I had an epiphany while I was in the shower this evening. (Isn't it funny how epiphanies come in the shower? Maybe they don't for everyone, but they certainly often do for me.) In my last post, I used a metaphor of making chai and the readiness of that chai being delayed to convey different options we have as we experience delay in our own lives. In that post, I looked at three options, focusing primarily on the third, which I felt was the best. Check out the post below if you haven't read it and want to bring yourself up to speed. Tonight, I felt I was given a fourth option, and it has to do with the subject of control....or giving it up.
So, continuing the chai metaphor, we have first have three options when dealing with delay (there could be more, but I chose to look at three in the last post):
1)Decide you were given the wrong recipe and wasted time and resources and throw the chai out. It was all a waste. Pity.
2)Realize that you were given the right recipe, that whatever goal you were striving towards (what that chai represents) was in fact correct, but it's just going to take longer to thicken, so keep stirring. The problem here is that you can go stir crazy checking the chai and waiting for it to be ready, whatever that end goal, desire, or dream may be.
3)Get out of the kitchen for awhile and let God stir the chai (it has to be watched over or stirred, otherwise the milk will boil over) while you enjoy the other things he's prepared in the next room. He'll call you if he needs your help stirring, and he'll let you know when the chai is ready. Getting out of the kitchen helps get your mind off of what's not yet and enjoying what already is.
But here's where the fourth option comes in! Are you ready for this?
4)Realize that you were never in charge of making the chai to begin with and just trust God to complete the work from start to finish. Let go of control and just enjoy whatever chai God is making in there, because if he's the one making it, it's going to be good!
Let's look at this another way. Say you have a dream, a vision, a goal, a plan, and you really want to see that happen. You even feel like it was God-given, so it's important for you to stay the course. When things go wrong or not according to plan, if you are like me, you begin to fear that the plan was wrong all along or that you had the right plan but that you have to maintain the course in order to keep everything on track. It's God's plan, but he gave it to you to steward, so you're partly in charge, right? Right? Hmmm...How much are we really in charge of these things? Now, don't get me wrong. I do believe that we get to co-labor with God, that we partner with him in different ways to get things done, and our part is important. But with that said, if God has a specific plan for something really big in our lives, one of these pots of chai we're intent on stewing over, doesn't it stand to reason that he will accomplish it well, whether or not we are getting the full picture/recipe/whatever?
Here's another way to view it. Let us say that you view your life as a story, and you feel like you see a certain storyline about to play out that you need to keep on top of. You're on a quest, an adventure, and you can see where the story is going. But then the story begins to take a turn, and though you know detours can often lead the hero back onto the original journey, the fear sets in that you might actually find yourself at a different destination. So you remember your story, re-tell it to yourself, and convince yourself that the ending is just what you thought it would be, just what you thought you heard, even though that ending has yet to be told. Granted, sometimes, many times, I believe we are given the ending. This is what is often refer to as prophecy, and it's something I've experienced in my life: God telling me things that are yet to come, and those things happening. HOWEVER, and this is the biggie, why do we have to hold such tight control on our story in the first place? While I believe it's important to have a proper view of the story we're in (and I may write a post on that eventually), why do we have to clutch at the details to ensure we know exactly where the story is going when the narrative we expected seemingly starts to derail? I think it has to do with two words: TRUST and CONTROL.
We either TRUST the Storyteller, the one who is writing the story and causing it to unfold, or we try to CONTROL the story. Who can write the better ending? Many would say that they know the best ending to their story. I certainly feel that way about some things. But I'm realizing that if I really trust that the Storyteller, the one who is making my story and allowing me to write certain parts in myself, has my best interest in mind, then the major destination points are going to be to my benefit. He's good, and he has a GOOD story for me to live. My need to be right, to KNOW everything so precisely, will hopefully feel less important as I trust that this Writer is writing something really good for me, as he has proven to me again and again with the way other parts of the story have played out. That is not to say that there haven't been low points in the story, but all of it works together for good. (Sound familiar?)
Do I care if I got the chai recipe right? Do I care about my story ending the way that I think it should and want it to? Yes. But what if I release greater control in the process, trusting that whether or not I get every detail right, the Chai Master himself, the grand Orator, is going to serve up something that caffeinates the soul like nothing else ever could? I'm mixing metaphors, but I think you get my point. The chai, the story, is his...HIS. So we can relax and let him cook it up, write it out. We can just BE. And trust that whatever else comes along that doesn't seem to belong in the chai or add up to the right ending will somehow work out in the most masterful of ways.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." -Isaiah 55:8-11
"
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
Juggling, Tennis, and the Secret of Successful Planning
What if you didn't have to impress anybody? What if you didn't have to worry about messing up your life by making the wrong choice in a matter or taking the wrong step in a particular direction? What if---just what IF--this was a year in which you could run uninhibited after the inclinations of your heart and know that you would end up okay, safe---no, better than safe---better than where you started? My friends, I propose that it is just such a year, with a magic IF. Let's explore this, shall we? I'm sure you want to know what the IF is, IF such a scenario is possible. Let's see!
Being the beginning of the new year, this is a time when many, myself included, reflect on the past and, more importantly, start planning and dreaming for what's ahead in the new year. But for those who started the previous year with high hopes or major plans that left them wanting and unfulfilled at the end of the year, the thought of dreaming and planning again can feel futile. I have definitely been there at times, and I can attest that it makes planning and hoping much more difficult the next time around. However, I am glad to say that more often than not, my times of forward-thinking for the new year have been incredibly rich, encouraging, and fruitful for the rest of the year. Let's find out more about that magic IF that I referenced earlier.
As one who believes strongly in the activity of God in the presence of our daily lives, I see inviting God into our planning for the new year (or any planning for that matter) as of utmost importance in dreaming and planning that is fruitful. That's not to say that those who do not involve God in their planning can't make effective plans that turn out well. Rather, I think he's involved whether we want to believe it or not, and the more we involve him intentionally in the planning process, the more grounded and joyful our planning process will be. Check out the following thoughts from one of the wisest kings who ever lived, King Solomon:
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." -Proverbs 19:21
"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established." -Proverbs 16:3
"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." -Proverbs 16:9
I see a few things happening here, and these things have proven true time and time again in my own life. The first key I see is this: We all have plans in our heart, many of which we come up with, but in the end, God is going to have his way.
I personally believe that God has his way overall, and that the first proverb I quoted refers to God's plans in that general sense. Notice it says that the Lord's "purpose" prevails rather than his "specific" plans. I am imagining God playing a game of tennis. He's a master athlete in this case, and he knows his intention, but he's going to work with what he is served. There are other times in which he gets to serve, and we, as the other player, get to respond to what he has initiated. Does God want to win the game, get his way? Sure he does! (And thankfully, he is a God that has only our best interest at heart, so for him to win is a good thing, as it means a win for us as well.) But he's willing to play in such a way that takes our actions into account. That includes our messing up, and him not getting his way on every serve. Still, his purpose will prevail. He's just a better tennis player than we are. He's God! Or look at it another way. If God is triune, meaning that he is one God but three persons in community (Father, Son--Jesus, and Holy Spirit), then it's as if the God-team is actually 3 players working together! What an advantage! Can you imagine three on one in a tennis match? That seems somewhat unfair, doesn't it? Well yes, it does, if you are looking at it like a regular tennis match where it's one team against the other. But let's look at something else here.
Remember how I said that in the proverbial tennis match with God, his win is our win? Well, let's look at that in terms of our planning and take the tennis metaphor a bit further. What if, in our three-on-one scenario, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit weren't simply whacking that ball against us on the other side but instead inviting us into the rhythm of their racket? What if tennis suddenly became more like an epic juggling game in which, instead of trying to conquer the other player's court, everyone shared the same court, no net, and the only objective was to keep the ball in the air? That's how I see planning with God. He wants to keep the ball in the air and desires to invite us into his rhythm as we do so. He has various strategies, different ways of hitting the ball, various sequences of passing the ball around (remember the three persons involved, along with us as the additional player?). He too (or I could say "they too" if that's less confusing), delights in the myriad of ways that we find to keep the ball in the air, and he wants to partner with us in that. Let's go back to those proverbs I mentioned earlier and look at the latter two.
"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established." -Proverbs 16:3
How does this work, this give-and-take with God? In this juggling-tennis-hybrid scenario (we could cal it "jennis" or "tuggling!"), when we as player number 4 have an idea of what we want to do, the next routine we want to add, we can check it with God, commit it to him, and make sure it fits within the rest of the juggling scheme he's set out for that portion of time. He may use our routine as is or say, "Actually, let's keep the double cascade but substitute the racket we're going to use for this other racket right here." Or he may have some other idea entirely, and say, "No, a double cascade right there won't work with what I've got next. It won't provide enough force for this really awesome trick I want to wow you with." His plans are good, and if we can involve God in our planning process and ask him first what he has in mind, we're better set for the course of action in our year. Some don't plan for the whole year. Some just plan for a season. I tend to do both. Whatever the case, it's so helpful to involve God in the process, since he knows what he wants to do and loves to let us in on it when we ask him. Can you imagine trying to juggle with someone who wasn't listening? That's what I think many of us try to do with our lives when we are not intentionally seeking God for his direction. No wonder the ball drops so much of the time!
I think that sometimes, we are so used to our plans falling to the ground that we can go to another extreme by discounting our own involvement in the tennis match altogether, saying instead, "Only you, God, not what I want, but what you want!" Sound familiar? How about this one? "My plans always fail, so I can't trust myself or my thoughts any longer. God, just tell me what to do, and I'll do it. I don't want to screw up again." We'd rather let God do all of the juggling for us, or else tell us every single move to make so we don't get out of sync and drop the ball--or get hit by it. But we needn't fear either. Check out that final proverb:
"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." -Proverbs 16:9
Here, we see a person making a plan, and God establishing the person's steps! Did you get that? If not, read it again because it's really good! Sometimes we are so afraid of trusting our hearts, but in this case, the heart of this person is planning a course of action, and it is God who is establishing the steps to get there, making them firm. I sense that there's a bi of Proverbs 16:3 in the works here. Player Us and Player God are working together, juggling tennis balls, with tennis rackets. We just said, "Whoa, God! Now that I see what rhythm your juggling in, I just got this crazy idea of a routine that would go really well! I have the first few parts and the last part, but I don't know what to put in between. What do you think? Can you help me figure it out? Will this work?" More often than not, if we're in God's flow, he'll fill in the details for us, or give us clues here and there but leave a lot of the figuring out to ourselves, to strengthen our own confidence as master tugglers (no, that wasn't a typo...I've decided I like the hybrid term created earlier, and I'm using it as a verb). In this scenario, there needn't be any fear of messing up because we're tuggling with someone who knows how to catch every ball that we whack, whether we hit it too hard or too soft. He's a master tuggler, remember, and he will establish our steps as we stay in sync with him. And what if we get out of sync? There is still no reason to fear. King David, who just happened to be the father of King Solomon, also shared some great wisdom on this subject in one of his songs. He wrote,
"The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord upholds his hand." -Psalm 37:23-24
Beautiful, right? Another translation of the same passage of song begins it this way, "IF the Lord delights in one's way, he makes her steps firm." Ah, so there is the magic IF! How are we to know if God delights in our way? Well, if we're delighting in his way, he is delighting our ours. When you love someone, you begin to partner with them more, their desires start to sync with your desires, and vice versa. So, if we receive God's love, we can begin to love him back, and gradually we begin to walk in ways that are delightful to both him and us.
"I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!" --Psalm 37:23-24 (this from the ESV translation)
Who's ready to run? Who's ready to trust your heart? Who's ready to TUGGLE? Wait...who's serve is it again? ;-)
Being the beginning of the new year, this is a time when many, myself included, reflect on the past and, more importantly, start planning and dreaming for what's ahead in the new year. But for those who started the previous year with high hopes or major plans that left them wanting and unfulfilled at the end of the year, the thought of dreaming and planning again can feel futile. I have definitely been there at times, and I can attest that it makes planning and hoping much more difficult the next time around. However, I am glad to say that more often than not, my times of forward-thinking for the new year have been incredibly rich, encouraging, and fruitful for the rest of the year. Let's find out more about that magic IF that I referenced earlier.
As one who believes strongly in the activity of God in the presence of our daily lives, I see inviting God into our planning for the new year (or any planning for that matter) as of utmost importance in dreaming and planning that is fruitful. That's not to say that those who do not involve God in their planning can't make effective plans that turn out well. Rather, I think he's involved whether we want to believe it or not, and the more we involve him intentionally in the planning process, the more grounded and joyful our planning process will be. Check out the following thoughts from one of the wisest kings who ever lived, King Solomon:
"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." -Proverbs 19:21
"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established." -Proverbs 16:3
"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." -Proverbs 16:9
I see a few things happening here, and these things have proven true time and time again in my own life. The first key I see is this: We all have plans in our heart, many of which we come up with, but in the end, God is going to have his way.
I personally believe that God has his way overall, and that the first proverb I quoted refers to God's plans in that general sense. Notice it says that the Lord's "purpose" prevails rather than his "specific" plans. I am imagining God playing a game of tennis. He's a master athlete in this case, and he knows his intention, but he's going to work with what he is served. There are other times in which he gets to serve, and we, as the other player, get to respond to what he has initiated. Does God want to win the game, get his way? Sure he does! (And thankfully, he is a God that has only our best interest at heart, so for him to win is a good thing, as it means a win for us as well.) But he's willing to play in such a way that takes our actions into account. That includes our messing up, and him not getting his way on every serve. Still, his purpose will prevail. He's just a better tennis player than we are. He's God! Or look at it another way. If God is triune, meaning that he is one God but three persons in community (Father, Son--Jesus, and Holy Spirit), then it's as if the God-team is actually 3 players working together! What an advantage! Can you imagine three on one in a tennis match? That seems somewhat unfair, doesn't it? Well yes, it does, if you are looking at it like a regular tennis match where it's one team against the other. But let's look at something else here.
Remember how I said that in the proverbial tennis match with God, his win is our win? Well, let's look at that in terms of our planning and take the tennis metaphor a bit further. What if, in our three-on-one scenario, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit weren't simply whacking that ball against us on the other side but instead inviting us into the rhythm of their racket? What if tennis suddenly became more like an epic juggling game in which, instead of trying to conquer the other player's court, everyone shared the same court, no net, and the only objective was to keep the ball in the air? That's how I see planning with God. He wants to keep the ball in the air and desires to invite us into his rhythm as we do so. He has various strategies, different ways of hitting the ball, various sequences of passing the ball around (remember the three persons involved, along with us as the additional player?). He too (or I could say "they too" if that's less confusing), delights in the myriad of ways that we find to keep the ball in the air, and he wants to partner with us in that. Let's go back to those proverbs I mentioned earlier and look at the latter two.
"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established." -Proverbs 16:3
How does this work, this give-and-take with God? In this juggling-tennis-hybrid scenario (we could cal it "jennis" or "tuggling!"), when we as player number 4 have an idea of what we want to do, the next routine we want to add, we can check it with God, commit it to him, and make sure it fits within the rest of the juggling scheme he's set out for that portion of time. He may use our routine as is or say, "Actually, let's keep the double cascade but substitute the racket we're going to use for this other racket right here." Or he may have some other idea entirely, and say, "No, a double cascade right there won't work with what I've got next. It won't provide enough force for this really awesome trick I want to wow you with." His plans are good, and if we can involve God in our planning process and ask him first what he has in mind, we're better set for the course of action in our year. Some don't plan for the whole year. Some just plan for a season. I tend to do both. Whatever the case, it's so helpful to involve God in the process, since he knows what he wants to do and loves to let us in on it when we ask him. Can you imagine trying to juggle with someone who wasn't listening? That's what I think many of us try to do with our lives when we are not intentionally seeking God for his direction. No wonder the ball drops so much of the time!
I think that sometimes, we are so used to our plans falling to the ground that we can go to another extreme by discounting our own involvement in the tennis match altogether, saying instead, "Only you, God, not what I want, but what you want!" Sound familiar? How about this one? "My plans always fail, so I can't trust myself or my thoughts any longer. God, just tell me what to do, and I'll do it. I don't want to screw up again." We'd rather let God do all of the juggling for us, or else tell us every single move to make so we don't get out of sync and drop the ball--or get hit by it. But we needn't fear either. Check out that final proverb:
"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." -Proverbs 16:9
Here, we see a person making a plan, and God establishing the person's steps! Did you get that? If not, read it again because it's really good! Sometimes we are so afraid of trusting our hearts, but in this case, the heart of this person is planning a course of action, and it is God who is establishing the steps to get there, making them firm. I sense that there's a bi of Proverbs 16:3 in the works here. Player Us and Player God are working together, juggling tennis balls, with tennis rackets. We just said, "Whoa, God! Now that I see what rhythm your juggling in, I just got this crazy idea of a routine that would go really well! I have the first few parts and the last part, but I don't know what to put in between. What do you think? Can you help me figure it out? Will this work?" More often than not, if we're in God's flow, he'll fill in the details for us, or give us clues here and there but leave a lot of the figuring out to ourselves, to strengthen our own confidence as master tugglers (no, that wasn't a typo...I've decided I like the hybrid term created earlier, and I'm using it as a verb). In this scenario, there needn't be any fear of messing up because we're tuggling with someone who knows how to catch every ball that we whack, whether we hit it too hard or too soft. He's a master tuggler, remember, and he will establish our steps as we stay in sync with him. And what if we get out of sync? There is still no reason to fear. King David, who just happened to be the father of King Solomon, also shared some great wisdom on this subject in one of his songs. He wrote,
"The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord upholds his hand." -Psalm 37:23-24
Beautiful, right? Another translation of the same passage of song begins it this way, "IF the Lord delights in one's way, he makes her steps firm." Ah, so there is the magic IF! How are we to know if God delights in our way? Well, if we're delighting in his way, he is delighting our ours. When you love someone, you begin to partner with them more, their desires start to sync with your desires, and vice versa. So, if we receive God's love, we can begin to love him back, and gradually we begin to walk in ways that are delightful to both him and us.
"I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!" --Psalm 37:23-24 (this from the ESV translation)
Who's ready to run? Who's ready to trust your heart? Who's ready to TUGGLE? Wait...who's serve is it again? ;-)
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Caffeinated by a King or The Joy of Getting Over Yourself
What do you think when you hear this phrase? "Oh, just get over yourself!" Does it offend your deep sense of individual entitlement, the petting of ego that most Westerners are so accustomed to? Or is it liberating?
This morning, as I was reading and trying to hear from God, I felt like he said just that, albeit in nicer terms: "Get over yourself, David, and onto me, onto others, and you'll find more of what you need." I love it when he does that--you know--the counter-intuitive "I'm God, so I can say things that normally wouldn't make sense but they actually do 'cause I said them" way of going about things. Yes, some of you know exactly what I'm talking about and are smiling as you read this.
Anyhow, as I thought about this more, dialoguing with God in my head and heart, I began to taste freedom and joy.
"Freedom from what?" you may ask.
Having just moved across the United States to one of the biggest, craziest cities in America, there has been a lot of self-reflection and focus on getting my needs met. This is quite natural for anyone who has just moved somewhere, as there's a lot to think about pertaining to self: "How can I get this setup? Where can I plug into community? How long will it be 'til I feel settled here? Am I investing in the right activities and the right people? Is this or that a proper use of my time?" I, I, I, my, my my. Makes sense, right? There's nothing wrong with being there for awhile. But to stay there...oh, to stay in that self-focused state, that's the trap.
Before I moved here, in asking God for any strategies that might be helpful in getting settled, here's what I sensed him telling me. It caught me by surprise: "David, when you get to New York, don't think about how you can find community for yourself. Instead, think about how you can create community for others, and in that, you'll find what you need."
Wow. Total Jesus-Yoda moment (of course, he didn't phrase it in "Community you shall find, when community you make" but you get the idea). And I was thinking about this further this morning. The more that we focus on self, the more we become concerned with our own personal lack, and it's easy to forget about serving others. On the flip-side, as we serve others, we can begin to get our minds off of our own felt-needs, find a new level of release from those needs, and hopefully realize our needs getting met in the context of community as we seek to meet the needs of others.
Paul said it this way in a letter he wrote to this church in a city called Philippi: "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. -Philippians 2:3-4 ESV
(Funny enough, this was the verse of the day on a site I visit often called "Bible Gateway." It seems there's a theme to this day.)
"Count others more significant than yourselves?" Really? I have read this verse multiple times before, and it always challenges me. But when I get down to the brass tacks of it, it make sense. I remember a very talented musician and speaker in a church I was a part of once breaking this down saying that if we were really mostly concerned about meeting the needs of others in the context of intentional, loving community, then no one would really need to worry about his or her needs getting met, and everyone would be covered. (Thank you, Shae Cottar. This has stuck with me for years, now.)
I think the problem comes when we begin to think about how community, God, or the world at large might fail us if we do just that, as it kind of takes the "other," whoever that other might be, in order to make this work. And we've all experienced the failure of others, right? Likewise, we know all too well our own propensity to drop the ball when it comes to serving someone else.
But what if we didn't have to fear? What if---let's say, we could take our focus off of ourselves in such a way that we could really make life more about serving someone else above our own interests, KNOWING with FULL CONFIDENCE that our needs would be cared for. (I am not advocating an abdication of personal responsibility or a lack of awareness of our individual role to play in our own lives. I take that as a given as responsible adults. I'm rather trying to combat an extreme.) What if we could rely on something or someone totally reliable, knowing we'd be taken care of every single time?
Some of you can see where I'm going with this, and I don't mean for this to come off as some sort of bait-and-switch blog post. My destination of thought, however, is that God is the one who can and will meet our needs if we let him, and he'll even use other people, unreliable, fickle others to do so as we get our focus off of ourselves and onto him and others. I've experienced this time and again.
Jesus, addressing a crowd of worriers who had even more immediate reason to worry about their needs being met than most of us do, said,
"So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:31-34
Note the word "kingdom." Jesus speaks about seeking the KINGDOM of God, which in my mind denotes two things: there is a king in this domain (king-dom...king's domain), and there is a community, the kingdom. What is a king and a king's domain without subjects to enjoy in that domain? So as we are seeking first this kingdom (and the righteousness that Jesus speaks of), I think it is a call of liberation, to focus on God, the King, who is the true center of all things and on building up others in that kingdom. If we are centered on God and on others, we are properly oriented. If, however, we make ourselves the center, how disorienting that can be! (Most of us can't even sustain the same emotional center through the span of a day by our own volition. So how could we ever act as our own anchor?)
If that word "righteousness" in the above quote throws you off any or causes you more anxiety by putting the focus back on yourself and how "you need to be more righteous," I would hope allay your concern by suggesting that even that issue is covered by the one who calls us to focus on himself. It's my belief that Jesus calls us to focus on the kingdom of God and his righteousness as a call to relief, since it is after all HIS righteousness that we are to seek, not something originating from ourselves.
It's like a free cup of chai. He made it, it originates with him, yet we have to seek it, put out our hand and drink it in as he willingly offers it to us daily. (Yeah, I had to throw the chai reference in there. You were wondering when that might come, weren't you?) And when you think about it that way, who can make the better chai, you or him? (I must admit, I make a really nice home-brewed chai, so that can be a hard metaphor for me if I think about it too literally. But Jesus IS the chai and the one who introduced me to it, so I know he'd win the contest, hands-down--my hands. He'll do the work.)
So what are we waiting for? I wonder what will happen today as the result of putting others before ourselves, focusing on a king, his kingdom, and his way of doing things...Kingdom Caffeination, baby!
This morning, as I was reading and trying to hear from God, I felt like he said just that, albeit in nicer terms: "Get over yourself, David, and onto me, onto others, and you'll find more of what you need." I love it when he does that--you know--the counter-intuitive "I'm God, so I can say things that normally wouldn't make sense but they actually do 'cause I said them" way of going about things. Yes, some of you know exactly what I'm talking about and are smiling as you read this.
Anyhow, as I thought about this more, dialoguing with God in my head and heart, I began to taste freedom and joy.
"Freedom from what?" you may ask.
Having just moved across the United States to one of the biggest, craziest cities in America, there has been a lot of self-reflection and focus on getting my needs met. This is quite natural for anyone who has just moved somewhere, as there's a lot to think about pertaining to self: "How can I get this setup? Where can I plug into community? How long will it be 'til I feel settled here? Am I investing in the right activities and the right people? Is this or that a proper use of my time?" I, I, I, my, my my. Makes sense, right? There's nothing wrong with being there for awhile. But to stay there...oh, to stay in that self-focused state, that's the trap.
Before I moved here, in asking God for any strategies that might be helpful in getting settled, here's what I sensed him telling me. It caught me by surprise: "David, when you get to New York, don't think about how you can find community for yourself. Instead, think about how you can create community for others, and in that, you'll find what you need."
Wow. Total Jesus-Yoda moment (of course, he didn't phrase it in "Community you shall find, when community you make" but you get the idea). And I was thinking about this further this morning. The more that we focus on self, the more we become concerned with our own personal lack, and it's easy to forget about serving others. On the flip-side, as we serve others, we can begin to get our minds off of our own felt-needs, find a new level of release from those needs, and hopefully realize our needs getting met in the context of community as we seek to meet the needs of others.
Paul said it this way in a letter he wrote to this church in a city called Philippi: "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. -Philippians 2:3-4 ESV
(Funny enough, this was the verse of the day on a site I visit often called "Bible Gateway." It seems there's a theme to this day.)
"Count others more significant than yourselves?" Really? I have read this verse multiple times before, and it always challenges me. But when I get down to the brass tacks of it, it make sense. I remember a very talented musician and speaker in a church I was a part of once breaking this down saying that if we were really mostly concerned about meeting the needs of others in the context of intentional, loving community, then no one would really need to worry about his or her needs getting met, and everyone would be covered. (Thank you, Shae Cottar. This has stuck with me for years, now.)
I think the problem comes when we begin to think about how community, God, or the world at large might fail us if we do just that, as it kind of takes the "other," whoever that other might be, in order to make this work. And we've all experienced the failure of others, right? Likewise, we know all too well our own propensity to drop the ball when it comes to serving someone else.
But what if we didn't have to fear? What if---let's say, we could take our focus off of ourselves in such a way that we could really make life more about serving someone else above our own interests, KNOWING with FULL CONFIDENCE that our needs would be cared for. (I am not advocating an abdication of personal responsibility or a lack of awareness of our individual role to play in our own lives. I take that as a given as responsible adults. I'm rather trying to combat an extreme.) What if we could rely on something or someone totally reliable, knowing we'd be taken care of every single time?
Some of you can see where I'm going with this, and I don't mean for this to come off as some sort of bait-and-switch blog post. My destination of thought, however, is that God is the one who can and will meet our needs if we let him, and he'll even use other people, unreliable, fickle others to do so as we get our focus off of ourselves and onto him and others. I've experienced this time and again.
Jesus, addressing a crowd of worriers who had even more immediate reason to worry about their needs being met than most of us do, said,
"So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6:31-34
Note the word "kingdom." Jesus speaks about seeking the KINGDOM of God, which in my mind denotes two things: there is a king in this domain (king-dom...king's domain), and there is a community, the kingdom. What is a king and a king's domain without subjects to enjoy in that domain? So as we are seeking first this kingdom (and the righteousness that Jesus speaks of), I think it is a call of liberation, to focus on God, the King, who is the true center of all things and on building up others in that kingdom. If we are centered on God and on others, we are properly oriented. If, however, we make ourselves the center, how disorienting that can be! (Most of us can't even sustain the same emotional center through the span of a day by our own volition. So how could we ever act as our own anchor?)
If that word "righteousness" in the above quote throws you off any or causes you more anxiety by putting the focus back on yourself and how "you need to be more righteous," I would hope allay your concern by suggesting that even that issue is covered by the one who calls us to focus on himself. It's my belief that Jesus calls us to focus on the kingdom of God and his righteousness as a call to relief, since it is after all HIS righteousness that we are to seek, not something originating from ourselves.
It's like a free cup of chai. He made it, it originates with him, yet we have to seek it, put out our hand and drink it in as he willingly offers it to us daily. (Yeah, I had to throw the chai reference in there. You were wondering when that might come, weren't you?) And when you think about it that way, who can make the better chai, you or him? (I must admit, I make a really nice home-brewed chai, so that can be a hard metaphor for me if I think about it too literally. But Jesus IS the chai and the one who introduced me to it, so I know he'd win the contest, hands-down--my hands. He'll do the work.)
So what are we waiting for? I wonder what will happen today as the result of putting others before ourselves, focusing on a king, his kingdom, and his way of doing things...Kingdom Caffeination, baby!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Tree at Last
What can you do when your place of greatest hope begins to infringe on your deepest disappointment? What is one to do when cold, hard retreat and impending satisfaction neither seem viable options?
Can one who is lame ever dare to truly walk on his own, when any attempts made previously ended in the same pitiful falling? And by the same token, can one bear to deny any future hope for a successful, stabilized attempt?
Such is the bittersweet flower we call "hope." It is at once a sweet fragrance and a putrid odor, depending on which side of a moment it stands.
Hope...deferred makes the heart sick. But a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Some shoots may grow into beautiful trees, even out of what was once a stump perhaps. But how many times can such a stump bear to extend a fresh, green shoot, groping towards heaven, before it becomes weary of the constant chopping down which it is never quite, and somehow always, accustomed to?
As my mom, Cat Ello, wrote in one of her songs years ago,
"Jesus, Gardner of my heart,
break this fallow ground apart."
Oh to be tree....tree indeed.
Can one who is lame ever dare to truly walk on his own, when any attempts made previously ended in the same pitiful falling? And by the same token, can one bear to deny any future hope for a successful, stabilized attempt?
Such is the bittersweet flower we call "hope." It is at once a sweet fragrance and a putrid odor, depending on which side of a moment it stands.
Hope...deferred makes the heart sick. But a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Some shoots may grow into beautiful trees, even out of what was once a stump perhaps. But how many times can such a stump bear to extend a fresh, green shoot, groping towards heaven, before it becomes weary of the constant chopping down which it is never quite, and somehow always, accustomed to?
As my mom, Cat Ello, wrote in one of her songs years ago,
"Jesus, Gardner of my heart,
break this fallow ground apart."
Oh to be tree....tree indeed.
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