Three Little Letters

R. U. E.

Three little letters. A simple reminder of what it means to have a relationship with our heavenly Father, to live under His authority, and to exercise the gift of faith He has given us.

This morning, I had the privilege of sharing a devotion on prayer at Venture Church during our Seek First gathering. I had prepared an outline built around these three little letters, and as I drove to church, I found myself thinking about what I wanted to share.

But somewhere along that drive, I sensed the Lord gently directing my thoughts toward someone else.

Pastor Gary.

As I’ve shared before, Gary and his beautiful wife, Susan, came into my life through Hattie’s House. What began as an opportunity to provide a place for them to stay during Gary’s battle with cancer became something far more meaningful. It became a friendship, a time of fellowship, and ultimately an opportunity to witness a man preparing to leave his earthly home and enter his eternal one.

This past Friday, we gathered to celebrate Gary’s life.

I hadn’t known Gary for very long, but as I sat there looking at the incredible photographs of his life, listening to the stories, and hearing God’s Word being shared, I was deeply moved.

There was Gary the pastor. Gary the missionary. Gary the husband. Gary the dad. Gary the friend.

And as I listened to his brother, his dear friend John, and his two amazing daughters, Lindsay and Sydney, share about the man they loved, something became so beautifully clear.

We weren’t simply remembering a life that had ended.

We were celebrating a life that had been lived in a real relationship with Jesus Christ.

And as I drove to church this morning, those three little letters I had prepared for my devotion suddenly took on a much deeper meaning.

R — Relationship with the Father.

The first thing I wanted to share about prayer was that before we ever bring a request before the Lord, we need to remember who we are and who we’re talking to.

We’re talking to our Father.

In Ephesians 1:4, we’re reminded that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. And in 1 John 3:1, we’re reminded of the incredible love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God.

Think about that.

Before we ever knew Him, He knew us.

And what I saw so clearly in Gary’s life was that his relationship with the Lord wasn’t simply something he talked about on Sunday mornings. It wasn’t just a part of his vocation as a pastor or missionary.

It was real.

Was it always perfect? Of course not. None of us walk this journey perfectly.

But it was real.

You could see it in the photographs. You could hear it in the stories. You could sense it in the love that filled the room as family and friends shared about the impact Gary had made in their lives.

And that’s what I wanted to encourage those gathered for prayer this morning to understand.

Prayer isn’t about finding the perfect words or presenting God with a carefully prepared list of requests.

It’s about having a real conversation with our Father.

Jesus Himself modeled this throughout the Gospels, often withdrawing to spend time alone with His Father.

And we have that same invitation.

To come before Him with everything. Our joys, our fears, our disappointments, our questions, and even those things we simply don’t understand.

Gary knew his Father.

And his life reflected that relationship.

U — Under His Authority.

The second letter was U, a reminder that we live under the authority of Almighty God.

In Matthew 28:18, Jesus tells His disciples, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.”

All authority.

Not some authority. Not just authority over the things we understand or the circumstances that seem manageable.

All authority.

And as I thought about Gary’s final weeks, I couldn’t help but remember the conversations we shared.

Gary knew what Scripture tells us in Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

But knowing those words and actually facing the reality of leaving this life are two very different things.

There was a time when I could sense a little bit of a tug in Gary’s heart.

He knew the promises of God. He knew what awaited him. But there was also the reality of leaving Susan, his daughters, his family, and the life he had known and loved.

And then, as medical results came back and circumstances began to change, something beautiful happened.

Gary had a conversation with the Lord.

And through that conversation, he came to a place of complete surrender.

He knew.

He knew that his time here was drawing to a close. He knew that what I sometimes call his personal rapture, that moment when he would be taken home to be with Jesus, was approaching.

And he was ready.

Not because he had somehow figured everything out, but because he had placed himself completely under the authority of his heavenly Father.

I remember our worship pastor, James, sharing how Gary’s hands were raised in worship.

What a beautiful picture.

A man facing the end of his earthly life, with his hands lifted toward heaven, worshiping the very One who held his life in His hands.

And isn’t that such an important part of prayer?

So often, we come before the Lord with our plans, our desires, and the outcomes we’ve already decided would be best.

We want God to be a part of our journey.

But perhaps the greater invitation is to recognize that we are part of His.

That He is the One with all authority.

That He sees what we cannot see.

That His plans are greater than anything we could ever imagine.

And that we can come before Him with open hands and simply say, “Father, You’ve got this. I trust You.”

Gary modeled that beautifully, right up until the end.

E — Exercise Your Faith Daily.

The final letter was E.

Exercise your faith.

We all have routines in our lives. We brush our teeth, eat our meals, go to work, and perhaps spend time exercising these bodies God has given us.

But what about exercising our faith?

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, we’re given three simple words:

“Pray without ceasing.”

What if prayer became as natural to us as breathing?

What if our conversations with the Lord weren’t reserved for Sunday mornings, a prayer gathering, or those moments when life becomes difficult?

What if we simply walked with Him throughout every day?

And as I thought about Gary, I realized that this was exactly what I had witnessed.

Gary was exercising his faith.

Not simply in the good times, when life was going according to plan, but in those final weeks when the future was becoming clearer and the days were growing shorter.

He was trusting in the unseen.

He was believing in the eternal.

He was holding on to the promises of God, knowing that what awaited him was not the end of life, but the beginning of life in the very presence of Jesus.

And Susan was walking that journey of faith alongside him.

So were his daughters, his family, and his dear friends.

They were experiencing the sorrow of saying goodbye while holding on to the incredible promises of the Father.

That’s faith.

Not the absence of sadness. Not the absence of questions. Not pretending that saying goodbye is easy.

But believing that what God has promised is true.

That Jesus meant what He said in John 11:25:

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies.”

What an extraordinary promise.

Gary believed that.

And now, what he once believed by faith, he is experiencing face to face.

Completely healed. Completely restored. Alive in the presence of Jesus.

As I sat at Gary’s celebration of life on Friday, I couldn’t help but think about the incredible convergence of all these things.

A relationship that began through Hattie’s House. A friendship formed during a difficult season. Conversations about life, death, and eternity. A family walking faithfully through the unknown. And a man who had spent his life pointing others toward Jesus, now entering the presence of the very Savior he had loved and served.

And then, just a few days later, I found myself driving to church to share a devotion on prayer.

Three little letters.

R. U. E.

And suddenly, I realized I had been given a living example of everything I wanted to share.

A real relationship with the Father.

A life surrendered under His authority.

And a faith exercised daily, all the way to the finish line.

So perhaps my encouragement to you today is simply this.

When you come before the Lord in prayer, remember who you’re talking to.

Your Father.

The One who knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb. The One who loves you more deeply than you could ever comprehend.

Have a real conversation with Him.

And as you bring your concerns, your burdens, your questions, and your hopes before Him, remember whose authority you’re under.

You don’t have to figure everything out.

You don’t have to understand every circumstance.

You can simply open your hands and trust Him.

And then exercise that beautiful gift of faith He has given you.

Every day.

In the ordinary moments and the extraordinary ones. In the celebrations and in the sorrow. In the answered prayers and in those moments when heaven seems quiet.

Keep walking with Him.

Because the promises of God are not simply words written thousands of years ago.

They are true.

They are real.

And as I think about my friend Gary, I am reminded that one day, for each of us who belongs to Jesus, faith will become sight.

What a day that will be.

So as you journey through whatever season of life you find yourself in today, I pray these three little letters will be a gentle reminder.

R — Relationship with your Father.

U — Under His Authority.

E — Exercise your faith daily.

And perhaps the question we should ask ourselves isn’t whether we have everything figured out.

But simply this:

Are you ready to trust your Father with whatever you’re carrying today?

Stay encouraged.