No longer 'irresolute'

"Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.” (Joshua 1:9)

I was reminded of this verse today as I listened to that song by Hillsong Worship, "Never Walk Alone". The chorus speaks volumes: I have never walked alone; I’ve never been abandoned. You are my inheritance. You are my strength and shield; and I have confidence. You go before me; You’re my deliverer - I know I never walk alone. Never walked alone - not gonna start now. Never abandoned - why should I think I might be left behind now? I have an inheritance beyond my imagining - not on this earth, but into all of eternity. My strength won't falter - my protector is at my side. I can stand assured because if God is with me, nothing (and I mean nothing) is gonna get me down!

Too many times we walk what I will refer to as a kind of 'incongruent' life. We are kind of timid when we should be standing strong. We get down on ourselves and heap guilt loads upon our shoulders when we should be letting it go. We are afraid to move forward, always looking backward at the myriad of failures and fear we will never break free from them. Let's take a close look at that passage again - God - YOUR GOD - is with YOU every step you take. Not some of them, only when he feels like it, and if we are 'good enough' to deserve his presence with us - but EACH step we take! Most think of timidity as being a little 'bashful' or 'apprehensive', but did you realize being timid also means we are being intimidated and a bit 'irresolute' in our walk?

As we begin the new year, we have been looking at the concept of these 'resolutions' we make that are sometimes a little 'half-hearted' or 'half-baked'. We want things to be different, but we aren't really sure how it will ever happen. We are 'able' because God is our enabler. We are 'strong' because God is the replacement to our human strength. We are 'confident' because God NEVER leaves or forsakes us - even when we don't 'feel' him there, he hasn't stepped away. We become 'resolute' in our passion of following Jesus one step at a time. We don't do it all at once. Begin by reading a verse a day for a week, then maybe two a day the next week, and so on. You don't read all 66 books in one day! You add precept to precept, teaching to teaching, step one to step two. Just sayin!

More than physical strength

It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action. 

(Honore de Balzac)

Strength comes in many forms, doesn't it? Some develop strength because they spend hour after hour 'working out' - honing the strength within their muscles. I am not much of a 'work out' kind of gal, as is probably quite evident by the extra inches I carry here and there. I do have some strength still left in these muscles of mine, as I am still able to wield open that jar of pickles with a tight grip and a little 'elbow-grease'! I know a good many who have a strength that comes from down deep inside of them, allowing them to face some pretty fearful things day after day, like the nurses who have taken care of hundreds and hundreds of COVID-19 patients, enduring the long hours and grueling work of being 'suited up' in all that protective gear. They may go home at nights absolutely exhausted, faces swollen and broken down from the hours and hours of wearing N-95 masks, bodies fatigued by the hours of standing at those bedsides, monitoring every breath, heartbeat, and flicker of the eye. Yet they exhibit the strength to return the next day to do it all over again. Where does this type of 'inner strength' come from? I think the 'resolve' to do something that is onerous comes from having made a choice to serve others - despite the cost. There are times in life when we need to focus a little bit more on the 'inner resolve' than the physical endurance - the physical isn't going to cut it because what we face will require a 'stamina' that isn't humanly possible.

Are you strong because you belong to Christ? Does His love comfort you? Do you have joy by being as one in sharing the Holy Spirit? Do you have loving-kindness and pity for each other? Then give me true joy by thinking the same thoughts. Keep having the same love. Be as one in thoughts and actions. (Philippians 2:1-2)

We belong to Christ, making a strength that is not our own available to us. That strength is sometimes referred to as 'inner strength' or 'supernatural strength'. Not to get all mystical here, but there is something that seems to inhabit us with inner 'resolve' that we clearly know is not there by our own doing. We have spent our reserve and somehow there is more that seems to come from within. This isn't our reserve - it is the fresh infilling of the strength of Christ within! There is nothing more powerful than to be operating in this realm. We are strong because we belong to Christ, but do we use that strength in ways that bring him honor? We are comforted when things seem too hard to handle, but does that comfort move us into action once again? The inner 'resolve' that Christ gives to us isn't just to 'build us up' so we are feeling 'good' again. It is given to us so we will turn again to the task at hand and continue on. 

As a child of God, we are asked to do some pretty tough things - like loving those who may not seem all that lovely at times. I know there are a lot of people who just get on our 'wrong side' in life - it is a fact of life that we won't always agree. As a matter of fact, there are some pretty awesome people I can think of right now who I don't agree with for one reason or another, but that doesn't keep me from loving them. As we examine our passage today, we are given clear instruction to 'think the same thoughts, have the same love, and be as one in thoughts and actions'. That is a pretty tall order for us humans, isn't it? To think the same thoughts is maybe the hardest of all. We all have opinions and truth be told, not all of our opinions are really 'right' or definitely 'wrong'. That is why they are called opinions! An opinion is a belief or thought that rests on ground INSUFFICIENT to produce complete certainty. So, why do we differ over things that are merely opinion?

If we want to be as one in thoughts and actions, we need to allow our 'oneness' to be built upon the things in our lives that are not built upon truth, not opinion. If we commit first to be undivided in our beliefs, with those beliefs being based upon the truths proclaimed in God's Word, then perhaps we will find ourselves a little less focused on the 'opinion' that would otherwise divide us. We would get a little closer to being ONE in thoughts and actions - developing an inner resolve and strength that brings us back time and time again to thinking and doing the right things, in the right way, for the right reasons, in the right timing. Just sayin!

Resolution or Revolution?

⁸ Endings are better than beginnings.
   Sticking to it is better than standing out. 

(Ecclesiastes 7:8)

One full month of the year has already flown by at record speed and as many of us sit looking at our "resolutions", conducting an inventory of our progress toward goals we had set for ourselves, some of us will find ourselves having made a good start, but then petering our somewhere along the way!  Isn't that always the case with our "resolutions" - they are good while they last, but they tend not to last!  One of the radio announcers I listen to on Christian radio did something different this year.  She focused on making a "revolution" in her life - not a "resolution".  To some, those are just words, but if you know me by now - you know how much I enjoy looking at the words!

A resolution is simply an intention - formalized by some sort of plan.  It is a determination of heart or mind, but it often lacks the quality of perseverance that is required to see it to completion.  A revolution is the process whereby one set of actions is diminished and replaced thoroughly by another.  There is a clear difference when we look at them this way - one is well-intended, the other is well-performed.

Revolution is similar to the process of metamorphosis - the process whereby the caterpillar emerges as a beautiful butterfly.  At one season, it appears one way, and at a different season, it has been transformed into something that no longer resembles the former appearance!  Now, translate that into everyday life with Jesus.  We need revolution, not just resolution.  Yes, we need to be resolute in our commitment to what he asks of us, but we need the revolutionary transformation of our lives that only he can bring.

Solomon reminds us that endings are better than beginnings.  We often do much to celebrate the beginning of something.  Think about it...

• Bridal showers to celebrate the beginning of a new life for the bride
• Baby showers to prepare for the many needs of the baby
• Grand openings of stores to welcome in all the customers

Yet, the ending is the most important part!  How will that relationship be 25 or 50 years down the road?  Will there still be celebration?  Will that child grow up to bring honor to his/her parents?  Will the store's windows soon be marked with the "going out of business" signs that all become so prominent these days?  

Sticking to it is better than standing out.  That's the key to "revolution" in our lives.  If we want Jesus to transform us (create a metamorphic change in us), then we need the "stick-to-it" kind of commitment that is spoken of here.  There is a place for resolution, but the outcome we all desire is revolution.

As you look back over the month - evaluating the "resolution" you exhibited toward the goals you set - remember this:  God is the MOST concerned with the revolution of our mind, emotions, and spirit - not with the loftiness of the resolution or the magnificence of the plan.  Maybe it is time that we examine our "resolutions" in the spirit of making them "revolutions" in our life!