Speedy Gonzales

Last night my famed sister, Beth, was making a reference to Speedy Gonzales. One of my friends said, "I've never actually seen that." Beth responded, "Oh no! You have a Speedy Gonzales shaped hole in your heart! You know how people say that you have a Jesus shaped hole? It's just like that, only smaller."

Beth's joke made me think about how stupid the Jesus-shaped hole thing is. It made me remember that Jesus is transformative and not an app that I plug into my life to make it work for me better.

Am I letting him be a transformative God?

Everybody's seester knows Speedy Gonzales!

Sometimes I don't get it

Sometimes I don't get it.
Psalm 91

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Is this true? No harm will befall you? No disaster? Because I know people who trust God and still have miscarriages, still die in car crashes, still get cancer, still have their heart pulverized. That's life, and it sometimes seems like Christians have it worse. Look at Paul.

In the midst of suffering, God is there, but I don't see Him really keeping Christians alive and well longer than anyone else. Isn't that a prosperity gospel?

What is David talking about? This passage is making it hard for me to buy into the Psalms. And I need them. I need the reckless trust that they teach.