Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Sad Joy
A couple of weeks ago I was thinking about writing another blog, and the theme that kept coming to my mind was “Forgotten Joy.” The reason for this was because I was having a hard time, mainly because school was bogging me down in its endless monotony, and joy did seem to be forgotten. God lifted me out of the pit I was sliding down, however, so my joy is no longer forgotten-praise Jesus! But, today my joy is tinged with sadness. Someone in my church family lost their young son this weekend. We prayed for healing, and God healed him completely by taking him home. He answered our prayers, just not in the way we thought. Whenever God veils His plan from us it’s always hard, but it’s not hopeless, and it doesn’t have to be without joy. Too often I think people equate joy with happiness. Happiness is a feeling based on circumstances; Joy is an attitude in spite of circumstances. That is why it is completely possible to have sad joy. I’m sad because this family lost their son and brother. I’m joyful because I have hope in spite of that.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Why? It Doesn't Make Sense, God.
It hurts so much sometimes. Sometimes I’ve cried so hard that I couldn’t breath because the pain was so deep. Other times I would have done anything just to escape. Sometimes I’ve been so numb I couldn’t feel anything at all.
There are times in our lives when God’s plan doesn’t make sense. There are times when all I can ask God is “Why?” Why did he have to die? Why did September 11th have to happen? I’ve prayed, “You could have healed them, God! You could have prevented that accident! You could have kept them from dying!” And ever so softly, God whispers to my anguished heart, “Yes, I could have, but I didn’t, because My plan is bigger than what you can see.” It times like these where I have to cling desperately to the truths I know: God is good. God loves us. God is in control. And God says “No” sometimes. It doesn’t make sense in my little human brain. In my mind, I don’t see why people have to suffer. If I could, I would eliminate all the suffering in this world. But God doesn’t see things from a human perspective. He does things for His glory, things that might not make sense to us. If I could see the cosmic plan the way God sees it I wouldn’t have these questions. I have to admit that I don’t know why, and that’s why it is so hard. I have to make myself believe the things I know are true, even if I don’t feel like it, even if I don’t see why they happened. The Christian life isn’t about feelings, it’s about truth. If we lived solely off of feelings we would all turn away the first bumpy patch we hit. Sometimes I don’t feel like reading my Bible, but I know those are the times I need to the most. Sometimes I might not feel that God is just or good, but that doesn’t change the fact that He is.
So what do we do? We lean on the God of grace and keep living. We can’t stop it, we can’t go back. All we can do is keep moving forward and trust God to get us through the tough patches. There are going to be things we don’t understand and can’t explain. We’re going to cry sometimes. We might have to get through the race of faith crawling on our hands and knees, but at the end of it all, it will be worth it. The prize is worth the pain.
My God is good. My God is love. I believe that, so I trust Him. End of story.
There are times in our lives when God’s plan doesn’t make sense. There are times when all I can ask God is “Why?” Why did he have to die? Why did September 11th have to happen? I’ve prayed, “You could have healed them, God! You could have prevented that accident! You could have kept them from dying!” And ever so softly, God whispers to my anguished heart, “Yes, I could have, but I didn’t, because My plan is bigger than what you can see.” It times like these where I have to cling desperately to the truths I know: God is good. God loves us. God is in control. And God says “No” sometimes. It doesn’t make sense in my little human brain. In my mind, I don’t see why people have to suffer. If I could, I would eliminate all the suffering in this world. But God doesn’t see things from a human perspective. He does things for His glory, things that might not make sense to us. If I could see the cosmic plan the way God sees it I wouldn’t have these questions. I have to admit that I don’t know why, and that’s why it is so hard. I have to make myself believe the things I know are true, even if I don’t feel like it, even if I don’t see why they happened. The Christian life isn’t about feelings, it’s about truth. If we lived solely off of feelings we would all turn away the first bumpy patch we hit. Sometimes I don’t feel like reading my Bible, but I know those are the times I need to the most. Sometimes I might not feel that God is just or good, but that doesn’t change the fact that He is.
So what do we do? We lean on the God of grace and keep living. We can’t stop it, we can’t go back. All we can do is keep moving forward and trust God to get us through the tough patches. There are going to be things we don’t understand and can’t explain. We’re going to cry sometimes. We might have to get through the race of faith crawling on our hands and knees, but at the end of it all, it will be worth it. The prize is worth the pain.
My God is good. My God is love. I believe that, so I trust Him. End of story.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Timing and Trust
God’s timing. It’s perfect. It’s good. And it doesn’t make sense so many times. It’s so hard to do things God’s way because we think we know better. Or, we acknowledge that we don’t know better, but we would still rather do things our way because at least we are in control that way. Isn’t that amazing? We would sacrifice the best for the mediocre simply so we don’t have to trust anyone else with our lives. Trust is hard. It means letting go of the reins and believing that wherever God takes us is the best place to be, even if we don’t want to be there. But I’m digressing. I started talking about God’s timing and ended up talking about trust. I guess it makes sense; they are closely related. In order to accept God’s timing we have to trust Him first.
Have you ever asked God, “Why now?” I have asked Him that question a lot, both when He has brought difficult things in my life and when He has brought blessings into my life. Sometimes it feels like all of the difficult things are grouped together in life, that once you get hit with one thing then everything hits. You feel like you’re drowning and you finally surface and get a gulp of air only to get pushed down again by something else. I’ve been there. I’ve also been in the other boat, too. These are the times when God heaps blessing upon blessing upon you and you ask “Why?” because you know you don’t deserve it. These are times when you get overwhelmed by God’s love for you, and in turn it grows your love for your Father. Life happens like this, doesn’t it? At least it does for me. This is when it is hard to understand God’s timing. In my teeny human mind, I would spread out the good and bad times evenly so life doesn’t get overwhelming. I know I would, but even as I write this I realize how different my life would be and what a different person I would be if that was actually how it happened. And to be honest, I wouldn’t want it. The intense bad times makes character growth skyrocket. You will never grow like when your world seems to be falling apart. When everything is crumbling away you have to hang onto God for dear life because there is nothing left to stand on. Once you make it through those times, however, it makes the good times better and the blessings sweeter. God’s timing is perfect. He will never ask us to do something we can’t. He will break us but not destroy us. That’s a promise we have to cling to when life doesn’t make sense. When God’s timing doesn’t make sense.
Have you ever asked God, “Why now?” I have asked Him that question a lot, both when He has brought difficult things in my life and when He has brought blessings into my life. Sometimes it feels like all of the difficult things are grouped together in life, that once you get hit with one thing then everything hits. You feel like you’re drowning and you finally surface and get a gulp of air only to get pushed down again by something else. I’ve been there. I’ve also been in the other boat, too. These are the times when God heaps blessing upon blessing upon you and you ask “Why?” because you know you don’t deserve it. These are times when you get overwhelmed by God’s love for you, and in turn it grows your love for your Father. Life happens like this, doesn’t it? At least it does for me. This is when it is hard to understand God’s timing. In my teeny human mind, I would spread out the good and bad times evenly so life doesn’t get overwhelming. I know I would, but even as I write this I realize how different my life would be and what a different person I would be if that was actually how it happened. And to be honest, I wouldn’t want it. The intense bad times makes character growth skyrocket. You will never grow like when your world seems to be falling apart. When everything is crumbling away you have to hang onto God for dear life because there is nothing left to stand on. Once you make it through those times, however, it makes the good times better and the blessings sweeter. God’s timing is perfect. He will never ask us to do something we can’t. He will break us but not destroy us. That’s a promise we have to cling to when life doesn’t make sense. When God’s timing doesn’t make sense.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
I thought I could do it. I can't.
12:21 am. I looked at the clock as I paced back and forth in the kitchen and ate my yogurt. Back and forth. Back and forth. Front yard, back yard. Despite what it appeared, I wasn’t really agitated or distressed. I was just thinking . And praying. In the middle of the night on May 16th I reached the apex of the journey I had been traveling for almost two months, and the lesson God had been teaching me finally sunk in. It had been a good journey and, for once, the lesson hadn’t been unduly painful.
These last few months have been the worst I’ve slept in my entire life. I used to be a consistently good and sound sleeper, but not anymore. Overall I still sleep pretty well, but sometimes I’ll be tired but unable to fall asleep, and other times I’ll be wide awake at 12:30, 1:00, 2:00, etc. I don’t know what changed, but with the new year came a new way of life for me. And, truth be told, it’s been amazing. You wouldn’t normally think that a change from good sleep to bad sleep would be good, but it has been. While the world is sleeping in the quiet morning hours and all of the distractions are gone, I talk to God, and He talks to me. Those times I haven’t been able to sleep have been the times I’ve felt closest to God. Such was the case a few nights ago. In the dark, walking on the cold linoleum, talking with God, I was struck with this epiphany: I can’t do it.
I believe this journey started when I prayed for God to help me rely on His strength and not my own. God loves it when we pray prayers like that, so we should only pray them if we mean it. Shortly thereafter I caught a cold, then a sinus infection, then another cold, and all in all I’ve been sick for quite a long time. That was one step in keeping me from relying on my own strength, since I didn’t have much for awhile. The next step was to overwhelm me with all the activities I have going. To be honest, a good percentage of the time I have no idea what I’m doing and I am learning as I go. That can get a little unnerving sometimes. The last step was to show me how completely inadequate I am in areas I thought I was adequate in. It’s very deflating when you say, “I’m good at _________, “ and God says, “No, you’re not.” That is how I came to the conclusion that I can’t do it- I can’t do it by myself, without God, or in my own strength. I used to think I could, which resulted in things usually heading south the minute that proud attitude took root. I never overtly said, “I’m doing this by myself and I don’t need God’s help.” Rather it was just not asking for His help with things, as if I didn’t need it. These last two months have crushed that way of thinking. Through sickness and not sleeping and tons of stuff to do I’ve realized how weak I am; how limited I am. I am nothing, but God is everything. He uses weakness for His glory. It doesn’t matter what we can or cannot do because God is the one who is working anyway. It’s not me- It’s Him. I can’t explain the strength He’s provided when all my human strength has been gone. 2 Corinthians 12:9 has become real for me, “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” I’ve learned that His strength IS made perfect in weakness, that His grace IS sufficient. Not some of the time in some situations. All of the time in all situations. I’ve learned that when I acknowledge that I don’t know what I’m doing and let God work through me, things will happen, and it will be amazing. I can say with Paul, “When I am weak, then I am strong,” because I learned that when we lose natural strength we are overcome with supernatural strength.
That was a good journey. I hope I’m not done with it, even though I do hope I’ve learned my lesson. The peace I feel right now is amazing. I know it because I realize I don’t have to do anything anymore in my own strength; I can do it in God’s. To Him be the glory forever and ever, Amen.
These last few months have been the worst I’ve slept in my entire life. I used to be a consistently good and sound sleeper, but not anymore. Overall I still sleep pretty well, but sometimes I’ll be tired but unable to fall asleep, and other times I’ll be wide awake at 12:30, 1:00, 2:00, etc. I don’t know what changed, but with the new year came a new way of life for me. And, truth be told, it’s been amazing. You wouldn’t normally think that a change from good sleep to bad sleep would be good, but it has been. While the world is sleeping in the quiet morning hours and all of the distractions are gone, I talk to God, and He talks to me. Those times I haven’t been able to sleep have been the times I’ve felt closest to God. Such was the case a few nights ago. In the dark, walking on the cold linoleum, talking with God, I was struck with this epiphany: I can’t do it.
I believe this journey started when I prayed for God to help me rely on His strength and not my own. God loves it when we pray prayers like that, so we should only pray them if we mean it. Shortly thereafter I caught a cold, then a sinus infection, then another cold, and all in all I’ve been sick for quite a long time. That was one step in keeping me from relying on my own strength, since I didn’t have much for awhile. The next step was to overwhelm me with all the activities I have going. To be honest, a good percentage of the time I have no idea what I’m doing and I am learning as I go. That can get a little unnerving sometimes. The last step was to show me how completely inadequate I am in areas I thought I was adequate in. It’s very deflating when you say, “I’m good at _________, “ and God says, “No, you’re not.” That is how I came to the conclusion that I can’t do it- I can’t do it by myself, without God, or in my own strength. I used to think I could, which resulted in things usually heading south the minute that proud attitude took root. I never overtly said, “I’m doing this by myself and I don’t need God’s help.” Rather it was just not asking for His help with things, as if I didn’t need it. These last two months have crushed that way of thinking. Through sickness and not sleeping and tons of stuff to do I’ve realized how weak I am; how limited I am. I am nothing, but God is everything. He uses weakness for His glory. It doesn’t matter what we can or cannot do because God is the one who is working anyway. It’s not me- It’s Him. I can’t explain the strength He’s provided when all my human strength has been gone. 2 Corinthians 12:9 has become real for me, “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” I’ve learned that His strength IS made perfect in weakness, that His grace IS sufficient. Not some of the time in some situations. All of the time in all situations. I’ve learned that when I acknowledge that I don’t know what I’m doing and let God work through me, things will happen, and it will be amazing. I can say with Paul, “When I am weak, then I am strong,” because I learned that when we lose natural strength we are overcome with supernatural strength.
That was a good journey. I hope I’m not done with it, even though I do hope I’ve learned my lesson. The peace I feel right now is amazing. I know it because I realize I don’t have to do anything anymore in my own strength; I can do it in God’s. To Him be the glory forever and ever, Amen.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Lovin' Life
I enjoy living. I mean, I really LOVE life-most days. I see life as an adventure in which you never know what might be just around the corner, but it’s probably exciting. I love it when unexpected things happen, when you go, “Whoa, didn’t see that one coming!” Like the time I got my gown caught in the car door and couldn’t get it out the day of my graduation. That was not funny then, but it’s definitely funny now. These days I really enjoying smelling things because I’ve had a cold for six weeks and with it went my sense of smell, so when I actually smell something I get excited. I like challenges because I like overcoming them. Please keep in mind that as I write this, I am in an extremely good mood. I just made it through a very long and challenging weekend during which time I wasn’t quite in the same frame of mind I am now. Please don’t think that I am a happy-go-lucky person who never struggles, because that isn’t the case. I’m a human just like you, and I have bad days just like anyone, but I do try to always look on the bright side. I call myself an eternal optimist, which actually has a double meaning. One is that I always try to see the good in any situation, and the other is that because I’m a Christian, I can be optimistic because there is nothing to fear in this life or the next. That’s the best part of living. No matter what happens, I know God is in control of it and nothing will happen to me unless He allows it and it is for my good.
I haven’t always enjoyed life like I do now. There have been times when I have just survived it. I don’t really know what caused the change, but if I had to take a guess I would say I finally stopped fighting the way my life was and accepted it for what it is. I stopped living for “someday” and started living today, because that’s all I really have anyways. I let God take control and now I sit back and enjoy the ride. I also unwound my tightly wound self a little and found the freedom of being spontaneous and easy-going when things don’t go the way I think they should go. I learned how to laugh when something I do turns out to be a complete disaster because it’s usually pretty funny. I think some people, including my previous self, take things too seriously. They think everything has to go exactly according to plan or else everyone will hate them and the rest of their life will be ruined. Hardly anything would cause that to happen, and especially not if you start dinner ten minutes later than what you told everyone. I admit part of me is still there, but I’m working on it.
In my opinion you can let life control you or you can control it. Obviously God is ultimately in control, but you can control how you respond. It depends on what lens you choose to look through. The same situation can look very different depending on where you are standing. If you come from the perspective that everyone is out to get you, then you’ll get mad when the car in front of you cuts you off. If you come from the perspective of giving the benefit of the doubt and realize that maybe his wife is having baby and he’s trying to get there, then it doesn’t look so bad. The choice is yours: What will you choose?
I haven’t always enjoyed life like I do now. There have been times when I have just survived it. I don’t really know what caused the change, but if I had to take a guess I would say I finally stopped fighting the way my life was and accepted it for what it is. I stopped living for “someday” and started living today, because that’s all I really have anyways. I let God take control and now I sit back and enjoy the ride. I also unwound my tightly wound self a little and found the freedom of being spontaneous and easy-going when things don’t go the way I think they should go. I learned how to laugh when something I do turns out to be a complete disaster because it’s usually pretty funny. I think some people, including my previous self, take things too seriously. They think everything has to go exactly according to plan or else everyone will hate them and the rest of their life will be ruined. Hardly anything would cause that to happen, and especially not if you start dinner ten minutes later than what you told everyone. I admit part of me is still there, but I’m working on it.
In my opinion you can let life control you or you can control it. Obviously God is ultimately in control, but you can control how you respond. It depends on what lens you choose to look through. The same situation can look very different depending on where you are standing. If you come from the perspective that everyone is out to get you, then you’ll get mad when the car in front of you cuts you off. If you come from the perspective of giving the benefit of the doubt and realize that maybe his wife is having baby and he’s trying to get there, then it doesn’t look so bad. The choice is yours: What will you choose?
Monday, May 4, 2009
A Privilege and an Honor
I think sometimes as Christians we fall into the “duty” rut. We lose the wonder of what it means to be a Christian because we see everything as an obligation. We have to go to church. We have to do devotions. We have to pray. Christians should be the best people to be around, but sadly that usually isn’t the case. I’ve heard stories, many stories, of people saying how they dislike it when Christians come into their store because they are the worst customers. Why is that? We as Christians have the honor of being ambassadors of Christ; God has given us the privilege of being the ones to represent His Son to this world, and we are prone to act as if that is the worst job anyone could have given us. Or, we forget that’s our job and live like it isn’t. Would we act like that if we were given the job of representing our country as an ambassador? I doubt it. We’d probably treat it as an honor. Why? Because someone thought that we would be the best one for the job and would give the impression they wanted others to have about our country. I hate to break it to you, but Christ didn’t choose us because we were the best ones for the job. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 says, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are.” We were the foolish, the weak, the base, the despised. And yet, we were the ones He picked. I’ll never understand why Christ chose me, but I am so thankful he did, and I’ll do my best to live my life to bring Him glory because that’s what He deserves. Nothing He asks me to do should be a burden because I was dead and Christ gave me life, not because I deserved it, but because He loves me. Does that seem like a bad trade to you? Christians sometimes carry around the “I can’t enjoy life because I have so many things the Bible says I have to do” attitude. That’s wrong. We don’t HAVE to go to church; we GET to go to church. We don’t HAVE to do devotions; we GET to do devotions. We don’t HAVE to pray; we GET to pray. We get to live this life with purpose and peace and we have the privilege of knowing the God who created it in the first place. Could we really ask for more?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
I'm Done Asking Why
"I’ve been so afraid, afraid to close my eyes. So much can slip away before we say goodbye. But if there’s no other way, I’m done asking why. I’m on my knees, begging you to turn to me. I’m on my knees, Father will you turn to me?"
"Hold My Heart"- Tenth Avenue North
These lyrics really speak to me. If you haven’t heard the song you should. Sometimes I struggle so much with wanting to be in control. I’m afraid to close my eyes because if I can’t see what is going on than it might slip away. I’m not ready for that. I’m never ready for God to take away something I think I need. Even if I’m not ready, though, I can still trust Him. That’s where the second part comes in. I love the phrase, “But if there’s no other way, I’m done asking why.” I think it conveys the exact attitude that we should have toward God and His will. God gives us the privilege to ask why, but with the privilege comes the understanding that He might not answer us. We can ask why something happened the way it did, but in the end we need to trust God that He knows best, and ultimately stop asking and accept it. Continuously asking why about the same topic can be a sign of unbelief. Asking why because we don’t understand, but then accepting that we don’t understand (and maybe will never understand) and being at peace about that shows that we trust God. Jesus did that in the garden of Gethsemane. He understood perfectly why it had to be done, but He still prayed for another way. And, after He prayed, He willingly accepted God’s plan and went to the cross. Was it easy? Certainly not, and Jesus knew it wouldn’t be. But God doesn’t design our lives here on earth to be easy. He designs them to bring glory to Himself. Jesus knew that, too. That’s why He prayed, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Mark 14:36b) On the flip side of that, God does love us and care for us. He is not going to make us suffer uselessly. That is why we can have full confidence that when a “Why?” issue comes up, even if we don’t understand it, it’s for our good.
I’ve had a lot of “Why?” questions in my life. Sometimes I couldn’t see any reason at all, and I still can’t. But that doesn’t matter. I’m stronger now because of them. They still hurt, there are still questions, but I’m at peace. I’m not in control, and to be honest, it’s much better this way. “We walk by faith not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7)
"Hold My Heart"- Tenth Avenue North
These lyrics really speak to me. If you haven’t heard the song you should. Sometimes I struggle so much with wanting to be in control. I’m afraid to close my eyes because if I can’t see what is going on than it might slip away. I’m not ready for that. I’m never ready for God to take away something I think I need. Even if I’m not ready, though, I can still trust Him. That’s where the second part comes in. I love the phrase, “But if there’s no other way, I’m done asking why.” I think it conveys the exact attitude that we should have toward God and His will. God gives us the privilege to ask why, but with the privilege comes the understanding that He might not answer us. We can ask why something happened the way it did, but in the end we need to trust God that He knows best, and ultimately stop asking and accept it. Continuously asking why about the same topic can be a sign of unbelief. Asking why because we don’t understand, but then accepting that we don’t understand (and maybe will never understand) and being at peace about that shows that we trust God. Jesus did that in the garden of Gethsemane. He understood perfectly why it had to be done, but He still prayed for another way. And, after He prayed, He willingly accepted God’s plan and went to the cross. Was it easy? Certainly not, and Jesus knew it wouldn’t be. But God doesn’t design our lives here on earth to be easy. He designs them to bring glory to Himself. Jesus knew that, too. That’s why He prayed, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Mark 14:36b) On the flip side of that, God does love us and care for us. He is not going to make us suffer uselessly. That is why we can have full confidence that when a “Why?” issue comes up, even if we don’t understand it, it’s for our good.
I’ve had a lot of “Why?” questions in my life. Sometimes I couldn’t see any reason at all, and I still can’t. But that doesn’t matter. I’m stronger now because of them. They still hurt, there are still questions, but I’m at peace. I’m not in control, and to be honest, it’s much better this way. “We walk by faith not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7)
Saturday, April 11, 2009
It Should Have Been You
2000 years ago, a man was dying on a cross. He was battered, bruised, and bloody. He had endured every possible way one human being could hurt another, not only by being whipped, beaten, and struck, but also by betrayal and broken promises. His close friends had deserted him. The people he was king over had rejected him. Most of us probably won't have even made it to the cross considering the torture that took place before it. Yet he had, and now he was hanging on a cross and facing death by suffication. Crucifiction was engineered to be the most painful way to die. It took hours. Imagine how bad it was when breaking BOTH of someone's legs was considered merciful. We have no idea what it was like; we can't imagine what it was like. To top it all off, God himself turned His face away. That was by far the worst punishment. Jesus knew what was going to happen, and yet He did it anyway. He did it, because, even though it should have been us on the cross, that wouldn't have changed anything in God's eyes. Sinless had to pay the price of sinful if we were to have any hope. Dying and going to hell satisfies God's justice. That's what we all deserve. Jesus came so there would be another way. Remeber that this Easter.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Words We Don't Say
Words are powerful. I don’t think anyone would deny that. We can all remember a time when someone’s words tore us down, and we can hopefully remember a time when someone’s words built us up. It’s been said that actions speak louder than words and words are cheap, but that being said, words create most of the problems we face with other people. Things can get so messed up so quickly just because someone misunderstood what you were saying. We need to think about what we say when communicating with others, and that includes the words and the tone you use when talking to others. I’m not here to talk about being careful with what you say, though. I want to talk about the words you don’t say.
At first this might seem like a small topic. There can’t be much to say about something that never happened, can there? It’s like talking about a snowstorm that never hit, or the trip to the grocery store when your car didn’t break down. Not much there on the surface, yet I would argue that the words you don’t say are at least as important as the ones you do.
The first aspect of this topic is the words you don’t say because you shouldn’t. Whenever you are in an argument and you “hold your tongue,” that’s good. It takes incredible self-control, but by doing so you don’t inflict the wounds you could. It shows love and respect for the other person, even if you don’t feel that way at the moment. Sometimes we are hurting so much ourselves we just want to make the other person hurt, too, yet when we restrain ourselves that brings glory to God. Ohhh, it’s hard, but it’s what we must do if want to follow God whole-heartedly.
The other aspect is the words you don’t say and you should. Have you ever thought about that? When you could encourage someone but don’t for one reason or the other? You’re too busy, you don’t think about it, etc. The words you don’t say and shouldn’t actually fall into the encouragement category because you don’t harm someone as much as you could. Words you should say and don’t are actually discouraging because you have the chance to build someone up and you don’t. Think a time when you wish someone had said, “Good job! I’m proud of you!” or “Thank you for your effort,” and they didn’t. That hurts almost as much as if they had said something negative. The one nice thing about not hearing it, though, is that we can usually explain it away to make it hurt less. That’s harder to do with actual words.
My conclusion to all of this is to encourage you to think about the words you don’t say. Why don’t you say them? Should you say them? Never underestimate the power of words you say, or the ones you don’t.
At first this might seem like a small topic. There can’t be much to say about something that never happened, can there? It’s like talking about a snowstorm that never hit, or the trip to the grocery store when your car didn’t break down. Not much there on the surface, yet I would argue that the words you don’t say are at least as important as the ones you do.
The first aspect of this topic is the words you don’t say because you shouldn’t. Whenever you are in an argument and you “hold your tongue,” that’s good. It takes incredible self-control, but by doing so you don’t inflict the wounds you could. It shows love and respect for the other person, even if you don’t feel that way at the moment. Sometimes we are hurting so much ourselves we just want to make the other person hurt, too, yet when we restrain ourselves that brings glory to God. Ohhh, it’s hard, but it’s what we must do if want to follow God whole-heartedly.
The other aspect is the words you don’t say and you should. Have you ever thought about that? When you could encourage someone but don’t for one reason or the other? You’re too busy, you don’t think about it, etc. The words you don’t say and shouldn’t actually fall into the encouragement category because you don’t harm someone as much as you could. Words you should say and don’t are actually discouraging because you have the chance to build someone up and you don’t. Think a time when you wish someone had said, “Good job! I’m proud of you!” or “Thank you for your effort,” and they didn’t. That hurts almost as much as if they had said something negative. The one nice thing about not hearing it, though, is that we can usually explain it away to make it hurt less. That’s harder to do with actual words.
My conclusion to all of this is to encourage you to think about the words you don’t say. Why don’t you say them? Should you say them? Never underestimate the power of words you say, or the ones you don’t.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Little Graces
"God’s grace is like manna…There’s manna for the moment. And there will be manna for tomorrow’s moments, too”
"Living Whole Without a Better Half" -Wendy Widder
Manna for the moment. I also call them “little graces.” They are the events, conversations, and people that God places in our lives at the exact moment we need them. Not necessarily when we think we need them, but when God knows we need them. Grace with a capital G is what carried me away from the old self and into a new life in Christ, and graces with a little g are what carry me now.
I think there are actually two categories of “little graces.” The first category contains the graces that help you make it through the tough times in life. It’s when a friend calls when you really need to talk to somebody. It’s the Bible verse that comes alive for the first time because it’s exactly what you need to hear. It’s the strength God provides to go on when you can’t see how you can. It’s the endurance given to keep running the race of faith. It is the grace talked about in 2 Corinthians 12:9a: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” God’s grace is there when we need it. We couldn’t survive this life without it.
There is another category, I believe, of “little graces” which I like to call “bonus” graces. This is kind of my pet theory, so bear with me. Bonus graces are things that God does for you that you don’t necessarily need, but which makes you smile or makes your day better. Bonus graces are things God does for us because He loves us. The funny thing about bonus graces are that they are everywhere, yet you can totally miss them if you aren’t looking for them. Once I started looking I was amazed. Let me give you a few examples so you understand what I’m talking about. This week I had to leave early one morning and had to scrape the frost off of my car before I left. That didn’t exactly make me extremely thankful right then, but it did later when I realized that by scraping the frost off I had actually scraped off the dirt underneath as well, so I could actually see out of my windshield better than before. That might seem obscure to you, but that’s what I’m talking about. Look for bonus graces and be thankful for them. I’m not talking about the raise you got or the good health God’s given you-you should already be thanking Him for that. Look for the things that aren’t obvious, especially things that are an annoyance at first but later turn out to be a blessing. Give thanks to God when a light turns green so you don’t have to down-shift (that only applies if you drive a manual). Give thanks when He gives you a sunset. Give thanks when your sunglasses don’t break when you step on them. Give thanks when your sunglasses do break but you find a spare set in your glove compartment you didn’t realize you had. These are bonus graces. I can’t support my theory of bonus graces from Scripture, but I do know that God loves us and He controls all things. Some of you might disagree with my theory and that’s okay. If you do let me know and we can talk about it. One of the purposes of this blog is to be able to discuss ideas while giving glory to God for what He’s done. As usual, thanks for reading!
"Living Whole Without a Better Half" -Wendy Widder
Manna for the moment. I also call them “little graces.” They are the events, conversations, and people that God places in our lives at the exact moment we need them. Not necessarily when we think we need them, but when God knows we need them. Grace with a capital G is what carried me away from the old self and into a new life in Christ, and graces with a little g are what carry me now.
I think there are actually two categories of “little graces.” The first category contains the graces that help you make it through the tough times in life. It’s when a friend calls when you really need to talk to somebody. It’s the Bible verse that comes alive for the first time because it’s exactly what you need to hear. It’s the strength God provides to go on when you can’t see how you can. It’s the endurance given to keep running the race of faith. It is the grace talked about in 2 Corinthians 12:9a: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” God’s grace is there when we need it. We couldn’t survive this life without it.
There is another category, I believe, of “little graces” which I like to call “bonus” graces. This is kind of my pet theory, so bear with me. Bonus graces are things that God does for you that you don’t necessarily need, but which makes you smile or makes your day better. Bonus graces are things God does for us because He loves us. The funny thing about bonus graces are that they are everywhere, yet you can totally miss them if you aren’t looking for them. Once I started looking I was amazed. Let me give you a few examples so you understand what I’m talking about. This week I had to leave early one morning and had to scrape the frost off of my car before I left. That didn’t exactly make me extremely thankful right then, but it did later when I realized that by scraping the frost off I had actually scraped off the dirt underneath as well, so I could actually see out of my windshield better than before. That might seem obscure to you, but that’s what I’m talking about. Look for bonus graces and be thankful for them. I’m not talking about the raise you got or the good health God’s given you-you should already be thanking Him for that. Look for the things that aren’t obvious, especially things that are an annoyance at first but later turn out to be a blessing. Give thanks to God when a light turns green so you don’t have to down-shift (that only applies if you drive a manual). Give thanks when He gives you a sunset. Give thanks when your sunglasses don’t break when you step on them. Give thanks when your sunglasses do break but you find a spare set in your glove compartment you didn’t realize you had. These are bonus graces. I can’t support my theory of bonus graces from Scripture, but I do know that God loves us and He controls all things. Some of you might disagree with my theory and that’s okay. If you do let me know and we can talk about it. One of the purposes of this blog is to be able to discuss ideas while giving glory to God for what He’s done. As usual, thanks for reading!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Intentional Busyness
Wake up. Eat breakfast. Take a shower. Make the bed. Study calculus. Study microeconomics. Go on a walk. Eat lunch. Go to Wal-mart. Go to the library. Write some emails. Make brownies. Read the chapter for Bible study. Learn how to speed-read. Eat dinner. Go to Sam’s and price check some food for the retreat. Fill up the car with gas. Go to Bible study. Wind down on facebook. Write a list for tomorrow. Write one last email. Do devotions. Go to bed.
Life is busy. We all have stuff to do, places to be, people to talk to. Busyness is the plague of American society, but it’s the plague we’ve chosen for ourselves. We may complain about how busy we are, but deep down inside we like being busy. We like having stuff to do. It makes us feel important. I think I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: In America, being busy is a virtue. We respect people who get a lot done. If anyone is guilty of being busy it’s me. The above schedule is what a normal day can look like for me. Granted, I’m not usually that efficient, but I can be if I really try. I am a master of doing many, many things. Now, I don’t think that is wrong in itself, but I think it quickly can become wrong depending on the motivation and the activities. It says in Ephesians 5:16 to redeem the time because the days are evil. I can bring glory to God by not sitting around wasting my life playing solitaire, but rather using my talents to organize things and use the mind He has giving me to learn calculus and microeconomics. But the real issue is…do I do that? Do I use my activities to bring Him glory, or do I use it to glorify myself? (Ouch. This is getting painful. I want to write about something else right now.) The truth is that it doesn’t matter how many times I give God glory, what matters is how many times I DON’T. That is what needs to change; That is the real issue. It doesn’t matter how many things I do during the day if I don’t do it for the glory of God. He would rather I do one thing for Him as opposed to twenty things for me.
Let me talk about another aspect of redeeming the time. This one is also an area I need to work on. Colossians 4:5 says, “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.” This says the same thing as Ephesians 5:16, except it adds the part about “those who are outside.” Who are those people? From the context I am pretty confident that Paul is talking about unbelievers, but if we take it literally it is talking about people OUTSIDE; basically anyone who doesn’t live in the same house as we do. Where am I going with this? Simply this: we have a chance to redeem the time and glorify God in every situation, whether that be standing in line at Wal-mart or going on a walk. We interact with people every day, and we have control over how we act in those situations. We can treat the clerk at Wal-mart like every other customer she has helped that day, or we can make an effort and ask her how her day is going. We can slow down enough to hold open the door for the lady with a stroller, or we can breeze out the door while looking at our watch and thinking about how much we have left to do and never even see her. We can get so focused on our own list of stuff to check off that we stop caring about those “other” people; they are simply in the same location as we are, it has nothing to do with us. But what if it does have something to do with us? What if we look at every encounter with a stranger as an appointment set up by God? That changes things, doesn’t it? We don’t know what one kind word can mean for someone. We don’t know how God can use a conversation at the bookstore. We probably won’t ever know, but that shouldn’t matter. We need to rip the focus off of ourselves and our schedule and look at life through the perspective of putting other’s interests first for the glory of God. It sounds so easy. It is so hard. Sometimes we won’t want to. Sometimes it will make us late. Sometimes it won’t be appreciated. Most times we won’t get to tell people the reason why we do it. None of that matters. What matters is the condition of our heart. God will know why we do it, and that is all the reason I need.
Life is busy. We all have stuff to do, places to be, people to talk to. Busyness is the plague of American society, but it’s the plague we’ve chosen for ourselves. We may complain about how busy we are, but deep down inside we like being busy. We like having stuff to do. It makes us feel important. I think I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again: In America, being busy is a virtue. We respect people who get a lot done. If anyone is guilty of being busy it’s me. The above schedule is what a normal day can look like for me. Granted, I’m not usually that efficient, but I can be if I really try. I am a master of doing many, many things. Now, I don’t think that is wrong in itself, but I think it quickly can become wrong depending on the motivation and the activities. It says in Ephesians 5:16 to redeem the time because the days are evil. I can bring glory to God by not sitting around wasting my life playing solitaire, but rather using my talents to organize things and use the mind He has giving me to learn calculus and microeconomics. But the real issue is…do I do that? Do I use my activities to bring Him glory, or do I use it to glorify myself? (Ouch. This is getting painful. I want to write about something else right now.) The truth is that it doesn’t matter how many times I give God glory, what matters is how many times I DON’T. That is what needs to change; That is the real issue. It doesn’t matter how many things I do during the day if I don’t do it for the glory of God. He would rather I do one thing for Him as opposed to twenty things for me.
Let me talk about another aspect of redeeming the time. This one is also an area I need to work on. Colossians 4:5 says, “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.” This says the same thing as Ephesians 5:16, except it adds the part about “those who are outside.” Who are those people? From the context I am pretty confident that Paul is talking about unbelievers, but if we take it literally it is talking about people OUTSIDE; basically anyone who doesn’t live in the same house as we do. Where am I going with this? Simply this: we have a chance to redeem the time and glorify God in every situation, whether that be standing in line at Wal-mart or going on a walk. We interact with people every day, and we have control over how we act in those situations. We can treat the clerk at Wal-mart like every other customer she has helped that day, or we can make an effort and ask her how her day is going. We can slow down enough to hold open the door for the lady with a stroller, or we can breeze out the door while looking at our watch and thinking about how much we have left to do and never even see her. We can get so focused on our own list of stuff to check off that we stop caring about those “other” people; they are simply in the same location as we are, it has nothing to do with us. But what if it does have something to do with us? What if we look at every encounter with a stranger as an appointment set up by God? That changes things, doesn’t it? We don’t know what one kind word can mean for someone. We don’t know how God can use a conversation at the bookstore. We probably won’t ever know, but that shouldn’t matter. We need to rip the focus off of ourselves and our schedule and look at life through the perspective of putting other’s interests first for the glory of God. It sounds so easy. It is so hard. Sometimes we won’t want to. Sometimes it will make us late. Sometimes it won’t be appreciated. Most times we won’t get to tell people the reason why we do it. None of that matters. What matters is the condition of our heart. God will know why we do it, and that is all the reason I need.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Alter Ego
I don’t like filling out paperwork for Christian organizations/activities. Why? Because there is that little section usually on the second page that says “Testimony.” Now, that wouldn’t be a problem except for one little thing…I don’t really have one. I have a great testimony of what God has done in my life as a Christian, but I don’t have anything to say about how I became a Christian. To be honest, I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a Christian, and I don’t remember the exact time I became one. I grew up in a Christian family and it was just a way of life. Obviously at some point I accepted Christ into my heart for myself and I wasn’t just going off my parent beliefs, but when that was is the question. So I have a big problem when I am supposed to write down my testimony. I think it is hilarious when they say that you can write on the back if you run out of room. Umm, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. I wish I had enough to say to write on the back. I wish I had a great testimony that would move people because of an amazing work of God in my life. Don’t get me wrong; I realize that God did an amazing work in my life because He does an amazing work in every believer’s life to bring them to Himself, but my was more subtle than most. So there I am…a testimony to write and nothing to say.
Sometimes it’s hard for me to fully appreciate God’s grace and forgiveness because I was never a “bad person.” Part of the reason I would love an amazing testimony is because I want to understand grace from the perspective of someone who was totally against God at one point and whose life dramatically changed when they became a Christian. Does that make sense? Maybe some of you feel the same way. Anyway, a little while ago God put this thought in my head: If it is hard for me to fully appreciate grace from the perspective of being saved from who I was, then I should think of grace from the perspective of who it saved me from becoming. I realize that might have been hard to follow, so let me explain. When I was saved I was a little kid, so I didn’t really look back and regret my life before Christ, because frankly I don’t remember it. I can, however, think of who I might have become if Christ didn’t save me and that is a scary thought. Have you ever thought about who you would be without Christ? If you haven’t I’ll help you out. First, take all of your sinful tendencies and bring them to the forefront. You know, the bitterness or discontent you let slip out from time to time, or the selfishness you try to hide. Next, take all of your characteristics that are godly and get rid of them. Third, add in an addiction (money, success, drugs) for good measure. (Some of you didn’t need to do that exercise because you know who you were. Some of us, though, never went down that road by the grace of God, so this helps.) So now you have a picture of who you would be without Christ. It’s not pretty, is it. I got a picture of who I would be without Christ when I was reading “Gone With the Wind.” I know it’s random, but I would be exactly like Scarlett O’Hara. When I saw that and when I understood, my heart overflowed with gratitude. Thank you, Jesus, for who you saved me from becoming. I could be so lost, yet you found me before that happened. I understand grace a little better now.
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace towards me was not in vain”
– I Corinthians 15:10a
Sometimes it’s hard for me to fully appreciate God’s grace and forgiveness because I was never a “bad person.” Part of the reason I would love an amazing testimony is because I want to understand grace from the perspective of someone who was totally against God at one point and whose life dramatically changed when they became a Christian. Does that make sense? Maybe some of you feel the same way. Anyway, a little while ago God put this thought in my head: If it is hard for me to fully appreciate grace from the perspective of being saved from who I was, then I should think of grace from the perspective of who it saved me from becoming. I realize that might have been hard to follow, so let me explain. When I was saved I was a little kid, so I didn’t really look back and regret my life before Christ, because frankly I don’t remember it. I can, however, think of who I might have become if Christ didn’t save me and that is a scary thought. Have you ever thought about who you would be without Christ? If you haven’t I’ll help you out. First, take all of your sinful tendencies and bring them to the forefront. You know, the bitterness or discontent you let slip out from time to time, or the selfishness you try to hide. Next, take all of your characteristics that are godly and get rid of them. Third, add in an addiction (money, success, drugs) for good measure. (Some of you didn’t need to do that exercise because you know who you were. Some of us, though, never went down that road by the grace of God, so this helps.) So now you have a picture of who you would be without Christ. It’s not pretty, is it. I got a picture of who I would be without Christ when I was reading “Gone With the Wind.” I know it’s random, but I would be exactly like Scarlett O’Hara. When I saw that and when I understood, my heart overflowed with gratitude. Thank you, Jesus, for who you saved me from becoming. I could be so lost, yet you found me before that happened. I understand grace a little better now.
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace towards me was not in vain”
– I Corinthians 15:10a
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Surviving, Striving, and Thriving
I was lying on my bed and sobbing. Crying because it hurt so badly I could barely breath. Crying because God’s plan didn’t make sense…again. Have you been there? Has your heart been broken to the point where you wonder if it can ever be whole again? Have you watched a friend or family member die and been unable to do anything about it? Have you ever been betrayed or hurt by someone you respected or trusted? Have you ever walked through a valley of suffering? I have…many, many times. And, I’ve had to watch friends and family go through these times, which is also very hard. These are the times when all we can do is survive. It takes every ounce of strength we have to get out of bed in the morning, put one foot in front of the other and get through the day just trying to pretend that we’re not falling apart on the inside. We can’t reach out to people because we’re hurting too much ourselves. We can’t do ministry. We can hardly do anything without thinking of the pain. There are times when that’s okay. It gives us time to come to terms with what has happened and to start coping with it. That being said, I would suggest that a lot of people are in the survival mode most of their life, even when they shouldn’t be. They don’t like their current situation and do the bare minimum to scrape by at life. They don’t put any extra effort into anything; they don’t reach out to people; they don’t do ministry. All they can think about is how they would want things to be different. Do you know people like that? Are you one of those people? I don’t believe that is the way we should live as Christians. I believe there is a more excellent way.
Busy, busy, busy. We as Americans are always busy. If we aren’t we feel pressured to be. Our culture views work as a virtue. What we do defines who we are. We are always striving to do more and more. I know I am probably the most guilty person in this camp. I have definitely had my moments in the surviving camp, but I live here most of the time. Striving to do more. Striving to do better. People in this camp might not feel sorry for themselves, but they don’t reach out to people or do ministry either because they are just too busy to. Or, if they do one of those activities, it is planned into the schedule and it is done with the mindset of having just one more thing to cross off the list so they can move on to the next thing. This is a step in the right direction, but it is only half-way. At least we strivers are attempting to do something outside of ourselves, but we are also missing the point. I believe there is a more excellent way.
Thriving. How many of us can say we thrive on a daily basis? To answer that question it might be helpful to have a definition of what thriving looks like. I think it will be different for different people, but I think there are some concepts that are probably universal. Thriving involves enjoying life. I’ve never heard of a depressed person describe their life as “thriving.” Thriving involves being there for people whenever they need it, not just when it fits on your schedule. Thriving is blooming where you are planted, not wishing you were in another garden. It means taking your situation and making the best out of it. Most of all, thriving is being secure in Christ and having the joy that only a relationship with Him can bring. I think a lot people are waiting around for something to change in their life before they start attempting to thrive. My advice: Thrive now. Your situation might not change, but your perspective will.
What are your thoughts? Do you think this happens? I would love to hear what you have to say. Thanks for reading!
Busy, busy, busy. We as Americans are always busy. If we aren’t we feel pressured to be. Our culture views work as a virtue. What we do defines who we are. We are always striving to do more and more. I know I am probably the most guilty person in this camp. I have definitely had my moments in the surviving camp, but I live here most of the time. Striving to do more. Striving to do better. People in this camp might not feel sorry for themselves, but they don’t reach out to people or do ministry either because they are just too busy to. Or, if they do one of those activities, it is planned into the schedule and it is done with the mindset of having just one more thing to cross off the list so they can move on to the next thing. This is a step in the right direction, but it is only half-way. At least we strivers are attempting to do something outside of ourselves, but we are also missing the point. I believe there is a more excellent way.
Thriving. How many of us can say we thrive on a daily basis? To answer that question it might be helpful to have a definition of what thriving looks like. I think it will be different for different people, but I think there are some concepts that are probably universal. Thriving involves enjoying life. I’ve never heard of a depressed person describe their life as “thriving.” Thriving involves being there for people whenever they need it, not just when it fits on your schedule. Thriving is blooming where you are planted, not wishing you were in another garden. It means taking your situation and making the best out of it. Most of all, thriving is being secure in Christ and having the joy that only a relationship with Him can bring. I think a lot people are waiting around for something to change in their life before they start attempting to thrive. My advice: Thrive now. Your situation might not change, but your perspective will.
What are your thoughts? Do you think this happens? I would love to hear what you have to say. Thanks for reading!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Seeing the Invisible
I went on a date with God to Starbucks this morning. It was great…if you’ve never done it I’d highly encourage it. Just remember to bring your Bible because the first time I did it I forgot mine, and it’s kind of important : ) Anyway, I was reading from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. That section is titled “Seeing the Invisible” in my Bible, and I immediately knew I had to write about that. I left Starbucks and started thinking about cool visible things I’ve seen recently-like the moon the other night when it was huge and yellow and sitting right on the horizon. Then I started thinking about how magnificent Cheyenne Mountain looked today since I was so close to it. While I was pondering the majesty of the mountains, I totally drove right past my exit. Talk about seeing the invisible…I can’t even see the visible, like the sign telling me my exit was coming up. I’m such a numb-nut sometimes. I’m sure God laughed when He created me because He knew how much fun we’d have together. So there I was on Hwy 115 heading south. I decided to take the next exit to get turned around, which just happened to be for the restricted road to Norad. As soon as I got off I had a bad feeling that I shouldn’t have taken that exit. I went a short ways and realized the situation was not improving, so at the last minute I pulled off on this paved section by the side of the road that had pot holes in it that were so deep I’m sure I could have heard Chinese in the bottom of them if I had tried. I sat in my car for approximately 53 seconds and surveyed the situation and thankfully found a solution to my problem. I got turned around without visiting China (which I kind of regret, but for which my car was thankful) and got off the restricted Norad road without being shot or arrested. My day had just dramatically improved. Two minutes before I was lost. Now I was not lost and not dead, which was a great feeling.
Ok, that story didn’t have anything to do with seeing the invisible, but it was kind of funny (at least to me) and it got you committed, so it worked. What exactly are the invisible things we are supposed to be seeing? Paul is referring to our spiritual life. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal”. We can obviously see physical growth, but we can also see spiritual growth, or lack thereof. It might not be as obvious at first, but there will be a day when the way we followed Christ will be revealed, not only before men but also before God. That makes it so much more important that we look for the invisible not only in our own life but also in the lives of other so that we may encourage them. Do we seek to grow? Do we desire to become more like Christ? And, most importantly, are we actually taking the steps to accomplish that or do we just sit around and think about doing it? This is so important because the invisible things are the eternal things (v.18). We don’t want to mess up in this area. Too much is at stake.
Look for the invisible. Also look for the visible so you don’t miss your exit. They are both important : )
Ok, that story didn’t have anything to do with seeing the invisible, but it was kind of funny (at least to me) and it got you committed, so it worked. What exactly are the invisible things we are supposed to be seeing? Paul is referring to our spiritual life. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal”. We can obviously see physical growth, but we can also see spiritual growth, or lack thereof. It might not be as obvious at first, but there will be a day when the way we followed Christ will be revealed, not only before men but also before God. That makes it so much more important that we look for the invisible not only in our own life but also in the lives of other so that we may encourage them. Do we seek to grow? Do we desire to become more like Christ? And, most importantly, are we actually taking the steps to accomplish that or do we just sit around and think about doing it? This is so important because the invisible things are the eternal things (v.18). We don’t want to mess up in this area. Too much is at stake.
Look for the invisible. Also look for the visible so you don’t miss your exit. They are both important : )
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Where Did My Teeth Go?
I have the privilege this week of spending a couple nights with an elderly lady while her husband is away. She is still very independent, but unfortunately she has dementia, so she needs help remembering to take her medicine. While I was over there tonight she had misplaced her dentures, something that happens quite frequently I gathered. We spent about 30 minutes looking for them, but to no avail. It did give me a chance to think of an analogy, though, to our spiritual life.
How often do we lose our spiritual teeth? You know, the part of our mind that wrestles with spiritual truth and difficult passages. How often do we stop chewing on the Word because it’s tough, and then months later wonder where our teeth went? Believe me, I know it’s easy to accept everything you hear from your pastor or Christian leader that you trust without checking to make sure that it is in line with the Bible. I do it all the time, but I shouldn’t. Humans make mistakes, that just the way life is. Having someone that explains to you the difficult passages of Scripture is very helpful and beneficial, but we need to work through those passages ourselves, wrestle with them and draw our own conclusions based on the rest of Scripture. If we don’t, we are in a good place to lose our teeth. It might be easier to be spoon-fed, but one day we’ll wake up and realize that we don’t have any teeth left…and we won’t know where they’ve gone.
How often do we lose our spiritual teeth? You know, the part of our mind that wrestles with spiritual truth and difficult passages. How often do we stop chewing on the Word because it’s tough, and then months later wonder where our teeth went? Believe me, I know it’s easy to accept everything you hear from your pastor or Christian leader that you trust without checking to make sure that it is in line with the Bible. I do it all the time, but I shouldn’t. Humans make mistakes, that just the way life is. Having someone that explains to you the difficult passages of Scripture is very helpful and beneficial, but we need to work through those passages ourselves, wrestle with them and draw our own conclusions based on the rest of Scripture. If we don’t, we are in a good place to lose our teeth. It might be easier to be spoon-fed, but one day we’ll wake up and realize that we don’t have any teeth left…and we won’t know where they’ve gone.
Monday, March 9, 2009
I Forgot What I Was Doing
This blog isn’t really about me. This is a blog about an amazing God who has shown Himself faithful and who has blessed me beyond measure by allowing me to be a part of His divine plan. This is a blog about my Savior and my best friend. I dance with God, and God dances with me.
"I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth-Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord." Psalm 40 :1-2
I didn’t really forget, you know. I say that because it just seemed like I forgot. In reality God did an amazing work in my life and spun me around 180 degrees. It took a lot of prayers, crying, questions, searching, and grace. It took wandering through the desert of doubt and fear and it took being completely broken to get me to the place where I am today. I learned what it meant to totally surrender and I learned that God won’t leave you stranded forever-just long enough to let you realize that you are not the one in charge. Even though it was tough sometimes I wouldn’t trade this last year for anything. I wouldn’t trade the tears or the frustration or the uncertainty because it was a process that transformed me and my walk with the Lord and draws me closer ever closer with the Lover of my Soul.
It was May 2008. I was 19 and recently graduated with my associate degree in Interior Design. The logical thing to do was to start looking for a job in my field and become a useful citizen. The only problem was that I didn’t want to do interior design anymore. Oh, sure, I was good at it, decently good in fact, but deep down inside I knew I would never find fulfillment in making rich people’s nice houses look nicer by spending a lot of money. So my great plan was to find a place to go overseas for a couple months. I said I wanted to serve God and others through some type of service. That was partly true, but the whole truth is that I had no idea what I wanted and I thought that going overseas would 1)Let me run away from my problems and 2) Give me a few more months to get my life together.
Fast-forward to August. Let’s see, what changed? I was still a 19 year old burned out interior design graduate who didn’t have a clue, but now I was also extremely frustrated because all my plans for going overseas weren’t going anywhere. I was mad because if I had ever wanted something before I usually found a way to get it. God had a different idea. He was breaking me down- slowly, slowly.
September came and I finally decided to stop fighting God for control of my life. (It took me long enough!) For maybe the first time in my life I completely surrendered. Previously my attitude towards God was kind of, “This is what I want to do, so I hope that’s okay with you.” I know that sounds arrogant, but I was arrogant. I had learned how to be self-sufficient over the years, and although I’d never admit it, I think that was my attitude towards God as well. So it took quite awhile to chip away at my hard heart, but God won eventually-obviously. And I can’t tell you the peace I received as soon as I let go. I was still in the same position, but I was okay with it now.
So then what happened? God blessed me beyond measure. He made me wait a little while longer to make sure I really trusted Him and it wasn’t just lip service, and then He opened up a door for me to tour across the U.S. with the Emerge team from YWAM. I can’t tell you what an amazing experience that was, but maybe I’ll try anyways in a future post. I grew so much during those two months…it was amazing. I found myself, but more importantly, I found myself with Christ in control. I kept praying for God to showing me what He had for my future, but I didn’t receive an answer. The tour was almost over and I was about to be a 19 year old burned out interior design graduate who didn’t have a clue (but was trusting in God) again. Then one day when I was praying about it God said, “Don’t miss the forest because of the trees. “ I was like, “Huh? What does that have to do with anything?” Then two days before Thanksgiving a light bulb went off as I was reading about modern-day slavery. My heart was breaking and I was crying out to God about how He could allow such injustice and why He didn’t do something and He said, “I did do something. I made you. You go fight injustice.” (The forest and trees part was that the tour was focused on injustice, yet I didn’t see how that related to me up until that point. I was just the nanny, after all.) So God gave me the vision, but He didn’t give me how I would do it. That revelation came about a month and a half of searching later. Then God made it very clear that I was to go back to school and get a business degree, then go overseas and start a business that would give people who are victims of injustice another option and a skill set that they normally couldn’t get. I say God made it very clear, and how I know that is because I felt great peace about the decision even though I said I would never go back to school. I don’t how the pieces are going to fit together, but am walking by faith and trusting God to make things work out. I can honestly say that I have never been more joyful than I have been these last five or six months. Oh, there have been times when I let my faith waver and doubt creep in, and times when I want to take control again (like every day) but God extends grace even to those who are least deserving. I don’t have all the answers, but I’m clinging to the One who does. And that is a great place to be.
(I realize that was an extremely long post, so thank you to all of you who actually read the whole thing. I promise that future posts won’t be that long, but I felt it would be good for you to see where I’m coming from.)
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