Do you see what I see?

There is something about the written word…

The expression that takes effort and time to transfer to a form that is reviewable and concrete. Once written down, nobody can doubt what you said or what your thoughts were because there is now a readable medium that you can reference back to. (yes, I know I just ended a sentence in a preposition).

Have you ever listened to a speech or someone give a lesson and you were so inspired or learned something interesting that you don’t want to forget? Maybe you you did not take notes and within minutes or hours of hearing that important information, it starts to fade…diminish…the details become fuzzy. After a while, you struggle to remember what was said, even to the point of not even remembering the topic, maybe it’s just me. But unless I write it down, it is eventually lost.

I want to get better at writing down the important things I hear. The information that I don’t ever want to forget, and to write it down exactly the way I heard it. It would be impossible to write down everything I hear, but some things are far more important to entrust to pen and paper (all forms of written medium) than others.

I am so grateful for the things that I can go back to and read, because they give me hope, inspire me to greater acts, they cause me to reflect on past experiences and even stir in me a desire to be a better person. I think about past speeches that are so well worded, that they hit me somewhere deep within and speak to a part of my heart and mind that I didn’t know was there.

I think about the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr, his ‘I have a dream’ speech. In it He says these words that are so rich…

“When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men – yes, black men as well as white men – would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked insufficient funds.

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt.

We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.”

What an revelatory statement of truth that speaks to the depth of social injustice in our great land, and is difficult to refute, and yet provide hope to a nation that is still hurting today. It is still a speech that people refer back to today and provide a framework in which to fight social injustice in America.

Another great speech I think about is President John F Kennedy’s inaugural address. In his message to the nation he says this…

“In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe. 

     Now the trumpet summons us again–not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need–not as a call to battle, though embattled we are– but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation”–a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease and war itself. “

A Speech that still inspires us today in nationalism and patriotism.

Again, I am so grateful that I can look at these speeches and many others in their entirety, read them, absorb them and be moved by them. I am able to do that because they are written down, preserved for other to read, that 50-60 years later, we can still find a glimmer of hope for a nation struggling today against an unseen foe.

There are documents we have that are much older and filled with words and messages that are of the utmost importance. A message of hope to all peoples that even inspired the speeches by Dr. King and President Kennedy.

The Bible. ( i know I just lost some of you, but I ask you to finish reading)

God had so many important things to say to us, that over the span of about 6,000 years, He had different people write the important things down that He said or did, so that we would not be ignorant of God’s heart for His children (that is you). Many have been inspired by God’s words to us whether it be from the Old Testament(OT) or the New Testament(NT). There are 66 different books of the Bible, 39 books in the OT and 27 Books in the NT.

The book of psalms, God offers His children an expression of emotions to read over and find hope, comfort and peace in a variety of situations…

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, You are with me, Oh Lord”

“I am fearfully and wonderfully made”

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty”

God spoke in the NT through His son Jesus, who was the King of social justice. He fought to make God (His Father) available to every single person who wanted to have relationship with Him.

“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One (Jesus) who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in times of need”

God said some pretty important things to us that can help us during any and every time of life we face. He addressed fear, pain, death, anger, sorrow, injustice, disappointment…every human emotion you could think of, God spoke about and gives us words to read and a hope to cling to when the whole world needs reassurance that everything is going to be alright. People ask all the time…

Where is God in all this? I’ll tell you where He is. He is on His throne, and He rules over the Kingdom of heaven. The Kingdom of heaven has been brought to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection and now the throne He sits upon is in my heart.

Let me say it like this, I cannot control what goes on in the world. I don’t have the ability to stop evil, violence, sickness from spreading, I don’t have the control to keep people from panicking and being afraid. But as I learn to trust in God and allow Him to sit upon the throne of my heart, I find a peace that allows me to relax and not be afraid, because I know He promises to never leave me. I may go through difficult times and face trials that I wish I did not have to face, but I have allowed Him to reside in my heart and therefore I know where God is, and I look to the Bible to find what He says about life with me and what it looks like.

God loves you guys, His love for you surpasses anything you can imagine. He is for you. You are His child and His desire is to show you His heart for you. If you question what God is doing, read His words to you. I am confident you will find a renewed hope and a battle against the fear and anxiety you are facing today and tomorrow. We live in uncertain times and God is wanting to connect with you or even re-connect with you to offer you words of peace…

Will you allow Him? Will you read the important words He had written down just for you?

Read John chapter 1, verses 1-4, read Colossians chapter 1, verses 13-16. Write down what you think is important, what strikes a “cord” within you as you read. Then listen to see if you sense something more and write it down. God is reaching out to you at this very moment. Would you take a chance and lay aside your fear, your anger, your disappointment and just read these word and see what happens?

Let me know what you think. Would love to have a discussion with you if you have questions.

Let the peace of God, which passes understanding, guard your heart and mind until the day of Christ’s return.

E