This is what a hot-air balloon looks like from inside the basket. I had the privilege of experiencing this on New Years Day 2013. The ride was delightful and full of surprises. The biggest surprise was finding that my hair wasn’t blowing in the wind. In fact, I couldn’t even feel or hear the wind. Yet, I knew it was blowing because the balloon kept traveling sideways. We were part of the wind, and whichever way it went, we went.

Another surprise was the amazing quietness as we sailed above the earth. The only sounds were our voices and the occasional loud whoosh of hot air being blasted upward to keep us aloft. Activities going on below us seemed remote and disconnected from us.

How similar a balloon ride is to our spiritual lives. In God we live, and move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). When we allow ourselves to dwell in God’s presence, then wherever He goes, we go. Whether or not we feel anything, we are in the flow of His Spirit, just as in the balloon we were one with the wind.

By focusing on the pilot and the balloon, I felt secure in the basket. In the same way, we can focus on God’s love and be secure in His presence. Then, like the activities on the ground, our circumstances will fade. They won’t disappear, but when we are transported to a place where we can see them from God’s perspective, they become less important.

Who knew a ride in a balloon would really be a picture of life with God?

 

One of my favorite experiences in Israel was a visit to Magdala, the town where Mary Magdalene came from. For years historians and archaeologists believed it to be near the town of Migdol along the Sea of Galilee, but were unable to find any physical evidence of its existence. Because they couldn’t find it, some doubted there ever was such a town… until 2009, when during excavation for a retreat center seven miles from Migdol, the town of Magdala was uncovered.

I was fascinated to see the foundations of a town from the days of Jesus, knowing I was literally walking on streets where He walked. But what resonated for me even more was the realization that I was walking through one further example of the accuracy of the Bible. Whether we are talking about the location of an ancient site, or a principle pertaining to our personal life, when what we think or expect does not quite jive with what the Bible says, it is not the Bible that is wrong. We just need more information or revelation to be able to uncover it, or to understand what it means.

We can trust what God’s Word says about where things took place thousands of years ago. Likewise, we can trust what it says about us today. When God says, “I will never leave you or forsake you,” (Hebrews 13:5) we can trust that. When He says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness,” (Jeremiah 31:3) we can believe it. All of His promises are true.

You can read more about the discovery of Magdala at http://www.timesofisrael.com/at-magdala-by-the-kinneret-discoveries-that-resonate-with-jews-and-christians/

“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me” (Psalm 138:8 NKJV).

I have always loved this scripture, and found it comforting and encouraging. In fact, all of Psalm 138 is comforting and encouraging. But recently something came across my path that put this verse in a whole new light for me.

On a recent trip to Iowa, my cousin shared a link to a mind-boggling video from a concert by Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio. It is well worth the 41 minutes needed to watch it. The video shows how incredibly, unimaginably vast our universe is, by comparing the size of the earth to a golf ball. Then it shows how intricately put together the small things are, even down to the most intricate part of each cell of the human body.

After watching this, I was simply blown away to realize that the God who is bigger than this universe that He created, and who spoke every tiny detail into existence, has promised to perfect all things that concern me. He is at work in my life, taking care of everything that concerns me – my hopes and dreams, my family, my writing – all things.

Not only is He big enough to handle all the details, but He really cares! If it concerns me, He cares about it. What an awesome God. This is truly amazing grace.