“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe; plans to give you a future full of hope.” Jeremiah 29:11


Have you ever wondered what God was doing? Have you ever looked at your clock and said “I wonder what God has planned for me 5 minutes from now?” I have. I sometimes get so frustrated in prayer because I have this tendency to question what God’s will is. God has put me on a roller coaster these past 4 or 5 years. The zigs, the zags, the up-hill climb and the down-hill descent…the things I have done and experienced are amazing! And, more often than I’d like to admit, I found myself praying “God, what are You doing with me? What are Your plans for me?”

See, we are blinded by our human weakness. And that weakness is our tunnel vision. We have this inescapable-tendency to think “inside the box.” We think only of the here and the now. But the fallacy in that is the fact that, on the flip-side, God is completely opposite of us. He looks at time in its entirety. He sees us from the day we were born until the day we die in a unique, special way. He sees everything as it happens, yet He sees it as if it were happening right at that very moment.

Confused? So was I when Mike, my youth minister, introduced this concept to me. I’ll give you an example to help illustrate it:

• Imagine the day that Adam and Eve disobeyed God.
  
• Imagine the day Jesus died.
  
• Imagine the day Michelangelo painted the masterpieces inside the Vatican.
  
• Think of the first day you ever remember.
  
• Imagine the last time you heard your favorite song.
  
• Remember where you were and what you were doing on September 11, 2001.
  
• Think of the last time you yelled at your mom.
  
• Think of what you had for dinner last night.
  
• And now imagine the day that Jesus returns.
  

Now, when you assemble that list of memories, you see them in a continuum, as if they were on a timeline. But God sees them as they happen, as if each event were happening at this very moment. Pretty cool, right?

You may be asking what this has to do with the verse from today. Well, think about it: when was the last time you wondered why God was putting you through something difficult? When was the last time you wondered when He was gonna pull you out of some situation? As I said before, God sees our lives completely, from beginning to end. So, what may seem like forever down here is like a mere second to God. What takes forever here passes on like a breeze in heaven.

This should bring us hope. Hope that, though the current times may be bad, we will emerge happy. God looks at our lives and wants us to be happy; however, what we think will make us happy is transient. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us:

The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man; it takes up the hopes that inspire men's activities and purifies them so as to order them to the Kingdom of heaven; it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude. Buoyed up by hope, he is preserved from selfishness and led to the happiness that flows from charity. (1818)

In eighth grade, learning to do BMX tricks and having an unlimited-supply of Hurley clothes would’ve made me happy. But those things would hold no water for me right now. What I want today may not be what I want tomorrow. But God knows what will make us the best people we can be, and that will be what makes us happy. God wills for us to have a life of happiness and love; however, as any good Father does, He refuses to indulge us in our every single whim and want. He wants us to smile but He doesn’t want us to be spoiled-brats!

How does that effect us? Well, we need to come to a fuller understanding of that fact that God is God and we are not. There is no way that we can know what He knows because, truthfully, He knows too much! Ecclesiastes tells us "what exists is far-reaching; it is deep, very deep: who can find it out?"(Ecclesiastes 7:24) We have a natural tendency to want to know everything! We want to know what is going to happen, who is going to do it, and what they will do afterwards. But, if you think of your life like any good book or movie, you'd say "You know what? I don't want to know the ending until it happens." Similarly, we need to learn to be patient, accepting God's plan as it comes and always looking for ways to glorify Him despite the inevitable ups and downs. If we can develop that patient, prayerful and peaceful mindset, we will never be disappointed; rather, we will always go to sleep at night hopeful and excited for what God has planned for us for the next day. Amen.

“Then Elisha, filled with a twofold portion of his spirit, wrought many marvels by his mere word. During his lifetime he feared no one, nor was any man able to intimidate his will.” Sirach 48:12

Ever seen a really scary movie? I know that, in my life, I have seen some movies that have scared the daylights out of me. Movies like Chucky, IT, The Exorcist and The Ring are just some of the movies that have caused this tough guy to toss and turn at night. Most of us love scary movies. For some strange, deranged, twisted-reason we are fascinated with the adrenaline rush that follows a good pop-out scene. It is as human as thought and marriage. But why? That is what I always wonder. What is it that makes us so enamored with these horror flicks? And, moreover, why are we so intimidated by sinister-dolls, well-dwelling-dead-chicks, insane clowns and a man wielding a chainsaw?

Sometimes, our faith life resembles a horror movie. There are times when I put myself in situations that must make God sweat with anxiety. There are times when I am confronted with a situation that forces me to make a choice—God or myself; Jesus or society. And there are times when, unfortunately, I chose the latter of the choices. Once again, the devil, the ultimate villain, obliterates my love for Jesus with his chainsaw of selfishness.

In the verse here, we are told that Elisha, a mighty prophet, had so much faith and spirit that he could stun and amaze people by merely talking. Wow! Wouldn’t it be cool to just knock someone over by simply opening our mouths? Hey, doesn’t that remind you of a certain Someone who made Roman soldiers fall down by just standing up? You see, our faith is so powerful that the devil and his demons tremble in fear, like cowards, when they sense it. By our baptism, we are given the titles priest, prophet and king. Can you imagine a king scared of a tyrant? Can you think of a priest too afraid to do the mass? Further, can you name one prophet that was petrified of speaking the Word of God (Note: Jonah was not “scared” to talk: he just didn’t want to. Sound familiar?) I didn’t think so. We have been given the same spirit as Elisha. That is why they attack us. This is what a priest once told me: They are so scared to think that believers like us will get to Heaven that the only thing they can think of to stop that from happening is to make us doubt our faith, or forget our faith, or neglect our faith.

Doesn’t it kind of scare you to think that the devil and the demons conspire against us?

Doesn’t it make you feel a little…intimidated?

It shouldn’t. Because Jesus has already did the part of giving us faith and spirit. He lived His life with it for us to emulate. The verse speaks to us and says that Elisha was afraid of NO ONE! Hey, Jesus wasn’t afraid of anyone either. Temple priests, Roman Guards, Herod, Pontius Pilate…He wasn’t scared of any of them! He knew His mission, trusted His faith in His Father, and saw them as mere attempts by the devil to stop Him from getting to His destination. They may have thought they defeated Him when they sentenced Him to death; however, Jesus, showing the ultimate example of loving thy neighbor, spoke these love-filled words before breathing His last: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." (Luke 23:24) Even until His death, Jesus was a defiant, loving rebel.

So, if we have this undying-faith in Christ and live our lives according to His example, why do allow our fears to govern us? Why are we so scared to “step out of the box” and proclaim our faith? Because we let ourselves be intimated. We let that darn devil kick our butts! But, this day, brothers and sisters, I challenge you to remove yourself from the fluffy-pillow feeling of secret faith. Get out of this comfort zone we call “tolerance.” In the words of a certain TOOL TIME host, “Screw that!” Leave all of that softcore garbage behind and step onto this battlefield. In horror movies, the characters that run away are always the ones who get whacked. But the ones who step up and challenge the villain always win. True, they may get knocked around a bit (ever seen the Nightmare on Elms’ Street movies?), but, in the end, they always prevail. Today, pray that you would be convicted with love for God and ask that He would open your eyes to the spiritual armor in front of you (see Ephesians 6:10-17). Put on that cloak, that shield and that sword and go out onto the warzone of life. We, as Christians, may lose some battles, but we ultimately WIN THE WAR!

“Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing praise.” James 5:13

So, your parents have just informed you that they are getting divorced. You football career was prematurely-ended last week due to a knee. Your girlfriend of one year just dumped you for a guy you’ve known since third grade. And your teacher has just informed you that, not only are you her least favorite student, but that she is going to make your life miserable for the next year because of where you were born.

Quite a week, eh? With all of this stuff on your plate, what do you do? Well, you’ve got a few choices:
1. You could complain- “My life sucks right now. Everyone around me is having a grand-old time and here I am with my knee in a vice, my heart on a plate and my home on the rocks. This stinks!”
2. You could rebel- “If life wants to kick me in the shins, to heck with it! I’ll do things my way!”
3. You could drink- “What’s a little alcohol gonna do? All I know is that it makes me feel numb and that’s what I need right now.”

These are all options that “the world” would deem appropriate; however, I tend to think a little differently. Allow me to propose something a little different, something you may not have considered—sing. I’m not talking mumbling the words to some Mariah Carrey song, or humming a tune, or making beats on your desk. I’m talking about all-out, American Idol-singing!

Now, you may be saying “But, Kujo, I have a terrible voice. It’s so bad that, when I sing in the shower, the soap suds run away.” Very good point. And, to answer it, I look to Mark Hart, better known as the Bible Geek ®. He once said, “If you have a beautiful voice, sing for God’s praise. If you have a horrible voice, sing to get back at Him.” I think that answers that.

St. James tells us that those who struggle with life’s valleys should turn to Him in prayer. It may not be the conventional thing to do. It certainly may not seem like the most gratifying option. I mean, doesn’t it feel so much better to wallow in your own self-pity, commiserating about how your life stinks? But here’s the thing—God does not call us to be children of sorrow; rather, He challenges us to be like Jesus, accepting the cross we’ve been given and following after Him (Matthew 16:24).

I was doing a talk at XLT last week at my friend Chris Gordon’s church. I spoke of the ancient Israelites and of how they atoned for their sins. (Basically, after traveling with their families and cattle for days and days, they would wait in line to get into the temple, place their lamb or bull on the altar, slice it in half, sprinkle the blood on the altar and sing Psalms of praise and thanksgiving.) This form of worship and self-abandonment is what we Christians are called to.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie The Passion of the Christ is when Jesus, was praying in the garden of Gethsemane. He knew full-well the events that were about to take place. And He was scared, and He began to pray. The devil began to tempt Him, telling Him that we weren’t worth the trouble and that no one could “bear the full burden of sin.” Jesus’ response: “Shelter me, Oh Lord. I trust You. In You I take refuge…if it is possible, let this chalice pass me. But Your will be done.” I think that His words say it best.

God recognizes our weaknesses. He is our Father. And no Father would let His sons and daughters have more than they could handle. When the hurt, the sadness, the disappointment and the persecutions pile higher than you can see, realize that God is with you more than ever. It’s just like in the Footprints prayer, when the man becomes aware of the fact that when there were only one set of footprints in the sand, it was then that God was carrying the man on His back. God loves us infinitely more than we can ever comprehend. He wants us to be happy and to prosper (Jeremiah 29:11); however, He doesn’t want us to become spoiled brats who only talk to Him when we want something. So He gives us times when we are struggling for “for [our] encouragement and salvation,” so that we may come to know Him more.

So, I ask you again: in the midst of your hardships and sufferings, what will you do? Will you whine? Will you resist? Will you hide in a substance? Or will you come to your God and say “Look, Lord. Things aren’t so great right now. And, to tell you the truth, I don’t feel so great. But, instead of doing what society thinks I should do, I will come to You in search of hope and strength. You are God and I am not. I know that I can’t handle these troubles by myself. So I leave them in Your hands. I love you and pray that I may become closer to You through this valley that I find myself in. Amen.”

You may whine, you may dine, and you may opine,
but giving your troubles to God is just so fine.