great and hidden things

the may 2023 newsletter

The beginning of May. Forty-two degrees and raining. But the rain looks rather...spitty...out there. Or, fluffy. Like snow, which it has no business being in May.

We woke up to half an inch of it today, like the season had completely forgotten who it was.

Even if it keeps snowing, it will disappear immediately. The ground is too warm. The birds are flying out there, and even though it’s still brown and doesn’t look like it yet, everyone knows it’s spring.

A couple weeks ago I had a rough patch, and emotionally, a few things did not look like spring. (If you ever wonder why these things are always “a couple/few weeks ago” it’s because they take time to process and simmer before they’re safe to share...and that’s a good tip for everyone, not just writers.) Some situations looked like winter threatening to stay forever; they looked like promises broken and hope not just deferred but worthless, pointless. I was discouraged and angry in several directions and wondering if things were always going to be this way, even though we had done everything we knew to do.

Except we really hadn’t. I hadn’t, at least.

There’s little anonymity to be found in a family of nine, but if you want to have a good, raging cry in our house, your best bet is to do it late at night, in the bathroom, with the shower running hot enough that the steam emerges from under the door to warn anyone who might venture into the hallway to just stay away.

That is where I do the hard praying and processing, and as I was in there hashing things out the Lord reminded me that I was not praying correctly. The anger and frustration were justified: people had done wrong things and spiritual attack was coming from a few different angles, but all the venting in the world wasn’t going to change anything. Caving to discouragement only meant feeding the beast and agreeing with the enemy for his designs in each scenario.

And this is when the Holy Spirit said I wasn’t doing everything I knew to do, because I wasn’t agreeing with Him for each situation.

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

— Jeremiah 33:3

That verse is right in the middle of the Lord promising restoration...and that’s probably not a coincidence.

What would these situations look like if I had My way in it? He asked me. I had a long list, but thanks to the expensive tankless water heater we got last Christmas when our ancient 70-gallon heater expired, there was no fear of running out of hot water.

If He had His way, my kids would be healed. One would speak clearly and we would understand her. So He asked me to picture that, to thank Him for it, to see what He sees for her: the synapses growing, her pronouncing words easily, motor skills developing and healthy curiosity ignited. He even sees her able to take care of all her own bathroom needs by herself without any gross surprises, so help me.

What about this person, and this person? He asked. I saw one of them reading the Bible, and consuming healthy media, smiling and healthy and whole. I saw several others raising their hands in worship, singing, unafraid of what others around them thought; laughing freely, openly, unselfconsciously.

If He had His way, people would get along graciously together. They would bond and laugh safely together; they would walk in gentleness instead of on eggshells. They would nurture and build each other up instead of competing and tearing each other down.

Picture it, and keep going, He said. And I saw our community beautiful and connected, kind and educated, humble and mature. I saw people reaching for books and movies and activities that bring wholeness, and I saw industries that contribute to evil shriveling, withering, and dying out for lack of demand.

And I will cleanse them from all their wrongdoing by which they have sinned against Me, and I will forgive all their wrongdoings by which they have sinned against Me and revolted against Me. It will be to Me a name of joy, praise, and glory before all the nations of the earth, which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will be frightened and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.

– Jeremiah 33:8-9

Do you know that when the Welsh revival happened, even the horses were affected? They didn’t know how to respond to commands that didn’t involve swearing. And the Lord wants to do something similar today in our culture, too.

It is so easy to lean into what we see and fall for the trap of discouragement the enemy lays for us. The circumstances look bad, like evil is trying to win, which it has no business doing. But the great and hidden things are there too, and they are more real than the lies we believe – and if we truly believe God is good, all discouragement is a lie.

We have no business being discouraged, believing the weather and forgetting who we are.

God is too good, His promises are too real; His Word does not come back void. So we speak and declare it, letting it fly out all over the place as we give our imaginations holy permission to see things as they were designed to be – in alignment with Him, and fruitful.

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

— Romans 4:16-17

We refuse to allow the enemy to use our imagination as his playground, fooling us into believing the story is over and we lost. We did not lose. We never lose. We have the mind of Christ, and He is showing us what He is up to, and He is always up to goodness that is even beyond what we can ask for or imagine.