Brokenness

Less of Me

“We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves.” – David Platt

We sing a song in our church with these lyrics: “If more of You means less of me, take everything. Yes, all of You is all I need. Take everything.” Wow. That’s a lot to pray. Take everything. Why would we pray that kind of prayer? Maybe because we’ve figured out that our way of doing things really doesn’t work!

We present an aura of confidence, good will, and purity when inside we are none of those things. It’s easy to fall into a life of covering, posturing, and pretending. And it’s exhausting!

Instead of an ego-centered life, God wants us to admit our weakness, so he can be our strength.

He wants us to give up our earthly desires, and let him provide what will really satisfy.

He challenges us to stop trying to be better, stronger, wiser, and, instead, to focus completely on him.

He invites us to relinquish pride, appearances, being right, honor, self-satisfaction, superiority, authority, perfection. He doesn’t want those things to be important anymore.

Why all this giving up? Because God knows that when we always have to be in control, we’re not able to accept the greater gifts he offers us.

When John the Baptist was preaching, he had many followers. When Jesus came on the scene, John pointed to him as the one he had been talking about all along, and he says, “He must increase and I must decrease.” He deliberately steered people’s attention away from himself and onto Jesus.

I think that’s what this is all about. Less of me. More of him.

“For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” – Colossians 3:3

God has bigger plans.

“Whenever God calls a man, he bids him come and die.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God has bigger plans for us than anything we can accomplish ourselves. So he tells us we have to die to ourselves and yield every desire of our hearts to him. We can be sure doing that will be a struggle!

The things we hang on to usually relate to our comfort, security, appearance, or reputation. We long for praise, recognition, and control. But we’re unaware that holding tight to managing our lives around those values creates a barrier between us and God and all kinds of anxiety within.

For our own good, he invites us to let him take control. Then he waits until our desire to let him lead is greater than our desire for living our self-centered, and often desperate, lives.

As, over time, we keep returning to an attitude of surrender, we will begin to see changes: We will care about what others are feeling more than about what they’re thinking of us. We will no longer be so focused on physical comfort: sleep, preferred foods, the way we dress, personal safety or health. We will accept circumstances and see beyond them.

Finally, we come to a point where we no longer look to God for what he can give us, but for who he is. When that happens, he comes close, and we find we’ve given up nothing, and we’ve gained everything.

Dying to self is not easy, but it is the only way to true joy and peace. It starts with a simple prayer: “I surrender.” He’ll show us where to go from there.

“I have been crucified with Christ . . . the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” – from Galatians 2:20

How well do you know him?

“We are all desperate, and that is in fact the only state appropriate to a human being who wants to know God. Having fallen from the absolute ideal, we have nowhere to land but in the safety net of absolute grace.” Philip Yancey

Jesus, when you were on earth, you were busy, but never hurried. You stayed calm even when your closest disciples didn’t understand what you were trying to teach. How did you do it?

Even as a human, I knew the Father better than you do. I went to him all the time when I was tired or stressed or afraid. Yes, I was afraid. Remember Gethsemane?

And there were times I was so frustrated, like when I saw God’s people as sheep without a shepherd. Their shepherds were their religious leaders and they were leading people away from the Father, not toward him. I was angry!

And many times, I just needed help making decisions, trying to understand what the Father wanted. So I went to him a lot. Praying, asking, listening for direction. It always came and, when it did, I acted. I wanted nothing more than to do what he wanted, not what I, as a human being, wanted.

So, little one, if you are frustrated by what you see in the world around you, or angry at injustices, or afraid of what is to come, turn to the Father. Turning to him will help you know him better and the better you know him, the more you will rely on him and the more you will want to please him.

Let him love, lead, encourage, and correct you. That’s what loving fathers do. And our Father in heaven does all those things perfectly!

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” – Psalm 68:19

Healing

God alone is qualified to answer prayer, and at some point we have to let go and trust God, who can transmute our self-focused requests into an unimaginably larger plan.  – Philip Yancey

Do you have anyone on your prayer list right now for whom you are praying for healing? Most of us do. We read about Jesus healing people everywhere he went, and we believe he can still do that today. And he does – sometimes. Often, though, we wait in vain for the physical healing to happen.

These are the times when, as Spurgeon says, “we must meekly bow to his will by whom life and death are determined.” Wait! Bow to his will when the life of someone we love is at stake? That sounds hard. And, it is.

But what do we learn when we humbly bow to his will? We learn he is loving, kind, and good, even when we don’t understand. We learn that his power is not limited to physical healing. Sometimes he’s working on something of far greater value – something we will most likely not understand this side of heaven. In the process, though, we realize there are some things more important than physical healing and, if we could see the bigger picture, we would not trade the spiritual blessing for anything – not even healing.

I have heard people testify to this very thing. That the sense of God’s presence, the knowledge that he’s walking beside them in the pain, and the confidence that his will is best for them and for those around them is worth the suffering they are undergoing. I want that kind of peace and the comfort it gives. Maybe the only way to get it is by having some of my most earnest prayers go unanswered.

“Though he slay me, I will hope in him.” – Job 13:15a

Make it a bird.

“Resilience is really about the life of God flowing into us and remaking us, renewing us, transforming us, and transfiguring all of the broken pieces of our lives into something that is whole, something that reflects God.” – Adam Bucko

I learned something important recently when I went to a painting class with my daughters and granddaughter: If you accidentally get a black spot of paint in your blue sky, it’s no problem according to our instructor. Don’t give up. Don’t try to erase it. Don’t despair. Just make it into a bird!

So, I have to ask: Is there a smudge in your life? Something you never saw coming and now have to adjust to? Or something you regret in the recent or far distant past? Or something someone else did to you that you’re having a hard time forgiving? And all you can see is that black spot.

Don’t give up. Don’t try to erase it. Don’t despair. Let the Master Painter incorporate it into his perfect plan. Hand him the brush. He can make it into something that fits into the picture he has been painting all along.

I call that resilience. We don’t give up, but we allow God to remake us, as the quote above says, into something that reflects him. We see the smudge. He sees the bird and the beauty and life it will add to the picture. I imagined what he might be painting for me now, and saw an awesome flock of birds!

The picture improves when we take our smudges, mistakes, accidents, or pain to him and then stand back and watch in amazement at what he will do.

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18a

It’ll be OK.

“God did not say: You will not be assailed, you will not be belabored, you will not be disquieted, but he said: You will not be overcome. God loves us and delights in us, and so he wishes us to love him and delight in him and trust greatly in him, and all will be well.”  
—Julian of Norwich 

Sometimes we feel like we pray and nothing happens. We’re not sure God is listening and we wish we could somehow get his attention. Maybe the key to connecting with God’s attention is giving him ours. How do we do that:

Focus: Set a time to give full attention to God. During this time, there is no multi-tasking. There is only one goal: To think about God, what he’s like, who he is, and what a privilege it is to worship him, to be allowed to talk to him.

Listen: Being very conscious of his presence, we turn to his word to read. We focus on taking it in, thinking about how it may apply to us, sensing something he really wants us to see this day. Then write it down. We may remember it, but we’re more likely to remember accurately if we write it down

Do: If he tells us something to do, we do it as soon as reasonably possible. A delay shows lack of priority. The urgency will get lost the longer we wait.

When we shut out everything but God, give him our full attention, and obey what he says, he will listen when we call, and we will know, without doubt, that whatever happens in our circumstance, he is working in the middle of it – no matter the outcome. All will be well.

“But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him”. – Psalm 4:3

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Adventuring

“. . .if you have not been enchanted by this adventure – your life – what would do for you?” – Mary Oliver

Do you ever just pause and consider the wonder of living? The amazing fact that we are alive, breathing, thinking, seeing, processing, planning, eating, talking, sleeping, and waking? It’s an adventure walking through this life with God. We trust him, we know he has our best interest at heart, and we know that, no matter what, he is with us.

But, someone reading this is saying, “Adventure? But, I have big problems.” Yup. There are problems. As I was taught by a friend many years ago, “Problems are opportunities.” Opportunities to grow, to be courageous, to prove ourselves, to learn, and to know the joy that comes at the end of the struggle.

Attitude plays a big part in living an adventurous life. Every person on this planet has problems, it’s just that some people’s issues are more visible than others. We get to choose how to face life – with joy and anticipation and trust in our all-powerful, all-wise Father or with dissatisfaction and fear, thinking we have to control everything ourselves.

What is it that would make us truly joyful about the life we are living? I believe it is when we walk in lockstep with Jesus, following him and his teaching, believing he is preparing a place for us, and trusting that everything that happens to us has a benefit we cannot see. That’s trust. Faith. Confidence in the One who is in control. As we learn to do this, it becomes easier, and life, even with problems, turns into an adventure!

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,” – 1 Peter 1:8

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Can’t win the battle?

“God helps those who cannot help themselves.” – Charles Spurgeon

Do you feel like you’re trapped in a situation you can’t find your way out of? Or that everything’s going wrong and you can’t seem to stop it? Sometimes we just feel helpless!

The people of Judah felt that way, too, when scouts returned with the terrifying message that a huge army was heading their way and they were about to be attacked. King Jehoshaphat called all the people together and began to pray. He reminded God of their powerlessness against such a great army and then said this: “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12b).

A prophet was then inspired to tell them to go to the watchtower the next morning and wait. Here’s what they saw: Another army came in and ambushed the army that was about to attack Judah. Instead of moving toward Jerusalem, they fought each other. Many were killed. Others fled. God intervened and the threat was gone. Just like that!

When we’re struggling and getting nowhere, we need to acknowledge our helplessness. Then we redirect our eyes away from the struggle where all we see is darkness and all we feel is fear. If we can turn our eyes to God, hope will replace fear and light will come. God’s strength is always there, but usually we don’t see it in action until we realize we have no hope without him.

So, let’s not sit around worrying. Let’s admit our helplessness to make any lasting change and then plead with him to fight for us and to lead us to the light. Now let’s step back and see what he will do.

“For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” – 2 Corinthians 12:10

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Very Present

“A sense of the divine presence and indwelling bears the soul towards heaven as upon the wings of eagles. At such times we are full to the brim with spiritual joy, and forget the cares and sorrows of earth; the invisible is near, and the visible loses its power over us.” – Charles Spurgeon

I had one of those situations recently: Someone I was working with had frustrated me – again – with an issue I thought had been resolved. I was upset, angry even, to the extent that I couldn’t sleep. So I lay in bed praying a really simple prayer, “I need you, Lord.” Then a few minutes later I got more deeply theological, “Help me!”

Soon this verse came to mind: “God is my refuge and strength; a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). Did you ever think about what it means to be “very present” to someone? I found out that night. It meant that he listened. I sensed he was attentive, he heard what was underneath my complaints, he was empathetic to my frustration.

Then he calmed me. I felt better just knowing he was there, that he cared and understood. And, over time, he directed my steps: After on-and-off praying and sensing his nearness all night, I awoke with a plan for how to address the problem.

My heavenly Father was very present in my time of trouble. The problem didn’t go away, but I got something better: I had God’s attention, his peace, and his direction. His very presence.

If you are in deep distress now, know that he is there for you, too. He’s just waiting for your own version of the “help me” prayer.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” – Psalm 16:11

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Giving Back Better

 “We are all desperate, and that is in fact the only state appropriate to a human being who wants to know God. Having fallen from the absolute Ideal, we have nowhere to land but in the safety net of absolute grace.” – Philip Yancey

When we’re good at something, we like doing it. So, we lead the team, build the cabinet, make the meal, give the speech, or fund the project. We like to feel useful, and we announce that we’re “giving back”.

But, there’s the thing: To be able to give back on a spiritual level, we must first receive, and for many of us that’s harder than giving.

When we’re on the receiving end, it means we have a need we can’t meet on our own. It’s much more comfortable to be the giver! We treat God that way, too. We think that when we give gifts or do good deeds, we earn his favor, but it doesn’t work that way.

Instead, we have to understand how spiritually desperate we are and to gratefully receive his undeserved grace. It’s hard and it’s humbling, but when we ask him, he’ll give us new life and the ability to serve him and others on new level. Our motive to give then changes from seeking approval to showing love. And when we do what we are spiritually gifted to do, the results are life-changing for us and for those to whom we give.

But, first, we receive God’s grace. He’s ready when you are.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:8-10