When Things are Bad

We were enjoying a lovely breakfast with our guests this past weekend when all at once we heard a fire alarm go off upstairs. Ben flew upstairs, with me following with a fire extinguisher.  It was a tad smoky and smelled bad, but we couldn’t find a fire. Thankfully, Ben figured out it was a faulty part on the ceiling fan. Not bad at all. Could have been worse.

I had a brief flashback to when I was a child, watching a house down the road from us burn down in flames. That image never left me. The smell of smoke. The fiery billow of flames. The fire trucks. As a small kid, I couldn’t quite fathom the enormity of it, but I knew it was bad.

It seems like in the last few years, there’s been a lot of “bad” to go around in our world. And you know, it hits personally too. How can we not ALL be affected by the atrocities of the war in Ukraine? How can we not believe that COVID has affected every one of us?

When we know things are bad, what do we do? How do we handle the “bad” in life?

Daniel and the lions’ den was a beyond bad circumstance. Who would want to get locked up in a lions’ den? Daniel had earned quite a distinguished place among the administrators and satraps because of his exceptional qualities. So, they looked long and hard to find something to charge him with. They found nothing because he was so trustworthy! So, the administrators and satraps got together and went to King Darius and agreed that the king should issue an edict that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next 30 days, (except the king) would be thrown into a lion’s den.

Finally, they figured out how to trap Daniel! They knew Daniel, a man of God, would not stop praying!

You know what? Daniel did not stop praying! “He went home to his upstairs room, where the windows were open toward Jerusalem. Three times a day He got down on his knees and prayed giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” (Daniel 6:10)

So, they got him! They showed up at his home and caught him praying and asking God for help! Seeing no other option, the King had to punish Daniel. He was thrown into a lion’s den. A big stone was sealed at the mouth of the cave. How could anything about this be good?

And then came the morning! King Darius called out to Daniel “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?  Instead of hearing the lions roar, he heard Daniel’s voice. “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouth of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O Lord.” (Daniel 6: 21-22)

From an earthly perspective, Daniel’s situation seemed beyond hopeless. Yet, after an entire night in the lions’ den, Daniel came out, unharmed!

No matter how dire your situation (or the situation in Ukraine) looks, there is NO situation that God cannot change. God is still our deliverer and rescuer today, just like He was with Daniel. Will you trust that the living God is in the den with you? 

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Common Courtesies and Loving Well

I can never keep up with all the national days on the calendar, but today seemed most pertinent to talk about. Today is National Common Courtesy Day. Perhaps, after the last few years, we need a bit of a reminder on common courtesies?

Common courtesy is as simple as saying “thank you” or “please” when asking for and receiving a service or assistance. Kindness goes a long way in our culture today and is noticed by others even if you don’t even realize it. Simple ways of showing courtesy?

Allowing someone to cut in front of you in traffic.

Helping someone struggling with a heavy load.

Give up your seat during an airport transit.

Taking time to reach out to a new employee.

Initiating with a new neighbor.

Leaving a water bottle on top of your recycling bin for the recycling staff.

Showing respect to others.

Refraining from interrupting people when they're talking.

Staying off your phone when around people.

Upon more research in National Common Courtesy Day, they were not able to identify the founder of this important day. I would like to suggest that God has given us in Scripture guidance in how to love and care for those around us. God is all about love because God IS love!

“'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?'Jesus replied: ‘Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39

I was reading this verse this morning in my bible study and the question was asked “How do you love your neighbor?” Several thoughts came to mind:

Pray for daily opportunities to love your neighbor- I find that when I ask God in my morning prayers to help me love my neighbor well, He comes through! Why? Because this is God’s heart! He wants us to love others well! Pray that God would use you to be an encouragement to those in your midst. Pray that God would show you ways to share common courtesy with others. Pray that you would notice those who often feel unseen. God will help you love your neighbor as yourself. Just ask.

Care more about listening than being heard- I get it, people want to talk. I sense, since COVID, that people really want to talk and be heard. It’s way easier to talk about ourselves than it is to ask about someone else. Loving our neighbor involves laying aside ourselves and caring about others more than ourselves. That’s not easy to do! But, God, in His grace, helps us love our neighbor. It’s a beautiful thing when you know that it is God helping you love well!

Check-in on how someone is doing- Mental health has taken a hit in the last few years. We’ve all been affected by COVID. Watching this brutal war has also affected us all. Sometimes, the simplest thing we can do is ask “How are you?” and really mean it. Like, we’re in for REALLY hearing how they’re doing. We’re often so busy with our own agendas that we fail to see the opportunity to be present with someone and enter their pain. Many are uncomfortable with others’ pain, so avoidance is easier. Others just don’t take the time. We miss out on caring for people and showing the common courtesy to enter someone’s pain because we fail to ask that three-word question: How are you?

God calls us to live a life showing common courtesy. Loving your neighbor extends well beyond that and requires power outside ourselves. Jesus is ready and available to help You live this kind of life.

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

God is Near

There’s nothing like cranking up a George Strait song as I meander up a windy, country road to see Daisy, my horse. However, lately, I’m listening to the news, and more than often, I’m turning down the volume. I just can’t listen. It’s too much. The pain and suffering are getting to me. I want to believe this war is not happening. But it IS happening.

Watching humans suffer is agonizing. Being those humans that are suffering is more agonizing than any of us can imagine. I can’t shake these images out of my head. Innocent children dead. Pregnant women injured. Mass graves. A father weeping over his dead son. There are no words to express absolute horror, evil, and destruction in real-time. Just 3 weeks ago, these people were living a good and normal life.

I can’t make sense of it all. I honestly don’t know what to say. But, in those moments, when I turn down the radio and can’t listen to one more word, I redirect my mind to my Father in heaven. I wipe the tears running down my face and in that silent moment, I pray. I pray about the very situation I just heard about on the radio. I cry out to God for mercy. I call out to God for judgment against those that are evil. I ask God to stop this awful devastation. I know He hears my prayers….every one of them. 

Brother Lawrence once said, “You need not cry very loud; he is nearer to us than we think.” Yes, God is nearer than we think. For the Ukrainians. For the refugees in Poland. For people around the world. For you and me. Will you consider running to Him as you wrestle with these atrocities?

You see, God is a personal God. He longs for us to come to Him and enjoy a relationship with Him. He wants to console, comfort, care for and encourage us in our own times of suffering. He is very aware of the human suffering going on in our broken world and will act sovereignly. Consider God’s character and nearness in these verses:

“But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the LORD God my refuge. That I may tell of all Your works.” Psalm 73:28

“I have set the LORD continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

“Am I a God who is near,” declares the LORD, “And not a God far off?” Jeremiah 23:33

“Draw near to the Lord and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8

I desperately need God in my life. Knowing that I can talk to Him about ANYTHING, and He hears me is so comforting. And so today, let’s remember that God is near and longs for you to draw near to Him. He will help you. He will care for you. He will gently walk with you through whatever you face.

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

God is Still God

I struggle to watch the news as it’s so grim. I struggle not to watch the news as I want to know what’s going on. But watching the horrifying cries for help and the pictures of burning buildings is almost too much to bear.

No one knows what’s going to happen. I think we humans really like to know what’s going to happen. We don’t know. God does. And it is in Him, we trust.  

This week, I’ve been thinking of an old hymn that I learned growing up. The hymn, by Isaac Watts, was written in 1719, O God Our Help in Ages Past. Here are a few verses of the hymn:

 1 O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home:

2 Under the shadow of your throne
Your saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is your arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

3 Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received its frame,
From everlasting you are God,
To endless years the same.

6 O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Still be our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home!

When struggles come in our lives, we often forget that many have gone before us with even greater struggles than we will ever go through. Throughout the Bible, we see so many who’ve gone through so much tragedy, so much pain and loss. Jesus. Job. David. John the Baptist. Jonah. Daniel. The list goes on. God has always been and will always be our help, our hope, and our home. This does not dismiss our own fears and troubles. Our struggles are very real.

But here’s the hope: You and I have the assurance that even if we don’t get immediate relief from pain and troubles, even if all we can do is cry out to God with no immediate answers in sight, GOD IS STILL GOD. He is still real. You may have turned away from God because you didn’t feel he came through for you the way you wanted some time in life. I get that. God didn’t come through for me in some things that I longed to see happen. Yet, I knew He was still God. 

We have a God that will always withstand the storms of life. He has been our help in ages past. He will be our help in this age. He hears our cries. He is our hope for years to come.  Trust Him.

“I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:9-10

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.