Pickle Heaven Press-James R. Johnson

something to help you laugh and think about life with Christ

Tag: Psalm 46:10

on-the-spot — January 21, 2026

on-the-spot

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It can be terrifying when life puts us – on-the-spot!

It was a gorgeous day for an outdoor wedding.  She was a Texan and he was a Chinese national.  They met on a mission trip and fell in love.  He moved to Texas shortly before they were married. 

I did the premarital counseling with them.  He could speak English well enough, but our culture was certainly a new frontier for him.  I was excited about officiating their wedding. 

He and I were together, waiting for the ceremony to begin.  He was pacing nervously, and I was in a mischievous mood, so I asked, “Are you ready to sing your song?”  Well, his skin tone flashed to pale white. 

“Song, what song?”  “The song” I said.  “You know, the one you’re supposed to sing to your bride just before the vows.”  “I no sing!”  “But it’s our custom. You must.”  “Out there?” “Yes!”

Pretty cruel – I know, but it was such fun.  I quickly told him the truth, however, before he tried to jilt the bride or needed a replacement pair of tuxedo pants.

It can be terrifying when life puts us on-the-spot!   But you know what that’s like…

– the boss unfairly accuses you

– your teen daughter asks to leave with her waiting friend to go to an iffy party

– the teacher looks at your test paper and says, “Is this all there is?”

– the doctor rushes in and asks, “do you want us to resuscitate your mother”

At times like those we need presence of mind, a pulse of less than 200 bpm, and a good dose of wisdom would be great – but all we got is, “Me no sing.”  

Nehemiah found himself in one of those situations.  He was a Jewish slave who was the cupbearer to the king who tasted every drink before it met the lips of the king.  Cupbearers were expendable.  Kings were not.

Nehemiah, however, was distressed about the poor state of his homeland.  He wanted to see Jerusalem thrive again, starting with the rebuilding of her fallen walls.

So, the day came when the King was parched and ready for a glass of Chardonet and Nehemiah was on the job.  And then this happened.  

He said, “I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before; so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill?” –  Nehemiah 2:1-2

Nehemiah was so downhearted about his homeland that his happy service to the king was missing.  It was noticed which is why he wrote, “I was very much afraid.” (2:2)

To serve the king required a person to stow their personal issues and provide their personal best.  In those days, failure to do so could have sent him to the executioner.

So, Nehemiah told the king why he was sad.  The king replied, “What is it you want?” (2:4)

Already in trouble for disturbing the king with his personal matters and now locked into a vise-like dilemma – withhold the truth and possibly die for it; or tell the truth and possibly die for it. 

But Nehemiah understood and trusted the God of whom the Psalmist wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:10 KJV.  He knew Him to be an on-the-spot God.

So, Nehemiah whispered a very brief prayer to the Lord right there (2:5) and then asked for permission to return and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

He sucked in his breath and then waited until the king answered.  Nehemiah could write, “It pleased the king to send me” (2:6).

On-the-spot help.  Just a brief prayer, uttered to a God who Nehemiah knew to be an ever-present help in time of trouble.

When we are suddenly put on the spot – confronted with trouble, He will be there for us as well – just a brief prayer away.

A PRAYER: Lord, please remind me to pray when I am put on the spot

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you always

Scripture passages cited from the NIV unless otherwise noted.

give it a rest — December 3, 2025

give it a rest

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I love nature, unless it is on my porch and armed with stingers.  A family of yellow jackets decided to move into our home.  To exit or enter said home was a big risk.  So, I decided to tackle the problem. 

I sprayed the raiders with Raid.  They fell one at a time.  But with a nest of approximately 5,000, I would poison myself to death before the insects.   The peppermint oil that was recommended refreshed them instead of repelling them.

The fake wasp nest that was guaranteed to scare them to death just made them laugh.  I even caulked the entrance to the nest, but they tunneled around it.

Finally, I decided to go with green energy.  I took an industrial grade fan, set it up right under the entry to their nest.   The ferocious wind blew, and the jackets couldn’t pass through it to land. 

But oh, how they tried!  They would back up, get a flying start and charge toward the nest, only to be blown away.  It was sort of entertaining to watch.  Really soon the wasps began to drop like flies – completely exhausted, and there they died.

I finally had created a problem that they could not overcome.  Maybe they should have ceded the battle and moved in with a cousin in another nest.  Instead, they tried and tried, and the effort killed them.

Like those wispy wasps, most of us know what it is like to face a problem that cannot be overcome.   We are wired to be problem solvers, and we usually succeed.  But every so often we encounter a windstorm that defies our most valiant effort to tame it.

Now I believe that if we can solve the problem, then we certainly need to try, but what if it can’t be solved?  What if the doc says the cancer is terminal?  What if our spouse runs off and marries another?   What if our hair starts falling out and wrinkles line our faces? 

Some of us carry on!  We strive with all our might to change what can’t be changed.   And like the wasps, we exhaust ourselves – some even endangering our health in the process.

Is there a better way?  God has some good advice.  He said, “Stop your striving and recognize that I am God” – Psalm 46:10.   God has the power to change our circumstances if He should want to.  He also retains the prerogative of leaving things as they are.   The Psalmist urges us to get smart – to stop trying to force the sovereign will of God and rest in Him instead.

Sometimes we just need to trust God and learn to live with a problem. 

Great King David understood this.  He wrote in Psalm 131, “O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor do I have a haughty look” (131:1a).  There are times we strive not out of need, but out of pride.  “I will not accept defeat.”  David, however, humbled himself before his circumstances and his God. 

And then he wrote, “I do not have great aspirations, or concern myself with things that are beyond me” (131:1b).David recognized that there are problems that he could resolve, but there were also those he could not – things that were beyond him and his ability. So, he chose to cease his vain striving.

He continued, “Indeed, I have calmed and quieted myself like a weaned child with its mother; I am content like a young child” (131:2).  He replaced his striving with resting on the breast of God.  He likened himself to an infant that was no longer frantic to nurse but content to relax in his mother’s embrace.

This was what David did, and he encouraged his countrymen and you and me to do the same by ending the Psalm with “O Israel, hope in the Lord now and forevermore!”  (131:3).

Sometimes we just need to trust God and learn to live with a problem. 

A PRAYER: Lord help me to know when to strive, and when to let go

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord be with you always

Scripture passages are from the NETBible ®

need a rest — August 18, 2021

need a rest

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We had completed the first workday of our mission trip.   It was grueling labor there under the scorching Nicaraguan sun.  Each of us gratefully grabbed a plate of food and took our places at the table.

One of us sat down and then suddenly vanished.  No – it was not the rapture.  All 4 of the flimsy legs of his green molded plastic chair snapped and he instantly dropped beneath the table.  We laughed and teased the guy once we found out that he was OK.

But then another person disappeared.  By the end of the week I believe we lost 4 team members that way.  It was a real-life game of whack-a-mole.

The work was exhausting and the chairs were frustrating – denying us physical and even emotional rest.  We worried every time we sat down, “Is it my turn to become the butt of the jokes?” (pun intended)  

______________

Isn’t that a lot like life?   As they say in Texas, “Some of us look like we been rode hard and put away wet.”  We want some – we need some rest.

She says, “Being the caregiver for my mom is wearing on me.”  The teacher frets about how much her kids are learning online.   He says, “The boss hired a guy to assist me but managing the guy has doubled my stress.”  “The new believer struggles to live the way the Lord wants her to live.”  “The news these days is just too much for me to bear.”

Rest!  We really need it – but where do we find it?  Jesus said, “Come to me!” 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”   “OK Lord that’s me for sure – weary and burdened – but how are you going to give me rest?”   (Matthew 11:28)

He went on, “Take my yoke on you and learn from me because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  (11:29)

He spoke of a yoke – the kind that harnessed a team of oxen.  When an ox became of working age, the farmer would take the younger smaller beast and yoke him with a veteran.  Together they would plow the fields, but it was the older beast that actually bore the brunt of it all. 

He did the heavy pulling, while the younger simply walked along – learning the proper gait and how to respond to the farmers commands and so on.   When the younger was yoked with the older, it was very easy work for him.   Which is why Jesus said, “For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry.”  (11:30)

There is an irony here, however.  We think of rest strictly as inactivity, but Jesus tells us that we rest when we are at work – doing what He would have us to do and in tandem with Jesus.

I am thinking that we need that kind of rest.  How do we find it? 

Jesus says, “Come to me!  Spend some time with me.  Listen to more of my words and less of your newscast.  Forget your peers and consider life from my perspective. Allow my strength to fill you.  Try more peace and fewer pills.  Just spend some time with me.” 

A musician will sometimes use a “rest” in his song.  This is an interval when the instruments are silenced while he continues to sing.  The rest provides clarity and emphasis to the words.

It seems like a good idea to build that kind of break into our days.   A time of inactivity and reflection– so that we can more clearly hear the voice of the shepherd. 

This kind of advice also comes to us from the Psalms.

“Commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still.” KJV – Psalm 4:4. “Be still, and know that I am God.”  KJV  – Psalm 46:10

We need to stop and rest a while with Jesus each day to find that kind of deeper rest we need. 

Well – you will be glad to know that our mission team gave our Nicaraguan hosts a parting gift.  We replaced all the flimsy chairs with sturdy ones.  And now every scale-tipping American can settle down and rest easy when they visit there.  And that’s the “rest” of the story.

A PRAYER: Lord – I know how to work hard, but find it tough to rest well.  Help me to learn from You.”

Scripture passages are from the NET Bible ® unless otherwise noted.