"...He who watches over you will not slumber." Psalm 121:3
I'm about to do something super taboo in the "religious" world. I am about to compare God with Albus Dumbledore. If you are unaware who that is, he is the Headmaster at Hogwart's University in the Harry Potter books and movies. I can hear it now: "GASP! How could you compare God to a character who is a wizard that practices witchcraft?!" Well, here's how.
Back in Jesus' day, He was very disturbed by the Pharisees. They were a group of religious people that knew the scriptures up one side and down the other.But they knew it so well that they had all of these ideas about how things were going to happen: what Jesus would look like, how the prophecies would all go down,etc. In essence, they "humanized" the Gospel and made it make sense to them in their own minds. They must've missed the part of scripture where God says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways."
I feel we have the same problem today. People like to think God can only be found in a church, doing church things or reading your bible. Yes, God can be found there, but is by no means limited to those confinements. I like to believe that God is joyful when we can find Him in other things we enjoy throughout life. The bottom line is that some people will never step inside a church. Others will never pick up a bible. Still others will never allow you to entertain a conversation about God, religion, or anything of the sort. So, to you dear religious one, my question is this...is God not able to reach that person through any other means? God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.....and Harry Potter movies.
I must confess. I watch the Harry Potter movies almost every night. Now, they are 3 hours long so it may take me three nights to finish one movie, but it's worth it. I've become very in tune with some similarities between who I think God to be, and the person of Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore has one goal in mind: to protect Harry. Harry Potter was saved from death by his mother's sacrifice of love. She gave her life to save his. Dumbledore took Harry from birth and made sure he was put in a place where he'd be taken care of. Throughout the years at Hogwarts University, where Harry learned how to use magic in a good way, he was watched. Dumbledore was always watching. Harry found himself in many situations where he had to fight monstrous creatures and even Voldemort (the Dark Lord) himself. Dumbledore always sent help to him. And if sending help wasn't enough, there were times he would show up, cast Harry aside, and fight the battle for him.
The thing I love most about Dumbledore is his "presence." He let Harry live his life, make his mistakes, and get hurt. But in the end, Harry always learned something. He loved and cared for Harry...from a distance. But, when it came down to the battles between Harry and the Dark Lord, Dumbledore made his presence known.
What a picture of our God. He never sleeps. He's always watching over us, preparing us, teaching us. He may seem far away at times. You may question why He's not answering at the perfect moment, but remember, He's there...and when the time is needed, He will make His presence known. And if the battle is too intense, He will cast you aside and take the reigns.
"If then there is any comfort in Christ, any help given by love, any uniting of hearts in the Spirit, any loving mercies and pity; make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in harmony and of one mind." Phillipians 2:1-2
Wow....it's been a while! Life has been busy for me. Hectic would be a more appropriate word. Nate works for an insurance company and is trained to handle "CAT" duty, better know as "catastrophe" duty. Needless to say, after the storms and tornados wreaked havoc on the Southeast, his assistance was needed desperately. So, he was deployed for 21 days. Yes, TWENTY ONE days! Now, I realize for you military spouses that this seems trivial, and in all respect to you and your separation time, it is! But for me, who was very dependent on Nate and his presence in mine and Owen's lives, this was TOUGH. God had a few courses up his sleeve that I needed to learn and by the end of it, I think I made an A!
I battled at first mostly with my emotions, feeling heartbroken that my other "half" was so far away. The first week, I slept in fear every night. With a gun by my bedside, my alarm set, Tylenol PM relaxing my mind and soft worship music playing, I was certain I was finally safe. If the gun didn't scare them off, surely the piercing alarm would. If the alarm didn't succeed, surely my droggy state of mind would. And if all those things failed at scaring off an intruder, surely they'd hear the worship music and feel guilty! But God, in his love for me, new that wasn't healthy. He needed me in a position, stripped of all my securities, so I could learn to trust him, no matter what the outcome! I'm proud to say, after the first week, I began to trust a little more. I kept the gun in the drawer, not out in the open. I didn't feel the need to play music all night long. Now I still set my alarm, but hey, God created those for a reason! By week three, I was going to sleep peacefully and without a single outside light on (well, maybe the front light...but that's a huge improvement from the five spotlights I'd leave on every night).
I learned to be more independent during this time. I braced myself to handle the storms that came through, knowing that I would be the earthly provider of Owen's protection. I took my punctured tire into the dealership to be fixed. I killed spiders on my own (first time with my foot, later with my hands)! I took Owen to Gatlinburg when our family trip plans feel through. I handled "creepers" in my neighborhood, all on my own (with help of the police). I worked through situations that I had never realized I had become so dependent on Nate to handle. My poor family and friends probably got a tearful phone call from me at least every other day, but I felt with each new day, I got stronger.Change is hard. Servanthood is tough. But, God wasn't going to let me off the hook that easy.
It's easy to start to put your faith, trust and hope into the person you spend the most time with. It quickly becomes a habit to depend on them for your safety, comfort and well-being. But when all else fails, and yes, that person will one day fail you, whether by happenstance or purposefully, you will have God there to pick up the pieces. I feel that He wanted to make my joy complete. That couldn't be done if my life and happiness were still so dependent on my husband.
What better time than the present to start to trust Him a little more. Believe He has your best interest at heart. Know that "He will not let your foot slip--he who watches over you will not slumber."
"God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know it's me. "
What a picture of our God. He never sleeps. He's always watching over us, preparing us, teaching us. He may seem far away at times. You may question why He's not answering at the perfect moment, but remember, He's there...and when the time is needed, He will make His presence known. And if the battle is too intense, He will cast you aside and take the reigns.