picture Jesus: a primer in weathering turbulence

The captain called them significant bumps, and for several moments I savored the sheer artistry of that phrase. Significant is a weighty, mature word. Unrushed. Elegant. Controlled. And  bumps is possibly the most adorable word ever. This was a word match made in Heaven. Well done, Southwest. Well done.

Pixabay.com via Wikkimedia.org 

I love everything about flying. Love catapulting through those mechanical entry doors and being swept up in this swirling eddy of vibrant humanity. Love skidding down miles of shiny terminal tiles with every possible color, race, age, size, height, and personality God made. Everyone has a look. Everyone has a gait. Mannerisms. History. Agenda. Some move fast. Some move slow. It’s a free for all on visual bliss. And everyone is a potential new friend.

Correction. I love everything about flying but flying.

So when the deep, sincere voice warned us of significant turbulence while we soared thousands of feet above ground round, with nothing but a few inches of metal between us and angry sky, I had to think fast. Lest they have to squeegee me off the ceiling, or my seat neighbor tire of me rocking back and forth in the fetal position. Or I unleash a blood-curdling, unrelenting scream. These things well up deep inside me and threaten to actually happen in turbulence. Is no bueno.

I began by picturing Jesus. He looked remarkably like the flannelgraph version. But it was not the thought of a long-haired, white-robbed man sitting next to me that soothed my rising insides. It was simply remembering He was there with me, and that His presence carried the weight of all the words He’s every spoken to me. You see, if we are to weather any turbulence in life, we must make the connection between Christ’s presence and His words.

This is what I found as we braced for impact:

    1. He keeps people in perfect peace when they stay their mind on Him. I talked with Him about this as we started our descent into Atlanta. How trusting=focusing my thoughts=complete peace. And I led my mind down a long path of thoughts about Him. My insides stopped churning.

    2. There is goodness and mercy in every day of my life. David concludes this at the end of His famous 23^rd Psalm. Surely, this is the case if God is our Shepherd. So I looked for God’s steadfast loving-kindness as my ears popped and the fasten seatbelt sign dinged. I found it all around me.

    3. The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man can do to me.  I’ll admit when I remembered these words, my first thought was, “but man didn’t strap you to a narrow cylinder hurtling at an alarming rate towards certain death!” But the point is this: if my God were as visible as He was present, everyone on that plane would beg to be on His side. The God who speaks things into existence, the God who ‘upholds the government of worlds,’ the God with nail scars in His hands, who came alive from being dead by His own power…this God is with me. This God is my helper. My fear stayed at 30,000ft.

There were other Bible words that flooded my mind as we all sat there with fluttering hearts. But, if I were to be completely honest, I’d say that those significant bumps never actually happened. We jostled a few times, and landed on firm ground just after the major storm had moved on. Hmmm. Sounds like a Divine hand to me. And as we shuffled off the plane exhausted but relieved, a grin (I’m afraid it was cheesy) spread across my face. I could picture Jesus. He would carry and comfort me through any turbulence. 

Beth

And what at midnight?

They were just two men doing right. Doing what we all hope we would do at the sight of an innocent girl being maliciously abused. They rescue this little girl because the image of God has been stamped soul-deep into every feeble, strong, old, infant, man, woman, millions of us. Stamped like this indelible mark of value and ownership. Making every stranger our neighbor and constraining each of us to show mercy and grace. 

And this beautiful act triggers the downward spiral of worst possible events.

The abusers, unable to stomach the blow to their income, fling the two men before a pack of unjust magistrates. Lies are hurled, and the growing mob is stirred into violent frenzy. Paul and Silas are stripped naked. Then beaten. Then cast into prison. Then cast into a deeper prison. Then locked tight in the stocks. One act of righteousness leaves them bleeding, buried, and bound. Hours pass. Blood congeals. Muscles stiffen. The damp and putrid sets in.

And at midnight they pray loud and sing praise to God.

used by permission from spokenlightphoto (my cool friend!)

And we watch in awe as this beautiful act triggers the upward spiral of miraculous events. God shakes out the earth for His two children. The prison doors fling wide in the quake. The heavy bands loose and fall limp to the ground. The prison guard leads them up then out, and his God-stamped soul finds mercy and grace which spreads to every soul in his home. Paul and Silas walk away free men. The Kingdom of God marches forward.

___________________

We all have midnights.

I mean, we do right and suffer loss. We live right yet our bodies live in pain. We spread the mercy of the Gospel, and we are spread thick with rejection and hate. Like Job, we stand helplessly watching our loved ones slip away. We do right, and we are stopped. We do right and nothing makes sense. And what will we do then? What will we do when we are held fast in the bonds of disappointment and frustration? When the heavy gate of doubt slams shut and locks us tight. When the damp and putrid of life on a fallen planet sets in. What then? What at midnight?

I’m pretty convinced Paul and Silas were not pondering some salvific scheme of rescue or escape as they worshiped God in that prison. I think there was a naked faith in God that gave them confidence in the darkest hour. God is longsuffering. If we look for that in our lives, we are going to see it. God is kind. We can always trace that ray. Our God is loving, merciful, strong, wise, just, eternal, and compassionate… midnights do not quench these. His character glows bright in darkness. I believe Paul and Silas experienced that, and it gushed out in prayers and thanksgiving despite their current condition. Faith can see what sight cannot. And what faith sees will always soar the heart in worship.

But we try so hard to strap His character to what we want His actions to be. If my God is____________then surely He will_______________. And we walk away sorely disappointed, licking the wounds caused by our own understanding. We forget that perfect character will always motivate perfect actions. Do not doubt this at midnight. Trust who He is in the dark. He will move in our favor. He can only do that. Whether it ends in miraculous deliverance or some sustained dayspring of sufficient grace.

So we do right. And sometimes we sit wrapped in midnight.  But we see what we cannot see, and know it to be true. And we worship the God of miracles alongside Paul and Silas.

Beth