Another Year, Another Rememberance Stone

²¹ And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ²² then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ ²³ For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, ²⁴ so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” Joshua 4:21-24

Everyone knows the story of Moses and the Red Sea, but did you know God did the same thing a second time for Joshua and the Jordan? Oh, to fight our forgetfulness! 

Each year since God opened my heart and saved me by His grace in 2008, I've made an effort to fight forgetfulness by writing what God has revealed to me through the current year on a stone. I pray that I would never forget His lessons, and that it would heal my heart to fear the LORD! {fear of the Lord means to to have a reverential obedience and making God your only idol}

God's theme for me in 2013 was learning to treasure Christ. It was an amazing year of suffering, grace, mercy, healing, and eyes being opened. 

I've shared my struggle with contentment as a working mom previously, and in May 2013, God soften my heart and allowed me to be content with my circumstances. After becoming content, God revealed to me what He had been up to in my suffering through reading John. God revealed to me that He was not answering my prayer, and allowing me to suffer because He was healing my heart of my idol of money. Did you know that the sin that led to the betrayal of Jesus and resulted in the brutal death of Jesus was an idol of money?! Yep, Judas had been stealing money out of the offerings, and then on the night of the last supper, he betrayed Jesus for money. Judas loved money more than Jesus...and so do I. Convicting.

Suffering is a promise for all those that love and follow God. And I'm so thankful that God allowed me to suffer, and not let me chase after my idol. God is good, and God does good. Yes, even in suffering. 

Over the summer I began to pray for God to gently and mercifully remove my idol of money, and to heal my heart to love and treasure Christ more than money. I was scared out of my mind because I thought that God would heal my heart through even greater suffering. I was anticipating us losing our jobs, our house burning, and living on the streets. Why do I try to expect God's moves? Why do I always go to worst case scenario? God's heart is always on trial. 

God answered my prayer in September 2013 in a very unpredictable way. He blessed me with more money, a better working schedule, and new work responsibilities. What? I was completely shocked. Why would He bless me financially when my idol is money? 

There is so much more to the story of God's movement in my circumstances from giving me Mila, to suffering through an at risk pregnancy, kidney stones, employee chaos, and more. This past year was mixed with blessings and sufferings, and reflecting on this, God revealed to me His theme for this year.

Treasure Me, love Me. Not your circumstances, not your idols. Fear Me and Me alone. 

^"11 ...for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹² I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³ I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13

These verses are often misquoted. The promise isn't that I can do anything I set my mind to...if I dream I will get it...if I work hard my dreams will come true. NO! What Paul is saying is that his circumstances doesn't dictate his joy. Paul's ability to endure life, to do all things, is solely based on treasuring Christ. And, treasuring Christ produces fear of the Lord. That's Paul's strength. 

Oh, to be free from circumstances. Yes God, I see what 2013 was about. Learning to treasure Christ, whether in plenty, suffering, need, or abundance. 

Let this stone be a constant reminder. Let people ask me what these stones mean, so that every person knows the Lord is mighty and good, and all who hear should fear the LORD!

Growing in Fear of the LORD!

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." Proverbs 9:10

"He will be the sure foundation for your times,
    a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
    the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure." Isaiah 33:6

"The fear of the Lord means reverent submission that leads to obedience, and it is interchangeable with 'worship,' 'rely on,' 'trust,' and 'hope in.'" Edward T. Welch

I was searching through all my sermon notes from church today, and I found my notes from a sermon titled "Delighting in the Fear of the Lord". Guess the date of this sermon? October 3, 2010. Oh yes, God just did that! This was God's way of confirming to me all that He's been revealing through 1 and 2 Samuel. God is so playful with me!

This is hysterical because as I've been abiding in God through 1 and 2 Samuel, God has been laying on my heart that everything can be broken down into 2 categories: you either fear the Lord or you fear something else {fear of man}.

I've recently shared my personal sin with fear of man, and lately I've been stressed as a new parent about how I will parent Caleb. How will I mold Caleb's heart to love God, to trust Him, to not rebel? How do I parent Caleb to be a man of great faith, and a man after God's heart??

 This is what God has said while I've been asking Him to heal my fear of man, and guide me as a parent:

David Loves People Well:

*2 Samuel 1:12--David wept, fasted, and mourned for both Saul and Jonathan's death!

*2 Samuel 1:19-27--David sings a song about Saul and Jonathan and makes everyone learn it! He really loved Saul.

*2 Samuel 2:5-6--David BLESSES them because they showed kindness to Saul!

*2 Samuel 4:10-11--David loves his enemies well!

Fear of the LORD:

*2 Samuel 6:7 "and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence"

*2 Samuel 6:9 "David feared the LORD that day and said, 'How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?'"

The sermon on "Delighting in the fear of the Lord" says, "The fear of the Lord is the awe and wonder that is demonstrated by humble submission to, unconditional trust in, and sincere obedience to the sovereign rule of God." Yes! That's why David can love Saul and his enemies well, because he fears the LORD! David can love the people that try to KILL him, because he worships and trusts God!  

"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28

Did you see 2 Samuel 6:7, "God struck him dead...for his irreverence."? Fear of the LORD is serious to God. God loves to display His Holy love and Holy justice, and invites us to know His true heart, so I should be in awe of how David loves well, and I should be scared out of my mind when God justly kills someone for his irreverence. This awe and fear should produce action, an action of worship, trust, and hope in God. So why am I lacking in action??

If I want to parent Caleb well, and if I want God to heal my fear of man sin, then I must grow in the fear of the LORD! Only then, can I parent and teach Caleb to do the same. Teaching fear of the Lord is the key to good parenting. 

And so, I press on abiding in God through sitting alone at His feet asking Him to reveal Himself through His Word, and praying that He would give me a fierce heart that fears Him alone. That's my prayer for you too.

"The key to learning the fear of the Lord is to stay in scripture. When you are in scripture, pray that God would teach you that he is the Holy One."

"The triune God delights in showing us his grandeur and holiness, and we should never be satisfied with our present knowledge of him. So aspire to the fear of the Lord."--Edward T. Welch, "When People are Big and God is Small" 

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