When you wake up, do you immediately sense an excitement? Are you anxious to attack the next 16 hours and see what great things are in store? Do you feel like you’re in your groove, doing just what God created you to do? Then this post may not be for you…at least not right now. Come back and visit if you find yourself answering ‘no’ to these questions.
For those of you still reading, do you want to punch in the throat everyone who just answered ‘yes’ to the above? Ok, great, this is meant for you. Perhaps you know that life is not nearly as bad as it could be. Yet, if you’re honest with yourself, you’re not totally happy nor fulfilled. You still haven’t found [exactly] what you’re looking for.
Waiting is an integral part of the faith journey of any believer. Abraham and Sarah certainly played the waiting game. As if the promise of a child to a barren wife wasn’t faith stretching enough, the pair had to live at least 15 years longer before the miracle came to fruition. Just a few chapters later, Joseph caught a glimpse of how God was going to use him in a dream, only to tread through about 22 tumultuous years prior to realizing the fulfillment of that prophesy. Like death and taxes, confronting seasons of stillness seems to be unavoidable.
The following are some practical suggestions to consider when divinely placed in a holding pattern.
1). Don’t punch those who answered ‘yes’ and peeled away from this discussion after paragraph one. What’s more, fight tendencies to either covet or despise. One way to combat this is to pray for others’ continued blessing – even if initially the prayers don’t flow naturally.
2). Don’t let Job’s friends get you down. It is human nature to hear of someone’s woes or lack of thriving and immediately assume that person must be doing something wrong. Satan certainly can use the misguided diagnoses of those around us to send us on an emotional downward spiral. The trick is to welcome the advice and observations of true friends while tuning out the mere naysayers.
3). Practice contentment. I’m not really a positive confession/mind over matter kind of guy, but I recognize there is power in purposefully focusing on the good things in and around us. While under arrest, Paul says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” When struggling to find contentment, my wife will take the first few minutes of the morning to write down all the things she’s grateful for. Focused gratitude has a way of breaking discontentment’s grip.
4). Do your best with what’s in front of you. In your haste and passion to exit your season of waiting, do not neglect those people and tasks which God has placed right in front of you. I love the story of Laura in our Life Group who longed to get to Africa to serve. Yet, financial restrictions required her to seek temporary jobs in order to raise enough funds. When she finally arrived in Africa “months behind schedule”, the directors of the mission there asked if she possibly had any skills in organizing and cataloging books for their school library. Unbeknownst to them, her temp agency back home had placed her in a library job, equipping her for the very need she was then confronted with in Africa.
5). Rest. The primary purpose or reason behind your season may be to recuperate. Even harvested land needs times of replenishment.
6). Don’t lose faith. I love Joseph’s heart even after years of slavery and imprisonment. When approached for help and given the opportunity of a lifetime to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams his response was, “I cannot do it…but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.” Obviously, trials and unfulfilled dreams didn’t rob him of his belief in God’s power and goodness.
7). Be transformed. I have found that many seasons of quiet activity and outward impact are tremendous periods of inward growth and spiritual alteration. Embrace any healing, stretching, cleansing, or maturation which God wants to bring about through this unique season.
In Craig’s message this week about marriage, He talked about making decisions as a married couple and how it can be hard to make those decisions in faith. It’s so easy for fear to creep in and for our thoughts to down-spiral into questioning God and His heart towards us.
A decision based on fear is often our reality. Because, after all, we certainly want to be reasonable and mature and use our brain to think it through. But is faith always the “reasonable” decision? I’m not so sure.
The hardest thing about faith, for me, is that there really are no guarantees that our decision will play out as we hope. The reality of faith is that there is in fact risk involved. That is by definition the very meaning of faith. Believing before knowing the outcome or believing in what we cannot see. We can believe in our heart of hearts that we are hearing from God and step out in faith, but oh man, what if we’re wrong? We don’t want to be wrong. We don’t want to look foolish.
Tony and I have made a decision before, in faith, and things got really difficult. After a couple years of waiting and believing and fighting against doubts, the worst happened. Jobs disappeared, financial funds dried up, promises made my people didn’t pan out, doors closed, dead-ends materialized out of nowhere.
But you know what? Looking back at it, it was still the right decision, even though it looked wrong and foolish and even though some would say “I told you so.” It was right because I saw God show up in chaos. It was right because of who Tony and I became in the face of hardship. It was right because God knew we had risked something big because we were chasing after Him. I believe the very “chasing” makes Him happy. His love for us does not hinge on whether we succeed or fail. And I can tell you, nothing is quite as exhilarating as knowing you went for something big for God.
Faith is not about obeying the rules of Christianity. Anyone can obey the rules. Listen to what Paul says about this in Galatians 6:12
“These people who are attempting to force the ways of circumcision on you” [forcing you to obey the rules] “have only one motive: They want an easy way to look good before others, lacking the courage to live by a faith that shares Christ’s suffering and death.”
“Rule-keeping does not naturally evolve into living by faith, but only perpetuates itself in more and more rule-keeping.”
Faith takes great courage because it is not about what you can do for God, but trusting enough to enter in to what God is doing for you. Faith takes great courage because you can’t just go to church, read your Bible and stop cussing. That sort of rule-keeping life never leads to faith. Faith requires you to trust God’s heart, and if you don’t really have a relationship with someone you can’t trust their heart. Faith reveals our true motives, our true weaknesses, our true desires. Faith calls us into something richer, but it’s richer because it’s harder, more challenging, more risky.
When we truly believe we are hearing from God and taking a step of faith, He will meet us there. We will come to know Him more. Our faith will not be in vain, no matter how much it appears we succeeded or failed. Faith believes it is still worth it even when everything around us contradicts that fact. That kind of faith can’t be “felt.” It has to be determined with the will. It has to be a courageous choice.
Craig pointed out that we must make a “conscience decision” to choose faith. We choose despite doubts, despite fears, despite Satan’s lies, despite the risk of failure, despite others thinking we are crazy. We choose faith because at the very root of our belief system is this radical idea that God loves us and wants the best for us and this love enables and woos us into doing exciting things that make us a part of a story bigger than ourselves.
How far is the gap between what you say you believe and how that belief get’s lived out? All of us have that distance between what we believe and how we live. Even one of the writer’s of the Bible, Paul, said:
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another powers within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. – Paul (a missionary and writer in the Bible)
Isn’t this disparity between belief and behavior so much easier to point out in others?! It is another thing entirely for us to see it in ourselves. When we start to see it in ourselves it can feel like such a different kind of life we start to question everything. Do I really believe in God? Am I really saved? What does a life actually lived in full to devotion to Christ look like?
These questions were the topic of series of teaching we had here at Church Online last year called Practical Atheist (see them here). But the topic connected with so many people and helped so many that our Pastor Craig Groeschel is coming out with a book that addresses the topics hit in Practical Atheist and takes them further.
The book is called Christian Atheist and comes out March 23, 2010, but you can pre-order your copy through any of these booksellers:
I’ve heard marriage described as flies on a window pane…all that are outside want to get in and everyone on the inside wants to get out. That’s funny. But why? And much more importantly, why do so many ‘interior flies’ really end up seeking escape?
I’m still alarmed that over half of American marriages that commence with celebration on any given Saturday will end in bitter separation somewhere down the road. That’s staggering! In other countries I’ve lived, the statistic is much lower. I used to wonder if the fast paced, high stressed lifestyle of many American communities was the main culprit. But, I no longer think that is the root of the issue. Nor do I think there is a ‘the issue’, as many factors can come together to kill a marriage relationship. Nonetheless, I have an unsubstantiated theory I want to throw out as a possible primary villain.
While being overseas, my wife and I have met numerous other American couples living cross-culturally…often in extremely stressful situations. Yet, the rate of those couples who remained together and are still married today is through the roof, shattering the national norms. It is possible that qualities of the various cultures they inhabited positively influenced their relationships. But, I can’t help but think their success is related to something even more basic and general. In most of the examples of those fellow expatriates, the two lived and shared life together…down to details.
Before our first year of marriage had ended, my spouse and I found ourselves residing in a completely foreign culture and language group. Doubtless, this was a very stressful way to begin our journey together, yet we’ve found ourselves reflecting on how positive it was for us as a couple. Often she was the only one in our entire city whom I felt I could fully relate with. When I would return home from the office and she asked how my day was, rarely did I just say, ‘ah, it was fine.’ I looked forward to processing things with her and telling her about the fascinating and frustrating things I’d learned about our host country that day. And she would do the same. In addition, our lack of ability to operate smoothly and efficiently in our new surroundings forced us to do a lot of day to day things together that we wouldn’t have otherwise. This interdependency drew us closer and closer together.
On the other hand, independence and self sufficiency in a partnership can erode the ties that bind. Since recently returning to the States we have noticed more than ever that a lot of couples seem to live separate lives. What was supposed to be a union, ends up looking more like mere cohabitation. The reality of separation exists long before divorce papers are filed. What do you think? Do you see this as a chief enemy to the institution of matrimony? How do we proactively fight against this tendency without having to move our families to a foreign land? What are the marriage killers in your culture?
[Note: Unscientific theories without statistical backing are welcome and encouraged.]
Due the the amazing response over the past week the Church Online Marriage Mentor program has a lot of new people. That is where you come in! We need more Marriage Mentors to help connect with this new wave of couples. To help go to the Marriage Mentor Sign-up. Also, to hear what being a mentor is like watch this video by Amber Smart who is a mentor with her husband Arly.
I had the great opportunity to go to Ecuador with Compassion International last week. I had a great time with some fellow staff members at LifeChurch.tv and some incredible staff from Compassion International. I met some beautiful kids in the Compassion projects, and I even got to meet Jhon, the boy my family is now sponsoring. It was an amazing experience, but here are some high-level learnings God blessed me with on this trip.
God gave me a more holistic view of 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. The Global Church is the entire body of Christ. Many times we read this passage about the body, and honestly, the picture in our head is people like us, people with similar contexts of life, and people within our culture. This is not the case. The same Spirit works through all those surrendered to Jesus all across the world: the pastor in Kenya, the house church leader in China, the Christian mother in Poland, the praying grandmother in the US, the young Christian man in Ecuador. We are one body, and together we are fully the body of Christ. I saw and experienced the one Spirit of God in those beautiful children, in my fellow LifeChurch.tv pastor friends, in the translators, and in the Compassion International staff. There were many economic, cultural, and gifting differences; but there was one glaring similarity – the Holy Spirit.
Throughout history, the Church has been distracted by the differences. We have focused on those differences to the demise of our unity. I was reminded that unity is not uniformity. The true power of unity is found in the extensiveness of diversity. Take some time to connect with Global Church and focus on the true power of unity in Christ.
How have you connected with the Church outside of your context and culture? If you haven’t connected outside your context, how will you? What have you learned?
I was reading the letter Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia, when I was struck by the phrase “mere appearances.”(Galatians 2:6) http://www.youversion.com/bible/msg/gal/2/6 I couldn’t seem to read any further. My mind was stuck on those two words. So I closed my Bible and started journaling with God:
Mere appearances. That is my phrase for the day. The idea that people can appear one way and actually be another way on the inside is important to keep in mind. This idea can help keep me from judging people based on their outward appearance. Maybe my friend failing to do something she said she would can not be taken at face value. Maybe something is going on beneath the surface that would be a relevant explanation. Maybe she is overwhelmed or tired. Maybe she simply forgot. Choosing to not rely on “mere appearances” is a choice to usher in grace.
Mere appearances. It can keep me from comparing myself with others since mere appearances are not the whole picture. Why compare myself to someone who I do not know in full? What if their motivations are askew or what if their priorities are off? Then I am trying to maintain an image or a role that is based on faulty information and thus is impractical. Mere appearances leave out so many details: talents, life circumstances, supernatural giftings, weaknesses, education, motivation of the heart, abilities, hopes and dreams, unique calling, etc. Choosing to not compare myself to others “mere appearances” is a choice to accept freedom.
Mere appearances. There is the issue of maintaining appearances that aren’t me. The idea that I have to prove to others my value, worth and success by how I appear. To think that appearance outweighs heart motivation is dangerous. To think that mere appearance defines me as a good mom, wife, child of God, or artist…well, then I could easily fool any of you. For some time, anyway, I can keep up a mere appearance. Can’t we all? But it gets tiring if there is nothing below the surface supporting the appearance. Without a foundation it all crumbles with time. Choosing to not maintain “mere appearances” is a choice to let God define us.
I can spend a lot of time on fixing mere appearances while lazily ignoring the deeper root of an issue. It is always more convenient to change a “mere appearance” than to re-route an entire habit and transform it into something healthy and good. But I have no doubt that a lasting depth of character is built inwardly as well as outwardly. It’s easy to get impressed with my mere appearances and meanwhile God is saying, “Ah yes, but there is so much more.” I want the more. Both the outward and the inward to sustain it. Not just the beauty, but also the strength.
