Friday, March 29, 2013

When It Gets Dark, God Doesn't Sleep.




The Lord your God is in your midst,
    a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
    he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.  
 Zephaniah 3:17


So I have to admit I saw this picture and it sparked something in my spirit and heart. But first I have a disclaimer to make. Blogging is a new thing for me and I believe I have finally found the balance in blogging and preparing a message, odd I know but that’s just me so please forgive me. OK back to the picture it was this week when I saw it and I was like that is awesome and as I reflected on what the picture could mean I felt The Lord send me in a direction that I had not thought about.

 Now that direction oddly enough is something we all experience or we think about and that is the times or seasons in our lives when it is completely dark and cold and it feels like God is nowhere to be found or like the picture alludes to we might ask the question or think God where are you at or are you asleep? It took me back to a picture that my mom had in our bathroom that I read many times as a teenager and that was before you go to bed give your troubles to God, because he will be up all night anyway. So the first thing we can agree on is God never sleeps and he never leaves us. OK well maybe you’re not yet convince so let me hit you with a few verses from the bible to cement it for us Deuteronomy 31:6 or check out Zephaniah 3:17. Now since God can’t lie and the Bible is his word we see that no matter how we feel or how dark it seems God is right there with us.

Now my Pastor preached a message a few Sundays ago about seasons and how they have a beginning and they have an end and sometimes we might hold on or try to stay in a season long after God says it’s over or you might do the reverse and refuse to enter a season because it’s not what you want or how you think it should be. Long intro I know but I’m going to give you what this picture means to me. If you didn’t know David is one of my favorite people in scripture so I use him many times as a reference. But many times in his life even though it’s never recorded I wonder how dark it felt to him as he constantly found himself running for his life from Saul because Saul wanted him dead because God had chosen David as the king to replace him. I wonder how he felt those many of nights living in caves being driven far from home all because God had put a call on his life to be king.

 I wonder how he felt those many of times that he had opportunities to end it all by killing Saul and taking his place as king only to show Saul mercy and have Saul lie and break covenant with David. You see even in the midst of all the running and all those nights in caves and all those millions of question I’m sure David had, God knew exactly what he was doing and I believe he constantly showed David things throughout the journey letting him know he was right there with him and in control. See for God everything is timing and preparation and for David that whole season of living in caves and going through the things he did prepared him to be king. I believe a great gift being given at the wrong time can produces the wrong thing, for David becoming king earlier or later then he was supposed to would have produced bad results. Now dark seasons as we label them are not always fun and not always easy but I’m so thankful that we serve a God who can turn dark into day and take what was intended for bad and turn it into good.

Just like winter gives way to spring and night to day there is always an indication that the seasons are changing for spring it’s when it begins to get warmer and flowers begin to bloom, for daytime it’s when the sun begins to rise and the dark skies turn to blue, and for David it was when the crown of Saul was brought to him and put into his hand. So no matter where you find yourself today I pray that you know a few things God is alive and well and he is very aware of your situation, he’s not asleep nor has he forgotten about you. His timing is perfect and at the right time your dark night will give way to his beautiful light. The question I want to leave you is how will you respond? Will you focus only the darkness that surrounds you or will you look for the for the Son to rise?

Lance.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Who am I?




I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalms 139:14


This might sound strange to you but I struggle with being ok with who God has called me to be. I know you might not struggle with this same thing but I do. I find myself many of times feeling like I don’t quite measure up to what the world or people classify as a man of God or this image I see portrayed as to what a Christian must look like or sound like. Now once again I know this might not apply to you but it’s something that God has addressed in my life this week. The crazy part about this way of thinking is that it’s not something I believe God intended for us to feel. I mean it says in the book of Acts that there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus so why do I feel this way then. 

If you want my personal opinion I believe it is the enemies way of limiting are impact or influence for Christ. I mean if you can’t stop someone you at least limit their ability to do the very thing you do not want them to do right? So that brought me to a very important crossroad in my faith this week and that was do I believe the verse above that I am fearfully and wonderfully made? To answer that question honestly until last night it would have been no. There have been times I found myself feeling like I didn’t belong or that I had to do something that I didn’t have in me or that I wasn’t capable of doing because that’s what God needed me to do. But here is the kicker God never told me that, as a matter of fact he did just the opposite which was he asked me what in the world was going on. That’s when I discovered my actions and my way of thinking was limiting what God was able to accomplish with me and my life. 
 
Now don’t misunderstand me God is God and he can do whatever he wants whenever he wants and I can be used to accomplish what he wants even without knowing it because that’s how God rolls he doesn’t need my ok or my approval he just does God. But I believe there comes a point in our life where we try to change the very things that God loves about us, we get into a state of mind where we change who we are and who God has called us to be. I love Pastor John and Drew but I’m not like either one of them and that’s ok because that’s not how God designed me and he has given me gifts and abilities they don’t have just like he has given them gifts and abilities that I don’t have and that’s ok to. I’ve learned that God gets the most glory when we allow him to use and unleash who we are and what we have versus us trying to do something we can’t and being something were not. Just like me you are fearfully and wonderfully made, you are just as important as that person you think you want to be.

 I want to leave you with a couple things God used someone to share with me today that and I believe it nails this point home. Acknowledge that God has set you apart and made you different, accept that God has given you different gifts and abilities and that you’re not like anyone else and that’s ok, and finally celebrate that God loves you enough that you’re not like anyone else and that without what God has given you or how he made you. God wants us to living celebrating who we are and I pray today is the day that you give everything to Christ and celebrate the gifts and calling God has given you because nobody else can do and have the impact that God designed you to do.

Lance