It’s not easy for me to admit how desperately I need Him, but I surely do!

Lately, I’ve been beginning my quiet time by naming several attributes of God as well as some of the many roles He plays in my life. I say as many as pop into my head at the time as a way of praising Him for who He is. While I believe every one of those characteristics/roles accurately describes God, in the next breath I find myself confessing that I struggle to grasp that He is all that.

It seems I often sell God short by placing human limitations on Him because that’s what I know. That’s what I can see right here in front of my face.

Faith is described this way in Hebrews 11:1 —-

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

Ugh. It is I that comes up short every time I sell Him short. Perhaps you can relate to my struggle to be faithful to Him. If so, I have good news for us both—-

“If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.”

2 Timothy 2:13 NLT

Even when we fall short, He will not. He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do simply because—He. Is. God.

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.”

Hebrews 10:23 NLT

One of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness. I’m praying that the Spirit works in me and through me to display that fruit because I know I can’t do it on my own. After all, it’s not called Polly’s fruit! It’s His to bear and I’m certain nothing would delight Him more. I would be happy to include your name in that prayer if you have similar struggles. Just send me a message and I will get on it!

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Over, Not Over…Times TWO

Did you happen to catch the Pirates’ game on June 23rd against the Padres? If not, you missed quite a game! If you know me, you would know that I am a faithful follower of the Pirates, probably to a fault. The Bucs were down by 3 heading into the bottom of the ninth and were facing the Padres closer who had previously converted 100% of his save opportunities this season. I thought it was as good as over, but since the “fat lady” hadn’t sung yet, I kept watching. Lo and behold, they tied it up and sent the game to extra innings.

Then, the Pirates faced an eerily similar situation in the 11th inning after the Padres put up a three spot in the top of the inning. At this point, I’m guessing most everyone who kept the game on after the first comeback had now given up. There’s no way they could do it again, right? Once again, though I was pretty certain the outcome was a foregone conclusion, my loyalty wouldn’t allow me to shut off the TV. Much to my delight, my faithfulness was rewarded with a 4-run rally and a walkoff victory via a bases loaded walk. I was so thrilled that I hung in there and actually got to see it live. I imagine there was a whole host of fans who only read about it and/or saw the highlights after the fact.

Though I thought the game was over…twice, I stopped short of walking away before the score was final. That brings to mind a passage in the Bible to which I can easily identify. A man brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus and asked if He could do anything to help his boy. The response is found in Mark 9:23-24:

“If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Jesus went on to cast out the spirit and heal the boy. Though I very much doubted (twice) that the Bucs could come back and win that game, I was shown, just like the boy’s father, that even mustard seed-sized faith, can be rewarded.

What are you struggling to believe at the moment? As Pastor Chris often says, “Everybody is dealing with something.” Does your “something” stem from financial, health, or relational issues? Or is it something else? In the midst of your doubt and uncertainty, cling to these words Jesus spoke to the boy’s father—

“Everything is possible for one who believes.”

When circumstances appear hopeless, it is tempting to give up on God and walk away. Instead, let’s draw closer and offer up this prayer:

“God, create a pure heart in me. Give me a new spirit that is faithful to you.”

Psalm 51:10 NIRV

Then, stay tuned for the results!