Life after divorce can be difficult and at times it has its challenges. I’ve been dealing with it for almost two years now. The main problem I’m dealing with is depression and the fear of loneliness. There are times I wonder how much longer am I to be in this desert? Although it is getting better for me, there are still moments in my life when I still get down and frustrated with my life. One day while reading the passage of Jesus being tempted in the desert by Satan, I paused on the verse where Satan tempts Jesus to turn the stones into bread, and Jesus says “man does not live by bread alone”. God reminded me in this awesome verse, that I should thank Him that I don’t live by bread alone!!! Think about it, how many times when we find ourselves in the desert of our lives do we forget this? We look to our ”bread” as being the source of our lives. When we lack in a particular need, instead of trusting in God for our provisions and feeding on Him and His promises as the only source for our sustenance, we take shortcuts and we try and provide in our own way apart from Him. We turn the stones into bread and then we find we are worse off than before. Me I’m guilty!!!!

But Jesus when He was given the chance to turn the stones into bread, refused to because He was trusting in His Father’s word which was given to Him during His baptism and which took place before the temptation in the desert.  Do you remember what those words were? They were “this is my beloved son whom I am pleased”.  You see, He knew that His Father loved him so much that He could trust His Father through the process and not try and do it in His strength. He persevered through the trial and patiently waited and what happened? The devil left Him and God sent His angels to finally feed Jesus and His needs were met!!!!

So I just want to encourage us. I don’t know what the bread represents for you and I don’t know how long you’ve been in the desert but know this, we do not live by bread alone! Our source, our life, is Jesus himself, who is the Bread of Life and He is our living Word. Let’s feed on Him and His promises of His love for us and let’s trust Him to satisfy our needs.  Be patient hold on to Him, His angels are coming soon! He will provide for you in His way and in His timing!

Matthew 4:4 English Standard Version (ESV)

4 But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

I love going to the lakefront near where I live and to get there I take a short cut down a narrow two way road, with incredible views of the lake. I often pass by bicyclists and joggers taking a detour to escape the busy traffic from the main highway. Sometimes I pass by this old man who looks to be in his nineties wearing a tank top shirt with blue jeans and walking at a brisk pace. The guys in amazing shape for his age, you can tell he used to work out back in the day. I can only hope I will be that healthy when I’m his age. But what’s fascinating about this man is every time I would slowly pass him by in my car, he would always lift his right arm and wave. I would then wave back as I passed him by. At first I thought it was just me, but when I looked back in my rear view mirror, I realized he did that to every vehicle that passed him by. It didn’t matter what type of vehicle, how fast they were driving, young or old, whether they waved back or not, this old man was not going to let you get passed him without a wave. And it got me thinking about our God. Like the old man, there isn’t a day that goes by where He is not waving at His creation. Scriptures say in Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Everyday God waves at us, whether it’s a beautiful sunset, a majestic mountain, or an act of kindness a human being displays to another, God waves. But sometimes we fail to acknowledge God trying to get our attention in this. We get so caught up in trying to get to our destinations we often forget to wave back. But what God wants so much is to let us know He notices us. We mean so much to Him. He noticed our unformed body, from the moment we were born till now and He has been waving at us ever since. From the cross to the grave , He waves at us, from the moment we were born again and received His Holy Spirit, He waves at us. The question is what will be our response? So the next time we head down the highway of our rushed lives and we see God in a tank top shirt with blue jeans walking down the side of the road, and He waves at us, why don’t we take the moment to slow down our vehicles, roll down the window and wave back. Remember, even if you don’t wave back, He will never stop waving at you.

Psalm 19:1
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the works of your hands.”
Psalm 139:16
“Your eyes saw my unformed body.”

I remember I went to Six flags with some friends from college. I was so excited to get away for the weekend from school to hang out with my friends, enjoy the rides, the shows and the food. Even the weather was perfect, it was going to be a great day. The very first ride my friends wanted to do was of course a roller coaster. Not just any roller coaster but the largest with the most insane loop the loops. What was I thinking? I knew I got motion sickness before but that was years ago. I thought to myself well maybe things will be different this time and I let my friends talk me into it and the next thing you know, I’m being taken on a ride from hell as my whole stomach dropped and my whole body was in pain, I thought I was going to die. My body just screamed out in pain, “Moron, what were you thinking ?!” My whole day was shot after that, I ended up spending the rest of what could’ve been an enjoyable time with friends, in the nurses office passed out on one of those doctors tables. Why did I do it? I thought it would be fun, I saw the coaster it looked like it was going give me an incredible rush, my friends all told me to suck it up, but yet I knew from my past experiences that roller coasters made me sick. Yet I did it anyway and suffered the consequences. Isn’t it true how sometimes in life we make choices based on our impulses, our feelings at the moment, bad counsel from others and instead of being wise and discerning we get on the roller coaster of hell again? Whether it’s a bad relationship we just keep getting into or it’s a habit we can’t seem to break and we keep telling ourselves, it’ll be different this time, she’s changed, or he won’t hit me anymore and we ignore the past. Instead of letting the Holy Spirit and His wisdom lead us, we get right back on this crazy roller coaster for one more go, only to find ourselves worse off than when we started. Esau in Genesis was like that. He gave up His birthright for a bowl of porridge. He gave up the will of God and the blessings of God for his life all because he was hungry. How about us? I know for me, I put myself on that roller coaster many times but I’m done. I’m tired of it and fed up with it. I’m not letting my feelings lead me anymore, I want His Spirit to lead me and if that means He puts me on a slower ride without all the loop the loops than so be it. I’d rather be singing “it’s a small small world” knowing Jesus is with me on that ride, than all alone in a nurses office cleaning up the vomit of my stupidity once again because I chose the merry go round for morons!

Proverbs 3:13
13 Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding,

Romans 8:14
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Proverbs 12:15

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

Genesis 25:29-34

“My shorts are too big!” I cried in horror at the sight, holding them up to my scrawny, twelve year old body as I stared at myself in the mirror, cringing at the sight.  How can this be? You see, these weren’t just any shorts, these were my gym shorts assigned for me to wear in Coach Largent’s 7th and 8th grade Athletics class.  The Athletics class was not your typical gym class, it was for the true athletes of the school, the jocks. You had to take it seriously or you were kicked out of the program and there goes your chance of playing on the sports teams.  I wanted to play on the basketball team so badly, I needed to succeed in this class.  But what made this such a frightening and challenging experience was having to deal with the leader of the program, the man who would ultimately decide my fate, the most intimidating man I ever met in my twelve years of existence, Coach Largent.  He was five feet tall, had a short bushy mustache, yelling was his first language and he made you do push-ups if you just looked at him wrong. This was no gym class for pansies, no this was military boot camp and only the toughest survived. Democracy didn’t exist, we were his subjects and this was his dictatorship, he was like a Hitler in jogging pants! Now the shorts I had ordered came in and they were too big. I had to wear them by Monday’s class and we were all forewarned what would happen if we didn’t show up with our gym clothes on. It wasn’t going to look good for that student. They would get yelled at and humiliated in front of the whole class, perhaps even kicked out of the program altogether. What was I to do? My mind was racing about all the crazy things that could happen. I mean this was no ordinary Coach, I heard the rumors that on weekends on a full moon, he would turn into a savage man and run through the woods naked, eating nuts and berries, singing John Denver music to the trees! I mean who sings John Denver music? It was horrifying and then there was the rumor he liked to torture animals by juggling cats! Oh what a horror! What was I to do? Well thankfully I was raised in a Christian home with Godly parents who could see that their son was having some serious Coach phobias. So they sat me down and shared with me the Bible story of David and Goliath. They lovingly told me how the young shepherd boy with just a sling and a stone struck down the mighty giant Goliath. They reminded me that just like David trusted in God to face his giant, I needed to trust God now, give him my fears and face my giant, Coach Largent. Monday morning came and I remember walking up to the school from the car line. The sunshine was on my shoulders but I wasn’t happy. Yet I knew I had to do what I had to do. I had to face my giant. God was with me I told myself over and over again under my breath. The early bell rang and classes began. My Athletics class was the first class of the day. Everyone was lined up in military formation all dressed in proper attire but me.  I cleared my throat and made my move, holding the shorts in my hand, I approached my five foot tall giant of a coach and said with a firm but screechy voice, “Coach Largent, my shorts are too big!”. And with that I closed my eyes and held out my shorts, awaiting my dreaded fate. Coach Largent chuckled and said these words that were sweet music to my ears, “Son, let’s get you a smaller pair.”  What? That was it? “Let’s get you a smaller pair.”?  I couldn’t believe it? What was I so panicked about? He then took out a box and pulled out another pair of shorts and we exchanged one size for another.  I often look back on that time of my life, to remind myself that sometimes in life we make mountains out of molehills. We let fear create strongholds in our minds that it cripples us and prevents us from living out God’s destiny for our lives. As I have gotten older my “Coach Largents” have evolved over the years but my God has always remained the same. I don’t know what challenges you are facing that seem so impossible to overcome but remember, the same God that delivered the Israelites through a small shepherd boy, is the same God that wants to use little you and me to defeat the giants in our lives. Do you find yourself struggling with fear? Just exchange your worries for His strength and remember nothing is too big for God, not even a pair of big shorts.

1 Samuel 17:50
“So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.”

Isaiah 41:10
“Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”

I remember when my daughter Natalie was born I would hold her in my arms and just gaze at her. I was smitten by how beautiful she was and couldn’t believe this little one was actually mine. And what I noticed about Natalie as a baby, was when I held her, she would stare intently at me. We would have these long staring contests, it was as if she was studying me and trying to figure me out. I actually read in a book once that it is actually normal for baby girls to do this. They will look intently at you, baby girls desire that face time with their parents, it’s as if they’re screaming notice me. Baby boys well that’s a different story, good luck competing with the ceiling fan or other spinning things with blinking lights. But for the most part, babies find love, comfort and stability during face time with mommy or daddy. How about us? Who do we turn to or what do we seek when we are searching for love, comfort, stability in our lives? When our situations in life come against us, who do we fix our eyes on? David, in Psalm 27 mentions how hard pressed he was. David was literally being attacked with hundreds coming against him to wipe him out. But what’s interesting is that he didn’t ask for God to protect him here. It’s interesting that the one thing he asked was to “dwell in the house of the Lord”. The house of the Lord was a place of worship and this is what David was seeking for, to worship Him and later we read in verse 8, his heart’s cry was “to seek His face”! Wow, I don’t know about you but if an army was about to besiege me, the one thing I’d be asking for is not to seek His face, I’d be wanting to seek His hand for help and I definitely wouldn’t want to be thinking about seeking Him to have worship time either. How about you and I? We may not be facing attacks by evil men wanting to destroy us but we do face trying circumstances and trials that can very much feel like they are destroying us. Nothing wrong with praying to God for deliverance but what if instead we redirect our focus from His hand to His face and what if we redirect our heart’s cry from “Lord save me, to Lord I praise you”. Show me your face Lord!”. Let’s not get distracted by the spinning blinking lights of our circumstances, let’s redirect our eyes and hearts on the only thing that matters, a relationship with our daddy. So no matter what season of life we are in, war time or peace time, good times or bad, it doesn’t matter. We will not be shaken because we have a daddy that we can rest safely and securely in His loving arms. Looking to face time with your daddy, don’t have to look far, He’s already looking at you.

Psalm 27:3&4
“Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. 4 One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life”,

Psalm 27:8
You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”

“Congratulations! You booked it!” Ah the sweet sound of music to any actor’s ears. Especially to mine. Yes, that was me at one time in my life, I had the bug. The acting bug and it made me itch for twenty plus years of my life. I remember the thrill of the pursuit, the endless trips to Kinkos and the Post office to mail out my headshots and resumes, the networking, the acting classes, the showcases, I remember the laughter of an audience, the call backs, and of course the rush of excitement when I finally booked work and the satisfaction of getting paid to do what I loved. But what I also remember was for the little amount of success I had enjoyed, I had to face a ton of more rejections. I hated it when I would prepare so hard and give everything I had to an audition and the person at the other end of the camera or stage would not even acknowledge me or would just blankly stare at me like I was a complete moron. And no actor wants to hear the dreaded words “don’t call us we’ll call you”. Rejection, it sucks! You put your heart out there and someone comes along and stomps on it like it’s nothing. But we all go through it one way or another, whether it’s a job setback, a breakup, divorce, or someone chooses to not friend us on Facebook or comment on our Facebook posts, Ouch that’s got to hurt. But it’s not that we should try and avoid it because we can’t. It’s going to happen to us as long as we venture to take risks, try to love, and well basically just live out this Christian life. We can’t escape it but we can choose how we deal with it. Jesus was faced with the ultimate rejection when He was crucified for our sins but scripture says, “who for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross”. You see, the suffering He had to go through was possible because of the joy He had. He didn’t rejoice about the cross, He wasn’t glad or happy to be beaten and nailed to a tree, who would? He suffered the ultimate rejection of His Father turning His back on Him, “Father why have you forsaken me?” But He was glad about the outcome and He focused on that. He knew that by enduring it, it would provide a way to save you and me and bring us into a relationship with Him forever. He didn’t let bitterness or anger interfere with God’s plan instead He uttered those loving words suffering on the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do”. No instead He was full of joy. Not a happiness but an inner strength, knowing God’s will is best after all. Joy is rejoicing in the Lord for the outcome that is going to lead us in triumph and hope and victory. Jesus had that and He didn’t let His suffering overcome Him, but allowed God’s plan to be fulfilled in His life and in doing so He overcame the situation. For the scripture says, “He now sits at the right hand of the throne of God.” There is a win for every believer when we endure the suffering in this life. James reminds us to “Consider it pure joy when you face trials”. Why? Because of the work God is building in our inner character. Our trials may not bring us the results we want but I guarantee you if we give it over to God, and ask Him to reveal His plan for our lives, we will see His way was better after all. Looking back now I definitely see that a lot of those acting jobs I wish I could’ve had, actually could’ve been hurtful to me. I consider it a blessing I didn’t get the jobs. I would’ve been rich and famous but my heart would’ve been so far from Christ and what good is it to “gain the whole world and lose your soul”?  I can see now that His plan was truly best. So how about you, going through a trial today? Whether it’s a rejection or whatever the hardship may be, don’t let it overcome you, overcome it, by allowing God’s way to be fulfilled. Let His joy be your strength that propels you to the outcome God has and that will always be a place of hope and victory. The world may discard us with a “Don’t call us, we’ll call you”, but God will always invite you to call backs for His auditions. He’s got a role for everyone including you and remember when He’s directing the show there are no small parts.

Hebrews 12:2
For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

James 1:2
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

If you are like me, whenever there is the latest epic movie of good verses evil in the theaters, I’m there. If it’s a movie that I feel won’t compromise my values, that has a great story, interesting characters and of course some good old fashioned action, count me in. Just give me my large popcorn and my large cherry slushee and I’m good to go. One of my favorites of course is the Star Wars franchise. I always get excited when the latest one comes up. No, I’m not one of those who camps out in front of the theater on opening weekend in my sleeping bag and Darth Vader pajamas! Please, are you kidding me? That would be ridiculous. No, I’ve got some decency. I wear Luke Skywalker pajamas. Come on, you actually think I’d wear pajamas that represent the dark side? Anyway, speaking of the dark side, when you watch these movies, there is always a moment usually in the beginning of the third Act, where it seems that the dark side, or the bad guys are closing in. It seems like all is lost and hopeless for the good guys as evil reigns supreme. And we sit on the edge of our seats wondering, how will the good guys bounce back? Is there any hope for survival? And of course, when it seems like there is no way out, enter the hero, the Luke Skywalker who steps in at the right time and saves the day, defeating evil and rescuing the planet from destruction in the nick of time. We then leave the theater feeling all is right with the world, forgetting when just a moment ago, we were entrenched in fear, screaming at the screen in panic mode thinking, this is not going to end well. You know, sometimes in life we can get this way too. We can feel so overwhelmed by all the evil in this world that we start to feel things are so hopeless that we forget there is a happy ending coming to this story. We watch the news and see a country so divided, from race riots, to school shootings, to the latest terrorist attack. Evil seems to get the upper hand. Maybe in our personal lives we’re seeing the effects of sin and evil permeating our marriages and destroying our families and we find ourselves on the edge of our seats hoping this nightmare would just be over. Perhaps for you it’s gotten so bad that you want to withdraw from friends and those who love you and just close out the world just to escape the pain. But my friends, remember who the storyteller is, He is on our side. I was reading in Revelations where John is on the island of Patmos and he has these dreams about the final days on earth. He has visions of Satan, the Anti-Christ and his minions permeating their evil agenda across the globe and it looks hopeless, it looks bad. In chapter 5, he sees God the father holding in His hand the seven sealed scrolls. Inside them is written God’s ultimate plan to bring justice for God’s people but no one was found worthy to open the scrolls. No one and John began to weep with great sorrow in his heart, feeling overwhelmed that all was lost. But an elder tapped his shoulder and gently reminded him that there is one and His name is the Lion of Judah, the Lamb that was slain, Jesus Christ. And Jesus came forward and took the scrolls and opened them and everyone began to worship proclaiming His rule and reign over the earth. What an amazing encouragement this is for us, that when it seems like evil has the upper hand in our world and in our personal lives, let’s remember to cling to the hope and victory we will one day share when our Savior returns to us. I love the fact that He is called both the Lion and the Lamb. The significance of Him being our Lamb is that hope and victory can be recieved today because He has already defeated Satan on the cross and the importance of Him as the Lion means there is a final and lasting hope for tomorrow that we can look forward to.  Do you find yourself on the edge of your seat because the Empire has struck back? Remember, God’s the one who holds the scrolls in His hands. He wrote the script and in this story, we are the good guys and the return of our Jedi has a name, His name is Jesus, the Lion of Judah, and He is coming back to settle the score once and for all. So, what are you waiting for? Turn off the cell phone, pop some corn, sit back, relax and enjoy the coming attractions.

Revelation 5:9-10

And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”