Just Show Up
This is from last year, and I want to say, with JOY and a grateful heart, I have been blown away by the difference in this past year, of seeing people truly step up and show up. We’ve seen almost 100% of people stick with each Bible study session, which makes my heart soar. But re-reading this struck me that it’s worth considering again, for us all. I believe God’s heart comes through clearly. So good to be reminded. Thanks for reading… and for showing up.
~
I’ll admit, it began as an irritation.
Why are we the ones ALWAYS here? Of course, the pastor’s family has to show up at church, right? Of course the Bible study leader has to show up. Of course the retreat speaker has to show up.
After 16 years leading Bible studies and small groups, I get what it’s like to be the one who has to show up. And I’ve always counted that a blessing. The reality is, whenever we just show up we are blessed. We only benefit. I’m grateful for all these years where leadership has forced me to be consistent, because I know my tendency to be hit-and-miss.
But this year, something began aching in my heart. I always knew it was there. After years leading small groups, you know the attrition rate by heart:
Usually by the end of the study half the participants … aren’t participating.
But it becomes heightened, more clearly seen, in something small like a church plant. Although this thing certainly isn’t “ours,” there is a very real sense that our very hearts and souls are poured out into this little ragtag band of believers called Renew. Paul clearly had this same burdened heart for all those he invested in for the sake of the Kingdom.
And so the inconsistency, the attrition, the hit-and-miss … is keenly felt.
And yet, my optimism constantly reminds me: God uses exactly who’s there for just the right purpose. He can move mightily no matter who comes and who doesn’t.
And this is true. Of course God is so powerfully and gloriously sovereign, He can work gloriously with two people or two-thousand people.
And yet.
(Now my heart’s doing this crazy-thumping thing because I’m pretty sure I’m going to offend a bunch of people right now.)
I poured out my heart to God about this recently, sharing honestly with Him how hard and lonely it is to be the one always showing up. Do you know what I heard crystal clear in my heart?
“How do you think I feel?”
Tears flowed as I realized how we have hurt the heart of God.
I believe the heart of God is deeply grieved that we have made him last priority in our lives. That we have made spiritual matters of least importance. That we put more thought into the state of our financial portfolio than the state of our souls. That we put soccer schedules ahead of Sunday morning worship. That we have financial needs and yet blatantly ignore God’s clear commands on giving to Him first. That we neglect morning prayers and time in the sacred Scriptures because we really “need some sleep.”
I’m not talking about legalism, I’m talking about LOVE.
I believe the heart of God is broken because He waits and waits and waits and waits, for us to just show up. Like a husband who plans a date with His wife every Friday night, who reserves a table for 2 and sits alone in the candlelight, waiting, waiting, waiting for His beloved bride to show up.[bctt tweet=”Like a husband who plans a date with his wife, reserves a candlelit table for two, and waits … God waits for us to show up.”]
But she never does. She needed sleep. Something came up. A friend stopped by.
He sits there, alone, waiting for us to just show up.
I read a story recently of a family in the 60s, in Communist Russia. They loved Jesus. Every weekend, they would walk 30 miles to get to the nearest church, then walk 30 miles home, traveling all night long Sunday night, to be ready for work Monday morning.
This undoes me. Oh God, forgive us. We know nothing of carrying our cross, we know nothing of commitment.
We know nothing of true love.
Again, this isn’t a message of condemnation, it is a PLEA that the people of God would know the heart of God, that He does not come last. Matthew says that as the end nears,
“The love of many will grow cold.” (24:12)
Please: Do not let your love grow cold. He waits for you.
Just show up.
{Thank you for reading.}
The rest is thrown in (What promise!)
Their little eyes widened as the words sunk in: One HUNDRED times as much!
We giggled to ourselves thinking of receiving back one hundred toys, or one hundred cookies, or one hundred houses or sisters or brothers. Of course the essence of this promise isn’t about calculating or counting, it’s written to convey an important promise:
What you give up for God, He’ll give back in a better way, beyond what you can imagine.
We were studying the Rich Young Ruler, and how sad he was as he shuffled away from Jesus, as he gave up the greatest opportunity that had ever presented itself to him. I actually found myself tearing up as I told the story, thinking how tragic it is that so many (sometimes myself included!) give up the greatest invitation ever because we can’t let go of our stuff, our rights, our way.
But it’s so fun that immediately after this story, Jesus gives a promise. And it’s a big one! He marvels at how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom, but then makes this mind-blowing statement promising that all those who give up things for God’s sake will receive back one-hundred times as much. Wow!
I have seen this wildly lavish love from God so many times recently. I even have a crazy story about a literal 100-fold return. It’s nuts! I’ve been amazed at this truth that when we seek our own pleasure, our own way, our own stuff, we end up poor, we walk away sad, nothing satisfies.
BUT. When we seek the kingdom, when we give up our stuff, our way, our life, we find ourselves spoiled rotten by a generous God, lavishly loved and blessed. Sure, there’s still tribulation, trials, challenges. But the abundance so outweighs the burden.
God is GOOD. His way is good. His plans are good. Oh that we’d give up our own way to seek His and discover the goodness! When we seek our own we lose, but when we seek Him, the find the rest tossed in as well. It reminds me of the CS Lewis quote:
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither. -CS Lewis
Or this: this weekend Jeff shared this quote, and its truth captures this beautifully. So true! Not seeking our own, in a selfish sense, is the directest course you can take to secure your highest happiness. Amen!
“If you are selfish, and make yourself and your own private interests your idol, God will leave you to yourself, and let you promote your own interests as well as you can.
But if you do not selfishly seek your own, but do seek the things that are Jesus Christ’s, and the things of your fellow human beings, then God will make your interest and happiness his own charge, and he is infinitely more able to provide for and promote it than you are. The resources of the universe move at his bidding, and he can easily command them all to subserve your welfare.
So not to seek your own, in the selfish sense, is the best way of seeking your own in a better sense. It is the directest course you can take to secure your highest happiness.” —Jonathan Edwards (Charity & Its Fruits)
May we take this route. When we seek His kingdom, the rest is tossed in as well. Let’s go this way! Happy Monday. Thanks for reading.
You Are Rich
This past weekend I had the joy of sharing some good news with God’s women and I think He wants you to hear it too. Here it is: YOU ARE RICH.
See, the enemy wants to keep you from being effective in making disciples, by making you think you don’t have what it takes. You don’t have the skills, or smarts, or abilities, or gifts, or talents, or resources, or time.
We say it to ourselves all the time: I don’t have enough time. I don’t have enough money. I don’t have the spiritual gifts or talents.
I don’t have what it takes. In other words, I’m poor. Any time we fixate on our own lack, we are speaking with our lives, “I’m poor.” I’m poor in time. I’m poor in money. I’m poor in talent or ability.
Truth: If you are in Christ Jesus, YOU ARE RICH!
Did you know that when you are “in Christ” — ALL THE RESOURCES of Jesus Christ are at your disposal? Did you know that the same spirit that lived in Jesus, LIVES IN US? Did you know the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is now at work in us? Did you know we are called (and equipped and enabled!) to do the exact same works Jesus did? Did you know Scripture says, “Even greater works than these will you do.” That God will empower us to do the works of Jesus and even great works!
The disciples didn’t have money. They didn’t have extraordinary resources at their disposal. And yet, when they followed Jesus, and did what Jesus told them to do, limitless resources were channeled through their lives for the sake of the multitudes. We need only look at the well-known story of Jesus feeding the 5,000, right? Matthew chapter 14 gives us the perfect example.
There are thousands of people around, right? I mean, 5,000 is only counting the men. We’ve got women and children too, people! In our church, if we only counted men we’d say we have a church of about 20. Ha! But we really have close to 100! Truly. We have that many women and children! We’re probably talking at last 10,000 people. That’s an INSANE number of mouths to feed. You think it’s hard to keep your kids full? You think you have a lot of mouths to feed?
You think God is calling you to something that you don’t have enough resources for? I guarantee you are not called to something more outlandish than this. This is impossible.
God specializes in impossible. In fact, you usually know some ministry opportunity is from Him if it seems entirely impossible. I have a little story about an ARK that is a prime example. 😉
The disciples are quick to point out that they don’t have the resources they need:
“This is a desolate place, and the day is now over, send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” (V. 15)
Do you hear it? “We are poor.”
1. We are poor in location: “This is a desolate place.” See, Jesus, my location isn’t ideal. I don’t have a great house for ministry. I don’t have enough space. I don’t have the right table or dishes or environment or …. This isn’t the ideal place, Jesus. See, I’m poor.
2. We are poor in time: “The day is now over.” See, Jesus, there isn’t time. I don’t have enough time for this thing. The time that’s needed for something like this just isn’t available to me. The day is over, so to speak. See, I’m poor.
So they come up with their own plan, based entirely upon what they perceive as a LACK. “Send the crowds away to go into the village and buy food for themselves.” We don’t have the resources we need, so put them problem on the people. Make them take care of themselves. Make them hike back into town and use their own money to buy food. We don’t have enough, so there’s no way we’re taking on their problem.
They are literally making a plan based on being poor.
How often do we do that?! We construct a plan, a scheme, a strategy, based on our own lack of resources. We look at what we have, then plan. God does exactly the opposite, always. He makes the plan (that’s usually impossible), and then provides the resources to carry out His plan.
Jesus responds and tells them,
“No, they don’t need to go away. YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT.”
Notice Jesus doesn’t say, “No worries. I’ll take care of it.” It is His power, but He’s not taking the responsibility off of them, He’s putting it smack dab ON THEM. He says clearly:
“YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT.”
So they give reason #3 that they are poor:
3. We are poor in resources. “We have only give loaves here and two fish.” See, Jesus I don’t have the resources. I don’t have enough money to give this away, or host this thing, or start this ministry, or provide for these people. Ask a rich person! Why on earth would you ask me for this thing? See, I’m poor.
And Jesus responds so simply to them and to us:
“BRING THEM HERE TO ME.”
Bring what you have here to me. Bring me your terrible location. Bring me your lack of time. Bring me your empty bank account and tiny income. Bring me YOU.
“Bring all you have in your hands and put it into Mine. I’ll do the miracle.”
He blessed it, broke it, and HANDED IT BACK to them. And they were the ones who distributed to the masses. Do you see that?
Jesus Himself didn’t hand out a single piece of bread. Jesus didn’t feed the small child. Jesus didn’t look the lady in the eye and say, “Eat your fill!”
The disciples took what was in their hands, gave it to Jesus, then received it back into their hands, and distributed it to those in need.
All it took was handing it over to Jesus, for them to go from POOR to RICH. In an instant, they said, “WOW, I AM RICH!”
Do you know that every single one of us can say that too? When you take your pittance of an amount, your tiny salary, your teeny sliver of “free time,” your pitiful location, and you take this measly offering and give it to Jesus, He blesses it and hands it back and you look down and realize, “Wow! I am rich!”
{Praying you know and rejoice and act on this freeing truth this week. Thanks for reading!}
Because everyone needs an Abishai
All I can think about these days is the blessing of relationship. During our insanely busy period of moving, finishing the book, and traveling, we were carried by the faithfulness of friends. People spending days helping us move, cleaning our old house, moving our chickens for us while we were out of the country, people giving up hours and hours of free time to do our dirtiest work, family members generously blessing us on our trip, people demonstrating such selflessness. I told a friend the other day I felt like all I’ve done is receive from people for the last 3 weeks. I’ve been so blown away by the generosity of people. So grateful.
This morning, my first morning in our new house, I curled up early with my Bible and saw an unsung hero who reminded me of the incredible blessing of relationship, of friendship.
I love these unsung heroes. That is, I love looking closely at peripheral characters, the ones in the shadows, behind the scenes. I think someday these quietly courageous folks will be lauded for their faithfulness, and I think we’re wise to keep our eyes peeled for these people, to learn from their example.
One of these guys is Abishai.
Abishai?
Yes, Abishai. Everyone needs an Abishai. Abishai is an unconventional hero in scripture, almost entirely overlooked by most of us. But I’ll tell you one person who did NOT overlook Abishai:
David.
We all remember King David, but I guarantee you King David remembered Abishai because this guy was one of a kind. And while he may be a minor character in the grand scheme of things, I think that everyone needs an Abishai. So, who was he?
Abishai was one of David’s friends, one of his many mighty men. When David called to all his men and asked who would go down with him into the camp of Saul (who was trying to kill David), one man spoke up:
“I will go down with you!” (1 Sam 26:6)
That was Abishai.
Then, as they crept into Saul’s camp by night, Abishai says,
“God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” (1 Sam 26:8)
He was eager to take out anyone who messed with his friend David.
Later, when David’s son Absalon commits treason and threatens to take over the kingdom, forcing David out of Jerusalem, as David is fleeing there was someone who followed after David cursing at him as he walked. David stays quiet, keeping his peace. But Abishai? His response:
“Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head.” (2 Sam. 16:9)
Um… that’s awesome. That’s the kind of friend I want to have.
Sure, it’s great to have friends who hold us accountable, who say, “Hm…maybe you should really take into consideration the curses he’s slinging at you. Maybe there’s some truth in them. Maybe you should examine your heart and motives and see if any of it is true.”
That’s great.
But also, every needs an Abishai.
We all need a friend whose response will be, “He’s a dead dog! Let me go over and take off his head!”
Later we read:
“And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him.” 2 Sam. 21:16-17
Did you just read that??
We always praise David for slaying Goliath, but this is just as amazing! And as this bloodthirsty giant comes to kill David, Abishai fearlessly flings himself in the way of danger and kills the enemy to protect his friend.
Everyone needs an Abishai.
The friend who is so fiercely loyal she will go to any length to protect us. Who will throw themselves in the way of our enemies, who will threaten to take off the head of whoever curses us.
We could all use a friend like that, amen??
And so, perhaps you can be an Abishai to someone today. Because sometimes we just need a fiercely faithful friend who is overly eager to protect us in this bloody battle life. May we have one and be one …
…because everyone needs an Abishai.
{Here’s to the many quietly courageous men and women out there, fiercely faithful Abishais. Thank you for your loyal service for the sake of others. You’re heroes. Thanks for reading.}
Hola!
Lo siento!
I’m sorry for my total absence this week. I’m typing these words perched out on a balcony, the only place I can get my internet hot-spot to work. No, we’re not in the Ark, we’re actually in Mexico, on a family trip that was planned ages ago, long before we knew we’d be moving at the same time! As some of you know, our house was delayed in closing, so we moved in with my parents for a week or so, then flew out for this trip, and our house closed a couple days ago, while we were thousands of miles away! So, we’ll move in next week when we return, but the kids and I got really sick right before we left on the trip, so needless to say, between moving, traveling, sickness, and no limited internet connection, I had a few obstacles keeping me from coming here to say, Hola! Come estas?!
We are slowly recovering, and are very grateful for the sea-air and sunshine, which does work wonders. I do hope you are well; and I thank you for your kind encouraging feedback on the Ark story. I hope it’s encouraged you in your own faith-adventure. We’re all on one.
That’s all for now. I’m here to rest and savor time with my family, so I’m going to go do just that. (Those are the cousins above, holding hands in the ocean. Precious bugs!) I just wanted y’all to know I’m still alive, and leave you with these words that have been an encouragement for me lately. Above all the world’s beauty and splendor, above all experiences and encounters, above all perfect circumstances, the presence of the LORD is the only place that satisfies our souls.
Psalm 84
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.[b]
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!
10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!
Thank you for reading.
FOCUS: Waste
Wednesday’s Reading: Matthew 26:3-19, Mark 14:1-11, Luke 21:37 – 22:6, John 12:1-8
“For she has done a beautiful thing to me.” – Jesus (Matthew 26:10)
~
About a six weeks ago, a friend had a dream about me. In it I was busy cleaning and organizing instead of praying. Ouch. First, can I just say that I am grateful to have friends who are willing to share hard things in order to help me follow Jesus more fully. In fact, recently there have been several situations where I’ve been overwhelmed with gratitude that my closest friends are people who won’t just affirm my selfishness or feed my self-pity or talk me out of hard things, but who will constantly point me to Jesus. This is what I need! I have enough voices affirming what my flesh wants.
Because of this dream, I’m becoming more intentional about my tendency to DO DO DO. I know I’m a do-er by nature. I know I’m a Martha. And that’s okay, but I also want to cultivate a Mary heart.
On Monday morning I was so overwhelmed by how much I had to do. I’d been out of town over the weekend, the house was a mess, Easter’s around the corner, I had a dozen people coming for dinner that night, and the week’s calendar was so full. The temptation was strong to skimp on prayer in order to make time for all the tasks. But I kneeled by my bed and asked for His input, His wisdom. Clearly I heard,
“First things first.”
So I did. I had my morning time in the Word. I did my normal prayer walk with a friend, then had a phone prayer date with another friend. Then my kids were invited to spend the afternoon at friend’s house, so I found myself with three hours to myself. This never happens. My kids are usually with me 24-7. And I truly had so much to do so I immediately began planning out how I could maximize my alone-time to accomplish as much as possible.
But as I put Justice down for a nap and kneeled on the floor in the dark to pray, I knew God was inviting me to waste a little time with Him first.
My flesh had to die just a little. There were SO MANY THINGS UNDONE. Company was coming. I had legitimate tasks to complete.
“First things first.”
I couldn’t help but hear Jesus’ words for Martha and for me:
“One thing is necessary…”
What is the first thing?
Worship. Adoration. Being with God.
So I looked at all the undone tasks and told them to be quiet. I curled up on the couch and spent time talking to God, listening to Him through His Word, asking His input, rolling over all the cares back onto Him, where they belong.
It was time well spent.
And wouldn’t you know it, Justice ended up taking a longer-than-usual nap and I had plenty of time to finish all the other tasks.
The significance of this all was not lost on me.
Today in the readings we see the religious leaders gathering at the palace of the high priest to discuss how they can secretly arrest and kill Jesus. We see Judas agreeing to betray Jesus. We see Jesus continuing to teach in the temple. And we see Mary break her alabaster flask and pour out her expensive ointment, anointing Jesus with worship, with love.
Everyone said it was a waste, but Jesus said it was beautiful.
I know this is a busy week. I get that there are so many good things to do. But could you carve out some time today to waste at Jesus’ feet?
The sad reality of ministry is that it’s all too easy to busy ourselves with “ministry” tasks and completely neglect the One behind it all. So today, I invite you:
FOCUS on wasting time with Jesus.
Reflection for today: Look over your calendar and to-do lists for this week and carefully consider whether you can cut out any unnecessary activity. Allow some extra margin, some white space, and purposefully schedule time to do nothing but sit, pray, listen to worship music, read scripture, and talk to God. Give your heart time with Jesus. This is the best possible way to celebrate the fact that He is alive today. Hang with Him today! Thanks for reading.
FOCUS: A gospel gaze in a Peeps culture
{I shared last week that things are a bit cray-cray at my house as we move on Saturday (tucked in between the Good Friday evening service and Easter morning service). My house looks like a bomb went off, and my to-do list is as long as my leg, BUT in the midst of this I want to FOCUS my gaze on Him. This week is the perfect opportunity to FOCUS on His face in the midst of the crazy-mundane. So I’m revisiting these thoughts from a few years ago, and I hope perhaps some tidbit from them can be encouraging for you too as we celebrate Passion Week, and what our glorious Savior accomplished for us on the cross. Thanks so much for joining me this week as we look to Him.}
~
I took my kids to Winco last week. I know, I’m not sure which is worse, going to the mall on Christmas Eve or going to Winco at noon during flu season with two small children. No matter what precautions I take it’s inevitable that at some point I look down and one of them is resting his or her mouth on the edge of the cart. I turn into psycho-mom: “STOP! DON’T TOUCH ANYTHING!!”
Now, keep in mind I am a very focused shopper. I have my list (that’s short) and I maneuver strategically through the store to cross off said items and exit as quickly as possible. Obviously shopping alone is the best way to achieve this, but I thought I’d be fun to take my kids with me. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
I was masterfully weaving through the aisles, and was just about to head into the shortest line when I made my one fatal mis-step. The last item on my list was hairspray and I needed to pass by the Easter display in order to reach the toiletry aisle. I should have skipped it. (Who needs hairspray?) But I did and so I risked it.
Big mistake. As soon as we turned a corner the ENORMOUS pink bunnies stared at us, along with 8-foot high wall-displays of Peeps in every color and chocolate bunnies as tall as my daughter, and pastel baskets and eggs and purple Cadbury packages as far as the eye could see.
“WOW!! Mommy, look! Look!!!”
And then there was no stopping the commotion of excitement and what are these and can we have them and maybe next year and when I’m older and just a bite and I wonder what they taste like and can I use my Christmas money to get some??? PLEASE???”
We came out of it fine, without any pastel-purchases AND without tears, so that was no small victory, but my sweet children were such a picture of ME so often, of us, of our culture. And of course I adore my children so I make this application with affection because the same way I bear with and understand (and even find humor in) their something-shiny nano-second attention spans, I believe God looks at us with affection (and perhaps humor) when we demonstrate that same sort of focus. Hopefully, however, we grow up just a bit.
That’s my prayer for us this coming week. That we would have a gospel-gaze in a Peeps-culture.
First off, don’t worry—I’m not here to rant and rave about how evil the Easter bunny is. I find that a teaspoon of inspiration is worth a truckload of brow-beating, so my hope for this week is that as we simply look at the Easter story, we will be so captivated by its beauty that we get a gospel-gaze. A fixed FOCUS on Christ that carries us through the distraction of shiny-objects and the commotion and chaos of not just the Easter season but LIFE.
See, life here in this culture can be distracting, yes? We live in a Peeps culture. And I don’t just mean the hideous marshmallowy things, although they do a pretty good job representing what we typically seek after—bright colors, instant sugar-high, long-term headache, lethargy and craving for more. Right? But even the name Peeps — by definition “peep” is to “look quickly and furtively at something.”
We are, as a culture, constantly peeping from one thing to the next. Always the next newest shiny thing, the next fad, the next quick fix. But Scripture draws us to leave the peeping life of distraction and fix our focus on Christ. With a gospel-gaze we intentionally choose to turn out the distracting cacophony of competing voices and noises, and we choose to zero in on the cross and filter all of life through the lens of the gospel. The only way to do this is to look — often — at Jesus. The more we focus on Him, the light of the world, the more we’ll be able to see the rest of our lives in their true light. So that’s what we’re doing this coming week, looking at Jesus through the events of Passion Week.
Letting His life bring FOCUS to our own.
Thanks for reading.
Faith brings a bag
I was slipping on my shoes Saturday morning when Jeff made the simple suggestion:
“Why don’t you bring a bag with you?”
Ah. A bag. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I guess because I never actually set out to pick up trash. I just set out to walk, I never think of the trash thing until I’m out and there it is and then I’m looking for the nearest garbage can.
A bag. What a great idea! I could easily take along an old plastic grocery bag. He pulled one out from beneath the sink and I headed out to my route.
Now, forgive the very basic observations, but it was interesting how having a bag completely changed my perspective on trash. See, although I’m happy to stoop and pick it up, it does cause a slight irritation. First, I have to hold it in my bare hand. Yuck. Then I have to search for the nearest available trash can. Then I have to sneak said item into the trash. All of this, done over and over and over, can become fairly irritating.
I’m not sure why it had never occurred to me to prepare in advance for these interruptions. But I’ve been studying through the gospels, looking at how Jesus’ ministry was largely in response to interruption. When a problem, need, or question arose, He was ready to stop, stoop, and help. He was prepared. This enabled him to enter into each need without irritation.
Having a bag completely changed my perspective on trash. When I went out empty-handed, each piece of garbage felt like an inconvenience. I would try not to look too hard for more trash, because my hands were already full.
Now, with a bright-yellow Grocery Outlet bag in my hand, I looked a little odd but I found myself eager to find trash, because I was prepared. It was easy. I had plenty of space for each item, and did’t even have to carry them in my bare hands!
In the gospels, first Jesus sends out disciples with nothing — no staff, no bag, no bread, no extra tunic, nothing. Later, Jesus sends out the gospels with extra supplies — a purse, a bag, even a sword (!). It seems to me that Jesus is teaching them two things: Faith & Preparation.
First, He teaches them faith. By taking nothing, they have to trust. Jesus is their provider. But second, He teaches them preparation. Though they know that Jesus provides, they are also responsible for doing their part to be prepared.
I order to respond well to the world’s needs with faith and preparation.
See, Optimism says, “There won’t be any trash! I’m sure the streets will be spotless!” Ha. We know how true that is.
Pessimism and Cynicism say, “There will be way too much trash for us to ever handle. Besides, if we pick it up there will just be more tomorrow. There’s no point in even trying.”
But Faith says, “There will be trash, it’s true. And it’s true, there will be more tomorrow. But I’ll take my bag and trust that I can handle however much trash God calls me to pick up.”
This is also true of life, right? Optimism says, “There won’t be any problems!”
Pessimism and Cynicism say, “There will be way too many problems! Forget even trying!”
Faith says, “Yes, there will be troubles, but I’ll bring a bag along and God will equip me to handle whatever comes my way.”
So yes, a bright yellow Grocery Outlet bag reminded me to enter life with eyes-wide-open, fully prepared by faith, to pick up whatever problems come our way.
The next time you go for a walk, consider taking a bag. 🙂
{Thanks for reading.}
What is your wake?
I recently retired my leg warmers. Yes, no more leotards and side-ponytails, I’ve officially ended my days with Jazzercise. 😉 Of course I’m kidding about the 80s apparel, but I did transition into different exercise options since we’re moving to the country, and recently I’ve just been taking walks and calling it good.
Some of you know about my unfortunate trash conviction. I’ve shared about it here. It began six years ago, when the Holy Spirit told me to pick up poop off the ground and I routinely avoided it until He taught me clearly that Grace Picks Up the Poop.
You can’t unlearn a lesson like that, so I still find myself gathering up trash whenever I’m out walking. I’ve memorized the various drop-points along my regular route, those places where people are negligent in bringing their emptied trash bins back in from the street, providing me the perfect opportunity to unload my handfuls of garbage without walking onto their property.
Every single time I walk there’s trash. I understand the logic that says, “What difference does it make? There will always be trash.” But the starfish story applies to more than just souls, and our mundane is where we practice making a difference in bigger ways.
If I’m willing to stoop for a smashed soda can I’ll probably be willing to stoop for a soul.[bctt tweet=”If I’m willing to stoop for a smashed soda can I’ll probably be willing to stoop for a soul.”]
So I do. And since I always take the same route, I’ve thought about the significance of taking ownership for our spheres of influence, or more simply put: Being purposeful about what wake we leave behind.
When I graduated from high school, my pastor’s wife (one of the wisest women I’ve ever met) looked me in the eye and said these words with great seriousness:
“You follow hard after Jesus and others will be caught up in your wake.”
I’ve thought of these words hundreds of times since and wondered to myself: What is my wake?
That is, everywhere you go, you leave a wake. Do you leave a wake of drama? Do you leave a wake of peace?
The question I ask myself is: Do I always leave a space better than when I found it?
We can ask this question on so many different levels. It’s true of physical spaces and spiritual spaces, it’s true of relationships and jobs. I ask it every time I go for a walk, and seek to make “my route” cleaner that it was before I moved through its space.
Well, today was a bit different. It was drizzling, so I did my normal route but beelined for the track where I figured I could run stairs (under cover) for a little higher-intensity workout. When I stepped up into the stadium, I sighed:
Trash everywhere. Seriously people, really?! Dozens of bottles, soda cans, wrappers, paper plates. So. Much. Trash. I reasoned that this wasn’t “my route”–so I could just ignore it this one time and run my stairs. But the question came back to me: What is my wake? If I move through this space, can I leave it better than I found it?
I pushed up my sleeves.
Still running stairs, I started grabbing up items. Up and down the stairs, through the aisles, working up a sweat, I found myself having loads of fun, even if I probably looked like a crazy lady, doing high-knees with armfuls of garbage.
Eleven minutes later I had a fabulous workout and there was not a speck of trash in that stadium.
I smiled over that trash bin, thinking how simple things can bring us joy, how the mundane draws us to Jesus, how even garbage can display the glory of God.
So for you today: What is your wake?
Let’s commit today to leave every space better than we found it–physically and spiritually–for the glory of God.
{Thanks for reading!}
Throne of Grace
Just as I was walking out the door, I saw it — that notice on the counter that reminded me of one of my mistakes, of how I fall short even when I have no idea. I pushed the thought aside and walked out the door. A half-hour later, I was driving along, happily headed to a retreat, lifting up the various details of the weekend to the Lord in prayer. Something triggered a thought, and I remembered a conversation I’d had earlier that week. Then suddenly something dawned on me, a new perspective I hadn’t seen before: I realized I’d been a complete idiot.
And I didn’t even mean to be. I thought I was helping, and then I saw it different — how can I be so stupid?
Seriously, people even on my best days I manage to do damage. It’s a wonder He hasn’t just completely shelved me yet.
Of course, the retreat was great. Yet another reminder of His faithfulness, His love, His sovereignty and perfect timing and amazing power.
He is truly awesome!
But then, there’s me.
I am not awesome. I can’t look anywhere, it seems, but that I see some unpleasant reflection of myself, my daily failures, my lack.
So as I sat in prayer and poured this all out to Him, this one sentence echoed back in my heart:
You’re becoming impressed with Me and not you.
You know that strange way that God crumples you and encourages you all at once? Yeah, that. It’s good and glorious when we echo John the Baptist:
He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)
[bctt tweet=”He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)”]
Here’s the thing: What I am discovering in the gospels, all over again, is that Jesus is more glorious, more beautiful, more powerful, for gracious, more awesome and mighty and holy and good, than I had ever realized. I had known it in my head, I am beginning to be convinced. He is the answer for every need, the nourishment for every hunger.
But to come into His presence and discover Him for who He is: we all cry out like Peter:
“Depart from me; for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8)
When Jesus displays His power and glory, Peter sees himself as he truly is.
It’s not elating, it’s disturbing.
Peter falls on his face, overwhelmed by His utter lack.
Isaiah did the same. In the presence of God’s holiness, the only thing he could mutter was:
“Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips.” (Is. 6:5)
So much for seeking God’s presence to get a little lift; God-encounters usually leave us lower.
So then, how can we live? How can we go on? We must change diapers and do dishes and go through these ordinary days–how can we cope once we’ve seen His profound greatness and our profound emptiness? One word.
Grace.
Grace isn’t a blind eye turned to our naughtiness. Grace is the wondrous fact that we can, fallen and frail as we are, with “confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16)
His holy throne? The one that puts us on our face? It is a throne …
of grace.
For those facedown, there is grace.
[bctt tweet=”For those facedown, there is grace. (James 4:6)”]
For those facedown there is confidence, there is joy, there is freedom and love to cover a multitude of sins. There is power to forgive others, there is faith for moving mountains, there is all that we need for life and godliness, found in the knowledge of HIM. At His throne. At His feet.
He is holy, and kind. He is awesome, and gracious. His throne of grace draws us in because despite our despicable nature, petty and fickle as we are, there is mercy and grace in time of need.
“Time of need”?
Yes please, that would be today. And tomorrow, and every day after that.
God’s stream of grace, from the throne of grace, never ends.
{In my utter lostness, I’m finding His greatness. May you drawn near to His throne of grace this week. Thank you so much for reading.}