God is always teaching us and molding us. Sometimes He shapes us gently as a potter who works with water, His hands gliding skillfully and smoothy over us molding the rough contours and shaping us in unique and beautiful ways. At other times He takes a sledge hammer and starts knocking off big ole' chunks! A friend of mine described this second method in just this way recently and I had to smile. So true! We've all been there. It's the great big hard lessons that feel more like the sledge hammer approach. I confess I prefer the Potter to the Renovator....
So what are these hard lessons? Maybe to some extent they are different for everyone, but there are a few that seem to be universal. There are a couple that I think we all really struggle with. My short list: "Be slow to anger...". "Love your enemy. Do good to those who curse you". "A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!". "As the world has hated me, so it will hate you..". " All who wish to follow Me must first pick up their cross..". "The road to heaven is narrow and difficult but the road to hell is broad..". Just a few of my personal favorites and particular "thorns in the side".
So what's a girl to do? Beats me! No, seriously - I have no idea. I have no idea whatsoever how to be successful at any of these things. I know we are called to do them. I know we are expected to do them. I know God is disappointed with us when we don't do them. Knowing all this makes no difference whatsoever. The spirit is willing but my will is weak! It is hard for me not to be angry when I am hurt or see others I love hurting. My "enemies" drive me nuts. I don't want anyone to hate me. Keeping my mouth shut is a huge challenge, and my feet just sort of naturally stray to the broad easy path. In short- I'm a mess!
Fortunately, the God we serve is not! Though we are frail, He is mighty. Though we fail, He does not. Though we can't love perfectly, His presence in us can. Though we fear carrying our cross, He comes alongside and helps us shoulder it. Though left to our own devices we will continue down that broad path to destruction, He stands before us like a celestial school crossing guard pointing the way to a safer pathway. Through Him, with Him, in Him, all things are possible. That is why scripture tells us "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me".
Yes -life is full of hard lessons. There are lots of days I would rather not learn them. There are plenty of times I would rather revert back to my former nature. These are the times when I need my godly friends. When I need my accountability partner. When I need His Word. None of us is an island. None of us can successfully complete this journey on our own. We need a Savior. And we need each other. This is the only way we can live, learn, thrive, and grow. Whether we are being molded by the Potter, or demolished for renovation- we yield to His will and rely on His grace. And on each other.......Shalom!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Profound, Prophetic
There is simply no way for me to sum up or describe everything I have learned in the past 9 months. It blows me away when I think of all that I have seen, learned, walked through, come to understand, and learned to recognize. In some ways, I have learned more in recent history than I have from 19 years of formal education. Certainly things of far greater importance.
The amazing thing to me is that once your eyes are open to the spiritual world, to the ways of the Holy Spirit, to seeing the Hand of God moving and working all around you, you begin to wonder how it is you ever missed all this in the first place! The down side of having your eyes opened is that you increasingly become aware not only of the Light but also of the Darkness around you as well. I have certainly experienced both.
Though I have grown by leaps and bounds lately, I can clearly see that we are never done on this journey. It's not like we get to rest on our laurels and say "Great! I've arrived! Nothing left to learn now." At least not until we arrive at our final Home one day. Having said that, I had a profound, prophetic moment this week. The lesson I learned is one that took me by surprise. I don't know why, but it was one of those moments when you feel like you have just experienced a profound truth. A true "Aha!" moment. I love those!
As so often happens, this moment occurred during a conversation with one of my amazing Christian friends. I am blessed with several of these, but one in particular has been a true teacher to me in every sense of the word. We were discussing a group that we both belong to. I remembered a conversation we had a long time ago about what his hopes were for this group. I remember that at the time I thought he was crazy. His thoughts of what it could and should become seemed completely unrealistic to me. Furthermore, I couldn't conceive of a way that such changes in attitude and behavior could occur in individuals really, let alone in an entire group. Of course I was being short sighted. I was thinking of things from an earthy perspective, not a heavenly one. I was underestimating the power of a Holy God.( I have an unfortunate tendency to do this. Sorry, Father! )The surprising thing about this transformation is the way it happened. Not by force. Not by manipulation. Not by replacing these people with more desirable ones of a similar mind set. Nope. Not at all. An entire group of people has been transformed in amazing ways by love, relationship, prayer, common goals, and the power of a God who acts when we trust and rely on Him to do the work, rather than doing it ourselves. This is the take away. This is the lesson. This is the big "Aha!" moment. My friend has been trying to teach me the wisdom of letting God lead for a long time now. I was hearing it. I was buying into it. But I have never seen such profound, concrete evidence that it, in fact, WORKS! There is a difference between believing something to be true in your head and seeing it and experiencing it at work in the real world. Seeing the undeniable results of letting go and letting God has had such a positive impact on me. This is not a lesson I am likely to forget anytime soon. I am grateful for the opportunity to see how God works when we ask Him, then trust Him to provide what we need. Shalom!
The amazing thing to me is that once your eyes are open to the spiritual world, to the ways of the Holy Spirit, to seeing the Hand of God moving and working all around you, you begin to wonder how it is you ever missed all this in the first place! The down side of having your eyes opened is that you increasingly become aware not only of the Light but also of the Darkness around you as well. I have certainly experienced both.
Though I have grown by leaps and bounds lately, I can clearly see that we are never done on this journey. It's not like we get to rest on our laurels and say "Great! I've arrived! Nothing left to learn now." At least not until we arrive at our final Home one day. Having said that, I had a profound, prophetic moment this week. The lesson I learned is one that took me by surprise. I don't know why, but it was one of those moments when you feel like you have just experienced a profound truth. A true "Aha!" moment. I love those!
As so often happens, this moment occurred during a conversation with one of my amazing Christian friends. I am blessed with several of these, but one in particular has been a true teacher to me in every sense of the word. We were discussing a group that we both belong to. I remembered a conversation we had a long time ago about what his hopes were for this group. I remember that at the time I thought he was crazy. His thoughts of what it could and should become seemed completely unrealistic to me. Furthermore, I couldn't conceive of a way that such changes in attitude and behavior could occur in individuals really, let alone in an entire group. Of course I was being short sighted. I was thinking of things from an earthy perspective, not a heavenly one. I was underestimating the power of a Holy God.( I have an unfortunate tendency to do this. Sorry, Father! )The surprising thing about this transformation is the way it happened. Not by force. Not by manipulation. Not by replacing these people with more desirable ones of a similar mind set. Nope. Not at all. An entire group of people has been transformed in amazing ways by love, relationship, prayer, common goals, and the power of a God who acts when we trust and rely on Him to do the work, rather than doing it ourselves. This is the take away. This is the lesson. This is the big "Aha!" moment. My friend has been trying to teach me the wisdom of letting God lead for a long time now. I was hearing it. I was buying into it. But I have never seen such profound, concrete evidence that it, in fact, WORKS! There is a difference between believing something to be true in your head and seeing it and experiencing it at work in the real world. Seeing the undeniable results of letting go and letting God has had such a positive impact on me. This is not a lesson I am likely to forget anytime soon. I am grateful for the opportunity to see how God works when we ask Him, then trust Him to provide what we need. Shalom!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The "God Only Zone"
Ok, so here's a newsflash: Sometimes life ain't easy! Sometimes you hit the wall. Sometimes there seem to be obstacles present which you can find no way around. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, nor how good your intentions, things just seem to backfire on you. Welcome to the "God Only Zone".
This is the place where God alone can solve the seemingly unsolvable. And the truth of the matter is that He brings us to this place so that we might learn this very lesson. We are stubborn, plow ahead, solve it on our own, lead, follow, or get out of the way people. We delight in relying on our own strength. We love feeling competent and capable. We are happiest when we have it all under control. Think Helen Reddy: "I am Woman Hear me Roar". Think Frank Sinatra: "I Did It My Way". Our culture glorifies competency and independence. God, however, has other ideas. What God desires is dependency on Him. What He wants is to lead while we follow. After all, as the Creator of the Universe, he might just know a thing or two about how to solve some of our issues! He wants to show us the solutions. But how can He when we are busy ignoring Him and forging ahead on our own?
Being God has its advantages. The solution in this situation is to create a problem so big, so daunting, so seemingly impossible to overcome, that we have no choice but to admit our helplessness and fall to our knees. The Psalms are full of descriptions of people crying out in their distress to the Lord. As it was then, so it is now. God's people have always faced adversity. They have often seen overwhelming odds. And it has been at precisely these moments when God delights in showing up and rescuing his people. We are reminded that though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes with the morning. We are reminded that though our faith may be frail and weak, our God is not!
One of the messages I have been getting lately is to praise God for my problems. I am reading a book on prayer. One entire chapter is devoted to this subject. I receive an e mail devotional. Surprise! This was the topic one day recently. Two days ago I got an e mail from a friend suggesting just this approach to handling an ongoing difficult situation. Ok, Ok, I get it. We are supposed to give praise and thanksgiving always for everything (even our problems) and we need to stop doing it on our own and allow Him to do it with and for us. It's one thing to understand the value of doing this. It is much harder to actually do it! Therein lies the rub!
So what is the solution? Well, as our friends at Nike would say "Just Do It!". I think you just have to put it into practice and see where it goes. Begin praising God for all the problems and obstacles in your life. Stop trying to solve the unsolvable on your by your own power. What we know is that when we are in the "God Only Zone" that God will show up. He will part the Red Sea. He will close the mouth of the lions. He will pull us up out of the pit. He will cool the furnace. He will send His Spirit. What more do we need to know? Shalom!
This is the place where God alone can solve the seemingly unsolvable. And the truth of the matter is that He brings us to this place so that we might learn this very lesson. We are stubborn, plow ahead, solve it on our own, lead, follow, or get out of the way people. We delight in relying on our own strength. We love feeling competent and capable. We are happiest when we have it all under control. Think Helen Reddy: "I am Woman Hear me Roar". Think Frank Sinatra: "I Did It My Way". Our culture glorifies competency and independence. God, however, has other ideas. What God desires is dependency on Him. What He wants is to lead while we follow. After all, as the Creator of the Universe, he might just know a thing or two about how to solve some of our issues! He wants to show us the solutions. But how can He when we are busy ignoring Him and forging ahead on our own?
Being God has its advantages. The solution in this situation is to create a problem so big, so daunting, so seemingly impossible to overcome, that we have no choice but to admit our helplessness and fall to our knees. The Psalms are full of descriptions of people crying out in their distress to the Lord. As it was then, so it is now. God's people have always faced adversity. They have often seen overwhelming odds. And it has been at precisely these moments when God delights in showing up and rescuing his people. We are reminded that though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes with the morning. We are reminded that though our faith may be frail and weak, our God is not!
One of the messages I have been getting lately is to praise God for my problems. I am reading a book on prayer. One entire chapter is devoted to this subject. I receive an e mail devotional. Surprise! This was the topic one day recently. Two days ago I got an e mail from a friend suggesting just this approach to handling an ongoing difficult situation. Ok, Ok, I get it. We are supposed to give praise and thanksgiving always for everything (even our problems) and we need to stop doing it on our own and allow Him to do it with and for us. It's one thing to understand the value of doing this. It is much harder to actually do it! Therein lies the rub!
So what is the solution? Well, as our friends at Nike would say "Just Do It!". I think you just have to put it into practice and see where it goes. Begin praising God for all the problems and obstacles in your life. Stop trying to solve the unsolvable on your by your own power. What we know is that when we are in the "God Only Zone" that God will show up. He will part the Red Sea. He will close the mouth of the lions. He will pull us up out of the pit. He will cool the furnace. He will send His Spirit. What more do we need to know? Shalom!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Working for the Kingdom
I am sitting in the truck driving back from Jonesville Va with 2 of my singing buddies. This weekend a team of 20 folks from NRUMC left for a weekend of service work in Appalachia. The Appalachian Service Project (ASP) has been around since the '60s. Founded by a Methodist minister moved by the plight of extreme poverty in what I like to refer to as "the third world right here in America", ASP focuses on making dilapidated housing warm, safe, and dry. This is my 4th ASP trip, and each one has been memorable. The interesting thing to me about such trips and service work in general has been the evolution of my own attitude toward such things. I took my first mission trip to Mexico many years ago when the boys were little. At that time I wanted to go because as an American I felt that we are such a wealthy nation and as such we have an obligation to help those less fortunate. It made me feel good to be a part of such a trip. I was going forth and doing good works. Hooray for me!
That was then, this is now. What a difference a decade plus makes! I am older, wiser, and now know that I had it all backwards. Weekends such as the one I just spent aren't about making me feel good. They are about making God feel good. They are about pointing to Him. They are about His glory. Generally speaking, I will end up feeling good too, but that is a
side effect, not the main reason for going forth and being engaged in service work. The big picture take away from a mission trip weekend is the building of God's Kingdom here on earth.
This weekend God's Kingdom was advanced along the backroads, and hollows, and mountain ridges of Jonesville, Virginia. Families were served in practical ways that will make their lives
easier and safer. From our team, an elderly woman received a second exit from her home making it safer in the event of a fire. The deck on the back of her house built by a previous team now has a staircase and landing leading down into near yard. The two doors on the back of her house now open onto a deck for the first time since it was built by her husband in the '40s. More importantly, hearts, and stories, and fellowship were shared. Miss Loraine now has some new friends from Raleigh North Carolina. And we have received the gift of being able to share in God's work here on earth. As one of my friends likes to say, God doesn't need our help to do anything. He can do it all on His own. But, because He loves us, He graciously allows us to share in His work. In Emmaus we have a saying "Christ has no hands and feet on earth but ours". So true. Thus weekend, 20 people from my church got to be these hands and feet. It is an amazing privilege. Give it a whirl sometime. Whether on a weekend away with a group, or right in your own back yard maybe feeding the homeless or volunteering at a women's shelter- it matters not how you choose to serve. What matters is that you do it! Shalom!
That was then, this is now. What a difference a decade plus makes! I am older, wiser, and now know that I had it all backwards. Weekends such as the one I just spent aren't about making me feel good. They are about making God feel good. They are about pointing to Him. They are about His glory. Generally speaking, I will end up feeling good too, but that is a
side effect, not the main reason for going forth and being engaged in service work. The big picture take away from a mission trip weekend is the building of God's Kingdom here on earth.
This weekend God's Kingdom was advanced along the backroads, and hollows, and mountain ridges of Jonesville, Virginia. Families were served in practical ways that will make their lives
easier and safer. From our team, an elderly woman received a second exit from her home making it safer in the event of a fire. The deck on the back of her house built by a previous team now has a staircase and landing leading down into near yard. The two doors on the back of her house now open onto a deck for the first time since it was built by her husband in the '40s. More importantly, hearts, and stories, and fellowship were shared. Miss Loraine now has some new friends from Raleigh North Carolina. And we have received the gift of being able to share in God's work here on earth. As one of my friends likes to say, God doesn't need our help to do anything. He can do it all on His own. But, because He loves us, He graciously allows us to share in His work. In Emmaus we have a saying "Christ has no hands and feet on earth but ours". So true. Thus weekend, 20 people from my church got to be these hands and feet. It is an amazing privilege. Give it a whirl sometime. Whether on a weekend away with a group, or right in your own back yard maybe feeding the homeless or volunteering at a women's shelter- it matters not how you choose to serve. What matters is that you do it! Shalom!
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