I have no idea what you do when you have no clue to what is next or how to proceed. I'd be willing to bet it's the same as me though. Or more accurately, you and I are probably similar in what we don't do: identify the things of God that we love and tell Him about them. Why is that? Why is it that, when we feel like things around us are sinking, we refuse to cling to the only thing that isn't? We look back to the very pain or anger or shame or hopelessness that got us here to begin with. Or maybe we found ourselves in a situation that had very little to do with us. Either way, we try to find a life preserver in the storm we are trying to weather.
I can think of plenty of examples in life that are like this, so I was going to try to think of some Bible verses that speak to this. I didn't come back with verses, I came back with full books - namely Psalms. This awesome book of worship seems to be a mix of awe-filled praise and desperation driven worship. It's easy to worship when you're happy. But when David goes through these continual trials of Saul seeking to kill him, I don't really understand fully why he worships. Thus, we come to the mystery of worship.
Worship is not something we can force, it's a natural response to true awesomeness. It is something we can seek out, though. When pressed in on all sides, David sought out this awesomeness by intently focusing on God's attributes. It was that simple. Worship doesn't always seem like the most natural thing to pursue when we're being tried though. The mystery to me is the effect it has on me, my attitude, and how I treat those around me afterward. It gives me peace when there is chaos. It calms my mind when it is going in a thousand different directions. It makes me see how big God is and how He has everything under control when my problems seem like Godzilla stomping through the city that is my life. Ok, that last one was a little silly, but you get the idea. Worship is not only something that is good for us in the moment, it's as essential as the breath that we breathe.
I wish I had some amazing revelation about worship, but I don't. I am simply someone who is in awe of God and amazed by how much worshiping him transforms my life especially in times of desperation. I am eager to do more.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 19, 2012
Unexpectedly Equipped
It's certainly a blessing to be in a situation you feel very comfortable with and are fully prepared for. Maybe you had a chance to gather yourself ahead of time or you've been through it before. Whatever the case, if you're prepared for the situation, it'll be much easier. That's not always the case though, is it?
I don't know what in your life is the unexpected and unprepared-for circumstance, but I bet it's stressing you out. I bet you don't feel like you're ready for it - or at least you could have been more ready for it if you would have known ahead of time. That's the funny thing about life: God seems to send us into situations that we just don't know how to handle. He did that with Israel when they were under the yoke of slavery by the Egyptians.
Besides making bricks, Exodus doesn't really talk about what kind of other work the Israelites did. It leaves it open to imagination. Thinking on it, they must have done more than just make bricks. I'm sure that the Egyptians recognized talent in their slaves and put them to work. They probably had them working in the temples creating idols, crafting ornate walls, sculpting statues and the like. Many of the things that the slaves probably did would have involved materials that were difficult to work with such as marble, precious metals, gems, and fine woods. There were probably also different managerial levels within the slavery system. I'm sure that certain slaves would have shown leadership skills and were put in charge of other slaves. This would only make sense given the number of Israelites that the Bible mentions there were in relation to the Egyptians. The people of Israel were learning valuable skills that would give them a kick-start when they left to go start their own nation despite being slaves under the Egyptians.
Maybe this is all speculation. Maybe they didn't learn how to be architects, managers, artisans, and skilled craftsmen. We have no way of knowing. We do know Moses' account. He was taken from the river and raised as a king. Once the Pharaoh that raised him died and the new Pharaoh came to power, he would have been second in the whole kingdom. He would have been Pharaoh's right hand. In such a position, he would learn how to run Egypt; he would learn how to lead a nation.
Given his experience running a nation, it's puzzling to me why he would have complained to God "why me?" He ran an entire country before, why did he feel inadequate when asked to do it again? He didn't think he was equipped to do it. What he didn't realize at the time was that he already had all of the tools he needed in his toolbox. As he led Israel out of Egypt and into the desert, he began to realize that we was equipped for the job with both his past experience and on-the-job training that comes from trusting the Lord. Moses was born to be a leader of a nation. Even as difficult problems arose Moses had never seen before, God made ways for Moses and the new nation of Israel to overcome them.
One of the challenges Moses faced was when God gave him the long, detailed list for worship - specifically for the tabernacle and the Arc of the Covenant. This is where we get introduced to a little known character in the Bible: a guy named Bezalel. Exodus 35:30-33 tells of God's description of him:
If God could use 400 years of slavery in Egypt to prepare Israel to become her own nation, he can use our challenges in life to our gain as well. He allows us to go through difficult things in order to prepare us for the road ahead. He does that knowing two things. First, he wants us to trust him and he knows that the situation will force you into a place where you'll need to trust him. Second, he gives us something to get us through. That could be friends, past experience, strength of will, prayer, the Bible or a combination thereof. If you have trouble trusting him (I know I do at times), it'll be harder to get through it, but certainly not impossible. If you look back and are really honest with yourself, you might realize that you had more tools to get through the situation than you originally thought. You might start to see that, just like with Moses, God was preparing you to get through this before you even knew you'd have to go through it.
To me, this often seems manifests itself in my community. I'm surrounded by people who can hold me up when I'm feeling like I'm falling. Other times, what I need is related to something I've gone through in the past. Every time, it comes down to where I'm putting my hope and trust. God always gets me through and I find that I'm unexpectedly equipped in the moment.
I don't know what in your life is the unexpected and unprepared-for circumstance, but I bet it's stressing you out. I bet you don't feel like you're ready for it - or at least you could have been more ready for it if you would have known ahead of time. That's the funny thing about life: God seems to send us into situations that we just don't know how to handle. He did that with Israel when they were under the yoke of slavery by the Egyptians.
Besides making bricks, Exodus doesn't really talk about what kind of other work the Israelites did. It leaves it open to imagination. Thinking on it, they must have done more than just make bricks. I'm sure that the Egyptians recognized talent in their slaves and put them to work. They probably had them working in the temples creating idols, crafting ornate walls, sculpting statues and the like. Many of the things that the slaves probably did would have involved materials that were difficult to work with such as marble, precious metals, gems, and fine woods. There were probably also different managerial levels within the slavery system. I'm sure that certain slaves would have shown leadership skills and were put in charge of other slaves. This would only make sense given the number of Israelites that the Bible mentions there were in relation to the Egyptians. The people of Israel were learning valuable skills that would give them a kick-start when they left to go start their own nation despite being slaves under the Egyptians.
Maybe this is all speculation. Maybe they didn't learn how to be architects, managers, artisans, and skilled craftsmen. We have no way of knowing. We do know Moses' account. He was taken from the river and raised as a king. Once the Pharaoh that raised him died and the new Pharaoh came to power, he would have been second in the whole kingdom. He would have been Pharaoh's right hand. In such a position, he would learn how to run Egypt; he would learn how to lead a nation.
Given his experience running a nation, it's puzzling to me why he would have complained to God "why me?" He ran an entire country before, why did he feel inadequate when asked to do it again? He didn't think he was equipped to do it. What he didn't realize at the time was that he already had all of the tools he needed in his toolbox. As he led Israel out of Egypt and into the desert, he began to realize that we was equipped for the job with both his past experience and on-the-job training that comes from trusting the Lord. Moses was born to be a leader of a nation. Even as difficult problems arose Moses had never seen before, God made ways for Moses and the new nation of Israel to overcome them.
One of the challenges Moses faced was when God gave him the long, detailed list for worship - specifically for the tabernacle and the Arc of the Covenant. This is where we get introduced to a little known character in the Bible: a guy named Bezalel. Exodus 35:30-33 tells of God's description of him:
See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son or Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work with gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft.I'm sure Bezalel wasn't some regular guy before all of this. He was probably a craftsman his entire life, including in Egypt. God prepared his knowledge and skill do fulfill his commandments well before Bezalel even knew that he would leave Egypt. Even if he was an ordinary guy, God filled Bezalel up with the Spirit of God and gave him the skills he needed to server God.
If God could use 400 years of slavery in Egypt to prepare Israel to become her own nation, he can use our challenges in life to our gain as well. He allows us to go through difficult things in order to prepare us for the road ahead. He does that knowing two things. First, he wants us to trust him and he knows that the situation will force you into a place where you'll need to trust him. Second, he gives us something to get us through. That could be friends, past experience, strength of will, prayer, the Bible or a combination thereof. If you have trouble trusting him (I know I do at times), it'll be harder to get through it, but certainly not impossible. If you look back and are really honest with yourself, you might realize that you had more tools to get through the situation than you originally thought. You might start to see that, just like with Moses, God was preparing you to get through this before you even knew you'd have to go through it.
To me, this often seems manifests itself in my community. I'm surrounded by people who can hold me up when I'm feeling like I'm falling. Other times, what I need is related to something I've gone through in the past. Every time, it comes down to where I'm putting my hope and trust. God always gets me through and I find that I'm unexpectedly equipped in the moment.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Identity as a human
I've been thinking a lot lately about who we as humans are. More accurately, I've been thinking about where we look to find out who we are. I've found there are many sources of identity we can look to: family, popular culture, money, sex, power, etc. Some of the sources may seem more innocent than others. What is wrong with finding our identity in family? The problem I've found lies at the root of what we're looking for when we seek out our identity. We're looking to different places to tell us how much we're worth.
Sometimes that source will tell us we are worth a whole lot. Take business for example. Let's say all of your life you've wanted to be a businessman. And now you got hired and you're shadowing a high profile executive. You help him and your company acquire businesses and you're excelling at helping him make your company grow like it's never grown in it's history despite how young you are. The business is surely going to inundate you with accolades in addition to your high paycheck and bonuses. It's really easy to find worth in your thriving reputation. It's all about succeeding and chasing your dreams, right?
Maybe you're not a businessman, but rather a mom who goes out of her way to be warm and welcoming to everyone while you raise your kids. People thank you for your hospitality when they leave your well-kept home and always comment on how they love to go over to your house for get-togethers. You love your husband and he loves you. You have your arguments, but your marriage is still strong. Your kids whine and complain from time to time, but overall they're pretty well behaved. It's all about having a great family, right?
Or maybe you don't fit into either of those situations. Maybe you're just trying to get along in this life. You've realized this life is hard and it's not always fun. In fact, it's often one problem after another. You deal with this stress pretty well, at least on the outside. People know that you've had a rough time of it with no end in sight. You thrive on refusing their pity and instead finding your own way. Who needs their charity? You're strong enough. Your strength will get you through, right?
Is this what it's all about? Is that where our worth comes from? I certainly hope not because those things can all change at a moment's notice. Each of these situations is like a tight-rope walker. Even a small gust of wind could knock them off to their demise. What if the young businessman doesn't meet his projections and get fired from the business? What if the mom's husband leaves her? What if the life of the down-and-out gets too hard to handle? Suddenly, the worth that each of these people found in their life is gone.
There is, however, a source of worth that doesn't change. The source of this worth is, of course, Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, all things were made, including humans. In that process of creation, God put an inherent value - one that couldn't be added to or taken away. We are worth something to the God of the universe simply because he made us. Simply because we are human. If the God of the universe thinks we have worth, then that's enough for me.
Let's go back to those three examples. The success the young businessman experienced wasn't bad. In fact, it was quite good. The only thing wrong was that his sense of worth was misplaced. The same goes for the other two examples. Their sense of worth was misplaced in temporal things such as family or strength of will.
There will always be someone who is better than you at something. That doesn't make you worthless. God made you for a purpose, even if you don't know what that purpose is. Even if you think you're terrible at everything. Even if the pain is more than you can bear and you just want a way out. God made you with value and that will never change. This is the beginning of God's message of love to us.
This is an encouraging thought, but let's take it a step further. If we are made with worth through the stamp of humanity, thus God's image on us, then we can look to others and see their worth simply because Jesus made them to have worth. We no longer have to accomplish anything to have worth. We no longer have to get something from someone else to give them worth. Instead, we can all value each other in Christ and celebrate the successes, the family, and the strength we have in this life. Through this we can show others part of God's love.
The rest of the message God is giving us through the Bible is that we are separated from God due to sin and that Christ came to save us. If you're a Christian, you know what this really means to you because you've experienced it. Some people don't necessarily want to hear this part of the message. This could be because they reject it outright. I believe most who don't want to accept it aren't ready to accept it yet. So, in the mean time, show them the beginning of God's love. Show them that God made them to be worth something. This is such a hangup of people, that if they learn that they are worth something to you independent of their past and their present condition, they are going to be much more open to hearing the rest of the saving message of love.
I don't know about you, but I need to hear this message everyday.
Sometimes that source will tell us we are worth a whole lot. Take business for example. Let's say all of your life you've wanted to be a businessman. And now you got hired and you're shadowing a high profile executive. You help him and your company acquire businesses and you're excelling at helping him make your company grow like it's never grown in it's history despite how young you are. The business is surely going to inundate you with accolades in addition to your high paycheck and bonuses. It's really easy to find worth in your thriving reputation. It's all about succeeding and chasing your dreams, right?
Maybe you're not a businessman, but rather a mom who goes out of her way to be warm and welcoming to everyone while you raise your kids. People thank you for your hospitality when they leave your well-kept home and always comment on how they love to go over to your house for get-togethers. You love your husband and he loves you. You have your arguments, but your marriage is still strong. Your kids whine and complain from time to time, but overall they're pretty well behaved. It's all about having a great family, right?
Or maybe you don't fit into either of those situations. Maybe you're just trying to get along in this life. You've realized this life is hard and it's not always fun. In fact, it's often one problem after another. You deal with this stress pretty well, at least on the outside. People know that you've had a rough time of it with no end in sight. You thrive on refusing their pity and instead finding your own way. Who needs their charity? You're strong enough. Your strength will get you through, right?
Is this what it's all about? Is that where our worth comes from? I certainly hope not because those things can all change at a moment's notice. Each of these situations is like a tight-rope walker. Even a small gust of wind could knock them off to their demise. What if the young businessman doesn't meet his projections and get fired from the business? What if the mom's husband leaves her? What if the life of the down-and-out gets too hard to handle? Suddenly, the worth that each of these people found in their life is gone.
There is, however, a source of worth that doesn't change. The source of this worth is, of course, Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, all things were made, including humans. In that process of creation, God put an inherent value - one that couldn't be added to or taken away. We are worth something to the God of the universe simply because he made us. Simply because we are human. If the God of the universe thinks we have worth, then that's enough for me.
Let's go back to those three examples. The success the young businessman experienced wasn't bad. In fact, it was quite good. The only thing wrong was that his sense of worth was misplaced. The same goes for the other two examples. Their sense of worth was misplaced in temporal things such as family or strength of will.
There will always be someone who is better than you at something. That doesn't make you worthless. God made you for a purpose, even if you don't know what that purpose is. Even if you think you're terrible at everything. Even if the pain is more than you can bear and you just want a way out. God made you with value and that will never change. This is the beginning of God's message of love to us.
This is an encouraging thought, but let's take it a step further. If we are made with worth through the stamp of humanity, thus God's image on us, then we can look to others and see their worth simply because Jesus made them to have worth. We no longer have to accomplish anything to have worth. We no longer have to get something from someone else to give them worth. Instead, we can all value each other in Christ and celebrate the successes, the family, and the strength we have in this life. Through this we can show others part of God's love.
The rest of the message God is giving us through the Bible is that we are separated from God due to sin and that Christ came to save us. If you're a Christian, you know what this really means to you because you've experienced it. Some people don't necessarily want to hear this part of the message. This could be because they reject it outright. I believe most who don't want to accept it aren't ready to accept it yet. So, in the mean time, show them the beginning of God's love. Show them that God made them to be worth something. This is such a hangup of people, that if they learn that they are worth something to you independent of their past and their present condition, they are going to be much more open to hearing the rest of the saving message of love.
I don't know about you, but I need to hear this message everyday.
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