DARK DAYS ARE FOR HIS GLORY!
(by E. H. Maze)
Chapter 15
Jesus is crazy about me
Have you ever had something
happen in your life that brought about the need for people to laugh at
you? I’m talking about that real kind of
paranoia where you feel like your friends (or former friends) sit around and
laugh at you behind your back because you did something really stupid. If you have any friends whom you have heard
laugh at others, you can be guaranteed that they are laughing at you behind
your back when you do something stupid.
Jesus is the best friend you
could ever have. When I found out that
He is personally committed to my happiness it changed me in so many ways. First of all, He never laughs at me. That is to say, He never makes me the quiet
discussion of secret heavenly jokes. I’m
quite sure that I am not the brunt of any heavenly humor, where Jesus leans
over and says to the Father, “Have you heard the one about the Eugene who did
such and such?” and they both bust a gut laughing at me.
I am, however, convinced that
He DOES laugh at me for some of the stupid things that I have done. But, rather than my being an embarrassment to
Him, he gets a kick out of it - and, so do I - now.
Who in this life have I hurt worst than God himself. Answer: No one. Yet, He’s still crazy about me! He told me that He was crazy about me. He said it just like that – “I’m crazy about you,” he said.
Wow!
Building Sand Castles Over the
Broken Toys of Our Past
If we could all remember that
we are just kids in God’s playground (and not take ourselves so seriously) we
would be able to get over things more quickly.
I always say that our relationships (with everyone - every single person
in this life) should be like two brothers; one has broken the other’s toy and
they have a fight, but the next day they have forgotten all about it and are
found playing together in the sandbox. After all, the earth is just one giant
sandbox.
I’m not writing this to
justify my mistakes of how I have hurt people.
When we screw up, we should pay.
But, for how long? The
responsibility of debt for a wrong done does not lay with the person who screwed
up. The person doing the harm certainly
needs to make things right, but the
responsibility of the return to friendship lies upon the kid whose toy got
smashed. He could hold a grudge or he
could bury the past deep into the sandbox of life and build a castle over
it. Look at how Jesus forgives you!
You can find this principle is the story of Jacob & Esau. Jacob lived in fear for too many years, afraid that the brother whose birthright he had stolen, whose blessing he had stolen, would one day find him and kill him. When the day came (God forced it upon Jacob's heart to return and face the consequences of his actions) to meet his brother he was going to get what he deserved. Unbelievably, Esau met him with open arms. Esau had forgotten the past. He was the one who was hurt, so he was the one who had the greatest opportunity to show God's grace.
Here is your next miracle:
(Believe me, this will produce a great miracle in your life)
If anyone has ever hurt you, why don't you try being the forgiver instead
of the unforgetter.
Your Best Friend is Calling
One Sunday morning, during the
singing part of worship, the Lord spoke to me some very simple things, not the
least of which was, “I call you everyday.”
The reason I needed to hear that was that I was feeling exceptionally
alone. A friend had promised to call and
I discovered that he had heard some rumors about me (some of which may have
been true, but he didn’t really know that) so he decided that I wasn’t worthy
of his time. It had been six months, so
I figured I had gotten the message that our friendship was over. In fact, I had discovered that my friend had
set in motion rumors that others in our circle had decided to believe, which
put my wife and I outside the circle. Whah!
I found myself alone on Sunday mornings feeling unloved, unwanted, judged, bewildered and rejected. While surrounded by fellow believers, including the friends who sat smugly by, I was desperately anxious for acceptance – any sign of unconditional love. I didn't get it. To this day those friends continue to walk in circles around the issue and the rumors. We have all moved on and, often, I wonder "What will the day be like when God forces our paths back together."
Nevertheless,
at the end of those days I heard God say
to me, “I call you everyday.” In that
time, I began to realize that He does call me everyday. He cares about everything I’m going
through. He never tires of me. I go on and on and on and he never says,
“Give it a rest.” People are calloused
and unconcerned, especially with those who need their friends to be
friends. But, we are all merely Fair
Weather Friends compared to how God wants us to be. Still, the Lord calls me and wants to know
how I’m doing. He knows how ticked off I
get. He notices that I cry - He sees me
hiding behind my Sunday morning smile - In the middle of worship, His Spirit
drives me to my knees and pulls a well of tears from me I thought had dried up long ago. He shows His love for me by
simply understanding that I need a friend in the everyday pain and
disappointment of life – He is no doubt my friend who sticks closer than a
brother.
Okay, so maybe more than a
just a little of the rumors are true. So
what? So I’ve lost a friend or two. I wish it were not true. I wish I were a better person. Do I wish I were the kind of person that my
friends think I am? Probably not. I am not that person. That’s why they don’t call me anymore - I’m
not the person they thought I was. To
them I am less than the person they thought I was. To me I am actually much worse than even
that. But, to God, that’s a different
story. He knew me before I knew
myself. He knew what kind of person I
was long before my fair-weather friends arrived on the judgment seat - I put
them there, by the way, so don’t blame them.
“Hello,
“I’m just fine, Lord, thanks for asking.”
“Come on now,
“Well, yes, Lord, I know it’s you, but I can’t tell you how I’m really doing. You might not like me anymore. You probably don’t want to hear about how bad I am doing right now.”
“Really, you don’t think I know already?”
“Well, of course, you know. But, when I open up with others, they get tired of me quickly. Aren’t you tired of me yet?”
“Come here, you foolish child.”
And He grabs me and squeezes me so tightly that tears flow from every pour on my body.
He squeezes me so hard that the tears are like drops of blood, cleansing me, warming me,
the chillness of my cold heart melting away by a warmth that sears the sin of yesterday’s foolishness.
"I HAVE SAVED YOU A SEAT!" the
Lord said to me. "Sit here, next to my Son,
while I make his enemies His footstool.
You are free to rest your feet next to His, if you like."
I walk into church and notice
that there are seats with papers and Bibles and jackets draped across the backs
of the folding chairs. No one is sitting
in the seats. The seats are being saved
for friends. People are milling about,
smiling at one another - No! They are
not smiling at one another. One couple
is smiling at another couple, the ones for whom they have saved the seats. Anxiously, I look for friends who might wave
to me, motioning for me to come over to them, hoping that they will show me the
special seat they have reserved for me.
It would even be okay if the seat was reserved near the back. Even if they were to tell me, “Look! We have saved you a seat. It is not near us, because, well . . .” That would be sufficient because all a
person really cares about is that someone bothers to acknowledge that he has some
value.
But, look! There is a seat, next to two empty seats --
three little chairs in the second row, maybe reserved, but with no sign to tell
that. I wonder if those are special seats
reserved for someone very special? I
walk as slowly as possible as the music begins and as those who are milling
about wander intentionally to their reserved seats. By the time I arrive at the second row, not
needing to excuse myself to ask if it would be all right if I sat down, the
music has started and everyone is standing again. I stand sheepishly in front of the middle
chair of the three, ready at a moment’s notice to slide back into the aisle if
someone pushes in to claim their late-reserved chairs.
In an attitude of worship, I
hear His voice, "I HAVE SAVED YOU A SEAT!" the Lord said to
me. "Sit here, next to my Son,
while I make his enemies His footstool.
You are free to rest your feet next to His, if you like."
My heart explodes and I fall to my knees. Here come those tears again.
The Lord has replaced those
fair weather friends. Since the darkness
of those days when I was accused of being crazy – when Jesus said He was crazy
about me – and when my reserved seats were given to a new set of friends – when
Jesus reserved a special seat for me – the Lord has given me a new spirit of
hope.
I have found such joy in the
tears that come from being in His presence!
I suppose, if I ever again have such a friend as a man longs for that I
will weep all the time. But, I doubt
that I will ever have that privilege.
It’s okay now, because I have that friend who sticks closer than a brother.
I find, as I grow older, that the Lord has plans for me that are much greater than this world can offer - I am ready to sit where he has saved me a seat and to listen to Him when He calls me.
And I pray everyday that, one day, those
brothers & sisters who stole my rights and blessings will notice that I have
been saving special seats for them up near the front where the Spirit of God
speaks.
end of Chapter (click here to go to Chapter 16)- if link is not active, the chapter is not yet ready. Check back later, please.
Please let me know if you have read (and enjoyed) this chapter by sending me a quick email to: ehylandmaze@aol.com
bless you.....................................Eugene H. Maze
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