Metamorphosis of the Soul

I get such a kick out of God’s creation.  Some creatures truly astound me.  The butterfly is one of them. Seriously, how on earth could a lowly insect with up to 16 legs go through a “metamorphic” process to emerge the most breathtaking creature that can now fly? Yet, when I think about the transformation this caterpillar must go through to become this free-flying butterfly, I can easily visualize a similar metamorphosis of the soul for us as humans. As unbelievers we can be compared to the caterpillar, and as Christians, as we continually surrender our lives to the Lord, it is as if we can be compared to the new creature—the butterfly. But, it all begins with faith. The caterpillar must have instinctively had faith that something better was waiting for him. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life crawling around on his belly. So, he began the process of spinning himself into a chrysalis where he would remain and undergo a radical transformation. Likewise, we need faith to begin our journey with God too. In God’s infinite wisdom, He placed an instinctive need and desire in all humans to seek after Him. There is a void in our hearts that simply cannot be satisfied with anything or anyone else. Furthermore, we will not experience this full life until we fill it with His Presence.

Faith is the root of the Christian life. It is a confident belief and trust that God exists; that His only Son, Jesus Christ, came to earth as a baby, lived, suffered, and died for our sins. This faith gives us hope to live our earthly lives, often times filled with tragedy and heartache, with perseverance, knowing that one day we shall receive eternal life with our Father. This faith allows us to live in this sin-filled world and be a light unto the darkness, not succuming  under it. In the Bible, faith is defined as “being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). “And without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).  Ironically, faith is something that God Himself imparts to us. His righteousness imparts to all people the ability to believe that He is God and that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to save us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).

We have been given the ability to believe; however, we are the ones who must put our faith in Jesus Christ.  This is something God will never force us to do. Sometimes, however, God allows us to get to the end of ourselves. In other words, although He doesn’t cause hardships, He allows the natural consequences of life, which includes the choices we make, to bring us to a place of desperation where there is nothing else to do but “look up.” This is the place of utter neediness and the place of surrender.  We surrender our hearts and our lives to a holy God who is and remains Sovereign.  We finally recognize that we are NOT in control, and this brings us to the perfect place where God works the most incredible miracles in our lives. When we turn to Him with childlike faith asking Him to help us in our distress, He performs the most radical surgery in our hearts.  He turns our hearts of stone into hearts that long to believe and love Him.  This isn’t an instantaneous thing.  Rather, it is a processing of surrendering our desires and turning our lives over to the One who knows and loves us the most. 

Believe me, there is work involved in this process.  This is what I call proactive faith.  Faith always requires action—it is not passive—idly sitting by doing nothing and expecting God to do it all. Our job is to seek after God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). His job is to transform our hearts.  And He will! The more we seek after Him through prayer, immersing ourselves in the Bible, and fellowshipping with other believers, the more radically He transforms us.  We slowly begin to change on the inside—comparatively like a butterfly going through a metamorphosis. “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” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Sometimes we will not even be aware of how much we are changing, but eventually we will notice that we have been transformed on a deeper level. Maybe the same TV shows we used to watch appall us now, or when we hear the Lord’s name being spoken in vain, we cringe. And, we may even notice our own language beginning to “clean up.”  Others, too, will notice that we are different.  Those who are going through their own spiritual transformation will understand and applaud you.  Those who are not will question what happened to the “old” you.

Again, I can’t think of a better analogic comparison than that of the caterpillar that once crawled around on the floor, eventually spinning itself into a cocoon, and then emerging a beautiful new creature—a butterfly! And now for Butterfly Metamorphosis 101: Did you know that once inside its cocoon, a caterpillar changes into a pupa and slowly digests itself from the inside out, causing its body to die? During this partial death, some of the caterpillar's old tissues are salvaged to form new ones, and this remnant of cells is used to create a new body. Using its digestive juices, the caterpillar turns his old larval body into food which he uses to rebuild its new body. Eventually he is ready to emerge from his cocoon and then begins the process of pushing on the walls of the shell until it breaks open.  And we all know just how beautiful he is when he emerges with strikingly colorful, iridescent and patterned wings!

This “metamorphic” process is exactly what happens to us as we seek after the Lord with all of our hearts. We cocoon ourselves when we spend time with the Lord in worship and the study of His Word. When we fellowship with other believers, when we sit still in the Lord’s Presence.  It is the Holy Spirit who transforms our souls, and it is what He does best!  Left to our own strength we could never be “good enough” and would never emerge a new creation. Yet, the closer we draw to Jesus, the more the Holy Spirit is able to work in our lives. This, as mentioned before, is a process. (This is no different than the caterpillar that remains in the cocoon for quite a while). That is why believers still sin. Others who judge and criticize them do so unwisely, because walking in the Christian life is a day by day choice.  We are all “works in progress,” and will continue to make mistakes, lose our temper, and sin. However, because the Spirit lives in our hearts, He will convict us of our sin. Quick repentance follows because we will not like how we feel.  We know that our sin has grieved the Holy Spirit who lives within us. As we confess our sins and ask for His help in avoiding sin, we are restored to our Holy Father.  Sin will become less alluring to us as the Spirit continues to deepen our faith and draw us closer to the heart of God. We emerge as new creations in Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  This is all such a marvelous mystery.

The beautiful irony is that God knows us so intimately and loves us so immensely that He allows certain trials and tests to come our way in order to deepen our faith.  Simply put, He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. But these hardships are never to harm us…only to teach us to depend on Him and grow spiritually.  Trials have a way of doing that like nothing else.  Ask any strong Christian how they became so grounded in the Lord, and they will, no doubt, talk about some deep trials and struggles they had to face and go through. These struggles brought them to a place of surrender as they relied on Him to deepen their faith and trust in an unseen God; and, how they would never, ever turn back to their old ways!  I am one of them.

It is important to remember that we are not justified or made right with God by “observing the law”, but by faith alone in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:15). In the Bible, the Galatians were confused as they believed that they received the God’s Spirit by simply observing the law. “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you eard?” (Galatians 3:3-5). It goes on to say that Abraham believed God and that his faith was credited to him as righteousness. Likewise, we who believe, are credited as righteous through our faith in Jesus Christ. “The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles (all non-Jews) by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’  So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:8-9). 

That is such good news for us because we could never observe the law perfectly anyway.  Jesus took care of that for us when He suffered and died on the cross for our sins. He took on the penalty for our sins through His precious blood. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit” (Galatians 3:13-14). But be warned—that does not give us license to sin because He took care of it for us.  We should strive to live a sinless life, and with the Holy Spirit’s help, we are empowered turn from sin. “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3). 

More good news—we can escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  If we add to our faith goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, kindness, and love, and if we continue to increase these qualities through the help of the Holy Spirit, God’s Word promises that we will not be ineffective and unproductive in our knowledge of the Lord, Jesus Christ.  We do not have to be slaves to sin. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galations 5:1).

Throughout God’s Word, we are given precious promises from the Lord Himself that encourage and motivate us to godly living.  One of the promises I treasure the most comes from 2 Peter 1:10-11, “For if you do these things you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  I can almost imagine the scene.  Jesus welcoming me into His loving arms and eternal Kingdom forever.  No matter what has happened in my life, all the hardships I have endured and all the pain that I have suffered, will have been worth it all.  To know that my life counted for something bigger, including all of its sorrows and disappointments; to know that I am His, and that I will live forever with Jesus….well, nothing on earth could ever compare to this immense joy!

Sacrifice of Praise

Can I be so bold as to say that I believe, we as Christians, tend to be a little lackluster when it comes to offering God the sacrifice of praise?  I don’t know why that is.  We certainly don’t hold back when it comes to requesting prayer, and biblically speaking, God tells us to come to Him with our requests. We all know that prayer moves the mighty Hand of God. But should we really expect Him to exclusively grant all our requests?  Could it be that at times He withholds answering our prayers because there is something we are failing to do? Now, we’ve all been taught that God always answers our prayers.  Sometimes with a “yes”, sometimes with a “no”, and sometimes with a “wait.”  In reality, God does not need us to do anything in order for Him to answer our prayers.  The sheer essence of praying to God is for our benefit, not God’s.  It is so that we will develop a relationship with God and learn to depend on Him. In the process, our faith grows exponentially when we experience the God of the universe stooping down to help us in our time of need. We are filled with awe and thanksgiving for how He has answered our prayers, and then we go on to our next set of prayer requests. While there is nothing wrong with requesting help from our heavenly Father, lately I have been feeling like something is missing during my prayer life. Prayer is more than just requesting things from God, isn’t it?

Can it be that our minds are forever focusing on the difficult life issues that continually surround us?  Everywhere you look there are hurting, dying, and lost people. Just watch the news and you’ll get a mega dose of hard core reality. Ironically, very seldom do the media have any “good” news to report.  It’s not that there is no good news—they just choose not to share it with the rest of us. For some reason, it’s the bad stuff that grabs our attention. God offers us a solution as to what we should and should not allow in our minds.  “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” Philippians 4:8. This admonition enables us to not continually focus on the negative around us; however, when it comes to controlling our thought life, it can still be very difficult. We don’t need to listen to “bad” news to have “bad” or “negative” thoughts.  Through spiritual maturity and discipline we may learn how to hold our tongues, but the battle over the mind wages on.  Have you ever paid close attention to the meaning of 1 Corinthians 2:16? It says, “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” How can we possibly have the mind of Christ when our flesh and the evil one continually war against us in our private thought life?  You know, that part of you that no one else can see.  Sure, we can look pretty “holy” on the outside, and through practice we can learn to control what we say or how we say it, but taming the mind is an entirely different matter.

I recently read something in my daily devotional, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young that resonated with me. It was simple, yet profound. Why had I not thought about this before?  Written from God’s perspective it said, “Let me control your mind. The mind is the most restless, unruly part of mankind. Long after you have learned the discipline of holding your tongue, your thoughts defy your will and set themselves up against me.”  Wow! How very true. It went on to say that God risked all by granting us the freedom to think for ourselves, and this is what sets us apart from animals and robots. We are made in the image of God, precariously close to deity.  Wow, again!  Do you get that? We are close to deity!!!  That must be true or God wouldn’t have said, “But you have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). The reading ended with an exhortation to open ourselves to God’s radiant presence, letting His light permeate our thinking.

“Ok, Lord.  I want to do this.  I belong to you and you know I love you.  But I struggle here.  Just today I had thoughts that I know were not of you. There were unkind toward someone else, and I was instantly convicted by the Holy Spirit.” Then, I remembered this devotional reading and I immediately asked for forgiveness. This time I went a step further and asked God to control my mind.  I felt better after confessing my sin.  I reasoned if only I can take captive all the negative thoughts that whirl around in my head occupying needless space, I know God will help me to have the mind of Christ.  How?  Well, I wasn’t sure, but He is God, after all.

Interestingly, God wasn’t finished dealing with me on this topic just yet. He wanted to make sure that I fully understood. Then something beautiful happened during prayer time with my ladies’ leadership group.  God gave me revelation as to “how” He would control my mind. Although He surely didn’t need any assistance from me, He would require my activate participation in this process.  After our group openly shared our hearts and prayer requests, we began to pray as we always do. We lifted up our requests to the God who can do exceedingly more than we can ever imagine, but before long, the requests began to turn into praises. One by one, praises were being offered to the Lord.  Praises for the small, seemingly insignificant things, and praises for the big things He has done amongst our group. In the midst of the heavy burdens that we were carrying for ourselves, our families, and our friends, our time of prayer turned into a wonderful time of praise and thanksgiving. My emotions completely took over and it wasn’t long before the tears began to flow. The Spirit-filled prayer was so beautiful and pure. Innately, I sensed that this is precisely what was missing from my prayer life and what God longs to hear from all of His children. He already knows our every need, and He promises not to withhold any good thing from us, but He also delights in hearing our thanksgiving and heartfelt acknowledge-ment that we believe He is God; that we believe He is good; and, that we know with full certainty He is faithful, regardless of the pain and the circumstances we may find ourselves in.  In fact, if we don’t offer Him praise, even the rocks will cry out! (When the Pharisees in the crowd ordered Jesus to rebuke his disciples for praising Him, he replied, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out” Luke 19:40). Have you ever considered a bunch of rocks crying out praises to God?  If we don’t do it, they will! Goodness gracious, may we never allow inanimate objects to come to life to praise Him, when we have been made in the very image of God. We are the ones who should be shouting from the rooftops with praises to our King!

As I was driving home from the prayer meeting, God confirmed to my heart that He will partner with me in controlling my mind by using my sacrifice of praise. I felt strongly convicted that the next time I have a request, an urgent plea, or when something troubles me, I should pour out my heart to Him, but then I am to immediately offer up several praises concerning that particular request.  I was instantly reminded of a situation I was struggling with where my thought life certainly had a mind of its own. It’s not that I sinned outwardly by putting these thoughts into action, but I felt like I was sinning toward God just by having those unkind thoughts.  I asked God for help concerning that matter, but then I immediately offered up five praises concerning that very same matter. This was a simple exercise, but so relevant.  All of a sudden my prayer request didn’t seem so monumental or overwhelming to me. Instead, my mind focused on the blessings that had come as a result of this difficulty that God allowed me to go through. It felt like a “divine exchange” took place at that moment and I was able to look at my situation with the eyes of God.  I remembered Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

My impactful take away—I was reminded that good can come out of every single situation, but my perspective and attitude surrounding the difficulty is what must change. That must be how to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.  Simply grumbling about a difficulty will never give us the mind of Christ.  But offering it up to Him as a sacrifice of praise will allow God’s immeasurable grace to flood our souls with His peace as He imparts to us His “divine vision.” In collaborating with God through our heartfelt praises, our outlook will change as God meticulously begins the process of controlling our minds. Glory, Halleluiah! That is certainly something worth praising Him for!

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”  Psalm 150:6.

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name.” Hebrews 13:15

“Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”  Psalm 146:1-2

“How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!”  Psalm 147:1

“Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”  Psalm 145:2-3

NO Fretting Allowed!

NO FRETTING

Fretting, worrying, complaining, striving, agonizing over—they all imply the same thing. And left to ourselves, every single one of us will engage in these undesirable attributes.  Not only do they sap our strength and make us feel terrible, they are in direct opposition to what God desires for us.  He wants us to trust Him and rest in His peace.  He wants us to commit all of our ways to Him and to wait patiently for His response.  When we commit our way to the Lord, He supernaturally imparts His peace to our troubled souls.  And yes, that is something we so desperately need.

I have been a Christian for quite some time now, but yet all too often I find myself slipping back into those old habits of fretting.  I commonly disguise this term by saying, “I’m not worrying, I’m just concerned over this matter.”  As if in some way being “concerned” sounds more pious and holy!  I mean, after all, I should know better. The Holy Spirit has recently given me direct revelation that all the “concerns” that I fret over are sinful and grieve Him.  It implies that I don’t fully trust God concerning my circumstances, and therefore, must fret over them.  Nothing could be farther from the truth! Not only is God sovereign over the entire universe, He is quite sovereign over every little detail of my life too!  Why would I ever doubt that?  I guess, in my frail human condition, I periodically need to be reminded. 

Once again, I was led to the Scriptures…specifically the promises contained therein that the Lord will never leave me nor forsake me, that He is my Rock, my Refuge, my shelter in the storm. That He loves me unconditionally and forgives me continuously. I praise God for His many unconditional and conditional promises because they truly bring me hope and deep peace. They allow me to rest in Him knowing that He will always be victorious.  When my focus is inward and not upward, I easily become overwhelmed.  When I am overwhelmed, I become consumed with myself, and when I am consumed with myself, I fail to see God’s hand working in my life.  Maybe just maybe He allows some of those difficulties to draw me closer to Himself.  To seek after Him more fervently while down in the valley. To experience His presence even in the trials and hardships of life. He truly is the Only answer to all of life and everything that concerns me.  I guess I just need reminders now and again. 

Even so, I am thankful that God so graciously grabs my attention, especially when I become fretful, because I have learned that in my own strength I will always falter.  When life becomes chaotic and my own strength wanes, it is then that I am always, always reminded to go back to the Source; the Living Water; the Bread of Life—Jesus.   Ahhh, and when I do, He always delivers.  I envision Him reaching out His loving hand for me to take ahold of, as He gently binds up my wounds with His heavenly salve.  He does not desire for me to be weary and heavy-laden.  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28). As I come to Him unloading all my burdens, I am reminded that He alone is the great Burden-bearer.  Only His shoulders are strong enough to carry all that concerns me.  Under the crushing weight of my own cross, I only stumble and fall.  But when Jesus walks alongside me, helping me to carry my cross, my burdens become lighter. I am reminded of the One who walks with me, carrying me, comforting me, guiding me, and ministering to my weary soul.  I am filled with new strength and vigor for the journey ahead.

If we fret and place all of our focus inwardly, we will lose out on the joy of the journey. We became saddled with confusion and doubt as to any future outcome.  But the secret things belong to the Lord. And the future is the “secret” things.  If we could just learn to walk with the Lord, step by step, day by day, not being so concerned about what has not yet even occurred, what peace would invade our souls!  Why, we don’t even know if we will be here to witness all of our deepest fears and concerns!  Jesus reminds us that we are but a mist that is here for a little while and then is gone.  Why do we waste such precious time fretting and worrying about something that may not even happen? Why do we become so consumed with ourselves?  When we do, we are not able to help advance the kingdom of God.  I cannot help but think that the Lord is grieved when all of our focus becomes inward.  After all, as Christians, the ultimate goal of our existence is to bring glory to God.  How much glory can we bring to God when we doubt, fret, and are overcome with concern only for ourselves? Now, I am not implying that we don’t have legitimate cares and burdens that we carry.  It is what we do with those burdens that matters.  Do we complain and grumble and run to the phone?  Or, do we take all of our burdens to the throne?  “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” (Philippians 2:14-16).

Jesus told us we would have troubles in this world but we are to take heart for He has overcome the world.  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). I believe one of the best things we can do after we pour out our hearts to God and lay all of our worries at His feet, is to leave them there.  That’s right.  Once we give them to God, leave them there and don’t pick them up again.  When the urge to fret comes again, and believe me, it will—immediately talk to God, reminding Him you believe that He is sovereign over your circumstances, and thanking Him in advance for working all things out for your good.  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).  By continually rehearsing the same prayers over and over again, we sound like a broken record. Worst of all, our attitude indicates that we don’t believe God heard us the first time around.  Instead of repeating the same requests continuously, can we start to praise God for the answers we know are already on the way?  We may not see them with our physical eyes yet, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t working.  In fact, He is always working behind the scenes.  We just don’t “see” because we are looking for tangible evidence.  But God often works in very intangible ways.  We can’t see what is going on in our loved one’s hearts, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t at work.  We may not see the outcome we desire, but that doesn’t mean God isn’t working overtime to prepare others and us to receive His answer. Let us do what we can do—pray, trust, and believe, and leave the ultimate outcome with God.  He is not powerless, and nothing is too difficult for Him.  

Our responsibility is to stay closely connected to God, stop fretting, and start believing. Yes, even in the seemingly impossible circumstances. For truly nothing is impossible with God. “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). He longs to bless His children, to reveal His glory in and through our lives, and to answer our requests.  We must never forget to trust Him, commit our ways to Him, and delight ourselves in the Lord.  And when we can do that with abandoned hearts, guess what?  He will give us the desires of our heart.  And maybe that desire is nothing more than a peace that surpasses all understanding, and a willingness to carry our cross, our burdens, with the greatest Burden-bearer of all—Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Be still and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10

Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:3-4

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  John 14:27

Mind over Matter?

Our thoughts are extremely powerful and have the amazing ability to determine our outlook on life. Our thoughts can be optimistic or pessimistic in nature. They can bring healing and peace, or confusion and discord.  In one of my college Business classes, I learned of an interesting phenomenon referred to as the Pygmalian Effect, or self-fulfilling prophecy.  In essence, it means that we believe certain things about ourselves, and the statements we make and beliefs we hold on to actually can alter our actions, thereby coming true. If we say, “I’m probably going to have a lousy day today,” we may inadvertently alter our actions so that such a prediction is fulfilled.  It may be an unconscious gesture, yet it seems to become our reality just by our thinking and saying it. Another person might espouse a self-fulfilling prophecy in a positive way by stating, “Today I’m going to have a great day,” and thereby may unconsciously act in ways that will actually make this prediction come true.  What I find very interesting is that even the Bible concurs. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Could this be the explanation why we are often our own worst enemy? Negative, untrue, self-talk programs us to believe what we think.  God tells us how much He loves us, yet we don’t receive His love because we believe we are unlovable. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to forgive us for our sins and die in our place, yet we find it difficult to believe we are forgiven. He has given us the promised Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts, empowering us to live godly lives while offering us guidance and compassion, yet we fail to draw on His power because we can’t physically see or hear Him.  Or, we fail to believe Him altogether because He doesn’t appear to be coming through for us in the way we expected. I think it is safe to say that our biggest obstacle will always be our “thinking.” If not filtered through God’s written Word, our thoughts will often be tainted and untrue. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “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 than your thoughts.” Only when we actively trust God and seek His truth with a humble and obedient heart can we get His perspective on our situation and wisdom for our journey. “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Shifting gears just a little, let us discuss willpower vs. commitment with regard to our mind, thoughts and actions. Some people equate willpower as the driving force behind their thoughts and actions.  It is often referred to as the self-discipline, training and control of oneself, usually for self-improvement. Take weight loss, for example. It takes discipline and an enormous amount of self-control to begin an exercise program, limit caloric intake, and make lifestyle changes. While willpower initially motivates you to action, it alone is not enough to sustain your weight loss.  Spiritually speaking, willpower may be the discipline we need to begin reading our Bibles consistently or developing a regular prayer time, but if not backed by a sincere and personal commitment to God, we will find ourselves easily substituting our newly developed spiritual practices for the “busy” activities and demands that come our way.

I like to think of willpower  as running a sprint, whereas commitment is like running a marathon.  Our willpower will eventually fail us.  When the going gets tough, when disappointments come our way, or when we just don’t think we can make it through another day, our willpower will eventually fail us. Often we throw in the towel and give up altogether.  Commitment, on the other hand, is in it for the long haul.  It does not give up when life gets difficult. It does not surrender under pressure, but it moves steadily forward, even under opposition or great difficulty. It trusts. It believes. It perseveres. Its’ outlook remains positive even under adverse circumstances because it focuses on the promises of God.  “Yes, God is for me.  He will never leave nor forsake me. He loves me with an everlasting love, no matter how I may feel or what may be happening around me. He will use all of my trials for good.”

Galations 6:7-9 reminds us, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  This principle is not only applied negatively, but also positively.  In the psychological sense, it is also referred to as the “law of attraction.” This law states that everything coming into your life is a result of what you have been attracting to your life by your thinking, saying, believing, and feeling. Picture your words and thoughts as magnets, and your emotions and feelings as super magnets. Everything around you, including all the negative thoughts you have complained about, you have attracted. Likewise, when you think positive thoughts, you are attracting similar thoughts to you.

Now, I’m not a “psychological” expert, but I know that I certainly don’t want negative thoughts attracted to me. I have learned over the years that my thoughts and feelings are extremely powerful and have the ability to bring confusion, doubt and despair or love, joy and peace into my life. Frankly, I prefer the latter. Therefore, it is imperative that I stop inward-thinking and make a shift to upward-thinking by refocusing on God. I need to replace my thoughts with His thoughts, and my ways with His ways. The best way I have found to do this is by reading and meditating on God’s Word. It is the ultimate truth that dispels the enemy’s attacks and lies. “God sanctifies us through His truth; His Word is truth” (John 17:17).  As Christians, we can have the mind of Christ.  God says so in His Word.  1 Corinthians 2:16, “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” This is where true commitment will come in, because it will require that you consistently immerse yourself in God’s Word. As you faithfully do your part, God will impart His mind to you by the power of His Spirit as He speaks and equips you to receive the truth.

Remember, that our emotions and feelings are fickle, up and down like a wild roller coaster ride, and therefore, not reliable indicators of the truth.  These emotions and feelings can easily feed our thoughts with distorted truth. Their panic-driven sensationalism often invades our deepest core beliefs as they wreak havoc in our souls.  We must fight back with the Sword of the Spirit, for it alone is the truth that will set us free.  We cannot allow our fickle emotions and unreliable thoughts to run our life. They may make a wonderful caboose, but they certainly make a terrible engine!

 “For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10

Spiritual Poverty

Have you ever wondered why a Christian, someone who knows and professes Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, struggles to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ?  Without sounding judgmental, I have known many who truly do believe that Jesus is the Christ, yet have forfeited any real spiritual growth in their lives.  Sure, there are times when some fruit is produced, yet the branches remain stringy and the fruit that they bear is sparse. Think of a cherry tomato plant, for instance. When it gets the proper nutrients, water, and sunlight, it flourishes as it produces hundreds of cherry tomatoes on its thick branches. If it gets a little water here and there and minimal sunlight, it may not die, but it will struggle to grow and produce fruit.  Of course, if it gets no water or sunlight at all, it will fail to grow altogether.   

The vital ingredients that are absolute necessary in order for them to grow into lush, fruit-bearing tomato plants are what they take in. In this case, sunlight, water, and plant fertilizer.  Consider this plant analogy when you think of growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as water, sunlight, and fertilizer are necessary to produce an abundant crop, we desperately need to draw deep from the well of Jesus Christ in order to grow into the Christians He created us to be. Professing our faith in Jesus Christ may gain us salvation, but in order to bear fruit, we must stay connected to the vine. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). 

Okay, you understand that with your mind.  You need more of Jesus. Yet for some reason, it can take such a long time for that reality to travel from your head deep down into your heart. You know you should pray daily, read your Bible, and make Jesus Christ an integral part of your life.  And often you start praying or reading your Bible, yet you quickly fall away, old habits re-emerge and you are left “stuck” in the same place you were 10 years ago.  The reality is that if someone were to look at your plant, it would not have grown into that lush fruit-bearing plant that God intended it to be.  You become discouraged and frustrated as your efforts appear to be so minimal. You may even ask yourself “What is wrong with me? What’s the use? Why can’t I seem to move forward in my faith walk?”

As I recently read Scripture, I pondered on a verse that took on an entire new meaning for me. Taken from the book of Matthew, it is often referred to as the Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes. Jesus spoke to the crowds and addressed many topics. The very first verse is the one that struck me most. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).  As I meditated on the verse and asked God for insight, He brought some thoughts to my mind.  To be “poor in spirit” is to experience spiritual poverty, or to recognize one’s utter neediness and dependence on God.  It is to come to the end of ourselves, recognizing our own inadequacy to handle life, and that we are incapable of becoming the person God wants us to be without His Divine intervention. Being “poor in spirit” personifies a life that is not spiritually proud or self-sufficient, but desperately wants to know and love God.  It hungers and thirsts for the living God and desires to walk with Him intimately.  Knowing “about Jesus” is no longer sufficient. The person who is poor in spirit has arrived at the place in his life where nothing else satisfies—he now yearns to know Jesus personally and intimately. So he surrenders his life completely to Jesus as well as the many concerns that consume him.  He trusts that Jesus is fully in control and will never let him go. He takes his hand off the wheel and allows Jesus to be in the driver’s seat of his life.

Easier said than done, right?  Not really.  I believe there are two primary ways that we can experience spiritual poverty.  Unfortunately, one of them is quite painful as it involves suffering and brokenness. Suffering has the ability to bring us to the end of ourselves and to our knees quicker than anything else. Jesus said that He is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. When we suffer we cry out to God and are desperate for healing. “Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliver, O my God, do not delay” (Psalm 40:17).   “This poor man called and the Lord heard him, he saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6). 

Brokenness brings us to God who alone has the power to heal our broken hearts. However, even in our brokenness we must come to Him and believe that He is with us and has the power to restore and redeem us.  Many people remain in their brokenness, while they languish in bitterness of soul, because they have not fully surrendered their lives, including their pain and sorrows, to Jesus Christ. Because they hold onto their pain, they don’t fully relinquish it to God, and He is unable to completely restore and heal them. Once they let go and surrender their deepest hurts to the Lord, He carries them gently as He strengthens them day by day.  Before long their faith and trust in Him grows and they come to recognize that God can use all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.  Yes, even the most gut-wrenching, painful experiences of our lives.

Even though Jesus Himself told us that in this world we will have troubles, we are to take heart for He has overcome the world. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are; and, therefore, the trials he allows have enormous capacity to bring us to spiritual poverty. However, I don’t believe that every single Christian is called to suffer immense pain or experience extreme tragedy in order to become “poor in spirit”.  I think most people would prefer to experience spiritual poverty through a less painful way—the way of Obedience. 

When we are obedient to God we put ourselves in the proper position as we align our life to God’s will.  The best way to become obedient is to immerse yourself in God’s Word and let the Holy Spirit take over.  I believe that to know God is to love Him; to love God is to obey Him; and, to obey God is to serve Him.  KNOW, LOVE, OBEY, SERVE. I truly believe that we will never love God until we get to know Him, and the absolute best way to know God is to become a lifelong student of His Word.  When you come to know God through the written Word you can’t help but fall in love with Him.  Besides, the Holy Spirit takes over and does miraculous transformation in your life and heart through the written Word.  When you fall in love with Jesus, your heart desires what He does, and obedience is the natural outflow of your love for Him. The Holy Spirit continually opens the eyes of your heart, He quickens you when you sin, and you quickly turn to God for forgiveness.  You desire to live your life in obedience to God as you surrender all areas of your life to Him. You recognize that He is Sovereign and that He will perfect all that concerns you.  This is living in total dependence on God, and He graciously replaces your worries, frustrations, doubts, and concerns with His perfect peace. You are experiencing “spiritual poverty” as you take your hands off the wheel and depend on Him to take you safely to your destination.

In closing, the notes in my NIV Bible describe the state of being “blessed” as the “ultimate well-being and distinctive spiritual joy of those who share in the salvation of the kingdom of God.” When we are “poor in spirit” Jesus says that we are truly blessed for ours is the kingdom of heaven. I think Jesus is telling us that—yes, we can have a little heaven while we inhabit the earth here and now.  And I am quite sure that what awaits us in heaven with Jesus is simply beyond our wildest imagination!

Confessions of a Weary Mom

 It was beginning to look like one of “those” days.  You now—the kind you’d rather not have. It was somewhat dreary outside and looked like rain was coming our way.  In just 2 short days my son would be leaving for his freshman year at Ohio State University.  We had spent 19 years preparing him for this big day, yet I was not prepared for the myriad of emotions I’d been feeling lately.  "I can’t believe that he is moving out of our home to begin his new life. Our childrearing years are over. Where did they go? It seemed like only yesterday when he was still holding my hand as we were strolling along.  I know I must let him go, but why does it have to sting my heart?"

As I was driving my 14 year old daughter to school I nearly struck a baby squirrel. Thankfully, a quick swerve left the little critter intact. It had been a month since the new school year began and I wanted to know how things were going for her. I wasn’t prepared to hear about her continued struggle with friendships.  It is not that she doesn’t have any friends, but I sense that she longs for deeper friendships.  In recent months she made a great new friend only to find out last month that she was moving. No one has filled that void.  Although she is filled with joy and silly laughter, she is very sensitive, and therefore, easily hurt. As her mom, I hurt even more. I can identify with those same feelings because I had them too when I was younger. Someone else was always smarter, prettier, and more popular than me.

Thankfully, I now know what to do—take all these concerns and hurts to God in prayer. But does she do that? I wasn’t even half-way home when the emotions overwhelmingly took over and I began to cry. "Why are kids so cruel? Please God, bring her good, strong friendships. Above all, help her to see that she needs you as her best friend.”

Again my thoughts turned to my son.  Two more days. “Oh, please Lord—help me to not make my kids my 'idol.' I know I must let them go even if it means they struggle a bit. I do believe you are with them and will protect them.” I felt my spirit begin to sink into despair. I couldn’t wait to get home. “I need to be with you, Lord. I need to hear from you. I want your perspective.”

In a few short minutes I arrived home. Instead of immediately sitting in my prayer chair to talk to God, I decided to check my e-mail. When I got online the headline caught my attention.  “Young mother kills newborn babies.”  Although I heard the faint whisper to not read the article, curiosity took over and I quickly pushed the button to open the screen so I could read the story.  I wished I had heeded that soft voice. Not only did the 25 year old mother give birth to her newborn twins in the bathroom of her parent’s home, she proceeded to asphyxiate them as they began to cry. She didn’t want her parents to know she was pregnant, so she hid the pregnancy, gave birth to the babies, killed them, and then disposed of them in a laundry basket.  Now she will be spending many years in prison for such a devastating crime. I was aghast with horror and began to weep profusely. “What on earth is wrong with this world? Why God, why?  She could have given those babies up for adoption. So many infertile couples would have loved to raise them as their own.”

I had enough. I am so grateful that I didn't chose to crawl into bed and become depressed, but instead I lit some candles, turned on worship music, and envisioned myself crawling into the lap of my heavenly Father. I was still crying but soon felt myself calm down. I talked to Him about all that concerned me.  I prayed for my children, and I prayed for strength.  I knew those little babies were with God, and that one day there would be no more tears, or heartache, or goodbyes.  That brought me solace.  As I continued to listen to the worship music it was as if a heavy cloud lifted off of me. I read my daily devotional and before long opened my Bible to soak in God’s Word.  I can’t even remember when the “cloud of despair” was lifted from me, but it was. I had spent precious time with my Savior, and in His love and grace He blessed me with His peace. I have learned over the years that is precisely why we must come to the Lord often.  Not just when we’re weary, but also when we’re busy, stressed, and need comfort and direction that only He can give. He never fails us.  What a few moments in His presence can do is absolutely amazing.

Unfortunately, the world will continue to have its troubles.  There will still be confusion, pain and heartache, but Jesus tells us to take heart for He has overcome the world.  And you know what?  I believe Him. Crawl into His lap and spend some solitary moments with Him, and before long all the cares of the world will drift away.  He will take away your confusion, despair and sorrow, and infuse you with His power, His strength, and His perfect peace.  And that is enough.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. " Matthew 11:28-30

"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."  Mark 6:31

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul."  Psalm 23:1-3

"O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit…weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."  Psalm 30:3, 5

Who Is Filling Your Cup?

One of our most basic human needs is the need to be loved.  Ask any psychologist what so many of his clients have in common.  Very often it is a deep-seeded insecurity that stems from feeling unwanted or unloved. In an effort to determine wherein the insecurity lies the psychologist often takes you back in time to your early childhood years.  Maybe someone close to you withheld affection or never validated you.  Or worse—maybe you were abused or neglected. But let’s be real honest here—we don’t have to live through detrimental experiences in order to need a little therapy.  Most, if not all of us, carry insecurities with us.  We’re just real good about hiding them and keeping them to ourselves. Why else do we turn to other people or even materialism to feel validated?  What is it about the human tendency to stockpile things or amass wealth?  Does it make us feel more secure if our investment portfolio is high?  Do we feel better about ourselves if we drive new car even though it puts us in tremendous debt?  Do we really believe that people will love us more if we have a certain look, wear certain clothes, and own certain material possessions?

I believe that God made us with a deep yearning to be loved and to love in return.  Every one of us desires to be loved unconditionally by someone.  Why else do we go to such extremes?  We attempt to change our appearance by continually striving to look thinner, younger, and more attractive. We buy the latest and greatest gadgets hoping that they will attract someone to us.  Often we put on a façade that makes us appear to have it all together hoping that maybe then we will be found worthy of true love.

Fortunately, there is Someone who does love us unconditionally. And we don’t need to do anything special or create a certain look either! In fact, He loves us just the way we are, and His love is unfailing and everlasting.  That Someone is our Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is the only One who can truly satisfy the deepest longings in our heart. The problem is that more often than not we look for something or someone else to fill us. We do not turn to Jesus first, but usually as a last resort, when all else has failed us. We could save ourselves a lot of heartache if we would go to Jesus first and find our satisfaction in His unfailing love. Oswald Chambers once wrote, “No love of the natural heart is safe unless the human heart has been satisfied by God first.”  I agree.

Picture with me that every day of your life you are given a cup, that when filled, will quench your thirst for the day.  This cup represents all of your unmet needs.  Your goal is to fill the cup every day because when it is full your unmet needs have been satisfied, your insecurities are gone, and you feel confident, strong, and loved. So, what do most of us do?  We wake up each morning and we take that empty cup with us wherever we go asking and sometimes even demanding that others fill it for us.  After all, we are thirsty, and we need someone or something to help fill our empty cups. Then we’ll feel better about ourselves.  Whether our cup is filled through words of affirmation, approval, control, success, or monetary gain, it doesn’t matter.  The bottom line is we are miserable until something—anything—is in that cup. The problem is that people or materialistic pursuits will never be able to satisfy our insatiable thirst.  We were made to be filled with the Living Water, the Holy Spirit of God.  Only He can quench and satisfy our deepest spiritual thirst.

Remember the story of the Samaritan woman who came to the well to draw water? Jesus was there and asked her for a drink. She asked how it could be that He would ask her for a drink since Jesus was a Jew and she was a Samaritan. In those days, Jews did not associate with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water” (John 4:10). She proceeded to ask where she could get this living water.  Jesus replied, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13).  Jesus was speaking figuratively letting her know that coming to the living water represented spiritual refreshment that only He could give.  He invited her to drink the water of life.  She had previously had five husbands and the man she currently was with was not her husband.  Could it be that she was looking for someone to fill her empty cup?  

In Jeremiah 2:13, the Lord said, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Broken cisterns represent idols that we create and pay homage to, and they always fail their worshipers. By contrast, only God, the spring of living water, provides life-giving power to His people. When we attempt to fill our cup with things other than with God, our cup is like a broken cistern.  It has cracks and it leaks, and therefore, will never fill and satisfy us the way that God intended.

In John 7:38, Jesus says, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” Again and again Jesus invites us to come to Him because He is the true fountain of life. He knows that life is difficult and offers us His strength.  Not only does He delight in filling our cup with His everlasting love and perfect peace, He will fill it to the fullest measure. The best part is that it will actually overflow onto all that we meet.  And no one is more pleasant to be around than someone who has had her cup filled with the living God.  Insecurities will be erased as she drinks in the love and acceptance of her Savior. She will no longer need the constant approval or affirmation from others. This will free her up to love others unconditionally too without placing unrealistic demands on them. 

When you awake tomorrow to begin your new day, think about your empty cup.  It needs to be filled. Will you draw daily from the well of living water?  Or, will you reach out your empty cup day after day to things that cannot fill it? Don’t forget that only the living water—Jesus Christ—has the power to quench your thirst.  Everything else will only be a cheap substitute.  The choice is yours to make.

“They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”  Psalm 36:8-9

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!...Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.”  Isaiah 55:1-3

“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:17