Smol tok nomo |
Smol tok nomo |
Love your neighbour as yourself, do unto others as you would have done to you, preferring one another in love, these are the principles we see all through out the scripture. You know what we don't see? There is only enough of "the best" for one so "get yours." Perhaps we would never verbalise this concept, but how do our actions say we feel about it?
I believe a spirit of competition is often accompanied by a jealous spirit, a selfish spirit, and ultimately a spirit of anti - Christ - as in it completely goes against (anti) what Christ's spirit reflects in scripture. "Woah! That is harsh! alot of fortune 500 companies build their team on these premises, it is competition that breeds excellence in a work environment, it weeds out the weak and it is "just a part of life" you say. Here is what we must understand; there is a wisdom that is of this world, it is not God's wisdom. Make no mistake there are two kingdoms in operation rather you can see it with your physical eye or not. There is the kingdom of this world, led by the prince of this world (satan himself) and there is the kingdom of God led by our heavenly Father (I bet you can probably guess which one a Christian is supposed to be operating in).The world's kingdom says do the best, be the best, get the best and It is driven by self gratification. The kingdom of heaven says, I have surrendered my will to God's will, I believe in His providence and choose to trust Him with every destination along the way to my final destination - heaven. So what about excellence, isn't competition healthy to breed excellence? I am glad you mentioned this. Excellence bred from competition is motivated by self, and it is preferring your self over another, it strives to be the best so that it can earn the best (2 Tim 2:24-25). The heavenly kingdom's way says apart from Christ we don't actually deserve anything, our sinful nature has us condemned, and our best efforts are inadequate, but when we acknowledge this and step into humility with Christ we can do more and go further than we ever could in ourselves. God's way also has a plan for excellence, we strive to do our best and be our best because of God. Not because he is hard to please, but it is our desire to please Him that brings about the best possible results in our own life. Isn't God's ways so cool? Best of all, we know in God's providence He has a plan and purpose for each of us, in the absence of competition we can cheer each other on knowing that other's success in no way effects what God wants to do in and through us. So if Christians are operating in God's kingdom (doing our best, developing the gifts He has given to us, trusting in His providence to open doors for us) and others are operating in the world's system (competing, manipulating, sabotaging, slandering) won't Christians suffer mistreatment and abuse? If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 15:18-19 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us 2 Timothy 2:11-12 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same…But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Luke 6:33,35 I would love to tell you that I have always done this part just right. That I never got sick of it, tired of it, felt completely bullied and seamlessly and quietly slipped over into the worlds system. Who could blame me? I am a strong person and enough is enough right? I would also have to tell you I grieved the Holy Spirit in doing so. We have to accept that sometimes the suffering is a part of God's plan for us, but it is what He uses to mold us and grow us. If "All things work together for good" as scripture tells us "when we are called by God" then the suffering part is for our good too. Here is the thing, if we are operating in God's kingdom no amount of others operating in the kingdom of this world can take us off the path He has for us or take anything from us. We can get off course only if we allow other's actions to penetrate our hearts and cause us to reject the shepherd who is leading us. Don't fall into the lie that competition is "just a part of life", instead I recommend praying that God's plan for your life is fulfilled, and that God's plan for every life around you is also fulfilled. Do you not think the Master builder is able to design a plan where we each serve our purpose? I don't even believe there is "friendly competition" in the kingdom of heaven. Instead, there is spirit-led, divine providence and preferring others. That is a hard truth because it hurts our flesh and pride, we want to think we had something to do with our accomplishments, flesh wants recognition for actions and to have earned something, reality is every good and perfect gift comes from God. Another issue with competition is you may get what you want and not want what you get! What we get from operating outside of the perimeter of God's ways could ultimately destroy us, there is divine protection in letting God lead. The spirit behind competition has become culturally acceptable, but I submit that at its core it is an anti-Christ spirit, working against the spirit of God. Just because we have a mutual understanding that this is "just the way things are" doesn't mean God is not calling us up higher, to walk in His ways with an open ear and a heart of humility. With competition, just like everything else, let's allow God's word to define us and not the cultural norm. sidenote; I do believe the laws of sowing and reaping are biblical, if I sow hard work I will reap, but I also believe if others sow they will reap. The worldly principle in question is there is only enough reaping for one, but I believe just as our minds cannot fathom that God is forever, has always been and will always be, he also has more than enough to meet ALL of our needs and the simple truth is if He didnt have enough (which He does) than living in His principles we would prefer whatever was available to our brothers. Being like Christ is what makes the world take notice, it is so different than anything they have ever seen before.
2 Comments
Here are a few of my own thoughts on the subject, other missionaries may add or take from this personal list.
We start a new life wherever we serve. It is not just preaching, teaching and ministry, we strive to follow Jesus example and have meaningful relationships with whomever He brings on to our path. This often includes nationals, ex-pats, and if we can find any - Americans. We are entering community, having people over to laugh with (sometimes cry with), or we become Uncles and Aunts to other's children (praying they also help fill the void for our own children). That include birthday parties, weddings, special occasions and remembering and trying to afford gifts for both those in our home country as well as those in our new life abroad. We are not the same when we come home In many places we see death, we see hunger, we see poverty and we see crises in ways we have never dreamed in the U.S. Many missionaries are dealing with a little PTSD when they come home and don't even realise how bad they needed to step out of an overload of feeling the weight of these very real needs. A few weeks missions trip is not the same as building a life without escape in the middle of poverty and natural disasters. When close friends die from things easily treated in the West or you can't feed everyone who is hungry (not just random faces but people you know by name and spend time with regularly) that is hard, and it changes you. We need you to understand it is hard for us to think the same or be the same after these things. This is a good thing too. Through all the stuff we face and go through we often grow, a lot! If you are expecting us to come home the way you sent us with all the experiences we go through, we will disappoint you and we know it. We can never be the same people we were, chances are you are growing too its just not as noticeable when everyone can see it day to day so with years apart we will seem very different to you. The best and most loving thing you can do for us is not to put us in the box of who we used to be, but make room for who we actually are now - accept who we have become and understand many of us have probably been through some major trauma. We often feel we are disappointing everyone we are in a relationship with Imagine trying to live three lives at the same time. Our 12 to 18 months in the US is not time off, we have major budgets to raise and we need to be in relationship with Pastors and churches all across the nation to do this, then we have all of our family and friends who we have missed for so long, and finally we are giving our lives for a people across the seas, we have to work hard with many communication challenges to protect the relationships with the nationals where we serve. Spreading ourselves across these three groups can make us feel we are not meeting the expectations for any of them. (Sidenote: for us we have recently had four groups as we have served in Saipan awaiting open borders in Vanuatu) We are some of the loneliest people you will meet. That spreading ourselves thin part? It leaves us a little incomplete as well. We never fully belong anywhere, we can never just settle in to a place, we struggle to hold on to authenticity while living in two completely different cultures and never fully belonging to either. We are like some weird hybrid and can never just be normal anywhere without our "other nationality" showing up to make sure and set us apart. We try to fit, but between the walls we unconsciously build and the walls those around us who know we will not stay long unconsciously build, we never belong. This loneliness is expounded by the limited amount of people who have shared or can fully understand this unique dynamic. We want to hear from you. You are missing us from your lives, but we are missing literally everyone of our extended family and friends from ours. When you call or message it does so many things for us like telling us we are not forgotten (that is a great feeling!). Just because God called us away from our home, doesn't mean we don't want to maintain as close a relationship as we can with everyone, it is a tremendous amount of pressure to try and maintain all the relationship in our culture of service, and all the relationships back home so when others reach for us when it might be easier just to let us go, it means a lot and doesn't put it all on us. A group of people missing one and each occasionally reaching for them is so much easier than one person missing an entire group and trying to reach for all of them while also living another life. So friends, family, churches, we LOVE to hear from you and connect with you! We understand more than you think. We know we aren't the easiest people to be in a relationship with, we are living these lives so we know how crazy they are! We get that your lives go on, we are happy for that and wouldn't have it any other way! We know you are busy, and sometimes it is just easier not to deal with the hard emotions of missing people. We love everyone and though we are sad when relationships can't be the same, we know we are the ones who chose to answer the call for this crazy life! Wherever we are we are always missing someone and not everyone chooses to live this way, we have lots of grace, but we are always here ready to pick up wherever we left off with you. In a world of technology we are a phone call (sometimes in the middle of the night with different time zones) away! For us the greatest gift is normal. When people brag a lot or make a big deal out of us it can be really awkward. First of all we know ourselves and that we are not that special, only following God's plan for us just as many of you. Accepting who we are (or who we have become) without boxes and allowing us to join in and be a part of something "normal" is a really great gift. We wont be exactly like those around you because, remember we are trying to maintain those three different lives I mentioned earlier all at the same time, but allowing us to take part in stuff and making room (we are busy people so we don't take up that much) for us to really be a part of your life is just huge. Give us grace. The years we are overseas we are ever studying our culture there and current events around us, the year/years we are home we are literally trying to spread years worth of missed time across so many, we will disappoint you. Sometimes it is deeper than what meets the eye, we are home now so we can process all of the previous mentioned trauma and heal just in time for the next term. Chances are we love you and when we come home we are different, and you process us being different, but so is everyone we left behind! Our minds are in overdrive to figure out everyone that should be familiar but isn't everything that has changed in the American church or politics, and often, meeting our newly changed selves for the first time in America, a place that should feel familiar, but doesn't. Finally, we love you. Friends from every place we have lived, the churches and pastors who send us, the national friends we work along side in ministry, we love all of you. We can only think of how beautiful heaven will be with all of us in our glorified bodies and understanding, where time and culture does not limit us, but we know unity like never before as we worship our Saviour together. Wont that be wonderful? Looking forward to eternity with all of you! He had dreams.
No doubt about it. Not just hopes of something he wanted, but the kind of dreams God puts down in your heart. Dreams you believe will happen tomorrow, because dreams from God? That is a sure thing! He never saw it coming. Rejection. betrayal. Like a knife to the gut he found those whom he loved, those whom he trusted, were not really for him at all. Forget the belonging he once longed for, they must have felt their lives would be so much better if he would simply just "go away". So the manipulation begin, they would tell their Father an animal attacked Joseph while selling him in to slavery far away from their home without a thought of what would become of his. One would think this was the hardest part of Joseph's story, it was certainly the most painful. Lost. Confused. What about the dreams? Were they not from God? He had been so certain, God had spoke, but look at things now. Through even more misfortune Joseph finds himself in prison. Not just for days, or months, but for years. What type of man does not lose faith when their life is on pause in as hopeless a place as prison? It was not just trauma and then the promise, but trauma followed by years of not much worth mentioning before the promise ever came. Years of trusting. Years of choosing faith over fear. Years of God building character that could no longer be subject to man's opinion and through the experience of being misjudged by others he learned to live simply for God alone. He learned more than just the eager dreams of a young boy, but the faithfulness of a man of God. God instilled in him all he would need to reach the promise, during these barely mentioned years. Some of us may have them too. Years to trust. Years to grow and mature. Years to prepare for God's purpose and our promise. Too many people walk away in the season only mentioned in a few a verses between the pain and the promise of Joseph. If this is you, if you are currently "on pause" let patience have its perfect work, and resolve yourself to remember God always delivers on His promises. Let Him lead and lean hard on the one who has promised to go with you, even in these silent years. "But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison" Genesis 39:21 \ I have been troubled by this season and feel inept in my effort to find the words to adequately share. So much has happened in such a short time. So many of us have done what generations, and kingdoms, and empires and the tainted state of the human heart has always done - we fell back on our own strength. We boldly rose to contend, with our words, with our actions, with our grasping through human understanding, and reasoning. When turmoil came, it was pride that led us down this path, some of us being so sure we had the answers - all of them. What alluded us was so simple and many of us have been taught it since we were a child. It was not our wisdom, or our biblical understanding through the lens of our own cultures, instead it was the secret place of prayer. How could we simply slip away into another world, another realm, another kingdom, when our world was seemingly collapsing around us? Our own solutions were proclaimed boldly while our secret place gathered dust as we occasionally stood at the door but never fully entered in. Softly, gently, He calls us each back there, where we no longer plead our cause, we plead only before the throne room of grace! The secret place goes beyond our reasoning and provides peace that passes our very understanding. Can you hear Him now? Saying "return to me my Sons and Daughters, I have not left! I have not changed! I am still here, in the secret place." In our attempts to be great we fail to do the work we deem as too small, spending time in the secret place. The greatest mystery of all is no mystery at all, every answer we need is found there. God does not need a man big enough He needs a man small enough and humble enough to surrender to the work that is done in secret. Oh how simple it would be if we only knew that He meets every need in the secret place! If the world is to be changed, if we are to answer the call placed upon our lives, it will only be through the death of self and the life Christ lives through us as He transforms us during our time with Him there. Do we, the church, remember?
Have we forgotten the secret place? I leave you with the lyrics of an old chorus my Grandpa would often sing.... "Shut In With God In A Secret Place, There In The Spirit Beholding His Face, Gaining New Power To Run In The Race, I Long To Be Shut In With God." Yesterday I went on a walk beside the ocean. We had a cyclone nearby and it caused the ocean to rise and come further upon land leaving evidence of the storm. There was sand, seaweed, and coconuts all washed up on my once clear path. Something in particular caught my eye, a tree whose roots were once only visible at the top, were now exposed as the land around it had washed away showing deep majestically spread out roots. I immediately begin to think of how my husband had told me that these trees were planted as a means to keep the ocean from erroding away at the island and their roots stood as a defense. How could this one tree, even as magnificent as it was, stand against the seemingly infinite power of the ocean?
It was easy to correlate how intricately God has interwined his creation with spiritual application. I begin to view these trees as “front line Christians” those who have answered the call to go a little deeper. No, not “up in front of people Christians” in case my wording confused you, I am speaking of the work that is unseen by man and visible only to God. Those who recognize the need to position themselves in such a way to grow deep roots to battle the spiritual forces at work in our world. I wonder if this tree ever thought about what it would be like in the forrest where things were calm and peacful, or if it knew that its creator had placed it carefully in direct line of the oceans wrath so it could serve out its purpose completely? I wonder if sometimes the tree, like Elijah when he claimed he was the only one left who had not bowed to Baal, felt as if he was alone when the ocean begin to tear away at his surroundings until all that stood was his roots? Not fully realizing other trees were in place all around, maybe not as many as the trees in the orchards, or valleys, or forrests but still, he was not alone as he stood against the tide. You see we are called to be like that tree. Our roots must grow deep in Christ. As Christians we often must absorb pain without retaliation, we must feel the burden of so many turning from truth to a Gospel that allows us to decide how much we will or will not surrender to God. In a world where we no longer look to God, but every man lifts himself up in pride, and deception runs wild and free like waves crashing against truth, if we are to stand with our roots going deep in Christ we must be willing at times for every single ounce of our rights, our wants, and our desires to be washed away. Our flesh may fight it as we are ripped away piece by piece but in this storm we can choose to fall down or grow our roots even deeper until nothing is left to be seen but unending roots in Christ. God is calling us to a hidden work of prayer, fasting, forgiving, absorbing, loving when no one but He can see our sacrifice. Our roots in Him take the ragging blows of the ocean again and again as we minister to others at the cost of our own lives. Roots. Like a tree planted by the waters, as Christ said, it will not be moved. standing absorbing continuing to grow deeper in Christ. Seemingly insignificant, we join in the suffering with Christ as we endure for the sake of the gospel until one day the ocean will be no more. On this day we will meet those we were used by God to stand in front of the crashing waves so that they too could reside with us in that place where every tear will be wiped away. We will fully realize the purpose and the honor of what we were called to. All of our unseen, insignificant work will be rewarded and we will be present before the Lord as sons and daughters of God. What great thing did we do while here below to deserve such an honor? We simply continued to stand - rooted in Christ - without righteousness of our own as each part of us dissolved and gave way to the only righteous and powerful one. The tree could look at the forrest and wonder if God made a mistake placing him in front of a furious ocean without the ease of ignorance to its possible harm that is found in the forrest. The tree could embrace its call and the beauty found in the strength it gains as it continues to stand allowing its roots to grow deep and wide. While neither a blissful or peacful exsistence, it is one of pure purpose as it trusts the one who planted Him did not make a mistake. I will never know the story behind the tree I saw yesterday, but I know what kind of tree I would like to be. land leaving evidence of the storm. There was sand, seaweed, and coconuts all washed up on my once clear path. Something in particular caught my eye, a tree whose roots were once only visible at the top, were now exposed as the land around it had washed away showing deep majesticly spread out roots. I immediately begin to think of how my husband had told me that these trees were planted as a means to keep the ocean from erroding away at the island and their roots stood as a defense. How could this one tree, even as magnificent as it was, stand against the seemingly infinite power of the ocean? I couldnt help but correlate how intricately God has interwined his creation with spiritual application. I begin to view these trees as “front line Christians” those who have answered the call to go a little deeper. No, not “up in front of people Christians” in case my wording confused you, I am speaking of the work that is unseen by man and visible only to God. Those who recognize the need to position themselves in such a way to grow deep roots to battle the spiritual forces at work in our world. I wonder if this tree ever thought about what it would be like in the forrest where things were calm and peacful, or if it knew that its creator had placed it carefully in direct line of the oceans wrath so it could serve out its purpose completely? I wonder if sometimes the tree, like Elijah when he claimed he was the only one left who had not bowed to Baal, felt as if he was alone when the ocean begin to tear away at his surroundings until all that stood was his roots? Not fully realizing other trees were in place all around, maybe not as many as the trees in the orchards, or valleys, or forrests but still, he was not alone as he stood against the tide. You see we are called to be like that tree. Our roots must grow deep in Christ. As Christians we often must absorb pain without retaliation, we must feel the burden of so many turning from truth to a Gospel that allows us to decide how much we will or will not surrender to God. In a world where we no longer look to God, but every man lifts himself up in pride and deception runs wild and free like waves crashing against truth, if we are to stand with our roots going deep in Christ we must be willing at times for every single ounce of our rights, our wants, and our desires to be washed away. Our flesh may fight it as we are ripped away piece by piece but in this storm we can choose to fall down or grow our roots even deeper until nothing is left to be seen but deep roots in Christ. God is calling us to a hidden work of prayer, fasting, forgiving, absorbing, loving when no one but He can see our sacrifice. Our roots in Him take the ragging blows of the ocean again and again as we minister to others at the cost of our own lives. Roots. Like a tree planted by the waters, as Christ said, it will not be moved. standing absorbing continuing to grow deeper in Christ. Seemingly insignificant, we join in the suffering with Christ as we endure for the sake of the gospel until one day the ocean will be no more. On that day we will meet those we were used by God to stand in front of the crashing waves so that they too could reside with us in that place where every tear will be wiped away. We will fully realize the purpose and the honor of what we were called to. All of our unseen, insignificant work will be rewarded and we will be present before the Lord as sons and daughters of God. What great thing did we do while here below to deserve such an honor? We simply continued to stand - rooted in Christ - without righteousness of our own as each part of us dissolved and gave way to the only righteous and powerful one. The tree could look at the forrest and wonder if God made a mistake placing him in front of a furious ocean without the ease of ignorance to its possible harm that is found in the forrest. The tree could embrace its call and the beauty found in the strength it gains as it continues to stand allowing its roots to grow deep and wide. While neither a blissful or peacful exsistence, it is one of pure purpose as it trusts the one who planted Him did not make a mistake. I will never know the story behind the tree I saw yesterday, but I know what kind of tree I would like to be. Hello,
My name is grace. I am well loved and received everywhere I go, often even praised. Few would ever imagine the abuse I have faced and how often I am misunderstood and misrepresented. I want to share a little of my pain, show you my heart and tell my story. I love all those who give me away, but dislike those who feel entitled to me. One of my favorite things is to help people through the hard times as they grow, but I hate it when my name is used to help people stay right where they are. I have an imitator who has an almost uncanny resemblance to me. She brings so much relief just as I do, but she hides truth from all who know her and her relief is a false security! Please, if you ever meet her, know that the real me loves, honors and embraces truth. It is such an insult to the beauty of who I am, and frankly, makes me feel so cheap when people simply use me to avoid truth. It goes against my purpose and cuts me deeply, the meaning of life for me is to make it easier on those who are searching for truth, never to help them avoid the one thing that can set them free! Perhaps the very worst abuse I suffer is, it is almost too shameful to say, but it is when my name is used in such a horrific way as to allow an oppressor to bully or hurt others. I was never meant to be used to empower abuse! I have always been here to help anyone, even the worst, on their road to truth so they too could be set free, but the way people throw my name around as an excuse to avoid the hassle of standing up for the oppressed? It is almost more than I can bare! Over and over people take advantage of me, they use me as an excuse to do their darkest deeds, or as an excuse to enable others. You see Truth, she is actually my sister. We are inseparable really so to use me without her, is to deny others of everything I am really meant to give! I am sure you can see I have many scars. Some of the nicest people you will ever meet have used me to enable others dark deeds, and some of the most selfish people around use me regularly as their excuse to continue to do what is best for them alone. Don't you see my pain? I am so misunderstood and used. I have the power to make the world beautiful, loving and kind, when used properly I am both gentle and strong enough to change anyone for the better. I wish people would stop believing these awful lies about me and how they think I work when what I truly am could not be more different. I would love to sit down some day and share with you the stories of all the many lives I have changed and all the people I have helped. This is why it hurts me so deeply when others are quick to accept my imitator and miss out on all I can give to them or the very ones they are trying to help. If I can leave you with one thought to help you recognize the real me should we ever meet, remember I lead all those I help to truth and never away from it. Thanks for letting me share this, if we have not already, I hope we meet soon and you will introduce me (the real me) to all you know! Sincerely, Grace "A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps." Proverbs 16:9 I have always done my best to follow what I think God would have me do. At times I was obsessed, even panicked that I was messing up. I was afraid I was missing the subtle clues dropped from the sky that I thought I was supposed to find. The problem was in doing the human thing, focussing so much on a direction He once led in, that embracing where He was currently leading could never be.
In all of this I have learned something that has simplified my life, and I hope it can do the same for yours - go where God is. If you are like me, this is where you are screaming on the inside "that is exactly what I want to do if only I KNEW WHERE THAT WAS." It is so simple friend, it is found in complete surrender and complete trust. It is trusting that whatever direction He is currently taking you in is His best for you. It is where you never could have fathomed going, but peace is there waiting in the trust, in the surrender, and in the rest. God is where it no longer has to make sense. He is where there are detours, and road blocks, and open doors you were not even looking for. He is a million steps ahead of you. He lingers in our uncompromised trust. So go where God is, the place inside of your heart that free falls with abandon into His loving arms. Dwell there, make it a habit not to stray from there, and see that this is where the mountain moving God dwells. He is in the casting down of your fleshly desires to understand, or interfere or even plan your own steps. What Father could take His eyes off of His child when they are trusting His arms to uphold them and His hands to lead them? You, my friend, are the apple of His eye, so when life is particularly hard and your mind cannot fit the pieces together, find your place beside Him and know that is exactly where you were meant to be. " And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten…" Joel 2:25
I remember it as if it is at the forefront of my brain's index. I was in our little home at Jubilee farm talking to my Dad on FaceTime. Perhaps it sticks in my mind because I didn't have to walk down the road for phone service, but I was able to have part of the conversation in the house and the other part on our front porch. I was talking with my Dad mostly of small talk and nothing life-altering when the scripture began going over and over in my mind "I will restore the years the locust has stolen." I somehow randomly worked it into the conversation, but my awkward little add-in was quiet compared to how loud it was screaming in my heart. It didn't leave that day. For over a year, at random times when thinking of or talking to my Dad, that scripture would come back to me. I won't go into the details of my Dad's journey to salvation, that is his testimony to share, but I will share a little from my angle. Growing up I spent a lot of years living in the parsonage with my Grandparents who were also my pastors. My Grandpa had a heart for souls but was a stern old-timer when it came to the use and waste of electricity and the air was only on for services at our little church. I still remember the Texas heat as I would find myself many days and nights in a quiet (sometimes creepy I might add) dark church. It was on the right side of the wooden altar in a pool of tears and sweat that I would cry out to God for the salvation of my Daddy. That old wooden altar has little whelps of water damage from where my tears repeatedly fell, reminding me of those times in prayer. Not too long before this conversation with my Dad, I begin to feel the locusts approaching in my own life. Biting here and there, nipping at my heels if you will allow such an expression. I know that every nip and every bite are allowed by God for growth or for His purpose. I also know that every attack from the gates of hell is leading to a beautiful story of the redemption of my own. Not of salvation, that was settled long ago, but of redeeming what the enemy meant for evil. A few short months after our return from our term in Vanuatu I witnessed a miracle. Many years after those fervant childhood prayers, God granted me the honor of praying with my Dad as he received salvation. It was probably the most beautiful moment of my life. It happened on a normal day that left me feeling like my heart would explode at the faithfulness of God as I watched Him restore what the locust had eaten in my Dad's life. This is such an amazing testimony, but it would be dishonest to leave it there. You see, when I shared about the locust, and that waiting for God to redeem this part of my story, I am still here. Oh, I am living for the Lord and pouring out all I can for Him everywhere I go, but still, locusts, they have come. There has been fasting and prayer involved. Of course, the natural place any Christian should go in such an hour is to "search me oh Lord and see if there be any wicked way" Try me! Change me! My tears have stained my pillows much as they stained that altar many years ago, but I find these circumstances, are not of my doing and therefore can not be of my undoing. So I wait, I wait for God to restore every bite the locust has taken from my life. I am far from perfect but I am learning to have joy even when my circumstances are less than perfect. My battle has brought an unwavering belief in the goodness of God regardless of any circumstance, and I am learning a deeper understanding of the word "trust" than I ever thought I would. My God has allowed this journey, and He is good and faithful so I will not question, I refuse to question Him. I can still see the hand of God the day that He gave me that scripture to speak over my Dad. I can see the faithfulness of God in that He brought that to pass. Now, when sorrow seems to encompass me at times, and when I feel so much being stripped away from me, every conversation I have with my Dad I am reminded of the promises God has fulfilled. Would I have preferred God showed up sooner with my Dad? Yes. Would I prefer God show up right now and restore everything that has been taken in my own life? Yes. However, I have discovered one important truth, it is not my Dad's story and it is not my story, it is God's story. He is writing this and He who holds the world in His hands loves me and has given me this joy of my earthly Father's salvation in the midst of a very painful season of my life. Someone once referred to it as a "God wink" and that is exactly how I see it. Whether it is today, tomorrow, or years from now, my God will redeem everything I have faced so I wait for Him with expectancy and hope. I should think it is quite obvious that my locusts have not yet met my God! This is longer than a normal blog I know, but maybe there is someone else out there that feels the locusts have come for them during this season of life, may I encourage you to find joy and that our God stays the same in every season? May I share with you His great love and heart for redemption, not only the redemption of salvation but the redemption of everything that has come against you? Wait on Him. Trust in Him. It is ok to be powerless, you always were but maybe you recognize it a little more now? Maybe you see more clearly the one who has all power. He makes dry, dead, bones live and He restores things that are already eaten. Surely it is beyond our human understanding, but the hand of God is still at work in our lives friend. "Fighting," not entirely a new concept. In fact, it goes all the way back to the very first siblings (no surprise there, huh Moms?). It seems I have been seeing more of it lately than ever before in my lifetime, not that it hasn't been far worse in times past, times of war usually followed by times of famine, not the prettiest side of humanity. The thought occurred to me, it is usually birthed of a “righteous cause,” someone or rather two separate parties feel their cause is so “right” it's worth fighting for, killing for, and sometimes even dying for.
Original Sin It goes pretty far back, the whole “difference between good and evil thing.” When the serpent came to Eve in the garden he didn't say, “You want to hit Adam over the head with a frying pan and go win a million buck in vegas and spend it all on riotous living?” His approach was so much more tricky, “don't do what God says, instead eat this and YOU will know the difference between right and wrong.” Tricky right? Seems innocent enough but the temptation to be free from taking orders from God and knowing what's right and wrong ourselves is in fact, “the oldest trick in the book.” It sounds harmless and almost honorable because when WE figure out what's right we can fight for that righteous cause! The problem is we aren't God, we don't have the wisdom of the Ancient Of Days, so the most cunning and deceitful trick of Satan is to make us think we are actually working for God when we are actually grieving Him. Sadly, religious people are some of the most guilty. Before you get all defensive, I have two words for you “The Crusades.” It is undeniable that some of the most bloody wars waged was for some cause deemed righteous. We may not be burning down villages for our causes but are we casting stones at those we think of as guilty? I know I have been guilty, usually not thinking God was moving fast enough or at all so I’d take it upon myself to run ahead in MY righteousness and fight for Him - and grieve Him. The right cause the wrong way. Thankfully, I am not alone, Simeon Peter Jesus own disciple felt the impulse to fight for Christ. Before the soldiers hung Jesus on the cross, Peter in all of his righteous indignation drew a sword and cut off the ear of one who had come to carry Jesus away to that fate! Surely this was the correct course of action, who could be more innocent than the only sinless man who ever lived? One would feel justified in nearly any action defending the Saviour of the world! Yet Jesus rebuked Peter, and then showed him an example of what he(Jesus) deemed righteous, in an act of the utmost love and compassion he picked up the man’s ear and put it in place healing him instantly. How many of us are guilty of cutting off ears? Ok, maybe not literally, but are we fighting our righteous causes (for us, our loved ones, or even our Nation) without listening for that still small voice to lead us? Are we ignoring the principles of the Word of God? Are we being deceived by Satan into believing we are pleasing God as we defend what is right our own way? Here is the scary thing once we begin to defend what’s right in ourselves, we no longer are in tune with Christ and we may actually be working against His will and yes, grieving the one we long to please. How do we fight? Fighting for your nation? 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” Fighting for yourself? Philippians 4:6 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;” John 15:12-13 “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Luke 6:28-35 “But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.” Fighting for your friend, loved one, church, yourself, or your nation??? Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12 pretty much sums it up, whatever you are fighting, it is spiritual! There are demons who want to use your own mind, others, or even governments to do their bidding, but another great fighting scripture is, I John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”. Here is the thing; It is always spiritual, and we don't always know how ourselves or others are fighting, only God knows that and He is not telling ( a concept I borrowed from “The Tale of Three Kings” by Gene Edwards). it is possible to fight in the flesh and aggravate whatever you are fighting or fight in the spirit and aggravate the demons behind what you are fighting and it looks pretty much the same. In the end God will reveal all when he separates the tares from the wheat (the good and the bad) and I'm afraid there will be rogue soldiers finding themselves on the opposite side (Matt 7:22-23 “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”). Our commander and Chief tells us the greatest commandment is to love Him and others, He is incredibly long suffering and kind, oh and one of His many names? Redeemer - as in His first priority is to fight to redeem others - not destroy them. There have been times when God has lead men into battles who were in tune with Him with very specific commands to follow, God always goes before these men. Then, sadly, there have been times men fought battles God never asked them to fight or fought the wrong way and these situations are all sad examples of those who reaped accordingly. In the latter situations, sometimes (just as in the story of Peter), God will heal and show compassion on those our own perceieved righteous causes lead us to attack in our own strength and timing. I believe he does this to show us His heart and His will by His own example. Restoration is always His first choice and if we move to battle without His leading we are not fighting for Him but against Him So how are you fighting? It is not for God or against God, It is with God or without God. The battle really is His, and if we desire to fight for righteousness we must also be His soldiers - fighting on His biblical terms and listening for His voice. This is not a political blog post. There. Do I have your attention now? I can see how some may think it is, but I assure you what I am about to share pertains to spiritual matters, matters of the heart.
I am convinced it is not what we fear may come upon us, but our response when we fear that has the most power to destroy us. The things we fear may or may not happen. It may or may not have the effect we believe or fear it will have even if it does happen, but fear? Fear left to grow and mutate will always leave us in darkness on the verge of insanity. There are so many Christians at this very moment under the stress of doom and gloom that this could be the end. A world pandemic, riots, elections, civil unrest, I admit it all seems a bit much, but rather than sit under the intense shadowy cloud of fear, let's bring our fears straight into the light. If this is the end as some have suggested, what does the Bible tell us about that? I recall the scripture that says, when you see these things happen (signs of the time) then you should hide out in your house with a bag of chips in the dark…nope. You should spread fear across social media and follow one rabbit trail after another trying desperately to find a way to feel in control of all that's out of your control…again, nope! If I recall it says you should “lift up your head” Let’s stop there and appreciate all that that implies. Those in fear or guilt will not face you but will look away quickly to avert eye contact. Those with heavy hearts do not often walk around shoulders back and heads held high, you know who does? Those who are confident! What can we be confident in? The rest of that scripture says lift up your head because “your redemption draweth nigh.” The one who redeems is coming back for us, that means he is the redeemer who will right all the wrongs, that's not on your shoulders weary little one HE is the redeemer. When we look up we are not tired or weary in well-doing, we can look up because we are well rested as we rest in the fact He is faithful and just and will right all that is wrong (even the areas where *gasp* you and I may have some things wrong). So if it is not the end we fear but the hard things that might happen before the end, what does the scripture tell us about that? Take no thought for tomorrow, what you are going to eat or wear, or even for your life! He has your hairs numbered and knows everything about you, He cares for the sparrow and how much more for you! Have you gone hungry yet? Even in the hardest of times, it is Him we look to supply our need, not a world or a government system, but He alone. Has all that has happened brought into the light a lack of faith or trust in Him? It cannot be both, living in fear and fret about all the things happening around us while simultaneously growing in our faith and trust in God. So might I make a suggestion if this is you? Don't allow the enemies plan to come to fruition in your life and let fear distract you from the things that matter such as souls (your soul and other lost souls) or even create a hamster wheel for you to run on trying to convince those around you to come into your line of thinking putting your faith in what you think should/should not happen. Instead, get rid of the fear, and dare I say pride, and I imagine when these smokescreens the enemy has placed strategically to distract us all are put in their proper place, we may return to the one thing that we can do and that is prayer. So why the need to clarify that this is not a political post? Because God's Word tells us it is He who puts kings in place and takes down kings. Do your part and be vigilant, but do not place emphasis on your ways above God’s by succumbing to either fear or pride. For me personally, I have fought to silence both during this year of uncertainty. It has been in the hard days we all have faced that my own lack of trust and humility have been thrown into the light. Perhaps that is why it is hard to watch others spinning their wheels all the while knowing our heavenly Father has this very special place right under His wing that is beautifully peaceful and has authentic joy. In fact, it is so complete it can actually fill you so full of all that is opposite of fear and pride that you begin to speak with kindness, you begin to understand and correct your own flaws instead of your brothers, sisters, churches, or governments. You begin to steward wisely the things He has given you to control and you place all that is His back into His loving, capable hands. This is the fruit of the Christian life, it is our inheritance and it is not subject to the world, they cannot give it or take it away, but we can hand it right over to them if we aren't careful. Where is your treasure? Where is your affection? For me this is kind of like trying to find the words to tell that precious elder in the church that her slip is showing, instead I am saying, "your priorities are showing." The spiritual laws of fear and pride have not changed because of all that 2020 has offered us. Soberly I say this, not only did God say He was coming for all of those who love His appearing but He also said “Will I find any faith when I return?” Let’s do our part to be good citizens while here below, but let's not forget where and to whom we belong and the legal requirements for that citizenship require we abandon all fear and pride and place our faith in the flawless King. Every day and everything should make us more like Him if we are taking our rightful place as His children and abiding under His wing, otherwise, all the deception we think is happening to the other guy, cannot compare to the deception the enemy has planned for us. I feel I simply must end this on a positive note because I believe the entire message of Christ centers around hope. Here is the thing, if we find ourselves living in fear or pride it is not too late. Tomorrow is a new day let's try on humility and trust and see if the scales do not fall from our eyes and we see that we are suddenly overwhelmed with the joy and peace that are waiting under His wings! |
AuthorWife, Mother, Missionary, Teacher, Friend ... just a few of the many titles I gladly wear. Never dreamed this is the journey God would take me on. Archives
July 2022
Categories |