Lessons from the Trees – Week 28 – finding our way (2)

Last week we were considering how we can learn from all that has come before in Scripture and church history as we make decisions about our lives.

Some time ago I found a beautiful card called ‘Teach Me Your Paths’ by Cornwall-based artist, Hannah Dunnett who with her husband, Ben, loves “all things creative and especially love to see how faith and creativity can be combined in so many exciting ways.” Hannah has very kindly given me permission to use the image here – I hope you will love it as much as I do. You can see other gorgeous artwork on her website here.

© Hannah Dunnett (used with permission)

Blazing a Trail

Cutting a path from scratch is a daunting task.  Without good equipment and training, it can be a huge undertaking.  You may need a machete or other sharp implement; a knife or something to mark your way, so that you can find it again; compass will help you with your bearings, good footwear and the right clothing, bug spray, and many other things may help you in your quest.  With this much effort at stake, you want to be pretty sure about where you want to go and why.  Are you absolutely sure that no other path has already been created?

Equally, when we are faced with a decision and there is no direct guidance in the Scriptures or in other writing, it can feel very challenging.  In the same way, we must equip ourselves well, building a framework of good practice through which we can reach good decisions.

Sometimes, however, we find it harder to decide what is right, when there is no direct help in Scripture or in the writings of others.  Then we must equip ourselves well, and build a framework of good practice through which we can reach good decisions.

Holding on to the tenets of Scripture, making sure that our thoughts and lives are centred on God, ensuring that love of God, self and others is foremost and, above all, asking God for the wisdom that only He can bestow, taking time to share the challenge with him and asking Him for guidance will all help us to create a good way through the tests that life throws at us.

Above all, we have to hold on to God’s promises, trust that God hears us, loves us and will be with us through everything.

Read: Isaiah 30:18-21

One of the biggest challenges in hearing God is learning how to listen. It is a much-needed skill – isn’t it a gift when we really feel listened to?

One of the key things I have learned on the Renovaré Institute is about the need for silence and solitude in order to listen to God. I may have previously mentioned the running commentary in my head that I was utterly unaware of until I was asked to spend some time in silence at the first Residency.  It took me several hours to quieten it, and often still does!!  Happily, I have learned some ways to help me, such as the centring (centering, if you are American) prayer mentioned in the Extra post on Monday.

© Alison Thomas Steer – Attleboro, MA – June 2018

If you are facing a big decision and need guidance, devote some time to silence and prayer, listening for the wisdom of God to guide you to the right path.

• Once you have told God about your situation, fall silent and allow him space to speak.
• Start small, devoting a few minutes wholly to God, removing all distractions and guiding your wandering mind back towards God whenever a stray thought comes to mind.
• Use a centring prayer to help you.
• Expect to hear from him.

If you have the opportunity to take more time out, plan a quiet half day, or day to go and spend with God so you can extend your conversation with him – a conversation (I have found) that truly does go both ways.

One book I found very helpful in learning how to listen, and how to discern what God might be saying to me is Hearing God by Dallas Willard.

© Alison Thomas Steer – Syon Park – 22/11/2013

George VI famously quoted some lines of a poem by Minnie Louise Haskins in his Christmas Day broadcast to the nation in 1939.  However, her poem continues well beyond the familiar lines he quoted…..

I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year,

“Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”

And he replied,

“Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God.

That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.”

So I went forth, and finding the hand of God,

Trod gladly into the night.

He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone east.

So heart be still!

What need our human life to know if God hath comprehension?

In all the dizzy strife of things, both high and low,

God hideth his intention.

God knows. His will is best.

The stretch of years which wind ahead, so dim

To our imperfect vision,

Are clear to God. Our fears are premature. In Him

All time hath full provision.

Then rest; until God moves to lift the veil

From our impatient eyes,

When, as the sweeter features of life’s stern face we hail,

Fair beyond all surmise,

God’s thought around His creatures

Our minds shall fill.

Minnie Louise Haskins (1875-1957)

 

 

 

Lessons from the Trees – Week 9 Devotional – Ash (1)

Ash – the powdery residue left after the burning of a substance.

A couple of weeks ago, I marked the beginning of Lent with an Ash Wednesday Holy Communion Service, at which my forehead was marked with an ash cross. This tradition does not come from the Bible – it was introduced into church practices over 1000 years ago – but why?

The Bible mentions ashes many times in the context of grief, mourning, repentance and purification.  People put on ‘sackcloth and ashes’ as an outward sign of repentance or mourning – intended to be an outward sign of an inward change of heart.  The ash cross speaks to me as a symbol of the blessing of repentance at the start of Lent, which is a time in the church calendar of preparation for Easter and is characterised by self-examination, penitence, self-denial and study. In our world of instant gratification, these words are unused, misunderstood and often unpopular.

I did not grow up in a liturgical church, so these practices are relatively new to me, but I find the symbolism helpful in taking time to remember that there is always something to be changed in me.

Lent is a period of around six weeks that runs up to Easter. It remembers the 40 days that Jesus fasted in the wilderness, where he was led by the Holy Spirit after his baptism (Matthew 4:1-11).  This period of self-denial by Jesus has morphed into the modern era as ‘giving up something for Lent’.  But Lent can mean so much more…

Following that period, Jesus began his ministry (Matthew 4:17), telling everyone ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’  In his book, ‘The Divine Conspiracy’, Dallas Willard explains Jesus’ words like this: ‘This is a call for us to reconsider how we have been approaching our life, in the light of the fact that we now, in the presence of Jesus, have the option of living within the surrounding movements of God’s eternal purposes, of taking our life into his life.’

When you hear it like that, Lent, as a time to reflect and reconsider aspects of our life, seems a lot more appealing, an invitation to take our life into his life, to change our minds about long-ingrained thoughts and destructive habits, all the while enveloped in the ‘surrounding movements of God’s eternal purposes’.  We are not wallowing in self-pity because of our wrongdoings and failures, we are wrestling with ourselves in the presence of God who calls us into a life of more.

Photo ©Adam Thomas Steer – 12.01.2008

For me, ash is a good example of what happens when a substance is not durable enough to withstand fire.  Instead of getting purer (like the refining of gold), wood simply burns away.  As Christians we want our lives to be worth something – after all, we are preparing for eternal life with God. (1 Corinthians 3:10-13)

On Monday, I sent an extra post talking about Spiritual Disciplines.  Above I quoted the Church of England website as it cited the practices of Lent as ‘self-examination, penitence, self-denial and study,

This week: Consider trying out a spiritual discipline during this Lent period.  Notice how you feel, and then what doing it reveals to you about God or yourself.

For example:

Fasting (e.g.food, media, coffee, sugar) should be focused on God.  ‘More than any other discipline, it reveals the things that control us.’ It also reminds us that we are sustained by God and not food or other things.*

Study: both the Bible and God’s non-verbal book – nature.  Paul encourages us to concentrate our focus on the things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely . (Phil 4:8) Taking time to know the truth will set us free.*

Confession: Lent is a time to get real about ourselves.  A little introspection does nobody any harm.  Paul exhorts us to ‘consider ourselves with sober judgement’, i.e. see ourselves as we really are! ‘We are inviting God to move upon the heart and show us areas that need his love and healing touch.’*

*The material above is paraphrased or directly quoted from Richard Foster’s ‘Celebration of Discipline’ pp. 69-70, 80-81, 189-190.

Photo ©Alison Thomas Steer – 11.11.2012 – Centre Parks, Sherwood Forest

Using some of our time in Lent to metaphorically wear sackcloth and ashes is not intended to impress anyone (including God) but an honest interest in repentance and all it calls us into may make Lent a more life-giving period than you ever imagined.

May God bless you this week.

Lessons from the Trees – February Extra

This is the second part of an occasional series of additional information that I hope will be a valuable supplement to the weekly devotional post. The next devotional will be published next Wednesday.

In the January Extra we talked about training for life with God.  This time I want to talk about Spiritual Disciplines which may sound a bit scary, and perhaps not too much fun, but I would encourage you to keep reading because in them you might find unexpected treasure.  James Bryan Smith (previously mentioned in Week 6) calls it Soul Training, which perhaps casts a new light on these activities.

What are they?

Spiritual Disciplines are activities that help us to become more open and responsive to the Kingdom of Heaven in the life we are living now. They help us to become more Christlike.  They are not ways of earning favour, but of creating space where God can work in us and with us.

So why would we practice them?

If we accept that we need to change, and that even by sheer willpower we find it hard to change, then we need some help.  This comes as a mixture of the power of God in our lives and our own intentional commitment to cooperate.

In his book ‘Celebration of Discipline’ which has its 40^th anniversary this year, Richard Foster writes; ‘The purpose of Spiritual Disciplines is the total transformation of the person.  They aim at replacing old destructive habits of thought with new life-giving habits.’

 And who is our model?

Jesus and his earthly life.  Jesus engaged in a range of activities, leading to a balanced life that allowed him to stay constantly connected to his Father God and to do his will. Included in this life was solitude, silence, prayer, fasting, simple living, study, celebration, service and meditation.

Taking steps to understand these and why they might help us in our life with God is a good start.  Once you have done this, trying some of them out might be a natural next step.

If we ask God to be with us as we undertake them, we can ‘become more like Christ in character and power, and thus realise our highest ideals of wellbeing and well-doing.’*

 

Against the grain?

A common phrase in English is ‘it goes against the grain’ – meaning it goes against natural disposition or inclination.  In the field of carpentry, it is best to plane wood with the grain in order to ensure a smooth finish.  Going against the grain may leave splinters and a rough finish.  In life we imply that to do something against the grain may result in a poor outcome.

Our initial reaction to the idea of spiritual disciplines might be to say that they go against the grain.

But what if our natural inclinations are all against the grain because of our sin?  What if a disciplined Christ-like life is a life that goes with the grain – that brings smoothness, lustre and natural beauty?  Food for thought indeed…

You can find out more about what Spiritual Disciplines are and how they help you draw closer to God here on the Renovaré website,  which is full of Spiritual Formation  resources, including this podcast here.

*Dallas Willard – The Spirit of the Disciplines (Preface ix)

Lessons from the Trees – January Extra

This is the first in an occasional series of additional information that I hope will be a valuable supplement to the weekly devotional post. The next devotional will be published next Wednesday.

Last week we were thinking about the weaknesses that cause us to fall into temptation. But changing our habits is really difficult (how are those New Year resolutions?)  We can’t change by trying.  If I want to pole vault, for example, I can try with all my might but if I’m not well trained, I won’t do very well.

Think about a real runner.  S/he doesn’t only become a better runner by running, but goes to the gym to work on muscles that will help her improve, so that when she comes to the race, she is well-prepared for the task ahead.  Spiritual formation is a fancy way of describing training for life with God.

And in our spiritual ‘gym’, we are not lifting weights because we want bigger muscles to show off, but so that they can help us run faster.

In the same way, for example, if I am struggling with pride and judgment of others, if I start to serve them, and see them up close, and begin to understand their story, God can start to change me and make me more humble and compassionate

We call this the Principle of Indirection*.  We put ourselves into training, and God’s grace reaches out to us and transforms the way we are inside.

 

*You can read more about this in Richard Foster’s Book – Life with God