The Path Less Taken

Throughout a person's lifetime they may find themselves at a fork in the road.  Although both paths will lead into an unknown future, one path will generally seem more safe than the other.  The safe path is paved with the bricks of "status quo," that do not travel to destinations of "great change."  This path is generally easier on the heart and kinder to the nerves.  On this path, one can amble along in a leisurely way with God, making small-talk along the way. You can know God on this path, but only to such a degree that small-talk makes possible.  Only to such a degree that Wilbur Rees describes as, "not to explode your soul or disturb your sleep, but just enough to equal a warm cup of milk or a snooze in the sunshine."  Not so much as to transform, because transformation is a destination of "great change" and the safe path does not travel there because that is where the other path leads.

The other path will seem not-so-safe.  As you stand at the fork and gaze down the pavement of the other path, you may catch a glimpse of the bricks of ridicule, rejection, grief, loss, doubt, discouragement-- a veritable mosaic of potential sorrow or failure, but it is the only path that leads to the destination of "great change."  This path is neither easy on the heart, nor kind to the nerves.  On this path, one never ambles because each step must be calculated and chosen, thought through and considered, clinging to God for guidance and help.  There is no small-talk on this path, there are only deep conversations with God that lead to discovery or long silences of understanding.  You will know God on this path in a way that will shatter your soul and break you completely, bringing you to a complete end of yourself so that you can be transformed.  The path of "great change" leads to transformation, and transformation is costly.  The price of transformation is the death of self and the willingness to walk along the bricks of sorrow and hardship that lead along a very narrow path less taken.

As I stand at this fork and glance back-and-forth along each potential path:  the safe path-- lined with the bricks of status quo; or the path of great change-- paved with an intricate mosaic of hardship and hope, I think of my Lord.  I think of Him standing at the same fork.  I think of Him looking at what the world had become in its ignorance and sin, while holding in His heart the knowledge of what it was meant to be.  I think of Him standing at the foot of the mountain of change that needed to take place to begin moving His creation along the path of restoration, seemingly dwarfed by the Herculean challenges that lay ahead.  I think of Him standing there in His full humanity, experiencing the trepidation of the unknown.  I think of Him standing there, taking a deep breath into lungs He created Himself and stepping out with feet of His own design, onto the path of great change, walking along the bricks of ridicule, rejection, grief, loss, doubt, and discouragement.  I think of His promise to me that I am being transformed into His image, therefore I believe in faith that if He can walk this path, so can I.

"Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matt 7:13,14)

"And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it, only those who walk in that Way-- and fools will not stray onto it." (Is 35:8)

"The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself-- with your own eyes you will see Him. And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: 'This is the way. Walk in it.'" (Is 30:20,21)

"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." (Is 42:16)

"This is what the Lord says-- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: 'I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you what is best for you, Who directs you in the way you should go.'" (Is 48:17)

Holding Onto The End

Sometimes the only thing you will have to hold onto is the ending.  Sometimes things will happen in your life that cause you to question everything, to such a degree that everything you thought you knew has slipped through your fingers and when you look down at your hands the only thing left in them is the ending.  Socrates famously said, "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."  And when you come to that realization, you will look around in horror at how many continue along in blissful ignorance, convinced that their own knowledge will carry them through to the end.  Comforted by their own hubris and seated on a throne of their own understanding.  

The writer of Proverbs says that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.  To sit before Him in awe and reverence, is to sit before Him in rapt silence.  To cease striving and sit before the Creator with full knowledge that you know absolutely nothing, other than knowing you are a creature.  You are a creation that has been made and shaped by something so far greater than anything you could ever possibly fathom. What we know of God is only that which He has chosen to reveal to us about Himself.  We know only what we are capable of knowing within the confines of creation itself, since God exists outside of creation.  We can only comprehend God with the resources we've been given within creation.  In one way, this causes me lament because that means there are things about God that I will never know, since I am limited by my ontology as a created being.  In another way, this fuels my awe of Him because there are things about Him that are truly and literally unknowable and such awesome mystery makes me worship Him all the more.   

Revelation gives us the ending to our story, "No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His Name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign forever and ever" (Rev 2:3-5).  The ending is knowledge of God, to know Him even as we are fully known, to see Him face to face (1 Cor 13:12).  To see His face is to have full recognition of Who He is.  God's name also embodies and communicates Who He is and having it written on our forehead implies that we will have knowledge of Him that unites us with Him and becomes a part of who we are.

Reconciliation with God through faith in Christ is just one part of the Gospel.  The other part is understanding that we have been reconciled for the purpose of knowing God.  God wants us to know Him and He made that possible through Jesus Christ.  That is the good news.  We are saved to know God. 

Sixteen years ago, the first time I ever bought a Bible for myself, I wrote on the inside cover:

"I would rather know God

And nothing else,

Than know everything

There was to know

In this world,

And not know God."

The wisest man who ever lived was Solomon, and after a lifetime of accumulated knowledge he reached a dark place in his life where he realized that all the knowledge in the world was meaningless, if it wasn't knowledge of God.  As you read through Ecclesiastes, you see Solomon working out his frustration with his own existence and sense his deep frustration with the seeming pointlessness about creation itself.  He sees the futility of our striving, of spending our lives accumulating and consuming and filling our time with activities and tasks that, in the end, just prove to be a chasing after the wind.  He recounts his observations about our existence throughout the course of his life and reaches the conclusion:  "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter:  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil" (Eccl 12:13,14).  At the end of his life, Solomon finally realizes that true wisdom is coming to the realization that we know nothing, and the only thing worth knowing is God.

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God.  The ending is knowledge of Him.  If all you have to hang onto is the ending, then you have come to the place where you realize that it's all you ever needed in the first place.

"And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person's envy of another.  This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind." (Eccl 4:4)

"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ." (Phil 3:8)

"Now this is eternal life:  that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent." (John 17:3)

"And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true-- in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life." (1 John 5:20)

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him Who called us by His own glory and excellence." (2 Peter 1:3)

"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (2 Pet 3:18)

Cease Striving

I sit in silence at Your feet

Everything I am belongs to You

Make me something beautiful

Cut away all my ugliness

Shape me with Your presence

Divide me from error

With the sword of Your word

Place me in Your palm

And hold me close to Your heart

So close, I can hear it beating

And my steps fall in line

With its rhythm

Let me walk Your heartbeat, my Lord

Let my steps walk in time to Your desires

Make me one with You

And save me from myself

~ 

Cease striving

And know that I am God

Let all the earth

Sit before Me in silence

Let all mankind

Contemplate their Creator

What may be spoken

That I have not given?

What thoughts may be had

That I do not already know?

What can man do

That I cannot undo?

What is man

That I should fret at the work of his hands?

Foolish children

Sit in the dust

And lament your own ignorance

Oh church, lament your futile service

To a God that you do not truly know

Oh nations, lament your futile rebellion

Against an all-consuming fire

In the end

Only true knowledge of Me will save you

In the end

You will either shout for joy

Or whimper in terror

When I come from My holy dwelling

All the earth will

Cease striving

And know that I am God

"Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed one, saying,

'Let us break their chains and cast away their cords.'

The One enthroned in the heavens laughs; the Lord taunts them.

Then He rebukes them in His anger, and terrifies them in His fury, saying

'I have installed my King on Zion, upon my holy hill.'" (Ps 2:1-6)

"And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and waves. People fainting from fear, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:25-28)

"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!'" (Matt 7:22,23)

"God is our refuge and strength

A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change

And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

Though its waters roar and foam,

Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;

God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

He raises His voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

Come and see what the Lord has done,

The desolations He has brought on the earth.

He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;

He burns the chariots with fire.

He says 'Cease striving and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.'

The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah." (Ps 46)

Wisdom From A Donkey

Our donkey escaped from our pasture last night.  When my husband got home from work, he got his mud boots on and went out towards the pasture to lure the donkey to the gate with a bucket of food.  I looked out the window and I saw him trying to get the donkey through the gate while all the horses began to try to get to the food bucket in his hand.  I saw my husband outside and he was alone and he was struggling.  I knew that he would never get that donkey through the gate by himself, and as soon as I saw him struggling, my natural reaction was to run to his aid and be a source of strength for him.  I grabbed a bag of peppermints (because donkeys love peppermints), and rushed downstairs to get my mud boots on and ran out to the pasture to help him.  With a food bucket in his hand and peppermints in mine, we worked together to lure the donkey into one of our side pastures.  He opened and shut gates and I stayed with the donkey, keeping his attention.  Either one of us could have held the food bucket, either one of us could have held the peppermints, either one of us could have opened and shut the gates and either one of us could have held the donkey's attention.  But our minds weren't focused on who had to hold the bucket or the peppermints or the gates or the donkey.  Our minds were focused on working together, getting the donkey where he needed to be and that's why we succeeded.

I didn't expect my husband to lead out, bearing a greater responsibility to get the donkey back into the pasture.  My husband didn't expect me to stand there and wait for him to give me orders to submit to.  My husband didn't tell me I wasn't allowed to open the gate or hold the food bucket, and I didn't tell him that I was the only one who could hold the donkey's attention and give it peppermints.  We didn't do that because, number one, that would have been ridiculous; and number two, our concern was focused on the goal that needed to be accomplished, not each other's role in how we accomplished it.  And the donkey didn't follow us because he preferred to be led by me as a woman, or by my husband as a man.  The donkey followed us because it wanted what we had in our hands.  The donkey went where it was supposed to go because of what we gave him, not because of who we were. 

When Jesus wanted to communicate complex spiritual principles, He never gave a theological treatise, He always used simple life-examples.  He spoke in parables and used easily relatable subjects to express profound spiritual truths.  The church would do well to learn something from our donkey about how "church" should be done and how men and women were created to work together in fluid, eternal unity, rather than divided by invariant, cultural role. 

Jesus said the goal is to "Go out into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mark 16:15) and to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you" (Matt 28:19,20).  Jesus made no distinction of dividing this task among people based on their gender.  Scripture states that it is the Spirit Who enables each one of us to carry out these tasks, and not one of those lists of spiritual gifts is divided among genders (Eph 4:11,12; Rom 12:6-8; 1 Cor 12:28).  For too long the church has bickered among itself on issues that bear no fruit for Christ, and even more so, neuter the churches efficacy and witness.

Where does the authority of God's word reside and from whence comes its power?  In the person speaking it, or in the word itself?  If you say "in the person speaking it," then you are a blasphemer, attributing to man what only belongs to God.  If you say "in the word itself," then you concede that the person speaking it is of no regard, which makes their gender irrelevant.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

"And it was He Who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for works of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as we mature to the full measure of the stature of Christ." (Eph 4:11-13)

"We have different gifts according to the grace given us. If one's gift is prophecy, let them use it in proportion to their faith; if it is serving, let them serve; if it is teaching, let them teach; if it is encouraging, let them encourage; if it is giving, let them give generously; if it is leading, let them lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let them do it cheerfully." (Rom 12:6-8)

"Now you are the body of Christ, and each of you is a member of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, and those with gifts of healing, helping, administration, and various tongues." (1 Cor 12:27,28)

"As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve one another." (1 Pet 4:10)

Mirror, Mirror

Often times, churches receive a steady stream of people asking for money.  I've heard all kinds of reasons given for why people want money from our church:  because they couldn't pay their light bill and their electricity got turned off and all the food in their refrigerator went bad and they needed money to buy more food; because they lost everything in Hurricane Harvey (2 years ago) and needed gas to get to Pasadena so they could get money from their sister-in-law; because they needed to pay rent and weren't going to start their new job until next week.  Even as  type this, a flood of faces come through my mind of all the people who have asked us for help and all their reasons for asking swirl together into one, big indiscernible pot of need.  This is reality for many churches.  And quite often, churches begin to become desensitized to the need around them because not only is it perpetual, but also because quite often, it is spurious at best and an outright hustle at worst.  At best, those with legitimate need are looked upon with doubt and suspicion, or at worst, they are overlooked or sent elsewhere, because those who were fraudulent caused church leaders to feel forced to shut the gates of mercy in protection over the church body.  It is in these types of situations in which the bad apples inevitably spoil the whole barrel.

Jesus commands us, "Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you" (Matt 5:42).  Jesus did not put conditions on His command for us to help.  He did not give us any guidelines as to how to practically walk this out in the body of believers.  He left that up to us.  And the conditions we place upon that command will reveal how much of God's image we are genuinely capable of reflecting.

Throughout my life, God didn't help me because I deserved it or because I had earned it or because I had proved myself worthy of responsibly handling His help.  God helped me because He is merciful and because unmitigated kindness is a reflection of His character.  Quite frankly, most of the times God helped me, I did not deserve His help, nor was I in a position in which I showed responsible handling of His help after-the-fact.  Quite often I squandered it, and soon found myself right back in another situation in which I needed His help again.  God helped me because of Who He is, not because of who I am.  When I look back over my life, I can only feel gratitude for God not basing His willingness to help me upon my character, but rather, upon His.  I can only feel gratitude for Him helping me again and again, even when I failed and didn't live up to His standards.  I can only feel gratitude for Him helping me, even when I didn't acknowledge His help or show any gratitude at the time.

I believe that Jesus didn't indulge us with specific details on His command to help, because the way in which we help others is a litmus test which not only indicates our level of spiritual maturity, but also how intimately we know God.  It is the simple, mundane actions of our daily lives that shine our true character the most brightly.  It is our daily actions in which we are the least aware of, which reflect what is truly in our heart.  That is why Jesus refers to our basic actions of daily life:  eating, drinking, clothing, hospitality-- when He returns to separate the righteous from the unrighteous.   He tells us that the righteous feed those who are hungry, give drink to those who are thirsty, give hospitality to strangers and clothes to the needy and care to the sick and company to the imprisoned.  The righteous display their truly regenerated heart by treating people with unmitigated kindness in their daily lives.  And they are also completely unaware of their righteousness, "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?'" (Matt 25:37-39).  They are unaware that their natural behavior was righteous because it was simply a part of who they are.

I used to think that the greatest impact I was making on people's lives was what I spoke from the pulpit, but I now realize that it's not.  The greatest impact we have upon people's lives is how we treat them.  It is how much of God we reflect in our daily lives.  The purpose of humanity is to reflect God's image.  That's what we were created for, "Then God said, 'Let Us make mankind in our image, in our likeness...'" (Gen 1:26).  We were made to be image bearers of God and to reflect His character in our actions.  We are cut off from knowledge of His character by our sin, but are reconciled back unto Him and are able to know Him through faith in Jesus Christ.  From that moment forward we grow in knowledge of God and with the help of His Holy Spirit, we grow in our ability to reflect His character.  That is why at the end, when Jesus returns to separate the righteous from the unrighteous, His standard of measurement will be how accurately we reflected His image.  Truly, it is our faith in Christ which reconciles us back into relationship with God.  But it is our reflection of His image which is the evidence of that reconciliation.

Mirror, mirror, here on earth

How accurately do you reflect His worth?

"The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' but do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:45,46)

"So then by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven." (Matt 7:20,21)

"Then He will say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?' He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matt 25:41-46)

Spiritual Drill Sergeant

This morning during my prayer time, the Spirit laid on my heart, "Salt is abrasive and light is blinding to those who have been walking in darkness."  The church is in deep apostasy, believers are languishing in darkness and people like me are offensive in a world like this.  But that is exactly what we need at this late hour.  The church needs to be offended.  People need someone abrasive and blinding to snatch them out of their spiritual stupor.  

A drill sergeant doesn't coddle his soldiers because he is making them into warriors.  He is teaching them how to be a formidable force against a very real and very strong foe.  The drill sergeant sets the bar high, impossibly high and he reaches for that standard not only in his own life, but he also pushes his soldiers to reach for that impossibly high standard in theirs.  Throughout boot camp, the drill sergeant is hated, despised, looked upon with disdain and contempt.  Throughout boot camp, the drill sergeant is enemy number one, because the soldiers have yet to engage with their real enemy.  But that is exactly what the drill sergeant is training them for.  

Day after day the drill sergeant exposes weakness, calls out error, day after day the soldiers are pushed to their limit.  Day after day the drill sergeant blares the trumpet early in the morning for his soldiers to rise, and morning after morning the soldiers arise groggy, confused, exhausted from the previous day's training, only to go through it all over again with that God-forsaken drill sergeant that won't shut up.  That keeps barking about their failures and pointing out their flaws.  The drill sergeant is the butt of jokes, the common target of contempt among the soldiers, but the drill sergeant doesn't care because he doesn't see his soldiers for what they are now, but for what they will become.  The drill sergeant looks to what lies ahead.

One of the things that the Spirit laid on my heart early on, was that I can only reproduce what I am.  If I am a mediocre disciple, then I will only reproduce mediocrity.  If I am a half-built tower, then I can only teach people to build half a tower.  Jesus said we are to be perfect, even as our Heavenly Father is perfect (Matt 5:48).  As believers in Christ, our standard is perfection because that is what we are being transformed into.  Paul tells us that we are to forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead, pressing onward toward the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:13,14).  Every born again believer is indwelled by the Holy Spirit, giving them the power of Almighty God to be transformed into His image.  Therefore, we are to press onward and upward toward that image, leaving behind all that isn't.

I remember many years ago when I went to my brother's graduation from Marine Corps boot camp, seeing all those young men walking in step, immaculate in form, their eyes straight ahead, completely focused as they moved in total unity.  I remember the sound of their feet as they marched, a low rumble in perfect rhythm, and I remember thinking, "God have mercy on whoever gets in their way."  I remember hearing the stories from his dad about his own Marine Corps boot camp experience.  I remember what both my brother and his dad looked like and acted like before they went to boot camp versus what they looked like and acted like when they came out.  In just a matter of weeks they transformed from boys into men.  They transformed from mediocrity to excellence.  And I remember them both talking about how much they initially hated their drill instructor, but spoke of him with respect, gratitude and honor after it was all said and done.  Salt is abrasive to the soft of skin and light is blinding to those who walk in darkness, therefore only after their transformation could they see what he saw and understand what he understood.

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men." (Matt 5:13)

"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he had enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'...So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." (Luke 14:27-33)

"Therefore, salt is good; but if even salt has become tasteless, with what will it be seasoned? It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Luke 14:34,35)

"And He was saying to them all, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.'" (Luke 23-26)

Faith When I Fall

I took my 3 year-old and my 7 year-old to a birthday party at the skating rink after church today.  I didn't wear skates, but I walked beside my 3 year-old as she made her best attempt to stay upright for more than three seconds at a time as we slowly circled around the rink, hugging the wall.  She was determined to skate, you could see the resolve on her face.  Every few moments the skates would spin out of control and she would fall down, but before she even hit the ground she was already trying to get back up, undeterred.  Over and over, she fell.  Over and over, she got back up and tried again.  Each time, before she got up, she anxiously looked up at me to see what my reaction would be.  After falling for the five-hundred-and-fifty-eleventh time, she looked up at me and said, "Momma, are you mad at me?"  As I looked down at her I said, "No baby, I'm not mad.  I'm just trying to help you stay on your feet.  I'm not going to leave you.  As long as you are out here trying, I'm going to stay out here with you and help you."

I often try to do the right thing and I fail.  And sometimes I'm tempted to look up at God and ask, "Are you mad at me?"  I'm tempted to think that He gets frustrated at watching me fail over and over again.  I tend to unconsciously project human weaknesses upon God, such as impatience and frustration, forgetting that His character is the embodiment of perfection.  It's hard for me to imagine someone like that, someone utterly incorruptible, because I am so encased in imperfection and it's all I've ever known.  

I often expect God to lose His patience with me like I do with my own children.  So I often feel myself anxiously looking to God every time I fall down, to see what His reaction is going to be.  And I have to remind myself that God loves me far more than I could ever love my own daughter and His words to me would be far greater and far more loving than my words to her:  "No my daughter, I am not mad.  I'm just trying to help you stay on your feet.  I'm not going to leave you.  As long as you are out here trying, and even when you're not, I'm going to stay here with you and help you.  I will never, ever leave you."

"Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the Lord your God Who goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you...The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deut 31:6,8)

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10)

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, and the flames will not set you ablaze." (Isaiah 43:2)

"I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will never turn away from Me." (Jer 32:40)

"...and surely I am with you always, even unto the very end of the age." (Matt 28:20)