“What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” That was the motivational catch-phrase of years past.

Current best-selling author Brené Brown has added a significant twist by asking, “What’s worth doing even if I fail?”, crediting Theodore Roosevelt when he said, “If he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

Brown should know: She’s a researcher on vulnerability and shame whose first TED talk about these issues hit a record-breaking 10 million-plus viewers on YouTube. Her five NY Times best-selling books have been translated into numerous languages, and her various seminars, talks and articles dominate the internet, translated into many languages. The message Brown is telling the world is that vulnerability (merely showing up and being present, win or lose) is the secret to “wholehearted” living. And the world is listening.

Vulnerability in Christian Leadership

But what about the Church, particularly us as leaders within it? Are we listening (not necessarily to Brown but to this idea of vulnerability)? One would correctly argue that the Church has a different goal than the world. As the Westminster Shorter Catechism clearly states: “What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”

So, we know that the “right answer” for Christians is not about succeeding or failing (or even “showing up”) but rather to “glorify God.” However, if we’re honest, the idea of glorifying God rarely allows for anything close to what one would consider “vulnerability,” let alone “failure.”

Ministry ventures that deliver “lackluster” results are often judged to be “lacking proper planning and faith” or being “outside of God’s will.” A change of direction in ministry without “logical reasoning” can also be suspect. However, might the result of those ministries’ be precisely what God had planned? Is there a possibility that those ministries fall perfectly within His will?

Peter – A Portrait in Vulnerability

In Matthew 14, we see the famous story of Peter walking on water. It began with the disciples in a boat as a storm started to form. Jesus had sent them off without Him, and then, early in the morning, He came walking across the water. They were frightened, thinking Him a ghost.

Jesus comforted them, saying, “Don’t be afraid. Take courage. I am here!”

It was only Peter who responded: “Lord if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

In this passage, Peter’s “impulsiveness” is often made to be the focus despite the text speaking to the contrary. In reality, Peter demonstrated healthy caution (“If it’s really you”) coupled with submission shown in words (“Lord”) and actions, all with a willingness to wait on Jesus’ command (“tell me to come to you”).

It really was the Lord, and He did call Peter out. How frightening and exciting that must have been!

If Jesus had answered, “No, stay there!”, before Peter jumped out of the boat, those who remain critical of Peter’s impulsiveness might have grounds to criticize. Peter didn’t act impulsively, but instead, was merely obedient. Jesus called, and he came.

The story goes on to say how Peter saw the crashing waves and was understandably terrified, and began to sink. Thankfully, Jesus didn’t abandon him to sink completely. Peter cried out, “Save me, Lord!” And Jesus reached out and grabbed him.

Walking on Water is Not the Goal

There are many great things to observe and learn from this passage. But it is the oft over-looked conclusion of this story that may be the most critical point in the entire narrative.

“When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. ‘You really are the Son of God!’ they exclaimed.”

They saw that it was Jesus and worshiped Him!

Look at what happened here:

Peter demonstrated supernatural discernment: He recognized it was the Lord when the others were afraid, thinking He was a ghost. However, that didn’t convince those in the boat that it was indeed Jesus.

Bold declarations of submission to Jesus’ Lordship and willingness to bravely obey any command (“LORD – call me out!”) didn’t cause those in the boat to worship.

A definitive “call from the Lord” on Peter’s life still didn’t make the others in the boat realize who it was out there on the water.

Even Peter’s ability (albeit short-lived) to perform a supernatural manifestation (walking on water) had no positive impact on those in the boat.

It was when Peter began to sink, and Jesus rescued him, that those in the boat finally recognized that it was the Lord. Each one of those former fishermen had likely gone overboard at one time or another, but none of them had ever been able to save themselves. It was in Peter’s attempt to be obedient that the common weakness of his humanity revealed the strength of Jesus’ divinity. Only then was Jesus seen and worshiped by those still in the boat. To put it plainly, Peter’s “not being completely up to the task” showed how much Jesus was.

Long before He called Peter out, Jesus knew that Peter would begin to sink. From the start, Peter was insufficient for the call, but Jesus wasn’t. And He called Peter out anyway, just as Jesus has called many of us out.

Afraid of Vulnerability

Among those who strive to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, fully aware of our weaknesses, there is comfort in understanding that we are not expected to walk on water or be perfect. We know this. We remind ourselves of the truths in scripture such as, “we have this treasure in jars of clay.” So often, however, we work hard not to let any cracks in our “ministry pots” show. Like Instagram influencers setting up for a selfie, we’re sure to display only our “best side” in ministry, lest any perceived weakness or vulnerabilities show.

And this is understandable because Brown’s research overwhelmingly reveals that people equate vulnerability to weakness. In actuality, vulnerability is simply the potential for weakness. Brown’s study also showed that both acknowledging and walking into vulnerability was the most effective way to prevent mistakes and combat weaknesses. For believers, this should sound familiar, reinforcing what we accept as true; that “His strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Brown goes on to assert, “When we pretend that we can avoid vulnerability, we engage in behaviors that are often inconsistent with who we want to be.” And yet, even as Christians, so often we do exactly that; we run away from vulnerability and straight into behavior that is principally opposed to who we are and what we believe.

Because being vulnerable is frightening. Walking out on the water means we might start to sink. So, missionaries carefully craft newsletters to put the right spin on projects that didn’t turn out as planned. Photos are cropped to show a full hall, not empty chairs. Pastors stay in the pulpit even when they begin to sense a call to a different field. Changes in ministry direction are filed under the heading, “Well, we all miss God’s will sometimes.” Everything from tightly scheduled events going off schedule, to sparse turnout, to our programs, to less than “smooth operation” of our churches, you name it. And the critics send us into a tailspin of blame (self-directed more often than not), as well as doubt and depression.

So somewhere along the line, a few things begin to happen. We’re already following Jesus. We’re even gotten into the boat when so many stayed on the shore. But we can’t see everything clearly, and we begin to get frightened. So, we stop asking Jesus to call us out further. Or we don’t step out when He does call. Even if we do step out, instead of enjoying the thrill of obedience, walking with Him into the impossible, we’re preoccupied with not sinking. And when we do start to sink (as He knew we would before He even called us out), we work on damage control for those who might have seen us go under.

Jesus already knew what would happen when He called out to Peter, yet He called him out anyway. In the same way, He knows where and when we will start to sink, but He calls us out nonetheless. Why? Because God’s ultimate goal for us is not to walk on water. God’s ultimate goal (and therefore ours, too!) is that others would see Jesus and worship Him, using whatever it takes.

Embracing Vulnerability

George Markey, the founding pastor of the CC work in Ukraine, used to say, “Where we admit that we are weak, there God will be our strength. But where we try to be strong by ourselves, there God will be weak in our lives.”

This concept is made most explicit in Jesus’ life. The vulnerability that allowed Him to be tortured and crucified must have seemed like a failure to many looking on. But when God raised Jesus – fully man, dead in the weakness of human flesh – to new life, all of Creation saw Jesus, the resurrected Messiah, and worshiped Him. Showing the weakness of His humanity highlighted the strength of His divinity.

God does not ask us to be vulnerable because He delights in embarrassing us. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Rather, God’s great desire is to take us into His presence, beyond the fear of our limitations, and into the freedom of His limitless love! He invites us to be crucified with Him “in order that we too might walk in newness of life!” Vulnerability leads us to die to our sense of control, our pride, our fears and into the safety of His love. God wants us to know the power that comes when “perfect love casts out all fear.” God called His own Son to walk as a man, in ultimate vulnerability, so that Jesus might be the perfect demonstration of God’s perfect love. Jesus became vulnerable for love’s sake, and it’s for love’s sake that God calls us to vulnerability as well.

Stepping Out of the Boat

Peter stepped out. Peter made himself vulnerable, and he attempted to do what God was calling Him to do. Peter understood something that Pastor Paul Billings has said so well: “The truth is, if we don’t attempt, then we have already failed. The absence of failure is not ‘success.’ I wonder how many of us feel that we are succeeding in what God wants for us just because we aren’t experiencing failure. I would suggest that if you aren’t experiencing failure at times, then you probably aren’t attempting much.”

So, there’s Peter. He was bold, but he was also cautious. Peter waited on Jesus’ call and obeyed. He was also human, and he sank in the waves when he doubted. But he stepped out! Jesus taught him through this. More importantly, when Jesus rescued Peter out of his “human-ness,” others watching recognized that Jesus was the Savior, and they worshiped Him. Peter knew the love of his Savior. It was that love that spurred him headlong into some of the most vulnerable places of obedience.

Similarly, may we understand the love of our Savior, who modeled vulnerability to the point of death for us. May we also be willing to embrace vulnerability at His bidding; because it’s then that Jesus is revealed. And those who are watching will worship Him.

I will speak for myself. Perhaps some might say an “Amen” to it because they are or have found themselves in the same space. Though I would NEVER dream of renouncing my faith in Jesus, I can functionally reduce Jesus to something instead of someone. It is possible for me — in the day in, day out happenings of life to reduce Jesus to an idea rather than engaging Him and experiencing Him in a meaningful, personal way as my living Lord and Savior. In a very real way I can essentially relegate Jesus to a spot on the bookshelf with my theological reference materials. I can find myself nodding in agreement with the doctrine of Christ, His redeeming love, His victory over the grave and His eternal Kingdom, while at the same time be loading all of my hopes and dreams into things other than Jesus — as if they are the source, the sum and the substance of real joy and real life.

This can be very subtle for believers because we can load our hopes and dreams into Jesus things rather than Jesus. When that happens, I am actually loading all of my hopes and dreams into a delivery system that will fail! A theological concept did not die in my place for my sin — JESUS did! A theological concept did not come out of the grave three days later — JESUS did!

I believe that the opening words of the book of Philippians is the divine antidote for that spiritual condition.

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:1)

There’s something really important in the way Paul introduces himself in this letter. Paul began nine of his 13 letters by referring to himself as an apostle. That’s how he began 2 Corinthians.

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth” (2 Corinthians 2:1).

He began his letter to the Galatians with:

“Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia” (Galatians 1:1-2).

When Paul opens those nine letters by referencing his apostleship, it was for a reason.

Either his apostleship had been brought into question or challenged (as was the case with the church in Corinth), or he needed to rebuke a church for spiritual immaturity, moral failure or flawed church practice (as was the case with the church in Corinth); or he needed to address a doctrinal issue (as was the case with the churches in Galatia because the gentiles were being told that, besides believing the Gospel, they had to be circumcised in order to be saved). He even opened his two letters to his dear friend Timothy — with, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus…. Paul an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,” because his true son in the faith was facing false teachers, and people were saying he was too young to pastor them. As an apostle, he urged Timothy to command certain people to not teach false doctrine. Paul also commanded his true son in the faith to teach very specific things — to not give up on the calling and gifting of God on his life — to hold fast to sound doctrine.

But Paul doesn’t introduce himself in this letter as an apostle because he wasn’t writing to address them about gross moral failure or false doctrine swirling around in and threatening the church in Philippi. Paul didn’t need to introduce himself in this letter as an apostle because the church in Philippi never questioned or challenged Paul’s gifting and calling. They had never attacked him. In contrast to the Christians in Corinth who were saying, “I’m of Paul, or I’m of Apollos, or I’m of Peter;” the believers in Philippi were never divided over the place Paul occupied in their hearts in minds.

It’s not as if the church in Philippi was free of troubles.

There’s never been a local collection of believers that has been, because every local church is made up of us — humans that have been redeemed and washed from their sins by the blood of Jesus. But Paul wrote this letter to let his dear friends in Philippi know how much he thought about them, what he treasured about them, how he prayed for them, and what he prayed for them. There’s no regret, no resentment. As Paul sat in jail all of those things — by inspiration of the Holy Spirit — moved from mind and heart to pen and ink on parchment.

Over the years, I’ve come to see an overarching theme in this letter. I believe the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write this letter so the 1st century believers in Philippi (all the way out to 21st century believers in this room and around the world) could see the heartbeat of Paul. Pick any part of the letter. It doesn’t matter if your reading what Paul remembered about his fellowship with the Philippians, or what Paul is praying for them, or what Paul said about his own life and circumstances — you discover from every angle that Jesus was the Source, the Sum and the Substance of his life. I believe that from every angle (personal and autobiographical, practical or theological) Paul wanted his dear friends in Philippi to know that Jesus is the Source, the Sum and the Substance of life for every believer, whether they’re in prison for faith in Jesus — or living in a Roman colony called Philippi.

It’s understandable that we find it so easy to say that the big theme of this letter is JOY!

Running through this letter penned in a dungeon is a powerful current of joy — which spoke powerfully to the Philippians — and speaks powerfully to us tonight of the reality of that Jesus was the Source, the Sum and the Substance of Paul’s life — even sitting while imprisoned.

“… Joy at the beginning, joy at the end, joy everywhere in between. Joy is God’s creation and gift. No authentic biblical faith is conceivable that is not permeated with it.”– Eugene Peterson

The life of Jesus was as real as the chains that bound him — and transcended his circumstances —that is why Paul would use the words “joy” and “rejoice” in this little letter more times than the rest of his letters combined.

THAT is what Paul had to offer those he loved so deeply! Paul had NOTHING ELSE to offer them than Jesus. Paul offered them NOTHING LESS than Jesus!

There is no shortage of men and women around us in the church and outside the walls of church who are hurting.

The Gospel is such great news because in it we discover that the life of Jesus is as real as the “chains” of pain that can bind us — the life of Jesus can’t be restricted by our circumstances and our pain.

But here’s something else to consider. It can be argued that 21st century America is the most affluent and comfortable place to live in history. We live in a culture of comfort — a culture of “more.” We need to understand — and our lives need to show — that the life of Jesus is more real than the best of our comforts — and transcends any and all of them. I pray that every follower of Jesus will walk into his or her slice of the lost world, knowing that the last thing we want to offer 21st century American culture is a subculture of religion that is merely an add on to every other comfort they enjoy. I pray we will realize, as did Paul, that we have NOTHING else to offer our very comfortable, but very lost world, than Jesus — and that we will offer it NOTHING LESS than Jesus!

Look at how Paul does identify himself:

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:1).

FIRST — Paul wanted them (and you and me) to know that in the deepest sense of who they were he and Timothy were servants of Jesus.

The word servant sounds bad. But in a way, every employee is a servant — they serve the person or company for an agreed upon wage. You might have a job description and even a title — but you’re being paid to serve an individual or a corporate entity. You pick the person or place you’re going to serve on the basis of the benefits package. But an employee working for minimum wages under harsh conditions is nothing close to what Paul said about himself and Timothy.

The word servant is from the Greek word doulos (δουλος) – “A slave.”

The word slave is a painful word for us because of the shameful reality of the slave trade in America’s history. Here’s some more depth on the definition of the word Paul used here to describe his relationship with Jesus:

“…One who is in a permanent relation of servitude to another, his will (the will of the doulos) being altogether consumed in the will of the other.”¹

“…Pertaining to a state of being completely controlled by someone or something—‘subservient to, controlled by.”²

Despite the lingering reality of racism, and not ignoring the reality of human trafficking — 21st century Americans know nothing of what it is like to be slaves. But Philippi was a Roman Colony. The citizens of Rome on foreign soil understood life in Italy. In 1st century Italy, 30-40% of the population were slaves! When Paul said, “Timothy and I are slaves,” his readers got the picture.

HERE’S THE DEAL — Most Christians live their relationship with Jesus as though they’re employed by Him.

That work relationship came with an amazing benefits package: Eternal Life in the presence of their heavenly employer! But like paid servants of an employer, they see themselves as on the clock or off the clock. Like paid employees — they don’t feel it’s within the scope of their relationship with their employer to include Him on their decisions and desires unless they’re on the clock, and those choices are connected to their job. THAT is not how Paul and Timothy understood themselves in relationship to Jesus! A servant is free to come and go, but a slave is not.

If any one were to ask Paul or Timothy, “Who are you?”, they would answer: We are slaves! Slaves of Christ Jesus. In the deepest sense of who they were, they understood that they belonged to Jesus, body, mind and spirit — they were subject to Him in everything. Their will was altogether consumed in the will of Jesus.

Put another way — they processed who they were in light of who Jesus is. Their identity was wrapped up in the identity of Jesus. One commentary on this passage put it like this:

Doulos (δουλος) is the correlative of “Lord.” (That term has a mutual relationship with the term “Lord.”) When Paul identifies himself and Timothy as “servants,” he means that they are the absolute possession of Jesus Christ, their Lord and owe absolute obedience to Him.³

Doulos is the correlative of Lord! File that one away! For a LONG time I could never understand why anyone would want to be totally sold out for Jesus. But here’s the deal: The Bible tells us that everything broken in the world has its origin in man refusing to find his identity in relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. At this moment individual lives are broken and are contributing to the brokenness of the world at large because men and women refuse to find their deepest sense of meaning in that correlative relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. We find that refusal expressed with perfect clarity in the words of Luke 19:14 — “We do not want this man to reign over us.”

The Bible tells us the truth about those who refuse to be slaves of Christ Jesus.

Everybody has a master. Everyone is serving a master passion. Money and Lust are the big ones in our culture. They are subtle masters! The Police wrote a tune called “Wrapped Around Your Finger.” There’s a line that says: “You will find your servant is your master.” They give the illusion that they serve you.

“Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death.” (Romans 6:16, NLT).

And they are cruel masters. There is only ONE Master that sets you free. Jesus! In the second chapter of this letter, Paul reminds the Philippians of WHO Jesus is and HOW He set us free. Jesus — who is the Lord over all time, all places, all people — became a servant. There’s our word doulos. The will of Jesus was consumed in the will of the Father. And as a doulos, Jesus was obedient to the point of death — even death on the cross — to redeem (buy out of slavery with a price) those who refused to live for His will.

And THAT is why Paul and Timothy wanted their will to be consumed in the will of Jesus.

When you discover that Jesus is the Lord of lords, and He shed His blood to purchase you out from under the power and bondage of idols and sin — rescue you from the penalty of sin — you don’t want Jesus to be your 9-5 boss — you want Him to be your master! You want HIS will to become your will. You want HIS passions to become your passions. You want HIS kingdom to come instead of yours.

SLAVE is a really big word in understanding the nature of relationship with Jesus.

Notes:

¹ Zodhiates, S. (2000). The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.

² Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 471). New York: United Bible Societies.

³ Loh, I.-J., & Nida, E. A. (1995). A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (p. 5). New York: United Bible Societies.

Recently, the hashtag “#goals” has been widely used on social media. If a person is scrolling through Instagram and sees a beautiful couple, they might comment with the hashtag #relationshipgoals, or if they see a stylish outfit on a person, they comment with the hashtag #fashiongoals, a picture of a beautiful, toned body might inspire the hashtag #fitnessgoals, and on and on it goes, looking at other people and other people’s things and aspiring to them.

In fact, “aspiring” might actually be a generous word to describe the sentiments people are expressing with this hashtag. Aspiring, would indicate some level of effort to actually achieve what these other people on Instagram appear to have. However, I actually think this hashtag generally denotes a sense of envy, and that’s all. Do we really want other people’s lives that much? Do we as Christians not realize that God has written a story for our own lives that encompasses our highest fulfillment and purpose, so why do we give up on our own stories and instead spend all our time scrolling through other people’s lives and wanting their story instead.

I think the answer to this question lies in the word “vision” the Bible tells us in Proverbs 29:18 that “without a vision the people perish.” God has a purpose for your life. It is up to you to catch God’s vision for your own life and get excited about who you are as a God-designed individual with a singular purpose. Vision literally means “to see;” do you see what your purpose on this earth is? Do you understand the unique gifts and experience God has blessed you with? Are you looking for ways to be used by God? Or is your sightline so cluttered with other people’s lives that you’ve completely lost sight of your own?

Is your own life perishing because you have no vision?

A woman who suffered from infertility was once asked how she coped with going to her friends’ baby showers. She replied that she would remind herself, that she only wanted the story that God was writing for her. She knew whatever it was, it would be great, because it was what God had for her. She was excited about her future and how God was going to use her and didn’t allow other people’s stories to make her feel like hers wasn’t as good as theirs. She knew, if she continued to follow God, He would write her a good and purpose-filled story. I think that is something we all need to remember. God has a plan and a purpose for you and your #goals need to be the future that God has written for you, not the one He has written for somebody else.

If we picture a jigsaw puzzle, we realize that every piece of the jigsaw is of equal importance. The picture will never be complete if each puzzle piece is not in its unique place. There is a place for you, a future for you; you were created for a purpose only you can fulfill. But if you are wishing you are a different piece of the puzzle and desperately trying to change to look like that piece, then it will ruin the whole puzzle.

Let’s have a vision for our lives, but let it be the one that God has created uniquely for us. This is the best way to make an impact on this world and to live a fulfilled life.

Another version translates that scripture in Proverbs 29:18 by saying “without a vision people cast off restraint,” if you are not aiming toward something, then you don’t need to put any restraints on your life, you can cast them off. But a person who is working toward a goal will put restraints on their life. An athlete will get up early and go out training every morning to position themselves to achieve the vision they have for their life. So yes, it is good to have goals, but they should be the goals God has placed on your heart for your own future. They should excite you about your own life and future rather than make you feel down trodden because your life isn’t as good as someone else’s.

Remember you are a vital part of God’s eternal puzzle.

For His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are not our ways, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8).

James 1:25 talks about us as believers walking in the law of liberty. “Law of liberty” seems like an oxymoron, but actually, in God’s plan for your life, it is not. When we have God’s vision for our lives, we will follow His ways; this will mean putting certain restraints on our lives, however; they are there for a purpose. When we follow God in every area in our lives, we can walk in true freedom. The freedom He has won for us, the freedom to be all He has called us to be and do all He has called us to do.

I would encourage you, in your pursuit of God’s purpose for your life, to restrain your feelings of being less than anyone else or feeling your life is not as good as theirs. Instead, get excited about the story God has written for you and make your #goals the calling God has placed on your own, very important life.

We all go through seasons in our lives. It can sometimes feel like everything around us is flourishing much like springtime, or that we are losing all our hard earned work, resembling the trees dropping their leaves in the fall. Sometimes we just cruise and bask in easy days like summer, and other days, you can feel cold and barren like the frozen days of winter. If you wait long enough in any season, it’s bound to change. If I’m being transparent, which I always try to be, I think I’m somewhere in the “in between.”

Have you been there?

That “in between” season can be the hardest as the glimmer from what is fading, and the hope of what’s coming is still too far ahead to see. There are times when God plants purpose in our hearts, and we are filled with such passion that we pour everything into achieving that purpose. The drive to reach it is so thick you could almost reach out and grab it! I love those times!

In 2011, I had a beautiful springtime moment when I won the Star Fish contest and got to play the main stage for Fishfest, a huge Christian Music festival in front of 12,000 people! My call time was sandwiched between David Crowder Band and Third Day. I cried happy tears as I listened to David Crowder sing “He Loves Us” from backstage and smiled when Mac Powell said, “Hey, good job,” to me as I walked on stage. I remember taking pause in that moment and thinking, “This may be the only chance I have to sing in front of this many people,” and so I took it all in.

Following that moment have been many amazing moments getting to see people worship Jesus along with me. I have seen God fulfill the deep purpose He placed in me over and over again. But I feel a stirring in my heart. Like the scent of jasmine on the evening breeze, a new purpose is calling me, but I’m not sure what it is quite yet. To be honest, it’s a bit uncomfortable. It feels like that hot, muggy air that comes at the end of summer right before the crispness of fall.

So, what should you do when you feel the seasons changing, and you’re kind of stuck in the “in between,” waiting for your new purpose?

Well, have you ever seen roses that have feen fully pruned and cut back? They look sort of ugly when they are trimmed down to branches, and aren’t much to look at. But the deeper the pruning, the bigger the bloom.

When we are feeling stuck, we are actually being prepared.

If you’re in a season like me, where you are feeling like those scraggly, old rose bushes that have been pruned mercilessly, just wait a little longer. But don’t be dormant; a rose bush isn’t dead. It’s being fortified, nourished and is just waiting to flourish when the time comes.

God says in Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland!”

You see, the “in between” season is God’s chance to feed, fortify and fill you with all you will need to bloom. He will be revealing the new purpose He has for you bit by bit. So, if you are in the space between seasons, remember along with me that this time is never wasted. Seek God, and wait expectantly for the new vision He has for your future!

Life is unexpected. Have you noticed that things often do not turn out the way we think they will, even when we pray? Perhaps you have been praying for a certain friend or loved one, and you have not gotten the answer you had hoped for. Or perhaps you have been praying for a job or a mate, and it has not happened in the timing or the way you would like. Just like the disciples, we often do not get what God is doing. We don’t see the whole picture. Things don’t always turn out the way we think they should.

Jesus told His disciples to ask – to pray about everything.

He told us our Heavenly Father loves to give good gifts to His children. Jesus said, ”Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7). Sometimes though, our God seems to say “no” or “wait” to our asking and seeking. I have wondered what scripture has to say about these times, and I have found scripture does address these questions in many places.

Perhaps the oldest book of the Bible – Job – is an account of human suffering and records discourse about, and directly to, Almighty God. Job talks to God at length about his suffering and cries out for help and understanding. It is not clear from the text how long Job suffers before God answers, but it is clear that he had to WAIT on God’s timing. In Job’s case, God did eventually answer his prayers very clearly and with a blessed ending, though he would not see his children that had passed – ever again on this side of heaven.

The psalms are one big collection of communication with God through prayer and song.

Very often what we find in them is that God’s answers to prayer come slowly and sometimes very differently to what was expected. I think of Psalm 69 where the psalmist says:

“I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God” (Psalm 69:2,3)

And I remember again Psalm 27:13,14:

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!”

I am also reminded of the account of David as he prayed for the healing of his first child with Bathsheba. He fasted and prayed and cried out to God for this child to live, but God did not answer his prayer with a “yes,” (Read the account in 2 Samuel 11 & 12:1-23).

Another more familiar account of an unexpected and very clear “no” in prayer was recorded for us in 2 Corinthians 12 by Paul the apostle. This was a man who had experienced so many supernatural miracles of healing. He had seen a man raised from the dead in response to his prayers (Acts 20:9-12)! And people of Paul’s day only needed to hold a handkerchief of his in faith in order to receive healing (Acts 19:11-12). But we have the account in 2 Corinthians (12:7-10) of a time when his own prayers failed to prevail, in the sense that he did not get a “yes” from God. He shares this account with us:

“Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul shares the wisdom he gained from this experience with us. He basically says, “I prayed deliberately three times about this and God said ‘no’ to me,” but he says, “God also showed me that it was for my good.” And Paul says that what he learned from that is that the “no” of God is for our good. God is still at work in our lives, and we can learn to rejoice – even in God’s “no’s,” because God still has our good in mind.

I am comforted by the truth that it’s not just my praying that doesn’t always bring my expectations to pass.

At the end of the day, I know God is God, and I am His. He has the final say in how things turn out. And I know that God is working something much better than I could think of, something “exceedingly abundantly above all I could ask or think” is what He has said (Ephesians 3:20). However, I know I have a very limited viewpoint from this side of eternity. I am unable to see the Big Picture that God has in mind. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” I know I have to trust God and believe Him for things to come, for the substance of the things yet “unseen” (Hebrews 11:1).

One more example of seemingly unanswered prayer comes to mind in closing. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to the Father, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will” (Mark 14:36) (See also Matthew 26:39; Luke 22:42). And the Father’s response, we know, was NOT to take the cup of suffering, the wrath of God upon the sin of the world, away from Jesus. Jesus HAD to drink that cup, and He willingly did in the will of God. And we thank God that He did! Jesus willingly laid down His life, so that we might take up ours before God for eternity!

I was recently discussing this topic with our son Isaac and was blessed by the thoughts he shared with me. I will conclude with his comments on the subject. He said:

“As I struggle to reconcile with suffering and unanswered prayer, here lies my hope – That God who was faithful to fulfill His promises from the Old Testament in the person of Christ, will surely be faithful to us until the end. Even when we cannot possibly see how our circumstance could be part of God’s redemptive plan, when we can’t explain how a good God would not respond to our plea, we can reflect on how the same was said of Jesus’ sacrifice. Yet, God used the death of His own son to bring about salvation, that we all might become His children.”

Isaac concluded, “I realize that God doesn’t want to just give me gifts. He doesn’t just want me to find Him. He wants to beckon me into His home, so I can know Him intimately and experience His love in full as his child.”

Knowing that is true, I want to continue to press into God. I want to “seek, ask and knock,” because in the process, I will get to know my God better. I may come to know “with all the saints what is the width, length, depth and height” (Ephesians 3:18) of Christ’s love, even through the tough circumstances in my life.

The idea of surrender, most commonly, has negative connotations. We think of armies and nations that have surrendered in wars; they saw that they were defeated by the victors, and so they gave up, admitted defeat and surrendered to their conquerors.

None of that sounds great! We generally don’t walk around thinking, “Oh, I hope I am defeated today – so that I can surrender.” But in the Christian context, surrender is the most wonderful position to find yourself in, because in our case, the victor is also our Savior.

To live our lives in a posture of surrender to God is a glorious freedom.

We must come to the place where we “give up,” where we finally admit that we cannot do it on our own, that we cannot meet God’s standard. As we read in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” This causes us to see our need for Jesus to be our Savior. It is in this moment of “defeat” that we surrender to our Savior, and in that glorious moment, we realize Jesus has not won victory over us, but He has won victory for us. He is not our conqueror; He is our Savior. Indeed, Jesus surrendered all so that He could be our Savior. He surrendered His power and glory to come to the earth as a baby. The Bible tells us that Jesus, “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:6-7). He surrendered His very life on the cross to take the penalty for our sin, so that one day we could willingly surrender to Him, to be adopted into His family and gain access to the throne of God. What a wonderful victory Jesus won for us; what a joy to fully surrender our lives to His great love and salvation.

The reality of surrender, however, is something that continues to resurface during different times in our lives. Our ultimate surrender comes in our decision to receive Christ as our Savior, however, as we go through life, there will continually be moments and seasons where we will need to surrender once again to the will of God. This may come in the form of a call of God you feel that you are resisting, a relationship you feel God is calling you to surrender, career, future plans, friendships, whatever it may be, I would encourage you to stop resisting God and once again surrender your will to His, just as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He said to the father, “Father if you are willing take this cup from me, but not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). With those words, Jesus willingly laid down His life for you, and bearing this great truth in mind, I encourage you to willingly surrender every aspect of your life again to the God who loves you, has the best for you and who has already surrendered everything for you.

You surrendered all,
You surrendered all,
All for me, my blessed Saviour,
You surrendered all.
And because the Lord did surrender all for us, everyday we say;
I surrender all,
I surrender all
All for thee my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all.

There doesn’t need to be any fear in surrendering to the God who loves us and wants the best for us.

We are not surrendering to a mean or capricious God. Even though sometimes there can be a sense of disquiet in trusting God in the things He has called us to. We must remember that in being obedient to Him, we will see His absolute best for us come to life. He only has good for us. “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

There is freedom in surrender to God. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1). In fact, true freedom is only found in surrender to God. Nothing else can make us free, but the Bible tells us that, “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed” (John 8:36). Therefore, let us surrender fully to Jesus and let us stay surrendered to Him. Let us always remember that He surrendered all for us, and that through His sacrifice, He won us a victory we could never have gained on our own. He gave everything for us, so let’s hold our lives lightly, not grasping desperately to things we feel we cannot do without; let’s instead, live in a continual posture of surrender, finding peace in the fact that we are being held in the mighty hand of a loving God.

The pain got worse, as all my gym friends surrounded me on the ground, and I heard one of them whisper to the other, “Oooh, it’s…” I could only imagine that my ankle wasn’t looking so hot and was possibly ballooning to double it’s size. Sure enough, that ankle had surpassed “cankle” status and was now heading straight for elephantiasis standards. Off to urgent care I went, for examination and x-rays. The diagnosis, a severe sprain. This meant crutches and of course R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation). My mind was reeling as I thought of all I had to do that day. The worst part was, I didn’t fall doing anything spectacular, like sky diving, gymnastics or wrestling an alligator. Nope, I had properly messed up my ankle simply walking.

In only three hours I was scheduled to head out to lead worship for a women’s retreat. Not any women’s retreat, a retreat with 1,200 women, where Kay Arthur would be the speaker. I’m not real big on name dropping and throwing numbers around, but umm…this retreat was a bit of a big deal, and I was now relegated to pain, crutches and a foot that needed to be elevated. Hmm…those three things and standing to lead worship don’t mix.

What on earth was God’s plan?!

My sweet husband tried his best to help me as I quite literally was falling apart. I sat crying so hard my husband popped his head in worriedly asking, “Are you ok?” I answered back, “NO!” Making it clear that I was, in fact, not OK, but there was nothing he could do except let me cry. It was a painful cry but also a confused cry, “Lord what does this mean? You know I have to go to this retreat! You know I have to stand and lead worship, and You know how much I LOVE leading worship at this retreat! What are You doing?!”

I had two choices, I could power through, go to the retreat, or I could cancel. I had good reason to. But I didn’t want to make a decision based on my human wisdom; I wanted to know what God wanted me to do. It would be nice to stay home and keep my foot up all weekend, but I REALLY wanted to go to this retreat; it’s been my JOY to be part of it for many years. However, maybe God had another plan, maybe it would be another worship leader’s chance to have the joy of leading…? I called the retreat directors and said, “Okay, friends, here’s the deal. My foot is royally messed up! I will literally have to sit with my foot up on a chair and a few pillows, or I can’t come. I want to come, but I get that it’s odd aesthetically, and I am up for whatever you guys want to do.” After five minutes of deliberation, they let me know that they wanted me there. With new resolve and a chauffeured ride by my husband, I was off! Thankfully, my 16-year-old daughter was already planning to sing with me that weekend, so I had my own personal roadie to carry all my gear for me. We enjoyed the weekend immensely; one of the highlights was getting to see just how big my foot could swell up and what sort of colors it would turn from bruising!

I can now speak from experience and say that leading worship from a chair, with one socked and braced foot up on a pile of pillows is pretty humbling. It’s really hard to look cool in that position. This injury taught me two things: humility and dependence. I’m typically a “do it yourself” type of person. I don’t like depending on other people, and I am proud of the fact that I don’t generally need much help from others. But God had a lesson for me to learn. My entire weekend was filled with needing the help of others and humbling myself enough to let people come to my aid. Something as simple as carrying a glass of water was an impossible chore!

More important than depending on others for help, God blessed me with some forced rest time even after the retreat was over.

I was able to stay in bed, foot elevated and the Bible in my lap. I had recently told God I wanted to become a student of His word, and not a reader only (James 2). The three words I felt God speak to me during that time was: “Don’t Waste It!” I was able to pretty quickly see this inconvenient injury as an opportunity to be that student I wanted to be. Now that I am back on my feet and limping my way back to a 100% recovery, I am thankful for the opportunity to be humbled and dependent. Sometimes, God has to get my attention in some ridiculously obvious ways. I wonder, what are the ways God may be trying to get your attention today? Keep your eyes open looking for Him; it may help you not lose your footing like I did. But just in case you end up hitting the deck like I did, give me a call, I’ve got some crutches you can borrow.

James 1:22-25: “Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only deceiving yourself. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in the mirror, for he observes himself, goes away and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in all he does.”

“The godly may fall seven times, but they will get up again.” -Proverbs 24:16

“If God is for us who can be against us?” -Romans 8:31

It happens to us all. Near misses, close calls, averted disasters, followed by that sobering realization that we narrowly escaped death or catastrophe. As we stand there trembling, surveying the damage, and wondering at the What if’s; one might say “Dude, that was close,” while the more spiritually aware would answer, “No dude, that was God.”

Saturday, June 6, 2015, 11:00am. Palm Desert, California. Our church Couples Retreat was underway. Our speakers, Rick and Kathy Hicks, dismissed us from our second morning session uncharacteristically early. Our assignment was to spend some time talking over some questions they had prepared for us. They said, “Go back to your room, go out for coffee, or just hang out by the pool and work through this material together.”

What if Rick had kept us on the typical schedule? What if our session hadn’t been dismissed forty minutes early? What if three couples hadn’t decided to take their assignment to the poolside?

It’s hard to say, but I know this; those three couples, including a nurse, a doctor, and a fireman wouldn’t have been there to pull the limp body of an unconscious six year old girl from the pool, administer CPR that restored her breathing, and stabilize her, as well as comfort her mother until the ambulance arrived.

We all stood there amazed at the miracle of that moment. Some would call it luck. Some would credit karma. We all knew better. This was God. He was with us.

Psalm 124 finds David singing his song of gratitude and recognition over God’s defense when enemies, disasters, circumstances, and storms slam into our lives. The pathway of the pilgrim has many close encounters.

David understood close calls. He’d had quite a few.

• With wild beasts
• With jealous, insecure King Saul
• With his own rebellious son, Absalom
• With Goliath and the camp of the Philistines

But this song isn’t about David’s personal near disasters. The king writes about close calls experienced by his nation, Israel. Woven into their history was story upon story of close encounters of the disastrous kind. Nation after nation took their best shot at God’s chosen people. Countless enemies rose against them, each capable of finishing them off, or in David’s words, “Swallowing them alive.”

The list of nations who threatened the security of Israel by the time David arrived was long and growing longer, including Egypt, Philistia, Midian; and of course, those seven nations they were told were bigger and badder than them: Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perrizites, Hivites, and Jebusites. (Deuteronomy 7:1)

Here, David, surveying the faithfulness and power of God measured against the history of Israel, seems to be saying, “Dude! That was close!”

We’ve all said that. Maybe after the “T-Bone” collision that destroyed our pickup truck without serious injury to either driver or the passengers. (Yes, there’s a personal miracle story there.)

Perhaps it was the unexpected recovery from an illness, even if we were left with chronic pain or disabilities. We survived without any explanation except, “God was with us.”

Maybe there was a frustrating delay that turned out to be providential.

Maybe it was the text, email, call, or visit from a friend who just happened to reach out when you were ready to give up.

Or maybe it was that stranger jumping into the pool to rescue your sinking child from the deep end, just in time. All of them leave us wondering, “What just happened?”

For David, there was no question. It was God who was to be credited with the inexplicable win.

• The frightening fury of amassing army … quelled by God.
• Those swollen flood waters … diverted by God.
• That assassin’s spear … swatted away by God.

David could see the solid yet invisible presence of God in the midst of all the buffeting and battles. Do we see the same? Do we believe God is truly on our side. Do we keep getting up after our setbacks?

Moses spoke courage into the hearts of the children of Israel on many occasions with words like these:

Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 “The Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

Jesus put it like this in Matthew 28:20 “I am with you al-ways, even to the end of the age.”

In other words, God is on our side. However, it’s important to note two things.

First, God didn’t defend Israel because they were perfect, blameless, or even good, but because GOD is good. Because God is love. And don’t forget God’s grand redemptive purpose. This nation, Israel, would be the vehicle through which Yahweh would provide our Messiah, our Savior Jesus Christ.

Secondly, we need to remember that we will not dodge every bullet. Jesus’ followers often suffer hardship and loss. But in the midst of those life-altering disasters, God will still be on your side.

• God was with His enslaved people in Egypt and Babylon
• God disciplines those He loves. (Hebrews 12:6)

And remember, at some point in our future, one last encounter will not be just another close call but our last call, leading to that long awaited, “Close encounter of the best kind” with Jesus. Until then, stop worrying about anything or anyone slipping through God’s security system. The watchful, living God is on your side.

So, allow me to give you a little assignment of your own. Why not sit down and make a list of your close calls? Then turn your list into your own song. And sing out LOUD, because on this long hike home, we need to be reminded that God IS now and always has been On Our Side.