Thursday, November 24, 2011
Longing
I have to be at work in the matter of only a few hours, but I cannot fall asleep. I lay here and I think that I am going to fall asleep when I start to feel unsettled yet again. As I sit here and pray to God, he brings Psalm 63 to my heart. David praises God for how great he is. He explains how his soul thirsts for God. His flesh faints god God. He has this indescribable joy that is compared to a deep hunger for food. As I read through the psalm over and over again, the more I desire God as well. My soul thirsts for him and my flesh faints for him . It is proven throug my inability to sleep. When I can't sleep, I turn to God. When I am having a rough day, I turn to God. When I am uneasy, I turn to God. When things are just messed up, I turn to God. I have this natural draw to God even in the toughest times.
This is a beautiful reminder. It reminds me that I am a part of God. I am created from him. I have this connection with him that is so strong. He loves me and cares for me. My soul longs for him because he created me in his own image. I am created in a way that is searching to know my creator. I desire it and I long for it, how beautiful is that?
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Perspective
We all have what we believe. We all have things that we are going to stand by and never let go of. We have parts of our thoughts that are stubborn and that we will always keep even if there is a better explanation of something else. We all have those things that we will never ever let go of. There is nothing wrong with all of this until it becomes a point where we will not listen to others. We say that we are correct and no one else can ever be. We choose not to have an open mind about things because of what we have grown up with. We choose not to have an open mind because we know what truth is and no one else can say anything to change our mind. We all have our own thoughts that might be similar to others, but they do not think the same way that we do.
God created us all. He gave us all of our own minds. However, the biggest thing to remember is that we all were made in his own image. Being made in his own image means that we all reflect the character of God. By being so diverse in our thinking and how we perceive the world, we all can reflect God in a different way. This means that we should not be so quick to deem what is wrong in another person's thoughts. Because they might perceive things a way that we do not, we should use that as a tool instead of a weapon against them. Our perception allows us to have this tunnel vision that only sees one part of God and to see the "whole" or closest to the whole that we can, we need to use the perspectives of those around us. We need to use the truths that have been revealed in their lives and see who God is truly. We need to back down and put our guns down for a bit to really hear God's voice and to see who God really is. We are so busy fighting about what is right and wrong instead of learning from each other to see what God is actually saying to us.
This is something that we spoke about the other day at church and it was brought up again in Andrew's class the other night. The truth is that our church is so divided up based on our beliefs and what is biblical that we tend to miss the bigger picture. We are so tuned into our smaller pictures that we do not take those and put them together to be the body of Christ. This is not something that we can only use in churches, but also in our relationships. We need to quit being so defensive to one another, but really need to start learning from one another. Who cares if what someone else believes is not the same as our belief, learn from that.
Obviously, I am not saying that we should be completely and totally unbiblical. We need to listen to the voice of God and use discernment of the Spirit, but we need to be willing to understand that things are not as crystal clear. We are never going to have one specific interpretation of God's word that we all agree on. We can't because we cannot understand God's mind. That is why he has blessed us in so many different ways so that we might be able to understand better through working together as a body.
Stop being so gosh darn stubborn.
God created us all. He gave us all of our own minds. However, the biggest thing to remember is that we all were made in his own image. Being made in his own image means that we all reflect the character of God. By being so diverse in our thinking and how we perceive the world, we all can reflect God in a different way. This means that we should not be so quick to deem what is wrong in another person's thoughts. Because they might perceive things a way that we do not, we should use that as a tool instead of a weapon against them. Our perception allows us to have this tunnel vision that only sees one part of God and to see the "whole" or closest to the whole that we can, we need to use the perspectives of those around us. We need to use the truths that have been revealed in their lives and see who God is truly. We need to back down and put our guns down for a bit to really hear God's voice and to see who God really is. We are so busy fighting about what is right and wrong instead of learning from each other to see what God is actually saying to us.
This is something that we spoke about the other day at church and it was brought up again in Andrew's class the other night. The truth is that our church is so divided up based on our beliefs and what is biblical that we tend to miss the bigger picture. We are so tuned into our smaller pictures that we do not take those and put them together to be the body of Christ. This is not something that we can only use in churches, but also in our relationships. We need to quit being so defensive to one another, but really need to start learning from one another. Who cares if what someone else believes is not the same as our belief, learn from that.
Obviously, I am not saying that we should be completely and totally unbiblical. We need to listen to the voice of God and use discernment of the Spirit, but we need to be willing to understand that things are not as crystal clear. We are never going to have one specific interpretation of God's word that we all agree on. We can't because we cannot understand God's mind. That is why he has blessed us in so many different ways so that we might be able to understand better through working together as a body.
Stop being so gosh darn stubborn.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Face to the Ground
I came into the field of ministry knowing exactly what it is that I was doing. I knew how to plan Bible studies, retreats, and lead a service. I knew exactly what to say and when to say it. I knew all the practices of ministry that I needed to know. I have done this for a while now and I knew exactly what I was doing. I knew all the "practical" things and how to deal with situations according to what the books say. Unfortunately, ministry doesn't play by the "books." In fact, ministry, is unpredictable and you will aways be learning when you are doing ministry.
I knew that things would be straining. I knew that I would be thrown into unpredictable situations. I knew that my heart would hurt for those around me and that I would be thrown on the ground. I knew that I would be literally on the ground asking God to save me. I knew all of these things. However, even through all of that, I had a big head. I was not humbly going into ministry. I was going into it with the attitude of "this is where God wants me," but I was being a super human about it.
With all of this being said, this is what I am thinking...
We come out of college with all this experience and rockin' resumes and are ready to conquer the world. We are prepared to go out and literally take over. For some of us, it creates this feeling of uncertainty and we are afraid that we aren't good enough. For others, like me, it creates this feeling of being superman and being able to take on everything that comes our way. We fall into this trap of thinking that we are going at this alone and that we can handle it by ourselves. We try to go above and beyond without the support alongside of us and we do not seek out those who will challenge us in that. However, we need to fall on our faces, we need to burn out, and we need to realize that we need those beside us. We need to feel that we are completely alone and on our own in order to realize that we need a community around us. We need to realize that it is not a weakness to call on people, but instead it is a strength. It is not a weakness to admit our faults, but it is a sign of maturity. We need to be willing to be vulnerable and to be in a constant learning posture. Most of all, we have to be willing to fall on our faces, get back up, and learn from our fall.
This is a rough transition. We are prepared to go out and change the world, but it is so hard sometimes. We are hit left and right by life's hardships and we feel like we should be able to handle it. However, the feeling is only a feeling and we get knocked down time and time again. This phase of life can be a beautiful one, we just need to have faith, be willing to fall down, and ask for help. We cannot do this alone and with help, we will accomplish great things. So to all of us out there in this phase: here's to hardships and failures, but let us find light in those times.
I knew that things would be straining. I knew that I would be thrown into unpredictable situations. I knew that my heart would hurt for those around me and that I would be thrown on the ground. I knew that I would be literally on the ground asking God to save me. I knew all of these things. However, even through all of that, I had a big head. I was not humbly going into ministry. I was going into it with the attitude of "this is where God wants me," but I was being a super human about it.
With all of this being said, this is what I am thinking...
We come out of college with all this experience and rockin' resumes and are ready to conquer the world. We are prepared to go out and literally take over. For some of us, it creates this feeling of uncertainty and we are afraid that we aren't good enough. For others, like me, it creates this feeling of being superman and being able to take on everything that comes our way. We fall into this trap of thinking that we are going at this alone and that we can handle it by ourselves. We try to go above and beyond without the support alongside of us and we do not seek out those who will challenge us in that. However, we need to fall on our faces, we need to burn out, and we need to realize that we need those beside us. We need to feel that we are completely alone and on our own in order to realize that we need a community around us. We need to realize that it is not a weakness to call on people, but instead it is a strength. It is not a weakness to admit our faults, but it is a sign of maturity. We need to be willing to be vulnerable and to be in a constant learning posture. Most of all, we have to be willing to fall on our faces, get back up, and learn from our fall.
This is a rough transition. We are prepared to go out and change the world, but it is so hard sometimes. We are hit left and right by life's hardships and we feel like we should be able to handle it. However, the feeling is only a feeling and we get knocked down time and time again. This phase of life can be a beautiful one, we just need to have faith, be willing to fall down, and ask for help. We cannot do this alone and with help, we will accomplish great things. So to all of us out there in this phase: here's to hardships and failures, but let us find light in those times.
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