Just pondering this quote from Oswald Chambers:
“God’s main concern is that we are more interested in Him than in work for Him. Once you are rooted and grounded in Christ the greatest thing you can do is to be.” (italics in original; I added bold)
God calls me not to do more for Him but to be more with Him. Being always trumps doing.
Now I ask myself: where do I need to do less so that I can be more?
Consider this quote from Tony Dungy’s memoir Quiet Strength—
“It’s easy to be gracious when you’re getting carried off the field in celebration. It’s more difficult when you’re asked to pack up your desk and your passcode doesn’t work anymore. I think people look more closely at our actions in the rough times, when the emotions are raw and our guard is down. That’s when our true character shows and we find out if our faith is real. If I’m going to call myself a Christian, I have to honor Jesus in the disappointments too.” (emphasis mine)
So we could use this definition for integrity: when I act the same in rough times as I do in good times. It’s easy to give God thanks, be on my best behavior and say all the right things when everything is going my way. But I need to be just as attentive in the rough times to still give God thanks and still do and say the right things—the things that honor Jesus.
Great challenge, coach! I’m trying to live this out in my life too.
David tried to do the right thing.
His countrymen were under attack from their archenemies. David prayed, and God told him to go rescue his countrymen. But when David called his loyal teammates together, they weren’t as enthusiastic about this plan as David was. This must have made David second-guess if he heard from God correctly, so he prayed again. Once again God confirmed, “Go fight the bad guys.”
They fought, and God gave them the victory. And the newly-rescued town hailed their deliverer as a hero. They invited him into their town and gave him the best meal, the best place to stay, and the highest honors they could give. But people are extremely fickle. They heard there was a reward out for David, and they thought the money was worth more than this hero’s presence in their town, so they conspired to turn him in.
David prayed again, asking God’s guidance. God said, “Yes, it’s true, they are going to turn you in. Time to run!”
So David ran. Ran for his life. Day after day after day after lonely day David ran through the desert, dodging the men seeking his life. As you might expect, David got tired, his men became discouraged and probably started to grumble. David thought to himself, “I’ve only tried to do the right thing. I haven’t harmed anyone, in fact, I’ve liberated oppressed people. This shouldn’t be happening to me.”
David—the almost-constant pray-er—didn’t pray. It stands out so starkly compared to his previous pattern. Whenever he was in a tough spot, or needed guidance, or even needed reassurance, David prayed. But not here in the desert, on the run, pursued by a relentless foe, surrounded by grumbling “friends.” No, he just retreated from the field of victory, from the fickle crowds, from his enemies… and from his God.
And then these great words appear in the narrative: “Jonathan went to find David.”
Jonathan, David’s covenant friend, didn’t sympathize and say, “You have every right to be upset.” He didn’t counsel David to attack his pursuing enemy. Jonathan didn’t tell David, “If I were you here’s what I would do.”
What a friend! No pep talks … no crying on shoulders … no strategy sessions. Jonathan helped David get back to what his typical lifestyle had been—find his strength, his guidance, his encouragement in his God.
“Firm, graceful, loving, faith-building friendships can change the world.” —Craig T. Owens
I am so very blessed to have “Jonathans” in my life. They have shown up in my deserts at just the right time and helped me find strength in my God—helped me get back to my roots.
I pray you have a Jonathan or two (or three!) in your life. They are extremely rare people, so diligently nourish those relationships. And even more, I pray that you will be a Jonathan to a friend who is on the run.
“Oh, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.” —George Eliot
My family is spending a couple of days with some special friends. Last night, as all of our kids were off playing together, Betsy and I were able to talk with Greg and Becki for a couple of hours. How incredible it was to be able to pour out all of our unfiltered thoughts—our dreams, our struggles, our questions, our concerns. Then to have these gentle friends help us work through them together.
My prayer for all of you is that you would know the joy of having such friends in 2009. If you already have these kinds of friends in your life, make sure that 2009 is a year in which you invest heavily into nurturing those friendships.
A true friend is one of God’s greatest gifts to us!
Betsy and my kids had a snow day today, so I took the opportunity to work from home too. I spent some time this afternoon reading some more of Robert Coleman’s excellent book The Master Plan Of Evangelism. Here’s a quote from this book which has stuck with me all day:
“If Sunday services and membership training classes are all that a church has to develop young converts into mature disciples, then they are defeating their own purpose by contributing to a false security, and if the new convert follows the same lazy example, it may ultimately do more harm than good. There is simply no substitute for getting with people, and it is ridiculous to imagine that anything less, short of a miracle, can develop strong Christian leadership.” [emphasis mine]
I need to prioritize my schedule so that my time is focused around people. I’m looking forward to Coffee With The Pastor tomorrow, where I’ll be able to spend some quality time with Barney, Dave, Elias, Jerry, and some of my other Starbucks friends who will be there. What about you? What are you doing to make sure you are “getting with people”?
“A mentor has been defined as someone whose hindsight can become your foresight.” —Richard Edler
For almost three years I have had the privilege of being mentored by Hank Zampa. Once a month we meet at Panera and Hank pours into my life. Sometimes he simply lets me unpack my frustrations, sometimes he asks me challenging questions that cause me to rethink my current strategy, sometimes he gives me a word of encouragement or a book to read. His hindsight has been my foresight time and time again, and I am a better man because of that. And all of this came about because I simply recognized the need for a wise man to speak into my life, and I asked Hank if he would be willing to invest in me. I am so grateful he said “yes.”
Who are you allowing to speak into your life?
Craig T. Owens 