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In The Middle of Two Big Things
When we look back on our lives, it’s usually the big moments we remember most. The highs that made us feel alive, or the lows that broke us. It’s completely natural to think that way. In the Bible, we also got a glimpse of these big moments in the characters’ lives. We saw Joseph’s rollercoaster life being the most favorite to being sold to slavery to being promoted, to being prisoned, then to being 2nd to Pharaoh. We also saw Jesus in His big moments— humble birth, extraordinary childhood, performing miracles, preaching the Kingdom of God, dying on the cross, and resurrecting. What else? 40+ kings’ chronicles of major events, Jonah’s calling, Queen Esther’s favors, Joshua generation’s wars, Mary and Joseph’s calling and transitions, the apostles’ obedience and persecution, and so much more. However, even if we try hard to always have those big, impactful, and life changing moments in our lives, we can’t. And we shouldn’t. When you hike a mountain, you’ll notice that it’s not always uphill or downhill. There are stretches where the path is just steady, ordinary, and quiet. That’s how the Lord designed our lives too. What About the Middle? I’m in it now— in the middle of two big things. I just finished serving in Japan with OMF for three months—an unforgettable, life-defining experience. And ahead of me? Lord willing, three years of studying for a master’s degree. Yes, you read that right. The Lord firmly prompted me to study and get my master’s. In the middle of serving in Japan, the thought of “Bible School” wouldn’t leave my brain. I reached out to my pastors and leaders for prayer and guidance. Before I left Japan, I already received several confirmations from His word, my friends, and colleagues that taking a master’s degree is the next step in my journey. There were several friends and important figures that didn’t support this decision though. I’ll tell more about the story when the school I applied to accepts me (please pray for me). The middle is an awkward place for me. Maybe because I’m used to extremes of life. Heartbreaks, abandonment, hustle, sufferings, etc. As well as immense joy, best friendships, travelling, rewards of obedience, etc. So when I applied for my master’s, I counted the months I have to wait before I start studying. 5 months. 5 long months. Waiting. Preparing. Living in the middle. If you consider the years or decades the characters in the Bible had to wait, you can judge and tell me that I am an impatient woman. Lessons and Joy in the Middle But you know? The middle is not just a straight line. The middle also has its twists and turns. It also has its own shine and glimmers to it. Thinking about it now, even the middle has its own ups and downs. In fact, I think it’s where most of the work happens. The middle are sometimes hidden and sometimes in plain sight. Think about it. We read Paul’s letters for several churches about their middles. We also know of Israelite’s journey in the middle of wilderness. We heard of Job and his friends’ conversations in the middle of Job’s loss and suffering. What are some of the middles in the Bible that are hidden? Jesus’ middle life from ~13 to ~30 years old. Jacob’s hard work for 14 years. The normal days of Solomon as a king. Or maybe even the days when Joshua had to wait outside Moses’ tent in the middle of the wilderness— what did those look like? My wild guess is this: Their middle looks a whole lot like our middle. The Invisible Work of the Middle I’m reminded of that quote by Jacob Riis: “Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and-first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” Jacob Riis The first strike is important, as well as the hundredth-and-first. The starting point and the breakthrough. But who would want to endure the sweaty, achy, and tiresome 2nd to 100th strikes? Even in running— The first and last kilometer are usually the hardest and have the most “pressure”. It is very important to start and end a run. But who would say that the 2nd km and the middle kms are less important? Each phase of the journey is equally important. The uphill, the straight paths, and the downhill. The first strike, the strikes in between, and the last strike. The first kilometer, the middle of the run, and the last kilometer. The middle is long. It’s steady. It’s often unseen. And yet—so much happens there. Including joy and fun, as well as misery and hardship. Live Your Middle We can only wish to have a steady highs in our lives but unfortunately, that can never be the case. Even downhills can be tough. I’ve found them harder than the climbs, especially with tired, shaky legs. I think a lot of us are going through our middles. Waiting. Transitioning. Preparing for the next thing. I hope, my friend, that you can see the Lord working in you and through you in such a precious season like this. We shouldn’t shake, rush, or despise the quiet middles. Why? God made sure that there’s also beauty, grace, strength, and lessons in it.
A New Beginning
Blog slightly taken from my personal quiet time. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. John 15:26-28 I rummaged through my Bible this morning to find where I should read next. With my head clouded and heart distracted, I realized maybe it’s time for a new Bible Plan. Interestingly, there’s a Bible Plan saved on my phone that I haven’t started yet. The title is “A New Beginning”. I closed the app and argued with the Lord how I don’t want a new beginning. If I get a new beginning, that would mean the 3-month mission trip is finally closed! But I have so many things yet to do: finish all my videos for OMF, write blogs, post content. I argued that accepting this “New Beginning” would mean that that chapter will be gone with the clouds. I was wrong though. Yokatta. Here’s everything I wrote: A New Beginning I actually do not want a new beginning *o* but yes, I have to let go of those 3 months. That is nothing compared to the 3 years the disciples experienced with Jesus. I’m worried about not remembering, especially that I have work left to do but v.26 promised that the Holy Spirit is with me to teach me and bring in remembrance (what a beautiful phrase) all the lessons Jesus taught me while I was on my mission trip. So that worry is answered and solved. [[Another realization: Remember when the disciples went back to fishing after Jesus died on the cross? I felt that way as I started to design for my clients again. It felt like gosh I’m back to my old life again. BUT! But that’s not how I should be anymore. God made me a new person for the past 3 months I did the ministry. So I may go back to my “old” work but it’s no longer the “old” Rachel. I’m the new Rachel He formed, taught, and ministered to while I was in Japan. I can now boldly preach Christ because I’ve experienced Him and His miracles for the past 3 months.]] Promise of Peace Lord, I will always have your peace. This reminded me of 평화 and 강산 with the former’s name meaning “Peace” in Korean. Your peace is much greater though. It is Your peace that holds everything together in order. It is Your peace that shuts chaos out of our hearts and out of this world. Your peace is within me. This is why I don’t have to panic or worry… or be afraid. Your peace will hold me together. ♥︎ Promise of His Spirit Lord, Your ascension meant that the Holy Spirit will come. Your going away meant that You will be with our Father, your #1. You are so good that You didn’t leave us as orphans. We have your Spirit. And that Spirit will always be in us until we see you face to face. Moving Forward After writing this devotional, I felt at peace, free, and joyful again. As Meg shared with me earlier today: Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert…to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myselfthat they might declare my praise. Isaiah 43:19,20c-21 If I keep dwelling on the past (in my case, missing all the people), I would never be able to move forward. I would edit and write with sadness in my heart instead of joy and gratefulness. I thank God that He knows us and our needs. I thank God that He corrected my heart. I thank God for His Spirit that richly dwell in our hearts. Indeed, we lack nothing because we have Him.
We belong to God
I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine; he grazes among the lilies Song of Songs 6:3 My beloved is mine, and I am his; he grazes among the lilies. Song of Songs 2:16 My beloved is mine and his desire is for me; Song of Songs 7:10 For the past week, I have been studying Song of Solomon and sharing my insights with Sunrise Podcast. It is the love month and I think it’s just fitting that we indulge in the purest form of love, which is Jesus, and His original design of love. This verse, at least its idea, was repeated 3x times in the book of Song of Songs. iv. In Song of Songs 2:16 the maiden said: My beloved is mine, and I am his. Here she says, I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine. Some people note that in the first the emphasis is on what belongs to her; in the second the emphasis is on whom she belongs to. Perhaps she found it was a more wonderful thing for her to belong to him than for her to “have” him. -Enduring Word Anyways, we are not here to do bible study haha. We are here to talk about our belongingness to God. My Prayer Lord, I belong to You. I am secured in the loveyou have for me. Father, you love me so muchand you’ve shown it a million timesthat I no longer have to question your love for me. And now I know where you are.I now know where to find you.You are in the garden…Our place, our secret placeand I can always meet you there.Thank you God Oh also, Lord You are mine.You are also mine~ My Lord,My Savior,My Lover,My God,My Source,My Everything, Father, You are my portion. To be loved like God is like dancing among the lilies in the midst of a battlefield. He fills me with peace, assurance, and strength. Every step of my foot is held by His hands. It is like that.
Faithful in Every Situation
“Maybe it’s not yet our time.” My best friend, Grace, said the other night. We concluded that maybe we’re still struggling because the Lord is still preparing us. Perhaps we are not yet ready for the promise. Our 20s are filled with a roller coaster of events. We’re juggling career, health, social life, family time, relationships, ministries, healing from previous trauma, and a whole lot of other things. This is while working and thriving to make sure that our future is secured. And with all of those in our plate, we still sometimes feel like we’re lacking. Or that we feel like we need to do more. Today, my reading is in Genesis 39-40. It’s about Joseph’s journey from being sold to slavery to ending up in prison. Quick history of Joseph’s life — He was his father’s favorite, he had huge dreams which he shared with his siblings, his siblings hated him and planned to kill him, plan to kill him wasn’t successful so they sold him instead to Midianites, then the Midianites sold him to be a slave. This happened while he was around 17-19 years old. You can read more about his story in Genesis 39-47. Interestingly, the main focus of my reading today was on these verses: The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Genesis 39:2, 21 Joseph experienced the worst-case scenario in his late teens and 20s. He was betrayed, sold, enslaved, slandered, imprisoned, and isolated (from his family). BUT, there’s a but and I love this so much! Our Lord was with him throughout this journey. It was mentioned twice in this chapter which means that we have to take notice of the phrase. The Lord was with Joseph. And the Lord showed him steadfast love! What did Joseph do? If you read the entire chapter, you will see that Joseph excelled and became successful. He didn’t sulk, pity-party, or complain about his circumstances. No, Joseph did not focus on his situation. Instead, he depended on God’s love for him. God encountered Joseph where he was. And Joseph accepted what happened to him and still was faithful, positive, and hopeful. He didn’t linger in the past nor longed for the future. He was present with the LORD every single day of those 13 years. Joseph depended on God’s steadfast love. Not in the past or future. The success was only a bonus. His life pleased the LORD. Just like Joseph, we won’t always understand why circumstances happen to us but God doesn’t want us to focus on our situation. God wants us to focus on Him. Depend on Him. And be faithful to Him. It’s also worth noting that Joseph didn’t sin throughout the story even if he had nothing. Joseph didn’t have anything or possessions all those years— even the robe gifted to him by his beloved father was taken from him when he was sold to the Midianites. Encouragement God says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”. Isaiah 41:10 You might be juggling a lot of things right now. You might be dealing with a lot of challenges, healing from trauma, and going through situations you don’t understand. God is with you in this moment. If we learn to focus on Him and His word all the days of our lives, we will realize that everything is small, like a dot, compared to the bigness of His love and glory. The Lord is with you. His promises are true.
From Snow To Bread
“So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it”. Isaiah 55:11 Today, the word is about the power of your word. My reading is from Isaiah 55:6-13. It impressed the importance of depending on Your timing. Your promise is a promise — although most of the time, we don’t know when it will bear fruit (実を結ぶいつか). I want to emphasize also on verse 10 “For as the rain and the snow comes down from heaven, … , giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater.” Isaiah 55:10 That’s a long process from rain/snow to making a leaf sprout to producing seeds to growing plants/trees/vegetation to get a harvest and to finally making a bread! This process could take a year or more. And not one part of the process should be rushed at all! God says in verse 11 that it’s the same for His word (同じだ). His word is from heaven; like a seed, it is planted in our hearts. If our hearts are like good soil (Mark 4:19-20), they will bear fruit in time and bless others. God is involved in every process. He will be glorified when we walk His path. Prayer Father, it is a great comfort and encouragement that I am Your work. It is Your assurance that Your word is at work within me. It is Your promise that it will not return to You empty. Your will be done.
Psalm 118
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Let Israel say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let the house of Aaron say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Let those who fear the Lord say, “His steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 118:1-4 ESV There is so much to be uncovered with my readings today. Lord, I can always thank You because Your love for me, for us, never ends. Your love is steadfast – it is immovable. Your love endures forever – it is permanent. I can boldly declare this with faith for it is true. You have been loving us since the beginning of time. I have so many testimonies. In the verses after this, the Palmist talks about trusting You in the time of distress. So shall I, Lord, I will declare Your love even during the hardest time. It is never ending for I know it. I know You. You are on my side and will never NOT help me. Your love for me is sure and secure. Listen to the Series I’m following a devotional plan focusing on Psalm 118, click the links (Spotify and Apple Podcast) to follow along.