ARTICLES BY COLLEEN CHAO

Category: Worship

Bible study

Complain, weep, wonder, and worship.

Summer is an odd duck. School lets out, Instagram becomes a film reel of beach days and vacas, and by July 31st Halloween paraphernalia is holding stores hostage. Between June and August I’m never quite sure if I’m winding down or revving up. These hot months fly fast, so before they’re gone may I ask you a bold question? How are you going to care for your soul this summer? ~ ~ ~ I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love the Psalms. My father read them to me when I was a child, and through repetition many verses were etched in my heart. But it was when depression found me in my late teens and twenties that I clung to the book of Psalms. In it I found “a mirror of divine grace, reflecting the lovely face of our Heavenly Father, and the anatomy of the soul.” Here was raw reality and Godward hope. In these Spirit-breathed poems I understood more of God and more of myself. But a few months ago, inspired by my sister-in-law Shawna, I began experiencing the Psalms in a whole new way. I committed to daily praying through them—complaining, weeping, hoping, praising, singing through them. For 86 days now I’ve given myself over to the full gamut of emotions in the Psalms and I’ve met God afresh. It’s become such a life-giving, joy-starting ritual for me that I’ve been itching to tell you about it. In fact, I’m going to risk sounding presumptuous and challenge you to join me over the next two summer months—to saturate your soul in what Samuel Clarke called “the most useful book of the Bible.” Here’s what I propose: Beginning June 1, pray through one Psalm each day for two months—and challenge a friend to join you. Grab a friend It’s been pure joy for me to read through the Psalms alongside my dear friend Melissa. We read a chapter every weekday (today we were in Psalm 86) and then we text each other our favorite verse. It’s a simple and beautiful form of accountability–and what is sweeter than sharing Scripture with a friend? Who would you enjoy journeying through the Psalms with? Begin to pray Each of us has such a unique relationship with God that my times with Him will look so different from yours. But to give you an idea of how this works for me, here are a few excerpts from three of my “Psalm prayers.” (I usually use my laptop to type these out, but sometimes I pray them aloud, and occasionally I even sit at the piano to sing through them.) from Psalm 61 I am the Rock that is higher than you and your day. I am your Refuge, and under My wings you can find shelter today. I am watching over you with My steadfast love and faithfulness. from Psalm 62 Lord, let my soul wait for You alone, in silence. Let it not fume and fret in the waiting. Let it be still. Quiet. At peace. For from You comes my salvation. My saving! You only are my rock and my salvation, my fortress—the only One who keeps me from being greatly shaken. I shall not be shaken. from Psalm 64 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint—and boy did I have some complaints in the middle of the night and this morning!!! Preserve my life from the dread of this weekend and next. Hide me from the plots of my flesh and from the effects of others’ sins. Take out these enemies of mine: my pride, selfishness, apathy, anxiety, covetousness, resentment, mismanagement of energy/emotions/time. Bring them to ruin in my heart and mind. For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep! Then others will fear You; they will tell what You have brought about and ponder what You have done. A word for every condition Dear one—this is changing me. I’ve come through a prolonged season of stress, exhaustion, and grief, but my heart is both healing and being emboldened, due in part to these simple prayer sessions. In the psalter there is a word for every human condition, whether you are in the throes of depression or on the heights of bliss. Here you will find permission to “pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord” who sees and knows and cares—and acts powerfully on your behalf. So complain. Weep. Wonder. Worship. Hold nothing back from your God. How ever you choose to get with God this summer, may your heart cry out, “Teach me Your way, O Lord, that I may walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name. I give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify Your name forever. For great is Your steadfast love toward me; You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” P.S. – If you decide to join me in praying the Psalms, I’d love to hear from you so I can pray for you by name. Just drop me a line at becomingchao@gmail.com. (I’m horrible about emailing back, but I will pray! 🙂 ) Also, here’s a fantastic commentary on the Psalms that’s helped me pray with greater understanding: The Treasury of David *First quote by Gerhard. Other Scriptures referenced: Lamentations 2:19; Isaiah 64:4; Psalm 86:11-13.

Colleen Elisabeth Chao May 26, 2017

Beauty

Imagine this….

I’m not sure where the idea of a harps-and-clouds heaven came from, but it’s as far from the truth as we could get. The God of eternity, and his new heavens and new earth, are so fantastical that the apostle John in his book of Revelation didn’t have a vocabulary for what he saw—so he resorted to similes to give us context for the stuff that made him fall flat on his face. Below are some Scriptures I compiled many years ago for a group of high school girls I was discipling. I wanted to help them look beyond their small high school existence and get glimpses of jaw-dropping eternal realities. (Turns out, I needed the perspective every bit as much as they did.) These passages paint surreal, breathtaking—and at times even slightly disturbing—pictures. As I try to fathom these realities, Christ becomes even more staggering to me. This blazing, thundering, warrior God pushed Himself down, condescended to be with us, to save us from our sins and make us His own. The God of fire became God in flesh. For us. I return often to these passages, because on my own I am small-minded and infatuated with the finite. The Spirit takes these and enlarges my fear of God, puts today’s pressures and pains in perspective, and grows my heart bold for the lost. May I encourage you to spend some time in these too? Find a quiet space, play some epic instrumental music, and use every bit of your imagination to enter into the marvels described here. (And if you’ve got a little one in your life—read these to them too! Even superheroes look a little dull and droll after this. Let God wow them early.) Eternity with the Messiah King is going to be a forever phenomenon. Dear one, just imagine this…. Revelation 1:12-18 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Revelation 4:1-11 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Revelation 19:11-16 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Ezekiel 1:26-28 And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of

Colleen Elisabeth Chao April 18, 2017

close up shot of a person reading a bible

Gratitude

Remember

My life is a story of God being with me. I can point to time after time when He broke in on my darkness, when He rescued me from my own stupidity, when He brought His words to a rolling boil to melt my hardened heart. I’ve brushed up against Glory through His Spirit, His Word, His people. And His world. He has met me in stars and sunsets and music and fire and water and color and dark and dawn and thunder and lightning and silence. My God—He has revealed Himself to me at every turn, in every season. But after all of this—after all the ways He has marked my life with His love—I forget He’s here. It is the worst form of amnesia, to forget the One who created me, rescued me from sin and its damnation, made me infinitely rich in His love. How can I be daughter of the King Most High, yet prone to live as a beggar’s child born into a generational cycle of poverty and despair? You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth. As someone else once confessed, I am often an atheist in practice. I’m prone to live as if there’s no God. Forgetfulness turns me faithless. I question and cower and complain. I wring my hands in worry. I drink the cup of discouragement to its dregs instead of quenching my thirst in His cup that runs over with joy. But He is not forgetful. He does not forget me. Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. God knows I am newborn-needy, and with greater tenderness than even a nursing mother, He tells me again and again in His Word to remember. Colleen, I know you’re forgetful, so bring to mind all the ways I’ve provided for you. Protected you. Rescued you. Loved you. Recall the greatness of Who I Am again and again and again till there’s a well-worn path in your brain—a neurological groove of gratitude and awe. Is it strange that the cure for my amnesia is remembering? Like the cure for a couch potato is turning off the TV and exercising, it sounds simple but it screams against all that comes naturally to me. Funny thing is, I can remember a lot of things without even trying: the expectations I haven’t lived up to, my never-ending list of to-do’s, that catchy new song. And I’d never dare to forget my morning cup of coffee. But keep the God of the Universe at the forefront of my mind? Why is this so difficult? The God who has always been with me—He is with me still, even in my amnesia. He smiles at me in my need and pours Grace over my lack. He gives me the desire and obedience to remember Him, to think on His goodness—because He knows it is my good. So I hang Scriptures on the walls of my home, and I put verses to music so they get stuck on repeat in my head, and I open my mouth to tell the people around me how good God is to me (and I sidle up to those who talk about His goodness back to me). I carve out time alone with my Savior so He can reshape my thoughts and desires. I journal. I pour out my heart, I reflect, I answer questions like these: What am I grateful for today? How have I seen God’s kindness expressed to me through another person? What does the cross tell me about God’s relentless love for me? Here, in the sweet quiet of my Father’s presence, reflecting on His past and continual goodness to me, I remember who He is and who I am in Him. My distracted, anxious thoughts (of Self and Circumstances and Others) are dwarfed by my magnified thoughts of Him. As St. Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Is my heart trying to find a resting place apart from Christ? We can be busy about a lot of good things, but if they’re keeping us from remembering The Best Thing, our hearts remain restless. Dear One, is your heart at rest? Or has rest been eluding you as of late (as it has been me)? Tonight let’s ask God to help us remember all that we have in Him. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. Psalm 63:5-7 Click here for a list of Scriptural commands to remember. Other Scriptures referenced: Deuteronomy 32:18; Isaiah 49:15, 54:5; Psalm 23:5, 16:2

Colleen Elisabeth Chao February 10, 2017

Beauty

Ezekiel 16

I remember you before you were beautiful. Before you stopped people in their tracks and made jaws drop and heads turn. You, who are now the fairest of all—were once the pity of all. You were a bloodied and abandoned newborn, left in an open field to die. Rejected. Unloved. At your birth no one cried, “It’s a girl!” No one cleaned you or comforted you or nursed you. They looked at you, covered in your afterbirth and blood, and tossed you out like refuse. But as you writhed and wailed and gasped for breath…. He walked by. He slowed His steps, looked at you and said, “Live!” He loved you with a fierce yet tender love, an unreasonable love. A foolish love. He pulled you out of the heap of blood and briers you lay in, He wrapped you in His arms, and He gave you life. “Live!” was the song He sang over you as He dressed your wounds and clothed you as His own daughter—as royalty. He lavished you with clothes and jewelry and food and beauty treatments as had never been seen before. You were His bride, the apple of His eye, a queen perfect in beauty. And now you were to sing His song of life over others (so they too might live). You loved Him back with an adoring love. Your heart beat happy with salvation and you could not stop singing His song of life. But soon you heard the sound of your own voice over His. Oh how sweet you sang! You caught sight of your own reflection and became enamored by your beauty, your dress, your privileged position. And you forgot. You forgot what He looked like, what He sounded like…. what He’d saved you from. You danced to the song of yourself. Your song deafened you to the cries of the despised and dying around you. They cried out for Life, but you offered them only yourself. (You, once ruined as they are now.) Now the bloodied rise up and cry “Death!” and you, so consumed with self, act surprised. You resent them in their dirty desperation and point a fair finger at their misery. How dare they not love you! Do you not see? Can you not understand? Your own song will not do, faithless bride. Your pageantry and airs will not suffice. The dying need Life himself. Oh that you would run back to Him, cling to Him as in those first days of love, and let Him sing His song over you—that they might hear and believe. How will they believe if they have never heard? You are chosen for this, beloved one. You were saved to go save. The Rescuer is slow to anger and abounding in love, not wanting any to perish but all to “Live!” So return to your First Love. Remember what you were before He rescued you. Hide yourself in Him till your heart beats with His, till your ears are full of His voice and your eyes are alight with His love. Then go and sing His song to the dying: Live! Scriptures referenced: Ezekiel 16, Ephesians 5, Jonah 4:2, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Zephaniah 3:17, Revelation 2:2-5, Romans 10:14-17

Colleen Elisabeth Chao January 6, 2017