Week Fourteen - The Electronic Leash

A few years ago, a pastor recommended 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke, which I found humbling and convicting. He said he reads the book twice yearly to help him maintain perspective and balance his social media activity.

Do you find your phone the first thing you reach for each morning? Many of us do. Tony Reinke gives us six reasons why we do that so easily.

1. We want to be informed about what is new in the world and new among our friends, and we don't want to be left out on something newsworthy or noteworthy.

2. We want to know what people say about us and how they respond to things we have said and posted.

3. We want to feed on what is fascinating, weird, strange, wonderful, shocking, or spellbinding.

4. We want to put off the day ahead, especially when it looks dull and routine and holds nothing of fascination to capture our interest.

5. We want to put off the burdens of the roles God has given us as fathers, mothers, bosses, employees, and students.

6. We want to put off dealing with relational conflicts, pain, disease, and disabilities in our bodies.

Do you see yourself anywhere in those six reasons? We'd all have to be honest and say we are guilty of at least one or two of these excuses for surrendering control to our phones.

Let me finish with the author's summary of the issue. He writes, "Perhaps we check our phones for more noble ends - to communicate with friends and family members or to confirm our schedules for the day - but a rush of temptations comes at us immediately in the morning, and we fumble our precious solitude. It's hard to summarize the resulting problem any better than this: The real danger with social media is not that it allows us to isolate ourselves but that by mixing our appetite for isolation with our vanity, it threatens to alter the very nature of solitude. The bottom line is that technology bends us in a centripetal direction, pulling us toward a central habitat of loneliness and filling our lives with habits that benefit the stakeholders who seek to monetize our attention."

I'd never thought of it that way. Because we see social media as free, we often fail to see the monetary gain for the companies that supply our entertainment.

Spurgeon said, "Pemit not your minds to be easily distracted, or you will even have your devotion destroyed." Vital to our spiritual health, we must listen and hear God's voice every morning. We must stop and be still to know that God is God, and we are His children. So, let's push back our phones in the morning to protect our solitude and reflect first on Him.

Then, put your phone away during the day, build authentic eye-to-eye trust with the people in your life, and sharpen your relationships. That little battery-powered object in your hand should not replace your relationship with your Saviour or the beauty of fellowship with others. Let's step away from the electronic leash and feed our souls on eternal things.

Week Thirteen - When Strivings Cease

Last week, I shared a few thoughts about lies we believe that mess up our wiring. Using Ruth Simon's thoughts from her book When Strivings Cease, we summarized that truth counteracts falsehood and sorts our wiring. Today, I want us to briefly examine her conclusion on where we will rest when our strivings cease. Again, I highly recommend this book.

Let's begin by defining what things she calls strivings. She bases her discussion on our innate need and pressure to perform and seek to sustain a standard that doesn't disappoint anyone else. This striving is why we are so tired, keep hustling, feel like we are never enough, and fail to flourish. We bend, straining to meet expectations and fill the gaps of our unknowns with trust in no one but ourselves. Sounds exhausting, doesn't it?

She says, "We strive when we long for something we believe will pull us out of despair and into a sense of fulfillment. We strive to make our dreams come true. Sometimes, those are tangible dreams like starting a business, becoming debt-free, or earning a doctorate. But sometimes those dreams are intangible, like finding love, feeling accepted, or being happy with who you are."

We have all struggled with these things, and some may still struggle. But when strivings cease, life is different. There is room for peace and grace, and a settled security catapults us into growth and maturity. 

Simons lists these seven things as signs of release from striving.

1. We no longer need to prove our worth. Our worth is found in Christ alone, and we rest there.

2. We stop chasing approval as our comfort. We find confidence and comfort in who we are in Christ.

3. We glory in our weaknesses. Weakness is no longer connected with shame but bound to God's intimate work in my life for His glory. I marvel at how He uses me despite my weaknesses.

4. We hold God as greater than our accomplishments. To Him goes all the glory for anything we have done. It is all by His grace and gifting.

5. We know peace apart from pleasing others. We now impart peace instead of trying to derive peace from others. Our peace is found in our settled resolve of God's unconditional love.

6. We understand that God is for us and no longer against us. He is working all things for our good. There is now no condemnation from Him as we walk in the Spirit. God is on our side, and we are on His.

7. Jesus so captures our gaze that we stop chasing everything else. He becomes preeminent in our thoughts and decisions. Pleasing Him becomes our goal in every area of our lives. Jesus is King, and we answer only to Him. As Paul writes, "That we may be found in him" (Philippians 3:9).

Today is a good day to measure your strivings. Are they producing undue stress? Can you exchange them for one of these truths of release? Do you understand the truth presented here, or are you holding on so tightly to self-performance that you are afraid to let go and let God?

Week Twelve - My Wiring is Messed Up

Today, I want to share thoughts from When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simons. But before I do, I want to encourage you to read. Read good books that grow your faith, challenge your thinking, and give you tools for life. And when you do, copy the quotes that speak to your heart into a journal. I even underline these quotes in my books. Then, when I go back, I have collected thoughts that spoke to my soul, and they help me revisit those times when God brought more truth to me or helped me understand things. Read and record what you read!

___________________________

Jay Adams believes our messed up wiring is due to sin. That is an adequate explanation, for we are all sinners and live in a sinful world. Larry Crabb believes our problems come from lies we have believed or accepted as truth. And that can often be the case, for the father of lies is always busy sowing seeds of falsehood.

Ruth Simons grapples with finding the source of our striving, our relentless struggle to sort things out, reduce stress, and find a foundation of truth. She says, "Realigning your mind, heart, and identity to grace, not works, is a daily battle. If you find your assurance in who God says you are by the work of grace, your responses will reflect what you value most - what God has done for you."

This realignment of grace is salvation, and it helps us understand who we are and who He is: the God of all comfort, the God who makes us whole, and the God who sorts out our messy wiring. Grace is the foundational truth.

She also addresses the lies we come to believe. "Lies don't have to attack every area of our lives to be effective; they only need to chip away at what we haven't settled once and for all," she says. And I've found that so true. I can have loads of truth plugged in, but one nagging doubt can blow a fuse!

Here are four lies Simons mentions that mess up our wiring.

1. We seek self-improvement that depends on us, not God.

While busy trying to fix ourselves, we fail to yield to His work. He promised in Philippians 1:6 to do a work in us, an eternal work, and if we will but rest in His promise, we will find improvement comes from the work of the Spirit, not from our self-directed efforts.

2. We fret over our image instead of reflecting His.

Vanity captivates us. We want to look good, be perceived as good, and admired by others. But our focus is plugged into the wrong socket! Christ in me—that is the hope of glory. Christ working through me—that is the beauty of Christian living. My image must be of Christ—even when I have a bad hair day!

3. We believe God's holding out on us and needs us to look out for ourselves.

The Lord helps those who help themselves. Really? Where do you find that in Scripture? That is not Bible truth. Instead, God says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things (clothing, food, etc.) shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). God looks out for you. He isn't holding out on you. "No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11). If you believe the lie that you must take care of yourself, you are not trusting God. You are taking on a burden too large for you to carry.

4. We welcome the lie that we are beggars and not heirs.

Oh, how the enemy loves to make us feel like beggars. When we accept this lie, we fall for all kinds of self-incriminating thoughts. We fail to venture forth with God and sometimes believe our false humility is virtuous. When God speaks of humility, He isn't referring to His children as unworthy; He's talking about submission and trust. We serve a mighty Father, and as His children, we can claim all the promises of heaven. There is no need for God's children to beg for bread when the table of grace and love is fully laden.

If you see yourself in these lies, it is time to unplug and reconnect to grace and truth. The only reason your wiring is messed up is because you aren't drawing from the right source. Jesus' prayer for you is, "Sanctify (purify internally by the renewing of the soul) them through thy truth: thy word is truth" (John 17:17).

Week Eleven - Grasshoppers Who Believe

My husband and I are one of those unlikely couples. He is Cherokee, and I am a white girl. We are both from a tiny town in the middle of America with no significant claim to fame. Our education is basic, and we aren't rich. But none of that matters to God - when He called us to salvation and service, He didn't see any of that as strokes against us. We were grasshoppers who believed; that was all He needed to do His work.

Dick Brogden said, "The more improbable the conquest, the clearer it is that God did it." And truly, God has done the work in our lives. Our length of marriage, over 50+ years now, seemed impossible. Going to the mission field seemed impossible. Raising our family of five seemed impossible. Ministry has often seemed impossible. Establishing a church and purchasing a building, turning it over to a national pastor, and a plethora of other hurdles seemed impossible. But God has done it all.

Believing is so powerful because "when God assembles a team of insignificant people and wins with them, it is pretty obvious who is responsible for the victory." (Dick Brogden) And that is what God wants. He wants the glory and praise. He gives us the victory that we might point back to Him.

There may be things in your life that you consider marks against you, but in the hands of the Lord, they are but tools, tools of service for Him. The more improbable, the more impossible, the more unlikely, gives room for God to work more abundantly.

I always like Luke 17:10, where Jesus says to the disciples, "So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do."

Jesus, teaching the disciples about humility and service, says there is no room for pride or bonus points in the service of the Lord. Our service is but our called duty. It is our reasonable service, as we read in Romans 12:1-2. We are merely "grasshoppers who believe." We have the privilege of service, and as Paul said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:12, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry."

As I reflect on my life, only praise rises from my heart. I have a good husband, a happy marriage, precious children who love me, and fun, fun grandkids. My ministry is fruitful and challenging. I am so very privileged to be God's servant. There is no higher calling. I love teaching the Word and revel in its strength and beauty. Truly, I have it all, grasshopper than I am.

I hope such praise rises from your heart when you reflect on all God has done for you, fellow grasshopper.

Week Ten - What are You Staring At?

Have you ever caught yourself staring into space? Mind empty, a million miles away, and oblivious to everything around you? Maybe you were captivated by a memory or an object you saw; perhaps you were deep in thought, but for whatever reason, you found yourself momentarily stuck.

We stare at an object, wondering how it works or what it is. Or we may even be staring at our reflection, amazed at how we've aged, our uneven eyes, or our crooked nose.

And sometimes, our staring isn't done with our eyes; it is the activity of our heart and mind, staring at a situation, bewildered, confused, and wondering how we got here and how things will work out.

We all stare at times. We fix our eyes on someone or something with a vacant look and seem momentarily captivated. People around us ask, "What are you staring at?" We might say, "Oh, nothing." Or we could explain what caught our attention.

There is nothing wrong with staring, but I wanted to challenge you today to ask yourself, "What are you staring at?" Because life can be distracting. It can cause us to have those momentary moments of fixation as we try to take in everything happening so quickly around us.

But if we fixate on the world's events and keep our gaze there, we miss out on many better things. If we stare into the mirror and look only at ourselves, we grow self-focused and vain. If we stare at our problems, they appear larger than they are. So, our gaze, the focus of our heart and mind, is essential.

God calls us to fix our gaze on Him, not swayed by distractions but with unwavering focus. Getting sidetracked only hinders our progress. 

David wrote, "Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord" (Psalm 25:15). "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from when cometh my help: (Psalm 121:1). "But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord; in thee is my trust." Solomon wrote, "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee." (Proverbs 4:25). 

If anything captivates our thoughts or fixates our hearts, let it be our Lord. Let's focus on reflecting Christ, seeing and praying for the lost, and serving others with love and compassion. Keeping our hope and gaze firmly fixed on God and watching for the Lord's return will move us forward in faith and hope. Then, when someone asks us what we are staring at, we can point them to Christ.

Week Nine - Your True Colors

A few years ago, while on a little trip to the island of Jersey, I read Gift From the Sea by Anne Marrow Lindbergh, the wife of Charles Lindbergh. I thought it would be a book on reflections by the sea, but it was more about women's liberation. But even with that, I found some things that caused me to think and examine myself, and I wanted to share a bit with you.

A post I had saved earlier, the one you see on this blog, prompted my thoughts. It reads, "You know who you are. You know your true colors. Don't let anyone paint you differently." By M.W. Facets 

This post struck me because, at that time, I faced accusations about my character that left me questioning myself. Was I stubborn? Was my directed lifestyle coming over as unswerving or unkind? I had to do some soul-searching and come before the Lord. He did not condemn me. He knows my heart and sent me that little quote to encourage me.

I am not perfect, but I am not stubborn or unkind. My true colors? I never really thought of that and wasn't even sure what that meant.

As a young girl, my favorite color was pink, and I still secretly love it—secretly because my young friends laughed when I told them. So what did I do? Did I remain true to my color? Nope. I switched to blue because no one laughed at blue. I like blue. It was my grandmother's favorite color, but inside, I'm still in love with pink, yet maybe I've grown into blue?

Anyway, I let them paint me differently. And where am I today? Still saying blue is my favorite color. And I'm okay with that, but when someone tries to make me out to be something I'm not - stubborn, hard to approach, etc. or even on the flip-side - talented, wise, beautiful. I cringe and reject those words because they do not describe the me I know and live with.

You know who you are. Don't you? Do I? I'm smarter than some and sillier than others. Decent to look at when my hair cooperates but desperately old when the wind blows. Happy and fun sometimes to a fault, but Germanly-serious at times. I'm stable but random. Curious but lazy. Patient but anxious to finish. A complete conundrum of osculating interpretations. Leaving or restricting the definition of who I am to an evaluation of self alone is inadequate and a misinterpretation, for though I am all these jumble of things, I have one true star, one laminin that holds me together - Christ.

Because in Him, all my contradictions find purpose. They are all level at the cross. I no longer need to explore my color because it has been given over to a new one—a new life—a crucified life that defines and colors me perfectly. This one whitewash is enough, and seen through its lens, I am perfect, complete, and whole.

Friend, I hope your true color is Christ, for His is the color of royalty. We are children of the King, and one day, we will stand before Him dressed in white linen - pure and holy. That is our true color.