Free to Follow

Excerpted from a column that was first published in the January 2018 issue of Chapel Hill News and Views magazine.

When I turn the pages of a new, large, month-by-month calendar, I marvel at all the freedom I have to choose what lies before me. As of that moment, there are no appointments or tasks written on it. The landscape of the months ahead is like a blank canvas.      

As the days pass, I, like a landscape painter, choose what to add to that wonderful white space. I fill it with appointments and things to do. In the margins, I make notes and scribble phone numbers and other essential information.

Then, when it’s time to turn the page to a new month, I sigh as I see that I’ve already filled in many of the daily spaces. I no longer have pristine pages to marvel at. I no longer am as awed by my freedom to choose. I no longer spend as much time prayerfully considering what God wants me to do with all those days He is giving me as I’d spent between the ending of the previous year and the beginning of the current one.

Instead, I often feel overwhelmed by all the appointments and tasks already awaiting me. And I know that I’ll add more, more, and more as the months move along. With a sigh, I methodically begin to do whatever is on schedule for a particular day.

But this year, I yearn to avoid filling up precious hours with my plans. I long to leave lots of white spaces so that I can be free to do whatever He asks me to do as I talk with Him at the beginning of each day -- and throughout the day, as well.

My desire to remain flexible in order to give His plans priority over mine increased after I read I Come Quietly to Meet You, which is a collection of devotionals written by Amy Carmichael (1867-1951).

Amy’s devotional entitled “Entanglements” helped me realize I am guilty of having too many entanglements, too many worldly things that allure me more than spiritual ones.

After several days of reading and reflecting on Amy’s words, I woke up one morning thinking about the phrase “free to follow.” I eagerly got up and began searching the Scriptures for verses that contained the word follow.

As I read the many references, I realized that the people who were given specific assignments were going about their ordinary tasks when they received the divine call to “follow.”

For example, Peter and Andrew were casting their fishing nets into the water. James and John, along with their father, were mending their nets. Matthew was working at his tax collection booth. (For details, read chapters 4 and 9 in the Gospel of Matthew.)

When Jesus said to them, “Follow Me,” they immediately stopped what they were doing and followed Him, despite their plans for that day.

I pray that you and I will willingly let go of our plans in order to say yes to Him, that we will be free to follow Him wherever and however He leads us.

 © 2018 by Johnnie Ann Gaskill

 

New Beginnings

Note: I wrote the gist of the following in my journal in December 1997. However, the message remains true and applicable to us today. 

As I reflect on all that happened last year, I also look toward the New Year and wonder what it will hold. None of us knows what's ahead, not even in the next hour. But I take comfort in this sentence I read in a little booklet as I waited for an appointment: “Every ending holds the promise of a new beginning.” 

I like that, don't you? Whether the ending is a good thing or a bad thing, it does hold the promise of a new beginning. Perhaps it holds an opportunity to start over.  Or an opportunity to experience growth of various kinds—emotional, mental, financial, spiritual, social, leadership, etc.  That’s exciting!

On the other hand, new beginnings can be scary.  However, there’s much wisdom expressed in an old song, these bits and snatches of which came to mind as I thought about what might be ahead:

“I don’t worry o’er the future.  I just live from day to day.  I don’t borrow from its sunshine for its skies may turn to gray.  I don’t worry about tomorrow.  It may bring me poverty.  But the One who feeds the sparrow is the One who stands by me.”

How wonderful to know that—no matter what changes (i.e. new beginnings) are ahead —God stands by us! Yes, by you. And by me. And... aren't we glad that we do not go alone into the new beginnings? That we get to hold His hand as He leads us into tomorrow, into the time of new beginnings?

To listen to the entire song, please click here.

God Is Still in Charge!

 My heart was heavy as 2022 came to an end. I was thinking about so many dear ones who have problems that are heartbreaking and have no obvious solution. But as my husband and I traveled toward a friend's house on New Year’s Eve, we noticed the sky was a vivid orange near the horizon, making it appear as if a fire raged behind the trees.

My eyes filled with happy tears at the awesome sight before us. I said to my husband, "This reminds me that God is still very much in charge of this world." 

And, indeed, He is. He's in charge of the natural world. He's in charge of every living thing, including the human race. He's in charge of the things that happen and those that don't.

As I reflected on those awesome truths, I recalled these words written by the psalmist David:

But the LORD is in his holy Temple;
the LORD still rules from heaven...

~Psalm 11:4, NLT

Other Scriptures point out that God is in charge, even when we think He isn't. Even when we think He has forgotten about us. Even when we think He is never going to do anything. Granted, He may not resolve the situation in the way we want Him to, but whatever He does will be the right thing.

As we wait for God to act, we can remind ourselves, as did Moses as he was speaking to God's people centuries ago:

Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.

~Deuteronomy 7:9. NKJV

As we enter a New Year, let's remind ourselves daily to trust God in every situation. As the centuries-old hymn says:

Simply trusting ev'ry day,
Trusting thro' a stormy way;
Even when my faith is small, 
Trusting Jesus, that is all.

...

Singing if my way is clear,

Praying if the path be drear;

If in danger, for him call;

Trusting Jesus, that is all.

...

~Ira D. Sankey, 1876

Listen to (and sing along with) that beautiful song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVU-bgxjuW8

If we'll trust Him, we can have a happy new year, despite our circumstances. 

Little Steps

As this year draws to a close, I feel a mix of emotions, don’t you? Gratitude for all the blessings I’ve received. Sadness over the passing of loved ones. Concern over the seemingly unsolvable situations in the world. Regret over things done or left undone. Overwhelm regarding things yet to do.

I can’t do anything about some of those things, but I know from previous experience that if I’ll declutter my personal spaces, I’ll feel much more hopeful and function more efficiently as I do the things I can do. 

However, even improving my workspace seems a daunting task. But the day I vowed to sort and file the accumulated items in my “to be done” stack, I came across a 3x5 card on which I'd scribbled these words several months ago: “find little ways forward.”

As I dealt with the stack, I said to myself, Think about what runners do. When they’re running a marathon (26.2 miles) or a shorter distance, they do it one step at a time. Step by step, from start to finish, they stay on the course marked out for them. They know that each step brings them closer to the finish line. They don’t lollygag around or quit. They don’t look back. They look ahead, eager to reach the finish line. That’s what I’ll do in regard to sorting this stuff and to finishing important projects that I’ve set aside for far too long.

Encouraged by that insight, I’m feeling less overwhelmed and more determined than ever to find little ways forward in the New Year. I hope you are too.

Where's the New?

A devotional in the January-February 2019 issue of The Upper Room begins with a delightful story (page 8) about a little boy who expressed great excitement about the coming of a New Year. But when the New Year arrived, he ran around looking everywhere for the New Year--or at least something new. But, of course, he found everything the same as before. "Where's the new?" he demanded.

The writer of that story (Sriparna Mahanty from Odisha, India) goes on to say that she often wonders whether or not there's anything new in her life now that's she's a Christian. You and I wonder the same thing, don't we? After all, as she points out, the Bible does say, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NASB).

Although we may look pretty much the same, there will be more love that shows on our face and in our voice and in our

actions. We will be more forgiving and more patient with others. There are other pieces of evidence, such as those listed in Galatians 5:22-23, that prove we are changing from the inside out. We'll give up many of our old habits and develop new (better) ones. We'll see changes in our attitude-- sometimes subtle ones, sometimes major ones. 

The "new" is there and will become increasingly evident the more we talk with God, the more we read and study His Word, and the more we do what it says. 

Just as a seed that's planted grows imperceptively over time as it comes to full fruition, so also newness of spiritual life is a process that begins the moment we receive Christ. We are growing. We are becoming all that Christ will enable us to be. In the meantime, let's not be disappointed if we don't see major newness all at once. Rather, let's look for all the little signs of new growth we see in ourselves and desire more.

Entanglements

Mama used to “wind off” yarn before she started any crocheting project. She’d fold a piece of paper into a small square and then pull out the end of the yarn from inside the skein and begin wrapping the yarn around the square, turning the square every few seconds. The rotation slowly transformed the square into a ball. By the time all the yarn from the skein had been pulled and twirled in that manner, Mama ended up with a ball about the size of large grapefruit or a small cantaloupe. 

She wound off the yarn in order to avoid having to deal with the inevitable tangles that she’d encounter during the project as the yarn dwindled inside the skein. Untangling the yarn was much easier to do when moving the ball (rather than an  afghan) through the various sizes of loops that were jumbled together. Once all the yarn was on the ball, Mama could crochet efficiently and calmly since the yarn rarely formed anything other than an occasional simple loop that could easily be untangled.

I thought of Mama and her balls of yarn again the morning I re-read the Entanglements chapter in Amy Carmichael’s wonderful devotional book, I Come Quietly to Meet You: An Intimate Journey In God’s Presence. In that chapter, Amy urges Christians to avoid any entanglements that would keep them from being free to serve God. She points out how easy it is to get ensnared by social responsibilities, expectations of others, duties at work and at home, and so forth. The greater our involvements, the less time we have to spend quality time before the Lord—seeking His will, studying His Word, listening to His voice, and learning His ways. Such quiet time spent alone with Him is essential, for that is when we “receive an in-flooding of the Lord’s life…,” she says on page 44.

Thus, you and I must find ways to avoid entanglements that keep us from spending time with Him. And if we’re already ensnared, we’ll do well to find ways out of them, even though that’s awfully hard to do. But we must do it because, as Amy says on p. 46, “We cannot allow ourselves to be entangled and, at the same time, believe that we will have spiritual power."

The beginning of a new year is a wonderful time to decide what we will or will not write in all those beautiful blank spaces on our calendars. We can choose to fill each one to the max, or we can choose to let go of the entanglements that clutter up our calendars and our lives and, thereby, keep us from spending our God-given moments and days on the truly important things: the things that please Him, the things that He commands us to do, the things that will minister to others....

No one serving as a soldier

gets entangled in civilian affairs,

but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

~the apostle Paul, 2 Timothy 2:4, NIV

Enter On a New Year

I enter on a new year, 

not knowing 

what it will bring forth, 

but surely 

with a thousand reasons 

for thanksgiving, 

for joy, 

and for hope.

~Stepping Heavenward, 

by Elizabeth Prentiss

Dawnings

When I’m at the beach, I almost always go outside to watch the sunrises and sunsets even if no family member goes with me. I just grab my camera and go alone to the beach.  I love seeing the rays of light punch holes in the dark sky. I love the beautiful colors that begin to spread across the sky. I love the first glimpse of the sun when it seems to rise out of the murky waters. I love the gentle sea breezes and the shrieking of the shorebirds as they search for and find their first food of the day. I even like the noises made by boats as they head out to deeper waters. There’s just something extra special about the dawning of a new day—and/or a new year! Each one is full of promise, full of unknowns.

Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879) apparently appreciated the dawns, just as I do.  In one of her songs, Another Day Is Dawning, she mentions specific opportunities she anticipates in the new day, among them: making progress, praising God, serving others, witnessing to God’s love…Several times, she mentions her longing to spend another day with Him. If by that she means she wants to be aware of God’s presence with her and to enjoy Him, to feel His great love, to talk with Him throughout the day… then I feel a kinship with her because THAT is what I want, too! 

Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.

Ecclesiastes 11:7, New Living Translation

Wait! Watch!

“Is your church having a Watch Night Service?” a friend asked.

“I haven’t heard about one,” I responded.

That question set me to thinking about Watch Night services I attended while growing up in the beautiful north Georgia mountains. Each New Year’s Eve around 10 p.m., our family would meet with other families at the little country church, and together we would worship as we waited for the arrival of the New Year. We’d sing hymns and pray. Some folks would stand and testify about the blessings the Lord had given them in the past and how they trusted Him to be faithful to them in the coming year.

Those simple services stand in stark contrast to the way so many people celebrate today. Back in those long-ago days, we knew nothing about “toasting” in the New Year, of being among the thousands who gather in large cities to celebrate, of needing “designated drivers” to get us home, and so forth. We celebrated quietly, with hearts filled with gratitude to our gracious God—and with our hands, figuratively speaking, in His, trusting Him to lead us and to guide us in the coming year, as He had in the past.

Even though Watch Night Services are pretty much a thing of the past, I continue to celebrate the coming of the New Year in a similar manner in my own home. As the old year draws to an end, I sit quietly and reflect on the ways God blessed me in it and thank Him for His mercy and grace. I ask Him to take care of me in the New Year and to show me the paths He wants me to follow, since what was said to God’s people centuries ago as they prepared to enter the land He had promised to them can be said to me—and to you, Dear Reader:  “You have not been this way before” (Joshua 3:4).

Since we, like they, need Him to lead us, let’s wait quietly and watch eagerly for Him.

©2014, Johnnie Ann Burgess Gaskill 

This is the Bible my Daddy and Mother gave me for my birthday in 1978.
It is one of my most cherished possessions.
My parents knew that the Word of God
would show me how to live a good and godly life,
as it had shown them.