"When all the world is a hopeless jumble and the rain drops tumble all around.
Heaven opens a magic place.
When all the stars lighten up the skyway there's a rainbow highway to be found reaching from your window pane
Some place far beyond the sun
Just a step beyond the rain"
Where is this magical place you may ask? Why it's only the wonderful world of OZ! That's right! The one with munchkins, scarecrows who dance, tin men who sing, and lions that talk, and who could forget the "Wonderful Wizard of OZ?!?"
I'm currently in the show "The Wizard of OZ" in downtown Salisbury NC, and our performances are in mid swing so I am in complete show mode! I was doing a devotion the other night and came across a passage of scripture in Psalm which made me think of the show.
Psalm 40:1-17
I waited patiently for the Lord,
and He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
He brought me up from a desolate pit,
out of the muddy clay,
and set my feet on a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.
How happy is the man
who has put his trust in the Lord
and has not turned to the proud
or to those who run after lies!
Lord my God, You have done many things—
Your wonderful works and Your plans for us;
none can compare with You.
If I were to report and speak of them,
they are more than can be told.
You do not delight in sacrifice and offering;
You open my ears to listen.
You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering.
Then I said, “See, I have come;
it is written about me in the volume of the scroll.
I delight to do Your will, my God;
Your instruction lives within me.”
I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly;
see, I do not keep my mouth closed—
as You know, Lord.
I did not hide Your righteousness in my heart;
I spoke about Your faithfulness and salvation;
I did not conceal Your constant love and truth
from the great assembly.
Lord, do not withhold Your compassion from me;
Your constant love and truth will always guard me.
For troubles without number have surrounded me;
my sins have overtaken me; I am unable to see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my courage leaves me.
Lord, be pleased to deliver me;
hurry to help me, Lord.
Let those who seek to take my life
be disgraced and confounded.
Let those who wish me harm
be driven back and humiliated.
Let those who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
be horrified because of their shame.
Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
let those who love Your salvation continually say,
“The Lord is great!”
I am afflicted and needy;
the Lord thinks of me.
You are my helper and my deliverer;
my God, do not delay.
This passage reminded me of Dorothy and how she was caught in a terrible storm and got stuck in this world, not like Kansas, from which she came. She is caught in a "desolate pit" of her own. Although to us it seems like such a happy place to be stuck in, Dorothy is experiencing things she never has before. She finds the munchkins, who worship her for the killing of the wicked witch of the east. She meets Galinda who becomes her guide on this magical journey.
I find that although we aren't necessarily caught in a magical world, it is like that. We find ourselves in the storms of life, being tossed and turned, and pushed and pulled by the struggle and challenges surrounding us. All to find ourselves at our lowest, where we try to make it fun, we make new friends, we find ourselves loved by many and hated by some. It can be a scary journey to make on our own, but we are reminded we are not alone, there is always someone to go to, to guide the way and make it clear for us to see what direction to take. It is our decision to follow that "yellow brick road" in our lives or to stray from the path.
There are times on Dorothy's journey where she feels like hope is gone, but she keeps the steady path, and has some friends to help her along he way. She first meets the scarecrow who is in DIRE need of some brains!
She meets three friends who seem much like the friends of her own back home. The scarecrow represents a part of us, the part who wants to know everything. The part of us who doesn't trust. We all long for wisdom and knowledge. We want to know what is to come. But we don't see that we already have that wisdom in Him.
She then meets the tin man, a man who is at a stand still, literally, and longs for a full heart. This Character represents us in our longing. Longing for love for "We love because he first loved us." 1John 4:19. We all seek a full heart, one that is filled with joy and love. We try to find things to fill the void within our empty hearts and find that the only fulfillment we can find is in him.
The last friend she meets is the Cowardly Lion. Scared for his life, constantly on his toes and howling with fear of everything ahead and behind him. Very much as we do constantly, we don't walk in faith. We fear everything, we walk through the dark scared...when all we need to do is put our faith in Him. All of us lack courage, but of we stay strong in the lord. Trusting Him and walking in faith with Him, He will deliver us.
With the help of faith and trust and love in and for each other, they defeat the witch and make it back to OZ to the Wonderful Wizard, a wise man said to be able to solve all of their problem, who in reality is an over-glorified man who can do nothing but remind them of what already lies within them each.
A brain...wisdom, and trust.
A heart...loving and fulfilled.
And courage...a faith that is unshakeable.
Dorothy, on her journey home, finds all of these things and learns that when all hope seems lost, and you feel like you just can't escape the storm you're caught in, if you have trust in yourself and all your wisdom, take heart and have an unshakeable faith, you can make it home. The same goes for every one of us. All of us long for a home, we long for wisdom and love and courage. We find that when we run to him.
Giving all to him, here we find, peace, joy, love and rest; in him we find our home. And we realize that he is with us, always. We don't have to search for him, for if we seek him we will always find him with open arms waiting and welcoming us from our long journey back where we belong.
So, when all hope seems lost, cry for help from him, don't get caught in a storm, for this world can be a hard place to live in. If we go to Him he will restore us, he will relieve us.
"Come to me all who are burdened and I will give you rest."
He is calling us home, He will light our way and guide us in the right direction if we just put our faith and trust in him and allow HIM to fill our hearts. He will lead us home and there really is...
"No place like home.."
