Do You Rest?

Do you make time & space for rest in your calendar?

I'm not talking about time to sleep at night - although that's important & necessary.

I'm not talking about a few hours zoning out in front of show - although there's nothing inherently wrong with that sometimes.

I'm talking about making space in your life to really slow down. To disconnect from the work emails & messages. To really just be present in the moment that's right in front of you.

This is something God actually intended for us to do. In the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20, God says:

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour & do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, not your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens & the earth, the sea, & all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day & made it holy." (Exodus 20:8-11)

Unfortunately, the religious leaders of early Israel had added a detailed list of what you could & could not do in the Sabbath to this. They made it about rules, while missing the heart of it.

But, you still see Jesus & His disciples practicing the principle of the Sabbath. Over & over in the gospels, we see Jesus taking time away from the crowds & demands.

But, in our always connected society, we've lost the ability to really rest. Even when we're not at work our phones have messages from work easily accessible. It's easy to just check it. And there's often an expectation that we will.

But, this isn't how we're meant to live. This isn't what God had in mind from the beginning of creation. The example God set & mandated for His people had a regular rhythm of rest.

The importance of rest has been emphasized for me in the last few months. I was forced into an extended season of rest. At first, I didn't know what to do with my phone being so quiet & so many of the apps I'd grown used to checking no longer being there. I didn't know how to fill my time.

But, I very quickly realized just how tired I was. I had been running so hard for so long that exhaustion had become my normal. I didn't know another way because it had been so long.

As I was forced to slow down, I had to learn to rest. In it, I learned to be fully present with those I was with. For the first time in a long time, I was truly & fully present when I was with my niece . . . & she noticed & commented on the difference. Even now, as I return to working, I'm realizing I need to figure out how to plan for regular rest in my life.

I don't believe we need to get caught up in specific things we can or cannot do on a specific day. That could lead to us missing the point as the religious leaders in Jesus' day had. But, we need to create regular times of rest in our lives. Times where we disconnect from the demands of life & do things we enjoy - that fill us up.

A number of year ago, I heard a pastor describe the concept of a Sabbath in two words. Those two words have kept coming back to mind for me recently. Neither word is about a specific day or length of time or any other rules. They're concepts that can help us to make the space for rest - whether it's an actual day, or an afternoon, or a morning, or a longer period of time.

Pray & Play

PRAY: A Sabbath is time set aside to connect with God. A conversation in prayer without the usual limits that every other day may bring.

PLAY: A Sabbath is time to do things that bring you joy - just because they're enjoyable to you. Things that fill you up.

So, my question to you as I wrap this up: How can you make time to rest - time for Sabbath - a regular part of your life? What does it look like for you to spend time praying & playing regularly?

When it Feels Like Your Prayer Isn't Being Answered

 Have you ever prayed for God to move in a situation only to feel like God didn't answer?

Have you ever asked God to heal someone and it seems like that healing doesn't come?

I'd say we can probably all answer yes to these questions. And answering yes, sometimes makes it hard to be bold enough to ask for anything else in our prayers.

But, what if I told you that God has answered those prayers you've prayed. 

How do you react to that? Does it bring you relief? Or do you have a list of situations where you're sure God didn't answer come immediately to mind?

If you can, put those objections to the side for a few minutes. Ask yourself these questions:

When I prayed, did I ask for God to work His will or did I pray that He would do exactly what I wanted, the way I wanted Him to do it?

Did I look for God to answer only exactly the way I thought He would? Or did I ask for evidence of Him at work?

This doesn't mean we don't pray bold prayers. It doesn't mean we don't ask God to heal people. But, we also keep ourselves open to God answering in ways we didn't expect.

We have a discussion about this at a Bible study I'm part of recently. We'd all had times when we prayed for God to do something only He could do and it felt like He hadn't answered. But, when we really started talking about at least some of the those times, we could see that God did work. It just didn't look exactly like we thought it should.

So, what happens then? How do we reconcile this with what Scripture says?

Jesus tells us to ask and He says that He will respond.

Matthew 7:7-11 says:

"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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks the door will be opened.

Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will you Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!"

It would be easy to read these verses and decide that God just gives us what we ask for exactly how we want it. And, while we often wouldn't say it out loud, we think this way and it's what leads to the disappointment when we feel like our prayers aren't being answered.

But, when we make that assumption, we miss something about what Jesus is saying here - something important.

Jesus is saying that the gifts God gives are good - often better than we imagine.

But, when we've decided how the answer to our prayer should look, we may miss out on how God is answering it - in His much better way. God's much better way may look different than what we would consider an answer. And we can miss it if we're only looking for a specific answer.

A few years ago, in a podcast I was listening to, I heard someone say, "God always answers our prayers for healing." They paused here for effect... and I got annoyed. They went on to say, "Sometimes that healing comes on earth and sometimes it doesn't come until the person needing healing is in heaven." We don't like that idea. We want the healing now. We want the family member, friend, restored. We don't want to lose them. But, there's truth to that. Healing on earth may not look like we expect, but it will be God's better plan.

I've been wrestling with this a lot recently. I have a few prayers that I have been praying for a while - some for a year, some for years longer than that - and it doesn't seem like God is answering them. But, when I became intentional about looking for how God might be working in ways I didn't expect, I began to see things I didn't see before. I saw how God was working. I may not see the results I want, but I can trust God that He is working. And that gives me boldness to keep praying those prayers.

So, where do you need to let go of your picture of what an answer to your prayer should look like and instead look for the ways God might be moving instead?

Letting the Faith of Others Carry you in the Struggle

 A couple days ago, I got a message asking why I hadn't posted anything here in just over a month. I knew it had been a while, but I didn't realize it had been that long.

If I look at the notebook where I start most of my posts, I can see a lot of started and unfinished posts. Things I started to write, but had no idea how to finish or turn into something I would share. Thoughts about things that I can't yet get to a conclusion of any kind.

The last post I wrote and shared here challenged me as I read it. I was writing about getting through when you don't think you can. About what we need to do.

I talked about our need to invite community into our struggle. To have people we can be honest with about where we're at. It was easy to write that, but the truth is, it was harder to live that out. I wrote those words for others, not even realizing how much I would struggle to do exactly that in the last few weeks.

It wasn't until I completely reached the end of myself that I realized just how important it is to invite people into our struggle. It's not just a good thing to talk about. It's something we need to actually do. It wasn't until I actually reached out to friends and let them into my struggle that things began to change. My faith may be weak right now, but that's what community is for. We carry each other when someone is struggling. We carry them to Jesus.

When the whole premise of what you've written about for years is living as Christ's disciple and what that looks like practically, when things get hard, it's hard to write about it. But maybe honesty about things is the best place to start writing again.

I don't know what my writing will look like in the coming weeks. I don't know if there will be more that make its way to here. Or if it will continue to be unfinished ideas that don't make it here.

But can I encourage you with this: No matter where you're at spiritually, keep holding on. Keep sharing honestly with people in your life. When you're faith is struggling, ask the people around you to pray for you. Let their faith carry you when yours is weak.

When You're Not Sure if You Can Get Through It

 How do we get through hard times? 

How do we make it when it just seems like too much?

I know God doesn't promise an easy, trouble-free life, but sometimes it just doesn't feel possible to get through all that's going on at one time. And, if I'm honest, in those times, I wonder how I'm supposed to get through.

I share a few thoughts about this on my Facebook feed on Sunday night. I wasn't sure where it would go when I started writing it, or what the response would be when I posted it. But, what I discovered, is that I'm not the only one wrestling with this right now. So, I figured that after almost a month of no posts here, something on this topic would be a good way to start again.

I haven't posted here because I'm in the place I'm talking about and I haven't felt like I had anything to write about because of it. But, then I remember why I started this blog in the first place. Not because I intended to write about things where I had it all figured out, but to encourage others in their walks with God whatever it looked like. So maybe writing from a place of struggle is what I should do.

How do we get through hard times?

How do we make it when it just seems like too much?

I've been in the church long enough to know what the answer should be.

Cling to Jesus.

Read your Bible. Pray. 

All good things. But, sometimes that doesn't feel like enough. When reading the Bible doesn't connect and your prayers feel like they're bouncing off the ceiling, the "right" answer, the church answer, doesn't feel like enough.

So, what do we do then?

First, I think we need to be willing to admit it. Just be honest and say that we're struggling. To ourselves, and hopefully to trusted friends too. There's something about saying it or writing it down.

Then, we need to reach out. Those trusted friends. Our church community. The people we do life with. We need them. They're the people God has given us to help us through the times we don't know if we can get through it.

And, probably the hardest part, we need to keep reading our Bibles, keep praying, keep being a part of church. It might not feel like something we want to do right now. It might be the last thing we want to fill our time with. But, keeping on will make a difference in the long run. It may be a discipline right now, but the day will come when it becomes a delight to do those things again.

We Need More than Nice Words on a Sign

"Worry ends where faith begins"

"Worry doesn't empty tomorrow of its troubles; they empty today of its joy"

"Faith means you have peace, even when the world doesn't have peace"

These are words I've read regularly on a couple of church signs I drive by. They've said the same things since sometime in March.

At first, I read them and moved on. But the longer I see them, the more frustrated I've become with the message.

They're good sounding words. They should like they could be encouraging in an uncertain time. There's even a bit of truth to what they say.

But even those thoughts reveal the problem with them. Yes, they sound good. But, if you're actually struggling with worry, fear, anxiety, they've not encouraging words. They sound like a platitude - you just have to have more faith.

Is the message on these signs in line with Scripture?

Yes. A quick reading would say that.

But, I would also say no. I think that's why, over time, these messages have begun to frustrate me. 

What do I mean?

Yes, Scripture tells us not to worry. And Scripture encourages us to have faith.

No, because Scripture also acknowledges the struggle with worry, fear, anxiety and gives us a whole lot more than just an admonishment to have more faith. Scripture doesn't set worry and faith as opposites - even though we like to do that.

Let's take a look at some of what Scripture actually says.

One of the most commonly quoted Scriptures is Matthew 6:25-34. Jesus' teaching on worry in Sermon on the Mount. We're clearly told not to worry. Jesus makes the futility of worry pretty clear here. He also tells us to choose to seek God first in our lives instead.

But, what we're not told is significant here. We're not told that worry means we don't have faith. Jesus tells us not to worry and He tells us to seek God first, but this passage doesn't say that worry, fear, anxiety negates faith. I would argue that to seek God first instead of staying stuck in worry, fear, anxiety, means you have some measure of faith to begin with - even though you also have worry, fear, anxiety.

We like to use Philippians 4:6-7 in these discussions as well. In these verses, Paul tells us to go to God with our worries, fears, anxieties. We're told to tell them to God so we can experience His peace. If those worries, fears, anxieties mean we don't have faith, why would our response be prayer? That makes no sense.

In 1 Peter 5:7 we're told to "cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." Again, if those anxieties, fears, worries mean you have no faith, why would you cast them on Jesus? To choose to cast them on Jesus, you would need to believe that He cares about you and wants to know.

We can worry about things and still have faith. If worry, fear, anxiety is the antithesis of faith, it would be hard for many of us to have faith. Who hasn't worried sometimes? Who hasn't dealt with fear over certain things? Who hasn't had anxieties?

I believe it all comes down to what we do with our worries, fears, anxieties. We can have them alongside faith, if we're choosing to take our worries, fears, anxieties to Jesus.

Carrying our worries, fears, anxieties on our own will cause us to miss out on what's going on in the moment. But it's not as simple as telling someone that. Sometimes we might need to help them take their worries, fears, anxieties to Jesus.

That's something I'm grateful for a friend doing for me recently. I was struggling with all that's going on and the worry, fear, anxiety it has brought to my life. After seeing me in an inline meeting where I wasa struggling to hold it together, this friend phoned me.

She listened, pointed me to the truth of Scripture, and prayed for me on the phone. In doing so, she helped me take my worries, fears, anxieties to Jesus and leave them there, because I had faith that He could take them and carry them better than I could.

I didn't need church signs with good sounding words on them to help me with my worry, fear, anxiety. I didn't need to be told to just have more faith. I needed to be reminded that I have a place I can take my worry, fear, anxiety. And I needed a friend to remind me that I still had faith.

So, maybe, rather than looking for good sounding words, we can instead help one another walk out the faith we already have when we're struggling.

What do we do When Life Feels like it's Spinning Out of Control

Until just a few minutes ago, I had decided that I was just going to skip posting this week. I didn't feel like I had anything to say. And I wasn't even sure I could put anything into coherent thought.

(Actaully, I'm still not sure that will happen well with this post.)

I've been thinking a lot about how we get through it when the whole world seems to be spinning out of control. What do we do? How do we get through it?

If I'm honest, the events of the few weeks have sent my anxiety higher than it's been in a long time. Most days I feel like I'm just barely hanging on and all I want to do is hide from all of it. But, I still have to deal with the reality of what's going on and hiding is impossible.

So, what do we do when we find ourselves in these situations? 

I'm not talking about caring about practical physical needs. I think what's out there has covered that pretty well. I'm talking about how we get through it emotionally, mentally, spiritually.

It's easy to quote Scripture about trusting God, or about God being in control, or any number of things. And they're absolutely true. But, these days, they can ring a bit hollow when you're feeling like you're barely hanging on and anxiety is high. We have to choose to hold onto those truths, but we can't stop there.

This is where I'm glad that we can be completely honest with God about how we're feeling. He can handle. He wants us to bring it to Him. Sometimes just acknowledging it is helpful to being able to handle it.

But, the truth is that we also need each other. This may be a more difficult in times like this, but it doesn't change the fact that we need each other. While the how of this may look different, we can't neglect this.

And, if I'm honest, this is the part I haven't done well. I've turned to Scripture and to prayer in these last few weeks, but when I've been with people I've fought hard to keep it together and not let them see I'm struggling. And I know that hasn't helped things.

So, something I'm learning (again) and maybe can encourage you with: Keep taking it to God and turning to Scripture for truth. And find ways to keep connecting with others - it might not be the same face-to-face ways we usually use, but keep connecting somehow. We can't try to do it on our own. We need each other.

Why We Need to Practice Confession

Why do we pray for healing or freedom and we don't seem to receive an answer?

James 5:16 has something to say that might help us answer this question:

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

I think this verse holds a key to why so many Christians today feel stuck with this question. Why we wrestle with this question. Why our prayers often seem to change nothing for us no matter how fervently and passionately we pray.

We like most of James 5:16 - where we're told to pray for each other and that our prayers can be powerful and effective. But, we miss the first part of the verse, or we see it as unimportant or unconnected to the rest.

Confession.

The part we'd rather skip in this verse. But, what if it's the important part?

The thing that makes the rest of this verse make sense.

There is something that happens when we confess our sins to each other and pray for each other about our sin.

Something is broken and something is released when we confess our sins to one another, that doesn't happen otherwise. That thing that was secret and in darkness is brought into the light and it loses power over us. This thing that we've now confessed, that was hindering our prayers, is now gone.

When we confess our sin, we're then able to step into a healing and a freedom we wouldn't have otherwise known. This impacts our prayers in a huge way. This is the prerequisite to our prayers being powerful and effective. When we start with confession of sin with others, it changes things in our prayer life.

Do you regularly practice confession in your life?

Slowing Down to Listen

We live in a world of constant noise and activity. There's always something we can do or listen to that fills the time and the silence. We've actually become really bad at being quiet or being still.

But, I wonder what we're missing because of it? I wonder what the real cost is?

Obviously, we can see and experience the physical cost. The most common thing we talk about about is how busy we are. Often followed by how tired we are.

There's a relational and emotional cost. Relationships with people take time we say we don't have. And when we're constantly on the go, our emotions can easily overwhelm us.

But, I wonder if we really stop and think about the spiritual cost of all this busy-ness and noise? Or, have we become so used to it we no longer realize there's a spiritual cost?

Just as relationships with people take time and energy from us, so does our relationship with God. Just as we need to take time to sit quietly and listen to those we want to have relationship with, we need to do so with God.

But, in our busy-ness and the constant noise of our lives it can be easy to forget this. We try to substitute a quick devotional thought or listening to a preacher while we do something else for the time we actually need. But, in doing so, we miss so much. The spiritual cost of doing so is high.

It's a trap we can easily fall into. I know I do it more often than I want. And we have to intentional about slowing down enough to listen. We have to be intentional about turning off the noise do we can really hear what God is saying to us.

It's actually one of the reasons I look forward to the month of January at my church. As a church, we set aside 21 days for prayer and fasting. The specifics of what this time looks like may be different for all of us, but we get intentional together about slowing down and being quiet enough to hear God's still small voice speaking to us. Taking time to re-calibrate our lives as we being a new year.

I guess the challenge I have for you as I finish this is to reflect on whether you need to slow down and turn off the noise to listen again?

Have you gotten so caught up in the busy-ness and noise of our world that you're paying a spiritual price you don't even realize?

His Presence Changes All

"Rejoice all, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)


Rejoice always.

Pray continually.

Give thanks.


Six words. Three things to do that sound simple. But Paul puts them in this letter because they're not what we naturally do most of the time.

When life isn't going as we want, rejoicing seems impossible. It's the furthest thing from our minds. Our circumstances may even seem to be preventing us from rejoicing.

For most of us, much of the time prayer seems like a pretty daunting task. Praying continually also seems impossible. We don't even know what we would talk to God about that much.

Giving thanks. . . and Paul adds, in all circumstances. Sometimes our circumstances are far from anything we want to even try to be thankful in.

If it's so hard to do these things in our normal, every day life, then what are we to do about these words in Scripture? How do we live this?

As I've thought about this lately, I've been drawn back to Philippians 4:4-7 where Paul writes similar words:

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:4-7)

In these verses in Philippians, Paul says very similar words to what he has written in 1 Thessalonians. Paul says to rejoice always, and he encourages taking everything to God in prayer, and says to do so with thanksgiving.

I think there's one more thing Paul says clearly in Philippians that speaks to this:

The Lord is near.

These four words in the middle of these verses, I think shed light on how to live what Paul has written about in both Philippians 4:4-7 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

We can rejoice always because the Lord is near. No matter our circumstances, we can rejoice that we're not alone in them. God is right there with us.

We can pray continually because the Lord is near. We don't have to do anything special to get His attention or time first. We can just talk to Him as we go through our day.

We can give thanks in all circumstances because the Lord is near. We may not be thankful for the specific circumstances we find ourselves in, but we can be thankful for God's presence with us in them.

It't God's presence that changes it all. And it's our awareness of His presence with us that causes us to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. As we do these things intentionally, our awareness of God's presence with us grows.

Receiving from God in Honest Prayer

The week leading up to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday always brings me back to familiar passages of Scripture. Even in their familiarity there often seems to be something that I notice again - that challenges me.

I was reading in Luke 22:39-46, where Jesus is praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was in anguish. Jesus' prayer in this passage was honest. He didn't shy away from expressing what He was really feeling.

I was struck by verse 43 as I read. It says:

"An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him."

I don't know if I've really paid attention to this verse before.

In the middle of His honest prayer, as Jesus was pouring out how He really felt to the Father, God sent an angel to comfort and strengthen Jesus. We can't know of that would have happened regardless. But, I think it's significant that it happened in the midst of His prayer.

It is when we cry out to God in our struggles that He meets us in that. And we experience His comfort and strengthening. When we admit our need, we're in a place of being open to that.

When we're busy acting like we have it all together, even if we don't, we're not in a position to receive anything from God. We likely don't even see the offer of it, because we're so busy maintaining our facade. But, if we're willing to admit and express our need to God, we get the privilege of experiencing His comfort and strengthening for what we're going through.

Are you honest with God in your prayers? 

Are you open to receiving comfort and strengthening from God for whatever you're facing?

What should Waiting for God look Like?

     "In the morning, Lord, You hear my voice;
          in the morning I lay my requests before You
          and wait expectantly."
                                                -Psalm 5:3

When I read this verse recently I was struck by two words put together that I don't know if we put together often enough:

WAIT EXPECTANTLY

The psalmist is talking about waiting for God's answer to requests brought before Him in prayer.

But, it doesn't strike me as waiting in the way we often think of waiting. Waiting for God often seem to mean praying about something and then doing nothing until we hear an answer. We get so afraid of not hearing the answer that we just sit there.

Sometimes that may be the kind of waiting we have to do, the kind of waiting God asks for that time. But, I think far too often we engage in this passive type of waiting, rather than waiting expectantly. And in doing so, we actually miss God's answer and all that He wants to teach us in the waiting.

So, what does it look like to wait expectantly for God's answer?

Think about what waiting for guest to arrive looks like, or waiting for an event. Unless we've finished all the preparations we're not sitting around doing nothing. We're doing the things we need to do to be prepared.

How strange would it be if we had invited someone over and we sat, waiting until they arrived to do any of the preparations? Instead of being ready when they arrived, we began running around getting everything ready once they arrive? I think we can all agree this doesn't seem logical. Except, we do exactly that all the time.

But, what would happen if we prepared for God's answer to our prayers, rather than sitting around doing nothing? What would it look like if in our waiting expectantly, we did what we already knew to do in the situation? Even just continuing to walk forward, seeking God, and doing all He has already given us to do. To make sure we're in the position where we can hear the answer God has to our request and learn what He has for us to learn in the waiting.

Honest Prayers

What do your prayers usually look like?

Are they filled with the "right" words and phrases? Talking about only part of what is going on and how you're feeling - the acceptable part?

Or are they honest about everything? Thoughts, feelings? Cries of your heart in the midst of the good and the bad in life?

For a lot of my life I would say my prayers were very much along the lines of trying to make them sound right. Somewhere along the way, I got it in my head that only some things were acceptable to pray about. I have no idea where that came from, but it made my prayers feel inauthentic and I didn't really have much use for it sometimes.

It also made the Scripture passages that talk about praying continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17) seem pretty much impossible. If I can only pray about certain things or in a certain way, then a lot of the time I have nothing to pray about.

But, the truth is we can pray about anything. We can pray about everything. Nothing going on in our lives or that we're thinking or feeling is hidden from God anyways (Hebrews 4:13), so not praying about it doesn't make any sense. If God knows about it anyways, why would I think it's off limits for prayer?

As I've realized that there isn't a list of what's "right" for prayer and what's not, I've realized that praying continually isn't impossible after all. I can talk to God about all of what goes on in my day or what I think about. It easily becomes a daily thing when everything is acceptable.

And living that way changes things. In the middle of a situation that is hard, it keeps me from taking on things that aren't mine to carry in the first place. It gives hope, even when from an earthly perspective, it seems like there is none. I've been living this reality lately.

What do your prayers usually look like?

When Prayers Don't Seem Like They're Being Answered

How many times have you prayed for something only to feel it wasn't answered the way you wanted and were praying for?

If you're like me or others I've asked that question to, the answer is probably more than once.

When this happens, it can shake our belief in the power of prayer. We can begin to wonder if the time and energy we invested in the prayer was worth it.

I've been in this place a few times and I've had to wrestle with the questions that came, trying to make sense of it. In some of those instances it has seemed like it would be easiest to just give up. But, then I'm reminded of all the times I've seen prayers answered and it reminds me of who I keep praying.

During these times of questioning, I've come to realize a few things about prayer and what seems to happen in response to our prayers.

God made us with the ability to choose in every situation and He doesn't remove that just because someone is praying. God will provide the opportunity and He will use people and circumstances to point people to Him and the plan He has. But, those we pray for still have a choice to make that will decide what the situation looks like as it plays out.

Our prayers still play an important part. There is a spiritual battle we can't see, but is always going on. Even if we don't see the outcome we were praying for in a situation, our prayers were important because they are fighting that spiritual battle. They were a part of the removal of obstacles to the people we were praying for being able to hear God. Yes, that person still had a choice to make, but our prayers helped to remove the obstacles to hearing.

I don't know about you, but that reminds me that my prayers are important no matter the outcome of a situation.

Reflecting His Image

"Every person bears God's image."

How many times have you heard this? And in what situations?

If you're like me, you've heard it most often related to the challenging people in our lives. It's the words we hear when we're finding a person in our lives difficult to love.

And it is true. Even though it's marred, we still reflect the image of God because we were made in His image at creation.

But, it's not exactly what we want to hear when we're in that situation. It's usually the last thing we want to hear, or are in a position to really hear.

But, even when it's hard to hear, and even more difficult to believe, that doesn't change the truth. And, in those situations, when we hold onto that truth, it can change the way we look at the other person, and the way we treat them.

Let's think about it for ourselves first. We know we've been made in the image of God. We also know that we sin and we don't always do a very good job of reflecting that image of God in us to the world around us. Our sin mars the image of God in it. We can't see it clearly and others can't see it clearly in us. But it's still there and there are still glimpses of it.

Going back to the people we find challenging in our lives - that same thing that's true about us is also true about that person. In some people it's far more difficult to see the image of God that was stamped onto all humanity at creation, than in others. But, it is there in all people.

And when it gets to someone who is close to us in relationship and we spend more time with, it can be even more difficult when they become the person around us who is hard to love. That's when it becomes really important that we remember the truth that all humanity was created in the image of God. We need to pay attention to the glimpses of it that we can still see.

Remembering that, holding onto it, looking for the glimpses of it - that changes the way we pray for that person, the way we interact with them. It doesn't mean we accept words and actions that cause harm to us or others we need to protect. But, it does mean that even when we need to remove ourselves from a person, we pray remembering that, however marred it has become by sin, this person has the image of God stamped on them.

It's not easy. I've been learning just how difficult this is, and how powerful it is to think and pray this way. To interact with a challenging person while keeping this in my mind. Honestly, it keeps me praying, even when things are difficult.

Do you have a person in your life who is hard to love? What would happen if you began looking for glimpses of the image of God stamped on them and allowed that to influence your prayers for them and interactions with them?

Crossroads

     "This is what the Lord says:
          Stand at the crossroads and look;
               ask for the ancient paths,
          ask where the good way is,
               and walk in it,
          and you will find rest for your souls."
                                    -Jeremiah 6:16

Show me the way Lord

I'm standing at the crossroads

I want to go Your way

Show me the good way

Show me the ancient path

Walked by many before

Clear the way, so I can see

Your good and ancient path

That path so many have walked

The path of all those before

Who chose to go Your way

Who chose what You desired

Clear the ancient way of old

Remove what covers where it goes

The beautiful ground, worn smooth

By so many gone before me

The way that leads to rest

The way that leads to life

The ancient path to home

To living in Your presence

         

What's Your Legacy?

Legacy . . .

It's a loaded word . . .

It speaks of significance . . .

And it's a word I've been thinking about a lot in the last week.

It started when my Mom asked if she could borrow my Raggedy Ann doll to use as a reference in making one for me niece. The worn and well-loved doll sits on a shelf now. When I picked her up off the shelf memories came flooding back.

My Grandma made the doll. And the day I picked it up off that shelf to take it to my Mom was two years to the day since she passed away.

In the week since, I've been reflecting on the legacy my Grandma left. I had times when I wished I would have known her better, when I wished I could have done more things with her. But distance and differences in the kinds of lives we lived made it difficult to relate sometimes.

One thing I always knew I could count on though, was that she prayed for me regularly. She did for all of her grandchildren. I knew when she told me she was praying for me, it was true.

The truth is that I've been incredibly blessed to have great-grandparents and grandparents who have prayed for and still are praying for me each day. I haven't always realized that as the privilege it is, but it's something I wouldn't trade for anything now.

As my great-grandparents and my Grandma have passed, I have grown in my understanding of the legacy of being people of prayer that have left and are continuing to leave with their lives. A legacy that lasts and is significant.

All of this has made me start to wonder about the legacy my life will leave. Not in a morbid way, but with a sense of wanting to make a difference for the Kingdom of God in how I live my life. I don't want my legacy to be one of making a name for myself, but on of pointing people to Jesus everyday in all I say and do.

And that makes a difference in the things I do and say now. It humbles me before God because I can't do any of it on my own then. It all has to be Him.

That's what it was for my great-grandparents and my Grandma. I watched them do what they did for God even if no one else noticed. And it's something I still watch my grandparents do today.

That's the kind of legacy I want to have - whether it is one day for my own kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids or for the people God calls me to serve in my work and my church ministry.

Scripture talks about this kind of living.

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time." (1 Peter 5:6)

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (James 4:10)

The more I reflect on this, the more I feel that these verses speak clearly to the kind of godly legacy we should want to leave behind. It starts with humbling ourselves before God so that He can do His work in and through us. It's not about us trying to do something significant; it's about being willing to be used by God the way He chooses.

What kind of a legacy do you want to leave?

Are you willing to begin by humbling yourself before God so He can use you in His ways?

Why we Need to Learn to Wait

     "In the morning, Lord, Your hear my voice;
               in the morning I lay my requests before You
               and wait expectantly."
                                       (Psalm 5:3)


We're good at bringing our requests to God. We're good at asking God for what we need or want. But we're not usually very good at waiting. Unlike the psalmist in Psalm 5:3, we want God to answer our prayers right away.

We don't wait well.

We look for the shortest line in the grocery store or at the gas pump because we don't want to wait anymore than we have to. We weave in and out of traffic because we don't want to wait to get to our destination. We put the phone on speaker and frantically try to get other things done while we're on hold because we don't want to wait and fee unproductive.

When we pray and have to wait for God's answer or wait to do something because He said to, we don't do that very well either. We get impatient with the wait.. We try to find some way to make it happen according to our timetable.

In all our impatience with waiting, I think we miss something important. When God tells us to wait, it's because He something in mind for us that we might not be able to see or understand yet.

The psalmist in Psalm 5:3 talks about waiting expectantly for God's answer to his requests. Waiting expectantly has a ring of being something active. It doesn't speak to the passivity we usually associate with waiting.

Waiting expectantly for God's answer speaks of looking for His answer. Our eyes are open. We're watching for what is going on - to see when God is at work and what He is doing.

It's not sitting back, doing nothing. It's actively looking for where God already is and doing what we already know we should be doing. Then, when the answer we've been waiting for from God comes, we're ready to do whatever the answer requires us to do.

That changes things for me. It's doesn't make me look forward to waiting, but it does make me dread the wait a bit less.

What are you currently waiting for God to answer?

How can you begin to wait expectantly?

Where do you already see God at work - even while you're waiting?

Prayer Changes Us

Prayer . . .

For all our talk about it in Christian circles and all that has been written about it, I sometimes wonder if we get it yet. Or if there will always be something about it we don't fully understand.

Why Do We Pray?

What is the purpose of prayer?

I think we all have our own answers to those questions. The ones from what we've been taught about prayer. The ones from our own experiences with prayer.

And they're probably some pretty good answers too. But are they the complete answer to what prayer is and why we pray? Probably not.

I came across a quote by C.S. Lewis that I felt answered these questions clearly and succinctly.

"I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of meal the time - waking or sleeping. It does not change God - it changes me."

We pray because we can't help it. We pray because we need God's help. But most of all we pray because it changes us, not God.

When we take the time to bring our requests to God and listen to what He has to say to us, the more things in our lives begin to line up with God's plan.

Ultimately, prayer changes us. It brings our will in line with God's will. The final three words of C.S. Lewis' quote sum it up pretty well: "it changes me." Whatever the situation, when we cry out to God, He will be there. He will meet the need we have. And often, He will change us through those prayers so that what we are asking for is what His will is already.

Why Do You Pray?

What are the reasons you personally pray?

What has been your experience with prayer in your own life?

Have you allowed God to change you through your prayers?


"I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of meal the time - waking or sleeping. It does not change God - it changes me." (C.S. Lewis)

Are You Praying?

This is the third part in a series on Philippians 4:4-8. You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:5)

I think with this verse it will be easiest to take it section by section.

"Do not be anxious about anything . . ."

Paul is talking about the same thing here that Jesus taught about in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-34 - the futility of worrying about things. We're not really living if we're worrying or anxious about things. And we have no reason to be.

". . . but in every situation . . ."

There's no situation excluded from what Paul is talking about here. It covers everything.

". . . by prayer and petition . . ."

Prayer is talking to God. Petition is asking of God. Both are important in our relationship with God. He wants us to communicate with Him.

". . . with thanksgiving . . ."

Thankfulness should be a regular part of our lives. No matter what we're facing in life, we can be looking for things to be thankful for. Being thankful changes our perspective on things.

". . . present your requests to God."

This is Paul's answer for how we can avoid being anxious and worrying about everything. We can take all of those things to God and leave them in His hands. God invites us to bring those things to Him.

Are you worrying about things?

 

Are you taking every situation to God?

 

Are you looking for things you can be thankful for?

 

Are you taking everything to God in prayer?

The Way We Think Matters

I've been thinking a lot lately about the way we think about ourselves. The thoughts that fill our minds. The things we tell ourselves over and over. The things we eventually come to believe about ourselves.

The way we think and talk to ourselves has incredible power. In much the same way as someone else's words can have incredible power in our lives.

If something gets repeated often enough, we begin to believe it. And when we begin to believe it, we live it completely. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And then we get frustrated because we find ourselves stuck in patterns of thinking and living that we don't like and that we want to break out of, but we don't know how.

I know I've been there. And I know how frustrated I got when I felt stuck like that. I wanted to change, but I didn't know how to change those things, because I really honestly thought the things I was believing and telling myself over and over were true about me and couldn't be changed.

But, the good news is that we can change the way we think. It is possible - even though it may seem impossible at times.

With God's help we can begin to believe and tell ourselves things that are really true about ourselves. We can change our thinking to be in line with what God says about it.

We have to learn to listen to God speak His truth into our lives.

Through His Word.

Through other people in our lives.

Through His voice speaking to us personally.

It takes practice. It take time. But it is possible. Because God doesn't want us to stay stuck in those ways of thinking about ourselves. He wants something to change in us and He will help us to make it happen.

What are the things you're telling yourself about yourself?

What are you believing about yourself?

Do they need to be changed to be more in line with what God actually says is true about you?

Take them to God. Ask Him for His truth. And ask Him to help you believe it.