Hope  

As I began this blog my intention was to be “scholarly” in that I wanted to help you work though the theology of leadership.  Particularly Christian leadership in a contemporary and secularized culture and what that might look like in a Salvation Army context -- a topic that I believe we need to get right if we are to be effective in advancing the mission and enlarging the Kingdom. 

That will probably remain within the background but personal circumstances have caused me to view the material I have been reading through a more personal and intimate lens.  My sister has just been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer that will require her to undergo aggressive treatment.  Having a sense of the battle and the ramifications that face her in the coming days has placed a filter over my reading and study.  It is this filter that leads me more to Tozer’s book and 1 Peter.  (O, Lord, you know what my need will be for tomorrow even as I live in today’s moment!!)

One of my favorite quotes by Tozer: “Whatever comes into your heart and mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.”  I remember that the first time I read this it stopped my mind short.  When my mind turns to God, what is the first thing that comes to mind?  I confess that I was ashamed of my thoughts.  You see, I discovered that the first things that came to mind were my needs, my wants, my, my, my.... Not that anything I thought was a bad thing, but my perspective was skewed.  

My struggle with this came while we were in a difficult appointment. It was one in which my motives, my officership and my actions as a mother were constantly questioned and ridiculed.  So, naturally, I was constantly “crying” to God for relief.  It was all about me not about concern for the spiritual state of individuals who could behave in such hurtful and destructive ways.

God in his tender mercy--while soothing my pain--taught me to not only work through that pain but, while doing so, practice the art of Christian love -- Christian love that wants and works for the best good of others no matter what they do or think about you in return. No easy task at times but as Annie Johnson Flint discovered:

      He giveth more grace as our burdens grow greater,              

      He sendeth more strength as our labors increase,

      To multiplied trials he multiplies peace.

      When we have exhausted our store of endurance,

      When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,

      When we reach the end of our hoarded resources

      Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

      His love has no limits, his grace has no measure,

      His power no boundary known unto men;

      For our of his infinite riches in Jesus

      He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.

A verse of scripture that God gave to me while attending SFOT:  

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

1 Peter 5:10

In that appointment (and many since) I have had to come back to this promise.  No matter my circumstance, God will bring me through ... and not only that, make me stronger -- both personally and spiritually.

Let me finish this post with Tozer’s words.

“God is personally concerned about you.  God is not too high or lofty to remember that His children are in the land where illness is prevalent.  Where accidents happen every day.  Where there are loss of jobs and financial worries.  Where people are betrayed by their closest loved ones.  Where there is separation, as for instance, when the boy who has been close to us for so many years, shakes our hand with a grin that is not quite real and walks down the sidewalk and waves at the corner on his way to report to the military service.  Separations come, some never to return to us again.  God knows it and says, ‘Now, I know that’s the kind of world you live in, but I have laid hold on you forever, and I know every detail of your trouble and all your problems, and I’ll anticipate every act of the enemy and every act of every enemy I will anticipate.  I will go before you.’” (Tozer, Living as a Christian, pp. 206-207) 

---Thank you all for your prayers on my sister Judy’s behalf.  I cannot tell you how much those prayers mean to me--as well as your words of encouragement.

Be blessed this week.