Rear-view or Full-view?

And how blessed all those in whom you live, whose lives become roads you travel; they wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks, discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain! God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn—Zion! God in full view! 

(Psalm 84:5-7)

Some of us may have God in our rear-view mirror right now. It is like we look up one day and realize that he isn't in front of us any longer - we aren't following him as closely as we were at one time. Sometimes that is a result of us taking our focus off him, while at others it is more of us having drifted into just doing things by rote. We read the Word, but it is because it is habit - we aren't really getting much out of it. We say a few prayers, but it is also out of habit - we aren't really expressing our heart or listening to his. Ever start out on a journey and find yourself there, almost unaware of the twists and turns you took to get there? We all have roads we travel so frequently, we could drift into a state of total day-dreaming and still get to our destination without even noticing how we got there! The ability of reaching the destination time and time again is really based on how frequently we "travel" the same path. The more we travel it, the more every twist and turn becomes something we maneuver through with ease - oftentimes even without much thought. Have you ever considered the paths you travel with God in this manner - with frequency, but not with much thought?

When God "travels" the roads of our hearts with a frequency, we find we are on roads leading to some of the choicest destinations we could experience in life. Places like peaceful springs of his everlasting life, abundant fields of choice fruit, and lush valleys of perfect rest. I liked this illustration of "familiarity" with God - our lives like roads he travels. To me, this speaks of more than the frequency of passage - well-known by both of us. He travels in our "space" and we in his - not just passing by, but actually entering into our space. The only difference between our "mindless" travels from one point to another in a day-dreaming mode is our active participation in his "traveling" the roads of our lives. God doesn't impose himself upon us, but he does ask for us to pay attention. Those places God "frequents" in our lives are the very places we need to experience his presence and touch the most. Did you ever consider the places God seems to "frequent" in your life as "purposefully" frequented - planned out time and place that God has created just for the revelation that comes by beholding him in 'full view'? Take a moment to consider just one "place" God seems to 'end up' in your life - those places you sense his watchfulness and care over right now. It may be in the area of your emotions, your thoughts, or even him passing through the 'space' of your spoken words. In these very areas, he hopes to create lush valleys of his rest, abundant fields of the very best fruit, and springs of life galore - but we have to be attentive to his work within us! God doesn't belong in the rear-view mirror!

God-traveled lives are "affected" lives. We cannot have the passage of God's presence without the corresponding effect of his presence. It is impossible to be "touched" by God and not bear some evidence of his touch. The very frequency by which he "touches" certain "paths" in our lives is evidence of how much he wants to makes an impact in those very areas we may not even know he is desiring to travel with us. The impact may be subtle at first, but in time, the evidence of his passage will be clear to all who look upon us. We live blessed lives - simply because of the "travels" of God in our lives. We are also blessed to have a God who "travels" the same paths in us until we are affected by his passage in those areas. Even if we don't realize he is traveling the same path time and time again, we oftentimes can see the destination he is preparing us to reach. I have traveled many places, but some I know much better than others. Those places I have only visited once or twice are not well-known to me. There are no landmarks I recall with ease. Those places I travel frequently have a familiarity to them indicate the frequency of travel! God's desire is to travel our lives with such frequency so as to have our lives bespeak his travels! So, the next time you look up and realize God isn't in front of you any longer, look in the rear-view for a moment. Is he there? If so, isn't it about time you get him back in 'full-view' again? Just askin!

We don't need longer ropes

God isn't looking for us to serve him out of duty, but out of enthusiasm. How many times do we find ourselves caught up in 'service', but there is a total lack of enthusiasm behind it? In fact, it is more or less what we'd refer to as 'duty'. Passion is lacking. There is no real heartfelt commitment to the project ahead of us - it is performed by rote or meaningless repetitive action. A hard thing for me to learn is that we don't lose our passion or enthusiasm, we actually leave it. We walk away from our passion - not quickly, mind you, but little by little, subtly drifting away from the very thing that once ignited a great passion within us. Most of us don't need more of God in our lives - we just need to realize where there has been this subtle change in our focus.

Call out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Be glad as you serve the Lord. Come before Him with songs of joy. Know that the Lord is God. It is He Who made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His field. Go into His gates giving thanks and into His holy place with praise. Give thanks to Him. Honor His name. For the Lord is good. His loving-kindness lasts forever. And He is faithful to all people and to all their children-to-come. (Psalm 100)

We have forgotten what it is like to actually 'go into his gates' because we have allowed ourselves the 'latitude' to skip a day here and there in our daily devotions. We have no idea just how many days it has been now, but we know we never intended for that separation to happen. We don't find ourselves moved by song any longer, tuning out even the memories of how much we were actually lifted in times of singing psalms and hymns of praise. We aren't calling out any longer, not because we have forgotten how, but perhaps because we are so used to just doing things on our own now that we don't even think God may have a different plan for us.

I rented a fishing boat last year with my grandsons in hopes of doing a little lake fishing. What I discovered is that unless the motor was actually on and we were moving in some fashion, the 'drift' of the boat would be toward shoreline. It took us away from the safety of the deeper waters and into the rocks and reeds without much effort at all. This is something we need to realize in our spiritual lives, as well. If we don't keep the motor running, drift will occur! You might ask me why I didn't put down anchor and just enjoy the fishing a while. I tried! The anchor didn't reach bottom, so the drift still occurred! There was an anchor onboard, but the 'line' wasn't long enough to keep us safe from the drift.

Passion isn't reignited in one magical moment in time and then it remains forevermore. Passion must be stoked! It must be guarded so that drift doesn't occur. Every now and again I had to rev the motor a little, carefully propelling the boat into deeper spaces again so that we'd be safe from the rocks and reeds. Every day we need to ensure our passion is fueled - not every now and again! We may have a good anchor in our faith, but if the line is too short to give the anchor good 'footing' to hold onto, drift is going to occur. We don't need longer ropes, friends. Just sayin!

Prepare for the ride

If you are anything like me, you might have tried to side-step all the 'preparation' required for some exam in life, only to find all that side-stepping really left you wanting when you needed the right answer! You believed you could just do a cursory review of the work and all would be well. Preparation is key to not only exams in school, but for each of life's challenges as they come day by day. We all have differing responses when we face one of life's challenges, don't we? Some of us will rise up, take the bulls by the horns and plunge right in, while others withdraw a safe distance, consider their options and seemingly take forever to respond to the challenge. Sometimes we take every opportunity to avoid the challenge, just hoping it will go away! Regardless of how we face life when we are "challenged", it is important to keep in mind that each challenge carries a purpose. As Jesus remind us, true blessing in our lives comes when heart and mind are in alignment. Believe it or not, the "purpose" of the challenge is oftentimes to assist us in identifying where our heart and mind may not have that "perfect alignment" - the places where some preparation is needed.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-4)

If you have ever driven while your tires are "out of alignment" you can relate to the "challenge" of controlling the vehicle. It is a rough ride and there is a tendency for your car to just drift to one side or the other! This tendency to "drift" to one side of the road doesn't take any real effort on your part. The effort your must exert is more in keeping the vehicle centered on the lane you need to stay within! That is how you know you might have an "alignment" problem - when there is continual "drift" out of the path you should be traveling. Guess what - it is pretty much the same in our spiritual lives! We might just begin to take notice of the fact that when faced with challenges, we often find ourselves "drifting" to the path of least resistance. When we try to "counter-act" that drift, it becomes a little difficult to control mind, will, or emotions - because they are not 'set' right. It takes effort - sometimes beyond what we seem to have left within ourselves for us to stay on course!

The truth is that the car "stays on course" much better when we routinely have the alignment checked.  The ride is a little smoother, isn't it? As long as we have those tires rotated every 5,000 miles and request that the mechanic also "check the alignment" with those rotations, we enjoy a much easier ride! Take this idea into your everyday living. It is because of the continual focus of the one who operates as the "mechanic" in our lives that we can enjoy the alignment of our mind, will, and emotions with what he knows will produce the best "ride" in our lives. The mechanic does not automatically check our tires for alignment when we come into the shop each time - we have to request him to do so and we have to be willing to pay the price for that request. The same is true in our spiritual lives - we have to make frequent requests of our Lord to "test our alignment" and then we have to be willing to pay the price in order to be "realigned". There is always a price for preparation, but without preparation the ride we call life can be much more 'bumpy'!

God sometimes points out that we are "out of alignment" much as our mechanic might point out uneven tire wear as a sign that our car needs an alignment. God's way of "pointing out" our lack of alignment is often in the challenges we face throughout the day. He often lets us "struggle through" the natural pull of our emotions, will, and thought processes until we become aware of the lack of alignment that is giving us enough 'drift' that we aren't quite able to stay the course on our own. Yet, there are times when we have been drifting long enough and he just simply sits us down and points out the "results" of our lack of alignment - the wear and tear the drift has taken on our being becomes evident the more the 'drift' has been accepted as an 'okay' part of our lives. When challenged by the drift the best response we can have is to take time to realign our mind, will and emotions. You will save yourself a whole lot of unnecessary and expensive wear and tear on body, soul, and emotions when you prepare for the ride! Just sayin!

Hey God....feel free to interrupt me here...

Try as we might, there are just times we don't hit the mark spot on. We miss, sometimes by a mile, and other times, just barely - but a miss is a miss, is it not? The moment we set out to do anything at all, we run the risk that we will not get to the end result that we imagined or desired. We fall short, or the desired result is just not what it should have been. This is all part of living on this planet - sometimes you get nuts, other times you don't! Sometimes you do okay in the realm of obedience - other times you just plain screw up! I am so glad to know that no matter how far away from the mark we end up - we are never too far away for God to set us back on target again!

No matter how far away you end up, GOD, your God, will get you out of there and bring you back…GOD, your God will cut away the thick calluses on your heart and your children’s hearts, freeing you to love GOD, your God, with your whole heart and soul and live; really live.  And you will make a new start, listening obediently to GOD, keeping all his commandments…GOD, your God will outdo himself in making things go well for you…Yes, GOD will start enjoying you again…The word is right here and now – as near the tongue in your mouth, as near as the heart in your chest.  Just do it!  And I command you today: Love GOD, your God.  Walk in his ways.  Keep his commandments, regulations, and rules so that you will live, really live, live exuberantly, blessed by GOD, your God...

(Deut. 30: 6, 8-9, 14, 16)

Staying close to God is not always an easy thing to accomplish – especially in the influence of the world’s pull and our selfish disposition to pursue things that appeal to our sin nature.  Coming back to God is probably even harder once we have given into the pressures of the world or pursued the selfish desires of our heart.  The tendency of our heart is to hide in that place, hoping to not be discovered or exposed. God is a truly merciful God – he will seek us out right where we are at – even when we may not realize we have drifted, or even that we need to be found.  He gently moves upon our spirit until we recognize that the drifting of our heart, the focus of our attention, has been away from him.  He intervenes to get us back into right relationship – he interrupts us in our wandering long enough to present himself, his grace, and his tender care.  In that interruption, he offers his hand of rescue.  In this intrusion into our complacency, he interjects his grace and refreshing renewal.

As simply as God presented the promises of his blessing toward his people, he addressed the one who he knew would walk away from that position of blessing and provision – the one who would not stay engaged in the plan God had ordained for their safety and well-being.  He offers a way of escape when the plans we pursue unravel on us and leave us desolate in spirit, emotion, or relationship. Here is the heart of God toward his children – tender, compassionate, reaching, seeking, hoping in the potential of obedience he sees in each of our hearts.  It is as though he knows the tendency of our hearts to drift into complacency, to succumb to the tantalizing appeal of things that sway our dedication to his purposes, and to gradually withdraw into a place of self-centered disobedience.  He understands our heart and that drifting may occur (and likely will occur in some measure) – just as a ship is impacted by the currents of the water, gently being tugged in a certain direction against its original course.    

He also knows that the forces that come against our undivided attention to his plans are not necessarily overt, driving forces, but small, sometimes almost imperceptible, steady influences.  These move upon us in such unnoticed ways, yet they manage to shift our attitude or position – setting us on a course that often is without aim.  We can liken this "movement away from God" as a sort of "drifting" that occurs - not really intentional, but coming over a course of time when we just don't take full notice of the influences around us and their impact on us. It is important for us to see that drifting is not a purposeful, well-planned movement – it is a haphazard movement created by that which influences us the most at that specific moment.  Jesus was speaking with his disciples one day about the dedication that is required of one who wishes to stay rightly ordered in his course of direction.  He shared, “If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me.  If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself.  But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.”  (Matt. 10:38-39)  

We need to take heed to this warning about where we place our attention or direct our concern – if it is continually on our self, we will never find the satisfaction, peace, or joy that we earnestly seek after.  If we are able to move from focusing on our “wants” or “wishes” long enough, re-centering our thoughts on Christ, we will find deep, inner fulfillment.  The focus of our attention determines the course of our actions.  We go where we are “headed” – just as the ship points its bow into the course it hopes to complete. Sometimes we just need a good old course interruption to get us headed in the right direction again! Just sayin!

Getting a little too close to the edge...

It is important to actually understand what Christianity is and is not. I hear people say things like, "If I went to church as many days a week as some people do, I'd be very religious." This is a very truthful statement as "going to church" can make us quite "religious" while we totally miss out on relationship with Jesus! We are church "attendees", but that doesn't necessarily guarantee we are actually changing into the image of Christ, becoming more genuine in our "living out" of the character of Christ in us. What often happens is that we get more "staunch" in our beliefs, but less tolerant of the "real problems" people have to struggle through as they maneuver through life. Life which is just "religious" isn't going to embrace others when they are pretty messed up in life's issues. In fact, some of the most "religious" people reject people with very real problems, hurting hearts, and seemingly "irreligious" lives.

Here’s an important principle I’ve discovered: regardless of my desire to do the right thing, it is clear that evil is never far away. For deep down I am in happy agreement with God’s law; but the rest of me does not concur. I see a very different principle at work in my bodily members, and it is at war with my mind; I have become a prisoner in this war to the rule of sin in my body. I am absolutely miserable! Is there anyone who can free me from this body where sin and death reign so supremely? I am thankful to God for the freedom that comes through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One! So on the one hand, I devotedly serve God’s law with my mind; but on the other hand, with my flesh, I serve the principle of sin.  (Romans 7:22-25) 

Religious people focus on the amount of "good" they have done in life.  Volunteer here or there, give of your time to this charity or that, but the truth of the matter is that no matter how well we "perform", we are never going to be good enough for God!  Recently, I felt my spirit "drifting" a little and in truth, my communication was not only the first indication of this to me, but also to others.  You see, my words betrayed my heart.  My heart had become a little calloused by the things I have been seeing, hearing, reading, etc.  In turn, my speech was reflecting the "drift" from the place I know God really wants me to be. I am appreciative of the grace of God, but I don't ever want to presume upon the grace of God.  I needed a little adjustment in my attitude and behavior.  So, lest you think I can ever "improve" myself by just eliminating these things I see, hear, read, etc., I cannot.  Just keeping the "right rules" doesn't make me a "good person".  Grace and grace alone is what makes us right with God. 

Where there has been drift, the only way to get back on course is to prevail upon God to bring me back to center again.  I can desire to "do right" all I want, but where drift has occurred, I need God's help to get me back on course - and so do you!  Our nature only changes when God begins to influence our decisions, which impacts our actions, and in turn brings the evidence of a changed life. We have received the Spirit of Jesus - this is what changes things - not the "good work" we try to rely upon to make us "good again".  As long as we walk this earth, we will struggle with making right choices which reflect right actions which yield right results in our lives.  Truth be told, we can "try" all we want to be as "religious" as we might want to be, but in the end, all we accomplish is being more "religious".

If you have ever been behind someone at the store, running this credit card after that credit card through the machine until one finally "takes", you might have thought, "Wow, they must really have run up a lot of debt".  This may very well illustrate our lives - we have run up all kind of "debt" by the foolish deeds we have engaged in during our lifetime.  Try as we might (religious deeds), we aren't ever going to find a way to be out from under that debt just by "running another card through the machine".  We just cannot do enough to be right with God - no matter how many times we go to church in a week, or times we volunteer to move someone who needs help moving, or run clothing drives at the local homeless shelter.  Yes, these are all good "deeds", but they don't eliminate a debt we cannot pay back!  Grace is the only "payment" God desires - nothing else "works" to make us free of the debt we cannot pay.  These good deeds then can become ways of connecting others with Jesus - because they see how Jesus has finally made connection with us through grace!  Just sayin!