Little Big Ideas, Summer 2011.
(Originally a few posts from the summer of 2011.)
A Slight of Hand… Satan’s Hand.
I’ve often heard Christians quote the Bible… err.. MISquote the Bible. They say, “Then I just remind myself that God says He won’t give me more than I can handle.” I think one of the tactics of our enemy is to take God’s truth, and spin it. Just enough of a twist so that the true meaning is perverted into something harmful and misleading. The truth is: 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful he will not let you be TEMPTED beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” Note how different that is! People think God won’t give them situations and trials to face that THEY ALONE cannot handle.
We too often try to handle these trials WITHOUT God. Note my friend’s statement in the opening paragraph, “more than I can handle.” They use “I”… “I” does not include God’s unlimited power. This statement is in direct opposition to Psalms 71:20 “Though you have me see troubles, many and bitter, YOU will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you again bring me up.” Also in 2 Corinthians 1:9 “We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything INTO THE HANDS OF GOD, who alone could save us.”
IT IS NOT ALL UP TO US! Don’t be fooled. We will be given trials too big for us to handle by our own power. Call on the name of the Lord.
Morning or Night? (6/2011)
Periodically, I feel convinced God wants me to spend time with him in the morning. Before I start my day. I get excited. Focused. It seems like I last about 4 days, then revert back to the “whenever I can squeeze it in,” mentality.
Earlier in life, before life was substantially more difficult, I could not tell any added benefit from the early morning “God time.” More recently, I can. When I read God’s word and pray at night, I’m usually licking my wounds by the end of the day. Picking up the pieces… asking God to “put humpty dumpty back together again.”
In contrast, when I spend my mornings with God… the trouble still comes, but I seemed emotionally and spiritually prepared for it. I navigate my day with more grace. By nightfall, there were no major wounds to lick. No pieces to put back together. Just minor scrapes and bruises. Small enough as to not cause any troublesome pain. I’m starting to see each day as a spiritual battle. If I wait till night to engage with the Almighty… It means I’ve gone through my day of battle without my armor on. So of course I’ll be beaten to a pulp! What was I expecting? But now, as I’ve spent the last several mornings connecting with God, the armor is ON. I’ve been prepared! Though trouble did come, I was ready. Ready to defend myself from the slings and arrows of our enemy. It paid off too. I did not fall into old patterns of “reacting.” Instead, I sensed the Holy Spirit directing my response to the challenges. By grace, I came out of each day’s battle standing in God’s victory. I see real progress here. Glory to God. I MUST keep this up!
Self-Centeredness and Discontentment (8/2011)
The past several weeks since my last blog have been a swirl of emotions. At times, I felt pretty good. Other times, horrible. Discontented. Hopeless. Faithless. There were times that I was yelling at God. Anger! (at him) Sadness for my lifel. I felt abandoned… neglected… by him. Does he love me? Does he care?
When my wife’s health is good, it is easy to feel good. When she feels poorly, it is easy to lose hope and feel utter despair. It is from these places that I find myself almost challenging God, “Come on! Work good here! Isn’t that what you do? Work good even in bad circumstances?!” So far… He continues to deliver.
God delivered again. At first, it came as a conviction. I have boundary problems. In addition to crossing over the fence of my wife’s boundaries and trying to manage her life… I self impose all kinds of responsibilities on myself that take their toll on my emotional state. Responsibilities that nobody asked me to emotionally own, yet I do. So, again, God worked good out of a bad situation by enlightening me that I had boundary problems.
Thankfully, God didn’t just leave me there, he gave me a book that will hopefully bring to light Biblical principles to boundaries within the marital arena. Thank you Father. He delivered even more today. I went to Life.church and the sermon was on being bold with our prayers and our lives. What God spoke to me was that I have been way too self-centered. I’ve been praying almost exclusively for me. Me, me, me!
While he loves me deeply and cares about all of my stuff. He also wants me to care about him and his kingdom! Sure, I’ve always acknowledged that I want God to be glorified through my life… but I’ve totally lost sight of his bigger purpose. What God wants me to say is, “Father, man… Life is really really hard right now. Please let me experience your love. Help me to have faith and patience. In addition to that, help me to find joy in serving you. This is where you have me and I know your plan is to be glorified through this present situation. Help me to delight in that, and God… to you be the glory. Amen.”