02262022 A Healthy Tree

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our life-giving God. Life at birth. Eternal life. Life each day. Abundant life. He does it all.

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3). That sounds like abundant and vibrant life, doesn’t it? A life of blessing and fruitfulness. When I read this, I think of a tree with a deep and expansive root system that taps right into the water table, drawing up life-giving moisture – like a man who breathes deeply and expands his lungs with fresh air. Abundantly absorbing with the result of abundant health and fruitfulness.

Maybe I’m the only one … but have you ever read that verse and thought to yourself, “I don’t feel like my roots are drawing up that abundance of water. I feel very much like I’m withering. This doesn’t seem like prospering to me”?

There are many reasons why our perceptions and feelings don’t always line up with reality. I’m not going to explore all of those, but as I was pondering this verse and concept earlier in the week, I had what I believe is an accurate insight.

Picture a coastline, rich with vegetation. Many trees point up into the skies. They look beautiful and healthy. Their leaves are green, and their branches are laden with fruit.

A hurricane approaches. Vicious winds pummel the trees, bending their trunks, ripping off bark, and stripping their leaves. When the storm is over, every tree on that coastline looks ravaged and pitiful (and some are even destroyed).

Now wait a year. Some of those trees lie broken and decaying, never having recovered. Some look sickly, like they are still struggling. Then there are other trees – trees that look beautiful and healthy. Their leaves are green, and their branches are laden with fruit. If you didn’t know there had been a hurricane, you wouldn’t guess it from looking at these lively trees.

I think that is what happens with a Christian who is deeply rooted. When storms come, there will be an effect. Even Christians will be impacted. But the effect and impact will be temporary. Because the roots are deep, and because they have true life, they will recover. The leaves will grow back. The fruit will come again. They will emerge from the time of trial with renewed life and renewed abundance. (They will come forth as gold. Their faith will be found unto praise and honor and glory. The God of grace Himself will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle them. The trial works patience, and patience has her perfect work.)

Sometimes I have the thought that I want to be so firmly grounded in God, so deep in my faith, that I don’t even flinch in the face of whatever life brings. But the truth is that I am frail, made of dust, weak, a simple clay vessel. So storms do have an impact. Sometimes there is perceptible damage on the surface. But the roots! If the roots are as God describes, extending into the abundance of water, then there will be recovery. I will not be lost for good. I will not be irreparably damaged. Abundant life will return, and God will again be able to use me in a fruitful way.

“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).

May God help you through whatever storms you face. May you sustain a minimum of damage, and may you quickly recover and blossom with new life.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

02192022 Reversals

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God of great reversals. God can dramatically change situations. He can take what is upside down and turn it upright again. Psalm 107 recounts several stories of reversals.

In some of these stories, the people are in trouble because of their own rebellion and sinfulness, but that is not the only reason one might find himself in a challenging and desperate situation. V. 23 is about “they that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters.” There is nothing in the passage to indicate that these people are not going about business as normal, doing what they ought to be doing. They start the day unaware of the calamity that is about to overtake them through no fault of their own.

I especially want to focus on vs. 28-30. “Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.”

In these three verses there are four words that describe their difficulty. Do you see them? Trouble. Distresses. Storm. Waves. A great storm had arisen while they were out engaged in their business. Notice the vivid responses. “Their soul is melted,” “they reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end” (vs. 26-27). This is not a good day. This is not a manageable situation.

Things changed, however, when they cried out to God. There are also four words that describe the response after God intervened (well, three words and a phrase). Can you spot them? Calm. Still. Quiet. Desired haven. What a difference God made! These men are no longer reeling and staggering. They are no longer completely overwhelmed, not having any idea what to do. No, now they have great peace.

In addition to the calm, still, quiet peace, God also brought them to their objective. From complete chaos, they are now able to resume their business just as they had set out to do.

How many times has God done this for us? Sometimes because of our own rebellion and sinfulness? Yes. Sometimes as trouble has overtaken us within the normal course of life and ministry? Definitely.

If there is a mighty storm raging for you, I pray that God will accomplish a mighty reversal, that He will give you great peace, and that He will enable you to effectively resume whatever good and right purpose you were pursuing before the storm descended. He is the Master of storms!

“Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” (v. 31).

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

02122022 Where Is God?

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the Ever-present God. God is never absent, although not everyone believes that. Of course, some deny that God exists at all, but even among those who claim to believe in Him, there are often doubts about whether He is present in a particular situation.

This question is often posed following a tragedy. Plane-bombs crash into skyscrapers, killing thousands, and people ask, “Where was God?” A pandemic sweeps the globe, causing years of death and disruption, and people ask, “Where is God?” A child battles a life-threatening or debilitating condition, and people ask, “Where is God?” A brutal serial killer adds dozens of victims while escaping capture for decades, and people ask, “Where was God?”

These questions are not unique to the modern culture. They were posed to the musician author of Psalm 42, isolated from corporate worship, and in great anguish of soul. Those around “continually say unto me, Where is thy God?” (v. 2, also v. 10). The questions are painful to the psalmist, because even against his desire and belief, his own soul echoes the question (v. 9).

After the desolation of Jerusalem and slaughter of God’s people, recorded in Psalm 79, the heathen seemed to have the upper hand. God’s people were “brought very low” (v. 8), and the potential was high for the heathen to say, “Where is their God?” (v. 10). Asaph prays for divine rescue in order to confront that question of accusation.

A similar situation exists in Joel 2:17, that the heathen would be brought to ask “Where is their God?” after seeing the judgment on God’s people. Micah looks in hope to the day of his deliverance, when the enemies who asked, “Where is the LORD thy God?” would be brought to silence. At times even God’s rebellious people defend their wrong behaviors by arrogantly asking the question, “Where is the God of judgment?” (Malachi 2:17).

These Biblical examples join with our human experience to illustrate that there are times when God does seem to be absent. The heathen ask the question in derision, arrogance, and accusation. The masses ask the question in puzzlement, perhaps in bitterness or hopelessness. Even God’s people sometimes ask the question, usually in anguish, longing, and desperation. What is the answer? Where is God when life is in upheaval and disaster? It is a sad state when God’s people seem so abandoned that the wicked are emboldened to escalate their derision of God.

The author of Psalm 115 also faced a situation similar to some of those recorded above. Apparently, he was in a situation of need, and the answer to his need was not yet evident. He did not know how things would end. In that setting, he prayed for God’s mercy to be shown in a way that would display His glory. “Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?” (v. 2).

Psalm 115 goes on to give a direct answer to the question “Where is God?” The psalmist boldly declares in v. 3, “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.”

Where is God? God is where He always has been. What is God doing? God is doing what He always has done, which is anything He pleases. God is on His throne in heaven, and He is doing whatever He decides to do. No person, no power, no situation can stop God from doing what He wants to do.

Where is God? God is on high on His throne. “And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?” (Daniel 4:35).

Where is God? Amazingly, this exalted God in heaven is also very near to His people. “The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth! He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill” (Psalm 113:4-7).

Where is God in the midst of trouble? He is both ruling in heaven as the Almighty King, and He is looking with compassion on His children who are needy and hurting. God is where He has always been, doing what He has always done. Human feelings may not sense that, and human understanding may not comprehend it, but the truth remains. “Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.” Some day, everyone will bow in recognition of that very fact. The question “Where is God?” will be powerfully and universally answered.

Never fear! God has not gone silent or inactive. God is not on vacation or strike. God has not disappeared or detached Himself from this world. Our comprehension may suffer, because His ways are higher than our ways, and because we do not understand His delayed (but sure) response, but God is alive and well, doing all that He has purposed to do. Oh, Father, help us to trust, to rest, to wait, to hope in You!

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA 

02062022 Knows My Soul

Dear Missionary Lady, 

Greetings in the name of the One who understands and loves us better than anyone else can.

“I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities” (Psalm 31:7).

There are two things God does in this verse. First, He considers our troubles. This word for trouble refers to depression, misery, or affliction. To consider is to look at something, in this case the affliction, with some level of evaluation. Because of what the rest of the verse says, it is apparent that God’s consideration includes how that trouble impacts us. He has His purposes, which are sometimes bigger than just us, but He never loses sight of us within the process.

The second thing God does is to know our soul in adversity. This is a tight spot, trouble, tribulation, or distress. God knows the trouble itself (as in the middle phrase of the verse), but He also knows how our soul is affected. He knows how our soul is being squeezed and stretched. He knows how our soul is responding in the midst of it all.

This final section of the verse is of great comfort to me. I am very well aware in the midst of trouble that there is a lot going on in my soul. Some is good, and some is bad, and some is simply the natural progress of dealing with the situation. There is the aspect of struggling with the pain and affliction, but there is also the side of reaching out to God in submission, worship, and desire. Our souls grow in the midst of trouble, and God knows all about that process, and specifically, our personal experience of that in our immediate context.

This comforts me, because I want someone to understand that very important part of me and to share in it with me. Even the closest person on earth to us cannot completely understand the complexities of what happens in our soul, no matter how much we try to explain. Some things are just beyond words. Besides that, what I try to express to someone today will probably have changed to some degree by tomorrow. God always has the current and complete understanding of what is happening in our souls.

I saved the first phrase of the verse for last. That’s because the two aspects we’ve already looked at are the reason, the “for” or “because.” I do what I do in the first part of the verse because of what God does in the second and third parts. See, it isn’t just about God considering and knowing. When God considers our affliction and when God knows how our soul is doing, He responds in a certain way. That response is “mercy” (or lovingkindness). Isn’t that like God? Because of His compassion, He has a gentle and supportive response to our trouble.

So what is our part? We are glad and rejoice in His mercy. God’s part is already finished. He has considered and has known, and it is implied that He has already characteristically responded with lovingkindness. Our soul sees His response, and we respond by rejoicing in that gracious and kind response.

Missionaries sometimes live in a fishbowl. That is, their lives, including their afflictions, are somewhat open to the public. It is sometimes necessary to share these situations so that family, friends, and supporting churches know how to pray and how to best give support. Unfortunately, it is sometimes the case that those “supporting” people evaluate the trouble and might even make judgments about the soul. Thus, someone who is not part of the situation first-hand and who doesn’t really know how your soul is responding will draw conclusions. (Not a good missionary, shouldn’t be struggling so much, must not be right with God, waste of our money, a disappointment, not the way I would handle that, a questionable decision, etc.)

Thankfully, others are more gracious and try to leave what they do not know with God and just continue to love and pray. Even more thankfully, there is the comfort found in that final phrase, that God knows all about your soul in the midst of trouble. God knows the things too deep for others to comprehend. God knows what your soul desires, even when you don’t achieve it consistently. God knows about the growth process.

The truth is that when others are saying the types of things recorded above, God is often saying things like, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” “Wait on me and I will strengthen your heart,” “I am pleased with your humble submission under My hand,” “You shall come forth as gold,” and other similar statements that express His approval.

May God’s words matter far more to us than the words of people. May His comfort and lovingkindness more than absorb the pain or misunderstanding. May the knowledge of His deeply personal knowledge of us be a comfort that carries us through the difficulties. God bless.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA