Celebrating Defeat!

Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out. (Edwin Markham) 

Most of us would agree with the idea of victory sending us into places of awesome praise and tremendous celebration. Those who win some major sporting event will jump up and down, slap each other on the back, whoop, holler, and even cry in awe at having "done it". The tremendous release of emotion can almost overwhelm, but the sense of "high" which was celebrated with such passion cannot live on, for the moment will pass, memories will remain, but the moment is now behind. On the other hand, one walks away from the "win" as the defeated. Is it possible they could celebrate in similar fashion, for out of the things that shake our very souls can come greatness and character formation not quite found in the moment of gleeful victory?  

In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. (Psalm 118:5-9 NLT)

As I write today, the song by, "God is on the Move", is playing softly in the background. If you haven't heard it, the words that capture my attention are "God is on the move today" and "God is on the move in many might ways". My friends, I don't know the things which seek to overwhelm you, or the troubles that disturb your restful slumber, but I know for a fact that God is on the move! It isn't just the victories we celebrate in Jesus - we celebrate the defeats, as well. Why? These are the moments he uses to show us just how much we need to lean into him - to do more than just declare ourselves Christians, but to act in every way as though we are!

Whenever I begin to see the waters of my own life stir a little more than usual, building into lapping waves at first, then eventually in rolling waves, and soon into mounting waves carrying such force behind them that I am pretty sure I will feel their churning effect, I can either panic, or I can look up. The seas are constantly changing, not because the fish move from here to there, but because of those waves - those underlying currents, the winds of the air, the phases of the moon, and the movement of our earth's own crust all play a part in their change. Nothing is static in the seas because they are meant to change! In fact, nothing is static in our lives because we are designed to move from glory to glory - sometimes through tremendous victory, and at others, through agonizing defeat.

This may seem strange, but I fear victory more than I fear defeat. Why? Victory has a way of lulling me into times of complacency - because I somehow think I have "arrived" or that things are all "worked out". The truth is, the place of victory is just a place of temporary rest - it isn't the place I am to stay forever! In time, the waves will begin again! While I don't relish the times of defeat, and my pride takes a tremendous hit at times, they are probably the "best times" in my life because they are the times I learned to trust. They are the times I let go of my stubborn will to do things my way, leaving behind some pretty bad habits and hang-ups, taking tenuous steps forward into the unknown. Each tenuous step was always met with God's encouragement, though. Never once did God kick me when I was down in order to keep me down. In fact, sometimes we need a little "kick" to get us moving again! It is as though the wave frees me from the resting place where I remained entrapped and just continuously pounded by those waves which were doing nothing more than wearing me down. In setting me free, he changed my perspective - giving me a new freedom to see things from a new vantage point.

I don't know what "waves" of defeat you may think you are experiencing right now, but let him move you with those waves, my friend. You don't know how much that small change in perspective can change the defeat into a moment of victory and in turn, allow the "glory out"! Just sayin!

As my soul pants...

Come, let us worship in song, a joyful offering to the Eternal. Shout! Shout with joy to the rock of our liberation. Come face-to-face with God, and give thanks; with loud and joyful voices, praise Him in songs. (Psalm 95:1-2 VOICE)

Although I am not a big fan of those who make millions telling others how to make millions, I find it helpful when someone can help those struggling financially to learn to live on a budget or find some freedom from over-spending such as using a prepaid debit card rather than running up large credit card bills. While I am have not attended one of her seminars, or even read one of her books, I came across a quote recently from one such author and speaker: "True generosity is an offering; given freely and out of pure love. No strings attached. No expectations. Time and love are the most valuable possession you can share."  (Suze Orman) I am not sure if she meant to, but she connected the giving of one's self to the greatest gift of all. I think this is something God had in mind when he gave the gift of his one and only Son, Jesus - freely given, out of pure love, the greatest possession he could share with us. No wonder our psalmist calls us to come and worship him!

A joyful offering is called for - nothing else could be our response. Shouts of joy and exuberant praise should be our response to such a display of love and commitment. Yet, when we come face-to-face with God, many of us don't think to thank him, but cower in fear because we think he will "remember" something we have done wrong in our past, or judge us by some standard by which we could never measure up. We forget that when he sees each of us, it isn't our sinfulness or "worthiness" he focuses on, but the heart and spirit of his dear Son born within each of us! That is our cause to celebrate - that is the rock of our liberation upon which we stand and proclaim his praises!

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said, "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions." When we enter into God's presence, no longer focusing on our unrighteousness, but gazing solely into his eyes of sacrificial love, we cannot help but have our minds, hearts, and spirits stretched to "new capacity". We experience just a little bit more of his grace, love, and peace - if that were even possible - and therein find our lives expanded. It is this expansion which results in our desire to praise, give thanks, and celebrate his goodness in our lives. It is this continual expansion which draws us back, thirsting for more of his grace and love.

As scripture puts it, "As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God." The intense longing for the experience of the refreshment of the stream moves us closer to the stream until we can actually partake of the sweetness of the refreshment it provides. The presence of God should cause us to long for the "refreshing" we find there - to pant for it, move toward it, and drink deeply of it when we find ourselves face-to-face with it! Just sayin!

How do you love me? Let me count the ways.

Our psalm today is filled with the stanza, "His love never quits", not once, but twenty-six times in the same amount of verses.  Do you think God may just be trying to emphasize something here?  Yesterday, I talked with us about not overlooking the obvious - I think this may be one of those moments when God is saying the obvious!  Yet, in repeating this throughout this entire psalm, I think David knows we don't always get the obvious!  Remember what I said yesterday - you need to "get" the obvious, as it builds a foundation for the more "obscure" in your life. 

God remembered us when we were down, His love never quits.  Rescued us from the trampling boot, His love never quits.  Takes care of everyone in time of need.  His love never quits.  Thank God, who did it all!  His love never quits!  (Psalm 136:23-26 MSG)

I began to examine the many ways David outlines the love of God which never quits and here are some things I found:

* God's love is the basis of our thankfulness.  Without his love, we'd only have the muddle of our lives to work our way through.  It was his love which extended grace - through the person of Jesus - the most amazing powerful starting point for each of our lives.  The basis of love is grace - God's grace extended to us in the actions of Christ's birth, life, death, and resurrection.  Our response to grace should always be thankfulness - for what we could never do on our own has been done fully for us in the person of Christ.

* God's love manifests itself in many ways - creation declares the miracle power of God.  The care he took to suspend stars in the sky as "guardians in the night" and the laying out of earth's foundation on ocean's floor are only two examples of his powerful love.  It creates what was not there before - from chaos he brings order, from void he brings substance, and from emptiness he brings fullness.  These are God's actions on our behalf.  Nothing speaks more of the love of God than to have a life in chaos being brought into order, sometimes for the very first time in that one's existence.  The idea of God bringing substance from places of void in our lives should captivate your thought for just a moment.  Think on it - chew it over a while.  What place of void exists in your life?  God is at work there bringing substance where void once was the only thing you saw.  He is also filling what was once empty.  Not just with things - but with that which brings true "quality" to our lives.

* God's love is evident in his protection.  Israel celebrated his mighty deliverance from the hands of the Egyptians.  More importantly, they celebrated how the hand of God protected them as the death angel swept over the city, taking the lives of the firstborn in Egypt - leaving their own sweet children safe and secure in his watchful protection.  They continually celebrated victory over victory against armies far beyond their numbers and with weapons far advanced in their arsenals.  God's protection is sometimes what we take the most for granted.  David's constant reminders of God's love displayed in the protection we receive, often without our knowledge of the dangers we face, is spoken not so much for us to rehearse the past, but to celebrate the provision of God on our behalf.  There is something to be said about unrecognized dangers - what we don't see with the visible eye (the obscure) is often what could be our undoing (the obvious).  Did you get that?  The obscure is what God is taking care of - while we focus on the obvious.

* God's love makes a way where no way seems possible.  Israel faced kings and kingdoms far beyond their military might, political prowess, or financial storehouses.  They encountered wilderness journeys which taxed their resources, wearied their bodies, and tested their strength beyond measure.  Not one of these encountered tests were without God's "way-making" oversight.  In fact, he allowed each step - not because each step was the "safest", but because it was the very step which would reveal his ability to make a way where no other way existed.

God's love is grand - worthy of being celebrated.  I wonder if we could write our own psalm here.  If we did, what would it proclaim about God's love?  Maybe we'd do well to consider the many obvious ways God has already revealed his love instead of always looking for the more obscure evidences of his love.  They both exist, but we would do well to rehearse and celebrate the ones we see plainly, allowing him to reveal the more obscure in his timing and perfect ways.  Just sayin!