Posted on by Jennifer Tritsch

Perspective

Thank God for 2020.

There, I said it.  Don’t shoot.

It was the year that started with such promise and potential.  We were all in our perfect little bubbles of routines, surrounded in our orbs of self, and wrapped in our blankets of security; and then sometime after Valentine’s Day, reality came along and popped our bubble.  And no, I’m not trying to make light of a global pandemic that killed millions of people, devastating wildfires, swarms of locusts and murder hornets, riots, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes.  I realize this past year has been seemingly nothing short of the eleventh plague.

But I thank God for this year.

Yes, I am painfully aware that practically every major (and minor) event was cancelled this past year — weddings, birthdays, funerals, vacations, holiday parties, and church services with all of the events surrounding them — all cancelled. Every one of us have at least one or more story of something important that we missed.  I saw the graduating class of 2020 get cheated out of their ceremonies, proms, and parties.  I watched the Homegoing service of my own Pastor’s wife online.  There were two weddings I didn’t get to attend.  For the first time in my life, I missed Easter Sunday services as I huddled in my underground storm shelter with my family waiting out the tornadic activity all around us.  And not only was 2020 simply inconvenient. Millions became unemployed nearly overnight. Businesses — both small and large — went under. Industries were wiped out, and some will never recover.  Much of our nation — even our world — was brought to its knees.

And I thank God for this year.

Personally speaking, not much changed for me on a day to day basis during our isolation time.  I am already a stay-at-home mother of four, three of which I homeschool and one of which I chase around the house during his entire waking hours trying my best to prevent a catastrophe.  My daily life is centered around keeping everyone clothed, fed, educated, and somewhat happy.  About the only thing that changed for me during all the mandated quarantine was not being able to get everything I was used to getting at the stores for my family and having to make do.  (But hey, I learned how to make bread!)  But my heart went out to all of the families suddenly thrust into the life of homeschool without preamble and with no resources, not to mention the children who relied heavily on their schools for regular meals.

I ached and prayed for my many friends and family who were suddenly without jobs.  We went through an initial financial scare ourselves, but God came through in a major way at just the right time.  Many of our loved ones fell sick, but they recovered. Thank you, Jesus!  We prayed and fasted more together as a family than we ever have.  We spent more quality family time together this year than we ever have.  But perhaps, the greatest blessing of all this year for me was when the Lord raised my mother from her deathbed.  It wasn’t even COVID-19 that got her there. It was a failing liver.  I got to spend over a month with her while she lived with us as I tried to nurse her back to health.  Not only did God completely heal her physically; but He also repaired her broken heart as she was married to a wonderful, God-fearing man this past December.

I’ve watched my girls grow even closer to each other than they already were.  While the rest of the world was on pause, my family strengthened.  Yes, we were inconvenienced.  There was frustration, and even some tears were shed.  Not every day was picture perfect.  In fact, most of them were monotonous and boring at best and downright depressing at worst.  But as I look back over this incredibly challenging year, I see the hand of God.  He stepped in and took over our lives.  He was and still is moving us like chess pieces on a board, all for our good, even when we don’t understand it.

I thank Him for it.

Through the years I have tried to challenge myself to find the good in every situation.  I’m not always successful at it, but I do try to make it a personal habit.  I was dedicated to the Lord as a newborn infant, as was my husband and all four of my children.  So, of course, I want nothing but His will for our lives.  That means letting God be God even during the trials.  That means trusting Him in every situation and leaning not to my own understanding.  That means living a consecrated life of devotion to Him even when I don’t like living that life.

As my mother lay in critical condition in an ICU bed and I was unable to be there with her, I had to pray a prayer of release.  It was a very difficult prayer to pray, especially after losing my father two years ago.  As an only child, I was so scared of being left alone without her.  But I had to let God be God.  And if it was His will to take her, then I had to trust it was the right time.  It was by far one of the most difficult prayers I have ever prayed up until that point in my life, but I did it.  I asked Him to heal her if it was His will, but if it wasn’t His will, to take her with as little pain as possible, much the same way He took Daddy.  Then, little by little, day by day, I watched her slowly regain her strength one terrifying, wobbly step at a time.  I watched her lab value levels slowly decline from lethal to dangerous to borderline to normal.  I watched her skin color slowly change from dark orange to pale orange to yellow to pink.  Her speech went from garbled to slurred to weak to clear and coherent.  I listened to her doctor tell me that she could die at any minute. Then he said that maybe she could get a little better. Later, her recovery was a good possibility. And finally, he said that she was miraculously healed.  And then, the most amazing thing of all happened! Her tears turned to laughter, her profound sadness to utter joy, and her panic to peace as I watched her say her wedding vows to one of the kindest, gentlest men I have ever met.

My God did that.

I know you’ve heard it said many times that hindsight is 20/20; and you’ve probably heard it said by now that, as soon as the clock struck midnight on the first day of January, 2020 was finally hindsight.  But as cliché as it may sound, I want to truly have 2020 vision.  I want to look back over this year and see the order even through all the chaos.  None of this year took God by surprise.  It was all part of His divine plan from pandemics to politics and my house to the White House.  God allowed it to happen.  Dare I say it?  He made it happen.  (Daniel 2:20-22)

I cannot and will not curse this year.  I refuse to join so many others who are talking about throwing it out like yesterday’s trash.  God was too good to me.  I can’t and won’t complain.  This year was a gift, and I will gratefully receive it.  I choose to see it with my 2020 vision.  It is with a thankful heart that I look back, and with great anticipation that I look forward to the balance of 2021.  I have no idea what it holds; but I’m ready for it, whatever it may be.  It’s all about perspective, and I’ve tried my best to adjust mine.  This year has made me step back to take notice of all I have, rather than what I lack.

God help us all to see with 2020 vision.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art –
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

attr. St. Dallan Forgaill, trans. Eleanor Hull
Posted on by Delbert Tritsch

Don’t Miss What God Is Doing

Something Is Always Wrong.

Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

Proverbs 27:20

Most things are never quite right.  Even in a good situation, it could always be better.  Even the healthy aren’t perfect.  More money seems to create more expenses.  Some of the skinniest people will complain about being overweight.  You were displeased with your looks years ago; but old photos today make you long for those days.  Children will complain because they are forced to go to school, and adults just wish they could go back to the time when school was their worst problem.  We think we can’t live without some expensive toy; but when we finally get it, it loses its luster.  Something is always wrong.

We are all currently facing trouble of some kind; but in spite of adversity, we must walk after the Spirit.  When we fail to do so, we will see only the mountain in our way.  When our vision is carnal, our mind will be most open to the machinations and devices of the devil and his minions.  Focusing on hindrances can strip you of the verve necessary to move forward and be the overcomer God designed you to be.

No doubt, you’ve heard the cliché that the grass is always greener on the other side until you get to the other side.  I believe this saying rings true because we so often lose sight of the blessing in our current circumstance and the struggle others face.  And many of us would turn the green grass on the other side brown with the poison of our attitude.  The problem is not the grass, and your problem is not your situation.  It’s you.

Don’t Lose Your Vision.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Proverbs 29:18

Many may bloviate about vision while understanding very little of what Biblical vision really is.  Yes, it is good to have a plan.  Programs can excite progress.  When a leader casts a vision of what he intends to accomplish and where he will take his followers with the Lord’s help, the people are inspired to rally to the call.  But Biblical vision is not a budget, calendar, or building program.  Vision is not a sermon, nor is it something that one can simply transfer to another through an inspiring word.

The vision of Proverbs 29:18 is “a sight…a dream, revelation, or oracle” (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries; H2377).  Biblical vision is spiritual sight.  It is understanding given by God.  Precisely, Biblical vision is a word from God.  It does not require that one know everything the future holds.  Though it may be good business to have short-term and long-term goals, a solid business model is not evidence of vision.  Many people have what the world would call vision; but they are, in truth, spiritually blind and following their own way (Isaiah 53:6).  The carnal mind which is the enemy of God will kill your vision because it is not, nor can it be, subject to God (Romans 8:7).  But the spiritual mind—that mind that is sharpened by the Word of God, prayer, and fasting—will receive vision.  And your vision comes only from God Who speaks to us today through His written Word and His Holy Spirit.

When you only see the trouble in your life, you are at risk of becoming carnally minded.  Don’t allow the obstacles in your life to overwhelm your mind and thereby block your vision.  Open your spiritual eyes; otherwise, you may miss what God is doing.

Don’t Miss What God Is Doing.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.  For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Isaiah 55:8-11

We are running a race.  It is not a sprint or even a marathon, but it is more like a cross-country race.  We are not competitors against one another in this race.  As it is an endurance race, one’s speed today is of very little importance.  The ground we covered yesterday was good, and we thank God for it because we’re stronger and wiser.  The road ahead is exciting, and we eagerly press forward as we anticipate crossing the finish line.  But the most critical part of this race is happening right now.  Your progress in this spiritual race has less to do with what happened yesterday and what’s coming tomorrow and more to do with what is right now.  Keep running because only the ones who endure will make it (Matthew 10:22).

It is easy for us to think that the struggles we face today are not God’s will.  With more reason than most of us have ever had to believe one’s woes are not His plan, Joseph recognized that God was in control of his life from beginning to ending.  He told his brothers that what they had meant for evil, unbeknownst to them, God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20).  We err when we think that it is God’s will that our lives be full of ease and without trouble.  We may not understand why certain things are happening in our lives, but may God help us to remember that He is working through it.

As you pray for an answer to your problem and as you pray for a way out of your situation, don’t forget to pray for understanding.  Though your circumstance seems evil, God may be working through it to accomplish good.  Though people rise against you in what appears to be an evil spirit, God may be working through them to accomplish good.  If we spend all of our time seeking escape from our trouble, we may miss what God is doing through it.

All that matters is God’s will.  You are not merely in a holding pattern designed to paralyze you until God pulls you out.  God is moving, now.  As you pray for God to move tomorrow, don’t miss His moving today.

This article by Delbert Tritsch was originally published in the October 2013 issue of the Apostolic Witness.

Posted on by Delbert Tritsch

The Author and Finisher

Sheriff Robert Mitchell tightly grasped the reigns in his left hand and a rifle in the other as he leaned forward into the wind.  Hooves pounded on the desert floor throwing dirt into the air with a cloud of dust behind.  Mitchell and his thoroughbred raced through the canyon just to the south of town as Major’s sorrel coat glistened with sweat and his raw, muscular power drove them toward the three fleeing bandits.

They had jumped him in town as he walked by the saloon.  He had tried to fight them and got a few good licks in, but they had overpowered him and rode out of town with his revolvers.

Zzziiing!  A bullet flew past the sheriff’s ear with the crack of a gunshot trailing in the distance.  The pursuit had taken Mitchell to the edge of a narrowing in the canyon, and gunmen were in the rocks above.  Robert quickly slowed his steed, dismounted, and shooed him back just out of immediate danger.  He dove behind a large boulder nearby just as another bullet ricocheted off the same rock.

He crouched with his back to the stone shield as grit and sand broken from the canyon walls by flying lead pelted the ground.  After a few minutes, the sounds of gunfire quieted.  Suddenly, the silence broke with a distant holler.

“Give up, Sheriff!  We gotcha surrounded!  Ain’t no way outta here for ya!”

Mitchell knew the sound of that voice.  Tuck McCreary was wanted in four states for several robberies and two murders.  The sheriff had his suspicions Tuck was in these parts and planning something big.

“McCreary!  I know you killed a man in cold blood!  I’m taking you in, today; and you’ll hang for what you did!”

Before he finished the last word, Mitchell grasped his rifle with both hands, swiftly spun around, and raised up to take aim over the boulder.  From the sound of McCreary’s voice, Robert had already determined the murderer’s location.  The sights fell directly on McCreary.  The sheriff squeezed the trigger.

Bang!  Mitchell was knocked to the ground landing squarely on his back as his rifle flew to the side about three feet away.  Dazed and with a sharp ringing in his ear, he gasped to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him.  Another one of the gunmen had shot the sheriff’s rifle from his hands causing him to miss McCreary altogether.

“You’re gonna have to try harder than that to kill me, Sheriff!”  McCreary let out a yelp of defiant satisfaction.

Once he had regained his composure, Mitchell carefully and quickly retrieved his weapon and crouched behind the boulder.  The hammer was jammed and the receiver cracked.  His rifle was useless.  His quick-draw double holsters were empty.  He had spotted two men, besides McCreary when he tried to shoot him.  That meant the whole gang who were all now in the rocks above made six against one.  He’d been in tough straights before, but none any worse.

Not about to reveal his disadvantage, the sheriff shouted, “Any of you boys decide to turn on your boss, and I might be able to save you from the gallows!  But if you don’t, I’ve got a cell big enough for the lot a ya; and the judge has plenty a rope!”

McCreary’s cohorts laughed and sneered as he retorted, “You’re outnumbered, Sheriff!  You ain’t makin’ it outta here alive!  Just go on and make peace with God ‘cause I got a bullet here with your name on it!”

Robert wasn’t the most religious man.  He didn’t always attend Sunday morning service.  But he respected the preacher.  He believed in God, and he believed in doing right.  He even read the Bible now and then.  And it wasn’t uncommon for him to talk to God when no one else was around.

As he hid there pondering his predicament, Mitchell realized there was no way out of this situation alive without a miracle.  He recalled one of the few Bible passages he had memorized; it was his favorite.  He whispered it to himself, “’Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.  For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.’  Romans thirteen and one.”

Mitchell bowed his head.  “Dear, God.  You made me sheriff.  These men can’t do anything, unless You let ‘em.  If it’s my time, it’s my time.  But if it ain’t, help me arrest these outlaws.”

“Who you talking to, Sheriff?!” McCreary shouted.  “You ain’t outta ammo, are ya?  I think we gotcha in a tight spot!  Ha!”

Mitchell knew it wouldn’t be long before they started moving around to set their sights on him from behind.

A high-pitched scream pierced the short-lived silence.  “I’ve been bit!  I’ve been bit!!!”

Mitchell peeked over the boulder to see one of McCreary’s henchmen dancing near the edge of the canyon wildly shaking one leg.

“I’ve been bit by a rattler!”  As the poetic victim panicked, his foot slipped on loose gravel causing him to fall headlong over the precipice.  A scream much louder and more strident than the first filled the canyon for about two seconds and ended abruptly with a thud.

Mitchell could see the man lying contorted and motionless on the ground about thirty feet away.  He saw it, but he couldn’t believe it.  As he pondered in amazement what had just happened, he saw a movement in the corner of his eye toward the other side of the canyon.  He quickly turned his head and looked up to see another gunman looking at him down the length of his barrel.  Before Robert had a chance to move, the gunman pulled the trigger.  With an explosion and puff of smoke, the shooter fell back.

Robert waited and listened.

“Jones!”  McCreary motioned to another of his men on the far side of the canyon, presumably to check on the gunman whose rifle had just exploded in his face.  Jones ran with his head low toward his incapacitated comrade when he tripped.  His head hit a rock with a thump loud enough for Mitchell hear it.

Within three minutes from the time Mitchell prayed for help, three of his adversaries had been disabled.  He was dumbfounded and emboldened as he realized God was truly fighting for him.  With a confidence that surprised himself, the Sheriff decided to physically confront McCreary and demand his surrender.

Mitchell whistled.  Major galloped toward the boulder.  Mitchell stood, grabbed the pommel, and mounted his steed with a single leap.

With a “Giddy up!” from his rider, Major raced toward a steep path to the canyon top a few hundred feet away.

McCreary and his remaining gang were so stupefied by the sudden disabling of three of their own that they failed to even take a shot as Mitchell approached.  Robert brought Major to a halt just a few feet from McCreary.  He remained in the saddle as McCreary aimed his rifle at him.

“You’re under arrest.  Throw down your weapon, and tell your men to do the same.”  Mitchell hopped down from the saddle, stepped toward McCreary, and held out his hand.

Without a word, McCreary handed the sheriff his weapon as he motioned to his men to surrender.

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Life is fair.  Most say life is not fair.  “Bad” things happen to “good” people.  Some people are born into wealth while others are born into poverty.  Some enjoy good health with ease, but others struggle with disease all of their lives.  We are not all given the same advantages.  But these arguments merely emphasize inequalities while failing to disprove the equitableness of life.

Inequalities in life abound; in fact, this earthly existence would be quite mundane without them.  Not only would the dullness of ubiquitous uniformity depress us, but most of us would still conclude that life is unfair.  Our assessment would be founded on the same measure as it is in reality:  the comparison of ourselves against ourselves.  Paul told the Corinthians those who do such are unwise (2 Cor. 10:12).  They look inwardly to set a standard for justice and make the devil’s job easy by blinding their own selves to truth (2 Cor. 4:4).  Thank God for our differences!

Life is fair because the Source of all life is “free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice” and He is “in conformity with rules or standards.”[1]  “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34); He does not show partiality.  He loves us all, but He does not give us all the same gifts.  He deals with us as individuals.  We may not establish true standards by our own selves, but God has established the only true standards by His own power and authority.  And God keeps His standards.

Life is fair, but life is not always easy.  Your life—a testimony of God’s equity—is undoubtedly filled with ups and downs.  During trouble, it can be difficult to recognize God’s fairness; but the wise soul who chooses to place their trust in the Faithful One will find peace in knowing “that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

Rather than setting our own standards or comparing ourselves with others around us, let us keep biblical standards and follow the examples of the heroes who have gone before us blazing the trail of faithfulness.  Avoid those unnecessary things in life that would weigh you down slowing your progress.  Forsake those sins that would injure or disable you.  Run this race toward Jesus.

Your story began with Jesus even before you knew Him.  He is the Author of it.  Your story will end with Jesus.  He is the Finisher of it.

As the Author, Jesus knows how to tell a story exceeding the excellence ascribed by all literary awards and accolades combined.  He is the Doctor of Drama and the Sage of Suspense.  He is the Master at building tension, excitement, and thrill.  He can place you in a disadvantage with the odds favoring your adversary to teach you unwavering trust in Him.  Just as easily, He can draft your deliverance with a rewrite of divine reward for your faithfulness.  It could be that the suffering He scribed in your saga was a setup for the promotion He’s about to pen.

Right now, He is writing your story.  He already has planned your final chapter.  He said, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you…thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jer. 29:11).  He knows your plot.  He’s in control of your storyline.  And He really enjoys writing unexpected and miraculous deliverance into your life.  You see, the Author doesn’t need anything extra or any assistance to change the direction of your story.  Your antagonist is no obstacle to the Author.  Your situation will not stop Him.  All the Author needs is His Words, and He can write in your miracle anywhere He pleases.

I started working on this article on March 2, 2015, quite a while before the genesis of Treach the Word™.  The inspiration for this writing came from a message my father preached many years ago.

[1] “fair”. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 5 May. 2017. <Dictionary.com http://www.dictionary.com/browse/fair>.