Before we came to Russia, the Lord spoke to us using the imagery of a pearl. I read something recently that brought more depth to this already-beautiful imagery – “A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear that results from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life.” I think of how God wounds, but He also heals (Job 5:18). He uses wounding in our lives to produce something truly beautiful. Running these marathons we’re on exposes our individual weaknesses, and if we want to continue running, it’s important that we deal with our weaknesses God’s way. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
God gave me a vision a few months ago during a prayer meeting in which I saw the Lord pouring oil over Russia. Some of the oil went into the ground, but some of the oil pooled on the surface. I asked the Lord what prevented all of the oil from soaking into the earth, as intended. He said that wherever His people had containers, they could contain His oil. The name of the containers is “Surrender”. He said that He wanted to pour out His fire on Russia. But His fire can fall only on sacrifice. He’s looking for those who belong completely to Him, who have unconditionally surrendered to Him.
God’s remedy for our weaknesses is surrender. As we surrender everything to Him, He takes our imperfections, our inadequacies, our mistakes . . . and brings forth something incredible from the hidden depths. Personally we are in that place of surrender again – in one sense, every day is a day of surrender, but there are special seasons in all of our lives where the Lord requires us to go to even deeper levels of surrender that we hadn’t previously realized even existed. I think He does this because He knows how quick we are to put our trust in other things, even lovely things . . . He wants us to continually live in that place of utter dependence on Him and Him alone. When I’m in one of those seasons, I often just sit or lie in the Lord’s presence and let the tears roll down my cheeks as God’s skillful hand cuts at the places in my heart that need His masterful touch. It’s a fragile place to be, but at those times, we can be hopefully expectant because His injuries always bring with them Kingdom treasures that will in time be revealed. If we resist the injury, we will not be able to produce the beautiful strand of pearls that God has planned for us. Now I am beginning to understand Song of Songs 4:9 – “You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.” Our surrender produces the jewels that steal God’s heart.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
visit the water stations regularly
Marathon experts state emphatically that under no circumstances should you ever skip a water station – they are vital to your success in finishing the race. We need those places of life-giving refreshment along the way on this long and often difficult journey.
If we don’t care for our spiritual passion, it will gradually fade. We need to guard the life of the Spirit within us, faithfully caring for the inward fire, both for the sake of our own relationship with God and so that we can offer warmth and light to others. We can regain spiritual passion through what author Gordon MacDonald calls “safe places, still times, special friends.”
Safe places are physical locations in our world where we can meet alone with God. Whether sitting in an armchair, walking in a nearby forest, or pottering around in the kitchen, we each need safe places we can visit regularly where we can be ourselves and not be too distracted by the inevitable cares of life. I’m all for communing with the Lord in nature (especially on mountains and beaches), but have learned to be flexible about safe places because many factors impact where and when we can go. For many years, an oft-visited safe place for me was a rocking chair in the middle of the night, feeding one of our precious little ones. Ironically, I’m typing this in the middle of the night, though now it’s because it’s a good time to be alone in a quiet environment!
Still times are periods of pausing, waiting, resting, recharging, just being with God. There may be a great fire in our souls. There is a huge temptation to go beyond doing only what we see the Father doing (John 5:19), which results in a dampening of the flames and lukewarmness. Still times help us to fan into flame the fire of the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). There’s no shortcut for seeking the Lord. “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
Special friends are priceless jewels. I hope that the Lord blesses you with some of these. The Bible says that these kinds of friends “stick closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). Special friends care enough to tell you the truth – “Wounds from a friend can be trusted” (Proverbs 27:6). Proverbs 17:17 in The Message says, “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.” We need close-sticking and honest special friends to love and be loved by in all kinds of weather and trouble!
Make sure you visit life-giving stations along the way – there are plenty of things that drain life from us – we need the refreshment the water stations provide to keep us fully alive and alert, ready for the journey ahead.
If we don’t care for our spiritual passion, it will gradually fade. We need to guard the life of the Spirit within us, faithfully caring for the inward fire, both for the sake of our own relationship with God and so that we can offer warmth and light to others. We can regain spiritual passion through what author Gordon MacDonald calls “safe places, still times, special friends.”
Safe places are physical locations in our world where we can meet alone with God. Whether sitting in an armchair, walking in a nearby forest, or pottering around in the kitchen, we each need safe places we can visit regularly where we can be ourselves and not be too distracted by the inevitable cares of life. I’m all for communing with the Lord in nature (especially on mountains and beaches), but have learned to be flexible about safe places because many factors impact where and when we can go. For many years, an oft-visited safe place for me was a rocking chair in the middle of the night, feeding one of our precious little ones. Ironically, I’m typing this in the middle of the night, though now it’s because it’s a good time to be alone in a quiet environment!
Still times are periods of pausing, waiting, resting, recharging, just being with God. There may be a great fire in our souls. There is a huge temptation to go beyond doing only what we see the Father doing (John 5:19), which results in a dampening of the flames and lukewarmness. Still times help us to fan into flame the fire of the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). There’s no shortcut for seeking the Lord. “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).
Special friends are priceless jewels. I hope that the Lord blesses you with some of these. The Bible says that these kinds of friends “stick closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). Special friends care enough to tell you the truth – “Wounds from a friend can be trusted” (Proverbs 27:6). Proverbs 17:17 in The Message says, “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble.” We need close-sticking and honest special friends to love and be loved by in all kinds of weather and trouble!
Make sure you visit life-giving stations along the way – there are plenty of things that drain life from us – we need the refreshment the water stations provide to keep us fully alive and alert, ready for the journey ahead.
Friday, March 13, 2009
run with your team
Ever since the beginning, God has said, “it is not good for the man to be alone.” God created us for relationship – with Him, and with one another. There are countless reasons why teamwork is both necessary and important, but here are a few to consider.
• Exponential impact
o Ever noticed how much more you can get done when you do it with a friend? Teamwork always results in exponential impact. “When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there.” (Matthew 18:19 – 20, The Message) “Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand” (Leviticus 26:8)
• Protection
o Those who make the journey alone, either by running ahead or lagging behind, often end up stumbling off the pathway. You and your teammates can help one another to stay on track. “Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14, The Message) “By yourself you're unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12, The Message)
• Empowerment
o Whether you’re a team leader or not, each team member can empower others to do what they are supposed to do. We need one another, and can’t do each other’s jobs. Each one has something to offer that will benefit the entire team and ultimately the body of Christ. “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16)
• Faithfulness
o Who among us isn’t hoping to hear this at the end of the age: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Committing ourselves to a team over the long haul requires faithfulness. We learn faithfulness by being faithful, not by giving up on people or situations when the going gets tough (which it inevitably does from time to time). One of my favorite speeches of all time, Churchill’s famous address during World War II, puts it simply – “Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.”
• Exponential impact
o Ever noticed how much more you can get done when you do it with a friend? Teamwork always results in exponential impact. “When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there.” (Matthew 18:19 – 20, The Message) “Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand” (Leviticus 26:8)
• Protection
o Those who make the journey alone, either by running ahead or lagging behind, often end up stumbling off the pathway. You and your teammates can help one another to stay on track. “Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14, The Message) “By yourself you're unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12, The Message)
• Empowerment
o Whether you’re a team leader or not, each team member can empower others to do what they are supposed to do. We need one another, and can’t do each other’s jobs. Each one has something to offer that will benefit the entire team and ultimately the body of Christ. “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16)
• Faithfulness
o Who among us isn’t hoping to hear this at the end of the age: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Committing ourselves to a team over the long haul requires faithfulness. We learn faithfulness by being faithful, not by giving up on people or situations when the going gets tough (which it inevitably does from time to time). One of my favorite speeches of all time, Churchill’s famous address during World War II, puts it simply – “Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
