Welcome, Jason!

My dear friend Jason has started a blog. I've told him repeatedly that he needed to start one; guess the nagging paid off. He's a very gifted writer whose very deep thinking challenges me and stirs my own imagination. Take a moment to check out Jason's blog.

Jason and his wife Susan are two of my closest friends in the world. I've known Susan since we were children, but our friendship didn't really develop until four or five years ago. We've been prayer partners for a long time now and still share prayer requests via e-mail every Tuesday. I've known Jason for less time, but our friendship is solid as well. He's become somewhat of a big brother to me, which is a little odd considering that I'm older than he is. But he and Susan both possess a wisdom and insight far beyond their years.

They've have been awesome examples of Jesus to me. We've eaten out together, watched movies and football games together, laughed and cried together. They gave me an enormous amount of emotional and spiritual support, encouragement and wisdom during a recent heartache. We've celebrated victories and shared burdens together.

Last fall, Jason and Susan and their precious baby daughter moved to Virginia. While I hated to see them leave, we all knew that God was leading them in a new direction. It hasn't been easy for them to leave their friends and family behind and adjust to a new life, but I think they'd both agree that this transition has caused them to lean more on God, and that it truly has tested and strengthened their faith in His provision.

If you're blessed enough to have friends like these who know you so well and support you, take some time to thank them for their friendship.

Jason and Susan, thanks again for your incredible friendship; God has richly blessed me through it. And Jason, welcome to bloggerdom--hope you enjoy it!

Getting a Life (Group)

I spent the morning helping my friend Stacye hang up life group sign-up sheets in our church lobby. Life groups are one of the premiere programs of our congregation, probably the ministry that our church places the most emphasis on. We always take a hiatus around the holidays and resume with reorganized groups each February. This gives groups the opportunity to reshuffle and allow for members to meet other members, no easy task considering our membership is at 1,200 strong.

Life group sign-up time always brings a certain amount of anxiety to me. The purpose of life groups is not simply to have a group of people to rehash the day's sermon and share dinner with, but more to have a fellowship of people with whom you can share your life, hurts, needs, dreams, etc. I suppose that's why I always feel somewhat of an internal pressure to choose the "right" group to join.

I've been in some really great, close-knit groups. And I've been in some, well, not so great groups. I've made some strong bonds with certain people in groups past. There are other former fellow life group members with whom the only communication we have is saying "Hi" as we pass each other in the halls at church. I've been in some groups that were more of a social gathering than anything else. This year I was blessed to be part of not one but two wonderfully deep life groups, both of which weathered many storms that drew us closer to each other and closer to God.

I know that no group is perfect, and I'm not looking for perfection in a life group. What I am looking for is that deeper connection that I talked about yesterday, a group of believers who are also sensing a need and desire for revival. Normally I sign up for a group on the first Sunday that the sheets are posted, which would mean tomorrow. But this year I feel a need to wait and not rush into committing to any one group just yet. I'm praying about which group to join, and I will probably end up visiting a few different groups before making my commitment.

Revive Us Again

Lately I've had a restless feeling when it comes to attending church. I truly love the church I attend. There are so many wonderful, loving people; God's love is evident there.
But lately it feels like there's something missing. I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe I've just been at this church for so many years now that the excitement of being in a non-legalistic church has worn off. Maybe it's because our life groups have been on hiatus for a couple of months, and I'm not currently involved in a group Bible study, and I miss that fellowship.

Then again, maybe it's more than me. In discussing this with a friend of mine today, she said that she and her husband are feeling the exact same way that I am, and that they've talked to several others who are experiencing this same hunger for more. She told me that God told her that He would bring revival; however, it's unknown when or how or what scope this revival will be. It could be revival within us individually, or within our congregation, or within all of God's church as a whole. But my friend assured me that revival IS coming.

How encouraging! It's exciting to anticipate the ways that God will reveal Himself to us in the coming weeks and months. It's thrilling to think of the ways that He may use me, and where He may take me. I could end up in another congregation, or in another city, or another country for all I know. Or I could be used in a new way within my current congregation.

Revive us again, O Lord. I'm ready for it.

Dare to Dream?

I've come to realize that there's a big part of me, part of me that's bigger than I'd like to admit, that is scared to dream anymore.

I guess that after so many prayers that have gone unanswered (or not answered in the way I hoped for), after failed relationships and friendships and other disappointments that life throws my way, my dreams have become cautious. I hate feeling letdown by anyone, but feeling like I've been letdown by God is the harshest blow.

I know that everything happens for a reason, that God can take my failures and disappointments and turn them into good, etc., etc. etc. My head knows that. My heart, on the other hand, has difficulty remembering that sometimes. And so I find myself lately resisting the urge to dream out of fear that I'm wasting time dreaming and desiring things that aren't going to happen. At times I even feel a little selfish to pray for certain dreams or desires. I concentrate on praying for the "right" things, and I begin to lose my heart.

But this morning I discovered a passage that I'd never noticed before, one that struck me as very odd. It's Psalm 20: 4-5: "May he [the LORD] give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests."

What's odd about it, to me anyway, is that it doesn't say, "May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed as long as they are lined up with what God has planned for you." Now, maybe that's implied. And I'm not saying that these verses have nothing to do with God's will for us. But these verses give me some reassurance that it's okay to have dreams and desires--after all, these verses are in the Bible for a reason. It's not like they slipped in, unnoticed by God. And they were written by David, the one called "a man after God's own heart."

Any thoughts/wisdom/insight?

Wrong Expectations

I do believe that God speaks to us today. However, that doesn't mean that we always understand what He's saying. At least I don't. So many times I have this preconceived notion of what I think is the "right" answer, which often turns out to be way off base. God is unchanging, but that does not mean that He is always predictable.

Think about a sunset. The sun sets every evening, but not always at the same time. And not always the same color. Some nights the sunset is a brilliant golden-orange; other nights it takes on a soft purplish hue. Each sunset is a marvelous masterpiece worthy of hanging in a musuem if there were a museum big enough to capture it. And the view of the sunset that we have is different than what people in China, or Russia, or South Africa have. Yet it's the same sun setting every night.

Likewise, I expect God to answer when I call out to Him, but He may not answer the same way every time. Usually I'm looking for the instant pizza-delivery answer (30 minutes or less, guaranteed). And sometimes God does answer that quickly. But many more times, for various reasons, He causes me to wait. Some answers I've waited months and even years to receive (and still waiting). And so often the answers that I do get are quite unexpected.

Last night at church, we had a women's class in which several women shared their testimonies of how God had worked in their lives. As I sat there listening to these tough and wonderful stories, I longed to be able to be used by God to encourage other people. By the time I got home, I was in somewhat of a funk and feeling rather useless.

Later in the evening, a friend called unexpectedly to share a prayer request. It didn't occur to me til this morning that God was directly answering my prayer to be used by Him. While I envisioned being able to encourage a large group of people, as those ladies did last night, God was wanting me to help one person. Because it wasn't the answer I was expecting, I could have easily missed out on the blessing. Thank God that He revealed it to me so that I could share in the joy of being used by Him.

I'm learning to not put God into a box when it comes to expecting answers from Him.

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.'" Isaiah 55:8-9

Evidence of Much Availed

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." James 5:13-16 (NKJV)


I've had many opportunities to pray for other people this week. Some have been related to illness or tragedies, while others have been more upbeat, such as praying for my friend's job interview.

I tend to receive a lot of prayer requests, either from friends and family directly or second-hand through other people. Many times I'm asked to pray for people who I don't know, who I've never met and perhaps never will meet. One of my spiritual gifts is the gift of intercession, and God keeps sending prayer requests my way to give that gift a good workout!

Sometimes I wish I were better at following through on prayer requests. I do pray, but sometimes I'll pray about a certain situation and then soon forget to follow up to see how things turned out. (I do realize that there are many prayers that I won't know the answer to until I'm face to face with God.)

There are certain friends and family that I keep on a "permanent" prayer list, praying for them on a regular basis, even if I don't know specifically what they need at that particular moment. But there are many other people who I forget to ask about the outcome. I've tried keeping a prayer journal in the past, but I've yet to achieve a real consistency in keeping track of those prayer requests. Maybe I need to try it again.

Any ideas?

Crying Out

"At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?'--which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" Mark 15:33-34


On Wednesday nights this quarter I'm in a class at church that is studying how to pray. We're reading various prayers of the New Testament and dissecting them to discover who prayed, why they prayed, what they prayed about, the circumstances behind the prayer, etc. As we carefully analyze the various nuances of each prayer, we also discuss how this particular prayer can offer insight for our own lives.

Last night we studied several prayers in Mark and Luke, some uttered by Jesus, others offered up by the apostles or other Biblical figures. We spent a great deal of discussion on one prayer in particular, the prayer of Jesus on the cross. We focused not only on what He said, but also on the fact that He said in a loud voice, and we wondered aloud at the significance of that phrase--"in a loud voice"--being included in the text. We came up with a variety of reasons--for instance, part of the agony of crucifixion is the extreme difficulty in breathing, so maybe Jesus being able to call out loudly was to demonstrate God's power in Him. This is just one of the ideas that we had as we discussed the passage last night.

As I thought about it later, another potential reason came to me. I think there is a great deal of significance in Jesus asking His Father why He was being abandoned, and asking it not in a quiet whisper but in a loud voice where others could hear Him.

I don't know about you, but there have been times when I've felt forsaken by God. Times when I've felt left alone in a corner, ignored by God. Thankfully, those times are few and far between, but I imagine it's something we all go through at one time or another. Maybe Jesus' bold crying out to God tells us it's okay to feel forsaken by God. Maybe it gives us permission to question God, not in an embarrassed, shameful way, but in a pleading, childlike way.

Maybe someone at the foot of the cross who heard Jesus' prayer had uttered those same thoughts in their hearts at one time or another. Perhaps Jesus became a little more human to someone when they heard Him crying out.

Don't be ashamed or afraid to approach God boldly in prayer, to cry out to Him in hurt and loss and longing as Jesus did.

Going to the Doctor

I really don't like going to the doctor. I haven't had any horrifically bad experiences at the doctor's office, but it's no picnic, either. Sitting in a cold exam room waiting for the doctor for a half hour while I'm wearing a paper gown is not my idea of fun. The last time I saw a doctor was a couple of years ago when I had a bad sinus infection, and then it was at a doc in the box, not my regular M.D.

BUT...I've known that I need to visit my doctor every year for an annual exam. I've been putting that off for about four years now. (I know! I should be ashamed for waiting so long.) Finally, after a lot of loving nagging from some dear friends, I called today and made an appointment.

Naturally, I figured (hoped) the doctor would be all booked up til the fall. But God gets the last laugh, because the doctor had an opening next Wednesday morning! And his office is conveniently located right down the street from my office, so my list of excuses for not going to the doctor is rapidly diminishing.

It's not just the nagging from my friends that motivated me to go to the doctor. As I've reflected on Romans 12:1 (as mentioned in my earlier blog about sacrifice), it's convicted me that not only am I to present a sacrifice to God, but I should present the BEST sacrifice I can. And though my body's in pretty decent shape, I know that neglecting seeing my doctor is NOT taking care of this sacrifice for God.

This week I've also been reminded of how precious life is. I've heard news of tragic sudden deaths, received prayer requests from people who have sick family members. I also received an e-mail today from a friend of mine from college who told me about the car accident that she and her husband were involved in a couple of weeks ago. Their car was hit on the front side by a drunk driver. It was a miracle that they walked away without a scratch; they could have easily been killed. Life changes so quickly; sometimes it ends so quickly. Going to the doctor won't guarantee that I'll live to be 100. But I do feel some responsibility to take care of this temple that God's given me.

Which is why I'll be hanging out at the doctor's office next Wednesday. Don't worry, I'll spare you the gory details...

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." I Cor. 6:19

Scripture of the Week: Psalm 62:5-6

"I wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken." Psalm 62:5-6

What About Sacrifice?

This past week I've been thinking a lot about sacrifice. Last Sunday evening, I heard a great lesson about the importance of sacrifice, and I suppose that I heard that lesson for a reason because it's stuck with me all week.

"Sacrifice", by and large, is not some warm, fuzzy, touchy-feely word. It's hard, painful, difficult to comprehend and even more difficult, at times, to carry out. And yet it's something we should do.

Paul says in Romans 12:1, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship."

It's a somewhat sobering verse. I usually think of "worship" as singing, praising God, prayer, etc. Very rarely do I consider sacrficing myself as a means of worshiping God. But isn't laying aside your own desires for someone else the ultimate act of worship? Perhaps it's such a meaningful act because it's so hard to do. Long ago I heard a saying that went something like this: "The problem with a living sacrifice is that the sacrifice keeps getting up off the altar." How true.

This week as I pondered the implications of sacrifice, I thought about some of the desires of my heart. While they are not necessarily bad or wrong or sinful desires, in many ways they occupy my mind and take my mind off of God. Some of these unfulfilled desires I've prayed about for a long time, years in some cases, and for whatever reasons they have yet to be fulfilled. Many times I've asked God--pleaded with Him--to take away these desires, in part to relieve the suffering over dreams that are not coming true, but also because sometimes I feel like I am wasting too much time and energy wishing for them to come true.

For the most part, though, God has not removed or even reduced these desires. It occurred to me after hearing about sacrfice that, maybe, instead of God removing these desires from me, He is waiting for me to give them up to Him. Truth be told, I'd rather God just quietly and painlessly remove my desires while I'm sleeping, so that when I wake up I'm desire-free and have nothing to distract me from Him. But that wouldn't be much of a sacrifice, would it?

I decided last week that I'd make a conscious effort to set aside those dreams that my mind can wander toward too often, and to turn my mind toward God. It hasn't been easy. I have a tendency to daydream, and this past week my mind was especially tested as I had to sit through some excruciatingly boring meetings at my conference. But I'm finding that the more attention I turn towards God, the less pain there is in those unfulfilled dreams.

I want to be at the point of being able to freely hand over the reins of my heart to God and be willing to sacrifice all of my life's dreams and desires for whatever He wants for me. I wish I could say I'm there--I'm not yet.

Anyone else struggling with sacrifice? What practical steps have you taken/are you taking? What have you learned through sacrifice?

Unlocking Mysteries

I had a good trip to Orlando, didn't get a chance to visit any theme parks but did stay at the Hard Rock Hotel, which is a pretty cool hotel for music-lovers like me (quick story: my 60-something year old boss complained that the music was too loud and asked the waitress in the hotel restaurant to turn it down, to which she responded, "We can't--this is the Hard Rock Hotel!").

Anyway, all went well with flying home yesterday, all the luggage made it, etc. Everything seemed to be just fine until I got home and went to unpack my suitcase. I discovered that the lock, which had (thankfully) opened without any problems in Orlando, was now stuck. I could fit my key in, but try as I might, I couldn't turn it and open the lock to save my life.

Since all the locksmiths in town are closed on the weekends unless you call their extra-expensive 24-hour emergency service, I decided to call on my trusted Dad. I took the suitcase over to his house this morning and after a few unsuccessful tries with the key, he was able to hacksaw through the lock.

Today I've felt like the lock is a metaphor for some things I'm trying to figure out in my life. I know I've blogged about it before, but once again I find myself trying to unlock certain mysteries, and I'm getting no where. It's times like this when I'm reminded that I need to take my locks (figuratively speaking) to my Father, Who knows all things.

This doesn't mean that all mysteries will be revealed here and now. Paul talks about how different things are now compared to when Jesus returns. In 1 Cor. 13:12, he says, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully even as I am fully known."

I think I forget that I'm not meant to know the why and the how and the when of everything that God has planned for my life. That's frustrating because I want to know all those things. I don't like having suitcases or doors locked, because I want to be able to get at what's inside. But, to paraphrase Ecclesiastes 3, there's a time to lock and a time to unlock.

Now, I can use these locked mystery times as chances to act like a whiny brat who throws a fit because she doesn't know what's going on, or I can see them as invitations to draw closer to God and seek after His heart. That doesn't necessarily mean that He'll reveal all to me when I do, but someday when I'm with Him in person, things will become much, much clearer. Truthfully, though, I think that the closer I draw to God and the more I learn about Him, the less concerned I'll become with those mysteries that bug me so much now.

Traveling Without a Road Map

As I mentioned in last week's blog about God's power, I'm making Scripture memorization and meditation one of my spiritual goals for 2005. I've been praying about which passages to meditate upon; I believe that God will lead me in the direction He wants and give me certain verses that He wants me to stamp on my heart and mind.

In my quiet time the last few days I've been reading the story of Abraham in Genesis, so Hebrews 11:8 is my verse of the week: "By faith Abraham, when called to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."

I'll admit, I would not have made a good traveling companion for Abraham. I'd want to know where I was going. I'd want to know where we going to stay along the way. Most of all, I'd want to know the reason for us going, and what was going to happen when we got there.

Despite Abraham's occasional lapses in faith (trying to "create" his own family via Hagar, lying twice about Sarah being his sister), his deep friendship with God and extreme faithfulness in following God without a roadmap led him to be called the "Father of all who believe" (Romans 4:11). Much of Hebrews 11 is a testimony to Abraham's trust in God, especially in extreme circumstances. Leaving the country he knew to go to a strange place that he didn't even have a name for? Having a baby at age 100? Being told to sacrifice that same child years later? Pretty heavy stuff.

What amazes me about Abraham's faith is that it was, for the most part, unquestioning. Imagine being told to leave the land you grew up on, all your neighbors and friends, pack up all your belongings, your family, your sheep and cattle, and head off to...somewhere. He didn't even have the advantage of being told in advance where he was going; God simply told Abraham to go to the place that He would show him. There was no Rand McNally for Abraham to plot his course on, no itnerary. It was about following God no matter what. Mindblowing faith.

Hebrews 11:8 convicts me that I question God way, way too much. I don't necessarily think it's sinful to have doubts and question God from time to time; however, what too often happens is that instead of obeying Him despite my questions, I let my questions distract me from obeying Him.

God doesn't require us to possess all wisdom and to figure out why He's leading us down our life's paths. What He requires is obedience, even when we can't understand where God's taking us and why.

I want to have faith like Abraham. I want to go where God leads me, even when I can't see around the bend. I don't want to question His every move.

How often do you question God? And how often does that keep you from following Him?

Lisa

P.S. Speaking of traveling, today I'll be winging my way to sunny Orlando for the week...going on business (I promise!) for our national convention. Please keep me in your prayers for a safe trip and that I don't go through blog withdrawal. Hopefully I'll have some good "material" to share when I return. Have a blessed week!

P.S.

At the beginning of the week, I received an e-mail from my dear friend Shannon, who asked me about my holidays, asking if I wanted to go to lunch this week, etc. At the end she left the following P.S. "God is faithful and he knows the desires of his daughter's heart~ I felt like He wanted me to tell you that....". At the time I was feeling extremely confident and very aware of God's faithfulness, already on a spiritual high. That P.S. just seemed to reinforce God's love towards me.

Well, the week's been very up and down, many really good, wonderful things going on in my life, and some challenges that have come up that have caused some discouragement. I've reread that P.S. several times throughout the week.

I know it was no coincidence that God put that message on Shannon's heart to deliver to me at this time. I have needed reminding that not only does God know my heart's needs, but He also knows my heart's desires. That's always been a bit of a sticking point for me...I trust God to feed me, shelter me, clothe me, meet my basic physical needs, but sometimes I have a harder time trusting Him with my desires as well. It's been good to have those words to reflect on as I've struggled with some weighty emotions this week.

Along the lines of trusting God...I've spent so much time searching for answers to certain questions I have about how my life has unfolded. Maybe wasted so much time is a better way to put it. I always want to know the "why?" behind everything. I think it's time to stop seeking answers and simply seek God's heart. I want complete surrender and obedience to Him without needing an explanation for everything.

Scripture of the Week: Ephesians 1:19-20 (Expanded)

Although I'm not big on New Year's resolutions, I do believe in setting goals, especially concrete, measurable goals. One of my goals with regards to spiritual growth in 2005 is to memorize one verse or passage a week. I wrote down a passage on an index card and put it inside one of those el cheapo acrylic picture frames that you can get from Walmart for a buck or two, and have the frame sitting on my dresser where I can read it several times a day.

This week's passage is from Ephesians 1:19-20: "I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly realms." (NLT)

Power brings about transformation; it causes people and things to act differently than they would naturally. A hurricane tears rooftops and shingles from houses because of powerful winds. A weighlifter can benchpress more than their own body weight because of their brute physical power. People bow and scrape before leaders with authoritative power.

I've never really doubted God's power, and I'm not so sure that the Ephesians doubted God's power. I watch a thunderstorm or the crashing waves of the ocean or a tree bent and broken by strong winds, and I know that God's power is impressive.

What I have doubted from time to time, though, is God's desire to use His power on my behalf. Maybe the Ephesians did, too. Maybe that's why Paul prayed that they would recognize that the same power that raised Christ from the dead--the same power that caused earthquakes and the dead to emerge from their graves, the same power that split the temple veil to split in two and that rolled the stone away from Jesus' tomb--that is the same power that God is using in our lives.

God is using that power to transform us. Have you ever tried to transform yourself? It's possible to bring about a physical transformation on your own, at least to some degree--new clothes, exercising more, eating less, etc. But have you ever tried to make yourself more patient? Or more wise? Or more caring? It can't be done on our own. That is why God placed this power in us by placing the Holy Spirit in us.

In II Corinthians, Paul speaks of this transformation: “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (II Cor. 3:18, NIV)

Again in chapter 4, Paul reminds us that the power comes from God; it is not something we can produce ourselves: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (II Cor. 4:6-7, NIV)

The more that I recognize the Spirit's work in transforming my life, the less I doubt God's willingness to act on my behalf. God's power is not something that He gives and takes away; it resides within us. I know that I am far from grasping the full extent of that power.Considering that many of us grew up in churches where the Holy Spirit was mentioned more as a Bible "character" than as an active resident of our lives today, I think that's why we struggle to accept and take hold of that power. But I am becoming more aware, especially the more that I study and as I'm around others who have a better handle on what God's power and Spirit truly mean for my life.

As I memorize these verses this week, I'm also praying that Paul's prayer for the Ephesians will be my prayer as well: that I'll have a full understanding of God's power in my life. That is my prayer for you as well.

The Weather, It Is A-Changin'

While the calendar says it’s January, a step outside seems to prove otherwise. Here in Montgomery, temperatures are hovering in the low to mid 70s. It was about 30 degrees cooler a little over a week ago—go figure. It’s amazing to me how quickly the weather can change.

Just look at the devastation of the sudden earthquake and subsequent tsunamis that swept across Asia last week. One minute the ocean is peaceful, placid; the next minute, a huge tidal wave is churning onto land and demolishing everything in its path. Thousands lose their lives. Many who survive instantly find themselves homeless, orphaned, devoid of any possessions.

While it’s a tragic situation, it also speaks to the power of God. Even the apostles were amazed at Jesus’ command of nature—in Matthew 8:27, after Jesus calms the storm, they remark, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

The remarkable speed with which even the weather seems to change is indicative of how quickly God can cause change in other areas. So many times I get bogged down in a seemingly endless season, thinking that certain situations or emotions are never going to change. Then like a sudden storm, God moves and rearranges my landscape.

The seasons of our life DO change, sometimes slowly, sometimes with lightning-fast speed. It helps me to remember that these seasons WILL change, that they are only temporary and that change is around the corner. The challenges that I face today may last a day, may last a week or months or even years, but they won’t last forever.

This also reminds me that because life is so short and because the unexpected can happen, I need to make the most of each day that God gives me. I waste so much time wanting my current season of life to change, instead of appreciating it or taking advantage of it. There’s a reason for the season that we’re all in right now. God knows exactly how long to keep us in it, and when to bring about change in our lives. Trust that the One who knows when to bring rain and when to bring sun to the Earth knows just what your life needs every day.

Trying to Relax

The other day I treated myself to my first-ever professional massage. For Christmas someone had given me some money along with instructions to buy something I wouldn't normally, so I decided it was time to give my poor body some relief from being hunched over the computer at work all the time. (Let me just say that it was pure bliss, and if God continues to bless me with extra income then this first massage won't be my last.)

It was during the massage that I made an important discovery: I have a hard time relaxing. Actually, I think deep down inside I've known this to be a fact, but I've been in denial about it. A couple of times during the massage the masseuse had to remind me to relax. I was trying to help her out by lifting my neck or moving around to make her job a little easier, but I was actually defeating the purpose of her job. All that trying to relax just made me more tense. Thankfully, midway through the massage I stopped trying so hard, and it was then that I found myself actually relaxing.

I'm just not that great at relaxing. My mind always seems to be churning with some idea or question. Even when I'm "vegging out" in front of the TV, more often than not I find myself popping up from my chair a half dozen times to fold laundry, empty the dishwasher, let the dog out, etc. It's rare that I'm able to simply sit still and enjoy my surroundings without thinking of the million other things I could or should be doing.

This carries over into my spiritual life as well. So many times I find myself trying to help God make His "job" a little easier--as if He needs help from anyone, least of all me. Even when my intentions are good, I usually end up sabotaging His plans for me because I just can't or won't relax and leave things to Him. There's no telling how many blessings I've missed out on because I've tried to manufacture them myself instead of waiting on God.

This doesn't mean I should always sit back and never do anything when it comes to my faith; often, faith requires action. But I know that I've spent so much time thinking and fretting too much and not trusting God enough. That's one of my goals for this year, to relax my grip on my life and leave it in God's hands. It doesn't come naturally to me, and probably not to anyone. But I believe it can be done. Paul backs me up on it:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7

Join me in letting go of what's keeping us all tense and knotted up inside, and allow God's peace to bring us to deeper relaxation.

Happy New Year!

Lisa