Keep Swimming

There is a quote that usually gets attributed to Albert Einstein that says, “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” While there is almost zero evidence that this is something that Einstein ever said, the quote still holds some heavy truths that we have a hard time embracing.

For most people, the judgment they fear coming from other people doesn’t exist nearly as much as they think it does; and absolutely pales in comparison to the judgment they heap upon themselves. We compare our internal monologue to someone else’s highlight reel. Very few people have the guts to be vulnerable, to share the hard times and the good times in equal measure. We are bombarded by people who seem to be completely crushing it at life.

We see them and think, “they are doing something right, and I am doing something wrong.” We forget that we have different skills, abilities, and obligations. Yes, that travel blogger is in an amazing new place every week, but they have no kids and a massive trust fund.

But we were never called to hold ourselves to the standards of other people. Through Christ’s death on the cross we are a part of the new covenant that allows us to live into being the people God created us to be. Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:12-18 says it this way,

12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Go and be the person God has called you to be. Live boldly not worrying about someone who was given a different purpose. If you’re a fish, learn to swim.

Johnny

I listen to music some people consider weird or unenjoyable. So, it kind of shocks them when I say that I would put someone as mainstream as Johnny Cash among my top ten artists. Johnny Cash was a fascinating guy. From covering songs from wildly different musical categories to recording songs from his mother’s hymn book, to recording an audiobook for the New King James version of the New Testament. He did it all.

An interesting testament to how he perceived himself was that one of his favorite movies was Frankenstein. About the film he was quoted as saying, “because it's about a man made up of all these bad parts and yet he still tries to do something decent and be someone decent.”

This might be one of the best descriptions of the Christian life I’ve ever heard. It is so easy to look at yourself and just see all these messed up parts. You KNOW you are loved and forgiven, but you don’t always FEEL loved and forgiven. We all have parts of ourselves that we don’t like, and we can falsely believe that we need to hide them.

Fortunately, the creator of the world already sees all of you. In Psalm 139:13-14 King David says,

13 For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.

It's easy to not feel wonderfully made. We need to constantly remind ourselves (and our friends), that from the beginning God formed you and loved you. Johnny Cash and King David put themselves and those around them through a lot of turmoil during their lives, but they still created works of timeless beauty.

We have the same opportunity as they did, to live a life trying to do something decent and be someone decent.

Who?

Poet and Civil Rights activist, Maya Angelou, once said, “When someone shows you who they really are, believe them.” In our modern world, where so many people are concerned about crafting the perfectly manicured outer image, this advice feels more and more important. You can know people for years before they allow you to see the real them, or the mask slips and you get a sense of their true motivations.

Usually, seeing who someone is behind the persona leads to disappointment or a loss of respect. “I thought you were kind, but it’s really just manipulation.” “Your motives sounded pure, but it was actually selfishness.” Depending on your relationship before this point, seeing behind the façade can hurt. If you considered yourselves really close it can shatter a piece of your world.

However, every once in a great while, seeing someone for who they really are can lift your spirits and change your life for the better. This is what Peter experienced in Luke 9:18-20.

18 Now it happened that as he [Jesus] was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

When they first started walking with Jesus, the disciples probably thought he was a good Rabbi, a teacher who knew the scriptures really well. Through traveling with him, listening closely, and seeing some of the things he could do, Peter saw Jesus for who he truly was: the Christ!

When people meet you for the first time they don’t need to meet all of you, but I hope they meet the real you. If there are parts you don’t like, take steps to change the ones that are changeable, begin the journey to embrace the ones you can’t, or do the hardest thing of all and ask for help.

People want to know the real you!

Snail Mail

When was the last time you wrote a letter? I’m not talking about signing a card where someone at Hallmark already added a poem. I’m talking about taking your time, and your hand, and your own thoughts and expressing your emotions on a page. I bet it’s been a while. When I worked with youth one of the mainstays of our ministry was writing cards. Most weeks each person on staff wrote to five random kids. It didn’t matter if you had a long-standing relationship with them or if this was the first time communicating with them, each card let them know that they were loved and thought about.

At our most basic level that’s kind of what most of us really want; to know that there is someone else in this world that cares and is impacted by us being around. When loneliness hits, if we’re not careful our minds can immediately go to “nobody really cares.” Knowing that we go through this we should be able to empathize and understand that others go through this and we should seek to be a supportive community everywhere we go.

The writer of Ecclesiastes puts it this way, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up their fellow. But woe to those who are alone when they fall and has not another to lift them up! 11 Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? 12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

When we know how it feels to fall down, we can see the importance of helping other people get up. And no state will stay the same forever. Sometimes you’re the helper and sometimes you’re the helped. The key is to stay connected. Ask for help. Lend a hand if you are able.

Write that letter, let someone know that you are thinking about them.

Fading Flowers

This coming Sunday is Mother’s Day; just a head’s up if it may have slipped your mind. On that day millions of people are going to celebrate their moms and give them flowers. Flowers can be a weird gift. It’s like a joke I heard from a comedian whose name I can’t remember, “I love you, now watch these die.” No one actually thinks this when they give flowers as a gift, but cut flowers are never going to be a gift that lasts a long time. And maybe that is part of the symbolism we don’t even consider; I want to give you something beautiful even though I know the beauty is fleeting.

The time we share with the people we love mirrors this. We’ll balance the hard times and the good, and in the long run the ones that stick around lead to a magnificent experience of love. However as David reminds in Psalm 39:4-5 our time is limited.

4 “O Lord, make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all humanity stands as a mere breath! Selah

The world was around a long time before we came along, and should the Lord tarry, it will be around a long time after we are gone. Initially this could feel like a total bummer. We don’t like to think about a world without us in it. However, the reminder that our days are numbered should inspire us to live life to the full. Show love to the people around you with reckless abandon. Set your priorities in a way that adds more goodness to the lives of people around you.

Go buy those flowers for Mother’s Day or any day; give them with a message that shows how much you appreciate the time you have. Even though our time, like the flowers, will fade we can still go out and share the beauty of life with the world.

Doctor Doctor

Matthew 9:10-13 - 10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

In this passage we see Jesus spending time with “those people,” the ones that a proper upstanding citizen would try to avoid. The Pharisees try to call him out on it, but Jesus responds with love. He points out the fact that the people who are healthy don’t need to go to the doctor. Doctors exist to help those who are sick. And then he goes on to quote from the prophet Hosea when he says, “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”

Part of a Pharisee’s goal was to be an expert on the scripture. When Jesus said this, they would have known exactly what he was referring to. The people to whom Hosea was speaking dutifully brought their sacrifices to the temple. They were following the letter of the law, but in doing so they became lazy with fulfilling the spirit of the law.

They were given the law so that the people could learn to fully rely on God. They couldn’t do it all themselves. This reminder would cut deep for people whose whole identity was their own self-righteousness. The Pharisees knew what the scripture said but now they knew exactly what the scripture meant. We can bring our sacrifices, follow the rules of the Bible (and a few we made up along the way) and think that we are being perfect little Christians.

Unfortunately, God never called you to be perfect, because you can’t be. How can you add mercy to your spiritual life? What or who have you neglected in your pursuit of self-righteousness?

We’ve all been sick, and we can all know the great physician.

Hard Right

On Saturday I witnessed a driver who almost caused a major pile up. The highway was splitting; there were two lanes were heading west, two lanes heading north, and an exit lane. Meaning this spot in the road was 5 lanes wide. This person, who I can only assume almost missed their exit, came to a full stop in the second lane from the left, turned their car towards the exit and gunned it towards the exit, driving perpendicular to the oncoming traffic. Other cars were swerving and slamming on their brakes, so many people put in danger because one person made a horrible decision.

Even by driving in New Jersey standards, this was reckless and needlessly aggressive. While I hope you’ve never put the lives of other people in danger, we have all been this person who made a selfish decision in order to get to where we wanted to go. Selfishness is a modern epidemic as so many of us strive to, “Get what’s mine.” However, it’s something that we easily point out in others but have a hard time seeing in ourselves.

For Christians, this means that we must strive every day to live into the call of selflessness. 1 John 3:16-20 tells us,

16 By this we know love, that he [Jesus] laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees their brother or sister in need, yet closes their heart against them, how does God's love abide in them? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 

We hear “lay down our lives” and think it means dying for someone; while it can mean that, it can also mean letting someone else win, putting what you want behind what someone else needs. This takes a lot of practice, and there will be times we fail, but growth only comes from effort and doing something differently.

Close to Me

1 John 4:18-19 – 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

God’s love for you is complete and all encompassing. God loves the parts of you that you love. God loves the parts you think you can hide. We can enter the presence of God as welcomed, well-loved children. We don’t need to cower in fearing like we’re waiting for a hammer to drop on our heads for the things we’ve done. Yes, some of the things we’ve done will have earthly consequences, some that might even involve earthly punishment. Thankfully, through Jesus’s sacrificial work on the cross our sins are wiped clean away and God will welcome us as his beloved.

God draws us into the kingdom because he wants to be with us. And through this we are able to love because he first loved us. Just about every word you have ever said is a word you heard (or read) someone else use first. Through the example of others, we are able to cobble together our first words and sentences. We grow and learn more and can put our thoughts and feelings into words we share with others. This is how we know how to love. God showed us how to do it first.

With this knowledge and experience of love we can show others what it’s like to have love and give love. With this knowledge and experience we can point people towards the source. The great preacher and theologian Charles Spurgeon once said that love without God is like fire without heat. It doesn’t make sense.

We know the love that we have received because we know for what we have been forgiven. This love should inspire us to share it with others. Go and show love to the world.

Holy Weak

This is the week we look forward to Easter. On Sunday we will celebrate with Christians across the world that the savior fulfilled his promise to save us from our sins through his sacrifice on the cross. Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection are the hinges on which our faith hangs. Often however, we gloss over the first part in Jesus’s death. It’s like we’ve been given spoilers for a movie and the cliffhanger loses all its punch because we know the hero is going to pull through.

Sadly, we lose perspective when we don’t take in the whole story. Crucifixion is a horrible, tortuous way to die. Beyond that, in Jesus’s lead up to the cross he was beaten, mocked, and tortured. It was not as clean and tidy as all those renaissance paintings make it out to be. It was dark and sad and painful, but Jesus did it for us. He went through it because of the love he had for his children.

It's hard to wrap our minds around having that sacrifice made on our behalf. Most of us have lived such a blessed life that we’ve probably have never been close enough to danger to see that kind of choice made. And through all of the pain and agony Jesus had a singular focus.

As he hung on the cross between two criminals he had this seemingly final conversation. Luke 23:39-43

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Jesus forgave them then and he will forgive you now. He came so that you may have life eternal.

Back Then

I fell down a nostalgia hole recently, listening to some of the music I listened to in high school and college. It’s amazing how much more important that music feels than stuff I listen to now. I don’t think I’m unique in this experience. There is something about the media you consumed in that stage of life that just hits you differently no matter how far removed you are. Even if it objectively sounds bad (because it was a friend playing guitar and yelling into a tape recorder) it still taps into those feelings I had when I first listened to it as a teenager.

I heard one person describe this experience as feeling understood for the first time. When you’re growing up you encounter a lot of feelings that you don’t understand because it’s your first time feeling them. And then a song comes on and you immediately connect. Girls are confusing. Boys are weird. Parents don’t understand. Teachers are dumb. My friends are important. My current experience doesn’t define the rest of my life.

These may feel simplistic, but I’m sure there is something in that list that resonated then and might just resonate with you now. As we grow, we must work hard to keep hold of our childlike wonder.

Jesus tells us in Luke 18:17, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” We place our full trust in Jesus to fulfill his promise. We listen to the call on our lives. It takes a lot more effort to act with this childlike faith than it takes to be an actual child.

When you were a kid, this came naturally. You followed your whims without analyzing the cost or wondering if it was a waste of time. Yes, sometimes this got you in trouble, but sometimes it took you on an adventure that you still talk about all these years later. You can still have the experience of awe and wonder and being understood that you had back then. You just need to seek it out.

Used to Be

Once you’ve achieved something, it’s easy to forget the path that led you there. We reach the top of the mountain we’ve been climbing, and instead of thinking, “wow I’ve come so far,” we think, “now I’m where I was always supposed to be.” Or worse, “I’ve always been here.” And it’s in those times of false bravado that we look down with disdain on people who are still trying to climb the mountain we just finished.

In Titus 3, Paul is reminding Titus to teach people not to forget where they came from. Titus 3:1-3, “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.”

It's easy to forget that “we ourselves were once foolish.” You didn’t always have it all together the way you do now, and it’s crucial to remember that. It’s important for two reasons. First, it keeps you humble; you didn’t start at the top. There was a struggle along the way. There were times when you took two steps forward and three steps back. There were times that it was just steps back. Through it all you endured and persevered. Remembering where you’ve been helps you appreciate where you’ve made it.

And second, it lets you help people avoid the mistakes you made. The world is better when you offer people a hand up rather than slamming the door behind you. Paul continues, Titus 3:4-5 “4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit…”

We didn’t get here alone.

Spring Has Sprung

Winter is officially over. It remains to be seen if the weather actually agrees with that statement or not. But from where I’m sitting it looks like things are about to start getting green again very soon. There is something about the transitional seasons that feels so special. Coming out of winter, we are ready for it to be warm again in the spring. Coming out of summer, we are ready for it to be cool again in the fall. These perfect little cycles of life remind us that time is marching on.

There was a Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, who is credited with the phrase, “the only constant in life is change.” It is something that we all need to live into and accept: time is passing, you’re getting older, people come into and out of your life. If we take technology into account, then this constant change can feel like a whirlwind that we’re trying to keep up with.

As Christians however, we have an anchor point. In a world that feels like it’s whipping past us we can look to the creator of that world and take solace in the fact that God does not change. God’s love for us is the same day after day.

The writer of Hebrews put it this way in Hebrews 13:8-9, “8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.”

We can resist the temptation to look to the heavens and say, “thanks for the salvation, but what have you done for me lately?” God’s love does not change. God’s love does not fail. God’s love for you won’t go away because of the things you’ve done.

God is our constant.

The Ides of March

If it weren’t for the assassination of Julius Caesar the word “ides” would probably be gone from any modern use. Ides, in the Roman calendar, simply refers to the middle part of the month. Interestingly, this year the middle of March also coincides with the (rough) middle of Lent. And whether you’ve chosen to fast or not it is an important time we can use in the lead up to Easter.

There’s such a temptation to treat holidays, like Christmas and Easter, as a list of tasks to rush through—as though we can win at Easter. When in truth these days have been set apart as a time of remembrance. We should spend intentional time pausing and meditating during Lent on the promises that were fulfilled through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. This is why people fast during Lent.

We don’t do it to impress other people. It is not done to impress God. We do it as a reminder of our reliance on a savior. We do it so that anytime you have that pang of “I could really go for that thing I’m fasting from,” we can ask the question, “Do I want God as much as I want that?”

Isaiah 58:5-6 says,
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
    a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
    and a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 “Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of wickedness,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?

It is so rare for us to take time examining our lives. What do I truly need? What can I live without? What is getting in the way of my reliance on God? Even though we are halfway through Lent, it is never too late to ask these questions and try fasting.

Undone

At times, I can be a big procrastinator. And it can be counterintuitive because the things I procrastinate the most on are usually pretty important things to get done. I had friend in school who regularly had his assignments done a good three weeks before the due date if not before. We made fun of him and called him a nerd (mostly because we were envious, he was past the stress of the deadline). He explained it once, simply, as the way you feel one week out is how I feel three weeks out. In school we all had the same assignments; the stress and gravity of them just hit at different times.

I think it’s only natural to try and avoid things that cause stress in our lives. Unfortunately, if you tried to avoid EVERYTHING that caused you stress, you wouldn’t have much of a life. There are things that must get done. There are things that God is calling you to do. Not Christians, not people, not someone. You! You specifically have a call on your life, something that God has taught you through your experience or has gifted you naturally to do.

In Jeremiah 1, we see Jeremiah receive his call the way we would like to receive ours. Jeremiah 1:4-5, “4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

We think we would like to hear a voice from the heavens saying, “Hey you! Go do this.” But like Jeremiah, when you read the rest of the chapter, we would all immediately come up with reasons why we can’t. Offering up excuses doesn’t change your responsibility. You have a call to further the kingdom of heaven in a way that no one else can. The call can be scary. The call can be something that we want to put off until later. When the truth is, you know that God has called you to move.

You just need to start.

Plans

Last week, on my God blessed day off, I wake up to one of those emails you never want to see. It was the bank saying, “hey, we think there might be some fraud going on with your credit card.” I’ve received these in the past, most often when I’ve been travelling. “Your card got used in New Jersey, Colorado, and California all in one day is everything cool?” You say, “yes that was me,” and that’s it. This time however, things were undeniably not cool. Instead of enjoying my day off some jerk dumped a bunch of chores in my lap.

Thankfully, it was all caught early, and it wasn’t as nearly as bad as it could have been. Things were about 90% solved after a few hours of bouncing between websites and phone support. Still, that was not how I wanted to spend my day. There are times in our lives when the day we were expecting gets thrown off the rails immediately. Any number of things can take a day from normal to zero in a flash.

Days like this that remind us that, try as we might, we are not in control. There’s a famous prayer that most of us would benefit spending some time thinking about. Usually associated with recovery programs the serenity prayer says, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

It's that last line that gets so many people caught up: “The wisdom to know the difference.” Psalm 19:21 tells us, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Maybe one small intrusion in my life is a wake-up call to do an assessment of my on-line security. Maybe I’m supposed to pay closer attention. Once you get safely to the other side of whatever you’re going through take one small moment to look back and ask, “What could I learn from this?”

And maybe go change some passwords.

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of the Lenten Season. Lent is a time of preparation and repentance as we remember Jesus’s path towards his death on the cross for our salvation. Traditionally, Ash Wednesday is a solemn day spent reflecting on our own mortality and need for a savior. Unlike the big Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter, Ash Wednesday and Lent as a whole haven’t picked up much widespread popularity outside of the most traditional churches. It’s almost like dwelling on the fact that one day you won’t be here anymore is kind of a downer, and willfully going without (fasting) is hard.

Even if you don’t put ashes on your forehead or start a forty day fast you can still take time to remember and appreciate the gift of salvation that Jesus gave us. Salvation is something we all needed. Salvation is something we cannot create for ourselves.

Romans 3:21-24 tells us, “…now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”

Try as we might to be our own salvation, we fall short because we are unable to live a sinless perfect life. How hard is it to admit that we don’t have it all together? Actually living really gets in the way of having the perfectly manicured life we’d like to portray. But in this season, we can reflect and remember that we were never asked to live that perfect life. While we were (and are) sinners Jesus died so that we may be forgiven.

In the next forty days I hope you take some time to consider the reason we celebrate Easter.

Love, Obviously

How do you picture Jesus during his last supper with his disciples? In the chapters of John leading up to his arrest in the garden he clearly had a lot to say. Yes, he gave them a head’s up about what was about to happen, but he also spent time reminding them of his most important lessons. If you need a primer on how to treat people, on how to start living the Christian life, then John, chapters 13-17, is a great place to start.

Knowing that he was headed for the cross, he says the following, John 15:12-13 “12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down their life for their friends.” He wants the disciples (and us) to know that he is walking down a path, knowing it leads to death, willingly because of the love he has. Loving another human being will almost always involve some sort of sacrifice.

Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice out of the love he had for us, giving his own life. By the fact that you’re reading this now, I think it’s safe to assume that you haven’t had to sacrifice your own life for a friend. However, I’m sure there are sacrifices big and small you have made for the people that you love. “I don’t really enjoy that restaurant, but I’ll go because I know you do.” “I know you hate doing (household task), so I will take care of it.” “I never thought I’d live there, but I love you enough to trust the call on your life.”

Big or small, we show the love we have for others by the sacrifices we are willing to make for them. And when we combine this with our call to be a force of love for everyone, we learn more about our place in the world. We can focus on building others up. We can choose to put ourselves second. We can live into to the love we have been called to give.

Crisis Averted

I saw a tweet one time that said, “I used to think adulthood was one crisis after another. I was wrong. It’s multiple crises, concurrently, all at once, all the time. Forever.” I would guess that this is a sentiment we could all relate to from time to time. It doesn’t even need to be one giant problem that is crushing you. Sometimes it feels like a death of a thousand cuts; a lot of small problems start stacking up until you’re feeling a little overwhelmed. Then a lot overwhelmed. And all your efforts make it seem like you’re just fighting the tide or running in a dream.

I wish there was an easy way for me to say, “Just do XYZ and you’ll never feel stress again.” There are other people who will try and tell you that, but they are usually trying to sell you something. As the old saying goes the only way out is through. Meaning that, try as we might, the issues that we face in our lives won’t go away by ignoring them. To live into the fullness of who we are called to be we are going to need to learn how to face the tough stuff.

Thankfully for Christians we have assurance that whatever we might need to face we don’t need to face it alone. Isaiah 41 reminds us that God is with us.

Isaiah 41:9-10     
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
    and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
    I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
10 fear not, for I am with you;
    be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

The hardest part of the problems or crises we face is that it can feel like we are lost and alone. Like we must do everything solo. While you will need to face some hard things head on, God wants you to know that he is with you and supporting you in the midst of them.

Clean Out

If you know one thing about me, it’s probably that I’m tall. But if you know two things about me it’s that I’m tall and I’ve moved a lot and lived a lot of places. Southeast, Northwest, Mountains, SoCal, Middle America, been there, done that, lived there. If you have ever moved then you know, moving is stressful. Did everything get packed right? Will those things I hold precious make the journey safely? Then after the truck is unloaded, I know everything is here, but I don’t know where anything is.

Moving also forces you to evaluate. You need to go through all your stuff and decide, “am I going to move this box that hasn’t been opened in nearly a decade, one more time?” (For me I always want to answer yes). Getting rid of the things you don’t need is important, especially when it’s something that slows you down. And as much as we could all use a deep dive of spring cleaning to evaluate the stuff in our attics and basements, I know the same could be said about our hearts, minds, and spirits.

I wish it was as easy to get rid of our mental and emotional baggage as it is to get rid of your ill-fitting clothes or that old CD tower. Unfortunately, it takes a great deal more effort. David in Psalm 51 demonstrates for us the agony and relief that comes with facing the issues you need to deal with. He starts by recognizing his need for help, admitting to his faults, and asking to be forgiven. Each step in the process can take monumental effort, we live in a world where we’re never supposed to admit fault for anything.

Once we can acknowledge our need for change, we can start to do something about it. If it’s safe to do so, reach out and seek or offer forgiveness. Remembering that forgiveness doesn’t need to wait for an apology.

David sums up what we want perfectly in Psalm 50:10-12,
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Evaluating what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of is never an easy proposition. But we can take solace in the fact that we have a patient God who will walk with you through the entire process. You just need to be willing to start.

Moving Forward

There’s a worship song from the early 2000s with a refrain that says, “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord.” The song probably draws from Isaiah 40 which is all about the comfort, blessing, and full glory of God. It’s all about how God will bring peace to the people. God’s promises are good and will stand true forever. God is great and he will tend to us the way sheep are cared for by a shepherd. Isaiah sometimes writes like he knows that you already know what he's telling you. Isaiah knows he’s not telling you anything new, but he’s going to say it anyway.

Unfortunately, there are many times that we need to be reminded of all the things that we already know. Around this time of year, a bunch of people are starting a new fitness journey. We all know that you should have more green food in your diet than brown food. We all know that we should move a little more and sit a little less. This doesn’t change the fact that we can fall into unhealthy patterns and need to be reminded of those things we already know.

Isaiah inspires the aforementioned song in 40:30-31,
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young people shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

I hope we can all remember those days of childhood where you felt like you could run and play forever. Even if now, you only feel it vicariously through the children you are around, that energy is something we all want. When we trust in God’s provision, we can find a new way to experience that energy again.

We can grow, even when growing feels like it takes forever.