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Jul
The Blind (Boys) Leading the Blind
I used to get so frustrated with the Israelites of the Old Testament. In Numbers chapter 11 for example they are complaining about manna. Manna! Complaining about a daily miracle of God’s provision and wishing to return to Egypt because they had “free fish.” I guess if you call brutal slavery with a meal plan “free” they had a point. How could they not be anything but contrite and joyful servants of God? “I know I would do better than that!” I used to say to myself. Some hard self-examination easily demonstrates I’m no better.
I have willfully sinned within hours of my quiet time. I have sinned during direct contemplation of God’s greatness and seeking His will for my life! I have often wished to return to my own familiar Egypt because there was “free fish.” I have wanted to return to a place of familiar bondage because God’s blessings seem to come with too many constraints and too much seeking out what to do with my free will—at the same time.
My word is “compass” and basically what I am finding is that I’d rather walk on familiar trails or sidewalks then go through the effort of trailblazing or orienteering needed to stay on the path God has for me. We talk about the straight and narrow that is free of snares, but not challenges. It may be “straight” but it still requires discernment and effort because I am crooked.
Case and point: I’m sitting at my computer with Pandora on my “cool vibe blue” station that has some favorite acoustic blues artists and some Five Blind Boys of Alabama and other traditional Gospel thrown in for good measure. I’m trying to do my work, but I’m also engaged in a mental battle and I’m not doing well. Fortunately, along comes three old time Gospel songs in a row including, “I’m Getting Better All the Time” by the Blind Boys. They belt out the chorus:
I’m not what I ought to be, but I’m better than I used to be.
I’m getting better all the time.
They sing that chorus a lot in that song and that was a good thing. It helped usher in God’s grace and the process of surrender. 1 Samuel 15 offers some insight into what God is really into: 22Samuel said, Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
Jesus later reinforces that sentiment in John 6: 28They then said, What are we to do, that we may [habitually] be working the works of God? [What are we to do to carry out what God requires?] 29Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you: that you believe in the One Whom He has sent [that you cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger].
The quickness with which I sin requires an equally quick ability and willingness to repent. But the challenge is to surrender quickly . . . but not lightly. I do not want my words of surrender to become a perfunctory sacrifice that God rejects and finds offensive. Nor do I want that moment of reflection to fail to do its work in me. Sin is not garbage to be collected and taken to the curb weekly in some great formal ritual of purification. Sin is a spill about to stain the carpet that requires immediate and direct action. Surrender authentically in the moment it is called for.
So I must call my sin what it is and turn to Jesus even in my shortcomings: I am not what I ought to be, but I’m better than I used to be. Many of sinful actions can’t so easily be fixed by our own efforts, but the choice to “obey the voice of the Lord” and “believe in the One Whom He has sent” is one we can make instantly, if not lightly.
Jul
If I Could Be Like Mike
Like Mike…if I could be like Mike. Hidden in this catchy advertisement jingle for Gatorade is a universal truth about humanity. Quite simply, everyone yearns to be great. We all want to make our mark on this world. Before our time is up on this spinning globe, we hope our life will matter. Our dream might not involve possessing the ability to dunk from the free throw line; making so many all-star games you lose count or being in the running for the greatest basketball player of all time. For some, the drive for greatness centers around the business arena, academic institutions, art world or focused inside the home.
The problem is that our view of greatness has been drastically skewed from God’s original intent. In fact, over time God has gone missing from this picture of greatness. Instead, people are scrambling to make much of themselves. The most basic response of our fallen nature is to draw attention to ourselves.
Our culture adds to the pressure we feel to promote ourselves by stressing that we must take responsibility for our own satisfaction. This message causes despair and hopelessness because we worry that we have failed or missed our shot at greatness. So, we work even harder to prove that we matter and manage our image so we look great to others. When we fall into the trap of grabbing for greatness, we are prone to find our sufficiency and satisfaction in things that disappoint and ultimately leave us longing for more.
Pride requires a disconnect from the reality that says this world is not about you. Pride says I matter and must make certain of that fact. It is based off the assumption that no one else cares as much about you as you. This line of thinking comes from the often-quoted notion that God helps those who help themselves. Nowhere in scripture does this message appear. Instead we read in James 4:6 that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Until we realize that God has made a way for us to be complete, we will continue to cling to every shallow advantage to prove ourselves, justify our worth and compensate for what we perceive that we lack. Pride is fueled by our need for security and satisfaction. What we have to realize is that we do not have to grab what you’ve been given. Our faith is found in our security in His faithfulness.
Our soul’s desire is fulfilled when we simply delight in Him by surrender our desire for control. God has made a way for us to be complete, both satisfied and secure. We are free to live the life we have been given. Yet, this only comes as a result of humbling ourselves through the act of surrender.
There is a lot more to humility than just being good. It is not simply a nice character trait to make you more likeable and easier to be around. Any definition of humility that begins, ‘humility is seeing yourself as…’ is wrong. Scripturally, humility is not seeing yourself at all because you are looking at God. Humility takes root in our heart only when we kneel before Him and surrender all of our lives before Him. The only antidote to pride is the act of kneeling. Author John Piper puts it this way, “humility can only survive in the presence of God. When God goes, humility goes. In fact you might say that humility follows God like a shadow.”
In God’s economy, humility is the very path to greatness. Our prayer should be that we are humbled by God’s presence in our life so that we are not humbled by our circumstances that happened by our poor choices driven by pride.
- What places in your life are you currently being “graspy” in search of control and significance? What would it look like for you to surrender these areas to God and trust that He is the ultimate source for your security and satisfaction?
- Read Luke 9:23-25. Comfort, pride, feeling you’re owed, the desire to control. What is inhibiting you from surrendering this area to God?
Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2011. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!
Jul
Renovation Project
There are many projects around the house which demand my attention. I love the thought of finishing these projects, enjoying the extra space and basking in the glow of adding value to my home. Yet, the renovations never seem to get done. My wife thinks I should possess the ability to fix these things with ease like those superstars with a saw she sees on the home improvement shows. This is why I’ve contemplated blocking the Home and Garden Channel from my list of viewing options. Part of me can’t blame her for having this perspective because they make the jobs look so simple on television.
Without breaking a sweat in their flannel shirts, these guys renovate a basement, expand a kitchen and update a bathroom. This, however, is not the reason for my disdain of home improvement shows. I don’t like them because as they walk outside into a tent and use a laser level and compound miter radial arm saw as if it is assumed that an Everyday Joe would have these tools sitting around in his garage. I don’t have a laser level, compound miter radial arm saw or even a tent for that matter. To get started on the project they are describing, it would cost me 10 times the amount of the project. I simply don’t have the right tools for the job.
For many of us, another renovation project remains unfinished. This renovation is an inside job; one which deals with what is taking place deep within the heart. Reasoning we don’t have the right tools, we resign ourselves into believing this is the way I am and always will be. But, this is simply not the case. Most of our problems don’t require therapy. Instead they require we surrender them to the One who invites us to do such. The problem is we tend to forget this is the God we worship and resort to depending on our own strength to get us through. We need a tool which will help us remember to follow the invitation to cast our issues, burdens, cares and concerns to Him.
Without this tool, the normal chain of events will continue to take place. You are confronted with the facts that things need to change in your life. You realize the choices you are making are leading to frustration and pain. Taking it a step further, you even know what things you should change and the different direction you should be heading toward. With all the zeal and motion you can muster, you surrender your issue and concern over to God. There is a freedom you experience from this initial surrender, which leads you to assume the issue is done. Unfortunately, you quickly find out your assumption is wrong.
Surrendering an issue once is never enough. Surrender intervals are defined as the amount of time between points of surrender. Time is measured by our standard units of measure while the points of surrender were defined as those points in time when we muster up the emotion to surrender to God and mean it.
These gaps in surrender describe the pattern of life for many of you. You struggle deeply and consistently. Every week you make it to church and every week you surrender. Your surrender interval is 7 days and still you struggle with issues you thought you surrendered a long time ago. Maybe you have reduced your surrender intervals by attending small groups or Bible studies which cuts your moments of surrender down to ever other day or so. Then there are those of you who have a consistent daily quiet time. You wake up every morning and with all the zeal and meaning you can muster as you surrender your life to God.
What I have begun to realize is twenty-four hours is way too long of a gap. The truth is there are too many things which can happen between those moments of surrender. You surrender first thing in the morning and all seems to be going well until your kids get up, your spouse uses all the hot water or someone cuts you off in traffic. Twenty-four hours is way too long. In order to consistently cast your cares on Him you must position yourself to do so. What I need in my life is a very short surrender interval – a moment-by-moment surrender which comes with every breath.
- How does one measure surrender? How do you know when you have fully given up control of a situation to God?
- Read 1 Peter 5.7. As it relates to your One Word, what is one area where you feel God is calling you to surrender to Him? How often are you faced with the decision to yield to Him?
Are you looking for a way to keep your word in front of you all year long? Register for a My One Word account! One of the key features of a MOW account is an online Word Journal that allows you to capture your thoughts to reflective questions like you see above. You can go back at any time to read your completed journals to see how God has been moving in your life through your word in 2011. If you already have an account, the questions from this blog have been posted to your Word Journal — log in to your account to start your Word Journal today!