My good friend from Boise Idaho, Carl Douthit, posted this on Facebook yesterday:
Too often we (and I definitely include myself) focus on "what" we DO in a relationship. God shows us that we should focus on "who" we ARE in a relationship. If our relationship with God depended on what we could do for Him, there wouldn't be a relationship at all. But as adopted sons and daughters, we have the privilege of being in relationship with the Creator of the universe.
I love this! To pile on to Carl's thought, I believe that what we do in a relationship should be a natural outflow of who we are. Actually, what we do comes out of the overflow of our hearts.
This is a vital principle for leaders (Vital Sign #2 of a healthy small group): The leader's main priority is to spend time with God--remain connected to the Vine--allowing God to pour his life--life to the full--into you. As you do, you will naturally overflow into the people he has put all around you.
If you lead anything--yourself, your family, a group, a team, a church, an organization--it's more about who you are in God than what you busily try to do on your own. Relax! Be a follower of Jesus. Trust him. Be a seeker of his truth. Be a son or daughter of the King and simply sit at his feet with a willingness and openness to listen and obey him. Then do what he says.
Your job: receive and overflow. How are you doing?
There's a basic principle in mountain biking--and life--that I need to relearn once in a while. It's so basic I tend to overlook it's vitality. Here it is:
Stay on the path.
Mountain biking trails are full of ups and downs, small and large obstacles, rocky climbs and drops ... and that's what makes the ride fun! I can get into the most trouble when I face a challenge in the trail by trying to go around it. I go off the marked trail where very small obstructions are hidden in the weeds.
Life is like that. Psalm 37:34 says, "Don't be impatient for the Lord to act! Travel steadily along his path." The Bible is full of images of traveling along a path that God has marked out for us. The simple secret of life is to stay on that path. But too often we want to do our own thing, go our own way, follow our own path--and the world encourages us to do this.
God's path is full of ups and downs, small and large obstacles along the way, rocky climbs and drops ... and that's what makes life fun! But too often we look for shortcuts or what we think in our little minds to be better ways. This impatience with God, not trusting his ways, is what gets us into the most trouble.
Patience takes trust in God. It also takes faith--that God is God and that his
timetable is not my timetable. He does not act according to my timing or
self-centered wants. He acts according to his own will, and he knows best what
to provide and when. The secret is to simply travel steadily
along his path. Just stay on the path he has for you and keep going--keeping in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5:25) along
the way, not impatiently running ahead of him and not passively laying around as
he is moving ahead.
You see, not only did God build this path for your life, he's riding along it with you, showing you the way. There is no oblstacle along his path that he does not know how to navigate. Just stay on the path!
Can a person experience anguish and joy at the same time? These two emotions are polar opposites, right?
This morning as I read Psalm 31, I was surprised a bit by verse 7, written by King David, a man whose sight was blurred because of his tears (v. 9). He said he was dying from grief and misery had drained his strength (v. 10). He said he was scorned, despised, and ignored, even by some of his closest friends (vv. 11-12). People had been spreading false rumors about him; there was a conspiracy of lies and gossip aimed at making David look like the enemy (v. 13).
This all reminded me of the song sung by Buck Owns and Roy Clark on the old 70s TV show Hee-Haw:
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me
You can face the gloom, despair, and agony of your life like the Hee-Haw gang or you can deal with it like David. King David kept his integrity and chose to trust God in the midst of his excessive misery. Here's what David said in verse 7:
I am overcome with joy because of your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul (NLT).
David's soul was in anguish, and yet he was overcome with joy because of God's
unfailing love. He was feeling anguish and joy at the same time! How is that
possible?
It's only possible with God. God said, "I will turn their mourning
into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow" (Jeremiah
31:13). Only God can do that.
The New International Version and other versions begin verse 7 with David
saying, "I will be glad and rejoice ..." David made a decision to be glad and to
rejoice, even in the midst of his anguish. He trusted God with the anguish and
made a decision to rejoice in God rather than wallowing in the sorrow. He placed
his focus on the God who loves him unfailingly rather than on the sorrow that is
temporary.
This all takes trust in God. Later, in verse 14, David says, "But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, 'You are my God!'"
This is one of the greatest "buts" ever! David recounted all his sadness, grief,
hurts, and dangers, and then he said, "but I trust in you, God!" "You are still
my God!"
Like David, I can say confidently that while other things have changed and are changing, you, O God, have not changed. You've got all
this. I trust you with all of it. I don't understand it. I don't think I deserve
it. This is not what I hoped for or dreamed of.
But I will trust you with all of it. My life, my future, is in your hands (v.
15).
What do you think? Can you experience gloom, despair and agony as well as gladness and joy at the same time? How do you do do that?
