The Secret...

I have a picture of Piper taped to the side of my entertainment cabinet that is only visible if one is sitting in the La-Z-Boy recliner that is situated in front of the living room windows to the right of the cabinet.  That particular chair has become sort of a refuge from the pressures of life for me.  If the weather isn’t very conducive to having my Bible study on the balcony, the blue chair is normally my second choice.  It’s a comfortable place to read, study, pray or just think!


While seated in that chair in the midst of an early morning Bible study yesterday, I paused while meditating on Ephesians 3:20, looked up at the picture of Piper and couldn’t help but think of her abiding in the realm of God’s “exceedingly, abundantly above all… far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” (NKJV-MSG) 

I had caught the backlighting of the sun just perfect in the picture taken on the coast in the late 1990’s.  The sun is brightly reflecting off the pine tree behind her and seems to be gently kissing the back of her hair.  For a moment or two there… I imagined that I was standing in heaven with her.


As I allowed those thoughts to envelope me, I realized that one of Piper’s and my central foundational scriptures for our lives was Philippians 4:13.  In that portion of the epistle, Paul is writing about the provision of God and tells of his own joy and lack of need as he had discovered “how to live in poverty or prosperity. No matter what the situation, I've learned the secret of how to live when I'm full or when I'm hungry, when I have too much or when I have too little.” (Philippians 4:12 God’s Word ©) 


Then he goes on to tell what the secret is declaring that “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13 KJV)  Piper and I strived to be like Paul as we faced the various situations that arose in our lives.  We strived to follow his advice when feeling led to take a course of action that might not have had a lot of visible financial support or one in which we didn’t necessarily have much background and/or knowledge in.  But we were quick learners and as we obeyed and continued to walk in faith, we tended to learn everything we needed to know and God met our needs... not necessarily right away… but it always came.


And sure… there were times when we experienced both the lows and the highs during the accomplishment of those adventures in faith, but like Paul… we had learned the secret!  We simply continued to focus on the Lord.  After all, our trust was solely in Him!  He was our source, our supply, our peace, our rest and our joy.  There were times that we would quietly giggle amongst ourselves when some around us would panic while we kept the peace and joy of the Lord about us… They just NEVER got it!  They NEVER learned the secret!  Have you?


That secret is what kept us moving forward with a smile and an earnest expectation of God’s best throughout our many years together… up to and including the last eight years of Piper’s earthly story.  For some that secret (which is a well-documented truth that is consistent throughout the whole Bible… in both Old and New Testaments) is simply too unfathomable to believe.  It tends to shake the comfort zone of one’s natural knowledge. 

As I stared at the picture of Piper on the entertainment cabinet with the glow of sunlight behind her, I was overwhelmed, for Piper now resides in the place where there ISN”T any NATURAL knowledge… In heaven it’s all SUPER-NATURAL!  WHOA!  Think on that for a moment!


I wonder if it shocked her when she first stepped into that place where the SUPER-NATURAL is the NATURAL way of life… You know… I kind of doubt it!

Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, say along with me… “I am fully expecting to believe in, depend on and take actions based on the supernatural of God today!”