Like the Birds

I read an article yesterday that really made me think about what I've been thinking about... Do you ever have those moments? You're sitting at church, listening to the radio, watching TV, and all of sudden something jumps out at you and brings to light the thoughts that have been lingering in the back of your mind, everything suddenly coming together at once. Well, that's what happened. Although I had been aware of my thoughts (I always try to be!), I hadn't really put them all together.

So here it is...I've been thinking about how short life is. How important it is to do something (as in your life's work) you love with the few breaths that you have rather than something you have to do. If you talk to people who've been in the same job for twenty years or sometimes even just five years, you may get a lecture about how it's more important to make sure there's food on the table and clothes on your back than to be happy. "When we were growing up that's all there was. No one was worried about being happy. Happy is having food in your stomach!" Or something to that affect.

Then I think of my grandfather, who lived his life to the fullest, pastoring a small, poor congregation. He and my grandma visited the sick, the elderly, the downcast. They gave all they could give, even sometimes giving their food to people who had less than they did. My dad and his siblings tell stories of how they would get "treats" every once in a while like a McDonald's cheeseburger or a gallon of ice cream. How it would disappear so fast and you better get your share. Of all the sacrifices my dad and his siblings made because of my grandfather's "poverty" they never went hungy and they never slept on the streets...unless, of course, by choice! But my grandfather, I think, was one of the richest men I've ever known. He did what he loved and he didn't care about the "riches" of the world. He cared about people and he cared about honoring God with his life. At his funeral there were countless testimonies of lives changed because of that wonderful, bald man!a

Sometimes the stuff of life overshadows the truly important. We get caught up from day to day, worried about what we'll have for dinner because the cabinets and refrigerator are overflowing and we just can't decide...We worry about what to wear, not because we have not, but because what people will think when they see us. I'm reminded of the passage in Matthew... ^{(6:25-34 The Message)} "If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Isn't it amazing that we have a God who wants to take care of us like that?! All we have to do is ask, seek, knock, knowing that He'll be there to answer. So why do we toil and worry and spend lifeless days doing things we hate just to have that next greatest toy or outfit or meal? Won't our Father take care of it all?

Hear my heart here: It is important for us to work and to provide for our families and to take care of the things that we have, but not at the expense of fulfilling God's call on our lives or even of our ultimate fulfillment. I truly believe that when we seek God for our situation, and follow in the path that He lays out for us riches may or may not come, but wherever we are we will be happy, fed, clothed, and fulfilled. Our short breath of a life will be a sigh of contentment and joy rather than a choked puff of smoke.

Sometimes you wonder why...

Do you ever feel like life has no meaning? no flavor? no point?...like why am I here? what is my purpose? Just writing the questions makes me feel a little melancholy. But I think that's the point: the more we dwell on "purposelessness" the more pointless life feels, the less good we feel, less happy, less able to fulfill our God-given purpose.

I heard a story once that discouragement is Satan's most prized tool -- no smell, no taste, virtually undetectable, and we eat it up. It's so easy to fall for this age-old trick.

Well, I've decided that I will no longer allow that to be the case for me. My thought life belongs to me and I will choose which thoughts will stay and which must leave! One way I've learned to overcome discouraging thoughts is to dwell on and pray through the Scripture. Several books have been written on praying the scriptures, but one of my favorites is the one written by Beth Moore. It helps you personalize and take hold of the Scripture and what it means for your situation.
There are a couple scriptures that really mean a lot to me when I'm feeling down and out, and today I'd like to share them with anyone who will read on...

Eph 1:11-12 (The Message) "It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone."

Romans 8:28-29 (CEV) "We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, and he has always known who his chosen ones would be."

1 Peter 2:9 (NLT) "...for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."

Psalm 138:8 (NIV) "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands."

Isaiah 43:7 (NIV) "...everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."

I am so glad to be called by His name! To be His chosen possession! To know that He is working in me, through me, and for me! So take heart! You too are called by Him and for His purpose. YOU are His special, prized, chosen possession. He loves you and He WILL accomplish His purpose for you if you will only let Him.

Turn off the discouragement channel and tune into the promises of God...they are YES and AMEN!

Ephesians 1:17-19a

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."

Do you ever have those moments when you're reading a scripture you've read a thousand times, or listening to your favorite worship song, or sitting in a service listening to a sermon, and you have an "aha!" moment...Nothing being heard or read is actually new, but you understand it in a new way. I think that's what this verse is talking about. It's not just about beginning a relationship with God, it's about deepening that relationship. (For those of you Nacho fans, it's about getting down "to the nitty gritty"!) And it comes through the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, which enlightens us to the things of God!

How awesome that God will honor that request to know Him more. Because isn't that what He wants for us and from us anyway?! It's like asking a loving parent if you can be just like him/her when you grow up! Of course they're going to say yes! That's their heart's desire too. And I truly believe that's the heart of God: that we would long to know Him more and yearn to know the things only His Spirit can reveal!

As I read this verse this morning I felt the Holy Spirit prompt me, "Pray this for your family. Pray this for your friends. Pray this for those who don't know me." And I ask that you too would pray it for me.

What I've Been Learning

It seems lately God's been speaking to me a lot...not in the way I'm used to though. A couple weeks ago Josh and I were at Barnes and Noble looking for a gift and out of the blue this woman stopped us because she felt she had a word for us. And it was right on. I've also been listening to some new teaching CDs I got a hold of, and it's so like "Omigosh! This is exactly what I needed to hear!" Then I was driving home from an event the other day with some girlfriends, sharing with them some of the stuff that's been going on in my life, and one of them says, "Hold on, God just gave me a word for you."

A couple things have really been impressed upon me through this: 1) God knows all about me! He created me to be me and you to be you. He knows every detail, thought, heartache. He knows what I need and when I need it...even if it is in the middle of Barnes and Noble! He's thinking about, watching, and caring for me, even when I can't feel it. My Lord is an intimate God. He is not far away and unreachable, He's "closer than the mention of His name," as the song goes... 2) He is ALMIGHTY GOD! He is so strong and big and awesome. He is to be feared and honored. There truly is none like Him! In Malachi 1: 14 He says of himself, "I am a great king...and my name is feared among the nations!"

I believe sometimes it's easy to rely on either one or the other aspect of who God is, but He really is both. He's the God of all justice, God of wrath, He rides on the wings of the wind, a jealous God! Yet He's slow to anger and rich in love, God of all mercy, one who bids us come into His throne room with boldness. How awesome is it that we can find comfort in the very one who holds the power of life and death! That we can fear Him without being afraid of Him! That He is all love and all powerful!
What an awesome God we truly do serve!

*There is a great song by Jeff Deyo that illustrates this concept called I Fear You from his CD entitled "Light". If you listen to the end of the track right before the song you'll hear an awesome explanation of where the song comes from.

Refining...ouch!

Isn't it crazy how you ask God for something and then forget that you asked until it comes... I'm not talking about "God please give me a million dollars" kind of prayers, or even asking for "things" kind of prayers... but when we pray things like, "Lord, help me to grow up in this area" or "Help me change the way I think about that situation"...

When people say that God doesn't answer prayers, I think "Well, clearly they've never asked for patience!" Those are the kinds of prayers I'm talking about. Ones that slip out in a moment of spiritual clarity, usually prompted by the Holy Spirit, and we forget about them. Then things start happening, things that produce patience, or growth, or changes. And we start asking, "What is going on?! Why am I going through this? God where are you? Why are you pulling away?..."

I love that God isn't afraid to bring situations into our lives that could either drive us away or pull us toward Him. He's willing to let us stumble around for a while, or for a really long time, until we come to the point where we realize He's all we need -- again, for the millionth time. God loves to grow us, to change us to become more like Him, to nurture the fruit of the Spirit in us. He always answers the prayers that agree with what He's already got planned for us, for our benefit, and with His heart for us.

He loves us.

So the next time you find yourself there, in that place where you feel lost, alone, desperate, and you're asking, "What is going on?" Look back and see if there wasn't a prayer...a thought...a cry. When the situation's tough, and you ask God to grow you through it, know that the storm may rage a bit longer than you expected. But when you come out, you'll be as pure silver, refined by the great I AM for His name, and His renown!