Recalibrating

My guilty pleasure is watching Survivor. To win that show, everyone must lie. And those being lied to must become lie detectors. Sometimes the lies are so interwoven that I cannot imagine how the contestants sort out the truth. I watch as each person clings to what they believe is truth—only to be blindsided and voted off the island.

Lately, I’ve begun to see Survivor played out in real life. When I get focused on the issues at hand, I can become frustrated, frantic, worried, or even angry. Living in this world is hard. We act atrociously and believe lies. We pick “our truth” out of the pile and cling to it as if we are the only ones wise enough to see it. Then we draw lines in the sand and throw rocks at those who believe differently. So…who gets voted off the island?

While reading Isaiah 40, it occurred to me that redirecting my focus to God gives me a handle on those indiscernible lies—and on my own destructive thoughts. How long has it been since I stopped my negative thought process just to look at God? And what is the point of it?

I know He is unfathomably big, all-powerful, and all-knowing. I understand that. But have I stopped to consider just how big?

How does that benefit me?

Ah…that’s the thing. It wasn’t written merely for my instruction—it was written for my state of mind. It points me in the right direction. It is praise. And praise helps me visualize truth. Praise changes me.

So let’s take a moment in the middle of a busy day to step into the room next to God. Let’s peek around that golden curtain.

In the Bible, many passages try to describe Him. Maybe it’s time to stop and wonder at what they say. And by wonder, I mean imagine. Imagine the sights and sounds of His majesty.

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From Isaiah 40

12-15,17-18,21-26 NIV

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?

Who can fathom the Spirit of the LORD, or instruct the LORD as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding? 

Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. 

With whom, then, will you compare God? To what image will you liken him? Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? 

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. 

He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.  

“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

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Now how do you feel?

Do you feel a little less important?

Do those shouting different “truths” still matter as much?

Did some of that multitude of worries melt away?

This resets my hard drive.

My challenge:

Pick a passage that speaks of the greatness of God and place it somewhere you’ll see it throughout your day. Then maybe—just maybe—it will become part of you…a way to settle your mind when you feel lost in this world of lies, fear, anger, or frustration.

Short Blog Update

Well, friends, life has been happening. A month has slipped by since my last “weekly” post.  Between loss of our dog, rebound puppy shopping, and politics unchained it has been hard going. My inspiration for blogging has been crowded out by a million and one concerns of the moment. I feel like George Jetson on the floating treadmill screaming, “Jane, stop this crazy thing!” And yes, that is an old school reference so I will include a video clip.

The saving grace has been my Bible study group. They are mighty prayer warriors and women after God’s own heart. Since every one of them is or has been a teacher, they are not shy about sharing their Spirit-inspired thoughts and it is most obvious to me that God is sitting with us around our table.

I say this to hopefully inspire you to find a group to meet with if you don’t already. Finding a group involves a lot of seeking and a ton of discernment. But it is a lifeline in the storm of life. 

 There are so many life lessons we can learn from sports. The applications are limitless and I don’t think that is a coincidence. While playing a game of keep away, have you ever seen someone engage eye contact with the opponent while quickly tossing the ball to a teammate? And because the opponent’s focus was on the wrong target they were fooled. However, that move never fooled this dog when his eye was on food. He was focused!

This guy always had his eye on the “ball”.

This reminds me of how I lose my focus on Christ when daily issues arise or adversity comes around. I pray for healing, for safety, for comfort and God often answers these prayers, but that is not the point. I have taken my eyes off of the ball and placed it on the issue in front of me. 

Time and time again Jesus addressed this issue to his followers. He tried to redirect the focus of people on what matters. He wanted them to keep their eye on the ball. In John 4:10 to the woman at the well who was focused on getting water to drink, He said, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” In verse 32 of the same chapter, Jesus’ said to his disciples who were focused on getting Jesus to eat, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” 

Keep your eye on the ball. 

In John 6:26-27 to the people following him to the hillside by Galilee because they were healed and fed he said, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then in verse 40 Jesus again tells this crowd to change their focus and look to God the Father and his Son. “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Keep your eye on the ball. 

I believe that there is a game being played that we know nothing about. It is a game to steal our focus from what really matters. I believe it is played out every second of our life on earth and even shutting ourselves off in an empty room will not help us win this tug of war for our attention because much of the battle happens within us. But this all sounds rather hopeless and depressing. If only we had some power or equipment to help us win this daily struggle! 

But wait! There’s more! In verse 63 Jesus says his Spirit and his words are full of power. “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.” So we are better equipped than the enemy. And furthermore when Jesus is offering his final comforting words to his disciples in John 14:16-17 he says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 

And we are reminded that our team has the best uniforms, pads, cleats, helmets and bats. In Ephesians, Paul tells us that we are equipped to win the game. 

Ephesians 6:12-18 NIV

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

And last but definitely not least, light always wins over darkness. Its power is undeniable. We will win because we rely on God. He has the ultimate victory over the enemy. We see this in the first chapter of John’s gospel when he introduces us to God and his Son. In John 1:4-5, John says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

So we must remind ourselves day by day, minute by minute that we are on the winning team with the power and authority of God the Father, Christ his Son and the Holy Spirit. We know how it ends. Just take a glimpse at Revelation chapter 22. We are on the winning team and on that we can place all our confidence and remember to…

Keep our eyes on the ball.

God is...

While reading some rather dry parts of the Old Testament, a reader’s guide that I am using said to look for the words and phrases that describe the character of God. Suddenly, that dry scripture came to life.  I caught glimpses of God. I saw a God of second chances, who is patient, answers our petitions, gives us victories. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and he wants our full devotion. Being in His presence changes us but he is too great for us to behold all at once. And all this was found in just two chapters of Exodus!  Suddenly my point of view changed from me, me, me, to God the Father, creator and lover of my soul.  

This also applies to my daily life. When my life is dry, mundane, or outright depressing, I need to look for the things in my world that show the character of God. They are all around me. He created it. I see Him in my dog’s brown eyes and freckled nose.  I see Him in comforting words from my husband.  I see Him in the intriguing script of a good book. I see Him in an article I read on Facebook. I see Him in the persistence of a cardinal protecting his nest relentlessly.  God’s fingerprints are everywhere. We only have to pry our eyes off of the hurt of this world and look around expectantly.