Have you heard?

OUR strength is often what we call willpower or the desire to act one way when the other is the choice we make most often. The truth be told, our ability or talent is way too over-estimated, and our strength is way too small. Proverbs 24:10 reminds us, "If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small."

Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

God's strength is for the weary and the weak. Not sure if I should admit this or not, but that is me! It is not for those who have everything perfect or under control in their lives. It is for those who aren't perfect, who know they have issues, and desire to have something be different in the choices they make. The promise is for power when we are weak, strength when we are powerless, and even new strength when we exhaust all the strength we seem to have had.

Weakness isn't an admission of failure, like some may think, but rather an acknowledgement of awareness of just how much we need God's help in our lives. We are acknowledging that without God's help, things aren't going to go very well! When pressure mounts and life events seem to bring a load of something crashing down on us, we can either muddle through the best we can, or we can stop and lean into God for his power. 

We aren't admitting we are inept, or even that we are not willing to make an attempt. We are admitting that we lack the knowledge God possesses and that without his help, we will likely fall short of what we could do when we are backed with his potential and power. Even youths become weak and tired. That statement pretty well wraps it up for us. It isn't about natural ability or talent - it is about the depth of our trust and the placement of that trust. It could be we trust way too much in our own ability/talent and not quite enough in God's power and strength. Just sayin!

One Aspirin, or Two?

Deal with your pain or it will deal with you. We have to actually 'process' our pain if we are to ever get beyond our pain. Pain comes in many forms - physical, emotional, relational, and even spiritual. We cannot ignore pain, but we try to push it down over and over again rather than taking it to God or seeking help for it. We hope that ignoring it will help us somehow, but it just brings repeated torment to us.

Distress that drives us to God does that. It turns us around. It gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God are full of regrets, end up on a deathbed of regrets. (2 Corinthians 7:10)

God's plan is for the pain to drive us closer to him - not further away. When we withdraw from the pain and try to bury it, we are allowing pain to drive us away from God. As much as God wants to be worshipped, he also wants us to be open with him in ALL our needs. Every weakness we have, he stands ready to make us strong, but we have to be honest about what it is we are experiencing.

Pain leaves us very weakened. Weakness taken to God will be made into strength. Nothing will change our past, but remember...God wants to heal our brokenness, regardless of what it is. We need trusted friends to share our pain with - we need to 'process' it and talking with a trusted friend can be the beginning of us getting to the other side of that pain. We will never heal until we begin to allow the wounds we bear to be exposed to the touch of God.

Many see absolutely NO purpose in their pain, but hear this clearly...God has a purpose, even though he isn't the one causing the pain. He will use it somehow, even when we think there is no redeeming quality that can come of it. Pain can be treated by seeking help, or it can be ignored, causing us even further discomfort in the form of shame, resentment, anger, mistrust, and the list goes on. Seek help for your pain. You don't need to live under with all that other discomfort! Just sayin!

You want me weaker?

I feel weaker and weaker as I wait for you to save me.  But I put my trust in your word. (Psalm 119:81 ERV)

Have you ever just wondered why God makes us wait for something? Why is it the thing we so desperately desire or "require" seems to take so long to come to fruition in our lives? We don't always understand God's timing, nor do we appreciate it fully! We think, "You are all-powerful, God, so why don't you just do this right now?" We want to understand what he is waiting for - and we may be surprised it is for us to become just a little weaker. If God gave us everything at our strongest and most determined part of our lives, do you think we'd learn to trust him? Probably not!

As we become weaker and weaker, there is something that happens - we begin to lean into God. Don't believe me? Think of the last time you were really "desperate" for God to step in and do something in your life. The more your desperation grew, the weaker you got, and the more you pressed in to hear what he was saying, see how he was moving, and understand his purposes in whatever it was you were going through. It could just be God has a design in our waiting - it might just be to bring us to a place of "weakness" - that place where we press in just a little closer.

After a period of victory in our lives, what often comes our way? Isn't it a period that almost drives us to the point of desperation? We want the mountaintop experience all the time in our lives, but there is something beautiful about even the rocky and craggy places in our lives that we don't want to entirely miss. We develop strength in navigating those places under the hand and watchful eye of our Savior. We learn to look for the small blessings even in the most barren of places - because those symbols of hope bring us deeper into a place of trusting Jesus with our next steps.

In those rocky places, we grow weak - because navigating them takes all our strength and then some! We don't realize how limited our strength is until we are driven to the place where it wanes. We don't realize how weak we are until the challenge becomes too great for us to handle alone! I like to learn new things in various computer software programs, but when I want to, I don't just "experiment" with the buttons on the keyboard. I go to the experts - read their blogs, follow their detailed instructions, and watch their guiding videos to help me develop those skills I need for whatever it is I am trying to accomplish. Why? They know what I don't!

God knows what we don't. He also knows we won't seek that knowledge sometimes until we have exhausted our own. It is at that place of weakness when we finally begin to reach out to find his solution. Maybe those places of challenge aren't all that bad after all. Just sayin!

Where I am weak...

Weakness is viewed in a different ways by different people.  Some will criticize the weakness of another, seeing it as a way of "copping-out" in life - not really doing what one needs to do, but succumbing to the pressure to quit.  Others might see weakness as a sign of not caring - as though the weakness kept the individual from extending themselves.  Many will see weakness as a kind of feebleness or the type of trait exhibited when one is just plain not strong enough for the task at hand.  I know there have been many a jar of pickles which challenged my "strength" in my days, but even though I might have been too "weak" to open them on my own, enough force from a solid rap on the edges of the lid and I accomplished the task!  So, weakness doesn't always have to mean we don't have the "strength" to do something - it might mean we get creative about how we accomplish it!  This might be where we get into trouble in our lives, because when we try to get "creative" about things in our lives we sometimes create a different problem than the one we initially started with (such as a cracked pickle jar).  The good news is that we don't have to deal with our areas of weakness alone - we are given the Spirit of God that we might have a way to not only "deal" with them, but overcome in those areas!

In certain ways we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words. All of our thoughts are known to God. He can understand what is in the mind of the Spirit, as the Spirit prays for God’s people. We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. (Romans 8:26-28 CEV)

We are given the example of prayer - that area in our life where we sometimes set out to pray for the needs of another, but actually have no idea what the true need might be in their lives.  We have been given the Spirit of God to guide our thoughts - because our thoughts are known to God.  Before anyone gets all wigged out about God knowing their thoughts, let me just remind each of us he is the one who made our brain in the first place!  To think we can hide things away in there without him knowing is kind of silly.  Let me also assure you of something else - Satan cannot read our thoughts!  If we look carefully at scripture, we find Lucifer, (an archangel of God charged with the task of worship in heaven), actually "trying" to get to be like God.  He wanted to know what God knows, do what God does, and the like.  He didn't "get" there - God shut him down instead!  Now, he exists as a fallen angel - Satan.  In his wake he took a bunch of other angels with him - those we commonly refer to as demonic spirits today.  So, since Satan is a created being like the rest of us (as all angels are), he cannot read our minds - his mind was created by God just like the rest of ours!  He CAN read our words - as they are spoken.  He CAN observe our actions - as they are brought to fruition.  But...he cannot read our minds.

The only "spirit" who can read our minds is the Spirit of God - the member of the triune godhead who was engaged in this creation process all along.  He is the one "spirit" whose actions are actually "on our behalf" and not set against us in any fashion.  He is the one promised by Jesus to come alongside us and to guide us into all manner of action which is honoring to God and to bring conviction into our spirit when we act in ways which are the opposite.  If you think guilt is a thing from the devil, think again!  Guilt is a result of us being given a conscience - we know certain sets of values we are to adhere to and when we don't, our conscience "pricks" us a little.  This is a "God thing" in us, not a mechanism by which Satan gets us down.  But...Satan does use shame as a way of keeping us in a place of overwhelming guilt - thinking there is no way to be free of our sinful deeds.  Shame is his tool - working with our thoughts to keep us in bondage.  God does not use shame - he uses guilt to bring us to repentance.  Satan uses shame to bring us into bondage.

I think this passage deals with more than just having a "guide" for our prayer life.  Although we can count on the Spirit of God to guide us in our prayers for one another, and even ourselves, we can see a much bigger picture of his action in our lives.  He is there to "always be at work for those who love God".  That means we can count on the Spirit of God to come alongside us whenever we are in a place where we might slip up, go a wrong direction, or when we just are unclear about something.  He is there continually to guide us - we just don't always recognize his nearness.  We find ourselves listening to the loudest voice or thought.  I have said this many times - if we'd learn to listen to the still voice of God, we might just avoid the hazards of the loudest.  God rarely shouts - he exists in the realm of peace, so his voice doesn't need to be all that loud!  He wants us to enjoy that realm of peace, settled into his presence and listening intently to hear whatever it is he might speak.  

God's Spirit is in tune with where it is we are weak - even when we are not. I know I often find myself believing myself stronger in certain areas in my life, then coming to the realization of how futile my own strength was in the end. In truth, if I would learn to rely upon the Spirit of God a little more to guide my actions and reveal my weaknesses a little clearer, I might struggle a whole lot less in this walk!  How about you?  Got any areas where you are weak, but too stubborn to admit it?  Rather than hitting that pickle jar lid repeatedly, maybe we'd do well to admit we are a little too weak to wrench it free!  Just sayin!

Hunger gets you to the table

There are a whole lot of character traits I could choose for my "H" List - things like humility, honor, honesty, hopefulness, and holiness.  Yet, I choose to focus on one character trait today:  Hunger.  You see, if hunger is one of your character traits, humility will follow, honor will be your adornment, honesty will be your way of doing business, hopefulness will spring from your heart, and holiness will be evident in your words and actions.  So, hunger really is an all-encompassing character trait for our "H" List today!

You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.  (Matthew 5:6 MSG)

This passage is taken from the Sermon on the Mount.  I'd like to back up a little to get some perspective though.  First, we find Jesus climbing a small mountain or up onto a hillside.  Why?  The crowds were gathering and this gave him position to speak to the vast crowd - his voice would carry since what he did was actually create something of an outside amphitheater.  Next, we see he did not climb alone - those who were "apprenticed" to him, the committed, climbed with him.  In other words, those who were in service with him.  These were his disciples - those who would be in for the long haul.  Not to be missed is the "posture" of Jesus as he began to teach - he sat down.  Now, at first this may not say much, but think about it - he sat down.  This suggests a place of comfort and a time of personal sharing.  Last, but not least, catch who it was he began to teach - his "climbing companions".  It was those who were committed to the long haul he sat with that day - opening up his heart and sharing his treasured teachings.

This brings us to the posture of his "climbing companions" - they sat down, too.  They were ready to receive from him - expectant for what he might share.  This is probably the most important part of "hunger" - there is a desire to receive because their is an intensity of need.  If you have ever been hungry, stomach rumbling a little, you have an urgency of need which compels you to find something to satisfy the hunger, right?  You either prepare it yourself, or you go some place where you can find it prepared already.  For these disciples, the latter is true - they come expectant to find that which will satisfy their hunger for truth.  We cannot miss their posture - they sat down.  This is more than a casual pursuit for them - it is not fast food!  They are assuming a position which suggests they are there to receive - not just get a "quickie" infusion of spiritual advice!

Then Jesus begins to "deliver" their "meal":

³ “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule." - This may not seem like the way to open up a good "meal", but think about what he is saying here - when you are hungry enough, you are empty!  Emptiness is the opportunity for filling.  

⁴ “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you." - Loss leaves us empty, but through loss, we are free to embrace things new to us.  Hunger is built in the times of loss - for we move from being comfortable, to beginning to seek something to satisfy the longing of our hearts.

⁵ “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought." - Hunger moves us because we are no longer content with the quick fixes or the tidbits of stuff we take in to fill the space inside.  Yet, it is not until we realize what really satisfies our hunger that we are content in "being filled". 

And this brings us to our passage today:  “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat."  Hunger is a compelling need - it drives you.  It is often associated with a feeling of weakness.  The body is uniquely designed to "crave" that which it needs most.  For example, when you need minerals, your body actually "craves" things which provide you with those minerals - such as salt!  The spirit of man is similarly created to "crave" that which satisfies the inner longings of a searching heart.  

Looking at how he leads up to this passage about hungering for that which really satisfies the inner man, he reminds the disciples about weakness.  I think this is because weakness is an innate part of hunger - it is the evidence of need.  Until we recognize our need, we don't stop to be fed.  Until the disciples sat down, they weren't in a position to really feast upon what Jesus would provide.  I think the same is true for us - hunger drives us to his feet, but intensity of need (weakness) compels us to actually sit down long enough to take in what we have need of.  Did you ever stop to consider the root word of hunger?  It carries the meaning of being "dry" or "burning" with need.  Hunger is a place of dryness.  There is a burning for something more.  In this respect, it brings us to the place of filling.  Maybe this is why Jesus sandwiched this right between being empty, at a sense of loss, and ready to be filled with what really matters and the next truths:

⁷ “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for." - When we are filled, we have something to give out - fullness actually produces something for others.

⁸ “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world." - In being filled "inside", there is something evident "outside".

⁹ “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family." - There is just something about gathering around the place of nourishment, sharing a good meal with others, isn't there?  In those moments, something happens - the doors open to communication, intimate exchanges occur.  The place of filling actually becomes a place of exchange.

¹⁰ “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom." - You may not want what you are fed, but in learning to appreciate the provision you receive, you learn to see it as the bounty which will sustain you.

Hunger is a powerful thing - being in a position to be filled with what really satisfies is a matter of settling in for the feast.  Hunger gets you to the table, but emptiness and weakness gets you to sit down long enough to be filled.  Just sayin!

New Wine Skins

EXPAND:  To increase in extent, size, volume, or scope; to unfold; to express in fuller form or detail; to enlarge.  PUNY:  Of less than normal strength or size; weak; unimportant; insignificant.  

Not sure which side of the fence you are on today, but I know I would prefer the "expanded" version of life vs. the "puny" version.  In fact, in examining the steps I have taken over the last year (something I do in the first part of each new year), I can see some steps I have taken to "position" myself for growth in a number of ways in my life.  First and foremost, I find myself enjoying the times I have with my Lord - long or short.  There are times in my day when I just get quiet for a few brief moments - settling my spirit and emotions into the presence of God.  Others don't know about this, but it is what keeps me centered and on task in my life.  If someone comes across me at that moment, they might think I am deep in thought, but in actuality I am just deep into his presence!  An awesome place to be, huh?  "Where" we find ourselves often determines "what" we find developing or withering in our lives.

The Fear-of-God expands your life; a wicked life is a puny life. (Proverbs 10:27 MSG)


Our writer points out the differences between a God-centered life and that of a man/woman choosing to make their own decisions in life.  The differences become the plainest when we look at the "outflow" of each.  You see, it is almost impossible to "expand" without also "overflowing" - there has to be an outlet or outflow for the "expansion" going on inside.  Isn't this the parable Jesus taught one day about old wine skins and the new?  You don't put new wine in the old because they incapable of expanding any further - you put them new into the new.  I think there are times when Jesus is ready to pour into us something quite new, but if we don't take time to prepare the new "skins" to accommodate the "in-pouring", we will miss out on so much of what he desires to give.

In looking back at our two definitions, there are a couple of points I'd like us to consider:

* There is an increase of some kind God wants to give into each of our lives.  If you have ever had the experience of having a bumper crop from your garden of some type of fruit or vegetable, you probably understand how hard it is to find spaces to store all you see being produced.  One of the things you often do when you experience this type of increase is reach out to others to share what you have been blessed with.  Perhaps this is he basis of God increasing us - to cause us to be in a position to have something to give out to others who will be equally blessed by the "bumper crop" of his goodness.

* As God expands us, there is a process of unfolding which occurs.  I remember the nurse bringing my daughter and son into me for the first time after delivery.  They had been cleaned up, wrapped securely in a little blanket, snug as a bug in a rug.  I couldn't see their toes, their fingers were secured in the confines of those folds.  So, the natural thing each mother does is to "unfold" the "package".  The blankets are slowly unfolded, revealing first one little hand, then the other, until you find yourself down to the tiny toes.  In the process, what are you doing?  You are discovering the intricacies of this tiny life before you - things hidden from view, but now plainly revealed because of the "unfolding" process.  The same is true in our spiritual lives - sometimes things come to us in neatly prepared packages - promise of great things just below the surface.  The thing we need to do is engage in the unfolding process in order to discover what those things are.  God's gifts come in many forms - each requiring some unfolding in our lives.  The degree of eagerness we express in seeing revealed what is contained in the "package" of God's new graces in our lives is often an estimate of how much expansion we are ready for!

* God's intent is to see the expression of him in us in some greater detail.  No good thing comes our way without an express purpose.  The same is true of those things which don't immediately seem to reveal a blessing.  Our writer points to the idea of God "giving into" our lives something which would be missing otherwise.  The thing he gives is really a person - Christ.  The thing he accomplishes in the gift is an exchange of character - from the puniness of life on our own terms to the expansiveness of life filled with his graces, promises, and power.  There is no limit to the discovery of God in us - we just have to allow the unfolding and expansion process to occur.

By contrast, the life which limits the "inflow" of God's graces is marked by minimal strength and a "bare bones" existence.  Now, this doesn't just capture my interest that well, how about you?  No one steps up one day and says, "I wanna live a life marked by weakness, insignificance, and meaninglessness."  In fact, it something which comes upon us because we don't go about the process of "changing the skins" in our lives.  I am not suggesting we need a literal change of skin, but more of a spiritual change of skin.  We need the laying aside of old habits - things we have come to rely upon as "steady" and "certain" in our lives.  When the wine-maker poured off the new wine, he had been through a process of preparing the vessels which would hold the new long before he had the harvest of the new ready for pouring.  We sometimes don't think there is much benefit in the preparations God puts us through - not understanding why we go through the same lessons time and again.  What we probably don't see is that each time we go through that lesson, we are making new skins.  There is something "fresh" which comes - making us capable of the expansion which occurs a little later when God is ready to fill us with his new wine.

The space between puny and expansive is really one tiny step.  It is a matter of choice to be involved in the process of preparing the skins - obedience is the first step toward new skins.  In time, the new wine will be ready - once poured in, we need to be ready for the expansion which will occur.  God's delay today may just be his willingness to wait for us to get our "skins" ready for his infilling!  Just sayin!

Sandpaper anyone?

Probe:  To search into; examine thoroughly; to place under scrutiny.  Some call this being "under the microscope".  As long as someone is only viewing with the "naked eye", what is seen is not always what it appears to be.  But...put the same object under the microscope and you see things hidden from view!  It is like when you thought you dusted well, then the sun comes shining through the window, or you turn on that bright light in the room, and poof - all the dust on the shelves you "missed" is quite apparent!  You just didn't "probe" far enough with the duster!  Yet, you thought you had "cleaned house".

Close the book on Evil, God, but publish your mandate for us.  You get us ready for life: you probe for our soft spots, you knock off our rough edges.  And I’m feeling so fit, so safe: made right, kept right. God in solemn honor does things right, but his nerves are sandpapered raw.  (Psalm 7:9-11 MSG)

God has a way of "probing" which goes after areas we thought we could ignore without anyone discovering them, doesn't he?  He goes after the soft spots.  Why do we "feel our fruit" at the grocer?  Isn't it because we are probing for soft spots?  If we find those soft spots, we may put it back, thinking it is too ripe, bruised, or just not of the texture we'd like to consume.  If it is an avocado, we might actually like it to have a little "give" to it, but if it is too soft, it will not hold up well in our guacamole!  The purpose of the "probing" is  to discover what we cannot always see with the naked eye.  The process of "probing" is part of "selection", is it not?  We "select" based on what it is we discover in the probing.  I don't think God selects based on the same criteria!

Now, if God goes after the "soft spots" in our character, do you think it is to put us back on the shelf, rejected because we have a few "soft spots"?  Certainly not!  He only probes for the "soft spots" because he knows they impact the health of the rest of the "spots".  If we were to purchase the apple with a soft spot, bring it home, then carefully "excise" the soft spot, we'd still be left with a lot of good apple, right?  God's plan in discovering the "soft spots" in our character is quite similar - he wants to remove the damaged parts so the good parts are all that remains.  Some of us think there are too many "damaged" parts in us for God to find anything good - but I beg to differ!  Even the apple with "soft spots" has seeds!  What are seeds?  They are the potential for infinite growth!

We don't always appreciate the probing.  It seems invasive and kind of painful at times.  The process of probing is connected to the purpose of probing - without the probing there would be no discovery.  I had a father who loved to work out in the shop.  He had all kinds of power and hand tools.  He could craft things with his hands.  He showed me the value of "taking off the rough edges".  If we simply left a piece of wood with all its rough edges, it might actually cause us more problems in the long run - giving us deeply-seated splinters which would be hard to remove and set in as a festering, painful sore.  So, we "worked the wood".  We took the sandpaper, planes, and the like to the wood.  How were the rough edges removed?  Under pressure!  As we exerted pressure of the rough sandpaper against the rough edges of the wood, those rough places began to smooth out.  We'd change "grit" of sandpaper from very course and rough to smoother and fine.  Why?  If we continued with the course grit, we'd damage the wood.  If we further smoothed it with the finer grit, we'd soon have it smooth as silk.  

The smoother the wood, the easier it was to take on the stain.  The purpose of the stain - to enhance (bring out) the beauty of the grain.  The purpose of stain was not to "mask" the beauty, but to highlight it!  The stain came after the sanding - not before it.  Sometimes I think we get things mixed up in our minds when it comes to beauty in our lives.  We think beauty is something we can "put on" - but truthfully, it is only something we can "bring out".  The sanding "brought out" the beauty of the wood.  The actions of God's probing in our lives does exactly the same - it brings forth the beauty of the "grain" in us.  The grain in wood is indicative of something - growth.  

Dad always looked for wood that did not have a whole lot of "knots" in it - a few were good, but many were not.  Sure, a knot was a sign of growth, but it presented an area of "weakness" to the wood.  If there were too many knots, the wood would be less likely to hold up under pressure.  Why does the knot exist?  It was a place of growth - connection to a portion of the wood that is no longer there.  A branching off, of sorts.  Those reminders of the past "branches" exist in the finished board, but the branches aren't part of the finished product!  We have lots of "knots" in our lives - places where we "branch off" a little here and there.  God knows that in order to give our live integrity and strength, they need to be removed.  As he removes them, we grow taller, stronger, and in a more "upright" manner.  Yet, the "knot" will remain as a reminder of the branch.  

We cannot escape our past - it is like the knot in the tree - a reminder.  God highlights the "knots" which lend to the beauty of the finished product.  He eliminates those which don't.  In the end, the thing produced is a display of his probing and "sanding".  Just sayin!