According to http://www.dictionary.com the word “Catch” means to intercept and hold.
Why “catch”? Look, sometimes a word or idea gets stuck in my head. And, I pray on it. Then, if I pay attention long enough and I start getting posts about it on my Instagram feed, personal text messages, songs and nature; then yes I go with it. So here we are.
Thanks for being here with me.
Catch – to intercept and hold. Here are a couple examples I’ve observed of catch in action:
•For Easter, the littles got a WOWMAZING Giant Bubble Wand Kit. You mix their special soap packet with water in a bucket. Then you dip the wands in, slowly pull it up and out. And yes, it is everything you would expect Wowmazing to mean. The problem was we ran out of the soap mixture. Luckily for us, we have a Joseph. That kids’ brain is always churning. He came up with a soppy mixture of (get this) molasses, Dawn soap, a little corn starch and water. It was nasty looking. But, it’s Joseph so you trust him. Watching him dip the wands into the homemade mix and then pull it up and out was magic. There were bubbles! Huge bubbles! We watched the wonky blobs catch the light; intercepting it and holding it in wild shapes, sending off magical glimpses of color.
•A few months ago, we had a tree taken down in our backyard. The problem with the tree was it was so dead that they had to cut it at the bottom and then pull down into the forest. When the big old tree came crashing down it took out maybe three younger trees. It also created a little clearing in the woods. We thought it would be cool to clean it out and see if we could grow something there. It’s only 7 feet across by maybe 10 feet in length. Anyways, we pulled up roots and turned the dirt. We bought a packet of seeds that promises a meadow. And we sprinkled the hay and seed mix all over our hopeful little patch of newly exposed dirt. After just a couple weeks of careful watering, we saw sprouts! Here is where catch comes in – Tiny bits of green pushing up through dirt and hay intercept the afternoon sun, holding its warmth and using it’s power to grow.
If you’ve been here before, you know this is going to circle back to light and Jesus. So, here we go. I just wonder – if a DIY soapy mess can catch light, transforming into a brand new orbs of color or if a seed can use dirt and water to push on with an instinct to catch the sun in order to grow – doesn’t it make you wonder what can happen to you when you catch the light of Jesus?
The verse that’s keeps showing up with persistence is from 2 Corinthians 10:5 “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” I know. Demolish and captive and obedient – It’s all very high and mighty, religious-y language. But let’s intercept these words and hold them long enough to learn what they could mean. What needs to be taken captive here? “Arguments and every pretension” that block us from knowing God. Those thoughts of fear and shame and worry and anger and resentment build a wall between us and God. But let’s not limit this scripture to a directive. There’s more. It reveals God’s heart. God knows your heart. And He wants you to know His heart.
Let’s play catch.
We’re going to read some more Scripture. Let the words intercept you where you are and hold them for a bit.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and will bring you back from captivity.’”
Jeremiah 29:13-14
What caught you on this one? There’s a promise or two in this verse from Jeremiah. “I will be found by you.” God is on stand by waiting for you. And when you seek Him, you will find HIm. Oh, but don’t miss the condition: You will find me WHEN you seek me with all your heart. Are you all in? God wants it all. Don’t just kinda sorta pray; get after it with all your heart.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8
God is God is God – always has been and always will be. I don’t know about you but this feels like such a relief. The world is constantly dividing itself against itself. And, thanks to the killer combo of our information superhighway and cable news; we can hear all about it 24/7. While the world upends itself, God remains unshakeable, immovable, right beside you.
“He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.”
Malachi 3:3
Eeeesh. Refining and purifying are things that involve a lot of fire and a lot of change. If you feel like you’re in a furnace of change; hold onto the promise here. “He will sit.” God, again, is close. He’s not turning His back or getting up and moving on. God is next to you, watching to make sure you withstand the fire and come out gold.
“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those who hearts are fully committed to Him.”
2 Chronicles 16:9
This was written more than 2,400 years ago. God has been and always will be searching for fully committed hearts so he can strengthen them.
Loaded with promises and stability, fully committed and waiting close by is your God.
I pray you will let Him intercept the worry that jolts your eyes wide open at 2 a.m. with To-Do lists and worst case scenarios. Let God intercept the anxiety that thumps through you so fiercely you swear the person next to you can see your actual heart moving. Let God intercept the panic that grabs hold of your airway so tight you gasp for air even though you opened all the windows and the sunroof.
I pray you will allow Him to hold you.
God wants you free, strong, never alone, all in.
Did you catch that?
