God is with us.

In chapter 13, I learned a perspective on loneliness I hadn’t thought of before. Max helps us to see that loneliness can really be a gift from God. God may be just trying to get our attention so that we are drawn closer to Him. Our priorities may not be in the right place and it may be God’s way of bringing us back to Him. Max states, “When you know God loves you, you won’t be desperate for the love of others.” When we let God fill our void of loneliness, the other voids of our lives will begin to fall into place and we won’t feel so alone.

“He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17;27 NIV)

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Light at the end of the tunnel

There are so many things to be afraid of in the world today. If you actually sat and thought about all the things that could go wrong or could happen in your day it can be scary. As Max reminds us with his golfing example; you can’t focus on the problem, you have to focus past the problem. Jesus is your solution. He has been there and He can help you forget about your fears. I am reminded of a great song by the band, Third Day, “Light at the end of the tunnel.” Jesus is our light at the end of this life. Focus on him, not the problem of the moment and you will get through it. I want to end this post with a quote from page 102 which is my favorite part of chapter 12.

“Don’t measure the size of the mountain; talk to the One who can move it. Instead of carrying the world on your shoulders, talk to the One who holds the universe on his. Hope is a look away.”

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Our God is a good God.

The burden of grief is something that is hard to grasp until it happens to you. When a loved one passes away it can feel like the wind has been knocked out of you. I have had very close relatives pass away before but this chapter hit home for me pretty recently. Many of you reading this probably already know but if you don’t I lost my mom June 1, 2008. She had been sick but it was somewhat unexpected timing for us. God knew when it would be all along though. We may not always like it or understand but it’s not for us to decide. On page 92 in chapter 10, Max goes over the question many face, “What if _________ wasn’t a believer?” I have the hope that Max describes that we don’t know someone’s inner thoughts. Our God is a good God and he wants all his children to come home. I am posting a portion of the speech I gave at my mom’s service which seems to be the right words to describe how I find comfort in my grief.

“Jesus says in Matthew that “blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”. A great source of my comfort through this trying time has been my faith. 2 Corinthians states, “My grace is sufficient for you and my power is made perfect in your weakness” I have had several people make the comments to my sister and I that we seem to be staying so strong through this time. And I want everyone to know that it is not us that are the strong ones but we rely on His strength. I couldn’t imagine this time without Him, the promise of His return, and His victory over death. I am comforted in the knowledge that one day when I go to be with my Savior I will have the chance to be with my mom again. In such a time of grief and pain there is still much to be thankful to God for and I am comforted by the truth that all is in His control.”

If you have lost someone recently or years ago I just want to say that I’m sorry for your loss. I’m sorry for what you’re going through. I know no magical word anyone can say will make us feel better but we must remember; Our God is a good God and He will help you through your grief.

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God will lead us home

In Chapter 10 of Traveling Light, Max touches on the part of the Psalm most remembered in funeral services. This is a part we would like to go the whole book without talking about but he reminds us that it’s not something you can get away from. We all will die some day. Only God can guide us home. He reminds us, “Don’t deal with death without facing God. Don’t even speak of death without speaking to God.” Max describes the way a Shepherd guides his sheep through the valley of the shadow of death. It is amazing how similar the comparison is for when our good Shepherd will guide us home. And it will be our Shepherd, no one else, he comes himself to guide and comfort us. There is much peace to know that he is with us and always will be. And there is peace in the knowledge that he was with our loved ones that have gone before us, guiding them home. Taken from Max’s words in the study guide; I hope you are reminded of the hope believers can have despite the reminder of death.

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Get over yourself

“For His name’s sake…” NOT for our name’s sake. This is the 1st of the two main points in this chapter, we are here to be His tools in His work. In chapter 9 of Traveling Light, Max Lucado has made many good references to remind us we are only the tools and that the tools are not who deserve the praise. God knows we are human and we can’t handle the praise so he takes it for us. I think the 2nd important point in this chapter is to remember the ways Max gives us to cultivate humility and kill ungodly pride:

Assess yourself honestly
Don’t take success too seriously
Celebrate the significance of others
Don’t demand your own parking space
Never announce your success before it occurs
Speak Humbly
Live at the foot of the cross.

Max gives us a good description under each of these in this chapter. Take some time and pray over these in your life. Pride is a trap of the devils, may we all learn not to be caught in it. But every now and then we all need to hear someone say, "Get over yourself."

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Forgiveness

Reading through chapter 8 of Traveling Light for the second time, the word that keeps coming to mind is forgiveness. We all need it. We all want it. None of us deserve it. But still it is ours to take. It was paid for by Jesus on the cross because none of us are righteous. So many people in the world carry around guilt about past deeds and wrongdoings. They don’t feel they deserve forgiveness so they hang on to that bag of guilt. I know for me the first time I really understood what it meant about forgiveness was when I read one of my now favorite verses, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10 NKJV). I was under the illusion for SO many years that there are “good” people and “bad” people. God opened up my eyes to see that this perception is so wrong. NONE of us, not one deserves to be called a “good” person. We have all fallen short. We all need the forgiveness of our heavenly Father.

But as you have your forgiveness from your Savior you also need to forgive yourself and others. Don’t carry around guilt because of something you maybe never got a chance to apologize for and it’s too late. Forgive yourself. But if it’s not to late ask that person’s forgiveness and forgive yourself. If you can tell someone that you forgive them for something, do it. A huge burden can be lifted by a few words. Jesus will give you the strength, the Bible promises us that.

I love the way Max Lucado ends this chapter, “I told them I was present by virtue of someone else’s work. My only contribution was my own confession. We’ll be saying the same for eternity.” We will be in God’s righteous presence and all we have to contribute is our confession. Praise God.

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The jungle is still the jungle.

In chapter 7 we are examining the part of the Psalm that states, “He restores my Soul.” Max Lucado gives us a scenario in a jungle to draw out hopelessness and feeling lost. Whether our jungle is the literal one that Max speaks of or the one that is around us all the time, we need someone to help us through it all. On page 57 he states, “Our Shepard majors in restoring hope to the soul.” He reminds us that because we have our Shepherd we have fellowship, vision and direction to deal with our jungles of life. Our surroundings may not have changed but we will when our Shepard is with us.

To go over what Max states again, you may not need this message today or maybe you do. But what is certain is that you will need it in the future. We don’t know what tomorrow holds for us. It’s nice to have the reminder of who to turn to when those difficult times come and the Jungle seems to be caving in on us. The jungle is still the jungle, but who is guiding you through it? All you have to do is ask for your Shepard and he is already there.


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