Jesus asleep in the boat with his disciples (experienced fishermen) on the Sea of Galilee is an echo of Jonah asleep in the the ship with the pagan sailors as it tried to sail across the Mediterranean Sea.

“Jesus is not present on every page of the Bible,
but the grace of God is evident in every narrative.”
Bryan Chapell

In both narratives the Lord allowed a huge windstorm, a furious squall on the waters threatening the vessels and the men they carried. God was waiting to pour out his grace.

On their way to Tarshish across the Mediterranean, the mariners reacted by trying to lighten their ship by hurling their cargo overboard and by calling out to their gods.

On the Sea of Galilee, the disciples response was to row harder, to row faster. Neither the hurling or the rowing helped.

How often is my first response,  what can I DO to calm this storm that is threatening me?

Like the disciples I knew Jesus personally.
Like the disciples I was mighty afraid.
Like the disciples I was struggling with belief.

What did I do? I hurled trying overboard; I no longer cared. Rowing harder looked Iike pasting on a smile and hiding behind a suffocating mask.

All the while, Jonah and Jesus slept on. I’m not sure I felt like God was sleeping through my hard; but I had lost hope.

Because calling out to their gods didn’t calm the storm the frustrated mariners woke Jonah. A last resort. Perhaps his “god” would respond.

The angry disciples shook Jesus awake, do you not care that we are perishing?

Both the mariners and the disciples were filled with great fear. I was too.

How many times have my prayers tried to wake God to my predicament? How many times have I begged, please help! Those desperate prayers originating from fear were my last resort.

On the Mediterranean and the Sea of Galilee, God quieted the tempestuous waves and the seas ceased from their ragings. On the Sea of Galilee, Jesus spoke only three words, “Peace! Be still!”

How often are those God’s words to me, “Be still (Sue) and know that I am God.” You are going to see my grace in this chapter of your life.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;”
Isaiah 43:2

God controls the waters. The grace of God prevailed. Hope returned slowly but surely.

Several years later, God gave another opportunity to trust that he would calm the waters swirling around our family.

 

Ezra was only 6 months old when he was rushed to the ER. For twelve long weeks in four different hospitals, physicians worked to diagnose and treat the hyperinsulinism that controlled his young body.

Ezra’s family lived in Los Angeles at the time. I lived with them for six weeks alternating with his parents twenty-four hour shifts in the hospital and caring for his two older siblings at home.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1, 2

Whether in the hospital, around their neighborhood, or at the park, everywhere I looked there were hills — in Los Angeles! The psalm was penned to instill confidence in those on their way to Jerusalem to worship. The hills were full of terrifying animals; they were to be feared. Yet those making that journey knew that their help rested in the Lord. Those verses spoke peace to my heart in those days. Those words calmed the waves of my reality.

How often did I need to remind myself of these words, this truth? Often! Daily! My daughter-in-love stitched this for me. To this day it hangs in “Mana’s Writing Room” and reminds me, “My help comes from the LORD, who is always awake, always near, always aware, always ready to dispense his care, his love, and his grace.

God continues …

“He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber not sleep.”
Psalm 121: 3, 4

Not even, and especially even, when the storms threaten. Perhaps that is when his grace shines best.

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, February 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hebrews 1:1 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,” God spoke to the prophet Jonah and through Jonah, God speaks to us.

I knew the answer to the questions as soon as I heard them. God’s relentless love came to me in questions.

Sue, how is your life like Jonah’s?
Sue, are you dragging your feet on something God is asking of you?

Yes, I identify with Jonah. God has been nudging me for a few years. Fear has held me captive. UGH! I was dragging my feet. Like Jonah I had my reasons why what I was hearing was a crazy idea. Or at least that is what I thought.

Pull-back, my hyphenated word for 2021, has been speaking to me in little and not so little ways. As I’ve been practicing pulling-back, I’m lifting my feet and walking forward into the new, the unknown, the desire I’ve had, and the desire I believe God has for me. Fear is disappearing.

God’s purposes , his relentless love will not be thwarted — even by our disobedience. “Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah …” (Jonah 1:1 and 3:1). Jonah heard God’s voice. He knew God’s desire. “But Jonah …” (Jonah 1:3). Strong-willed Jonah had his own plan to flee away from the presence of the LORD. (Jonah 1:3 and 1:10).

Fleeing from God, truly an impossibility. God entrusted a job to Jonah; God’s purpose will be accomplished. Jonah learned that. I, too, can no longer flee from God’s purpose for me.

My friend Ronni shared, “My main takeaway from Jonah is the far reaching effects of my obedience or lack of. My obedience is not just for me.” My obedience is not just for me!!!

God’s relentless love is showcased throughout the Jonah narrative. Chapter 1 showcases God’s love for the unbelieving sailors on their way to Tarshish. Jonah’s disobedience brought them face to face with the one true God. Chapter 2 highlights God’s heart for Jonah as he resides in the belly of the great fish. In that awful place, Jonah calls out to God in his distress. He acknowledges God’s activity in his life. He remembers. His hope is restored. And in God’s relentless love, he spoke to the fish and Jonah was freed from his prison. God’s love for Jonah had not changed. Chapter 3 highlights God’s relentless love for the people of Nineveh as Jonah obeys God and goes to Nineveh. “Then the people of Nineveh believed in God;” (Jonah 3:5) Finally in chapter 4, God’s heart is explained. First in the words of Jonah himself …

“… for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,
and relenting from disaster.”
Jonah 4:2

Even though Jonah spoke those words as part of an angry rant to God, they are true. Jonah knew it and Jonah experienced it.

God explained his heart to  strong-willed Jonah through the story of the plant. God appointed a plant to provide shade for Jonah to save him from his discomfort for which Jonah was thankful. But then God appointed a worm to attack the plant and a scorching east wind. Jonah was mad! (Jonah 4:5-10) God explains his lesson to Jonah in a question that ends the book …

“And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city,
in which there are more than 120,000 persons
who do not know their right hand from their left,
and also much cattle?”
Jonah 4:11

Interestingly God’s question is left unanswered. We don’t know Jonah’s response, but for sure we know God’s heart. I wonder if again Jonah’s strong-will is tempered. What do you think?

Copyright: Sue Tell, February 2021

 

 

 

 

“Stories are the most prominent biblical way of helping us see ourselves in ‘God’s story’,” Eugene Peterson.

In the Jonah narrative I see God’s relentless love at work. The sailors on their way to Tarshish experienced it (Jonah 1); the residents of Nineveh experienced it (Jonah 3); Jonah experienced it. And in several ways, Jonah’s story is my story as well as I experience God’s relentless love to me.

“Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”
Jonah 2:8 NIV

Perhaps these words originally referred to the sailors on their way to Tarshish who openly followed other gods. They could also be speaking of the Israelites living in Nineveh who had gone astray from the one true God. Maybe they are describing Jonah who thought he could outsmart God.

And in them, I heard and I still hear, God speaking to me.

I don’t remember what prompted me to memorize that verse many years ago. (I do remember being teased about memorizing from the book of Jonah.) Now I see God was nudging me about something I was clinging to that would not allow me to experience his grace, his relentless love. His nudge took several years before I responded.

As I reflect back, those worthless idols I was clinging to are obvious. I was clinging to my definition of purpose, of acceptance, of identity, of fruitful ministry. Those idols blinded my eyes and my heart to the grace God was wanting to shower on me.  Although my desires were okay and in line with God’s desires for me, I was clueless as to how God wanted to work out the reality of those desires in my life. So I clung to my idols; what I thought was the reality. And for many years I forfeited the grace God had for me.

Like Jonah, the word of the Lord came to me. Unlike Jonah, I really did want to do God’s bidding. Jonah tried to flee from God’s presence (Jonah 1:3) … an impossible desire. I did what I thought I needed to do to follow God. I thought my doings would would prove my identity. Another impossible!

“But to all who received him,
who believed in his name,
he gave power to become children of God;”
John 1:12 RSV

I needed to deal with my identity idol. John 1:12 was the first scripture I purposed to memorize. I memorized it successfully, but I didn’t listen to its truth that I had become a child of God. John 1:12 revealed my true identity. But I continued to live with my idol not remembering the identity God — in his relentless love — gave me.

These days, I regularly rehearse my God-given identity and his relentless love and allow it to lead my doings. I don’t want my doings to become my idols.

What idols do you see yourself clinging to?

Copyright, Sue Tell, January 2021

 

 

Jesus and Pilate are engaged in a tense conversation just before Jesus is led away to be crucified. In the English Standard Version, John 18:37 says, “… For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Jesus knew his purpose.

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Can you imagine a priest who cannot talk? Zechariah was such a man. As a result of challenging — instead of trusting — the message of Gabriel that his long ago prayers were being answered … that his wife would conceive and bear a son and his name would be John (Luke 1:13), Zechariah lost his ability to talk. Did Zechariah’s muteness and unbelief change God’s purpose for his life?

The Lord reminded Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you;” (Jeremiah 1:5). That was true for Jeremiah; it was true for Zechariah; it is true for me and you too. Ephesians 1:5 reminds, “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”

Because I have a good forgetter, I remind myself of these truths almost daily. Long before I was born God had a plan and a purpose for me and for you too. Sometimes it’s hard for me to trust; sometimes it’s very encouraging.

Back to Luke 1. Gabriel now visits Mary (verses 26, 27). Mary’s response differed from Zechariah’s challenge to Gabriel’s message. Mary’s was one of trust and also the desire for more understanding (verse 34). She reflected on Gabriel’s message (verse 29); she submitted to the miraculous (verse 38); she sought the company of an older, godly woman (verses 39, 40); and she deflected all the glory to God (verses 47-55).

Mary submitted to the miraculous purpose Gabriel was announcing to her. My response is more often, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) UGH! I need to grow!

“Nothing you see, is impossible with God.
Mary, you have nothing to fear. I have told you all you need to know for now.
You are more ready than you realize, stronger than you know.”
from Touching Wonder, by John Blase
(I read his book every December and never fail to hear from God.)

I want to be like Mary. I want to believe and act on the purposes of God for my life.

Two things hold me back, keep me stuck — fear and other good opportunities.

The last phrase of John 18:37 speaks to that fear, “Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” I’ve been hearing God’s voice through his word and through many friends.  I need to listen. I need to trust scriptures that I memorized years ago, like …

“fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10

I am an extrovert; I am a people connector; I am an idea person. That means it’s easy for me to offer ways to improve. And God has designed a purpose for me and if I’m going to live that purpose out, I need to pull-back!! Everyone does not need my ideas. I need to keep focused on God, to listen, to respond to him and not to all the other opportunities that lay in front of me.

My hyphenated word for 2021 — Pull-back. As I’ve continued to think about this, I added purpose.

Because of God’s purpose for me, I’m practicing pull-back.

What about you? What word has God given you for 2021?

Copyright, Sue Tell, January 2021

 

 

 

 

 

In Paul’s words to the Ephesian elders recorded in Acts 20, he offers this blessing,

“And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace,
which is able to build you up
and
to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
Acts 20:32

In the fall and early winter of 2019 and 2020, God allowed me to spend many hours with my sister in Virginia who was in her final stages of COPD. In those days her faith was uncovered and her trust in God renewed. God allowed me to have a front row seat.

We quoted and prayed over the phone or in person scriptures that spoke of God’s love to us. God’s everlasting love in Jeremiah 31:3 was most often at the top of our list. “I (God) have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” I would pray that God would help us to trust that in the waning days of Barbara’s life.

In these very trying days, we experienced God’s word offering hope and building us up, in our faith just as Paul wanted for the Ephesians. And we experienced the inheritance that God had prepared before the beginning of time.

As I look in my rear-view mirror to last year, I greatly miss my sister. And I also am experiencing great peace. Her suffering is changing relationships and bringing the reality of God’s love to others. There are new things to pray for.

Once again, I’m reminded of Isaiah 55:8, God’s ways are not my ways. I need to take my eyes off the circumstances right in front of me, and re-calibrate my hope to the Word which is able to build up and give an inheritance.

“the LORD appeared to him from far away.
I have loved you with and everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”
Jeremiah 31:3

The third verse of “Joy to the World” encourages, “No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground; He come to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found, …”

 

As I’ve pondered the trying times (I hesitate to call them suffering) of finances, depression, and death, and the scriptures that I’ve recorded for you the past three weeks, God has led me to a new, deeper, and greatly encouraging understanding of John 18:36,37 which I will share with you next Thursday (Jan 28) which also led me to my word — or this year — two words for 2021.

Copyright, Sue Tell, January 2021

 

 

 

Our friendship with Sandy started when she was a student at the University of Illinois in 1972. She has been a gift to us ever since. Her heart for God and her love for others continued to shine through all the chapters of her life.

Jump ahead 27 years to 1999, a busy year for us. Bill served as one of the Vice-Presidents of the U.S. Navigators and in that role was directing the once every four years national staff conference. Hospitality was a big part of our lives and I made sure our guest room bed always had clean sheets. I love ministry and I’m a people connector; these were busy and good days.

As winter turned to spring, and then to summer, something seemed off kilter. The national conference now history had gone well. The campus ministries were getting ready to welcome another group of students. (Even though we weren’t ministering on a specific campus at this point, that segment of the Navigators has always held our hearts. We were tracking with them.) And the national leadership team — of which all the Vice-Presidents were a part — was preparing for the new fiscal year. Life’s busyness continued.

It started with physical symptoms, sleepless nights, racing heart, and worries. Our doctor started by treating the physical symptoms. By the end of September we realized that what Bill was experiencing was more than physical. By the end of October Bill’s depression was accurately diagnosed.

Once again, Sandy entered our lives. In one of the notes she sent our way, she shared Isaiah 33:6. God will be the stability of your times!!  Yes, God will be our stability. Not the medicines Bill was given, not the time off from work to recover, not the books we were reading, not the counseling, which we so much appreciated, not the new realities we found ourselves in, but God. Sandy could not have picked a better truth to share with us. I copied it into my journal on my prayer pages for Bill and have been praying over it ever since. That was over 20 years ago.

God showed his stability to us in his abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge as we traversed this new territory. We needed new knowledge. We needed that knowledge tempered by wisdom, which led to salvation. We were learning that when we lived appropriately in the presence of God (the fear of the LORD), we experienced the endless resource of Zion’s treasure.

“Oh, How abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of the children of mankind!”
Psalm 31:19

Isaiah 33:6 has held us close as we walked with our sons in their major life transitions. It supported us through the 12 week hospitalization of our youngest (at the time) GRAND. It ministered to us as we made some major shifts in what our ministry looked like.

And then 2020, then COVID-19. Our ministry plans were changed; our travels to visit our kids and GRANDS was changed; how we went to church looked different; how we shopped for groceries was all new. But God was the stability of our times. Different and brand new circumstances challenged but didn’t change where our stability rested.

I’m so thankful for Sandy pointing us to Isaiah 33:6 all those years ago. God used it in our lives then and we’ve continued to experience the need for its truth now.

“and he will be the stability of your times,
abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
the fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.”
Isaiah 33:6

 

Copyright January 2021, Sue Tell

 

The players in the Christmas narrative living with expectancy.

Our good friends from college, Bob and Patricia, were the first to bring this verse to our attention on the the card that accompanied their wedding gift. Then card, after card, after card came with the same verse written on the bottom.  Even Karen made a calligraphy of it that stood on our piano for many years. We knew God wanted our attention.

Our attention was the first step. This verse has come alive in deeper ways as I’ve prayed for other difficult things our family and friends are experiencing.

What stood out to us 48 years ago were the words, no good thing does the Lord withhold. Our wedding coincided with our first ministry years. We were in the very beginning stages of raising our support while Bill worked part time for Orkin and I served in the Navigator office. Our check book almost zeroed out at the end of each month. They were hard days. We desperately needed to know that the Lord would not withhold good which in those years we defined as finances.

God is faithful. We have heat in our home , bread on our table, and so much more!

After 48 years of quoting that scripture to myself, the wealth of its truth is transforming and leading me into 2021.

Psalm 84:11 is an identity verse. It’s not speaking about those who do something, rather those who are something; they walk uprightly . They are the righteous ones, the ones greatly loved. For those righteous ones, the Psalmist offers wonderful promises.

God is our sun. The light of the sun leads us on the path of life. Psalm 16:11 explains this more deeply. God’s path is joyful and offers pleasures forevermore. God gives the light of life. Psalm 23 tells me that God leads me in the path of righteousness.

Often I wonder, what is God’s will. What is the right path? I wonder that for our adult children these days and pray for them, God show them your will, your path for them which sometimes seems dark to me. As I pray God reminds me, He is the sun. He provides light. Rest in that truth, Sue!

God is our shield. God provides protection.  I am so thankful. It is too easy for me to charge ahead with a decision, not understanding what God might want. Even in the midst of my charging, God is protecting.

God bestows favor. Favor — this word has taken on deeper meaning in the last month as I’ve been meditating of Luke 1:28 and what Gabriel communicated to Mary. He called her favored one. The same Greek word is used in Ephesians 1:6 translated beloved.

God bestows honor. Because these are given to the righteous, they will not be turned into a source of pride. Honor often comes in the form of affirmation. I’m learning that affirmation helps me own who God created me to be.

Several years ago, a man I greatly respect said to me, Sue, you need to trust God for a national ministry. Nice thought, I thought. But I didn’t believe his affirmation. I also never forgot it. God bestowed honor on me through our friend. It took about 15 years before I really heard those words and owned them.

No good thing does he withhold. Good things are so much more than finances. I often squirm when I hear the ditty, God is good all the time; all the time God is good. Not that I don’t agree, rather I wonder, is the speaker trying to convince her (him) self of its truth. Or have they really stopped to think how they are experiencing it. In 2021, I want to experience the goodness of God, believe it, and be able to label it.

I will continue praying this verse regularly and looking to see God’s truth worked in my life. Will you join me?

 

Copyright, Sue Tell, January 2021

 

 

 

 

 

I was 6 months old my first Christmas, the first grandchild on Dad’s side and the first granddaughter of Mom’s side. I was a special gift to my family. I was loved. That never changed. These are Mom’s parents.

As I grew the secular Christmas celebration inter-twined with the sacred. There was no confusion — both were Christmas.

The traditions of the Christmas Eve Candlelight service, singing Silent Night and Joy to the World flowed right along with the tradition of Santa, gifts, stockings, and a very special family dinner. All were Christmas. I loved it all.

Gradually, slowly, like the sunrise at dawn, there was a dawning in my heart. The sacred that Christmas celebrated became for me the truth of Christmas. More than the love I experienced as a baby, I now experienced a new love, a deeper love, an everlasting love, a love accompanied by purpose.

The traditions of Santa, gifts, stockings, and that special dinner continued. I still love these pieces of Christmas. But now, the reason we were celebrating and giving gifts led.

Christmas is a grand and true story.
Christmas invites many players, players like me and you who keep telling the story.
Christmas invites me and you, like Mary, to consider, reflect, wonder, and respond.

How am I playing my part?
How will I play my part in 2021?
How will you play your part in 2021?

I’m pondering these questions. Each Thursday in January  right here on Echoes of Grace, I’m going to share a piece of my answers,

answers I’m realizing that were born in the midst of hards,
answers grounded in 4 different scriptures,
answers helping me discover God’s heart for me,
answers that are  leading me to my word for 2021.

I hope you’ll come by each week and follow this unfolding story.

One thing I know, I want to keep my focus on THE LIGHT,  just like my 8 month old GRANDdaugher, Leah.

“Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant…'”
Luke 1:38, NLT

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22,23

May you experience his new every morning mercies in 2021!

Copyright, Sue Tell, December 2020

 

December 24, 2020. It’s almost Christmas.

Mary plays a leading role in the Christmas narrative. I want to learn from her. So I’m listening to God through the life of Mary

Mary was personally promised the gift of advent. With that promised gift, she also received the gift of waiting.

Waiting was familiar to this young Jewish girl. For many years the Messiah had been promised. For years the people of God waited, and waited, and waited.

Then the message of the angel Gabriel came to Mary …

“Don’t be afraid, Mary … you have found favor with God!
You will conceive and give birth to a son,
and you will name him Jesus.
He will be very great … the Son of the Most High.”
excerpts from Luke 1:30-32, NLT

The waiting moved to the next chapter. Nine months of fear-filled waiting. Gabriel was wise to say, don’t be afraid. How would she tell her mother? Her mother who was busy helping her be ready for the consummation of her marriage to Joseph. How would she tell Joseph? Would he divorce her? And oh the anticipated shame the community would heap on her.

I imagine that Mary’s response to Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true” didn’t cancel her fears. Luke 1:38. Even her song of praise recorded a few verses later didn’t negate fear as she waited. Mary was human.

The climax of the waiting, Jesus is born.

The shepherds leave their sheep and run to Bethlehem to meet the promised Messiah.

Eight days later the baby was circumcised and publicly named Jesus. Simeon, a devout older man who had been eagerly waiting for the Messiah  came to the Temple and took Jesus in his arms and proclaimed, “I have seen your salvation,” Luke 2:30.

Anna was there also. “and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.” Luke 2:38.

Wise men came to pay homage to the newborn king. Matthew 2:1 and 2.

And Mary pondered, wondered about, and treasured all these things in her heart.  And waited.

In the waiting there was confusion and scary hard times. Twelve years later at the Passover festival in Jerusalem, unbeknownst to his parents, Jesus didn’t immediately return to Nazareth with them. He stayed behind in the temple to listen to the rabbis, to ask questions. His parents didn’t know what to think. “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic searching for you everywhere.” Luke 2:48.

The waiting continued. It was a full 30 years before Jesus performed his first miracle.

Mary was familiar with waiting. Did her faith falter in those years? How did she pray? Did she doubt? She knew the holy scriptures. God’s love is everlasting (Jeremiah 31:3); God does not withhold good (Psalm 84:11); God’s presence is promised (Isaiah 41:10); God’s peace is available (Isaiah 26:3). And Mary was human. Waiting is hard!

I too am waiting; praying; wondering; living with confusion, a pandemic and all the hard things it brings with it. I too know the promises of the scriptures, not just the old testament, but the new testament as well. Yet still, waiting is hard, very hard.

The words of Peter Salmon, pastor of Trinity Church in Cedar Falls, Iowa put waiting in perspective for me last December. In his sermon, Waiting for Christmas, he said,

“God will make our waiting worth it:
By overshadowing our waiting with His glory.
By using it to bring hope to others.
By accomplishing the impossible in us and through us.”

Also he noted, “What we are waiting for changes our willingness to wait.” Thank you Peter for your hope filled waiting words.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Originally published December 19, 2019, God’s Gift of Waiting.
Copyright, December 2020, Sue Tell