“Fully Rely on God,” the radio broadcaster explained one morning this week, encouraging his audience to add the familiar F.R.O.G. acronym to their electronic signatures, just as we type LOL for “lots of laughs.”
Now, anxiety is my middle name, and yet as a believer in Christ, it should be farthest from my imaginings. Fully rely on God. If I could just really live what I believe, how would I ever feel anxiety at all?
From whence comes each anxiety or fear? Aren’t they connected to our ultimate fear of the unkown, death? Again this week, listening to a relaxation tape, I was reminded that death is not something to fear, but a thing to rejoice in that it is a necessary step to another, better stage in existence. Fully rely on God. Seeing this life and its troubles as a stepping stone to a better, at this stage unknowable, existence should be a source of solace instead of fear and anxiety in a Christ-centered world.
Twice this week, I have been encouraged to turn to God when I feel the pressures and anxieties of this world coming down on me. How will I turn to Him? In prayer? By reciting my favorite verses to myself? By stating to myself that there is a purpose to what I am feeling or experiencing that means something to God, even if I can’t see it in this moment?
Christ seemed to know that we would be challenged by anxieties in this life. We are encouraged to “cast our anxieties on Him because He cares” for us. His parables tell us about people who faced harsh masters, life-altering mistakes, and the early death of loved ones. Even Simon, called Peter, who certainly fully relied on God, fell victim to the devil and denied Christ three times before the cock crowed.
When I think of all the time I have wasted on feeling unnecessary anxieties, I wonder how I haven’t learned from them. What is it going to take for me to fully rely on God in even the smallest of things, not to mention the really big challenges of life?
For those who are predisposed to overmuch anxiety, relying on God is a daily struggle. But even the most steady of personalities faces challenges where relying on God’s will helps to make the challenges more emotionally manageable.
Maybe a little more F.R.O.G. in our correspondence is really a good idea, especially if we refuse to forget the fully part and practice a little more reliance.
Category: Faith
Remember the Sabbath?
History buffs know that even after the Reformation, the importance of the Sabbath was so felt that it was legislated well into the early days of the Colonies, punishing those who failed to show up on a Sunday morning as if they had stolen a loaf of bread.
But what were the slackers really stealing? What do we get, and give, from our Sabbath “rest?”
I find myself contemplating these questions at the beginning of this new year, in part because I feel a bit more drained than usual from the year that has passed. I have to ask myself, was the energy output worth it? What exactly did I spend my time on? More importantly, what mistakes will I correct and winning strategies will I repeat in the coming year?
So, all the first of the year resolution business is what brought me around to thinking about the form and function of the Sabbath. Of course, we all know that God Himself chose the seventh day to rest and consider the good work He had done. But have you ever contemplated how often the Jewish religious calendar also called for even the land to rest? At the end of 2 Chronicles, when the Jews have been driven out of their own land by the Babylonians, the chronicler describes the land as having its sabbath rest.
In a world that is not dominated by physical labor for survival, we have inched further and further from the concept of a resting Sabbath. Long gone are those Sundays of our youth when nothing was open except for maybe a gas station. How many of us do our Sunday duty at church, and then drive straight to a restaurant, thereby depriving the waiter, hostess, busboy, and chef of their Sabbath rests? Do we even know how to rest in a world blitzed with electronics we can carry in our pockets and to-do lists much too long to fit into the waking hours of a seven-day week, much less a six-day one if we were to take our resting truly to heart?
Still, as with all of God’s instructions, there is more than just the arbitrary to the Sabbath commandment. Our bodies do need rest, especially in a world where too many of us have fallen victim to what the experts call “chronic stress,” where the body stays in flight or fight mode all the time, the adrenals pumping hormones that are preparing a body for a fight that is actually spending the day in front of a computer screen. Without enough time in a day for our bodies to “stand down,” turning off the fight or flight response and allowing what is known as our parasympathetic system to kick in for the gearing down of the adrenals and hormones, we eventually burn out, mentally and physically. Anxiety, depression, excess weight, and many autoimmune disorders have been linked to this modern-day curse of chronic stress.
So, taking a Sabbath to really embrace the idea of rest is a good idea on many levels, not the least of which is the ability this day of rest can give us to praise God and contemplate our blessings. Have you ever noticed that it is hard to be in a bad mood if you make yourself smile? That’s because the smile action actually triggers feel-good endorphins to be released into our systems.
Throughout the biblical texts, we see God’s joy in being praised and recognized by His people. He created in us a desire to seek Him, in part I think, because He longs to be sought. Remember when Jesus said that the stones would cry out if we would not?
Those who know me realize the irony of me discussing Sabbath observance. As a high-anxiety introvert, my efforts at church attendance are truly acts of discipline on my part. Still, God’s Sabbath can be observed anywhere you are, where two or three are gathered. It may be best observed according to His will in a church, but worship, praise and rest can also occur wherever the faithful are.
Could I truly do it? Could I truly spend an entire Sabbath with no distractions? No television, or computer, or books, no cooking, or laundry, or work projects unfinished, but only the word of God, still moments to hear Him, and my own, clumsy prayers?
Am I willing to risk it for the rewards it offers–gratefulness, compassion, and pleasing my Creator?
Are you?
Here’s hoping our 2012 time management includes some down time with the One above us.
The Importance of Choice
Even beautiful flowers can have blemishes, and they often grow amongst what we consider “weeds.” Still, flowers in the wild can be a good, visual reminder to the rest of us of how we can be beautiful anywhere. How do we do it?
First, we have to realize that our emotions are not us. We choose the emotions we allow ourselves to feel. Sometimes, that backfires on us, like when we swallow our discomfort with a situation instead of expressing our thoughts (in a gentle way–remember Paul’s admonition to proceed always first in gentleness), leading eventually to so much internalized angst that we become physically ill.
But what if we instead chose each day to feel good feelings? If Christ, God-incarnate, could take the beatings He received from the Roman soldiers without calling out a legion of angels to save Himself, then shouldn’t we, as Christians, work to follow His example by sloughing off the “slings and arrows” of this world and choosing to feel the love and peace that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit offers?
The Christmas season seems like the best time of year to get into the habit of choosing good feelings. When you wake up to start each new day, begin by thanking God that you are here to see it. Smile at your bedraggled self in the mirror. Feel empathy for the frazzled driver in front of you who just cut you off and don’t seethe with an anger that can ruin your day. After all, we all have been guilty of at least one near-miss in a car that could have led to an accident that would have been our fault. If Christ could give His life for us, what are an extra two minutes at a light to us because the driver ahead was driving a bit slow?
Of course, to those for whom the holiday season is generally a sad time, full of bittersweet memories or genuine sorrow, the idea that we are in control of the choices we make concerning our emotions probably sounds trite and maybe even unfeeling. But God understands our hearts. He created them, nurtures them, and heals. Going to God about helping you choose your feelings is the best path anyone could take. If you doubt it, re-read your Psalms. In these prayers and hymns from various writers, we see the true gamut of emotions and ideas between the created and their Creator. The psalmists praise God, can’t live without Him, and downright hate Him.
But they always come back to Him. And He is always ready to receive them. Choose love this Christmas, and make it your New Year’s Resolution to truly choose the feelings each day that will serve God best.
That’s what I plan to do in 2012. I pray you plan to join me.
Knot-tying
Tied up in knots. We use the phrase to describe that state of being in which we feel so anxious or confused that we cannot move forward. Our bodies agree with our brains. Muscles are also “tied in knots.”
But knots can be good things, holding things in place, keeping our shoes on tight or mooring a boat in rough waters.
In a world full of information, it is very easy to find our brains tied up in knots. From the internet to television, the radios that play as we wait in traffic, the smartphones that let us drown in messages wherever we are willing to take them, we are not only surrounded by information, we’re practically breathing it like oxygen.
When images and messages become this prevalent, it takes real persistence to keep the negative information out. We have to consciously choose what information we are willing to believe. Have you ever found yourself picking a box of cereal off the grocery shelf, telling yourself that this cereal is supposed to taste great or help you be healthy, only to realize that where you garnered that information was from a commercial, not from any real data?
The same kind of slippery slope happens all the time concerning our own self-image and, more importantly, morality, if we don’t have a clear definition of who we are and what we stand for. The moment we tell ourselves a certain action is OK because we’ve seen it portrayed as such so often on television, despite what the Bible has to say about the matter, we have truly let bad information tie us into knots.
The worst things about knots are that when we are tied up in them, we aren’t doing the one important thing–loving others. How can we be concerned with other people when we are tied up in our own selves?
So, how do we keep ourselves from being knotted? The “simple” solution would seem to be to think about the welfare of others more than we do ourselves, read our Bibles to be certain of the path of righteousness, and pray. Some days, those solutions seem to be working for me. Other days, I choose the wrong information, or too much information, and the knots make my brain hurt.
You would think on days like this, I would turn to my Bible or prayer even more than on normal days, but I have to admit that I do a grand job of knowing what I should do but not doing it more times than not (pardon the pun, had to do it at least once).
Jesus understood the threat of being tied up in knots. He told us to pray for deliverance from the evil one (and who would be better at tying a person up in knots than the devil?), prayed Himself for the strength to follow through on God’s will, even when He knew the outcome of His earthly existence, and sought moments to go to the quiet places where He could be still and know God, despite the masses making demands of Him all the time.
Seek your own quiet places. Turn off the television, the smartphones, the iPads and laptops. Choose to hear God’s voice, not the marketing bandwagon or your own self-reproving hangups. Look outward more often than you look inward, seeking to love others. The more good we do for others, the better we’ll feel about ourselves.
It may not keep us from knotting ourselves up every once and a while, but it certainly will keep us from staying tied up in them, useless to ourselves and, more importantly, to God.
Giving thanks through thankful giving
What seems like just a simple play on words could actually be a fundamental shift in one’s life. Giving thanks can be done without much effort. Some of us have said the same prayer over a meal so many times that it has become more of a mantra than a communication with God. There are also daily situations in which we say “thanks” with as much thought as we give to the standard “hello,” or “how are you doing”–not expecting or even listening to the responses we actually get, which are usually equally perfunctory or non-existent.
But just making the attempt to really mean what we say when we give thanks just doesn’t seem like enough in a world where so many bad things happen. If we have the guts to turn on the news, we are bombarded by images of war or protests or economic hardship. The tent cities that most of us have only read about in textbook sections on the Depression have sprung up in our own backyards, haunting reminders of what we too might become but for the grace of God.
If we give of ourselves thankfully, as God intended, we give with intention and love, not to rid ourselves of guilt over having too much, but because we truly care about others and are happy that we have been put in a position where we can be of help.
“No good deed goes unpunished” gives thankful giving a bad name. Even if I suffer a bit because I choose to help, I will never truly suffer if I approach all that I do with the thankfulness of my ability to give that I should have.
As a recovering over-achiever, I find just now that writing about this concept helps me realize that when I think that I am failing just because I haven’t made myself a “big wig” in the present world, driven by capitalism, I should instead be thankful for the opportunities I have had to use the talents God has given me to share and hopefully help others, even if those others count only in a handful, not a multitude. Remember the parable where the shepherd leaves the safe flock to save the one lost sheep? When I am not thankful for what I am able to give–forget about what I achieve from the “real world’s” point of view–I do a disservice to myself and, more importantly, to the gifts that God has given me to share with others, not hoard. I thank Him most when I give away what I have been given, not just bow my head and say “thanks.”
I hope my actions during this holiday season can be those of thankful giving, especially when I am tempted to become too tired or too busy to think about others. And I hope I can give the gift to myself of being thankful for what I am able to do each day instead of getting discouraged or bored with what is required or needed from me.
Two of God’s Most Important Concepts
Faith and Love. Without the first, we cannot begin our journey with God, and if we do not live according to the latter, then we are failing in our walk with Christ. Have you ever thought about how many steps there are between these two principles? In 2nd Peter, the apostle contemplates the diligence it takes to become “partakers of the divine nature,” in other words, closer to God. If you study 2nd Peter 1:5-7, you’ll discover just how many steps we must go through in order to grow from faith to Godly love.
These are the steps from faith to love:
- Faith
- Moral excellence
- Knowledge
- Self-control
- Perseverance
- Godliness
- Brotherly Kindness
- Love
Even a quick glance at this list shows us how one step builds on another, and also how much more difficult each next step would be if we had not first worked on mastering the one before it. “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing,” Peter concludes, “they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v.8).
We should contemplate these steps if we truly want to grow in Christ. By faith, we believe and are motivated to do what is pleasing and right to God. When we approach His word for knowledge with the goal of knowing God’s morals better, not as a way to justify what we want to do, we increase our moral excellence. Only when we have a growing knowledge of God’s word and His will, can we begin to practice the self-control that keeps us from judging other people or giving in to our own worldly desires. Having to be of the world but not in it requires perseverance, and only when we are strong in our ability to hold out against the pull of this world and its desires do we reach any level of Godliness. When we can learn not to give in to the desires of the flesh, we are better able to practice the brotherly kindness which is the beginning of Godly love.
Obviously, this isn’t a simple or quick process, but a life-long journey. It helps me not to beat up on myself quite so much when I stumble considering the complexity of a life lived like Christ. I am also reminded anew how grateful I am that it is the grace of God that saves us and not our works, even though my faith in God leads me to want to do good, fruitful works.
God’s Marketing Plan
The true message of Christ needs a better marketing strategy–not by God, but by those of us who claim to be reborn in Christ to a renewed life over which sin should no longer hold power. Christ did not merely state His message. He lived it. He continues to live it, especially through those who choose not to see the baptism by water into Christianity as an ending but a beginning.
Living a Christ-like life means always striving to be more, but not more in the sense of this world. In this world, filled with television, movie, and internet messages, more means better cars, faster electronics, fancy clothes, bigger houses, high-paying careers. In Christ’s world, more means better sharing, increased love of others, joy in what one has, faith that one is where he/she is meant to be and the discipline to walk in the narrow path of God’s truth.
When you have to spend so much time in the world, it is all too easy to fall into the trap of being of this world, all too easy to grab the more expensive brand of something because the commercials have convinced us it’s better instead of saving those extra nickels and dimes to share with those who have even less than we do. When you are of this world and not just in it, it’s too simple to fall into the wide and easy ways of this world. When we choose based on what everybody else is doing instead of what Christ would do, we make our lives simpler in that moment, but we also buy into the devil’s marketing plan, as it were, and his way leads only unto death.
We’ve all fallen victim to it, especially often during the holiday times, when so many ads want to convince us that what they are selling will make us better, happier, more peaceful. But, think about the times you have fallen victim to this marketing. Do you really feel happier? Maybe for a moment, but what then? When you rely on the devil’s marketing plan, don’t you always have to go searching for peace and happy again?
Christ’s marketing plan was simple: love. If we follow this plan, we don’t take actions that will hurt others. We strive to perfect ourselves in aspects of life that really count, like helping others, doing good, being kind, taking joy in nature and each other, including our differences. How different would the world be if these were the messages that flashed across our televisions and movie theatres and computer screens?
We can’t change the whole world, but we can change our own actions and the ways that we interact with those with whom we come into contact. What steps are you taking to grow in your walk with Christ? I will be working this week to set up my goals to mature in Christ. I believe I will start in Galations with the list of the fruit of the Spirit. What about you?
Setting Our Sights Higher
November is upon me, and that makes it a good time to reflect back on what I thought I would accomplish this year when it began, and to think about what I want to accomplish in the year to come. Who was it that said that a life left unexamined is not worth living? Well, I find that I do better when I do examine the life that I am living, and setting clear goals is part of that examination.
This past year, I wanted to continue to make time for my family, do an even better job at practicing my yoga exercise, and make more inroads with my writing. I feel very good about my achievements in this area. I not only go to my yoga classes, I also teach yoga a couple of days each week. I have had several good visits with my family besides daily conversation on the phone. (Thank goodness for unlimited calling plans!) I have also started this blog to help reach out to others interested in Christian writing and living a Christian life in a modern world.
I am also pleased to say that I finished the first draft of my second novel and am halfway through the first draft of a third. The novel I just completed is a contemporary Christian romance, while the third book is an historical mystery.
So, I’m already well on my way to setting some goals for the coming year. First of all, my second novel has naturally lent itself to a spin-off story–something I hadn’t planned or even realized until I finished the book. Secondly, I want to complete the first draft of my historical mystery.
I’m not sure that I will be completing my second novel for publication by the end of 2012. The one thing about creating truly good writing is to give time to yourself between that first draft and your serious editing. After all, when you first complete something, you really feel close to it. It’s your baby, that you snuggle close, too close to see the flaws and improvements that must be made. Because I want to make sure that what I write is good Christian fiction, I have to give myself distance between my first draft and my editing process. I also have to pray about the message the book should be giving and hope that God gives me enough insight to ensure that I achieve that message through my story.
When it comes to personal growth, I find that turning to my Bible is the best place to start for goal setting. For example, all I need to do is contemplate the fruit of the Spirit or one of Paul’s letters to the early churches to come away with a clear list of the kind of race to run in this walk with Christ.
How do you approach your daily living? Does goal setting make a difference in your life? In your relationship with God? Before the holidays are upon us, take a moment or two to reflect on where your life has been this past year, and where you think God wants it to go in the year to come.
Hidey holes
There are weeks when I am more than tempted to find a nice, warm hole somewhere to crawl into and pull the covers up over my head. Stress plays a big part during these weeks. Either I have had too much to do, have pulled myself in too many different directions, or otherwise placed too many pressures on myself. Often, they are weeks when I have been called upon more often than I am comfortable with to put myself out in the world and interact with people. (Being a natural introvert, social activities can be a real nightmare.)
I mention these areas because I know so many other people often feel the same way, even if it is for different reasons. The bottom line is, God doesn’t want us to hide in little holes away from the rest of humanity. How can we be Christ to the world if we are hovering under the covers in our bed?
So, my first step on weeks like this should be to turn to my Bible and my God in prayer. Then, I need to take a good look at my life and how I am spending my time and then get it all back into balance. Then, I need to pull back the covers and crawl out of my hole–with a smile, ready for the world.
The problem is, that’s not what I usually do. I usually wind up in a frenzy of activity, literally holing myself up in house chores and errands, and anything else that will cut me off from real human contact. I usually wind up being snappy with the people who have to be around me, or shut myself away from them emotionally while I feel sorry for myself.
Why is it that we know what to do, but so often refuse to do it? The only slack I can cut myself is considering how even David, who had a heart like God’s, wound up doing the wrong thing now and again. Now, like David, I need to step up, wipe the dust off my knees, repent of my failings and determine to take the first step, yet again, of my renewed self. No finding hidey holes in the week ahead. Instead, I need to pray for the courage and the balance in my life to make the difference God put me here to master in the first place.
How about you?
Finding the empty spaces
The French philosopher, Montagne, once said, “My life is filled with many tragedies, most of which never happened.” We choose how to interpret the information with which we are bombarded daily. We choose what to let in, what to keep out, and how to react and think about the things that happen to us. Really understanding that and practicing it in our daily lives in a positive way can be very empowering.
One of my biggest problems is that I seem to be always thinking. Even when I pray, I often have undercurrents of the day running through my head behind the words I am saying out loud to God. If my mind is never still, will I ever really know that He is God?
That leaves me looking for the empty spaces in my brain. I know they are in there. God orders moments of rest for us. He tells us to be still. He spoke to the prophets, not in the whirlwind, but in a whisper. In the quiet places of my mind, I’ll find the message of the Holy Spirit.
But where are my empty spaces? I know where they are not. Not in front of a blaring television or a flashing computer screen. Not gossiping on the telephone or shopping in the mall. Not fretting about chores that need done or stories to write.
There are times and places for all of these things (though some of them should have none of my time at all). But there should be a time in each day when I can be still, stop thinking, concentrate on my breathing and wait for God’s whisper. It will take practice, like all things worthwhile, but in a world full of information and distractions, it is necessary.
Have you found your empty spaces lately?
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