Letting Go of Everything Good

I want to follow You, but where You're leading me
I don't want to go
I want to follow You, but where You're leading me
I don't want to go

I know that in the end I'll be where I'm 'sposed to be
I'm just not so sure of this road You've put me on....but

I'm letting go of everything good
For the hope of something better
I don't know what lies ahead
I only know I am trusting You
So I'm letting go

This road is so full of questions that I
Am too afraid to ask
This road is so full of questions that I
Am too afraid to ask

But like a child, I'll ask them anyway
I may not understand your words, but Your voice is the love I needed to hear....so

I'm letting go of everything good
For the hope of something better
I don't know what lies ahead
I only know I am trusting You
So I'm letting go

Just a few thoughts.....

Just a few thoughts from things I have been reading lately:

Romans 13:10 "Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God's requirements." I just think sometimes we make "doing the right thing" way to hard. I remember a speaker at a conference once saying "quit praying for 32 days about what God wants you to do and as long as it is following what Jesus said was the greatest commandment, loving people, and as long as you don't have any blaring red flags going off in your head, JUST DO IT. Just love people already." (That was paraphrased but it was similar to that.) And I think this verse really supports that. I need to be better at that, because I make deciding what is the right thing way to complicated most of the time.

1 Corinthians 1:22 "God's way seems foolish to the Jews because they want a sign from Heaven to prove it is true. And it is foolish to the Greeks because they believe only what agrees with their own wisdom." How true is this....beyond the Jew/Greek divide. What are the things that trip people up about the way God is doing things? Usually because it isn't obvious enough or because they can't make it fit into their understanding of God. Well, change your understanding of God. God's plan is sometimes neither obvious nor within our comprehension.

I've always known gravity was real...

I hate what comes natural to me.

I think there is faith to a greater intensity in things you once believed to be false or did not know existed than faith in the things you have always believed to be true. How can there be passion in things you have always believed to be true? How many people passionately believe in the force of gravity and go around trying to convince others of it's reality? But how passionately did Isaac Newton believe in the science of gravity once he discovered how it worked? How much time did he spend trying to explain it to others and get them to understand? How can you convince yourself of something you have been conditioned to believe by your culture and family values since birth?

I think that because I have been raised in Christianity, I am doomed to living as a Christian by default. Everyone reacts to situations and perceives things based on their life experiences, belief systems etc...and I always react and operate out of a Christian mentality without thinking about it. It's not even second nature, it's like first nature.

And I hate it.

Churches and Christian authors always talk about the path to acting like a Christian by second nature and having victory over our sinful nature--what a good thing that is--but I hate it. I hate it because it feels too robotic, thoughtless, programmed, routine and mechanical.

I don't want to believe because I always have, but I do. It doesn't make the fact that I believe any less real or true, just harder to be passionate about. It makes it harder to explain when someone asks you why you believe.

What reason can I give except that I have always believed because when it comes down to it, I just believe?

What motivation can there be behind the progression of my life-long relationship with the Lord other than that it has always been something I have given time, energy and thought to?

I've always known gravity is real and will always expect what goes up to come down, but it's a thought that never leaves the walls of my subconscious.

A dichotomy?

I have learned something recently--

It is possible to be content and want something at the same time.

Now wait, I know this sounds like a "duh" statement, something you wouldn't even think twice about. But I feel like so many times in the Christian world we are told to be content and contentment is the absence of longing. But I simply don't believe this to be true anymore.

In what I call "Brio" Christianity (Brio maganize) young girls are encouraged to be content in being single and not obsess over wanting a guy etc...and even when they get older, it is considered some heroic feat of faith to be one of those girls who is completely content to just wait infinitely in singleness and not want a relationship. This has become idealized so much in our Christian circles, that it almost makes it seem as though those who want relationships are less of a Christian, not as mature. But I just don't buy that.

I am single. And I am content in that--I'm okay with it. But, at the very same time, I also want someting more as well--and I think that is okay.

I agree with the concept behind the "Brio Christianity" idea of not obsessing over wanting and relationship etc--it's not healthy to be consumed by something you want. But I also don't think it's healthy to supress a God-given longing inside of you and deny that is there out of some miscontstrewed sense of contentment.

This is why I think it is possible to be content and want more at the same time. These two emotions or states of being do not have to war against each other.

This doesn't just apply to relationships...it can apply to a lot of ares; careers, families, circumstances, finances, churches---the list is endless. I can be content with the job I have while still wanting more or looking for other opportunities. I can be content with the money I make and still hope to make more to provide even more for my family or give more to missions etc...I can be content with the way my church is and still hope for greater things for it. I can be content that I am single and still be looking for someone and acknowledge that's what I want.

Contentment is not the absence of longing, but rather, the ability to want something more while still appreciating what you have.

I can't sleep but I'll take my chances to hear You call my name

I have recently discovered the band Tenth Avenue North and here are some of my recent favorite lyrics:

How long must I pray, must I pray to You?
How long must I wait, must I wait for You?
How long 'til I see Your face, see You shining through?
I'm on my knees, begging You to notice me.
I'm on my knees, Father will you turn to me?

One tear in the driving rain,
One voice in a sea of pain
Could the maker of the stars
Hear the sound of my breakin' heart?
One light, that's all I am
Right now I can barely stand
If You're everything You say You are
Won't You come close and hold my heart

I've been so afraid, afraid to close my eyes
So much can slip away before I say goodbye.
But if there's no other way, I'm done asking why.
Cuz I'm on my knees, begging You to turn to me
I'm on my knees, Father will you run to me?

One tear in the driving rain,
One voice in a sea of pain
Could the maker of the stars
Hear the sound of my breakin' heart?
One light, that's all I am
Right now I can barely stand
If You're everything You say You are
Won't You come close and hold my heart.

So many questions without answers, Your promises remain
I can't sleep but I'll take my chances to hear You call my name
To hear You call my name

One tear in the driving rain,
One voice in a sea of pain
Could the maker of the stars
Hear the sound of my breakin' heart?
One light, that's all I am
Right now I can barely stand
If You're everything You say You are
Won't You come close and hold my heart.

Hold my heart, could you hold my heart?
Hold my heart.

I just want to take a second and testify to how good God is. He always fills every need and is so good to give me everything I actually need. Lately, I have been in a place of feeling devalued, my self-esteem has taken some huge blows--and God has been so good to remind me in little ways, through small comments made by friends who think nothing of them, or by guys just treating me especially well, that I am valued and loved. He has built me up just when I needed it most.

"So many questions without answers, Your promises remain
I can't sleep but I'll take my chances to hear You call my name"

Yes. Yes and yes a million times yes.

Serenity Prayer and Beyond

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at at time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting He will make all things right if I surrender to His will, that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.

The first part of this prayer is so popular and most people, including until recently, me, don't know the second half of this prayer even exists. But how great it is--so many good thoughts in so few words. Obviously, the most thought-provoking part of this prayer to me right now is the part that says "taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it." That is so hard for me because there are so many times that I want to only accept the world, and especially the people in it, on my terms, when they are living in ways that I can handle, in ways that I deem appropriate or acceptable. It's hard for me when I can't see the end result and the unknown is my nemesis. It's like a thorn in my soul--I can't handle the unknown. But, I want to be able to take it one day at a time and accept whatever situation with the love, grace and understanding that Christ did while still maintaining His character lived out. Life is such a process--and it's about that journey and about the destination. Both matter. Both are important. Both are hard. Both are worth it. And I want to do both well. What good is it if I get to the destination and either missed out on the experience of getting there because the destination was all I could see, or, if I reach the destination frazzled and in a tizzy because I could never see past my current circumstances and then one day I am suddenly smacked in the face with the end? I want to get to my destination worn out from the hard work I put in, but not frazzled as a result of severe short-sighted, tunnel vision.

Equal to the Task

My worship ministry class is amazing. We read the first chapter from the book Created for Worship by David Jackman and it had a lot of really good stuff to say--however, it was a slightly tedious reading so I'll skip to the two main, profound thoughts for me:

1. "The people of God are empowered by God in the context of their worship and in the ministry of the Word and Spirit that forms the matrix of their life as the worshipping community of God. Conversely, the discussion of idolatry throughout the Bible is predicated on the assumption that those who worship idols are seeking power from them, either for such blessings as fertility and fruitfulness, or for victory in battle and expansion of their empires. In this way the Temple-Sanctuary of God is the place of his people's protection and empowerment, while the temple-sanctuaries of the idols exist as sinful alternatives to this place of true empowerment." This was big for me because it gave me a whole new perspective and understanding of the degree of the severity of idolatry. I mean--the fact that I would choose to worship something/someone other than God is bad enough--but once I started to understand what a dangerous place that puts me in made me want to not only worship the right person, but it made me want to do it whole heartidly. In light of how big of a deal worship is, I am begining to think that a lot of the inner struggles in life, the struggles going on around us that we don't see in the spiritual realm are a batle for who we worship--worship including Sunday mornings from 10-11, our life style, the essence we live our lives out of, our church activities. Wow.

2. The book also talks about Jesus's role as a Davidid King, Priest and Second Adam etc.It talked about how one of the major responsibilities of the King of Israel was to lead the people in right worship. "His mission as the great Davidic King would hinge entirely on His worship of God. Its successful outcome woul be a worshipping people, led by His own faithfulness to the throne of His Father." Now--I'm not Davidic King or anything--I don't lead nations in worship--but I started thinking about my own role in leading worship and realized that in order to be the best worship leader I can, I must first be the best, most dedicated worshipper I can. In whatever worship ministry God places me in will "hinge entirely on [my] worship of God--led by [my] own faithfulness to the throne of [my] Father." This makes me breathe a little easier because it's not about me having all the skills and abilities and answers--but at the same time--knowing that my personal relationship with Christ will effect the success of my ministry is a humbling, exciting, overwhelming, challenging and intense thought.

These have been my thoughts the last few days. In church last week, the speaker encouraged us to ask God two questions "What can I do for You?" and "Lord, please make me equal to the task."

Indeed, Lord--make me equal to the task.

2.