Occasionally, we face challenges that seem so overwhelming that we can’t see a clear path to the end. In light of a clear path, all we really need to do is take the next step in front of us.
Faith
An Abundant Life
“I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” ~Jesus (John 10:10)
What makes for an abundant life? When we think of abundance, it’s easy to consider only of material things: food, money, leisure activities. While we can certainly have a life with an abundance of these things, I think there other, more important items that make for an abundant life.
As a Jesus-follower, when I think of what makes for an abundant life, I think of non-tangible things like: peace, joy, deep connection with friends and family, and contributing somewhere in a meaningful way, are just a few examples. Even though these non-tangible items of abundance can be myriad, they can also be easily overlooked.
Take some time this Thanksgiving week to ponder the intangible items that bring abundance to your life, and perhaps even choose to invite more of these items into your life. The abundance you seek is likely just a choice away.
Where Faith Is Deepened
We all like it when things are going well and life is comfortable. Who wouldn’t? Things are going well, no major issues to worry about, you just live each day. That sounds good to me! However much I enjoy it when things are going well, when I look in the rearview mirror of my life, I’ve noticed that most of my growth has occurred when things aren’t going well.
My family is currently dealing the with passing of a close relative, which has been the opposite of “things going well” and “comfortable”. What I’m finding during this season, is that this is where I really get to put into practice the things I say I believe. This is where I get to apply my faith I subscribe to when things are going well. This is where faith gets stretched and tested.
For me, these events over the course of my life have deepened my faith. That doesn’t mean these events have been easy or trouble free. Quite the contrary! Yet each time I’m guided by my faith, and each time I’m more confident that my faith will see me through the next time.
Forgiveness
This week’s post is simple: If you need to ask someone for forgiveness, do it immediately. I had a choice to do that this week.
This week, a great friend of mine pointed out a behavior to me that falls well below my personal standards. It wasn’t terribly easy to hear, but I could recognize the truth in what he said. As I pondered his words later that day, I got the Holy Spirit prompting that I needed to ask this friend for forgiveness.
We have a choice when we know we need to ask for forgiveness. We can either do it (obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit for Jesus followers) or make excuses why we don’t need to seek forgiveness. In these situations, our excuses not to seek forgiveness are usually just lame excused to protect our pride.
I am blessed that my friend gave me forgiveness. When I think about it, had I instead chosen to protect my pride (which is easy for me to do!), it could have cost me a dear friend. In my book, that was far too high a price to pay.
I tell you that to encourage you to seek forgiveness when you know it’s what you need to do, so that you don’t wind up making a relationally costly mistake.
Still Have Work To Do
“The only way we can be of use to God is to let Him take us through the crooks and crannies of our own characters. It is astounding how ignorant we are about ourselves!”
~Oswald Chambers; My Utmost for His Highest
I’m going to talk about God, so if that’s not for you, I’ll see you next week! 😊
As I read this on January 12, 2023 this year, I was reminded that I need to continually let God point out the elements of my character that needs work. For me, this will be a life-long pursuit.
It’s foolish to think that my character is as good as it can be, and therefore, needs no more of my attention. That kind of mindset would cause me to miss opportunities for God to show me where I could grow my character, because I want to be more like the person He wants me to be.
Are there crooks and crannies of your character that you need to let God into? If so, invite Him in, and be receptive to the changes He wants to make in you.
Reconnecting
On June 11th, I wrote a post titled, “Simply Reconnecting”. At the end of the post, I mentioned that I was going to reconnect with my friend Dave. Well, a couple of days ago, we got together for a visit. We met at 3:30 in the afternoon and we didn’t say “good bye”, until just before 10:00 PM. The time flew by.
I hadn’t seen Dave for 6 years, but as soon as we sat down, we picked up right where we left off. It was so much fun to reconnect and catch up on what we’ve each been up to. At one point, Dave was talking about how much he enjoys observing someone who is excellent at what they do, regardless of their occupation. At that point, I thought to myself, “That’s why I like Dave. He’s my kind of person”.
If you have a friend you’ve been meaning to get in touch with, I’d recommend you do that immediately. While there’s nothing to be gained by waiting, there is tremendous blessing in connecting today.
Knowing and Doing
One of my favorite books in the Bible is James. What I love most about it is that it is filled with hard-hitting, non-sugar-coated truth. My favorite verse in this book is 1:22 where the author states, “Don’t merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says”. This is a verse I often read as if James was speaking these words directly to me.
It’s easy to gain knowledge about how we SHOULD be behaving. It’s quite another thing to take the knowledge we gain, and parlay it into action. What good does it do to gain a bunch of knowledge that is beneficial to us, yet fail to put that knowledge into action? If we spend a significant period of time (months, years, decades, a lifetime) we’ll wind up being nothing more than a bunch of over-educated under-achievers.
Here’s a good question for all of us: Is there some knowledge that I have that I need to put into action in order to see positive results? If the answer is, “Yes” (which I’m sure it is for most of us), then take a small step today to begin putting that knowledge into action. Because there’s a big difference between knowing and doing. Knowing = knowledge. Doing = results.
Doubling Down
This week’s post has a bent toward those of us who are Jesus followers. Be forewarned. 😊
My family has been facing some challenging days recently with the passing of a significant family member. Without going into details, a common question my siblings and I have been asking is, “How should we respond to some of the challenging behaviors of others?”.
For me, the answer has been, “Double down on Jesus”.
As a Christian, my goal is to follow Jesus’ teachings as laid out in Scripture, and align my life as closely as I can with Him. That’s easy to do when things are going well, but it can be a different story when life gets challenging, and Jesus’ teaching feel totally contrary to how the world tells us we should respond or behave.
When I find myself at this intersection with Jesus and the world, I pose some form of the following question to myself: “Jesus gives us very clear instruction on how we’re to behave as followers of His. I either believe what Jesus says, or I don’t. So, which is it?”
This is the point where I double down on Jesus.
I decide that yes, I DO believe what He says, and, yes, I WILL align myself and my actions with His teaching. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t always easy. To the contrary, it’s often very difficult. However, Jesus never promised that we wouldn’t have difficulty or troubles. He did promise that He’d be with us when we face them. I have also found Him faithful in carrying us through difficult times, when we choose to follow Him and be obedient to His teaching, event when it’s difficult.
I’ve also realized that I don’t just need to double down on Jesus when times are tough. I need to double down on Jesus every single day by spending time with Him, reading my Bible, and applying what I learn.
Because I either believe what He says, or I don’t… and I do!
Smile Because It Happened
“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” ~Dr. Seuss
I came across this quote last week and it’s such a great reminder about perspective and also about how to handle ending. Since endings are a part of every life, it feels that this quote from Dr. Seuss is applicable for all of us.
There are a number of things that come to an end:
- A season of life
- An event
- A place we enjoy visiting
- A business we enjoy frequenting
- A friendship
- A life
To be clear, some of the endings on this list are more impactful than others, and deserve tears as part of the healing process. That said, I think that remembering the experience or the person lost with smile, and gratitude for the experience, helps us move forward in away that allows us to remain open to new people and experiences yet to come. What a shame it would be to close ourselves off to trying new things or getting close to people because we are afraid of the tears that may come with loss.
Dr. Seuss’s quote also reminds me that I don’t have to wait until something is over to smile about it. I can do so even while it’s happening. 😊
When It’s Time To Wait
We’re getting ready to do a bathroom remodel, and as part of any home improvement project, I like to get people that will be doing the work lined up and scheduled early. For this project, I’ve had a hard time doing that because we’re waiting to know when fixtures will arrive, because the work can’t start until they do. I was telling my wife that I feel like I’m not getting anything done or moving the project forward. Her response was simple and accurate. “We can’t line people up until we have all the fixtures, so right now, our job is to wait.”
She’s right. Worrying or trying to “do” stuff won’t make things arrive any quicker. Our next step can’t be taken until everything arrives. Therefore, since we’ve picked out and ordered what we want, our job is done for now.
Once I thought about her comment, I felt much better. I can’t cause something to happen that is beyond my control. We’ll be able to move ahead when everything arrives. In the meantime, we just have to be patient and wait.
Cause Something to Happen 