For Who You Are

When you're friends with people, what is it that makes you like them? Or if you say you love them, what is your reason? Do you love them because of the things they do? Do you love them because of the things they like or dislike? Do you love them because of their sense of humor? Or do you love them because of who they are?

Over the last several months, God has been showing me a lot about Himself and the things He can do or be for me. He's shown me that He is the firm foundation I can build on if I choose. And when I chose Him, He remained solid. He's shown me that He can lead me if I choose to follow Him. He's shown me that He wants me to be close to Him. He's shown me that I can trust Him. He's shown me a glimpse of His faithfulness and given me promises that I'm excited to see fulfilled. He's shown me His power time and time again as people come to know Him, step out in what He has called them to, and receive healing. And all these things make Him worthy of our worship - worthy of our Love.

But over the last few weeks, He's shown me something more. He doesn't want to be praised because of what He has done or is doing. He doesn't want to be praised because of what He will do. Of course He wants the glory for those things and He wants to be thanked for them. But most of all, He wants to be praised for who He is. 

Our God is worthy of all praise. If He had never done anything for us, if He chose never to do anything for us again, He would still be worthy of praise. He would still be worthy of glory. And He would still be worthy of Love.

After all, He is the creator of the Universe. He is more powerful than any other power in the world. He is wiser than the wisest person in the world. He is faithful to the end. He is pure and righteous. He is strong and protective. He is forgiving. He is holy (a characteristic we will never be able to comprehend in this life).

And He is Love. He doesn't just Love us. He is Love itself. He pours Himself out for each and every one of us to know and experience in our own way. He is the greatest giver in the world just because He is Love.

He is worthy of praise. Not because of what He has done or will do for us. But because He is God. He is worthy of praise because of who He is, and our praise is the best thing we could ever give Him.

Dear God,

I thank You for being You. I am continually amazed by who You are and how You pour yourself out on me everyday. How You give of Yourself to the people of this world. Thank You for being a God who is worthy of praise and glory and honor and worship. Thank you for being a God who deserves all my Love - all my devotion and adoration. Thank You for being the only God who deserves all of that. I praise You for who You are - even if I don't know everything that means. I praise You still, and I can't wait until You show me more of who You are.

Love,

Me

Running After You

"As Jesus was walking along, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector's booth. 'Follow Me and be My disciple," Jesus said to Him. So Matthew got up and followed Him." - Matthew 9:9


If you're out on a hiking trail, what would you rather have - a guide or directions? Before you answer, let me explain the difference.

First, directions. They have to be created by someone who's been there before. They can tell you which way to turn whenever you have a choice to make. They can tell you the major landmarks and probably the places where you'll be likely to take a wrong turn.

Now, a guide. A guide has been on the trail many times before. He knows every little thing about it. He can tell you where every stone is that you might trip over. He can pull the tree branches aside so they don't hit you in the face. He can show you all the beautiful things along the side of the path. When you come to a fork in the road or an intersection, you don't have to stop and figure out which way the map or directions tell you to go, because the guide is there to lead you.

Now you can decide. Which would you rather have? A guide or directions?

Jesus asks us to follow Him. He doesn't want us to just ask Him how to get somewhere. He wants us to follow Him there. He wants to be our guide.

That's something He's been teaching me about - what it means to follow Him. One thing about following Him, is that I have to stay close to Him. Which takes a lot of learning.

Think about your closest friends. You probably know them pretty well. Right? You're so close to them that you know their favorite movie, their favorite music, their favorite place to eat. You know what they dislike. You know what they like to do. And it's not difficult to think the way they would in any given situation. When they ask you to do something for them, you probably don't think twice about it. And you got to that point by talking with them and spending time with them.

It's the same way with God. You get close to Him by being with Him and talking with Him. Eventually you can start to understand the way He thinks. Even if it's not the way you think on your own, you can still choose to see things the way He does. You can understand why He sees them that way. And it makes you happy to see them His way and do things the way He wants them done.

As you get closer to Him, it becomes easier to follow Him. You know Him better, so it's easier to trust Him. You'll be close enough to see the stumbling blocks He points out and avoid them. You'll be close enough to see where He tells you to side step a hole. You'll be able to see and appreciate the small beauties in your life that He points out. You'll even be close enough to see where He wants you to go at those decision-making points. Sure, you'll still have to listen when He tells you where to go, but you won't have to wait as long because you'll hear more quickly.

That's what it means to be a follower of Christ, to let Him be your guide. It means being close to Him, doing what He says to do when He says to do it, without thinking about the alternatives. It means enjoying your life, just because He's a part of it.

When you choose to follow Him, it makes a difference. When Matthew chose to follow Him, he lost his reputation as a "sinner" and left the legacy of a disciple, one of the members of the original church. For me, so far, it's meant discovering how to have a closer relationship with my true Best Friend and how to trust Him more.

What difference will it make in your life when you choose to follow Him?

Teach Me

Ever had one of those tests you had to study for for a really long time? One where it seemed like no matter how much you understood, you still couldn't get it all. Every time you understood something else, you realized there was more you needed to understand that you hadn't realized you needed to know before.

I am realizing that I have so much to learn. God is teaching me stuff left and right. Every time I talk to Him. Every time I step into a church service or something else of that sort. Every time I talk with the friends who push me closer to Jesus. He teaches me something new. Or at the very least helps me understand something that isn't really so new.

Right now, there is a position God wants me to be in. A place where He wants me to be. And I know where that spot is.

There's only one problem. Up until the last week or so, I was trying to learn how to get to that point so I could earn the rewards from it. It's like studying to get an A on a test.

The thing is, getting an A on a test isn't the point of studying. The point of studying is to learn. When it comes to my relationship with God the rewards, the things I want to know, are not the point of where He wants me to be. He wants me to get to that point so that I am closer to Him. Closer to everything He has for me.

So right now, I'm at that point of realizing that everything He taught me about getting to that point isn't just for that. It's about putting those things into practice and being right where He wants me. The more I learn about that, the more I realize that I have a lot left to learn. For instance, I have to learn how to put those things into practice. I have to learn how to make them real in my life.

But as I continue getting closer to Him, He'll get me where I need to be. Sure, there will still be work to do. There will still be more things to learn, but I'll be where I need to be for that moment in time. And eventually He'll give me the things I originally thought were my rewards.

For now though, I'm just going to focus on the point of studying. I'm going to learn what He has to teach me and put it into practice. At the same time, I'll know that I'll get my A+ whenever He is ready to give it to me.

Upon the Rock

You're standing in front of a friend. Your back is to him. He holds out his arms and says, "Trust me." I can trust him. He's never let me down before, you think. So you start to fall backward, not trying to catch yourself.

There's just one thing you didn't count on. Your friend isn't quite as strong as you thought. He's there to catch you. And he does. But he can't hold you up. You still land on the floor. Not hard, and not flat on your back. But it still hurts, because you trusted him not to let you fall.

Now, I want to ask you a question. Who is it that you are trusting to take care of you? Most people you could put your trust in can end up letting you down. Just like the friend in this trust fall scenario. However, there is someone you can trust to always catch you. Even when it seems impossible. Maybe this video clip will give you an idea of what I mean.

Trust has come up a lot recently in my talks with God. It hasn't just been trusting His direction, trusting His plan or even trusting His promises. I think He knows I understand that. (Yes, I could still use some work on them, but I do at least understand them.) What He's working on has been putting all my trust in Him.

He wants me to trust HIM to catch me. Not anyone else. Only Him.

It's difficult. First of all, even though I know He's with me and He's trustworthy, I still can't see Him. I can't audibly hear His voice. And sometimes, that makes things hard. Then there's the real problem.

God has given me some great friends. I really appreciate them, and I thank Him for them daily (or at least I try to remember to do so daily). I know I can trust them, and I know they Love me. I just take that trust a little bit too far sometimes.

The friends God has given me are great. He put them in my life to help me, encourage me, support me, pray for me, teach me. And I could get that list to go on for a while. But they're not perfect. They're going to mess up. Which I can understand. I get that. When it happens, it's not hard to forgive them.

What gets me is change. I do not like change. At all. I hate it. If the friends I have right now could be with me for the rest of my life, I would be perfectly fine with that. But I know they can't be. God wants every one of us to grow. He has places He wants us to go and things He wants us to do. And that means they can't always be with me.

God doesn't change though. He doesn't change, and He doesn't leave. That's why He wants me to trust Him. He wants all of my security to be Him. But He gives me a choice.

He actually makes it pretty clear in Matthew 7 which choice we should make too. He tells of a wise man who builds His house on God and His Word. When times get tough and things start moving, the house stands, because the foundation isn't going anywhere. Then He tells us about a foolish man. The fool builds His house on sand, things that move and fall away. When times get tough, the house falls apart because it's not built on the right things.

About a week ago, God made it very clear that the choice was up to me. I wanted Him to tell me how He was that firm footing, that solid foundation. That's not at all what He told me. Because I already know. He made it very clear that the choice was up to me. I could choose to build my security on Him or I could choose to leave it where it was. It was a very hard choice. I'm still working on it. Every day. But I took the first step toward being secure in Him.

It's changing things, but in a good way. I still get to enjoy my friends and the time I have with them right now. I also get to learn to trust God with those friendships. I have the chance to obey God every single day (not always enjoyable in the moment, but always pays off). Most importantly, I get to build my security on a solid foundation that I don't have to worry about it crumbling underneath me.

That's the best part. When your security is in God, your future is stable. You don't have to worry about how you'll hold things together when something else changes. All you have to do is trust Him and let Him take care of it. All while you enjoy the present.

That freedom is why He wants you to build your house on Him. So do it.

I Give You Control

Have you ever had someone try taking you to a surprise location? Your friend gets you in the car and then won't tell you where you're going. If you're like me, you spend a lot of time trying to figure out where you're going. Based on the direction, you might even think you know where you're going. So you try to plan ahead - what you'll do when you get there, what you need to have there. Not that you can do anything about it, but you try.

So you're riding along, ready to go to the place you have determined is your destination. Just ahead of you, you see the exit you'll have to take. But the driver doesn't seem to realize that she is about to pass the exit. Finally, you say something; you let them know you're about to pass the exit.

"I know," says your friend, but she keeps driving.

That's when you try to take the wheel. You know where you're supposed to be going, and you don't intend to pass it.

Finally, your friend gives in and lets you steer her down the exit ramp. But once you let go of the wheel, she doesn't turn like you expect her to. Instead, she continues driving straight ahead, back up the entrance ramp to the highway.

"What are you doing?" you ask.

"Taking you where I promised you we would go."

"But you just passed it. We were supposed to follow that road."

"I never said that." Your friend looks at you lovingly. "You just assumed. I have plans to go somewhere much better." She smiles and returns her eyes to the road ahead.

Remember when you left that full service gas station and decided to let God come along? When you first get on the road, is He in the passenger seat or is He driving?

When I first let God in the car, when I first started letting Him be a part of my life outside of church, He was most definitely in the passenger seat. I asked Him for input on where I should go. I enjoyed talking to Him and spending time with Him. But He was definitely not in control. I still had my own plans, and I was set on following them. I thought I knew where God wanted to take me, so I started driving there.

Last school year, God threw in some new instructions. I chose to follow them. That's when confusion ensued. These new instructions turned me away from my plans. Kind of. He didn't completely change my direction, but He did adjust it.

Just because I chose to follow those instructions didn't mean it was easy. All of a sudden, I had no clue where I was going. I still knew which way I was heading, but I didn't know my destination anymore. It was rough because I still wanted to know. Without knowing, I didn't have a lot of control. In essence, I had allowed God to take me past what I thought was my exit, but I still wanted to be driving. I wanted to know where I was going so I could get there.

But God didn't want me to know. He wanted me to trust Him. He wanted me to give Him control. It was hard, but I finally did it. I learned how to say, "I don't know." I learned how to be alright with just letting God direct me where He wanted without begging for directions so I could get myself there. I knew He would tell me His plan when the time was right.

The only problem is that giving God control means that He does eventually get off the highway. He eventually takes an exit, whether it's an exit you like or not.

That happened to me this summer. Well, kind of. I'm not actually to the exit yet, but I can see it, and I can see that God is steering me in that direction.

To put it simply, I was not happy when I noticed where God was starting to steer me. That direction (and ultimately the destination it leads to) scares me. If I had still had plans, it would have completely changed them. One thing is for sure. It was something I never wanted to do. At all.

My solution - I tried to take the wheel back. I tried to get back in the driver's seat. I wanted to continue down the highway without knowing where it would lead. The thing is, not knowing wasn't stretching me anymore. It wasn't making me grow. And, well, God wants me to grow.

So if I wanted to let Him stay in control, I actually had to accept that I have an idea of His plans for my life, even if I don't know the specifics. It gives me a lot more room to grow. If for no other reason, because I have to prepare for that new destination. But more than anything, I have to learn how to really trust God and where He's taking me more than I ever have before. For me, it took a realization of two things to be able to leave God in control.

Number one. I had to realize where my purpose comes from. If I'm not living in God's purpose for my life, then I don't really have a purpose at all. And if I don't really have a purpose, I'm not going to be happy with my future. Simple, but still not easy to accept.

Number two. I can't fight with God. I've never been able to. I've tried. And I always fail. For two reasons. The first being fairly obvious. He's God. Eventually, God will get His way. Even if He finds someone else to do the job, He gets it done.

The second reason is that I care a lot about what God wants from me. I don't want to disappoint Him. I see Him as my Daddy, as my Best Friend. So I really want to make Him proud of me, to make Him happy with what I do. So even when I do decide I want to fight Him to get my way, I end up fighting myself at the same time. I end up fighting myself over whether I will let God win or force my own way when I know it's not the best way for me to go. And again, God ends up winning.

When God reminded me of that, I finally told Him yes. I told Him that I would let Him stay in control. I would let Him continue to direct me. I'm still not sure I actually want to go where I think He's taking me, but I know I will want to by the time He gets me there. And I'm willing to start heading there now, even though I know I'm not ready to be there. And that's what is important right now. I'm letting God move me toward that exit lane and moving forward at His rate.

He's teaching me to listen. He's teaching me to be a leader of His people. He's teaching me to trust Him with everything. And He's taking me to His destination for me one step at a time. He has control.

I hope you'll give God control of your life too. Let Him do more than fill you. Let Him drive you too. It's a day-by-day choice, though. You can give Him control one day and try to wrestle it back the next, but once you get used to it, giving Him control isn't as difficult as it was initially. It gets easier every time you do it.

Sit back and relax. You're the passenger on this journey of life. Let God take you where He wants and watch what He does. The things He takes you through will amaze you. And the final destination will be even more beautiful than the road there.

Take the Wheel

Now you’ve pulled into that full service station. You’ve got enough fuel to keep going. You’re ready to get back on the road and keep driving.

You put the key in the ignition and put the car in gear. As you’re about to move your foot from the break to the gas pedal, you look up. The attendant is still standing there. You’re confused. He already did his job of filling your gas tank, and you paid. What else could he possibly want? So you step on the gas and pull out, leaving the attendant standing there.

Why would the attendant still be standing there? There could be two reasons (at least that I can think of). Number one: he wants to talk to you some more, to get to know you more. (Yes, I know that would be strange in today’s society.) Number two: there’s more that he can do to prepare you for your journey.

Now, back to your driving. You've got a full tank of gas. You are fully capable of continuing to drive. Well, at least you thought so. You forgot that you needed power steering fluid. When you try to turn, it's much harder than it should be. Then you look at your windshield. Suddenly, it seems filthy. Even in the few places you can see, it's difficult and obstructed by all the dust and dead flies on the window. You have to slow down drastically to avoid crashing. Then you look down at your dashboard. The oil light is on, and you have no clue how long it's been on. That's when you feel the gears in your car start locking into place. Even though the car has the fuel to keep going, it's resisting movement.

That's when you look up at your rearview mirror. You're still fairly close to the gas station. That's when you see him. The attendant is still sitting there waiting on you. He knows you're about to come back.

Again, that attendant waiting for you to return is God. When you leave your time with Him, He stays. He stays because He wants more time with you. He wants to know you better. And He knows that you need more from Him.

It's important to stay full of God's Love. His Love give you the energy and the ability you need to keep moving. But His Love does so much more than that. In a sense, God's Love can be your fuel, your power steering fluid, your oil and your window cleaner. You just have to let Him work on all those areas of your life.

There are times during your walk with God that you're going to need to change directions. When you're spending time with God, that change of directions is much easier. We're confident in His direction and our ability to hear from Him. We're confident in our ability to follow what He has told us to do. No matter how much resistance we face from other people, God's Love is there to bless us and help us make that turn. It's like our power steering fluid.

No matter where you are in life, you need direction. You need to know when to turn or when to continue in the direction you're headed. But without someone telling you where to go and when, it can get hard. More than one decision might seem like the right one. No decision may seem right. That's another reason we need to spend time with God. He is our window washer. God is the only one who knows where each path will lead us if we take it. So when we listen to Him, He'll make it clear where He wants us to go and how to get there. He'll show us the next step on our journeys. We won't have to slow down to try to figure out where to go. We'll be able to hear His direction right away when we spend time with Him.

Then there's those directions God gives us that we don't want to follow. He tells us something that scares us or that completely goes against all our plans. Or it just doesn't make sense. If we're not spending time with Him, not receiving a continual outpouring of His Love, we'll lock up. Even if we can see where He wants us to go and we can tell that He's making it possible, we resist. We quit moving because we don't want to go where He's taking us. But when we spend time with Him, we learn to trust Him. We know that He Loves us too much to send us somewhere we'll hate or somewhere we won't succeed. We learn to trust that His plans are better than we can imagine and that they're truly good for us. So no matter how much we don't want to, we'll trust His plans and direction, His Love, enough to obey. We won't lock up when He tells us to go those places we don't want to go. We'll run like a well-oiled machine.

God wants to do all that for us. He wants to give us enough Love, wants us to experience His Love, so much so that we stay full. We keep coming back so we stay full of Him. We keep coming back so He can help us through those tough times. So He can give us clear direction. So we'll obey His direction. But He wants more than that.

He wants that time with us so He can have a relationship with us. He never wants us to leave Him. But He knows that we can't just stay in one place forever. And if we did, it would defeat our purpose as His children. We're supposed to be a witness to other people, so we can't always stay alone with God.

That's why God asks to be a constant part of our lives. When we pull away from the station, when we leave that time alone with Him, He still wants to be with us. We need to let Him into the car. And since He's the one who really knows what He's doing anyway, we may as well move over and let Him take the wheel. Let Him not only take care of our lives, but control them. That's when we'll really stay full of Him.

The Cup in Your Hand

Last week, God retaught me the lesson that I need to be filled with more of Him and His Love everyday. Hopefully, this time I actually learned it. But this weekend, I got to go on a retreat, a whole weekend dedicated to letting Him refill me. And He continued to teach me.

If you read what I wrote last week, you know how I compared being filled with God and His Love to a car that is filled with gasoline. Having that quality time with Him is like pulling into the gas station. Now, here's something else to think about. That gas station is full service.

Think about a full service gas station. What do drivers have to do there? They don't have to do anything. All they have to do is tell the attendant what they want, what they need, and allow the attendant to take care of it. All have they have to do is pull into the station. When they pull into the station, the attendant asks them what they need done to the car, and does it. Then they pay the attendant and keep driving.

Being filled with God is really similar. He is a full service God. First we have to take the time and make the effort to spend time with Him. He's waiting there for us. As soon as we get alone with Him, He's ready to come fill us up. He comes to us and waits for us to tell Him what we want and what we need. Once we tell Him, He waits for us to open our hearts to receive from Him. When we do that, He goes to work. He starts filling our hearts and our lives. And it's wonderful.

It's beautiful to know you are full and to be confident that you can continue moving forward until time for the next refilling. It's beautiful to know that you didn't have to expend any energy to fill up. All you had to do was sit back and drink from the cup God holds out to you.

Just like the attendant at the gas station expects payment, God expects something in return to. He asks that you just love Him back. That's all.

Then, you can go out and keep running. Just like a car that leaves the gas station with a full tank can keep driving. You can go out and follow the road God wants you to take. You run the race He has given you. You show people how to get to Him and when it is time, you go back and get refilled. You just make sure that it's before you start running on empty again.

Yep. That's what being filled means.