Monday, August 29, 2011

My Misplaced Hope


My life gets off track and I feel like quitting when my hope is in the wrong place.
  • When my great hope is that people like me, that means when someone doesn’t like me, I get depressed.
  • When my highest hope is that I have financial security, that means every rise in prices, every unexpected expense, every decrease in income is devastating.
  •   When my hope is all wrapped up in a healthy, loving family, that means sickness or dysfunction or infertility or divorce puts me into a freefall.
  • When my hope rests in my security and comfort, then the threat of an earthquake or flood or terrorist attack keeps me up at night.
  • When my highest hope is in relationships, then the loss of a friend, a betrayal, a breakup leaves me empty and desperate.
  • When my hope is in my own ability, and then I come in 2nd or 12th, or I’m not the one chosen, it crushes me.
  • When my hope is resting on my level of self-esteem, then every time I’m mistreated, taken advantage of, disrespected, ignored, it throws me into a pit of despair.

My hope is in danger of being shaken, stolen, or drained away unless it is resting on the living God (1 Tim 4:10). It is hard work. It is a struggle to keep my hope in the right place. Because I’m human, I tend to pile my hope in other places. They may be good places, like church or home or work or achievement. So it takes some effort to drag my hope off the wrong pedestal, and stack it all on the Lord. Other voices call for my attention and trust. Other passions creep into first place.

For this I labor and strive, that I have put my hope in the living God.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Why Are You Really Working So Hard?


Some of us live in a state of exhaustion. Why are we working so hard? Ask yourself if your weariness has anything to do with trying to make everybody happy. Perhaps one reason you work so hard is to keep others from being disappointed, to satisfy their complaints, and so they will not think less of you or who you represent.

Nothing will change for the better, until you constantly ask yourself who you are trying to please and why. As a Christian and as a pastor, there is only one right answer. I always work hard and do my best, but no one else, other than God, knows my limits. Only I know the totality of my job. Instead of trying to satisfy everyone’s expectations, I resign myself to the fact that some people are going to be disappointed in me. But as long as I am doing my best before God, I am much more able to live with that. I set limits for what I will or won’t do and try to stick with them. If there are expectations that go outside those limits, then I will compensate in another way. 

For years I lived with people putting guilt on me to change my vacation, to disappoint my family, to work 7 days, to do them ‘just this one favor’. Now I refuse to let that guilt control or motivate me. I limit the number of evenings I will go out in a week. I limit the number of outside speaking engagements I will do in a year. I limit the number of responsibilities I accept. I am very careful about responding to “emergencies.” Because I have found that there are far fewer emergencies than people think that cannot wait until morning. “I’m sorry, but I’m not available right now” works great.

No one else can do that for you. No one else will stop your self-destruction. Instead they will applaud your work ethic all the way to your grave. So when someone comes at me with an expectation or a request, I first filter it through the “who am I trying to please and why” question. If I know God is satisfied with me, what else matters?

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Get the Shame Out


Anne Heche is well-known for her acting roles, and for her personal life, including a 3-year relationship with Ellen DeGeneres. A few years ago, Heche revealed she was sexually abused by her father from when she was a toddler until age 12. She says: "I did a lot of things in my life to get away from what had happened to me. I drank, I smoked, I did drugs, I had sex…. I did anything I could to get the shame out of my life.''

We all experience shame over things we’ve done and shame over things done to us. No one is exempt. How do we get the shame out of our lives?

In Joshua 5, we find 2 million Israelites ready to cross over into the Promised Land. They are on the edge of victory. Before that could happen, God called for an outward demonstration of commitment to him. Circumcision. Once they did, God makes this pronouncement:

Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal to this day, (Joshua 5:9).

Obeying God today removes the shame of yesterday
God can break you free from the mockery of past failures. God can roll away the reproach of your past so it no longer defines and limits who you are. Submit to God and you can put Egypt behind you. Yes, you have failed in the past. You have not measured up. You have not trusted God. You have not been faithful. But the question is, Will you obey today?

Obey today, and it doesn’t matter what anyone else calls you. Obey today, and it doesn’t matter what they think of you. Obey today, and it doesn’t matter what you once did, or what you once were. There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. In Christ you are free and the burden is lifted. Don’t let the weight of incomplete obedience hold you back. Don’t allow the chains of hurtful memories, or fears, or failures to drag you down. Obey today, and the Lord God Almighty will roll away the reproach of yesterday.