Unveiling Hope

Being or Doing

I've always been performance based; it's all I've really ever understood. Doing my best and aiming at always trying to outdo myself has helped me achieve a lot, but nothing that's ever been of any real value to me or those I love; in fact, sometimes my performance has been costly to me and to those I love. Rather than make me a better person, being performance based has really only served to make me a little crazy and difficult to please. If you really think about it, which I suppose in hind sight I never really have until recently, how can a person do their best and then outdo themselves? Is this possible? Why would anyone even try? 

About 16 weeks ago I began preparing to participate in The Army Run, (a 5k). The first time I ran, I think I managed to get about 2 blocks away from my house before almost collapsing. As the days and weeks passed, I found myself noticing trees and flowers, smelling the bloom of nature and appreciating this time alone. I began speaking to God and I have to say, I learned to do some of my best listening during these little jaunts. About a month ago, I had finally made it to a little over 4k. I was really pushing myself and had come to realize that I had begun running for one reason and over time it just became a great way to spend time alone with Him and focus on nothing but Him; a secondary benefit to me was that I was getting in shape while all this was happening. But on this one day in particular, I kept praying, "Oh, Lord, just let me finish this last leg. I don't need to win the prize but I need to finish. Help me, Lord." I clearly heard Him answer: "You build up your physical stamina and I'll build up your spiritual stamina." 

I was reading the book of Nehemiah this morning before going out for my last run before the official run on Sunday morning. The builders Nehemiah had recruited to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem ran out of steam because they were in performance mode. Nehemiah got them all pumped up to rebuild the wall and then, when things began to go off course, the didn't know what to do and became fearful. Rather than pray or encourage one another, they gave up and stopped. 

What they had begun doing, in rebuilding the wall, was honouring God, but it wasn't the "what" that was honouring Him - it was the "why". I think this summer-long lesson of mine has finally been learned. Many of us often try and "do" our best rather than "be" our best. When we consume ourselves with turning toward Him, to seek Him with all of our hearts, and to do as He commanded, we learn to BE the best we can be - what we DO becomes our best naturally because His favour falls upon us as it did when Nehemiah and his brothers turned toward Him. They approached Him with their hearts and He upheld and blessed what they doing. 

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." 1 Cor. 9:24-25.

 

No Magic Potions

I’ve never met a satisfied believer and I hope I never do. I’ve never heard a believer say, “I’ve had enough. We’re good. I’m completely happy with the level of intimacy I enjoy with the Lord.”

Jesus said all the law and prophets hinged on His two greatest commandments. God is love and there is nothing more important to Him than love. He is all about entering into and maintaining intimate relationships; His ten commandments are evidence of this. The first four commandments concern our relationship with Him and the last six involve how He wants us to relate to each other. It’s altogether uncomplicated. He wants us to get life right.

I’m not one for making generalized statements about any given group of people but in this case I’m going to make an exception. I find far too many people, myself included, make being in relationships complicated particularly relationships with God.

He made it so easy for us. He gave us His Spirit and His Word yet so often we participate in conversations, and read book after book, in order to determine how best to relate with Him, how to take our relationship with Him to the next level. The truth is, there is no magical potion or formula, He’s been upfront on what to do and how to do it.

Jesus made that way for us; He is The Way. The Spirit of God is our Helper and there is nothing He wants more than to guide us in this most important and excellent endeavour. There is only one thing that we can do to grow in our intimacy with Him: “draw near to God and He will draw near to you,” James 4:8. All we have to do is want it.

He’s already done His part, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness,” Jer. 31:3.

This is how we draw near to Him:

·         Read His Word

·         Study His Word

·         Speak His Word

·         Meditate on His Word

·         Behave in accordance with His Word

He said it, not me. “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful,” Joshua 1:8.

Be unsatisfied and love it.

Girl's Treasure or God's Treasured?

I was speaking to a friend recently, trying to get to the root of an issue, when suddenly I remarked, “Not this again!” You would think after all the work that God has been doing in my life to remove the root of pride that, by now, there’d be nothing left! Sadly, there seems to be no short supply.

In my BC days, it seemed that I spent most of my waking moments trying to polish myself up for the world. It wasn’t because I was extraordinary in any way or form. In fact, I was quite the opposite. I was very insecure, filled with anger, and so brimming over with false pride to cover it all up that I kept a constant buffing vigil to make sure people wouldn’t see that it was only my surface that sparkled.

When I became a Christian, I was sure that my transformation would be spectacular, something for the world to see. I’ve watched God carefully chisel away at many of my facets. I believe I secretly expected that one fine day, He’d be done and I would be a precious gem, perfectly cut, and flawlessly displayed on His finger, at just the right spot, for His Light to shine through. Yes indeed! I’d be so filled with Light that I would just bedazzle the whole world with my glory – er – I mean His glory. Okay, I meant my glory. OY! Not this again!

A diamond is the hardest natural substance known to man. What people get often forget is that a diamond was diamond before it fell into the hands of a diamond cutter. Sure, who would want to wear a chunk of uncut diamond around town? That, my friends, may be the point. I think that’s the very part of the diamond that God prefers. God doesn’t need shiny and sparkly to know that there is value to a gem. We’re all gems to Him. I have spent so much time, since giving my heart to Christ, trying to be a gem that I forgot that anything I make has no intrinsic value. And, anything I make – I take credit for. I can polish myself up until I cause blindness, but I’ll never be as precious in any one else’s eyes but His – just the way I am – the Hope diamond – cut by the Master for the Master.

I see value in the natural; if it twinkles in the light, it’s got to be real. God sees precious in an entirely perfect way. If it twinkles in the Light, His Son must be in there somewhere. I believe God is taking me from the journey of worldly clarity and cut and making me a cut above in His eyes, not mine, and certainly not anyone else’s, lest I boast, which I do.

“God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification and redemption,” 1 Cor. 1:28-30.

Diamonds may be a girl’s treasure, but a diamond in the rough is God’s treasured.

May I Have The Big Piece?

Tell the truth now . . . you know you’ve wanted it. You know you were too shy to ask for it, but you wanted it . . . the big piece . . . whether it was pie or cake or lasagne. Maybe it wasn’t the big piece, maybe you just wanted a second helping. I remember those days with fear; asking for the big piece was a no-no, and asking for more was unspeakable.

How many of us have learned to ask for the smaller portion when we’re asked which piece we want? How many of us have taught our children the same less-is-more attitude? Where etiquette is concerned, perhaps taking the smaller piece or completely denying oneself is the right thing to do, but when we take that attitude and begin to apply it to all areas of our lives, how much are we missing? What are we giving up?

I have to admit that I have been carrying along this attitude for far too long and it is most noticeable in my spiritual life. Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened,” (Matt.7:7-8). I have come to realize that I behave as if I think that God is stingy or that He is waiting to rap my knuckles if I ask for too much. Well, I know He isn’t stingy, but I’ve lost that bold and trusting, carefree attitude I.

Surely, as a friend, a spouse, or a parent, if you had a big piece and a little piece of pie to share wouldn’t it be your good pleasure to give the other person the big piece? Don’t you just love to bless others, to be extravagant? So, does God. The Bible is replete with examples of His generosity and we are repeatedly reminded that He is our Father in Heaven so why are we so reluctant to ask Him for what we need, or want? It’s because we don’t come with our requests with a child’s frame of mind. We’re afraid we’ll be scolded or rejected for asking, or are we frightened that we’ll be disappointed by the answer? To scold and reject a child simply for asking is not the character of God though there are times the answer has to be “no”. Rest assured – Father knows best. I think I’ll “uncheck” my childlike attitude.

“For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, ‘I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in.’” Matt. 18:2 MSG.

Now is the Time and the Season

During my walk this past weekend, I saw a tree dawning a blanket of orange leaves; the ground beneath it was also wearing the same blanket. How can this be? It doesn’t seem to matter to nature that weather-wise, in Ottawa, summer has just begun – how can fall be approaching so soon? To top that off – stranger than strange – it was 42 degrees today with the humidex, (that’s 108 Fahrenheit)!

Any time soon, many will begin to mourn the passing of one season before it has even come to an end. Before fall officially starts, there are some of us who will already be dreading winter. Nature is busy preparing for the coming season, but not at the expense of the here and now. Stores are now displaying their fall and winter lines and it seems to me that only weeks ago I put my winter clothes in storage. If I would have put my winter clothes away before summer started, would I still be feeling as if it just started last week?

There is never a better time to do something than now – I know of what I speak. I’ve spent a great deal of my life putting off plans, hopes, dreams and responsibilities. My fears and ignorance have often inclined me to believe that there would always be a tomorrow – so what’s the rush? What I didn’t really comprehend was that none of us can ever be sure that tomorrow will come. And while it’s important to be prepared for tomorrow – we cannot forsake the day we are in – today – now is the time and the season.

Now is the time and the season for the harvest. Now is the time and the season for joy, for peace, to love with all your heart, to forge new relationships and cherish the old ones, to forgive, to ask the hard questions, seek the Truth, and to commit to whatever your fears encourage you to delay.

But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Matt. 24:36 AMP.

Still Under Warranty

My car is two years old. In the past 7 months, I’ve returned to the dealership three times because every time I go over a speed bump or turn left I hear this crunching noise. It’s the same old story. “We fixed it.”

I thought “fixed” meant “forget about it, this won’t be an issue any longer.” Alas, how wrong was my thinking? Aside from the inconvenience however, I feel rather fortunate. My car is still under warranty.

Things appear to be not much different in my spiritual life. Just when I think God has dealt with an issue in my life – it pops up again and again, just on another, deeper level. “Is she actually comparing God’s work to an auto service shop?” you may be asking yourself. Well, yes, kind of.

Until recently, I thought that when God “fixed” something in me that it was permanent. Don’t distress if you’re going through the same thing or having similar thoughts. What God has fixed – the change He’s made in me – is permanent . . . to the extent, or level, that He addressed the problem.

I drive a 2007 Aveo. Every year, they come out with a newer and better model; they see what “issues” have been coming up with the previous years models and address those issues, but guess what? That doesn’t mean they’ll ever produce a perfect model.

God prioritizes what needs attention first. Sometimes, He needs me back in the shop – I’m an older model, you know. He started by fixing one thing, like putting the brakes on some of my bad habits and attitudes. Some of those things ran pretty deep. He knew I wasn’t ready for an overhaul. He knows what’s best and His timing is perfect. As far as He’s concerned, I’m permanently under warranty.

"This is the way God works. Over and over again He pulls our souls back from certain destruction so we'll see the light—and live in the light!” Job 33:29 MSG.

Not Guilty!

I wonder if, on the day she and her husband were banned from the Garden, Eve blamed herself for the whole mess. I wonder: did she walk around with guilt for the rest of her days? Did she labour in the weeds and soil, beneath the hot sun, thinking “I bet Adam is still blaming me for this!” When Cain and Abel were young boys, did she tell them about that day, or did she bury the memory away with her hopes and dreams? Did she long to tell them about the long walks she and Adam used to take with God in the cool of the evening?

And, what about Adam? He, at first, blamed Eve, but I wonder if he ever took his share of responsibility or if he harboured resentment toward her. Well, they did have children so they must have eventually made up … or pretended to. I wonder though, did Adam would have spent his days feeling guilty, feeling as if he had ruined his life and the lives of Eve and his children? Did he ever think to himself, “Why didn’t I do the right thing!?”?

Did either of them, as parents, ever feel responsible for their poor choices; did they ever pause to reflect upon the kind of lives their children could have lived, if they hadn’t been banished? And, if they did – did they dwell on it? Did they lived under the indictment of guilt? More pertinent perhaps is the question: why would any one of us live under the yoke of our past poor choices?

I’ve done it; I do it. I try not to. It seems that sometimes it’s just more powerful than I. I allow it. I know that the Good News is: I don’t have to live in guilt or shame because of sin anymore – perhaps the serpent that speaks to me has convinced me that the price for my sin will never be paid.

The truth is: God did not banish them because He no longer loved them, it is for that reason He spared them. He gave them life – albeit not an easy life - but I don’t think He ever expected, nor wanted, them to re-live or live in the past. As a loving Parent, God allowed them to suffer the consequences of their actions. Adam and Eve learned their parenting skills from Him. They allowed Cain to make his own decisions. He was raised in the same household as Abel. It all came down to three things in the end: 1) the children were raised with love; 2) the children were permitted to make their own decisions; 3) Adam and Eve (as far as we know) made no attempts to avert the consequences of Cain’s decisions.

The fact is: my sin has already been paid for – in full. I have been found NOT GUILTY. Now all I have to do is to live in that verdict and allow my children to do the same.

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Col. 1:13-14.

Going Through the Motions

Oops! I did it again! There are some things that people do in life so repetitiously that it just becomes second nature, a habit, a routine. There are meals I make for my children that I’ve made so many times I no longer need the recipe. I take the same route to work every day without fail. It has become so routine that I could not begin to tell you which exits or landmarks I pass; I no longer notice them. I’m not complaining – there’s something about my personality that rather enjoys routine – but there are some times, some places, and in some relationships where I have come to appreciate the unexpected . . . and I expect the unexpected . . . as long as it doesn’t upset my schedule.

In my zeal for God, and my desire for an ever deepening intimacy with Him, I seem to have developed a routine. I have a set time for devotionals, studying His Word, and praying. Last week however, I began to wonder if it seemed to Him as if I was just going through the motions – so, I shook things up a bit. OY! What point is there in trying to change something that needs no change?

As I re-arrange my schedule to it’s former way, I can say with confidence that if a person’s “routine” involves heart rather than going through the motions God says, “It’s all good”. I am the way I am which is not to say that the unexpected cannot, or will not, occur during, or outside my schedule. My heart is always open and my spirit always ready to receive. He knows me and that is what’s important.

And while I do enjoy routine in various aspects of my life, my relationship with God – whether in His Temple, within the community, or in my home – is the most important part of my life. In every place, in every situation or circumstance the unexpected is not limited to my schedule; He is so much bigger than that. How things look to me, or others, is not part of the equation.

“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Sam. 16:7.

Giving Up - It's Not an Option

When things get difficult – like learning a new job, or language, I can make myself physically ill. Then, the mental battle begins … give up … no, don’t give up. I question my motives for having begun whatever I’ve undertaken. I get easily frustrated.

I’ve been taking Hebrew lessons since March. I don’t know why … it’s just something I really want to do. I don’t think I breathe much during my lessons, which explains the headache after the classes. During a lesson – as long as I’m not called upon – I’m getting it. It’s being rooted. It’s all good. But … by the next day whatever I’ve learned has leaked out of my head … as if it was never there. I could give up. It would certainly free up much of my time. It’s surely the easiest road to choose, but then I won’t be able to speak, read, or write Hebrew. My longing will remain unfulfilled.

If I give up on learning Hebrew what will be next? How would giving up – losing hope – help me in the pursuit of my dreams and desires? Giving up – it’s not an option - no matter how many times I mull it over.

Abraham followed blindly and became a father of many nations. Moses wandered willingly and saw the Promised Land. Ruth remained committed and was abundantly blessed with a new faith, a husband, and a child; and David waited patiently to be crowned. When you put things into perspective hope lives on. Giving up – it’s not an option.

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.” Psalm 39:7.

Are You Renting Out Space in Your Head?

I don’t like purses much. Mine is pretty small and as neat and tidy as I keep it, I can never find anything. I can’t carry a bigger purse for two reasons: 1) I’m only 5' 2” tall, so a big handbag will only make me look shorter; 2) if I have more space, I’ll probably cram more stuff in there and it will just force me to look twice as long and hard for whatever I need. And now for my super smooth segue … don’t ask me how my mind works … I can’t even find my wallet half the time!

I’m a thinker. I’m glad people can’t see inside my brain because it would probably look like one of those heavy, oversized handbags that put dents in women’s shoulders. There are times when there is so much clutter in my head I can’t think straight. Some people think I’m a “black or white” kind of girl, but there’s black, white, and about 40 shades of gray inside my matter.

I’m not a person who can simply shut things off by shear desire. The harder I work at ridding myself of those useless and fruitless thoughts the worse things get. It’s as if my brain is a condominium and I rent out space in my head. To be honest … it often seems that I’m not always very discreet about to whom I rent said space … he’s the joy killer and the peace stealer - public enemy number one.

There is only one sure fire solution; it works every time (so you’d think I’d just do it all the time). I’m sure if I spent more time with my nose in God’s Word there would be no space to rent. My thoughts would be where they should be. I would be focussed. I would be peaceful – always – and in all circumstances. God is a god of order not disorder.

Mark my words, the enemy knows where I am most vulnerable. He simply starts with a thought. He’s that guy. He’s the tenant from hell. But I am the one who consistently fails to really do what I need to do. I have to stop opening the door, and on those occasions when it’s too late – I need to turn to God, the One who is waiting, with His outstretched mighty hand, for me to give Him step aside and let Him serve an eviction notice.

“fear not, for I am with you;be not dismayed, for I am your God;I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 ESV.