If you are anything like me, waiting rooms can be very trying. When I know that I will have to wait for someone or an appointment I always take something with me to utilize this time. I am so aware of wasting time that in those waiting room environments, I want to be reading or accomplishing some task that has yet to be completed. This is not to be confused with those times when the Lord tells me to be still and know that He is my God. However waiting rooms are usually not the type of environment that is conducive to being still and quiet with the Lord. So I plan accordingly, bringing my Bible, another book or some task with me for those "waiting times". There is another kind of waiting though that is often described in the Word. Have you noticed?
Joel 3:14 Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. It is there that the day of the LORD will soon arrive. Can you picture this scene? Imagine the people of the earth gathered together waiting upon the Lord. This is not the valley of their decisions; this is the valley of the Lord's decision on them. Their time of decision has passed and now they are waiting.... just waiting. Imagine what will go through the minds and hearts of individuals gathered, knowing that the next event will be the arrival of the day of the Lord. The time for action has passed. The time of personal decision has passed. Now we wait. When this time is over, the outcome of our personal decisions will have manifested and we will live with those consequences for eternity.
Zephaniah 3:8 "Therefore wait for Me," says the Lord, "Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My assembly of kingdoms, To pour on them My indignation, All my fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My jealousy. Wait patiently for the day is coming when the Lord is going to gather all peoples to face the consequences of their choices. Clearly here in Zephaniah we see that judgment will be poured out. When I read this however, I do not hear the Lord tell us to be passive and just sit back and wait for Him. I hear Him telling us to not exact revenge ourselves on the evil of the world and take matters into our own hands. Instead be patient because He is coming and has plans to handle it all. So, are we waiting for God to pour out His judgment on the evil in the world or are we in fact looking in a different direction and waiting for something separate - different - for us knowing that He is going to handle the darkness?
Romans 8:23-25 And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us. Now that we are saved, we eagerly look forward to this freedom. For if you already have something, you don't need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don't have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently. Our focus for the wait is something positive and beautiful. However in order to receive this gift that awaits us, we are required to not only make a decision to receive it, but we must work through this process enduring to the end. James 1:12 God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. The crown of life comes at the end of our time here on earth. We must endure the trials and tribulations that are part of living in this world. Our eyes are fixed on the goal, the prize that awaits us in eternity with our Lord. We wait for that glorious day, but clearly it requires a mindset that enables us to function differently than the rest of the world.
Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Paul is instructing us to daily live lives that reflect our life changing decision to accept Jesus' work on the cross for us. God Himself gives us both the desire and the strength to accomplish good in His name. Notice that the "will" to please Him precedes our actual deeds that please Him. The change that occurs in our hearts and minds as a result of our decision is the motivation for our actions. As we continue to study the Word, it is undeniable that our lives must actively demonstrate our salvation. If they do not then the outcomes for us in that "valley of decision" will be vastly different than they could have been.
Are we surrounded by individuals who call themselves believers but whose lives show a very different kind of fruit? Absolutely. Is it our responsibility to judge them? What do you think? The Word tells us to judge fruit but not motivation. We cannot know what is in someone's heart, but we can see what kind of fruit their lives are producing. Likewise, fellow believers are called to judge our fruit. What kind of fruit is your life producing while you are waiting with hope for the arrival of the Lord? Here is another question for you: what would you like the Lord to find you doing when He arrives for the day of the Lord? There are a lot of things that I would rather not be doing when He arrives, and similarly there are many things that would make me much happier to be doing when that trumpet sounds. Are we not called to be watching and waiting? Does our daily lifestyle reflect that we are watching and waiting?
Luke 12:35-38 "Be dressed for service and well prepared, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. There will be special favor for those who are ready and waiting for his return. I tell you, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, there will be special favor for his servants who are ready! Ready and waiting... do our lives reflect this? Is this something that we occasionally consider as we go through daily life, or is it something that is so prominent in our thinking that we consider each action we take, each word that we speak as preparation for His return? I know that personally I have work to do in this area. I feel strongly that there are things that I do today that are unrelated to His return and I am beginning to truly question how I spend my time. Is He my focus or the world? What and who is motivating me into action? Are there adjustments I can make in this regard? Without a doubt. I want my lamp filled with oil and my wedding garments clean and donned, ready for the arrival of my bridegroom. It takes work - a daily effort - to keep my oil fresh (Holy Spirit) and my garments clean (repentance),but it is so worth it for the final reward!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Encouragement from Stories of Old
Sometimes we just need encouragement and I am not talking about from each other. I mean encouragement from the Lord Himself. Just a word that tells us to hang in there, trust Him, He has it all worked out. Have you ever been in that moment? Sometimes that encouragement comes in the way of a reminder of all that He has done in the past and what He promises to do in the future. I have been in that place numerous times in my life, especially in the past decade. Today He sent me a wonderful reminder of His faithfulness and His desire to bless us. This reminder came in an Old Testament story, one that is not frequently taught or the subject of sermons from the pulpit. Perhaps that is what made it so special to me today.
For those of you who have not extensively studied the Old Testament, this may be a new story for you. However I have no question in my spirit that what God is speaking to us through it will resonate with your spirit as much as it did with mine. I need to build the foundation for you because this story actually stretches between two chapters in 2 Kings. Our story begins in the 4th chapter and tells us about a wealthy woman who lived in Shunem. This woman chose to honor the prophet Elisha and created a room of rest for him at her home with her husband's agreement. Elisha would visit whenever he was in the area. He wanted to bless her for her kindness and told her that her barrenness would end and this time next year, she would be holding a child. Please take a few moments and read 2 Kings 4:8-37. It is a beautiful story of God's faithfulness. Note how Elisha raised this precious son from the dead after he became ill and died. Pay particular attention to the woman's trust in Elisha and no one else. Remember this as we move into the verses in Chapter 8.
2 Kings 8:1-6 Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "Take your family and move to some other place, for the LORD has called for a famine on Israel that will last for seven years." 2 So the woman did as the man of God instructed. She took her family and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 3 After the famine ended she returned to the land of Israel, and she went to see the king about getting back her house and land. 4 As she came in, the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king had just said, "Tell me some stories about the great things Elisha has done." 5 And Gehazi was telling the king about the time Elisha had brought a boy back to life. At that very moment, the mother of the boy walked in to make her appeal to the king."Look, my lord!" Gehazi exclaimed. "Here is the woman now, and this is her son -- the very one Elisha brought back to life!" 6 "Is this true?" the king asked her. And she told him that it was. So he directed one of his officials to see to it that everything she had lost was restored to her, including the value of any crops that had been harvested during her absence.
Has God ever instructed you to make a move that would change your life dramatically? Was there hesitation on your part to make such a radical change because it would take you away from everything and everyone that you know and love? This woman was told by Elisha to leave the country of her heritage and stay away for 7 years. The Lord knew exactly what was coming to the land and wanted her spared. What about you? I know when God told me to make such a move, he also explained to me that it was necessary if I was to survive and thrive. Leaving children, parents, friends behind is never easy, but if God tells you to go, then you know that He is traveling with you. We have no information about what this woman and her family did during the 7 year period, but we do know they survived the famine and returned to their home at the end of this time ( 7 - completion - totally cool!) Did you get the perfect timing? She walks into the king's court just as Elisha's servant is recounting the story. The king restores to her everything that she had to leave behind including the income from the harvest. Full restoration plus a bonus of income from crops harvested.
How about you? Has God ever given you those uncomfortable instructions to pick up and leave? Maybe it was geographic, maybe it was changing jobs, or even churches. Perhaps you are in the beginning of this very season. God is trying to get you to change something and it is so much easier to just stay put in your comfort zone, even if that comfort zone is miserable. Maybe you are currently in "the land of Philistines" and wondering how you will ever be able to survive for the entire season. Wherever you are, I want to assure you, encourage you, that God has not forgotten where you are. He has wonderful plans for you when this season is over. He knows exactly what is happening and His timing is perfect, whether it is 7 years, 3 years, or some other time frame. Believe and trust that He has this all worked out.
I can testify to the power of His steadfastness and His promises. Next month will be the completion of 7 years in Atlanta for me. When God instructed me to leave my home, my sons, my parents and my friends and relocate to Atlanta to start over, I had no clue what He had in store for me. I just knew that I had to be obedient and go wherever He told me to go. The life that He has given to me here and now is so far beyond anything I would have ever imagined for myself. Yet He had planned this for me from the foundations of time. Just as the woman from Shunem honored and trusted Elisha, the man of God, we are called to honor and trust our Lord with our lives. Surrender them to Him completely and let Him work in us and through us. Our patience and our trust are required to walk out your circumstances with Him. Believe just as this woman did, that God does not desire to take from you, but rather to bless you. Sometimes, we do not understand His timing or His instructions, but if we will be patient and trust Him, He will blow you away!
For those of you who have not extensively studied the Old Testament, this may be a new story for you. However I have no question in my spirit that what God is speaking to us through it will resonate with your spirit as much as it did with mine. I need to build the foundation for you because this story actually stretches between two chapters in 2 Kings. Our story begins in the 4th chapter and tells us about a wealthy woman who lived in Shunem. This woman chose to honor the prophet Elisha and created a room of rest for him at her home with her husband's agreement. Elisha would visit whenever he was in the area. He wanted to bless her for her kindness and told her that her barrenness would end and this time next year, she would be holding a child. Please take a few moments and read 2 Kings 4:8-37. It is a beautiful story of God's faithfulness. Note how Elisha raised this precious son from the dead after he became ill and died. Pay particular attention to the woman's trust in Elisha and no one else. Remember this as we move into the verses in Chapter 8.
2 Kings 8:1-6 Elisha had told the woman whose son he had brought back to life, "Take your family and move to some other place, for the LORD has called for a famine on Israel that will last for seven years." 2 So the woman did as the man of God instructed. She took her family and lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 3 After the famine ended she returned to the land of Israel, and she went to see the king about getting back her house and land. 4 As she came in, the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king had just said, "Tell me some stories about the great things Elisha has done." 5 And Gehazi was telling the king about the time Elisha had brought a boy back to life. At that very moment, the mother of the boy walked in to make her appeal to the king."Look, my lord!" Gehazi exclaimed. "Here is the woman now, and this is her son -- the very one Elisha brought back to life!" 6 "Is this true?" the king asked her. And she told him that it was. So he directed one of his officials to see to it that everything she had lost was restored to her, including the value of any crops that had been harvested during her absence.
Has God ever instructed you to make a move that would change your life dramatically? Was there hesitation on your part to make such a radical change because it would take you away from everything and everyone that you know and love? This woman was told by Elisha to leave the country of her heritage and stay away for 7 years. The Lord knew exactly what was coming to the land and wanted her spared. What about you? I know when God told me to make such a move, he also explained to me that it was necessary if I was to survive and thrive. Leaving children, parents, friends behind is never easy, but if God tells you to go, then you know that He is traveling with you. We have no information about what this woman and her family did during the 7 year period, but we do know they survived the famine and returned to their home at the end of this time ( 7 - completion - totally cool!) Did you get the perfect timing? She walks into the king's court just as Elisha's servant is recounting the story. The king restores to her everything that she had to leave behind including the income from the harvest. Full restoration plus a bonus of income from crops harvested.
How about you? Has God ever given you those uncomfortable instructions to pick up and leave? Maybe it was geographic, maybe it was changing jobs, or even churches. Perhaps you are in the beginning of this very season. God is trying to get you to change something and it is so much easier to just stay put in your comfort zone, even if that comfort zone is miserable. Maybe you are currently in "the land of Philistines" and wondering how you will ever be able to survive for the entire season. Wherever you are, I want to assure you, encourage you, that God has not forgotten where you are. He has wonderful plans for you when this season is over. He knows exactly what is happening and His timing is perfect, whether it is 7 years, 3 years, or some other time frame. Believe and trust that He has this all worked out.
I can testify to the power of His steadfastness and His promises. Next month will be the completion of 7 years in Atlanta for me. When God instructed me to leave my home, my sons, my parents and my friends and relocate to Atlanta to start over, I had no clue what He had in store for me. I just knew that I had to be obedient and go wherever He told me to go. The life that He has given to me here and now is so far beyond anything I would have ever imagined for myself. Yet He had planned this for me from the foundations of time. Just as the woman from Shunem honored and trusted Elisha, the man of God, we are called to honor and trust our Lord with our lives. Surrender them to Him completely and let Him work in us and through us. Our patience and our trust are required to walk out your circumstances with Him. Believe just as this woman did, that God does not desire to take from you, but rather to bless you. Sometimes, we do not understand His timing or His instructions, but if we will be patient and trust Him, He will blow you away!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
True Confessions
If you have ever felt as if you needed to be invincible or indestructible in order to keep up with life, then this week's posting is for you. As a believer we often feel driven to accomplish all that we perceive God has placed in front of us, or rather on our "to-do" list. Historically, I have been known on more than one occasion to take on just a tad more than a "normal" person would tackle. I smile wistfully as I remember my dad often describing my mom (now with the Lord) as "always trying to put 10 pounds in a 5 pound sack." I am my mother's daughter in so many ways (as are my sisters :-)). When it comes to serving others, it comes naturally to us to do whatever is asked of us. Yet I wonder, is living in an exhaustive state God's best and His desire for us?
More than one scripture assures us that we can "do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13. If I allow myself to meditate on that exclusive of other scriptures, I would delude myself into thinking that "all things" means literally "all things". Yet somehow I did not have the strength to pen this week's posting on Monday...or Tuesday. It is now Wednesday afternoon and I still find it a struggle to stay focused on this task. It had been an exhausting extended weekend of doing and the exhaustion lingers. So where is my strength and what is it I am supposed to be doing after all?
Consider with me this verse from Colossians 1:10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better. Perhaps the continually does not mean every minute of every day. Perhaps living a life that gives God honor and pleases Him should be the focus with the outcome that we will learn to know Him better and better. Out of a life lived to honor God, good fruit inevitably flows, but the good fruit/works should not be our focus. Loving Him and seeking intimacy with Him is the better focus.
We live in a time when every minute seems to be taken with something. Even those who have committed their lives to service find little time to breathe. The concept of a true Sabbath is foreign to so many including many believers. Now that our society does not even honor the Sabbath (except for rare establishments like Chick-Fil-A) we are tempted to take advantage of a "free afternoon" to get caught up on those errands, or perhaps logging in much needed hours on a project that has been waiting in the corner (or down the street). We are operating on the fumes of our human gas tanks and not taking the time to be still and rest in the Lord. Yet rest is a consistent theme through scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
Do you remember what Genesis 2:2 says? And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. God was setting the example for us. He made a decision to demonstrate for all of mankind that was to come, that when you have put in a good week's work, take time to rest. It suddenly strikes me as very odd that God, our Supreme Creator, El Shaddai, the Holiest of Holy would find it important to rest. After He is God! He does not deal with energy depletion. He created energy! Yet from the beginning of creation He put into place the most important concept of rest.
How often have we quoted Matthew 11:28? Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Did you realize that is the first time in the New Testament that rest is mentioned? Jesus Himself is reminding us that the desire of God's heart is for us to have rest, to be at rest. He acknowledged that being human is tough. Labor is tough. Life is tough. But come to Him and He will provide the much needed rest. So how do I reconcile that with the other side of the equation? Luke 10:1-2 The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them on ahead in pairs to all the towns and villages he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: "The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest, and ask him to send out more workers for his fields. We are called to be laborers in the field for the harvest of the kingdom.
Reconcile it through balance and listening to the voice of God. The only way that we can walk in the direction God has called us is if we take time to be still and listen. We are not called to please everyone; we are called to please God. We are not called to say yes to everyone who has a good idea; we are called to say Yes to God when He calls us and asks. We are not called to be anyone's savior; only Jesus Christ is the savior of the world. We are called to live a righteous and holy life that pleases and honors God. Nothing more and certainly nothing less. Some of us are called to greater things in the eyes of the world than others. But none of us is more loved by God because of what we are doing. God first loved us and nothing we do is going to make Him love us more. He loves us because He created us to be in an intimate loving relationship with Him. What we do is a result of that love, not the other way around. Take time to put your priorities in order and love God first, foremost and always. Take a Sabbath and rest in Him.
More than one scripture assures us that we can "do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13. If I allow myself to meditate on that exclusive of other scriptures, I would delude myself into thinking that "all things" means literally "all things". Yet somehow I did not have the strength to pen this week's posting on Monday...or Tuesday. It is now Wednesday afternoon and I still find it a struggle to stay focused on this task. It had been an exhausting extended weekend of doing and the exhaustion lingers. So where is my strength and what is it I am supposed to be doing after all?
Consider with me this verse from Colossians 1:10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and you will continually do good, kind things for others. All the while, you will learn to know God better and better. Perhaps the continually does not mean every minute of every day. Perhaps living a life that gives God honor and pleases Him should be the focus with the outcome that we will learn to know Him better and better. Out of a life lived to honor God, good fruit inevitably flows, but the good fruit/works should not be our focus. Loving Him and seeking intimacy with Him is the better focus.
We live in a time when every minute seems to be taken with something. Even those who have committed their lives to service find little time to breathe. The concept of a true Sabbath is foreign to so many including many believers. Now that our society does not even honor the Sabbath (except for rare establishments like Chick-Fil-A) we are tempted to take advantage of a "free afternoon" to get caught up on those errands, or perhaps logging in much needed hours on a project that has been waiting in the corner (or down the street). We are operating on the fumes of our human gas tanks and not taking the time to be still and rest in the Lord. Yet rest is a consistent theme through scripture from Genesis to Revelation.
Do you remember what Genesis 2:2 says? And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. God was setting the example for us. He made a decision to demonstrate for all of mankind that was to come, that when you have put in a good week's work, take time to rest. It suddenly strikes me as very odd that God, our Supreme Creator, El Shaddai, the Holiest of Holy would find it important to rest. After He is God! He does not deal with energy depletion. He created energy! Yet from the beginning of creation He put into place the most important concept of rest.
How often have we quoted Matthew 11:28? Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Did you realize that is the first time in the New Testament that rest is mentioned? Jesus Himself is reminding us that the desire of God's heart is for us to have rest, to be at rest. He acknowledged that being human is tough. Labor is tough. Life is tough. But come to Him and He will provide the much needed rest. So how do I reconcile that with the other side of the equation? Luke 10:1-2 The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them on ahead in pairs to all the towns and villages he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: "The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest, and ask him to send out more workers for his fields. We are called to be laborers in the field for the harvest of the kingdom.
Reconcile it through balance and listening to the voice of God. The only way that we can walk in the direction God has called us is if we take time to be still and listen. We are not called to please everyone; we are called to please God. We are not called to say yes to everyone who has a good idea; we are called to say Yes to God when He calls us and asks. We are not called to be anyone's savior; only Jesus Christ is the savior of the world. We are called to live a righteous and holy life that pleases and honors God. Nothing more and certainly nothing less. Some of us are called to greater things in the eyes of the world than others. But none of us is more loved by God because of what we are doing. God first loved us and nothing we do is going to make Him love us more. He loves us because He created us to be in an intimate loving relationship with Him. What we do is a result of that love, not the other way around. Take time to put your priorities in order and love God first, foremost and always. Take a Sabbath and rest in Him.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Reference not Residency
Our past has a way of insidiously creating a filter through which we view ourselves and our lives. Not only does it color how we perceive life and events, but it clearly impacts how we view ourselves. This perception is perpetuated by many people with good intentions. A predominant school of thought in many circles is that it is critical to focus on what has happened to us; critical to dissect, analyze and relive our past in order to move forward into our future. Is this intense focus truly beneficial or does it chain us to our past? The more I study the Word of God and the more that I work with people, I realize that Jesus did not ever dwell on someone's past. In fact, he usually told them, "You are forgiven. Go and sin no more." Do you hear any psycho-analysis going on there? I don't. I just hear a focus on moving forward and not turning back to what has been sinful behavior in the past.
Consider the woman accused of adultery in John 8. Many had gathered to stone her to death when Jesus arrived on the scene. He challenged those without sin to be the first to throw a stone. Eventually all disappeared until it was only the woman and Jesus. John 8:10-11 Then Jesus stood up again and said to her, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" "No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." No analysis here. It was clear what the accusations were against her, but that was not Jesus' focus. His focus was movement forward after repentance. The woman now had a fresh start on her life if she chose to do so. Coming face to face with her past, with her behavior, Jesus gave her an opportunity to choose to leave it behind and accept the grace permeated gifts of love, forgiveness and walking in a new level of acceptance as a child of God.
Remember the story of the Samaritan woman at the well? (John 4) Here was a woman who had been married five times and was now living with a man who was not her husband. There are many of us who have experienced multiple marriages and perhaps have fallen into sinful relationships out of our emptiness. Jesus did not dwell on any of that with her, and He does not with us. He simply poured out His living water to her at the well and He does the same thing for us. Choose from which source you will drink to be refreshed and filled. Will we decide to continue to drink from contaminated sources that poison us or will we decide to drink from the pure, restoring, refreshing living water? The Samaritan woman chose the living water. John 8:15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." The wisdom of Jesus penetrated her spirit so that she could hear and see that the water she had been drinking all of these years was not satisfying. She longed to have that which would totally satisfy her. This living water is the love that we all have been created to desire. Drink and be satisfied.
I recently read this phrase in Dale Evrist's book The Mighty Hand of God: "The past is a point of reference not a place of residency." That resonated within my spirit so powerfully. I know so many people who have allowed their pasts to be a place of residence. They literally dwell there allowing their past to frame who they are and how they make decisions. Yes our past does have an impact on who we have been but it does not have to determine who we become. As children of God, we are to be transformed by the love of God. Transformation means change. We cannot stay the same if we are indeed going to become who God created us to be. We can refer to our pasts as an explanation of decisions we made in the past. However only if we choose to make our past a place of residence are our decisions for today and the future impacted by it. This pathway for living however takes a conscious effort to walk away from that past to move into the future.
My past has positioned me to move with grace into a God-directed future. My past provides the map on which my journey is plotted. When I begin a trip, I know my beginning point and I know the destination. If I am making a journey then I want to be departing from one point and headed to a different point. What sense would it make to even begin a journey if I intended to stay at the departure point, never reaching my destination? The departure point gives me a frame of reference as to how far I have traveled on my journey. I can measure the distance I have traveled by knowing this point of reference. When I look at my life, I can reflect on the amazing distance I have traveled to be where I am. I also know that I do not want to return there, so I continue to plot my course (through God's direction) to continue to move me away from there and towards my ultimate destination.
Many of us wasted considerable energy traveling circles around the same mountain without ever gaining height on the mountain. The peak always looms over head. Exhausted we plod along, head down and wear a path that our feet have memorized. The Lord does not call us to that. Jesus dealt with evil spirits and sin throughout His ministry. Never once have I read where He sat down with an individual and asked them to review, analyze, ponder their past. He simply acknowledged where they were and then said, it is over. Move on forgiven and do not sin again. There is a time and place to acknowledge your past so that you do not repeat it. Remember, it takes a conscious choice to not walk backwards into our sinful decisions. However, once you have acknowledged what you have done, move on and commit to the Lord that you will not revisit it again. Read the scriptures. Read King David's story. Read all of the red lettering in your Bible which records Jesus' own words. Commit to Him that you acknowledge your past and you choose Him as your future. Then hear His voice say to you, as I have heard Him say to me, "You are forgiven. Go and sin no more."
Consider the woman accused of adultery in John 8. Many had gathered to stone her to death when Jesus arrived on the scene. He challenged those without sin to be the first to throw a stone. Eventually all disappeared until it was only the woman and Jesus. John 8:10-11 Then Jesus stood up again and said to her, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" "No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." No analysis here. It was clear what the accusations were against her, but that was not Jesus' focus. His focus was movement forward after repentance. The woman now had a fresh start on her life if she chose to do so. Coming face to face with her past, with her behavior, Jesus gave her an opportunity to choose to leave it behind and accept the grace permeated gifts of love, forgiveness and walking in a new level of acceptance as a child of God.
Remember the story of the Samaritan woman at the well? (John 4) Here was a woman who had been married five times and was now living with a man who was not her husband. There are many of us who have experienced multiple marriages and perhaps have fallen into sinful relationships out of our emptiness. Jesus did not dwell on any of that with her, and He does not with us. He simply poured out His living water to her at the well and He does the same thing for us. Choose from which source you will drink to be refreshed and filled. Will we decide to continue to drink from contaminated sources that poison us or will we decide to drink from the pure, restoring, refreshing living water? The Samaritan woman chose the living water. John 8:15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." The wisdom of Jesus penetrated her spirit so that she could hear and see that the water she had been drinking all of these years was not satisfying. She longed to have that which would totally satisfy her. This living water is the love that we all have been created to desire. Drink and be satisfied.
I recently read this phrase in Dale Evrist's book The Mighty Hand of God: "The past is a point of reference not a place of residency." That resonated within my spirit so powerfully. I know so many people who have allowed their pasts to be a place of residence. They literally dwell there allowing their past to frame who they are and how they make decisions. Yes our past does have an impact on who we have been but it does not have to determine who we become. As children of God, we are to be transformed by the love of God. Transformation means change. We cannot stay the same if we are indeed going to become who God created us to be. We can refer to our pasts as an explanation of decisions we made in the past. However only if we choose to make our past a place of residence are our decisions for today and the future impacted by it. This pathway for living however takes a conscious effort to walk away from that past to move into the future.
My past has positioned me to move with grace into a God-directed future. My past provides the map on which my journey is plotted. When I begin a trip, I know my beginning point and I know the destination. If I am making a journey then I want to be departing from one point and headed to a different point. What sense would it make to even begin a journey if I intended to stay at the departure point, never reaching my destination? The departure point gives me a frame of reference as to how far I have traveled on my journey. I can measure the distance I have traveled by knowing this point of reference. When I look at my life, I can reflect on the amazing distance I have traveled to be where I am. I also know that I do not want to return there, so I continue to plot my course (through God's direction) to continue to move me away from there and towards my ultimate destination.
Many of us wasted considerable energy traveling circles around the same mountain without ever gaining height on the mountain. The peak always looms over head. Exhausted we plod along, head down and wear a path that our feet have memorized. The Lord does not call us to that. Jesus dealt with evil spirits and sin throughout His ministry. Never once have I read where He sat down with an individual and asked them to review, analyze, ponder their past. He simply acknowledged where they were and then said, it is over. Move on forgiven and do not sin again. There is a time and place to acknowledge your past so that you do not repeat it. Remember, it takes a conscious choice to not walk backwards into our sinful decisions. However, once you have acknowledged what you have done, move on and commit to the Lord that you will not revisit it again. Read the scriptures. Read King David's story. Read all of the red lettering in your Bible which records Jesus' own words. Commit to Him that you acknowledge your past and you choose Him as your future. Then hear His voice say to you, as I have heard Him say to me, "You are forgiven. Go and sin no more."
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Recovery to Discovery
Recently through a study in which I am engaged, I heard this phrase - recovery to discovery. It ignited in my spirit in a different way than it was being taught. I heard instead what God has been and is still doing in me. Then yesterday I was blessed to sit in on an all day teaching on coaching and heard a lot about "discovery". I was certain then that the Lord was speaking to my spirit about His process in me. Usually when something becomes so crystal clear to me it is also a message for someone around me. Today we are going to explore just what recovery to discovery can mean for us.
Recovery is a word that we associate with previous injury or damage. Cities recover from devastating floods. Countries recover from economic depressions. People recover from illness or accidents. Most often we consider recovery in a concrete not abstract way. However the damage that has been done to our hearts is every bit as concrete as physical damage and in fact can be more influential in our lives than the physical. As I have listened to victims of abuse, I have learned that the emotional, mental and verbal abuse has a more lasting impact than physical assault. It's damage is insidious and the destruction that is caused inside is a cancer, slowly destroying who we are. When we step out of that situation and begin to heal, recovery begins. Recovery though as I am learning is only the first step.
Recovery is a process. Many times it is two steps forward and one step backward. There is a reason that an alcoholic says s/he is a recovering alcoholic; it is one day at a time. The reasons that many of us were engaged in relationships that damaged us are ingrained in us. The lack of self esteem, the inability to visualize ourselves as worthy of love and acceptance are only two characteristics that perpetuate the negative in our lives. Personally I do not wish to focus on why those things are present inside of me. I would rather focus on how to leave them behind. Through God's love and His perception of who I am, who He created me to be, I can fully enter into recovery and not look back. Easier said than done though....
Recovery is only part of that process. I can recognize who I thought I was and move forward into being who God knows I am, but how do I figure out who that is? Through discovery. I have spent far too many years floating with the winds and waves of life. I am beginning to see that perhaps I have become too passive in just trusting God to direct my life. I have always embraced Proverbs 3:5-6 as my life verse - for almost 21 years now. Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths. Daily my prayer is "Lord, your will be done in my life. Tell me what to do and I will do it." Lately however, I honestly feel as if I am just floating with no direction. I know that is not Him. I have heard His voice so distinctly so many times in my life with specific directions about where I was at that moment and what to do next. Now however, He seems strangely quiet - or is He?
Could it be that He is speaking to me, but it is with a new voice and a new direction? Could it be that I am supposed to have matured to a new level of intimacy and understanding with Him but I am listening with my old ears and "younger" spirit? As our children mature, we speak to them differently. We give them more advanced instructions assuming that they now have more depth to their thinking. We assume that certain things they will automatically apply therefore we can give them the nuances to the situation instead of the basics. All of life is like that. Consider military training. First there is boot camp which everyone must experience. Then there is more specialized training as individual skill sets and abilities are identified. For a small group of individuals there is highly specialized training to prepare them for an elite corps of troops with very specific assignments. So it is with the body of Christ.
We all begin with our "milk" diet and then progress to more substantial nourishment. As we grow in the body of Christ, our gifts are identified and we should be engaged in honing this anointing through study, prayer and practice. I know that over the past decade especially I have been actively engaged in the study and prayer, but how aggressively am I putting into practice what Holy Spirit is imparting to me? How deeply am I truly engaged in "discovering" what is inside this treasure mine? We have to take our children by the hand when they are young and guide them where they need to go. But the time comes when we release them to go out on their own to find their way in life. Why would the same principle not apply to our heavenly Father who created us with a distinct purpose in mind?
Recovery to discovery... He has taken my hand to lead me out of the disaster that I was and now is empowering me to discover what the rest of this journey is. If He has to continue holding my hand to lead me, then how will I ever grow up and learn to discern the nuances that maturity allows me to experience? An inexperienced hiker must follow the worn path because to do otherwise would create confusion and disorientation. The experienced tracker however can make her/his way through the forest and discover incredible sights and wonders that most folks miss. That is what I want my life to be like walking in His will. I want to discover the treasures that He has tucked away for me to explore and enjoy. Will you join me as we advance into the unknown listening for His quiet voice of direction?
Recovery is a word that we associate with previous injury or damage. Cities recover from devastating floods. Countries recover from economic depressions. People recover from illness or accidents. Most often we consider recovery in a concrete not abstract way. However the damage that has been done to our hearts is every bit as concrete as physical damage and in fact can be more influential in our lives than the physical. As I have listened to victims of abuse, I have learned that the emotional, mental and verbal abuse has a more lasting impact than physical assault. It's damage is insidious and the destruction that is caused inside is a cancer, slowly destroying who we are. When we step out of that situation and begin to heal, recovery begins. Recovery though as I am learning is only the first step.
Recovery is a process. Many times it is two steps forward and one step backward. There is a reason that an alcoholic says s/he is a recovering alcoholic; it is one day at a time. The reasons that many of us were engaged in relationships that damaged us are ingrained in us. The lack of self esteem, the inability to visualize ourselves as worthy of love and acceptance are only two characteristics that perpetuate the negative in our lives. Personally I do not wish to focus on why those things are present inside of me. I would rather focus on how to leave them behind. Through God's love and His perception of who I am, who He created me to be, I can fully enter into recovery and not look back. Easier said than done though....
Recovery is only part of that process. I can recognize who I thought I was and move forward into being who God knows I am, but how do I figure out who that is? Through discovery. I have spent far too many years floating with the winds and waves of life. I am beginning to see that perhaps I have become too passive in just trusting God to direct my life. I have always embraced Proverbs 3:5-6 as my life verse - for almost 21 years now. Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths. Daily my prayer is "Lord, your will be done in my life. Tell me what to do and I will do it." Lately however, I honestly feel as if I am just floating with no direction. I know that is not Him. I have heard His voice so distinctly so many times in my life with specific directions about where I was at that moment and what to do next. Now however, He seems strangely quiet - or is He?
Could it be that He is speaking to me, but it is with a new voice and a new direction? Could it be that I am supposed to have matured to a new level of intimacy and understanding with Him but I am listening with my old ears and "younger" spirit? As our children mature, we speak to them differently. We give them more advanced instructions assuming that they now have more depth to their thinking. We assume that certain things they will automatically apply therefore we can give them the nuances to the situation instead of the basics. All of life is like that. Consider military training. First there is boot camp which everyone must experience. Then there is more specialized training as individual skill sets and abilities are identified. For a small group of individuals there is highly specialized training to prepare them for an elite corps of troops with very specific assignments. So it is with the body of Christ.
We all begin with our "milk" diet and then progress to more substantial nourishment. As we grow in the body of Christ, our gifts are identified and we should be engaged in honing this anointing through study, prayer and practice. I know that over the past decade especially I have been actively engaged in the study and prayer, but how aggressively am I putting into practice what Holy Spirit is imparting to me? How deeply am I truly engaged in "discovering" what is inside this treasure mine? We have to take our children by the hand when they are young and guide them where they need to go. But the time comes when we release them to go out on their own to find their way in life. Why would the same principle not apply to our heavenly Father who created us with a distinct purpose in mind?
Recovery to discovery... He has taken my hand to lead me out of the disaster that I was and now is empowering me to discover what the rest of this journey is. If He has to continue holding my hand to lead me, then how will I ever grow up and learn to discern the nuances that maturity allows me to experience? An inexperienced hiker must follow the worn path because to do otherwise would create confusion and disorientation. The experienced tracker however can make her/his way through the forest and discover incredible sights and wonders that most folks miss. That is what I want my life to be like walking in His will. I want to discover the treasures that He has tucked away for me to explore and enjoy. Will you join me as we advance into the unknown listening for His quiet voice of direction?
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