Now What?

Oh Well

This spring and summer has been cooler and wetter than usual.  Folks are complaining that it’s too cold for the pool and always raining.  Rainy days and Mondays isn’t as comforting as Sunshine on my Shoulders.  Oh well, one can’t control the weather.

            I made my own baskets of flowers for the yard this year.  Wave petunias, pretty little flowers whose names elude me, and sweet potato vines – well, the petunias look sickly, and the mystery flowers aren’t growing, but the sweet potato vines are burgeoning into the siding of the house and trailing off the deck.  Oh well, one can’t control how a plant grows.

            Sometimes I am a sounding board for those who are angry, discontented, and unhappy in their relationships or in life.  Sometimes I know what to say.  Sometimes I just listen.  I tell myself it lets me know how to pray for them, but always it makes me tired and sad.  Oh well, one can’t be responsible for the relationships of others.

            There are many things I could share with some dear ones who are younger and inexperienced in the way the world works.  Valuable information that they could benefit from, but no one wants unasked for advice, and those that need advice don’t often receive it.  Oh well, one can’t teach someone who doesn’t want to be taught.

            I catch myself saying Oh well rather often and it bothers me.  Oh well is an expression of mild disappointment or resignation, like too bad or it’s a pity.  I don’t like the phrase or the feeling that prompts me to say it.  Some situations stimulate an Oh well, and sometimes it’s appropriate.  I mean, what’s the alternative?  Anger?  Frustration?  Harsh words?  Escape?  Resignation isn’t all that bad, is it?  It’s exhausting trying to change the status quo, but change it we must.

            Have you ever had the laundry room discourse?  The one where you tell that so-and-so exactly what you think of them, or give the obvious solution to the dilemma du jour, the one that no one hears but yourself, because you are alone doing laundry.  There are no Oh wells in the laundry room - only solutions and confident assertions - that no one hears, because you are alone doing laundry, and they wouldn’t listen anyway.

            I can get to feeling pretty glum.  The folks in my life have their share of issues, so do I; these sloppy issues that splash on those around us and make things messy and jumbled, confusing and hard to sort through.  I like happy endings, clear solutions, reasonableness, heroes, sunshine, justice for all, and righteousness reigning.  I’m not going to get that in this world, not yet.  It’s hard to walk in the now, to love and to extend grace and mercy, to be misunderstood, but to come back for more.  It’s hard living here.

            I don’t think I’d be able to cope at all if it weren’t for my relationship with the Lord and His Word.  Psalm 19 brings much comfort and direction to my troubled heart:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.  Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard.  Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world.  In them He has placed a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; it rejoices to run his course.  Its rising is from one end of the heavens, and its circuit to the other end of them; and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.  Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can discern his errors?  Acquit me of hidden faults.  Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

            After the psalmist points out the majesty of God’s creation – His general revelation, he points out the supremacy of His Word – His special revelation.  A good definition of these two can be found here:

http://www.gotquestions.org/general-special-revelation.html

            Law, testimony, precepts, and commandments are all words having to do with God’s clear directions found in His Word.

 

The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul:  This tells me we can trust God’s word, rely on it.  He is the only constant there is – everything changes, even relationships, people, and countries we hold dear, but He is constant, reliable, able to restore our soul and allow us to rest in Him.

            The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; God is not a liar – He’s not a man.  He actually means what He says.  He’s not confused or wishy-washy.  He is faithful.  That faithfulness makes us simple folk wise – we trust; He comes through.  We grow wise as we apply His word and see him come through for us.

            The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:  It is good to hear the truth.  It affirms something deep inside - it is just right.  We live in a world that embraces deceit.  People who can put a manipulative “spin” on something are praised for their craftiness.  In fact, they work for our government or become journalists.  They run denominations and colleges.  They could be our neighbors, co-workers, or sitting next to us in the pew.  It can be difficult to perceive the truth from a lie.  The word of God whets our appetite for truth, and sharpens our discernment.  It gives joy to our hearts – the truth, even painful, is always better than the lie.

 

            The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes:  God’s Word doesn’t have an ulterior motive.  It is His special revelation to us – direct communication, what He wants us to know – because He loves us.  Unconditional, grace-filled, mercy-laden love for us – He is the light of the world.  We have a Bible in our hands that has everything in it that we need to live here, to abide in Him while we await His return, yet we don’t read it.  How much better it is to love the light than to dwell in the darkness!

            The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever:  There is nothing wrong with fearing – reverencing, honoring, respecting, following the Lord.  Okay, it’s not politically correct.  So, when has what’s been popular ever been worth doing, anyway?  Fads, cultural “truth”, tolerance, pseudo-science – it’s all going to pass.  The things we want so badly right now we won’t remember in ten years.  The Lord always has been and always will be.  He endures.  Because He endures, those who put their trust in Him will endure as well.

            The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether:  There is no unjustness with God.  I’m not talking fairness.  Fairness is open to debate.  It depends on your point-of-view, your political persuasion, and your desires of the moment.  Justice needs to be determined by the law-giver, by the righteous, and by the all-knowing.  Only the Lord fits that job description, and His judgments are the only ones that count. 

            In light of Gods general and special revelation, the psalm ends with a prayer.  A prayer we would do well to memorize and pray for ourselves.

Who can discern his errors?  Acquit me of hidden faults.  Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me; then I will be blameless, and I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

            It is easy for me to discern the errors of my husband, my kids, my friends, the jerk in the next lane, the government, but me?  Well, I do pretty well most of the time.  Yeah, right!  That word presumptuous has some interesting synonyms – impertinent, audacious, fresh, arrogant, bold, forward, rude, and uncivil – kind of describes our society.  Apparently, although popular today, these are not qualities becoming to God’s people.

            Lastly, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight.  That is a very sobering thought to meditate on.  My thoughts, my attitudes – justified, sad, self-righteous, and deserving as they may be, need to be acceptable to my Lord.  The perfect, wise, righteous, pure and true One - That is practically an unattainable requirement.  I can’t Oh well that away, but I can pray to the Faithful One who will answer yes.

            He is, indeed, my Rock and my Redeemer.