The Common Good

Did you know each and every special piece inside of you was put there for a purpose?  Stop and think about that for a second.  Your creativity, your drive, your energy, your compassionate heart, your ability to care for others, your ability to make money, your ability to dispense wisdom, give hugs, and dry tears – whatever it is you are good at, it was placed there for a reason.  Maybe you’re the one who knows how to rally people behind a cause, or who is able to break down walls folks build to divide themselves from each other.  You could be that mom who is great at effectively building into your kids, or that dad who knows how to be emotionally present for his.  

Your strengths may show up in the boardroom, the golf course, or in the music you play.  It could be in the way you persevere long after others have quit, and you see the reward of that labor.  Maybe you’re the one who people just naturally open up to, instinctually realizing you get it.  We, all of us, inspire, teach, challenge, nurture, uplift and build into each other in whatever way we are blessed if we choose to do so. 

In 1 Corinthians 12:7 we are told, “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”  Hmm.  That means every good thing God has placed within me is meant for something, and that something should build into the common good.

Understanding this idea of my strengths serving a purpose far greater than me has revolutionized the way I view who I am and why I am here.  For me, I have a tendency to want to minimize my strengths, to make light of them, minimizing or discrediting who I am.  Other times, I can struggle with wanting to take all the credit, to be sure I’m acknowledged and properly recognized.

Once I began to really grab a hold of the fact that, “every good and perfect gift is from above,” (James 1:17) it changed how I operated.  I can take that compliment now because I realize not doing so is also not acknowledging God working through me.  I can surrender the credit I sometimes crave because I know it’s not really my credit to take anyway; it’s a gift given from God through me.

It never honors God when you and I make a decision to be less.  Thinking it’s all you, or not at all about you when God is clearly choosing to work through you, keeps you from really embracing the amazing man or woman God designed you to be.  You miss all the incredible ways, big and small, He is working through you to create a better world.  

So how are you using your gifts God’s Spirit has placed within you?  How are you doing at acknowledging and embracing them?  But be aware—the more we grab a hold of God’s gifting in each of our lives to use for His good purposes, the more gifts and blessings He gives! 

For Further Thought:  What is one gift God has placed within you that you have a hard time acknowledging and embracing?  What is one gift within you that is easy for you to minimize or make light of?  How might God be looking to use these internal gifts to encourage and build into others?  If you’re up for the challenge, look for someone you can share this gift with as a way to honor God.  

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Empty Spaces

A small child sat happily in the soft, green grass gingerly examining a single red rose.  Its petals were soft, like silk to the touch.  The thorns had been carefully removed, leaving the stem smooth enough to run her little finger over.  She marveled at the beauty of this individual rose, at the delicate yet heady scent that greeted her whenever she leaned in close.

As she sat there, lost in admiration, her father approached her, a broad smile on his face.  He leaned toward her, one arm down in invitation, the other tucked behind his back.  She looked up and grinned at her papa, for it was he who had given her the single rose. 

“My child,” her father said softly, “please give me the rose.” 

The child was torn.  She loved her papa, but she didn’t understand why he would want to take away her beautiful rose.  Why could he possibly want it?  She had admired it so carefully, so tenderly.  Didn’t he trust her?  Didn’t he sense the deep joy this single flower gave her?  With tear-filled eyes, she asked, “Why, Papa?  I love this rose.  Why can’t I keep it?”

  

“You must trust me, my child,” he answered quietly. 

Reluctantly, despite her fear and confusion, the child slowly handed the beautiful rose over to her father.  He smiled broadly at her, and said, “Because you’ve trusted me, and given me something you love, I have something for you in return.”  From behind his back he pulled out an entire bouquet of exquisite roses, each perfect and flawless in its beauty.  Delight washed over her as he gently placed the bouquet in her arms for her to keep.

I have been that child, and I suspect so have you.  There comes a time when God is calling us to leave behind something, sometimes even something we’ve loved and enjoyed.  What we need to let go of isn’t bad; in fact, sometimes it’s very, very good.  It could be a career, a relationship, a very specific personal dream, or even the current path you find yourself on in your life. Yet all the same, God is asking us to let it go, to return it to His hands.  

And like that child, we can feel that sense of fear and confusion, of hurt and pain, when God first asks us to let go.  In that moment, we don’t know what He has waiting behind His back.  We don’t know or understand what God has in store for us; we can’t see what He already knows. 

Sometimes the moment of letting go is the hardest part of faith.  I can stubbornly cling to my rose, unwilling to trust what I can’t understand.  God has a way of gently prying my fingers loose, of helping me trust in those moments He has something even greater in the wings, just waiting, if I will simply take that leap of faith.  I have found there is real power that comes from the letting go. 

Most often, though, it’s the moments in-between that challenge me, the moment right after I’ve firmly relinquished the rose but have yet to receive the bouquet.  God has called me to something richer, something greater.  Sometimes I even know what it is He’s leading me to.  Still, nothing has happened yet.  I’m taking my first fledging steps forward on a new path He’s marked out for me, and the space that was once full is now empty.  I can look back longingly at what was familiar, forgetting to keep my eyes focused faithfully forward.  I fight to want to take the rose back again.  It was, after all, a perfectly fine rose. 

It’s in those in-between moments that I have learned and grown the most in my faith.  When you leap off a cliff, there is fear, yes, but there is also freedom, exhilaration, and a wild trust that fills your soul with determination.  But more importantly, there is a sense of awe, of joy and wonder when God catches you in His arms and shows you the amazing gift He has in store for you.  And the more you and I leap, the more we experience God’s presence showing up in profound ways in our lives, the deeper our confidence grows, and the greater our impact on this world becomes.  We shine even more brightly because we’re stepping out to take hold of the destiny God created for us to live long before we entered this world. 

So I cling to my faith during those in-between times.  I remember my dad is a good, good Father, fully able to bring me to a new and better space.  That thought, that knowledge, helps me not to fear the void, but instead to wait expectantly for His next gift.  What about you? 

For further thought:  What are you holding onto in your life that God might be asking you to let go of?  Remember, sometimes what He asks us to let go of is good and right.  Never forget: what He wants to replace it with is always better.  “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he promised … [for] faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see,” (Hebrews 10:35-36, 11:1).

Soar

I am not afraid of my sin.  That may sound odd, but it is one of the most freeing statements I could possibly make.  My idea of “sin” has been so radically transformed over the last few years, and in a way that’s hard to put into words, but I will try.

I have viewed sin in many ways over my lifetime.  When I was young, it was the forbidden fruit I wasn’t supposed to eat, but somehow knew would taste sooo good.  There was a time when I was paralyzed by all the sin I saw within me, so overwhelmed and broken over how far I was from God in my heart.  I was wrapped in fear, constantly working to root out any sin that might be lingering within me somewhere that would keep me from God.  It was exhausting!

What God has shown me as I’ve gone through deep challenges and trials, things I had thought to avoid by all that spiritual digging I described above, is that sin isn’t really my enemy.  It’s not what gets me “in trouble” with God; it’s not something I'm meant to whip myself with over and over again.  Sin is merely what gets in the way of me seeing the hand of God’s grace reaching toward me to lift me up and move me forward, to embrace His joy, peace, compassion and emotional freedom. 

Nowadays, I find my “sin” or mistakes or poor choices, past and present, freeing.  Why?  They propel me toward God’s amazing grace.  When I look down at who I am on my own, broken and scarred, weak and fallible, and then I lift my eyes to my God, who views me as sacred space, as special, precious, valuable, worthy and loved, it profoundly moves me.  Every time.  That He would love me so deeply, so completely, humbles me to my very core.  That He then turns around and leads me to beauty and transformation and joy in my personal life, giving me victory after victory, lifting me time and again from the ashes of my challenges, overwhelms me with gratitude words can’t express.

Don’t get me wrong.  I still hate sin.  I hate the damage it does to people, the way it limits us and cuts us off from a better way of life that Jesus Himself carved out for us. I believe that’s why God hates sin.  He hates to see us hurting.  In my own life what I hate about sin is how it takes my eyes off of God and puts them firmly on me.  When I’m fearful, angry, anxious and impatient, I lose some of that sense of connection I share with God, and the deep peace and joy only He can give.   

Yet now, I know without doubt God is greater than my sin, and Jesus has destroyed its power over me today and evermore.   I don’t have to worry about not seeing God’s hand.  He carries me in His arms, and my name is carved in the palm of His hand.  He knows how to break through and still reach me in the midst of my trials.  He lifts me up; He stoops down to make me great.  And that freedom, that sense of refuge, allows me to spread my wings and soar!

For Further Thought:  Every positive statement I shared is based on a scripture from the Bible.  I’ve listed several below*.  This week, take a moment each day to read these spiritual truths and claim them as your own.  The more you operate from a position of God’s love and strength, the higher you will find He is able to make YOU soar!

WEDNESDAY: Isaiah 40:27-31, Romans 8:38-39

THURSDAY: Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 103:11-12

FRIDAY: 1 John 3:19-20, Jeremiah 29:11

SATURDAY: Psalm 34:18, John 16:33

SUNDAY: Isaiah 49:16, Ephesians 3:18

MONDAY: Psalm 146:3-7, I John 4:4

TUESDAY: Psalm 18:35, Psalm 91:18-19, Ephesians 1:17-21

*Don’t own a Bible?  No worries!  Go to biblegateway.com, type in each scripture and it will appear.  You can even check out different translations of the same verse.  Super easy and quick :-) 

Surrounded by Truth

If you walk into my office or my home on any given day, you will see the normal paraphernalia laying around—family pictures, personal mementos and what not.  But if you look carefully, you will also notice something else: quotes, images and lists displayed in key places.  Sometimes I have a scripture or two written on my bedroom mirror; sometimes they show up on my bathroom mirror.  I always have a few verses and quotes within my immediate eyesight by my office desk.  My action list is always at my desk.  I have a vision board, something God and I prayerfully craft together each year that is a visual representation of what He’s leading me toward.  I have two very specially crafted scrolls, rolled up in such a way that only God and I know what’s written in them, but they contain the life goals God has laid out for me.  All around me, I constantly surround myself with God’s spiritual truths for me. 

When you’re under attack, when you’re feeling demoralized and empty, you need constant reminders of how precious, how important, how sacred you are to God, because let me tell you—everything else around you is going to try to tell you otherwise!  In the midst of all the put downs, let downs, and hard to swallow realizations, knowing the greatest presence of all is in your corner is sometimes the only ray of light in what can feel like a very small, very dark tunnel. 

There have been times where I’ve read one of my spiritual truths, and have broken down sobbing, holding onto that scrap of paper or my Bible like the true lifeline it was.  That truth was the only positive, good thing I had in the midst of a lot of ugly.  It was the only thing that kept me holding on, to remind my of my sacred places.  That’s why it’s so important!

Your truths you post should tie into what you are most wrestling with or needing consistent reminders of.  So if you always strive for perfection, your scriptures/quotes/images may focus on accepting that your best is enough.  If you struggle with defining yourself by how others view you, your scriptures/quotes/images may be the important reminders your need that it’s your own path you walk, not someone else’s, so you need to define yourself by God’s view of you; you have nothing to prove to anyone else.  If you’re like me, they will probably be a combination of a few things.

Post them anywhere you need to in order to keep those ideas on your radar.  I have even been known to place some favorite quotes or most salient goals on my car dashboard so whenever I drive, I read it and remember.  It doesn’t need to be anything fancy or creative, unless creating them that way inspires you.  Some of mine have been crafted with absolute care; some are written on torn scraps of paper.  How isn’t nearly as important as actively placing these reminders of worth and intentionality all around you.  

Keeping your goals and action steps visible is equally important.  How many times have you made a list you felt great about, only to misplace it and dig it out months or years later, never to have completed a single item?  The enemy will do everything he can to distract you.  That’s why posting them around you is so important.  King David, a man who overcame intense life obstacles, understood this when he said, “I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways,” (Psalm 119:15).  Meditation and contemplation both imply lots of time going over something again and again until it becomes deeper, richer and more tangible in your life. 

Inevitably, someone always asks me if surrounding myself with positive truths actually works.  In other words, do I always look at them and somehow feel instantly refreshed and faithful.  Uh … no.  Of course not!  Most days, they’re just sort of there in the background, brief visual reminders that I’m not on this journey alone.  Still, I have discovered that over time, keeping my spiritual truths and goals around me helps me to internalize them, to really begin to own them and make them mine.  The scriptures, quotes, goals, lists and images around me also change and evolve as I change and evolve, and they reflect God’s ongoing refinement of my life’s vision.

Yes, there have also been times I’ve thrown that paper or my Bible down with disgust, mad and hurting, or in frustration threw my list in a drawer and slammed it shut.  But in the end I always come back and pick it up again, doing battle to stay centered with my Creator.  So even though I’ve lost some individual battles, I grab a hold of my bravery and allow God to remind me He will always win the overall war.  And He has, time and time again. 

So even if it feels silly to you, post a few spiritual truths around you in conspicuous places.  We’re called to focus on, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart],” (Philippians 4:8, AMP).  Keeping your spiritual truths and goals around you is an integral part of that process, and over time you will begin to appreciate their value.

For Further Thought:  This week, post a favorite scripture/quote/image somewhere you will consistently see it and make a point of noting it throughout the day, however briefly.  Better yet, set some time aside to meditate on it, and on what God is trying to teach you through it.  Not sure where to start?  A great place to find scriptures is at biblegateway.com.  It's an easy way to go search for your own spiritual truths so you can allow God to build into you.