Tag: courage

For Whom Did You Carry the Rock?

Published on by Abigail Rehmert1 Comment

“For whom did you carry the rock?”

It’s a strange question, I admit, but it’s one I’ve been asking myself nearly every day since I read Betty’s biography.*

The question, and all its versions, (“but why did you carry that stone in the first place, Abi?”) has followed each time I’ve felt a twinge of entitlement or bitterness or like anyone owes me anything.

Why does this rock question carry meaning?

A young woman named Betty felt called to the mission field. She poured every ounce of her life’s passion into an isolated group, the Colorado Indians in Ecuador. The harvest was plentiful, but she stood in the gap as one of the few laborers studying the culture and the languages (actually, two of them).

After a long nine months of harvesting meticulous translation notes, she received word that all of her documents had been stolen along with her luggage. She never saw them again, and her observations would never birth a single resource, let alone a Bible translation.

Why would God waste the work of such a rarity — a talented Scripture translator willing to use her gifts for however long it took to reach an isolated people group? It was His gospel after all. Betty stared at the undressed truth that God’s sovereignty transcends what looks like efficiency to us. To her, it seemed like a storm without any rainbow, but God wove a fruitful plan for the woman who became Elisabeth Elliot. 

Due to this experience with the Colorado people and what many would assume a “wasted year” in the jungle, Elisabeth Elliot was impacted by an apocryphal story (so it’s not Scripture), and now it haunts me too. It reminds me nothing done in the service of God is truly wasted, even when we are left confused by the results of our efforts.

Here is the “lovely little African legend about Jesus,” that Elisabeth Elliot said, “hit her between the eyes.” Jesus and his disciples summited a mountain and along the journey he asked them each to pick up a stone. John chose a large one, Peter a small one.

When they got to the top of the mountain, Jesus turned both stones into bread. Peter, of course, regretted choosing a small rock. Later, again Jesus asked Peter and John to pick up stones. This time, Peter found the largest stone he could muster. At the end of their day’s journey, Jesus brought his disciples to the edge of the water. There they were commanded to cast their stones into the water. Peter protested, thinking about the bread he’d hoped for, and his teacher answered, “For whom did you carry the rock?”

This story resonated with me because I carry various stones in ministry and my motives can fluctuate. Sometimes I choose the size of effort based on the give-and-take I think I’ll receive.

Why did I carry the rock? What if God never does anything with it? Or maybe He’ll turn it into bread I’ll never taste? Why did I mentor another believer? Why did I help with moving? Why did we share the gospel with our neighbor over and over and serve her until her dying breath, when she never seemed to turn to her Maker? Why am I in ministry at all? Did I carry that rock so I could have something for myself? Surely, God would reward His faithful servant. Why did we go on that rabbit trail of resources, training, and immersion in a culture? Is it a waste if God seemingly cuts the season short? If my marathon preparation never meets the race I expected?

God doesn’t work according to our measures of efficiency. Yet He never wastes. As soon as we recognize this, we’ll cease striving and spewing about what doesn’t feel logical or fair. Instead, our very purpose is “to the praise and glory of God’s grace,” and we rest all of our labor with the Chief Cornerstone who declares, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18).

We carry these rocks in obedience because He is good, because He can be trusted, and because He is worthy. Because God is good and big enough to hold something even as precious as the destiny of the Colorado Indians. He can hold even our unanswered questions.  

If we’re doing His work for something other than God’s glory, we should get out now. Those are only the motions, and He doesn’t want empty lip service when our hearts are far from Him (Is. 29:13).

It’s a joy to invest in friendships with those delightful, easy-to-love souls who share our sense of humor, and enjoy talking about the same things as us. We’re eager to pursue vibrant personalities who also love to give back. It’s comfortable and rewarding immediately.

Did we seek to make disciples for Christ, or was it for us? He will not give His glory to another (Is. 42:8). 

But purify our motives, Lord, and make us pure within. Let us seek to sacrifice out of hearts grateful for what You’ve already done for us, and for the eternal rewards you promise. Let us be willing to serve in ways which cost us, since you gave us Your costly love. Let us love the least of these, too. Cause us to hunger for the most magnificent, glorious purpose of magnifying YOUR name alone.  

“But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him . . . for it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through suffering.” Hebrews 2:8b, 10

Hebrews tells us we won’t see all things subjected to Him right now – we’ll have the rabbit trails and speed bumps. So let us introduce others to glory, not for the mere hope of an earthly satisfaction, but for the One whom “from Him, and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever” (Romans 11:35). Let His love be our reward even amidst aching loss, and let Him have the first place in our motives.  

And we can say in spite of stolen time and jungle sweat, like Elisabeth Elliot did,  “Of one thing I am perfectly sure: God’s story never ends with ‘ashes.’”

For whom are you carrying your rocks for? 

*“Becoming Elisabeth Elliot” by Ellen Vaughn 

Do you believe your pasture’s green?

Published on by Abigail Rehmert1 Comment

Perhaps you, like me, have found comfort in keeping a record of wrongs of your surroundings. Instead of resting, we’re fretting. I’ve been swift to find fault with a circumstance and resort to envy or strife in viewing my personal situation. Preoccupied with “what ifs” and “if onlys,” we wonder if we’re in the right place at the right time, or maybe we’re hopelessly lost and in the wrong lane at peak rush hour.

However, I’m one of God’s little sheep, so therefore, I’m in a pasture, and according to Psalm 23, it’s a green one. Frets give way to true rest, because my husband and I have sought to acknowledge God in all our ways, and He directed our path to the season we’re in. I pause to look around in light of this, and pull together my courage.

“Remember this, had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are divine love would have put you there.” (Charles Spurgeon)

The “conditions” He provides can often feel more like we accidentally blew south at a splintered crossroads. But our condition, truly, is a pasture with a provision of quiet water. Divine Love would have orchestrated us somewhere else if that had been His design for our good and His glory. There’s a sovereign reason the pasture that promised more potential was marked “pending” before we could even make a move to transfer.

He put me HERE, because He loves me, so I shall not want.

Sometimes we must squint in faith until we realize we absolutely have everything He says we need. Our part is to listen, follow, and obey in the process of our growth. One step at a time.

But what about them? Wandering eyes gather uncertainty. Our literal neighbor, or someone online, may look like they are feasting on a lusher hilltop without any goat-heads or gaping dry cracks. Maybe they have more sheeply companions, more resources, more giftings, more health, more rainbows. THEIR earthly blessings can look as deep green as the envy in our hearts. 

I’d love to have eavesdropped on this conversation in John 21 after Jesus gave specific instructions to Peter — “When Peter saw him (John), he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”

Do we need to know the business of our sister or brother? “You follow me!” So even still, as for me, I shall not want. My cup overflows.

Because didn’t He say we have angels encamping around us? Don’t I have the Living water? Do I not possess every spiritual blessing either already or not yet? Do I not share Jesus Christ’s own inheritance? Do I have always-access to the Throne of Grace? Does He restore my soul each time I beg for mercy? Do I have the weapons of the gospel needed for battle? Do I have endless rest and quietness when I entrust myself to His care? Do I have a great glory through His salvation alone? Is not the Lord our Shepherd?

We asked our very spiritual life of Him, and He granted. Even in the valley of the shadow of death, we can expect His great benefits of salvation. He makes us lie down and comforts us with His staff. He leads even when we travel before our enemies. March on, little sheep. The cup from the Shepherd overflows.

When asked of our five-year plan, it’s safe to assume we visualize multiplied blessings…with additional sugar on top. We hope for an even greener, more massive pasture, and we chart a path that makes sense to throw us in the forecast of those blessings. Oh, how we love sensible, logical, consequential outcomes.

But we know He’ll keep leading, with or without what makes sense to us. Even when the weather He chooses doesn’t feel pragmatic or lush, or is a pasture clearly planted in the middle of a raging battle, He still promises His lovingkindness and asks for our trust and obedience. Trust He’s providing the unseen spiritual blessings we need. Evil is not to fear when the Shepherd holds both a rod and staff.

“This hard place in which you, perhaps, find yourself, is the very place in which God is giving you opportunity to look only to Him.” Elisabeth Elliot

To look to Him, is to see Him hemming us in with goodness and lovingkindness, and that takes some faith. If we can’t see His goodness following us, perhaps we’re expecting only earthside gifts found in a five-year plan, and not the gifts that yield only eternal fruit. And not the eternal weight of glory growing in the absence or sacrifice of those common gifts of grace.

We can wail, “how did I get here?” or “WHY did I get here?” but instead, enjoy, delight and rejoice in where He’s brought us, because He held us in our journey through and to the pasture. Believe it’s green. Wherever you are, fully dwell and inhale His goodness. Go to the quiet waters and drink a fill of abundance of the river of God’s delights. Obey courageously!

“Give us ears
To hear that still, small voice
And give us lips
Forever willing to rejoice
And may our eyes be lit with wisdom
May we know the path that’s true
And we’ll march
With hearts courageous after You

We’re marchin’ on
With hearts courageous
We’ll follow anywhere
You want us to
And should You lead us
Where the battle rages
Let us march
With hearts courageous after You.”

–Hearts Courageous, Jamie Owens-Collins

10 QUOTES BY THE TEN BOOMS

Published on by Abigail RehmertLeave a comment

Corrie’s family holds a glorious party at their clock shop in the first chapter of The Hiding Place. They had no idea that they “in the place of memories were about to be given adventures. …Adventure and anguish, horror and heaven were just around the corner.” Nazis Germany invaded, and the Ten Booms’ faith proved genuine. Casper Ten Boom, when warned about the dangers of his underground work, said, ““You say we could lose our lives for this child? I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family.” I hope these 10 other quotes (almost all from The Hiding Place) encourage you as much as they’re encouraging me.

1. “Do you know what hurts so very much? It’s love. Love is the strongest force in the world, and when it is blocked that means pain. There are two things we can do when this happens. We can kill that love so that it stops hurting. But then of course part of us dies, too. Or we can ask God to open up another route for that love to travel.” –Casper Ten Boom

2. “In darkness God’s truth shines most clear.”
— Corrie Ten Boom 

3. “Some knowledge is too heavy…you cannot bear it…your Father will carry it until you are able.”
— Casper Ten Boom

4. “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
― Corrie Ten Boom

5. “There are no ‘if’s’ in God’s world. And no places that are safer than other places. The center of His will is our only safety – let us pray that we may always know it!”
― Betsie Ten Boom

6. “Mama’s love had always been the kind that acted itself out with soup pot and sewing basket. But now that these things were taken away, the love seemed as whole as before. She sat in her chair at the window and loved us. She loved the people she saw in the street– and beyond: her love took in the city, the land of Holland, the world. And so I learned that love is larger than the walls which shut it in. ”
― Corrie Ten Boom

7. “And our wise Father in heaven knows when we’re going to need things too. Don’t run out ahead of Him.”
― Casper Ten Boom

8. “No pit is so deep that He is not deeper still; with Jesus even in our darkest moments, the best remains and the very best is yet to be.”
― Corrie Ten Boom

9. “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.”
―Corrie Ten Boom

10. “The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the word of God.”
― Corrie Ten Boom, The Hiding Place

25 Things I Learned In My 20s

Published on by Abigail Rehmert2 Comments

I’m deeply grateful for the layers of discipleship I’ve received from my parents, my siblings, my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, my Sunday School teachers, my college professors, my husband, my husband’s family, my church family, my friends, and my co-workers. What a gift it is to know an “abundance of counselors” (Prov. 11:14).

We’re teaching all the time in how we live our lives, and I’ve learned so much from people who probably didn’t even know they were teaching. Here are 25 things I’ve learned and maybe can encourage another young person.

1. God’s Word brings balance. I’m not that old, but I’ve seen “movements” pendulum swing, as individuals major on the minors or deconstruct their faith entirely. Safeguards and correct alignment come from diligently studying the Bible over time. The more time you spend in the Word (and understanding how to rightly handle it in context), the more balanced spiritual maturity you’ll have. Lord, keep us humble and aligned with truth! 

“For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”

Acts 20:27

2. This statement is true: “What if the passage you study today is preparing you for a trial ten years from now? Study faithfully now, trusting that nothing is wasted, whether your study time resolves neatly in thirty minutes or not” (Jen Wilkin). Learn how to study the Bible.

3. College isn’t necessarily for everyone, but gathering up as many skills as you can with your spare time will equip “your tool belt” with gifts to offer others. And truly it is, “More blessed to give than to receive.”

4. Two impactful books I read in my 20s — Just Do Something (Kevin DeYoung) to demystify decision making.  Also The Transforming Power of the Gospel (Jerry Bridges) to help you understand how we can conquer sin.

5. Save all the money you can, even if you don’t know what it’s for yet. A house? A car? A wedding? A trip of a lifetime? Even if you don’t know, just SAVE!  

6. Don’t ever assume because someone is in the same context as you that you agree on all the heart issues. Always be gentle, don’t haphazardly vent about random topics, not knowing the struggles and temptations your “like minded” friend may have.

7. Don’t say “I could never” say “What can I do?”

8. Ask for advice. Wise people don’t usually give advice without being asked.

9. “You don’t have to feel like it in order to do it” (Alison Lumbatis). Do the next thing, and motivation, and perhaps even momentum will follow.

10. Cooking is not a mathy, strict rule-following thing; it can be art! But learn as much cooking science as you can to build a foundation for your creativity.

11. Health knowledge can seem like a fascinating, overwhelming bottomless pit, but at the end of the day, the best things for you are free. Going outside, moving, drinking water, even praying. Trusting God and living in confession of sin will impact your health. 

12. Love people deeply but hold them loosely.

13. You don’t have to finish reading a book you’re not enjoying or benefiting from — it’s not a moral issue.

14. Long-distance dating is very hard, but certainly worth it.

15. Childbirth is truly amazing. So is motherhood and marriage. 

16. “Acknowledge God in all your ways and He will direct your path” (Proverbs 5:6). ABSOLUTELY TRUE, and I often thank God for directing my path, even away from what I thought was best at the time.

17. The gospel never gets old. It’s like a diamond ring, you can examine and admire it from all angles and in all different lights. 

18. Your family culture and heritage is something to be appreciated, observed, and learned from. Respect and learn from the different sub-cultures of other families, too.

19. Have an “easy come, easy go” mindset when it comes to possessions. That way you’re not upset when something breaks.

20. Read The Hiding Place every few years.

21. Use teacups as much as possible.

22. “What’s ordinary to you is magic to someone else” (Brian Dixon). Never underestimate how you can learn from a variety of people and how things you may think are obvious are profoundly impacting others.

23. As opportunity arise, travel as much as you can, and let it sharpen what you can bring to home. When you can’t travel, read about faraway nations in missionary letters and books.

24. “We often (conveniently) judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their actions.” Instead, be gracious. 

25. Boldly speak truth to your own heart. Be one who, in Christ’s strength, “walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:2).

The Place is a Person

Published on by Abigail Rehmert2 Comments

We call it Jump Creek — a thread of water nestling along rocky brush to a pebble-lined pool. At the end of the hike beside the creek, you’ll duck under a boulder and see the source. Stony walls guard a delicate waterfall from all sides. Last autumn, the shielded cove held a hush, a beauty in its hidenness. If you gazed at the unbroken foothilled horizon from afar, you’d never imagine the desert’s secret, cut into the canyon.

Perhaps Jump Creek once shielded someone running from danger. The clear water and rock-chilled shade maybe offered a respite for a moment.

Unlike King David, I’ve never needed to hide in a cave in serious fear for my life. There is a different hiding place I’ve craved. One that would cover what you could not see — my soul.

The immaterial in us doesn’t require something tangible like a waterfall’s chamber. Instead, our secret place is a Person. Simply abiding in His presence archives perfect escape. You remember the discomfort of crouching in a hide-and-seek spot, while your heart beat faster and you breathed louder, as the pursuer counted to ten and drew near? It’s not like being an anxious lump in the curtains as you listen to warnings and the discovering of other kids one by one.

Instead, while hiding here in Christ, you will hear sounds of deliverance. A song with a melody of triumph and a harmony of hope. You could search the earth over and never find the stillness and quietness that fills your soul in the presence of the One who can do all things well.

“You are my hiding place;
    you will protect me from trouble
    and surround me with songs of deliverance.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”

Psalm 32:7-8

There is no need to strain for footsteps approaching in pitch darkness. No need to fret over the woes of the wicked and the sounds of deceptive threats from the Accuser. Tucked into this hiding place, you will hear sweet instruction. Direction, counsel, and love.

Trouble and bad news can plague our weary bones. But in the midst of evil, injustice, loss, persecution, temptation — our soul waits and rests in love and feasts on promises.

“The sorrows of the wicked are many,
But the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.”

Psalm 32:10-11

Yes, our flesh experiences the corruption of this world acutely. But our soul can never suffocate in prison. We will sing and worship in a hiding place. The soul can’t be destroyed by principalities and powers. “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3)

The Psalmist in chapter 11 stated the LORD was his refuge. But others advised, “Flee! Flee like a bird to your mountain.” They seemed to think a location change would be the key to avoid the arrows of the darkness.

Often we wanted to flee the physical pain, and escape our obstacles by spending time, money, and every human effort to cope. We indulge in the flesh to feel something physical, but this isn’t true secret refuge.

The refuge is the Lord. Not the absence or altering of a circumstance. Will we not flee to this permanent safety and forever joy?

“One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Psalm 91:1

When danger threatens, when heartache throbs, see how the shadow of the Almighty brings shade from the heat. How His shelter brings a bedrock dwelling of security and nourishment. When everything in you says FLEE, God says, “Rest here. Know my protection. My loving eye is on you. Hear my instruction and counsel.”

Therein lies the hope.

“You are my hiding place and my shield;
I wait for Your word.”

Psalm 119:114

Will He not always shield us from all sides with His goodness? Hope waits for you to open God’s Word.

There is a place that is a Person — who serves as our covering, our shelter, our secrecy and protection. God’s enemies will not know how we are sustained by songs of deliverance. They can not understand how His words of instruction prompt deep, otherworldly hope. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but those who are sheltering in the Most High will rejoice. He is the one fighting for us!