TWO FRIENDS, TWO CONVERSATIONS

Yesterday I had the opportunity to have extended conversations with two friends and to hear how God has been leading their lives. The first shared an amazing story with so many twists and turns it was dizzying. There were so many times when it appeared as if God had closed a door, only to find out it was merely a delay. A process which should have taken several months, ultimately took nine, long months. And now, my friend is only days away from beginning the greatest opportunity of his life. As he shared his journey I was most amazed by his determination to trust God. There were times when things were very confusing, and it looked as if the door had closed, yet God’s plan prevailed. I am reminded of Proverbs 19:21 (NLT): “You can make many plans, but the LORD's purpose will prevail.”

In my second conversation with a friend, I heard more of a story of someone who is somewhere in the process of God’s plans unfolding in his life. There is no doubt God has his hand upon my friend’s life, but exactly where God is leading is unclear at this point. He has no choice, but to trust the Lord. 

Two friends and two conversations. One beginning an exciting new chapter in his life and the other not exactly sure where he is in God’s story. I think 2 Corinthians 4:11-18 applies to both of my friends. One has just lived this passage and the other is living it right now. In The Message it reads: “Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus' sake, which makes Jesus' life all the more evident in us. 12 While we're going through the worst, you're getting in on the best! 13 We're not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, "I believed it, so I said it," we say what we believe. 14 And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. 15 Every detail works to your advantage and to God's glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise! 16 So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. 17 These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. 18 There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever.”

I thank the Lord for good friends. I am also excited to see what God does in each of their lives.

IF YOU CAN SEE IT...

In my previous blog, I referred to the demotivational posters from the website, despair.com. Another favorite poster from their selection is on CHANGE: “When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles.” Most of us have experienced those days when the winds of adversity are blowing at gale force in our lives, and we’re doing everything we can to avoid being permanently injured by all the fallout. It’s amazing how our spiritual mind can either help us during times of adversity, or actually make things much worse. If the adversity hangs on for an extended period, our bad day becomes a bad year, there’s a battle which ensues in our mind. One of the things that happens, and I speak from personal experience on this, is we begin to think things will never change. We may not pray as much about the situation, because it’s like: “What’s the use?” We may make adjustments in our lives to accommodate the adverse circumstances and begin to accept them as our “new normal.” There may be a fog of hopelessness, which creeps into our daily thought processes.

 

There’s a great truth, which became significant to me probably twenty years ago, and it’s found in First Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV): “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

It’s important to be aware of Paul’s (who wrote this first letter to the Corinthians by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) unique perspective of “light and momentary troubles.” In Second Corinthians 11:22-28 he provides a list of some of the adversities he encountered as he faithfully pursued the mission of God. Read Paul's list and you will never look at "light and momentary" in the same way.

Look closely at the first part of verse 18 again: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.” When you and I are going through difficult times it takes every ounce of spiritual discipline we possess, to keep our focus on Christ (Hebrews 12:2), and not our circumstances. All that is going on in our lives is so in our face, it’s hard to look past it and to see anything else. I think the truth in the last part of verse 18 will help: “For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” To put this differently: IF YOU CAN SEE IT, IT’S SUBJECT TO CHANGE. The World English Dictionary defines “temporary” as: “not permanent; lasting only a short time.” 

Here’s how this works: You’re seeing relationship conflicts in your life, so because you can see the conflict, it’s subject to change. You’re seeing financial problems in your life, so because you can see the zero balances in your accounts, they’re subject to change. You’re seeing the physical condition of your body, so because you can see the illness or infirmity, it’s subject to change. 

There is a story, whether it’s true or not I don’t know, which says that after many months of work, the sages [philosophers] approached the king. They had come to a unanimous conclusion that the wisdom of the world could be put into a four-word sentence. They told the king that this sentence could be applied in many different situations. It could humble the proud, and bring comfort to the afflicted. The four-word sentence they came up with: “This too shall pass.” (Source: http://www.ucg.org/sermons/transcripts/200311shallpass.htm) While this phrase is not directly found in the Bible, even though it sounds biblical, it is reflected in this truth from First Corinthians 4: “If you can see it, it’s subject to change.” 

Be encouraged! If there is adversity in your life today, fix your focus on Jesus, because things are about to change, we have God’s Word on it.

DEALING WITH DE-MOTIVATORS

The other day I was searching the ‘net and came across a website (despair.com) which sells de-motivational posters. I am familiar with the motivational posters which have been sold for years and have become a common feature in workplaces, so I was interested in seeing the posters. I know I have a slightly twisted sense of humor, so I wasn’t entirely surprised when the posters and the slogans they displayed caused me to laugh so hard I was sometimes in tear as I sat in one of my favorite Starbucks. One of my favorite posters was on DEFEAT: For every winner, there are dozens of losers. Odds are you're one of them. Another fav was on PERSPECTIVE: Less is more. Unless you're standing next to the one with more. Then less just looks pathetic. 

My experience with looking at the de-motivational posters yesterday got me thinking about what motivates me. First of all, I’ve been blessed to have what I call a “hope chip.” I believe it’s a combination of a grace-gift from God and the influence of my amazing mother. Throughout my life, even when going through extremely difficult experiences or seasons, I’ve been able to maintain a high level of hope. It doesn’t mean I don’t have times of despair or those times when it seems like all hope is lost, but I rarely get stuck there. If I do have one of those days, I wake up the next morning renewed and with hope restored. If you don’t have a “hope chip” please don’t get mad at me, I am sure God has given you special graces as well. I call it a grace-gift because I know it’s not me, it’s the way God works in and through my life. It’s part of how he’s equipped me to serve others.

I believe hope is a great motivator and so very important in our life. Proverbs 13:12 (NIV) says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” I see hope connecting with our choice to believe. Hope believes better days are ahead. Hope believes the best is yet to come. Hope believes God’s help is on the way. Hope believes!

Where does my hope [help] come from? Here’s what Psalm 121 in the beautifully poetic King James Version says: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber . 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep . 5 The LORD is thy keeper : the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”

Whatever you’re dealing with today, no matter how dark and difficult, hold on to hope!

YOUR MINDSET MATTERS

Yesterday I saw this post by a Facebook friend: “I am expecting great things today.” I don’t know how her day turned out, but I am guessing it was better than most because our mindset matters. Our attitude and approach towards each day does make a difference. Also yesterday I heard someone share the illustration of the millionaire who went bankrupt, only to become a millionaire again. How does it happen that for one person a setback becomes an insurmountable obstacle and for another person it becomes an opportunity to make an amazing comeback? I believe a lot of it has to do with a person’s mindset.

The success gurus, the people who write the books, produce infomercials and hold seminars, often focus a great amount of attention on developing the right kind of mindset. They do so because your mindset matters. 

Personally, I believe there are limitations to what can be achieved by a proper and positive mindset. In my opinion the success gurus frequently go too far. They say things like: “You can be [do] whatever you set your mind to.” Or “You can create the life of your dreams.” I once heard Zig Zigler, the master motivator and teacher explain his positive approach towards life from his perspective as a follower of Christ: “A positive attitude will enable you to accomplish what God has planned for your life. A positive attitude will not enable you to do more than God planned, but a negative attitude will keep you from doing what God has planned for your life.” So true!

I am sure there are times when I’ve sabotaged God’s plans for my day because I didn’t choose the right mindset. Instead of rising above the crud and challenges in my life, I caved in to them, and became mired in a mindset of negativity and hopelessness. The only good which can come from the wrong mindset is if it draws (forces?) me closer to Jesus and brings me to a place of humility. 

Having a right mindset towards our day doesn’t mean we have to deny there are challenges to be faced. In my life experience, there are very few, if any, days where it’s a free skate. By that I mean, a day where there will be no obstacles or opposition. Therefore, we have to make a daily choice regarding our mindset. Personally, I am choosing to expect the favor and faithfulness of God to follow me throughout my day. “I’m expecting great things today.”

Additional Thought: There is a saying which sounds biblical but it’s not: “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” It seems to be a rough paraphrase of Proverbs 23:7, but I don’t know when or where it first originated. There’s no doubt that our thoughts are very powerful and a right mindset or a wrong mindset can have a profound influence in our lives. At the same time, we should never fall into the trap of thinking that we have the power to create. There is only one Creator.