It is common for us to ask ourselves why we are doing one thing or another, but it can be a confusing matrix of shoulds and shouldn'ts, oughts and ought nots.
In Galatians 2:6-10, the Apostle Paul makes is very clear that he was completely unmotivated by people's expectations or their status. While he was submissive and in harmony with the direction given to him by godly advisors (James, Peter and John in this case), his motives sprung from personal and internal conviction: "All they asked was that we should remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." (v. 10) Their desires resonated completely with his own.
Finding our own calls of conscience and internal motivations is a great heart-check that will keep us freely and eagerly doing good instead of feeling compelled by the desires of others.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
Hope
Hope is a tricky commodity. False hope can be comforting in the short term, but devastating if the outcome differs from what you desire. "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Proverbs 13:12), so waiting for a longing to be fulfilled is risking deep discouragement.
Still, hope is a godly, encouraging emotional position from which to view life. What does a healthy, realistic hope look like? It is interesting that Psalms admonishes us over and over again to "hope in the Lord" and "to hope in his word". There is no chance of disappointment when our hope rests in him alone. Often we hope for such specific outcomes that any variation in the answer or any delay is disheartening. Satan will try to use variations and delays to attack our faith that God hears and cares.
I was once praying with a very heavy heart about a situation and trying to grasp some hope to settle my anxious heart. As I was praying, I told God, "I don't even know what to hope for." While his voice was not auditiory, I did "hear" him reply: "Why don't you leave that to me?" The point was I didn't need to figure out a solution to give God some ideas about how to fix things. Letting him know my sorrow and desire for a solution was enough. He could take care of the rest.
Combining hope with trust in an all-powerful and compassionate Father is the best way to have peace and joy. Abandoning a controlling position in which my desire is the only acceptable solution to ease my angst, is freeing in a wonderful way. It opens new faith-vistas and makes me rely on a God who can "do more than all we ask or imagine." (Ephesians 3:20)
Still, hope is a godly, encouraging emotional position from which to view life. What does a healthy, realistic hope look like? It is interesting that Psalms admonishes us over and over again to "hope in the Lord" and "to hope in his word". There is no chance of disappointment when our hope rests in him alone. Often we hope for such specific outcomes that any variation in the answer or any delay is disheartening. Satan will try to use variations and delays to attack our faith that God hears and cares.
I was once praying with a very heavy heart about a situation and trying to grasp some hope to settle my anxious heart. As I was praying, I told God, "I don't even know what to hope for." While his voice was not auditiory, I did "hear" him reply: "Why don't you leave that to me?" The point was I didn't need to figure out a solution to give God some ideas about how to fix things. Letting him know my sorrow and desire for a solution was enough. He could take care of the rest.
Combining hope with trust in an all-powerful and compassionate Father is the best way to have peace and joy. Abandoning a controlling position in which my desire is the only acceptable solution to ease my angst, is freeing in a wonderful way. It opens new faith-vistas and makes me rely on a God who can "do more than all we ask or imagine." (Ephesians 3:20)
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
One Thing I Seek
Psalm 27:4 is a beautiful pledge of a singleminded desire for a relationship with God: "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life...."
It can prompt the question, "if I had only one request to put before God what would it be?" David"s request here seems to trump every other desire, because anything else is temporary and far lower in value. Still,in our daily lives the world competes for this heavenly longing by offering us all kinds of tempting and temporary enticements. Focusing on the eternal and the treasure of a relationship with God eases any other loss, any other unfulfilled dream. The gift of being with God forever is supreme, and if no other dream comes true or earthly comfort is attained, a relationship with God is cause for unspeakable joy everyday!
It can prompt the question, "if I had only one request to put before God what would it be?" David"s request here seems to trump every other desire, because anything else is temporary and far lower in value. Still,in our daily lives the world competes for this heavenly longing by offering us all kinds of tempting and temporary enticements. Focusing on the eternal and the treasure of a relationship with God eases any other loss, any other unfulfilled dream. The gift of being with God forever is supreme, and if no other dream comes true or earthly comfort is attained, a relationship with God is cause for unspeakable joy everyday!
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