The Underdog

Ah, Cleveland.  Defeat after defeat, they marched on, holding to the thinnest thread of hope.  The city had endured 50+ years of no championships in any sport, no grand celebrations, just endless disappointments.  Enter the Cleveland Cavaliers.  They started this year’s NBA finals on a losing streak, down 3-1.  No one had been down that far in the history of the game and then came back to win.  No one, that is, until the underdog Cavs knocked at history’s door and walked right through.  The Cleveland fans were stunned.  They stood there in shock, unsure how to even celebrate because it had been so long since they could.  The fans’ expressions of disbelief slowly gave way to smiles, and even silent tears.  Finally, as the enormity of it all kicked in, there were the hugs, shouts and complete jubilation you would expect.  They finally were able to understand what it felt like to be a champion.

I love those stories, the stories where victory is snatched from the jaws of defeat, where incredible odds have to be overcome and hope is hard to find, but somehow the story ends gloriously.  I like it, that is, until it comes to my own life.  The truth is I’d much rather have the easy win, the quick fix, and a path of victory marked out for me with bright, neon arrows guiding my way.  I don’t want to have to struggle; I don’t want to have to hurt and mourn.  I don’t want to have to sit on the bench, feeling the weight of my failures and burdens cloaked around my shoulders.  I just want to wear the championship ring, hoist the trophy, and bask in the glow of victory.

Life, of course, rarely works that way.  We all of us get knocked around, bloodied by the tragedies and hurts of life in a way that makes it hard to move forward.  We force that smile, give that handshake, and say we’re fine, but in our hearts we wonder if we’ll ever recover.  It’s in that moment of weariness and defeat Jesus steps into the arena, ready to do battle with the demons in our hearts and minds.  He declares, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to declare the year of the Lord’s favor,” (Luke 4:18-19).  When he delivered these words to the battle-weary crowd, their eyes were fastened on him as he added, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing,” (v.20-21). 

Jesus is the 4^th quarter Quarterback, the creator of incredible comebacks when all hope seems lost.  He has taught me how to shake that heavy cloak off my shoulders and to reach for something greater than myself, something infinitely better than a championship ring or a silver trophy: the peace and blessing of a transformed renewed life.  He has taught me how to find deep joy and peace in the middle of life’s storms, to embrace beauty and love even in the face of malice and hatred.  He has taught me that this world is not my home, but that he can achieve great things within my heart and mind if I follow his path as I pass through.  He gives me those neon arrows to direct me toward victory after victory. 

All it took was for me to realize the Master and Creator of the universe actually did have a plan for me, and to embrace the fact that he actually knew far better how to direct my life than I could.  It took wrestling with him in order to give up my need for control.  It took offering up my hurts and my sorrows, and my joys and victories up into his hands.  It took me seeking him out with all my heart, knowing he promised me if I did just that, I would find him. 

So what about you?  Are you still sitting on the bench, wondering why life has left you in the dust?  Are you searching for meaning in the piles of rubble that used to be your life?  Look up, and see God’s hand reaching toward you.  Grab a hold of it so he can pull you up and help you find purpose, peace and joy again.  Then, like the Cav fans, you can experience your own very real, very special come-from-behind victory.   

For Further Thought:  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.”  Think of one way you can run toward Jesus this week, and then go do it!

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Out of Control

I love to be in control.  Janet Jackson sang, “I'm in Control - Never gonna stop; Control - To get what I want.  Control - I like to have a lot.  Control - Now I'm all grown up.”  And I was singing right along with her, determined to be the master of my own destiny, the ruler of my life and my decisions.  No one else was going to tell me what to do!

It’s not all been bad, this need for control.  Certainly I have achieved some things, had an impact in different places.  I’ve made a mark.  But ultimately I’ve learned control is hollow, for along with it comes a need to always know, an inability to let go and trust, the tendency to micromanage everything to try and guarantee a particular outcome, and especially a TON of fear – fear of not knowing, fear of failing, fear of succeeding, fear of a wrong decision, fear of letting go, fear of losing face.  Why?  Control can’t navigate those things perfectly.  They can’t be rehearsed, practiced, manipulated, or perfected prior to execution. 

Control is like a dandelion in the field of my heart.  I pluck off a leaf, but it can easily grow back.  I tear off the entire top, but it just grows back.  I pull it out by what I think is the root, but there are still pieces of it hiding deep in my heart, and it grows up yet again, waiting to take back over.

I am learning the importance of leaning into God each and every day, of sincerely asking Him to direct my steps, to guide my decisions, to lay out His plans before me so I can make them my own, and to ask Him to do what He was designed for (and I am not) – to take control of my life on a day-to-day basis.  Amazingly, He has shown up again and again to bless me, to navigate me in directions that I would have never chosen to go in on my own.  He leads me to places that scare me because I don’t understand how it’s all going to work, or exactly how it’s going to play out.  Yet time and time again, it’s in these exact places I discover the most joy, the most abundance, and the deepest sense of peace. 

I now understand that it’s not about me taking charge at all to see something great happen in my life or in the lives of those around me.  It’s about trusting that God, the Creator of the Universe, the One who knit me together in my mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13), actually does know what’s best for me; and if I lean into Him and trust His direction, even when I don’t understand it, good things happen.

I’m sure you’ve heard it said, “God helps those who help themselves.”  I think there’s some truth to that.  You’ve gotta be moving to be directed.  But there’s a danger to that statement, too, because it assumes you and I know what’s best.  We only need to look back at our life and think of the decisions we’ve made that seemed so great at the time, but for which we now feel nothing but embarrassment and shame.  We don’t always do so well when we’re in complete control.  We don’t tend to be too objective with ourselves.

So each day, I’m making a decision to put God firmly in control. It’s a decision to let go of whatever it is I’m clutching onto firmly in my hands, and instead, offer it up to Him.  The more I let go, the more He takes over and directs me perfectly along a path that is so much better, so much richer than the paths I’ve tried to cut out for myself.  And because He’s driving, I get to sit back and enjoy the journey.  

For Further Thought:  We tend to read this verse only at funerals, but it is an amazing scripture for everyday life!  Psalm 23 says to us:

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.  He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

What is a specific situation you are trying to keep control of right now that belongs in God’s hands?  Think of that situation, and then read through this psalm again.  Open up your hands and let it go into His.  Then fight to keep those hands open!

Filmed in Technicolor

Back in the day when I was a kid and there were still only 3 channels to watch on TV, old movie reruns were the filler most stations would use in-between new episodes of Little House on the Prairie or, if you were lucky enough to get to stay up for it, Charlie’s Angels.  I actually grew to love those old movies!  There were usually big musical numbers, lots of cheesy sets and lots of drama, and each movie almost always closed with a happy ending.  If I was lucky, though, I could watch a movie filmed in Technicolor.  

Technicolor was a unique process that enhanced how a movie was viewed.  Everything was more lush, more vivid and rich.  Greens were greener; blues had a deeper depth than you could find in real life.  Those ruby red slippers in The Wizard of Oz nearly leapt off the screen.  It was almost like watching a living, breathing painting.  Think Gone with the Wind, billed as a Technicolor Spectacle!

Most days, my life is lived in normal color.  It’s vivid and rich, but it’s also real and genuine.  It’s a good life.  Sometimes, though, I find myself squarely inserted into a Technicolor Spectacle.  It can be happy moments, like weddings or graduations, or falling in love.  It can be challenging moments, like funerals, or the diagnosis you didn’t want to hear, or circumstances that feel debilitating.  For whatever reason, life takes on a laser beam focus of intensity, and everything around you seems different, heightened.

I have learned that so much of who I am and who I will be is defined in those Technicolor moments.  How I handle those intense, almost surreal life experiences are part of what directs how I will move on my life’s path.  In the times of overflowing joy, do I remember to stop and mark that moment deep in my heart, expressing gratitude to God for it, cherishing the beauty He has allowed me to experience?   In the times of deep pain, do I remember to stop and recall God’s love and faithfulness to me, and to allow Him to embrace me and hold me through the suffering?

When I struggle, taking out those blessed moments stored deep in my heart remind me I am not alone on my journey.  Those cherished memories remind me that there is joy and beauty beyond the pain I’m currently experiencing; they are a vivid picture of the many ways God has provided for me and will continue to provide and take care of me moving forward.  They remind me that today’s challenging events do not define me, but God’s enduring love for me does.

So when you experience those Technicolor moments in life, remember.  Remember God, remember His many blessings; remember His grace and His profound love for you.  Remember He has a plan for you through all your moments, Technicolor or not, and that His plan is “to prosper you, and not to harm you … to give you a hope and a future,” (Jeremiah 29:11).  In that way, you can experience your own happy ending.   

For Further Thought:  After God declares He knows the good plans He has for us, He then shares, “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart,” (v. 13).  What is one practical way you can take time to seek God in your Technicolor moments?  In your ordinary moments? 

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