by Acharaporn Limpanapirak (Gift)

(I mentioned the other day that our friend Gift is visiting from Thailand. Gift is a businesswoman and the wife of a pastor in Bangkok. I asked her if she would like to write a guest post for LifeVesting readers, maybe about her experience with Jesus Christ and what Thai Christian culture is about. She graciously agreed – I think you’ll find below that the challenges Christians encounter there are similar to some we encounter here.)

I have been a Christian in name for more than half of my life, but for some time I never realized that I had never known my LORD, Christ Jesus.

It happened 13 years ago at my previous church in Bangkok where my husband, Pi Dui, served as a deputy pastor.  A certain man came to talk with Pi Dui and asked an interesting question

“Arjan (Pastor) Dui, I would like to know Jesus. Could you please tell me how to do so?”

When I heard this, it was as if someone hit me on the head.  This question had confused me for a while.  This guy came from a rural part in Isaan, in the Northeast of Thailand. Few people there have any opportunities to go to school, and they are incapable of reading or writing (illiterate).  But, WOW, he wanted to know Jesus, with a very simple faith like a child, as Jesus told in the Bible.  Here I had been a “Christian” more than 20 years, and I had not ever a desire like this. I felt so ashamed.

On the next coming day, I was still remembering that question and it bothered me all the time, so I decided to talk to Pi Dui. I asked him “Would you mind if I want to know Jesus too? Could you please tell me how to know Him?

He responded with a smile.  “Absolutely.  I have prayed for you to have this desire for long time. This kind of relationship is a very personal thing. You need to do it yourself – no one can do it for you, etc.”

One thing I can tell you is that my life has never been the same from that day.

Before going any further, let me give you some ideas about the Christian life from Thai cultural perspective.

Coming from a Buddhist background, we are taught that all we needed to do to go to heaven when we die is doing good (self-depending).  Beside this belief, there is one more important thing – we have a strong belief in ghosts, which we consider as  gods (idols). We are all in their influence so that we try to please a god or ghost in every way we live.  It doesn’t matter you are a Christian or not, the influence of this belief affects the way we live and the way we think in some ways, both consciously or unconsciously. Most Thai Christians, from my perspective, have never realized this truth. While many pastors recognize this problem, they are hesitant to confront it.

This parallel with Buddhist belief becomes even more of an influence when we realize that many professing Christians continued to live their lives without having a personal relationship with our LORD, Christ Jesus or submitting their lives to Him.

To give you more perspective about Thai Christian behavior, I would like to separate Thai Christians into two types, viewing them in light of my own experience.

1. Those who became Christians 20 or 30 years ago. These tend to be more traditional.  If we separated this group by geography, they may be viewed as a Bangkokian (urban) and a rural population. Actually it doesn’t matter where they live, the differences are only external, but inside their faith or belief is not all that different.   We merely understand the truth in the Bible.  We have been taught about His mercy, His everlasting love, but never have a true understanding about all these terms.  All the words in the scripture, of course, we did not say are not true, but some seemed kind of impractical.

Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that the God of the Bible does exist.  Our Buddhist background convinced our behavior to think that it is impossible to go to heaven by doing nothing, just believing in the blood of Jesus Christ.  We would go to church, pretend to love one another, do worship, and having doubts that we think we need to be doing something more than Christian activity, we may need to give our money, not because we love one another, but maybe this would please God instead of simply obeying His word.

2. Those who became a Christian in the last 10-15 years, aging between 20-60 years.  Because of globalization and having an awareness in Christian education, there are many ideas spread throughout Christian society in many denominations; each one claims their faith as the true one.  With the divisions among Thai Christians, each group blames the other, no exceptions. Moreover, this kind of division and blaming also takes place in churches.  We have much knowledge, but are going not quite far enough, because they don’t turn their knowledge into practice.

Islam is making many inroads in Thailand because they are boldly present in many forms. Many Christian leaders are trying to compete in ways that make them look stupid to people from a Buddhist culture.

In this day, in the ungodly world, no one wants to talk or realize that Thai Christians are so poor, and far away from the truth of the blood of Jesus Christ.  If some people found the truth and returned to the Word of God in the Bible, they would be considered as a weird (strange) believer, uncommon, with no place to stand.

Finally, if someone asked me, like a man from America asked me 3 years ago,  “Gift, if you have only one choice to choose any topic to tell/ teach people about our Christian life, what would your choice be?

He gave me a plenty of time to think, but I suddenly replied to him that I would have them know the truth about our LORD, Christ Jesus and tell them  “it is very important to know Jesus as our personal LORD & Savior.”

I never knew whether he understood my answer or not because I had no opportunity to talk about Thai Christian background.  I guessed he kept silent because of a language barrier or maybe we just got lost in translation.

However, one thing is sure – the answer would be the same if someone asked me today, but I would not hesitate to give more explanation of this thought.  It is not enough to simply to go church and “practice” being a Christian – you must have a personal relationship with Christ Jesus and KNOW him.

Jordan’s heart is still awake, even though his body surrendered to sleep an hour ago. He’s restless. Anticipating. Watching and listening for that heart connection he once knew. In the psalmist’s language, Jordan is thirsty like a deer panting for streams of water.  He knows what he’s thirsty for, and He knows that God is faithful.  And yet in this dry season, He feels so far away.

Caitlyn waits all the time, but the nighttime seems the rudest. She waits for a change in her mother’s prognosis, even though no change is coming. She waits for that dreaded decline in respiration, though it seems her Mama is too tough and too stubborn to die. The days keep her busy, but the nights at the bedside turn up the volume on Caitlyn’s grieving heart.  She knows that ultimately what she’s waiting for is the Lord.  And He feels so far away.

Brody is exhausted. It’s been the longest night of his professional life, but the rookie firefighter forges ahead through the rubble of what once was a safe place for kids; a cruel tornado had other ideas. Keeping his own two children, ages 4 and 2, close in his heart, Brody alternately prays he will find survivors and rages that a just, loving God lets innocent children die. His faith is as weary as his body and mind. He wants to believe God.  But He feels so far away.

Cindy sorts through photos and memories of what sometimes looks like someone else’s life. She called it her “days of awakening,” and so they were.  Though she had been a believer since she was 11 years old, amazing things began to happen in Cindy’s life when she was a student in college. Unusual, near-instant answers to prayer. Life-changing mission trips where once she even witnessed a miraculous healing. Extraordinary spiritual growth.  Now ten years later, Cindy is hungry to see those days of awakening again. But it’s been a long time, and He feels so far away.

Is He Worth Waiting For?

Experiences like those – when you’re emotionally hungry, angry, lonely, or tired – serve up one of the most profound challenges any person of faith will experience:  When God feels so far away, is He worth waiting for?

Is it worth another night of stillness?

Is it worth it to give Him time when the only thing you’re hearing from Heaven is quiet?

After all, there is a never-ending supply of cheap substitutes and even cheaper people that offer their own solutions to that yearning ache. But if you’ve ever heard the voice of God when it seemed as though He were calling your name and yours only, and if you’ve ever felt as though He stooped to answer your prayers in the nighttime, then nothing else will truly satisfy that thirst again.

Even when He feels so far away, He’s worth waiting for.

Even when He seems so silent, He makes the yearning worth it.

Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God (Psalm 42:11, NKJ).

If we were completely self-sufficient – if we were the solution to all our needs – there would never be a reason for a yearning, disquieted heart.

If there never were any waiting – if life were truly a matter of instant gratification – there would never be a need for hope.

If there were never any night seasons – if every life experience were a matter of seeing and hearing and feeling – there would never be a need for faith.

But your yearning and waiting is a present reminder of an eternal truth – that your God is the help of your countenance and the source of your hope.

I’m Yours

It’s one thing to offer yourself to Him when the sun is shining and He seems front-and-center. It’s another to say “I’m yours” to Him when the words seem to fall like lead to your feet.

But will you?

Will you trust Him enough to tell Him how you feel?

Will you remember who He is, and what He has done for you in the past?

Will you fulfill your commitments to Him without compromise?

Will you burn the bridges you’ve built to old cheap substitutes and steadfastly wait for the finest and best He has to offer?

Will you sing your songs in the night, even when it seems there is no one there to hear them?

Will you call on His name, even when it seems as though He can’t hear you?

Will you praise Him, not just for what He has done and who He is, but for what He will do for you in the future?

Will you declare, even in the loneliest of seasons, “I’m yours?”

Jordan’s heart is still awake, even though his body surrendered to sleep an hour ago. Even as he dreams, he does so as one whose heart has poured out his all before the Lord – all the anger, the frustration, the spiritual isolation.  “It is what it is,” he had reasoned, “and God knows where my heart is anyway.” And so he waits – but he waits with integrity as his Heavenly Father whispers over him, “I’m yours… and I’m here.”

Caitlyn waits at her mother’s bedside, mindlessly watching the monitors and tuning out the hospital sounds and smells. She’s remembering now… all the ways God has shown His faithfulness and care – not the least of which was through a faithful mama. Confident that He never wastes an experience, she whispers a tearful “thank you” to a God she can’t sense. But she believes – even as He helps her unbelief.

“I’m yours,” He says quietly, “and I’m here.”

Brody sits on a curb alone – a sweaty combination of too-tired-to-move and too-shocked-to-cry.  He’s had the joy of holding hands with survivors as he reunited them with their parents. He’s experienced the heartache of carrying lifeless, broken bodies from the disaster scene and seeing parents’ worst fears realized. Unable to find a way to rail at God, unwilling to walk away from his faith, Brody gives voice to the tender song rising up from his broken heart:  Jesus loves me this I know…

“I’m yours,” He replies, “and I’m here.”

Cindy sorts through photos and memories of what sometimes looks like someone else’s life. She remembers the profound nearness of God, the daily revelations of His truth and character, the dramatic answers to prayer. Sensing the distance she feels from God, Cindy is seized with a disturbing, yet hopeful thought:  What if He’s been here all the time, and I was the one who moved? And on this night, she takes that one step back in His direction as she calls on His name.

“I’m here,” He answers, “and I’m yours.”

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Our Thai friend Gift is back. She visited us for the first time last year and has returned with her sister Goy.  It’s always a delight to spend time with our Thai friends because of their contagious joy, their delight in serving, and in the case of Gift, her husband Dui, and Goy, their deep love for Jesus Christ.

It also always leads to some interesting conversations.  Gift is many things – a deep thinker, a shrewd businesswoman and entrepreneur, a disciple in every sense of the word.  She told me that this time while she was here, every once in a while she wanted some time to ask some questions.

Fine, I said. Feel free to ask anything.

Lo and behold, she nailed me with the first one. She was looking at one of the books I had out – a book on leadership – and she asked, “Why do Americans study and read so much about leadership?”

That sound you didn’t just hear were the crickets chirping in my head.

Somebody just asked the fish to explain water.

“Well,” I said to break the awkwardly long silence and try to get that deer-in-the-headlights look off my face, “that’s the first time anybody has ever asked me that.”

Wow.  That was really helpful.

I remembered the trip we made in 2009, when I had the opportunity to teach Thai pastors and I taught on leadership and influence. They were gracious, but openly said, “These are things we have never thought of before.”

Seriously? Doesn’t everybody think about leadership and influence? Especially those who are in positions of leadership and influence?

Actually, no. Some people don’t study leadership – they just lead. Maybe well, maybe not. Or they just follow, content that those in authority are there for a reason and their task is to follow faithfully.

Also, just to be clear, not all Americans are all that interested in learning about leadership. But (shameless promotion coming…) maybe they should be.

But go to any book store, if you can find any left where you live, and check the business/management/leadership section. You’ll always find a plethora of leadership secrets, fads, ideas, or metaphors. Type “leadership in books” into Amazon’s search engine, and you’ll get 92,649 results. Why do people keep writing about leadership? Because somebody keeps reading.

But what is it about we Americans that find leadership so interesting or important? Here’s a random sampling of ideas – very much a work in progress. I’d like to hear from you what I haven’t thought of, so please drop a comment in the box below (or click on the title if you’re reading this by RSS or email to add a comment).

1. That’s where the money is.

Let’s get the cynical out of the way first. Americans are interested in leadership because Americans are interested in money. And in organizational life, leadership is where the money is. It’s a fascinating conversation I get into sometimes with business students, most of whom are broke and exhausted. Whenever I ask about CEO compensation being too much, almost every one of them to a person says that no one should put limits on CEO pay.  Even when you’re not the CEO? No. Because one day they just may be.

2. Americans are raised to question authority, but follow leaders.

Case in point: When then-Senator Obama wrote The Audacity of Hope he was described by the media as a “rock star.” People wept when he was elected president. I don’t think anybody cried when George W. Bush was elected, except maybe Al Gore, but he blamed it on climate change. But Obama was this inspiring figure who breathed passion and hope into the electorate. Once elected, of course, he became the most hated man in America, as is every president. But culturally, we are inspired by those who can point us to the future with inspiration and confidence.

3. We believe that anybody can lead.

“Boy,” my mama used to say, “you put on your pants every day just like he does.” Make no mistake about it, the U.S. has economic classes, but nobody is doomed to stay in theirs. If Americans had a patron saint, it would probably be Abraham Lincoln. Most Americans are brought up to believe they can become anything they aspire to be. And while we may not individually aspire to lead others, we are taught at an early age that we could if we wanted to.

4. We make heroes out of change agents (as long as they aren’t trying to change us).

We champion the stories of the underdog or the woman or man nobody ever heard of who rose up to start a movement. We routinely (ad nauseum) tell young adults that they have the capacity to change the world, then we celebrate those who do (unless they’re politicians – see #1 above). The stories of gadget inventors, marshals who bring law and order, outlaws who confront crooked sheriffs, business turnaround specialists, great athletic coaches, charity leaders who launch movements bathed in pink and many more are epic tales of conquest and inspiration.

5. Technical ability does not translate into leadership ability.

Many Americans are vitally interested in leadership because they aren’t any good at it, and they need to be. Organizations tend to promote people who are technical geniuses or entrepreneurs. These people know technology or some system for doing things, and are rewarded with a company or a team to lead. Trouble is, they know nothing about leading people, and it shows. Add to that the fact that the landscape is always changing, with new technology, new competition, and new economic realities, and we have a leadership challenge.

6. Americans find their security in their dreams.

Other cultures may find their security in stability, tradition, or a hierarchy of class-based leadership that keeps order and peace.  Not so the good ol’ USA. Americans are directly or indirectly taught early on that “dream” is an American cultural badge. After all, have you ever heard of “the Brazilian Dream” or the “Turkish Dream?” Maybe they have one, but I’ve never heard of it. Americans will follow someone who experiences the fulfillment of his or her own dreams, and can lead them to the fulfillment of theirs.

7. Americans believe they lead the world.

This isn’t patriotism; right or wrong, it’s more like paternalism. And there are two versions of it – the “ugly Americans” who act superior wherever they go, and the “city set on a hill” that shines a beacon of freedom and hope to the world. Both may be wildly inaccurate, but if we had a cultural slogan it would be “Be the best and help the rest.” And that, in our view, takes leadership skills.

8. Leadership skills are transferable.

A certain set of Americans, though not all, have learned an important secret.  When you learn to be a good leader, you also learn to be a good husband or father. A good student or teacher. A good communicator, even cross-culturally. A good conflict manager. When you learn leadership, you learn good spiritual practices. Good personal and public service. Good life planning and goal setting. You learn vision casting, life and process improvement, and team building. In short, you learn things by studying leadership that you may not learn any other way – and you can take them with you into whatever field or life endeavor you choose.

I’m sure there are more ways to answer that question, and I’d love to hear yours. In a world where every culture has its leaders, why do you think Americans are so interested in learning about it?

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(If you never read another thing I write, before going any further, please read this short piece my daughter wrote to her children, ages 5, 2, and ten months. Click here, if you dare, and brace for impact.)

Okay.  Back?  Let’s get to it.

You don’t have the luxury of praying for people you love – especially your children or grandchildren – like a sissy.

The time is too short…

The enemy is too cruel…

The church is too powerless…

The Lord is too near His return…

…for you and me to sit on an arsenal mightier than a nuclear weapon and ask God to make their lives more comfortable…

easier…

safer.

Safer to whom, for God’s sake? The devil? The world? The ACLU? The media?

Stop asking God to make your little angels little angels. Or mild-mannered weenies.  In the name of all that is holy, I dare you to ask God to make them dangerous. Call on Him, in the heavenly realm, to put a sword in their teeth and courage in their hearts to blast a hole in the kingdom of darkness.

The last time I checked, no less than the Son of God said that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church. Do you really believe that? Most of us have been shrinking in the face of our own defeats so long we wouldn’t recognize the gates of hell if we crashed into it while updating our Facebook profile.  Maybe it’s time to ask God to raise up a generation that gets it. Gates are a defensive weapon to protect against danger.

Don’t you think it’s time to ask God to make your baby (whatever his or her age) a threat to the kingdoms of darkness and the kingdoms of this world?

The nation of Israel is named after a conniving swindler who clung in a death grip to an angel and declared, “I will not let you go until you bless me!”

That’s dangerous.

John Knox, the Scottish reformer, dangerously prayed, “Give me Scotland, or I die!” Mary, Queen of Scots is reputed to have said of him, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.”

That’s dangerous.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if this generation’s version of an evil king said that about your warriors, or you?

Where to Send the Reinforcements

Two men confer in an emergency session. They are under a surprise attack and there is no time to waste. So the older man says to the younger, “Pick out some men for an army. Then you take them into the valley tomorrow, while I go up on the hill.”

The young man was Joshua. The old man Moses.

Joshua went to fight valiantly; Moses went to pray dangerously.

As long as Moses stood and held up the rod of the Lord, Israel prevailed. But when Moses’ arms grew tired and he lowered the rod, Joshua’s army began to retreat in defeat.

Back and forth the battle went – all determined by how capable Moses was to pray dangerously.

Finally, Aaron and Hur decided it was time for reinforcements. What’s interesting to me is that they didn’t send a messenger to ask for more troops (and there were plenty more men who could have fought). Instead, they got a big rock for Moses to sit on. And each of them took an arm of Moses and held it up until Joshua prevailed.

I shudder to think what the strategy would be if that battle were taking place today. Maybe they would have called in a consultant. Or a negotiator. Maybe they would have gotten Moses a gym membership or Joshua tickets to a seminar. Heck, maybe they would have just sued the Amalekites for pain and suffering.

What they did instead was find the source of power and send in reinforcements there. Those poor Amalekites – they were aiming at the wrong people and never knew what hit them.

Or Who.

“I Find All This a Little Uncomfortable.”

Good. It should be.

Look, it’s like Carrie said in her post. You can pray all day for your kids to have an easy life and guess what? It’s gonna be hard anyway. Why don’t you pray instead that it’s hard for them to sin? Or that they love so much it’s hard to resist their compassion? Or that they’re so wise and discerning it’s hard to fool them? Or that they have such perseverance that it’s hard to discourage them.

That’s dangerous praying.

A Place to Start

All right. There are all kinds of ways to approach this, but here’s a place to start. Here is what I am starting to pray for my family, but specifically for my six grandsons (including the one who is due October 4) and my granddaughter:

I pray that the Lord would teach them to stand in His strength and His alone, not in any way shying away from their weakness or trusting in their abilities.

I pray that He would give them great discernment to recognize the difference between soul and spirit, truth and error, opportunity and deception.

I pray that He would ground them in the truth – truth as a Person (Jesus), truth as an absolute, and truth as an anchor to their days.

I pray that He would give them a heart ablaze with His righteousness, filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I pray that He would call them out and make them ready, regardless of their vocation, to engage those who are far from God with good news of God’s grace.

I pray that He would raise them up to believe Him greatly, simply, and expectantly and that true to His promise, their faith would move mountains.

I pray that He would keep them always under the banner and protection of His grace and mercy – trusting only in the shed blood of Jesus as their merit.

I pray that He would make them men and women who know His word – alive, powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword – and know how to use it to pierce the darkness with His light.

I pray that He would make them warriors in prayer, wielding the authority of the King of Kings, and that they would not grow weary in interceding boldly for God’s people and God’s kingdom.

I pray that He would give them the tongue of learned, the wisdom of an ambassador, and the boldness of a prophet to say what needs to be said, whenever it needs saying.

And I pray that when the smoke clears off the battlefield and their days are done, when somebody digs up the gates of hell, they’ll find the imprint of my grandchildren on them.

Finally, I pray that should Jesus tarry, they would raise up a new generation of passionate servants of Christ, enflamed by the love of God to transform their world as well.

Dangerous?  You bet.

No sissies allowed.

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Okay, let’s start an argument. What would you say are the two most important words in the Bible?

You’re wrong.

I know because my two words are (probably) different, and I know I’m right.

Yeah, yeah, I know, they’re all important. But the way I figure it, if the Lord took the time to repeat something over and over and over, He must be getting at something.

Now I have to admit, it took me about 40 years to realize this. Which is about how long it took Moses to figure some things out, too, but I digress. The reason I took so long is because I let my brain check out when it should have been sitting up and taking notice.

Follow the Bouncing Brain and Sing Along

Okay. So you know that the book of Psalms is a song book, right? This stuff was meant to be sung. Which made perfectly good sense when I first read Psalm 136. That baby would make a perfect Michael W. Smith sing-along.

Follow along with my brain as I read it for the first time:

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Sweet. Amen!

Give thanks to the God of gods,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Yes, you are the God of gods! And Your love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Okay I’m seeing a pattern here…

To Him who alone does great wonders,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;

Yep. He’s gonna say that last part every time. This must be one of those antiphonal songs.

To Him who made the heavens with skill,
For His lovingkindness is everlasting;

I can read this a whole lot faster if I just skip the last part. I know what that says.

To Him who spread out the earth above the waters…

Uh huh.

To Him who made the great lights…

Yep.

The sun to rule by day…

I get it.

The moon and stars to rule by night…

Zzzzzz.

I Think He Must Mean It

Twenty-six times the psalmist repeated the same phrase. And in the hundreds of times I read this psalm, I treated it like the thoughtless chorus to a snappy song.

Let me ask you a question. What if there was somebody you loved with all your heart, and you kept looking for ways to express it to them? Knowing that words are often so limited to convey the depth of your feeling, sometimes the best you can do is the simple approach – just say it.

And say it.

And say it… hoping they will truly get it.

How would you feel after saying it repeatedly if that person got so used to hearing it that she took it completely for granted?  Yeah, whatever.  Uh huh.

So here I was yesterday, staring again at this well-worn psalm. And the sweet memo from Heaven was crystal clear:  You can’t understand the first parts of the verses until you understand the last parts.

So I stopped.  Looked.  Listened. And realized… this was no snappy song or adolescent love note. It was spiritual protein. And the more I looked and listened, the more I realized that – properly understood – here, repeated, are the two most important words in all of Scripture. Because whatever words you may have used to answer that first question above flows into or out of these two words.

And the words?  Wouldn’t you know it? They’re difficult to translate into English with just one word.  But here’s the way the New American Standard Version translates them:

Lovingkindness.

Everlasting.

Covenant Love

The Hebrew word that is translated “lovingkindness” has also been translated “mercy,” “steadfast love,” “(my favorite…) covenant love,” “faithful love,” “loyal love,” “love,” and “grace.”   It has so many translations because no one word in English can contain it. It’s a construct, which means it has a combination of ideas, and all are important. Take one away and you cease to have the construct.

This word – this beautiful word – is the combination of three ideas: shared strength, steadfast commitment, and love. In the Bible it has two dimensions – the love between us and God, and the love that can be expressed between you and the choice people in your life.

Make no mistake about it – this is love. But it’s not limited to sentimental feelings. It is strong, rugged, passionate, even gritty. It’s a love that fights when necessary, forgives repeatedly, and gives continually. It’s a love that doesn’t play mind games or manipulate. Rather, it’s a love that perseveres with joy and kindness.

It is steadfastness, or faithfulness to commitments or covenants. In fact, you can’t understand this word fully without understanding how seriously God takes covenants and commitments. But it goes beyond mere obligation. This is more than gritting your teeth and putting up with a relationship or “hanging in there for the sake of the kids.” It is a steadfastness that is bathed in kindness and continues to share life.

This is also strength. Shared strength. That’s why sometimes people translate it “mercy” because when God shares His strength to us, that what it is. This is a love that is strong when we are weak. It is faithful when we are not. Always, always, it is shared. This kind of love always translates into “we” love – a giving and receiving kind of identity. What blesses me I share with those I have “lovingkindness” for. Whoever attacks me attacks those who are in covenant with me as well. There is no “I” in lovingkindness. It’s always “we.”

The bane of contemporary life, secular and supposedly sacred, is that we try to separate these three into individual units.  We want “love” without commitment or shared strength. What we get is exploitative sex, abusive relationships, and walled-up marriages.

We want steadfastness devoid of love or sharing. This produces isolated achievers – lonely successes or loveless legalists.

We want shared strength without commitment or love. This produces the deception of “cheap grace,” or a works mentality that tries to please others or sucks them dry without actually loving them or being loyal to them.

It takes all three. Imagine being fully engaged with a family or community that shared love, commitment and strength every day.

Imagine leading an organization or team built around those three ideas.

Imagine growing daily in a love relationship with Jesus Christ in which you shared and renewed those three things every day.

That leads to…

Everlasting

Okay, let’s get this on the table up front – “forever” is a prettier word. It’s magical, poetic, even romantic. But it can mean two different things – eternal and lifelong.

Hey, guess what?  The Hebrew word does the same thing! It’s one word that can go a couple a directions. “Eternal” means not being trapped in the present. It means it lasts for all eternity. But here, as it is used in this psalm, a little article is added that means, “for as long as I live.”

Does that mean God quits loving us or being in covenant with us when we get to heaven? Of course not.  But the focus is in the “dirty here-and-now.”  What the psalmist is saying is that as long as we live, we live with the covenant love of God.

Sun comes up… covenant love.

Sun goes down… covenant love.

Battles to fight… covenant love.

Wounds to heal… covenant love.

Victories to win… covenant love.

Defeats to endure… covenant love.

Loved by friends… covenant love.

Rejected or betrayed… covenant love.

Sickness or health… covenant love.

Richer or poorer… covenant love.

Nothing… nothing… that can occupy your days will ever take you outside the covenant love of God.  It is everlasting.

This is a love for a lifetime, and whether or not you and I show it well, God means it and does.

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never-ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame,
And the cry of my heart is to bring you praise…

Now… go back and insert some of those words you thought of in the beginning, and see if they don’t fit.

God… He’s there.

Love… ditto.

World… yep.

Gave… oh yes.

Jesus, the only begotten Son… absolutely.

Believes… you can’t experience covenant love without it.

Everlasting life… yeah, that. And it doesn’t start when you get to heaven. If you’re a believer, you have it now.

My prayer for you is that you drink deeply of the everlasting covenant love of the Lord God today – and in His name touch the lives of others with it as well. And then tomorrow, we have the distinct privilege of doing it all over again.

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Can’t believe it’s been a whole year, but I got to see Walter again yesterday. We took a little ride and shared a little fellowship. It was good to catch up.

Two years ago Walter was going through a severe depression.  He had been through a series of deep losses, including his job and health benefits. That’s tough enough for anybody, but at Walter’s age new careers don’t just grow on trees.  I really don’t know how old Walter is, but I’m 54 and he’s a good five-to-ten past that. I have to say, though, he makes it look good.

There is none of that suicidal darkness remaining that so gripped this man just a couple of years ago. And make no mistake about it – this was no bootstrap operation. Walter is joyfully explicit about Who gets the credit for raising him out of the pit. His life radiates with gratitude and joy, even when he’s all business.

Walter is especially excited because he and his wife are meeting their children and grandchildren in a few weeks.  They live thousands of miles apart, so any chance they get to be together is a special gift – especially when they get to see that beautiful grandson with the long curly red hair. Walter carries a picture of him in his front pocket, ready to share at a moment’s notice. And it was certainly a moment worth noticing.

The other big news is that Walter is starting a new ministry in his church. But first a little background. Walter has an extraordinary ability to memorize scripture.  “Just finished memorizing Revelation 21,” he said matter-of-factly.

“That’s awesome,” I said.

“Yeah, reading scripture about heaven is helpful, but when you memorize it, it makes it come alive… seem real,” said Walter. “And that book Heaven is Real?”

“Isn’t that amazing?” I chimed in.

“Perfectly lines up with Revelation 21,” Walter said.

But the really exciting news is that Walter is going to get to bring his love for hiding God’s word in his heart into the worship services at his church. He’s working on an idea to have a brief from-memory scripture time in the service. His hope is to pass along the inspiration for memorizing scripture to his congregation.

“You can’t make people want to memorize scripture,” he says. “Only the Holy Spirit can do that.  But maybe the Lord can use this to motivate some to want to.”

I told him I thought it was a wonderful idea.

“So do you mind if I share a prophetic verse with you?” Walter asked.

“Of course,” I replied.

 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.”

I was quiet, letting it soak in.

“Care to guess who said that?” Walter asked.

“Hmmm. Well, the temptation would be to say it’s in Revelation, but I’m going to guess Isaiah,” I said.

“You have answered well,” Walter said jokingly, as if I was Indiana Jones.

I was listening.  To Walter, sure, but deeper than that.  He said it was a verse of prophecy, so I was hearing accordingly, and wondering what the word was there for me.

“Do you mind if I share another one with you?” Walter wanted to know.

“Please,” I said.

Wait on the Lord,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

Again, I just listened.  To Walter.  To God.

“Have you ever heard of the cycle of victorious living?” Walter was saying.

“Guess not,” I replied.

“It’s from Psalm 34, verses 1-5.  Watch the verbs.  Trust… Dwell… Feed… Delight… Commit… then back to Trust.  That’s the cycle of victorious living.” Walter said he had heard that a long time ago from an old Nazarene preacher.

“That’s good stuff,” I said with a smile.

There was more. Like the time he talked to a Hindu man from India and asked him if he believed in heaven. When the man said yes, Walter asked him how he thought he would go there. The answer was something along the lines of being good to the elders in your family. Walter told him about Ravi Zacharias and encouraged him to listen to him on the radio.  ”He’s one of you,” he had said to the man teasingly.

We were just about to have to say good-bye.  Walter asked me, “Do you know the longest word in the dictionary?”

I actually know the answer to that question, but I played along.  ”What is it?” I asked.

“Smiles,” Walter said grinning.  ”Because between the first letter and the last is a mile.” Walter then gave me a couple of tracts with that question on it.  They talk about how Jesus can put a smile on my face.  ”Keep one and share one with somebody else,” Walter said cheerfully.

It was a sweet reunion. And the timing was just right.  It was Sunday, and I didn’t get to go to church yesterday. But I felt richly encouraged and taught from God’s word.

It was also Mother’s Day, and I didn’t have a mother to call anymore – just one to remember and miss. But in his own special way, Walter made me feel nurtured and not so alone.

What a gift, this friendship.

What a blessing, this fellowship.

And to think – all weekend I’d been mixing it up with an awesome bunch of scholarly types, exploring biblical and servant leadership.

And a 15-minute ride to the airport, hanging out with my favorite bell captain, put it all into perspective, with an exclamation point.

Talk about biblical!

Talk about servanthood!

Talk about leadership!

God be with you ‘till we meet again, Walter.  And we will meet again… Here… There… Or in the air.

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You may be wondering if anybody sees, anybody knows, anybody cares.  I wanted you to know someone does.  And I am praying for you.

Especially on this day, as you pour yourself out in love, I pray you experience a return – not just in the world of faith, but even in the realm of sight – that others would give back to you as you have so faithfully given to them.

As you laugh today, I pray that others laugh with you.  As you sing, I pray that others sing along.  As you labor, I pray that others work beside you.  As you dance for joy, I pray that even there you delight in the company you keep.

Recognizing that no one has limitless strength, I pray that today you would find rest on the other side of that good kind of tired – of knowing you have offered the Lord and His people your all.  I pray that your soul and body would experience deep, renewing sleep.

Nearer and nearer to the day He calls your name, I pray that you have a spirit of anointed urgency – that you would find the balance between giving your all to the task that needs to be done and resting and waiting upon Him for another day.

I pray for a rested heart, and a spirit that is keenly sensitive to the promptings of His Spirit.  You will need both today, and I pray that you experience that seamlessly.

No weapon formed against you – and there are weapons formed against you – will prosper on this day.  This is a day in which you stand in the heritage of the servants of the Lord.  I pray that you are vitally aware of your birthright in Him, and the heritage of faith on which you stand.  And finally…

Giving yourself in service to others, I pray that others will offer themselves to you.  And I am willing to be the first answer to that prayer, as I offer myself to stand in the gap for you – to hold up your arms – to war in the heavenlies on your behalf.

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CNN had an interesting story yesterday.  The headline: “When Christians Become a Hated Minority.”  Like so many other current cultural debates, it assumes that Christ followers are camped out on one issue.  Maybe that’s because that issue is the one place, seemingly, where the world has managed to join forces with the tide of popular opinion.  Now anybody who speaks out against homosexual behavior or gay marriage is a hate-filled bigot.

The article fairly raises the question of whether Christian-haters are the new bigots.  It points out that many believers avoid saying anything about, well, anything for fear of the backlash.

This raises a painful question for Christians:  Why are we being trampled on?  It sure seems that anywhere you turn anybody and everybody has the right to say whatever they want, do whatever pleases them, and demand to be accepted.  But let somebody mention Jesus or the word “Christian” and the arrows fly from all sides.

Here’s the problem:  We’re asking the wrong people.

I really appreciate the CNN coverage, but they don’t have the answers.  I respect the feedback from the Southern Poverty Law Center, but they don’t, either.  The answers to that question, at least for the understanding of Jesus followers, must come from Jesus; otherwise we’re following somebody else.  Make sense?

So if you’re feeling dissed by the world around you, I suggest you ask Jesus why it’s happening.  Since He’s still alive and all, I think He may actually have something to say about it.

Two Questions in One

The issue of the culture’s reaction to believers really contains two questions that often get lumped together.  The first is why the world persecutes Christians – and if you don’t think that’s happening, get your head out of the sand.

The second, and frankly, the one most American believers seem preoccupied with, is why Christians have lost their influence in our own culture.  If there ever was a moral majority (a quaint notion), it’s gone the way of plow mules and hoop skirts.  And there seems to be a lot of hand-wringing about why we can’t get our influence back.

I think it’s best if we consider these one at a time.

Why the World Persecutes Christians

One of the greatest spokespersons for Christ of all time – the Apostle Paul – had some advice for one of his young associates. “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,” he said (2 Timothy 3:12).

Jesus had his own perspective:

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).

If you’re an Evangelical Christian and wondering why the world system has “suddenly” turned on you, you may find yourself answering a different question when facing Christ:  What took you so long?

Do you think that somehow because you’re an American (assuming you are) or otherwise live in a “free” society you’re immune from opposition from people who are hostile to Christ?  Who do you think you are?  Is God supposed to apologize to Peter and Paul, James and Andrew, and every other martyr who refused to deny the name of Christ so they could go along and get along?

The world didn’t stop being the world, driven by lust, greed and pride, when “Christians” became “the majority” under Constantine.  Nor did it change when the Protestant Reformation began a new chapter in church history.  And it certainly didn’t change when the idea of a republican form of government arrived on the scene, complete with its Constitution and Bill of Rights.

It may seem unfair for God to allow His children to suffer persecution, but suffering makes us strong and patient.  God also uses our own rejection by the world to bring others to Christ.  Persecution teaches us to trust in God’s comfort and in the victory Jesus won on the cross.

If you spend your entire life trying to avoid being unpopular or facing difficulties for Jesus’ sake, you’re cheating yourself out of a life of fullness, maturity and real joy.  That doesn’t mean you’re supposed to go looking for a fight!  It simply means we’re to live for Christ, whatever the cost.

Why Christians Have Lost Their Influence

Just because we’re promised persecution doesn’t mean we are powerless to influence the world.  The same Christ who said we would be hated by people for His sake also described us as “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.”

He wasn’t giving the world any compliments.

Salt was a preservative in that hot, arid climate.  To refer to His disciples as salt and light suggests that the world is a decaying, dark place that needed the influence and hope only we can give.

So… how do we lose our impact?  Jesus said the salt can lose its flavor, or influence.  That actually happened in the first century with salt.  Once the mineral had been over-exposed to the elements, its “saltness” had leeched out.  It was still sodium chloride and still looked like salt.  But it lost its preserving power.

Care to guess what the Romans did with saltless salt?  They used it to make roads and sidewalks for people to walk on.

That’s the part of the verse we don’t like to quote:  “But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

We’re being walked on because we’ve become saltless.

In practical terms, how does that happen?  Two ways.  First, by over-exposure to the values of the culture.  Christians lose influence when they lose their distinctiveness.  And frankly, in the great cultural value debates of the day, we lost our distinctiveness decades ago.  There is no statistical difference in any meaningful moral issue or life/health-threatening category between American Christians and non-Christians.  None.

Second, we lose our influence by isolation from people in the culture.  It has been instructive to see how supporters of gay marriage have changed popular hearts and minds.  The repeated refrain from politicians and regular folk has been, “I was against the idea until someone close to me shared their personal pain over the issue.”

In effect, somebody shared their “testimony” – their story – and made the argument personal.

I remember when Christians used to talk like that.  They would share their experiences with anybody who would listen because their lives had been so personally and wonderfully changed by Jesus.  If you’re follower of Jesus, how long has it been since you told your story to somebody who wasn’t?

Three Hopeful, Helpful Weapons

Please hear me.  I’m not judging the church, nor am I pointing fingers toward anybody that aren’t pointing also to me.  But I’m also not living without hope.  The same Jesus who said the salt could lose its savor said the gates of hell will NOT prevail against His church.

In fact, we have three things going for us:

1.  Grace

Anybody here besides me need the grace of God?  Am I the only one who’s left my integrity and influence in shambles at times?  Thank God He still sits on a mercy seat.

But before you plaster that snotty bumper sticker on your car about Christians not being perfect but forgiven, remember this:  It only takes an instant to be forgiven by God, but it can take a whole generation to regain lost moral authority.  In the world, “salvation” is still by works.

2.  Prayer

Something extraordinary happens when people humble themselves and pray and turn from their ungodly lifestyles.  Nicole C. Mullen puts it this way in her popular song:

I’m so very ordinary, nothing special on my own.
Oh, I have never walked on water,
And I have never calmed a storm.
Sometimes I’m hiding away from the madness around me
Like a child who’s afraid of the dark

But when I call on Jesus,
All things are possible
I can mount on wings like eagles’ and soar
When I call on Jesus,
Mountains are gonna fall
‘Cause He’ll move heaven and earth to come rescue me when I call.

3.  Love

I don’t mean approval.  I don’t mean being nice to people you agree with.  I mean inviting-Jerry-Sandusky-to-lunch love.  I mean showing-kindness-to-somebody-named-Gosnell-or-Tsarnaev love.  I mean caring-for-the-wounds-of-your-sworn-enemy love.

But before we get too crazy with this, there’s a better place to start.  Jesus said that everyone would know we are His disciples when we love each other.  Even that would be different from what the world is used to seeing.

Impossible?  Yes.

But with God…

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Hey.  Come on in.  Shut the door behind you.

Ha!  No, you aren’t in trouble.  I just wanted to show you something important, without a lot of distractions.  You doing OK?

So, just curious… how’s your praise life?

Yeah, that’s probably what I would have said, too.

Yes, actually, that is what I wanted to talk about.

I wanted to share an experience that actually happened several years ago, but it totally changed how I approach my relationship with God – particularly praise and worship.

Well, yeah, praise and worship at church with the music and all that.  But more importantly, praising God in my prayer time.  You know that old hymn that says, “Tune my heart to sing Thy praise?”  Yeah, well, the Lord showed me how to do that, and it was pretty life-changing.

For years I’d heard and said that we praise God for who He is and we thank Him for what He has done.  One day I was reading in Psalm 91 and I was reminded of how elusive real praise is.  We still tend to think of God in terms of how He functions or what He does.  Nothing wrong with that – it leads to gratitude.  But there’s something more He invites us to experience.

On that day I sensed an invitation from the Holy Spirit to look beyond the works of God and gaze on the heart of the one who does those things.

He is more than a Redeemer.  He has the heart of a Redeemer.  It’s a part of his nature and heart.

He’s more than a provider of refuge.  He is a refuge.

Keep Digging

I knew all those things in my head.  But what followed was something of a conversation between me and the Lord that reached the heart.

“Andy,” He said, “Who is your redeemer?”

“You are,” I said.

“And is anyone else?”

“No one.  You, and only You are my redeemer.”

And without realizing it, He was tuning my heart to praise.  But that’s not all.

“When am I your redeemer?”

“Whenever I need you to be, Lord.”

“Is there ever a time I am not your redeemer?”

“Never.  You are always my redeemer.  It’s in your nature.  You are the same, yesterday, today, and forever.  There is never a time you are not my redeemer.”

And again, he was tuning my heart to praise.  He kept going…

“Where am I your redeemer?”

“Everywhere.  In every circumstance.”

“At home?  Work?  In the hard places?  In the valley of the shadow of death?  In your places of celebration?

“Everywhere.  Wherever I go, and whatever is going on around me, you are my redeemer.”

And again, my heart was tuning up.  Now mind you, this was slow, thoughtful, and deliberate.  Before my heart rediscovered praise, He was tuning it, like a master musician would tune the strings of a violin before he made music with it.  But there was one more “string” to tune…

“Why am I your redeemer?”

That took a minute.  Why does God do what He does?  As best I understand what He does, it comes down to two main motives:  so that He can be glorified and so I can experience His love.

“So is that why I am your redeemer?”

“Yes, Lord,” I said.  “I can glorify you that you are redeeming me, and I receive your redeeming love.”

This Changed Everything

In some ways it all sounds so simple now.  But I think the key was to simplify and slow down.  And to this day, when I am deliberate about this, it does something significant in my heart.

Picture your heart as a priceless violin – an instrument created to make the sweetest music in the universe.  It has four strings:  Who, When, Where, and Why.

And the song you play?  That’s the What.  And the What  is one clear, simple way the Lord is revealing Himself to you.  Here are some examples, right out of my prayer notebook:

• You are a God who reveals Yourself.
• You are the Son of God, seated at the right hand of the throne on high, not limited to any earthly kingdom.
• You are a God who notices the details of my life.  You are so aware of my motives, my secret thoughts.
• You are a Living God.
• You are a life-changing God who transforms the lives of those who believe You.

A Sample Session

Last night I was meditating on a very simple principle from Psalm 135:3 – “Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.”  And I began to tune my heart.  Here’s what it looked like:

Who

You, and only You, are good.  There is no goodness apart from You.  Jesus said there is none good but God.  I certainly have no goodness apart from You.  You are the wellspring – the source of all goodness.

When

You are always good.  There is never a time when You are not acting in the goodness of your nature.  When I believe You and when I don’t, You are good.  When I feel Your goodness and when I don’t, You are good.  When I choose to act on your goodness and when I choose not to, You are still good.  In life and death, sickness and health, You are good.  When friends love me and when enemies despise me, You are good.  When money’s in the bank or money’s in the tank, You are good.  There is no circumstance and no time when you cease being good.

Where

You are good in every place I go.  You are good in my home and in my workplace.  You are good in Lubbock, Marble Falls, or McKinney (this sets me up to pray for my children).  You are good in my public places and in my private places as well.  Wherever I go today, I will go to a place where Your goodness has already been.

Why

You are good for the glory of Your name.  All the earth will bow down to You because of Your goodness.  Even your enemies will one day declare that You are good.  And, You are good to show me Your love. I receive from You today the love You have for me as You express it in Your goodness.

Your Turn

Okay, your turn.  Let’s discover a What.  What has the Lord been revealing to you lately about Himself?  Not sure?  What have you read in scripture, heard someone else say, or thought about that reveals something about the character of God?  I know, there are a thousand different things you could do.  Just pick one.

Now… breathe.  Think.  And remember – to praise is to gaze.

Tune your heart… to the Who… the When… the Where… and the Why.

There’s one more thing I want to show you that’ll knock your socks off.  More on that later.

Right now, you have a finely-tuned instrument.  Why don’t you make some spiritual music with it?

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David was on the chopping block.  His organization had just been hit by a hostile takeover attempt.  To say his leadership was being called into question is putting it mildly.  But even when people from within his own ranks were calling for his head, this exceptional leader emerged with a decisive plan and executed a remarkable comeback.

His first step:  He had to quiet his own soul.  Before he could silence his outer critics, he had to get his inner one to shut up.

Hannah was sitting in church one day, but the worship service was probably the last thing on her mind.  She carried an ache that is only known by those women who have longed desperately to have a child and were unable to.  It had reached a point way past sadness… Hannah was angry.  And her inner rage had to be dealt with.  So Hannah took decisive action.

Her first step:  She had to quiet her own soul.  Before she could make nice at the church house, she had to empty her heart of its poison.  A year later, she had a son.

You don’t have to be much of a Bible scholar to pick up that those two stories come from the Old Testament.  The first describes the time that David “encouraged himself in the Lord” (1 Samuel 30:6) and the second describes when Samuel’s mother “poured out her soul” to the Lord (1 Samuel 1:10).

A Common Theme

These aren’t just two random coincidences in the Bible.  They point to a common theme you can find in plenty of other lives and leaders.  Moses learned to quiet his soul against enormous opposition and the humanly impossible task of transforming a nation of slaves into a nation of conquerors.  In fact, the one time that Moses failed to do that, it cost him the Promised Land.

Nehemiah also learned to quiet his soul before he confronted his enemies, appealed to the king, or challenged his people.

Various psalmists, including David, speak of “lifting up my soul.”

I think they may be onto something.

Imagine a Baby in Distress

Ever deal with a screaming baby and you couldn’t figure out what was wrong?  Change the diaper, he keeps on crying.  Offer a bottle, same results.  Walk him, rock him, burp him, hold him, sing to him… nothing seems to work.  “If only he could tell me with words what’s wrong!”

(One day I’ll tell you about a solution for crying babies that works 100% of the time.  But that’s for another day.)

Your soul – your thoughts, feelings and desires – often gets distressed like a crying baby.  And it sometimes doesn’t have the words to express it – at least not right away.  And the effects aren’t pretty…

• You’re distracted from what you’re trying to concentrate on.  Whaaaa!
• You’re uncomfortable in what should be enjoyable situations.  Whaaaa!
• You’re fixated on someone or something that has you stuck on angry.  Whaaaa!
• You’re afraid or worried that something bad is about to happen.  Whaaaa!
• You’re trapped between conflicting desires.  Whaaaa!
• You’re paralyzed by grief or pain. Whaaaa!
• You’re feeling pressured to make decisions before you are ready to do so.  Whaaaa!
• You’re tempted to mentally check out by looking for the Easy Button or procrastinating.  Whaaaa!
• You neglect important responsibilities because you are so distracted or hurt.  Whaaaa!
• You’re losing the confidence of the people who look to you for leadership.  Whaaaa!

In leadership or life, you will never rise above your ability to quiet your own soul.  But this isn’t just a matter of mental gymnastics or emotional tricks.  Every one of the people I described above found the ability to quiet their souls in the presence of their God.

A Roadmap to the Quiet

Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;

Like a weaned child rests against his mother,

My soul is like a weaned child within me (Psalm 131:2).

You certainly can’t quiet the noise of the rabble around you until you still the noise inside you.  Let me show you one way to do it that has worked well for me.

Take a piece of paper and divide it into three sections.  OR, get three index cards.  I always use a single sheet of half-sized paper.

At the top of one section, write “Here’s what’s on my mind.”

At the top of the second section, write, “Here’s how I feel.”

At the top of the third section, write, “Here’s what I want.”

Since the heart is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23), it’s always in motion, even when you are not conscious of it.  The point of this little exercise is to become more aware of what’s going on there.

Once you have sectioned off and labeled the paper or cards, make quick lists to fill them out.  Trust your instincts and first impressions here.  Dig only when you think you need to.

There is no set order to do this – I tend to be very random about how I fill these in.  That said, what I usually find is that the mental stuff is the shallowest, most surface-level stuff.  It usually involves things I have to get done or pressing issues.  Feelings are mid-range in depth, and may take more time to identify.  Desires – my truest, most honest desires – tend to be the deepest of all.

But all of that varies.  Every day is different.

Yes, I Actually Want You to Do This

OK, done yet?  This shouldn’t take very long at all.  If it’s more than a few minutes you’re probably thinking too hard.  Hmmm…. Or maybe the Lord has you searching out some true motive or something.  Anyway…

Now practice what the Bible calls “lifting up your soul to God.”  He sees and knows your heart already.  Lifting up your soul simply means putting it in His hands.

So you talk to him about the things that are on your mind.  You may ask for wisdom or power.  You may talk to him about somebody you love or maybe are frustrated with.  You may simply release whatever you’re thinking about to His care.

Then you talk to him about how you feel.  No use here pretending you don’t have feelings you aren’t proud of.  Nobody in the Bible ever did that.  They just came clean.  They told God exactly how they felt – joyful or jilted, adoring or angry – didn’t matter.  They gave God an earful of their feelings… and often in doing so, the feelings actually changed.

Then you tell God what you want.  If prayer is anything, it is asking and receiving.  So ask. The worst thing He can tell you is “no.”  Is it OK if the God of the Universe tells you, “No?” Then again, He did say, “Ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:7).  So ask.  Boldly.  Then release your desires into His care.

Don’t get in a hurry with all this… but then again, you may be surprised how quickly this works.  So how do you know if you have successfully lifted up your soul to God?

• You’ll be breathing easier.
• You’ll be calmer, more trusting in God’s presence.
• You’ll have more clarity about the next right thing to do.
• You’ll even be more at peace about unresolved issues because you have intentionally left them with the Lord.
• Your heart will feel like it’s at rest – even if you have a thousand things to do.

Here’s how Jesus put it:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

I think He meant it.  So come.  What are you waiting (and weary) for?

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