Time for an Upgraded View

The wilderness girl in me has recently been daydreaming of taking a little getaway excursion in order to nurture the “Writer” in me.  There’s something about getting away from my normal routine that sparks an avalanche of words to come out of me like nobody’s business.  As I’ve been researching different hotel options, I couldn’t help but notice a small but significant detail:  the rooms with the ‘more desirable views’ are substantially more expensive than the so-called ‘garden view’ rooms (which is hotel-speak for ‘dumpster view’). 

This got me thinking – “What is it about a pretty view that causes people to justify spending upwards of $200 more for a hotel room?  I mean, seriously?!  How much time would I spend in the room anyway?  Certainly not enough to justify the inflated cost, that’s for sure!

But what if I were to spend most of my time in that room?  Would it be worth paying a little extra to have some better scenery to gaze upon?  What if, for some reason, I would have to spend the rest of my life with that ‘view’?  Would the inflated price be worth it then?  Or would I settle for a view of the dumpster just to save a few pennies?

I want to challenge you to evaluate what it is that you look at every day.  What’s the view from your room?  Or in other words, what do you let yourself think about day in and day out?  What do you see about yourself?  Are you seeing your past?  Your mistakes?  Things you regret?  The ‘dumpster’ of your life? 

Or have you checked in to the Penthouse Suite with a view of the slopes?  Have you upgraded your perspective to that of God’s?  You’re allowed to, you know!  God wants you to ask Him what He sees in your life.  Ask  Him what He finds astonishing about you, what brings a smile to His face, what He brags to all the angels about.  And let me tell you, He’s bragging all right! 

You get a choice in what you look at, what you see, and what you focus on.  So don’t look at what you can see right in front of you, all the pain from your past, all the disappointments from your bad choices.  Look ahead to what He has in store for you.  Set your mind on what He thinks about (you find this out by searching His Word daily) so that you can become all that He has in mind for you to become. 

The dumpster view is not for you anymore.  It’s time to walk yourself to the front desk and accept the complimentary upgrade to the best room in the House.

What are you waiting for??

Is God In Your Spam Folder?

About a year ago I subscribed to a daily devotional that I receive at my gmail account.  It usually arrives somewhere between the time when my alarm goes off and the time when I finally stop hitting the snooze button.  Sometimes I read it on my blackberry before I even get out of bed, other times I wait until later in the day when I have more time to devote my full attention to it.  It’s a simple devotional that typically takes no more than 10 minutes to read through, yet it always leaves me feeling refreshed, fed, and lightened in my Spirit. 

Recently I’ve noticed that the delivery of this timely devotional has been a bit sporadic.  Sometimes I won’t receive it until late in the afternoon or even into the evening hours.  While the timestamp on the email still displays the ‘sent’ time (which is scheduled at 2:15am every morning), for whatever reason its actual delivery to my inbox has been delayed.  As an individual who works in the email marketing industry, I’m aware of the number of reasons that could cause this delayed delivery but I’ll spare you the boring details and just say that there are a plethora of ’rational explanations’ that could justify this anomaly.   

It wasn’t until just a few days ago that I noticed that the delivery of this devotional had stopped altogether.  Honestly, I couldn’t tell you the last time I distinctly remember receiving it – I just know that I haven’t been fed by it in some time.  I noticed the void of the friendly subject line speaking ‘Daily Hope’ into my life, bringing with it fresh perspective on my day and my relationship with my Father.  I missed being challenged by the bold words of the author calling me to higher places and deeper intimacy with God. 

Knowing what I know about email delivery, I’m aware that the first place to go when emails go missing is the “Spam Folder.”  Every time one of my clients complains about a message not delivering, that’s the FIRST question I always ask them – “Did you check your spam folder?”  9 times out of 10, the email is sitting there waiting to be read. 

Some may wonder why an email that is so consistent in its inboxing would one day magically get marked as spam by the email service provider.  Hopefully this doesn’t come as a surprise to you, but the world of technology is constantly changing.  Standards are improved, filtering technologies are enhanced, and inboxing qualifications are made more strict to protect against unwanted email that could wreak havoc on your computer.  What was once considered a safe, deliverable email could one day not meet the new, more rigorous standards implemented by your email provider.  Thus, your favorite email is filtered into the Spam Folder, ‘hidden’ from your immediate view.

I wonder sometimes if God isn’t a little like the filtering technology used by my email provider.  Knowing that I need to be protected against unwanted intrusions, He will change the way He approaches me, the way He speaks to me, the way He gets my attention.  Keep in mind that He in Himself never changes, but the way that He ‘delivers’ Himself to me will change to maintain maximum effectiveness. 

One of my favorite authors, Graham Cooke, said “If God is hiding from us, we can extrapolate one thing: God is hiding in plain sight, teaching us to look for Him in different ways.  God is unpredictable but completely consistent.  We always know where we are with God because He never changes, but we seldom know what He’s going to do next.” 

I love that our God sees fit to always remain a little mysterious with us.  He refuses to let us settle into a routine that will eventually leave us stale and complacent.  He will always be proactive in inviting us into a game of Hide and Seek – where He hides Himself in the intricacies of our lives so that we can humble ourselves to seek Him.  For me, it was as simple as looking in my ‘Junk Folder’ where I found the last week’s worth of missing devotionals. 

It took me a full week to notice that they had gone missing, and yet I know that God isnt’ concerned with how long it took me to notice, He’s simply ecstatic that I found them.  How like Him.  He isn’t concerned with how long it takes us to finally find Him, He’s more concerned with the fact that we’re looking, because He knows that if we seek Him, we WILL find Him.

In what ways do you feel like God has hidden Himself from you?  What area of your life do you feel like He’s left you in the dark, unable to find which way is up from down?  Perhaps He isn’t speaking to you in the same way that He has before because He wants to take you into new places of His heart for you.  Would you be willing to have your perspective changed so that you can see more of who God wants to be for you in this season of your life?

Why Wait!? Act Now….

In a world where we are bombarded with an influx of “Act Now” messages it’s awfully hard to wait for something, isn’t it?  We live in a society that is built upon a foundation of ‘gotta-have-it-NOW’ mentalities that make it next to impossible to remain patient and steadfast in the midst of uncertainty.  Just about everything in our lives is geared towards improving efficiency, reducing wait times, and producing more in less time.  So what’s a child of God to do when faced with an “I-just-need-you-to-wait-with-me-for-a-while” response from God? 

You Act.

That’s right, I said it…You ACT.  

Isaiah 30:30-31 says:

For even young people tire and drop out, 
   young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
   They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
   they walk and don’t lag behind.

 

I want to draw your attention to two words in this passage:  Wait and Strength.  In this particular verse, the Hebrew word for “wait” is Qavah which is also translated as ‘to look for, trust in, expect, and linger for something.’  For some of you the idea of waiting for something insinuates inactivity.  It means sitting in a room idly waiting for God to show up on your doorstep with the answer to your problem. Perhaps that may be what He is asking you to do, so please don’t be disobedient to Him if that’s the case.  For more of you though, you’ve chosen this inactive posture simply because you don’t know anything else.  You’re stuck in the “waiting room” mentality where you refuse to move. 

Let me challenge you with something:  It’s entirely possible to wait and move at the same time.  You can wait on God (Qavah) and step out in faith expecting (Qavah) Him to show you the next step as you linger (Qavah) in His presence.  You see how that works?  You can wait (Qavah) while you move.

The second word I want to call out is ‘strength’ which in this passage is derived from the Hebrew word Koach.  Other sources translate this Hebrew word as ‘the power or ability to do something’ and even refers to the strength of angels in some passages.  Why is this important to know?  Well, it stands to reason that God wouldn’t make a promise of giving you fresh strength or even changing your strength (AMP version) if He didn’t intend on you needing that strength to accomplish something.  And who knows that it’s easier to move an object that is already in motion than it is to move an object that is stationary? Do you see where we’re going here? 

Would you start moving today?  In any direction, just go somewhere new today.  Go somewhere you’ve never been before and trust that He will indeed be your Shepherd.  Trust that you will never be in need so long as you continue moving with Him.  He will tell you when to rest.  He will lead you beside peaceful waters that will renew and restore your weary soul.  He will guide you along the path of righteousness.  And not for your sake, but for the sake of His name.  (Psalm 23:1-3) 

Trust that He wants the absolute best for you.  Allow Him to convince you that He has great things planned for you, that He knows what He’s doing even when it doesn’t feel like it.  With perfect peace He will protect you, for your mind has been made up.  You know Him, you’ve seen Him, and you trust Him. 

 Now get moving!

12 Steps for a Recovering Perfectionist

As a self-disclosed recovering perfectionist, it’s somewhat painful for me to even admit that I’m a ‘perfectionist.’  That word comes with it a negative connotation that I don’t want to be associated with.  And so in my frequent moments of relapse into perfectionism I try to hide the fact that I’m a perfectionist because that would make me “imperfect.”  Yeash.  What a great world I live in. 

And yet I know I’m in good company.  Why, you may ask?  Well, because you’re a recovering perfectionist, too.  You may not have admitted it yet, you may not even recognize it yet, but that’s okay.  You’ll get there. 

You see, it’s in our nature, our very DNA as human beings to try to be perfect.  You can blame Eve for that because she was the first human who tried to be perfect (ie: Like God).  Ever since that fateful day in Eden human beings have  been on a crash course with perfectionism.  We do everything in our power to make ourselves look, feel, and be better but nothing seems to work.  Sure our creative remedies may provide a temporary sense of relief and may even fool those around us into believing that we’ve got it all figured out.  But eventually if we continue relying on our clever gimmicks and the calculated equations that I referenced in an earlier blog, we’ll always land flat on our face.  So I decided to come up with one equation that will always work.  A 12-step program of sorts, one that is simple and easy to remember:

1.  Let go

2.  Look up

3.  Let Him in

4.  Let go again

5.  Keep looking up

6.  Let Him in already

7.  Let go of that nasty habit you have already…take your slimy hands off of it!  I’m serious….

8.  Stop looking at the ground…look UP

9.  Let those 12-foot walls crumble a little…I know it hurts and it’s messy…but it’s worth it….

10.  Keep OFF the grass you’ve been walking on for your entire life…take the narrow road already…

11.  Did you see the blue sky up above?  What are you waiting for…He’s waiting for you to look at Him…

12.  Let Him tell you the things you’ve been dying to hear

 

The LORD God is waiting to show how kind He is and to have pity on you.   The LORD always does right;   He blesses those who trust him. People of Jerusalem, you don’t need to cry anymore. The Lord is kind, and as soon as He hears your cries for help, He will come. The Lord has given you trouble and sorrow as your food and drink. But now you will again see the Lord, your teacher, and He will guide you.  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice saying, “This is the road! Now follow it.”  Then you will treat your idols and old habits like garbage; you will throw them away like filthy rags.   (Isaiah 30:18-21 CEV)

It’s Not An Equation

As I allow God to teach me what it truly looks like to live a life of relationship as opposed to a cleverly crafted existence of equations, I’m grateful that He gave me an example to live by.  I want to spend a moment walking through an encounter that Jesus had with the Accuser. 

Much like you and me, there was a period in time during Jesus’ time here on Earth where He found Himself in the Wilderness of life being tested and tried.  Matthew 4 describes this encounter for us:

 ^1-3 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by Holy Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: “Since you are God’s Son, then speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread.”

 ⁴Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.”

I’m sure you’ve found yourself in a situation where you’ve been tired, hungry and easily taken advantage of.  Physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually – we’ve all been at that place in the wilderness where we’re desperate for a solution.  A quick fix.  A remedy for the pain.  We’re looking for an equation.

The Devil gave Jesus just that: an equation.  He provides Jesus with a ‘since, then’ statement.  He says “SINCE you are this, THEN you get to do this.”  Easy, right?  Since you are qualified to do this, then you get to do that.  Since God’s Word doesn’t specifically say you can’t do that, then you get to do this.  Makes sense, right?

I’m so glad that we have a Savior who is able to understand and sympathize with our weaknesses and tendency to be tempted by the assaults of the Devil (Hebrews 4:15).  He understands what it looks like to be offered an easy way out, to be faced with a ‘since, then’ statement.  He knows firsthand what it’s like to be tempted in every way.  Yet He did NOT sin. 

It is here that we need to place our focus and attention on because it’s here where we so often deviate from how Jesus lived out His relationship with His Father.  Rather than accept the equation as a solution for His hunger, Jesus turned to the Word to sustain Him.  His response is the relationship that we crave.  He simply said:

“It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 AMP)

The greek word for ‘bread’ in this verse is ‘artos’ which refers to physical bread made out of a variety of ingredients.  It’s a physical item that is made by measuring out specific ingredients based on a scripted recipe that will yield an expected outcome.  It’s the result of an equation. 

The greek word for ‘word’ in this verse is…  You guessed it – ‘rhema’.  This is the active, living, breathing, has-the-power-to-change-your-life Word that Jesus is referring to here. 

Essentially what Jesus is saying here is “I don’t live by equations, recipes for success, or 7-Step plans that promise a certain outcome.  I’m not upheld or sustained by easy solutions or planned out responses.  No, I live by the very things that My Father says to Me when We spend time together.  It is the sound of His voice speaking to Me that sustains Me, that carries Me through, that causes Me to be who I AM.”

We were not meant to live by bread alone.  We were meant to depend on Him, to walk with Him, to listen to Him, to feel Him, to know Him.  You will not find satisfaction, meaning, or relief apart from Him. 

Would you carefully walk away from the equation you’ve been pursuing?   Would you abandon the false security that you’ve found in your meticulously crafted 5-year plan?  Would you take your hands off of that thing which would attempt to offer you guaranteed outcome?  And would you turn to the only One who can truly sustain you in the way you were created to be sustained?

His Way or No Way

I hope you’ve been choosing to believe Him for the things that are burning on your heart right now.  You do have a choice, you know?  You can choose not to believe OR you can choose to believe.  And honestly, it takes more effort on your part to not believe than it does to believe. 

You must learn to be thankful for the Word, the rhema word  that is living, active, breathing, and full of power to change and transform you into His image.  He sows this life-giving manna into your heart every day so that you can walk in relationship with Him, not in equations with Him.  I’m sure you’ve found yourself defaulting to a list of Dos and Don’ts, Rights and Wrongs in an attempt to live a righteous and holy life.  You’ve tried to belittle God down into 7-easy steps to living a life that pleases Him only to find yourself rebelling against the very thing you’ve created to keep you on the right path. 

You must understand, beloved, that more than wanting to address your actions, God wants to address your heart.  The things residing under the surface that haven’t yet been exposed but are slowly rising to the surface.  They come in the form of doubts about yourself, insecurities you’ve carried with you from season to season, lies you’ve convinced yourself of because you’re too scared to believe for more.  You may think you can keep them in check by doing the right things or saying the right combination of scripted responses.  But in those feeble attempts at success you’re depending on yourself to have it all figured out.  You’ve boiled your relationship with God down to an equation, removing the strength and power of His Holy Spirit to change you from the inside out. 

I’m so thankful that we get to experience God’s grace for us in those very things that scare us most.  That area that you want to hide from or pretend like God doesn’t see…well dear one, that’s the very area that God most desperately wants to give you freedom in.  He wants to set you free from your past mistakes, your expectations, and your desire to be perfect in all of your ways.  He wants to give you Himself, not an equation.  He wants to teach you how to live on His terms, not yours.

Scalpel Please

As an Email Marketing Account Manager you can imagine that I see my fair share of emails during any given day.  On a few occasions I’ve been known to actually keep track of the daily volume – sometimes upwards of 300+ emails are exchanged during the nine glorious hours spent in my cubicle.  Amidst the many work-related communications are interspersed emails from family and friends.  Some are light-hearted and playful, others are heavy-hearted and raw.  I forget how blessed I am that I’m able to communicate with such incredible friends who love, encourage, and challenge me throughout my busy Corporate-America day. 

It is one such email that is the inspiration of this post.  It was a simple email from a dear friend that contained only two words:

What I love most about emails like this is that they often come when I feel like I’m dry, tired, and have absolutely nothing to offer.  God always uses these emails to gently remind me that it is from Him that I receive anything of value and worth.  I simply get to respond with what He’s teaching me in that very moment and trust that it’s what the person on the other end of the email needs to hear. 

My response to this particular friend was rather short and vague, but I feel (and he agreed) that it needed to be shared with you rather than kept selfishly between the two of us.  Here’s what was said:

 

When you decide to allow God to truly renew your mind and transform you in a new area of your life, I believe that the posture of your heart towards Him is essential to having victory over those mindsets and actions that would attempt to set themselves up against who God is and what He says about you.  If we think for even one second that we are capable of having victory apart from Him, we’re only setting ourselves up for repeated mistakes and failures.  But, if we humbly (yet powerfully) acknowledge and confess that He does, well you better watch out!

It’s about placing yourself before Him and agreeing with Him (confessing) that He alone is capable of transforming you from the inside out.  We can (and have) tried to grunt-work our way through the faulty thinking, mistaken beliefs, and self-destructive behaviors.  We’ve tried to rationalize our way through our old situations trying to ‘think new thoughts’ and ‘trying new things’, but it’s only when we come to a place where we truly acknowledge that He alone has the power and grace that we need to change that we are able to do things ‘His way.’  Until then, we’ll only be spinning our wheels leaving behind a path of destruction.

When we choose to give up control and lift our hands in beautiful surrender, not knowing what to do or how to go froward…that’s when change happens.  You open yourself up to the power of His Word (rhema – living, active, breathing, and full of power).  Even when You don’t know what it looks like, when it’s still scary and frightening to say the least….it’s in those fearful moments that we get to confess that God is good all the time, that He is always faithful to teach, instruct and guide us in the way of righteousness.  It is then that we choose to “walk right up to Him and get what He is so ready to give.  Take the Mercy, accept the help.”

Have you done that yet?  Have you walked up to Him to get what You need?  If not, what’s stopping you??  Go ahead…accept the Help!