7.27.10 DOE THE NEXTE THYNGE

dear nate and jen,

just have to take some time out of a chaotic day to 'talk' with you.

this a.m nate told me that there is no substantive new thing coming out of silas' mri (was it? i'm terrible at all these technical terms...'test' is about where i am on matters like this!) at children's hospital...meaning there is still at present no magic pill that lies waiting in your future that will bring a change to silas' and your life status overall life status as it relates to his development.

i'm doing this on the blog for i think that your situation is so universal. every one of us just gets to plug in a different set of circumstances that appear unchanging, challenging, possibly fearful and threatening to us and, not least of all, difficult.

(by the way, if you don't like being written to on the blog let me know and i'll either delete or neuterize the contents so that you are not on public display, as it were. i keep struggling personally over the blog and have come to the conclusion, for me it comes down to what are my motivations for public display. i think Jesus' life was an open book and of all the writers of scripture paul is, far and away, the most autobiographical...and in this way most like Jesus, who never wrote, with the addition of words to life. he says to the corinthians that our lives are an open book read and known of all men. that i take as a universal truism for every person, and although the way we live is far more powerful, the exposure of our lives to public view through words... if we are imitating Jesus... can increase any good savor that may be coming out...)

also,i'd like to say that i am very aware that much of what i share here i feel that you both have a very good understanding of and, moreover, put into practice more than i do. so in writing though it may sound like preaching or advice, from my perspective it is more like encouraging, exhorting, urging on.for many things we know but, because of all the weaknesses inherent in the flesh, we tend not to consistently live up to what we know much less live up to it with a victorious, all-conquering faith.

this a.m. i read an article, 'do the nexte thynge', quoted below,

...'sometimes we prefer daydreaming and scheming about the distant future because today's God-given tasks seem mundane or less rewarding or too hard or they heighten our fears however, here's what you can and should do immediately: do the next thing.

the first 3 stanzas of an old, anonymous poem describe it like this:

from an old english parsonage down by the sea
there came in the twilight a message to me
its quaint saxon legend, deeply engraven
hath, it seems to me, teaching from heaven
and on thru the doors the quiet words ring
like a low inspiration: DOE THE NEXTE THYNGE

many a questioning, many a fear, many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
moment by moment, let down from heaven
time, opportunity and guidance are given
fear not tomorrows, child of the King
trust them with Jesus, doe the nexte thynge

do it immediately, do it with prayer
do it reliantly, casting all care;
do it with reverence, tracing His hand
who placed it before thee with earnest command
stayed on Omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing,
leave all results, doe the nexte thynge

this way of life is not simply about 'trying hard' one moment at a time. it involves trusting Christ as you take the next step of obedience...and...then..the next..

when Jesus says that His disciples follow Him, He means that they acknowledge His lordship, listen to Him and obey Him as their King. but you can't do in one day what He is going to have you do in an entire week. therefore, Jesus says, 'so do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. each day has enough trouble of its own' matt. 6.34 furthermore, you can't do in one hour what Christ designed for you to do in an entire day. therefore, don't even worry about later on today - each hour has enough trouble of its own!

..here's our hope..because Christ's death and resurrection set us free from sin (rom. 6.6-14..there is always enough grace for the next thing.

looking for Jesus, ever serener
working or suffering, be thy demeanor
in His dear presence, the rest of His calm
the light of His countenance be thy psalm
strong in his faithfulness, praise and sing
then, as He beckons thee, doe the nexte thynge.

there is the temptation that come to each of us that what we have on our particular plate is harder than that on (some? many? most? all?) others'. but we know from scripture that that is not true for we are told that no temptation comes to us but such as is common to man. the heart of every single challenge for every single person is 'will i trust God in this or not?' and the answer for all is 'i can do all things thru Christ who strengtheneth me'. there is no CAN'T only WON'T and not one of us can count on Christ's strength when we are not, by our lack of faith, in the place where we can receive it.

sometime we are drawn to sit in judgment on God so that in our mind we are acting as though 'He should answer to me (do what I say)' rather than what is reality 'i (and 'i someday will') answer to God (i must do what He says)'. correct thinking is never 'why are You doing (allowing) this?' but rather along the line of, "by every standard of fairness if seen in its true light, i should be in hell right now suffering, for who i am and all i have done against You, suffering justly for all eternity!' the closer we come to the latter perspective the more joyful in, grateful for and correctly understanding of every circumstance we will be.

along this line, some of of my favorite verses written by moses in what we now know as psalm 90 spell this out. 'they (man) are like grass which groweth up in the morning. in the morning they flourish and grow up; in the evening they are cut down and wither. for we are consumed by Thine anger and by Thy wrath are we troubled. Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance. all our days are passed away in Thy wrath. we spend our years as a tale that is told....OH SATISFY US EARLY WITH THY M-E-R-C-Y that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us and the years wherein we have seen evil'.

if we only could get used to the reality that:

1. i are all in a swiftly passing test (soon over) that will have close bearing on....that is to say, we are all in a life on this earth that is an opportunity for continual, victorious war against forces that want to destroy us or, failing that, greatly impoverish me (and hence limit God's glory) in........... eternity

2. in that conflict PAIN and difficulty IS NORMATIVE.

our flesh wants to enjoy heaven here. this is an allusion which causes endless...pain. if we believed correctly we would much better be able to war victorious..and God be seen in and through our lives. i guess, as in so much else, God has left it up to us to make our choice: will i believe God and act on the basis of His truth or will i not?

help us chose to believe You, Lord.

love, dad