Brand New Day

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; 

great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

I take great confidence in these verses and the promise of new mercies from God every day. It means that He doesn't hold my (confessed & forgiven) sin from yesterday against me today. It promises a clean slate and the unconditional love of a Father who won't hold yesterday's mistakes against me.

It's more than just God's mercy for us though--it's a challenge to live today better than we lived yesterday. It's a declaration on our part that we will not allow the mistakes and sin of the past to determine our future. We don't have to carry the banner of the wounded & downtrodden, but can choose to move beyond past hurts. We can choose to not let our present & future be defined by our past--whether it has been done by us or done to us. The gift of brand new mercies peeks over the horizon and illuminates our potential to be & do something new today. I never get tired of the beauty of this gift, but I often forget to be thankful for it when the day begins.

Prep Time

Our leadership team was at a conference in S. Carolina last week and the opening session was led by a pastor who was sharing the story of David & Goliath. He was talking about David's willingness to enter into battle and that it wasn't false bravado that fueled this desire. David had been trained to engage in risky situations as a shepherd and had been delivered through them by God. To him, this was merely the next step in using what God had taught him and trusting God to reward his faithfulness.

As a developing leader (as if there is any other kind) I ask hard-hitting questions of myself out of this passage: What battles am I currently fighting? What battles am I currently preparing for? Is it any surprise that I lose when I'm not prepared? I am certain that I will fail in the future, but I don't want to fail due to lack of preparation & focus. Each encounter and trial that I endure is an opportunity for God to do something in and through me and I don't want to blow it.

The true story of David & Goliath isn't about a giant being killed. It's about a shepherd beginning to fulfill his destiny as a king. David had actually defeated Goliath years before the actual battle took place and that same tenacity of faith and obedience is my goal.

Give Me Both

I blogged recently on the hope of Heaven and a realm that waits at the end of this earthly life. I was recently reminded of the power of that promise at a friend's church as they sang about the day that we would be made complete in Heaven. I loved the passion that was shared as we sang about the gates of Heaven opening and the desire to take people there with us. We were describing something beautiful to look forward to and the anticipation of the fulfillment of God's great promise.

I found it an interesting contrast from what we normally sing about in the churches I have been in. Most of the songs are about seeking what God has to help us get through today. They describe the awesome power of God and how He provides comfort to us through difficult times. The lyrics are filled with a desire for our earthly life to be transformed and for us to surrender our will to God so that we can make it through the toughness of this existence. Neither approach to God is incorrect, but on their own they only offer half of the answer.

The truth is that we need God for today and for the future. We aren't only looking forward to Heaven, but we are seeking God's power and deliverance for today. If we don't seek and celebrate both of these we have an incomplete picture of who He is.

In His Presence

We all want God to be for us--we just don't necessarily want Him to be with us. 

Most people would admit that they want God's blessings. We ask people to pray for us and for God to bless financial endeavors, job opportunities, health & medical situations, and our families. It's not a bad thing to ask for God's kindnesses, in fact, He makes promises to us and tells us to seek them out. We have confidence that we can look forward to His deliverance when we pray in faith.

The dilemma for us is that we spend so much time seeking the presents of God that we forget to seek the Presence of God. We desire Him as our advocate, working tirelessly our our behalf and always in our best interests, but we don't necessarily want Him as our traveling companion. Having God on our journey of life means that we have to be more aware of our actions, thoughts, and attitudes. Being conscious of His omnipresence means that we can't (in good conscience) willingly choose to sin and ignore the spiritual consequences. We can't grab onto the blessings God offers and live a life that's not dedicated to His will. 

Some people might say, "Just give me the good stuff!" not realizing that God With Us is the best thing He can give us. It's an adventure of maturing faith as we learn to desire God more than the gifts He can deliver. 

In Control

I love how God will create a spark in your spirit when reading the Bible. I was in 1 Peter 4 this morning and read this verse: "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray." I had to stop at this point because I knew that this was a verse that I needed to meditate on. The actions of being clear-minded and self-controlled are game changers--big time disciplines that influence every part of our day-to-day life and help determine our future.

What does it mean to be clear minded and self-controlled?

Clear minded: singular in purpose, allowing no distractions to take you away from your goals, focused on what God desires for you, acting in compassion, patient, productive, goal-oriented instead of task driven, able to see paths that God is opening up for you, having awareness of people around you & their life journey, accepting of criticism as an opportunity to grow, resolute in your pursuit of godly vision.

Self-controlled: not allowing emotions to drive your reactions, avoiding temptations that threaten to overwhelm you, choosing the right thing even when it's a difficult decision, maintaining spiritual & physical discipline when you don't feel like it, acting calmly with patient wisdom in difficult times, recognizing potential distractions and choosing to avoid them, proactive and not reactive to situations.

This is by no means comprehensive, but it is the beginning of what this looks like for my own intimacy with God to increase. 

Feeling Tense?

It almost sounds counterproductive to say that you need conflict to thrive, but it's been proven true. To increase physical strength you have to create tension that pushes you beyond your current muscular limits. The physiological principle carries over into our psychological health as well. Handling tension in a healthy way will produce stronger people, organizations,  and relationships. Recognizing the truth of this principle doesn't mean that we always embrace the opportunity to grow through tension however. In fact, most people would be content to attempt to avoid it and believe they were better off trying to say in a "middle ground."

 In the past, I have handled tension & conflict poorly more times than I care to count, and subsequently damaged several relationships--some permanently.  Sometimes this is a result of ignoring conflict because we don't want to deal with it or we are afraid of the change that will be necessary in us. We can also forcefully engage conflict without actually working to resolve anything, but cause widespread damage due to our pride and insensitivity. The landscape of the American church is littered with wounded pastors, leaders, Christians, and former church-goers who have dealt with this poorly and bear the battle scars of poorly managed tension.

The key to growing through this is to recognize that there is a tension that needs managing, prayerfully consider the next steps, and then work in humility to see this conflict resolved. It might be painfully uncomfortable during the process, but the increase in trust and strength that results from handling it in a godly way are worth the efforts. Managing tension with humility leads to healthy transformation in us as individuals, in our relationships with family, co-workers & friends, and in the organizations we partner with and lead.

Learned Behavior

Our dog Zeddie (love of my girls' life & frequent bane of my wife's existence) is a rescue dog. Friends of ours in Florida gave him to us several years ago as we rescued them from him as well. He had obviously been beaten when he was a puppy and continues to exhibit some of those same characteristics of trauma today. He will cower when I walk into a room even though I do nothing but pet him and show him love. The past is such a powerful reminder for him that he can't move beyond it, but reacts in a way that he has been conditioned to react.

How often does this describe us? I was at a conference with our leadership team this week and we were talking about coaching sessions for church staff. I admitted that it had taken me a few years to change my perspective on coaching because it had been done poorly and infrequently in my previous experience. It left such a negative image in me that I would be filled with anxiety for several days before a coaching session. Even if I knew that the end result would not be a negative one, I still struggled with the reality of my present circumstances because of the pain of past situations. 

I wager that this is why so many people struggle with the grace & mercy of  God. We equate our poor human representations with the magnanimous love of God and are afraid to freely accept it. When God extends His hand to show us love, we cower in the corner waiting for Him to strike us in retribution. The process of unlearning fearful, reactive behavior can only be achieved by humbly accepting the flood of genuine love God is waiting to give us. Once we have experienced the genuine passion He has for His people we can break the cycle of negative expectations.