This has been one of the hardest Januarys I can ever remember. That’s a surprising opening line for a message that’s supposed to be about optimism, isn’t it? With a beginning like that, you might expect me to launch into a list of reasons why the start of 2019 deserves that sad indictment, but instead, I will simply say that I cannot recall a period of time so intensely grief-laden for so many of the people I am privileged to call friends or family. And it doesn’t seem to be just my experience this month. A friend of mine recently attended three funerals in one weekend! Attending just one funeral in a month, whether it is in honor of your own loved one or that of a friend’s, is enough in itself to spark contemplation about the finite nature of our lives and launch us into a re-evaluation of what’s important.

As Christians, when we go through extended or unimaginably difficult times, we often wonder if it’s okay to show our weariness, vulnerability, and discouragement because we fear that our non-believing friends, family, and co-workers might see our melancholy and determine that the abundant hope of our faith has let us down. Even among other believers, we sometimes shy away from revealing our inner struggles with anger, depression, sadness, and disappointment — all because we don’t want any of them to think we’ve lost our hope or aren’t leaning into Jesus.

All of this contemplation has left me wondering… does God expect His followers to be optimists? All of the time? Some of the time? Is being a realist more realistic? And what about people who have a personality type that’s wired to be an outright pessimist? What should they do? As a community of believers, how do we encourage people to be authentic with each other even in times of great pain, doubt, or grief, without crossing the line into complaining, grumbling, and whining?

As I’ve been thinking about this, the concept of hope keeps coming to the forefront over and over. Last year, I had the privilege of hearing Cynthia Ruchti speak at a conference and I was riveted by the theme she uses for her life and her ministry: Hemmed in Hope. As she gave a bit of her testimony, I understood why that phrase has become her banner cry. No matter what hardship she has endured or will encounter in the future, everything that happens is within the boundary of Christ’s love and oversight. And for that reason, every moment of her life brims with hope. And from the little bit that I got to know her, I don’t think that means she wakes up everyday feeling cheery. But I’m willing to bet that she does wake up every day believing that no matter what occurs, God will whisper words of hope to her soul to not only get her through the day, but to help her reveal His hope to others.

But what does that kind of hope look like? How does it behave or emerge in the throws of everyday life? Clearly, hope is different than pessimism. But is it different than optimism or realism? Can hope even be compared to these, or are they apples and oranges? Rather than a lens or filter by which we view the world and the things that happen to us (or worry what will happen to us), I think hope is entirely something different. Hope is a companion. A partner. An enabler. Hope is the voice that never fails to tell us — as many times as we need to hear it — that no matter how grim the situation, we have a glorious destiny where every tear will be wiped away. The journey to our eternal destiny will present us with challenges, but our eternities will be perfect in every way. 1 Peter 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

Even with the promise of a guaranteed reservation at the ultimate resort of all time, most of us, however, have a very hard time “feeling” the hope of heaven when we’re down in the pits of the daily grind. I think most people, even those who claim to have no faith at all, believe in some concept of heaven. But the thought of eventually being restored to perfection in the afterlife doesn't seem to bring much comfort to most people in the middle of an earthly trial, like losing a loved one, going through bankruptcy, or watching your adult child make horrible choices. Many people miss out on the other immediate benefit of hope simply because they don’t ready themselves to receive it. Hope is offered to us continually because the Spirit of Christ lives in us every day. But most of us go through our lives as if the companion of hope doesn’t exist… that is until we hit a major roadblock. Then suddenly we want to feel all that hope offers, like peace and comfort, but we have no idea how to access it because we’re out of practice or we never learned how in the first place. Walking with hope takes practice. We have to learn how to receive and utilize the promises of hope by spending time with the Giver of Hope on a daily basis. Jesus specifically says in Matthew 11:29 to “learn from me… and you will find rest for your souls.”

The hope of Christ isn’t a magic spell. It can’t be activated only when we need it. Hope is something we cultivate deep within us that rises higher and higher the longer we pursue God and yield our need for control to Him. Hope changes our desires and perspectives. Hope doesn’t change what we see, like the lens of optimism or pessimism, hope changes us to withstand the journey this side of heaven with enduring joy, peace, and contentment. So the answer to the question at the beginning of this post, is surprisingly no. People who are hope practitioners on a daily basis are probably much more likely to be perceived as optimists, but Christians aren’t “supposed” to be any particular way other than what God is making them to be.

Christians aren’t “supposed” to be worriers either, but I have an anxiety disorder. And occasionally that causes me to be a pessimist. But little by little, I’m experiencing the brain-changing miracle of hope. Change only happens if I believe it can. Belief only happens if I trust. Trust only happens if I surrender. Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”As I practice the holy prescription that cures anxiety found in Philippians 4:4-9, God is transforming my mind according to Romans 12:2. And Philippians 1:6 in The Message version says, “There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.” Now that’s a hope-filled promise we all can count on — optimists, realists, and pessimists alike — no matter what life brings us.

Questions for Further Reflection

• What are the dangers of being an optimist, a realist, or a pessimist? Which filter do you seem to gravitate to the most? Does it change when you’re under stress or emotional strain? Search for “Bible verses about hope” online and find one that speaks to your greatest tendencies.
• Read Psalm 71:14-16. What spiritual actions does the Psalmist take in order to help him to “hope continually”? Why are these so important in the life of a believer? Which one(s) is the Lord leading you to do more of today?

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Right now as I look out my window, a frozen landscape is greeting me and looking deceptively beautiful. Ice crystals are blanketing the evergreens and glistening in the sunlight, which is barely giving enough warmth to reach a double-digit temperature. And while there are hardy, winter-loving people who are probably frolicking in the snow under today’s clear blue skies, I’m enjoying the view without venturing away from the snuggly goodness of my roaring wood stove.

With the chilly, sparkling vista before me, it’s slightly difficult for me to imagine a lush green garden complete with just the perfect temperature and humidity for a peaceful stroll down a perfectly designed, wooded path lined with colorful flowers and serenaded by a majestic waterfall in the distance. If I dwell on the thought long enough, I might also be able to see a bench in the garden, waiting for me underneath an expansive shade tree and open to the widest view. Despite the extra strain on my imagination to concoct such a place in the middle of a Maine winter, I know the investment of time to get to the Garden in my mind is worth it. Worth every second… because I can leave all my distractions, fears, and worries far behind for a few precious minutes and focus on the most important thing in life. Most of all, it is worth it because of Who I’m meeting in the Garden, and because He and I have a standing appointment every morning with additional meetings scattered throughout the rest of the day.

I’ve written about heaven before, and while it’s a place we should contemplate often and draw comfort from, it’s not a place that we can access — or even fathom — during our time here on earth. On the other hand, the Garden is a place we can get to at any moment, and from any location. The literal Garden of Eden is long gone from earth, but I believe the existence of it and the fact that we were created for it, is emblazoned on our hearts. Our need for time in the Garden is interwoven into our souls. Somewhere deep inside of every human is a longing for the Garden — almost a kind of “knowing” that we don’t fully belong in our current existence, but rather that we should be dwelling in a deep, abiding fellowship with our Creator.

The problem is that most of us have either forgotten how to get to the Garden, are afraid of allowing ourselves to go there, or simply don’t make it a priority. We often choose instead to search for a counterfeit garden in our current surroundings, always wandering from valley to mountaintop and back again, only to find ourselves worn out, disappointed, and wondering why we cannot secure real peace, lasting happiness, or authentic contentment. We have yet to realize that only in the true Garden can we experience the wonder of being simultaneously on the mountaintop while walking through the valleys of life.

Humankind was created in the Garden and initially walked with God side by side in unbroken fellowship. We know this because Adam and Eve were clearly familiar with God’s arrival in the Garden in Genesis 3:8, and the previous chapters also make it clear that God had given them specific instructions and direction for daily living. But when they chose to trust in their own wisdom and defy God’s request, they could no longer exist in the presence of His pure perfection and holiness.  Forevermore, sin would come between the human race and its Creator unless atonement was made. Humanity may have been escorted out of the Garden, but the longing for the Garden has never been removed from our hearts.

In addition to the Garden of Eden it’s not a coincidence that Scriptures repeatedly mention gardens — both as literal places of great significance and as spiritual metaphors. Many of the Old Testament prophets used gardens as analogies for God’s restoration of His people following their repentance (for example, Isaiah 58:11). Just before His crucifixion, Jesus sought His Father’s help in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane (John 18:1-2), and then He triumphed in victory over sin and death as He was resurrected in the garden of Golgotha (John 19:41). Finally, we will experience God’s forever garden — paradise — when He returns for us as prophesied in Revelation 2:7. Astoundingly, we will be given access to the tree of life, which was originally established in the Garden of Eden.

Over and over throughout the Bible, we are reminded that God created us for garden living, and through the sacrifice and the atonement of Jesus, we can accept His personal invitation that beckons us: “Come to the Garden, my beloved. Come.” When we spend time with God in prayer, studying and meditating on the Word, and practice being still before Him in adoration and submission, we enter into the Garden.

One of my favorite hymns captures the essence of this invitation to us, and it has an interesting backstory. The hymn’s writer, C. Austin Miles, was a gospel singer and music publisher by trade, but one of his greatest passions was photography and developing his own images. One day in March 1912, he was waiting on some of his images to develop in his basement darkroom, so he passed the time by reading the Gospel of John. When he came to chapter 20, he began to let himself vividly imagine what it must have been like to be with Mary when she came to the garden the morning of Jesus’ resurrection. As he imagined what his own words might be to the savior, he was overcome with such emotion that he later said his hands and arms were trembling as he gripped his Bible. His real words came easily after that, and right there, in a cold, dark basement with not even a window, he penned the lyric for In the Garden. Miles once said of the popular hymn, “This is not an experience limited to a happening almost 2,000 years ago. It is the daily companionship with the Lord that makes up the Christian’s life.”

The other truth that overwhelms me about the story behind this hymn is the incredible role that Miles’ imagination played as he read John 20. Jesus calls us to love God with all of our hearts, minds, and souls (Matthew 22:37). And to endeavor to love Him in that way, we must be vulnerable and open to using all of our faculties to encounter Him and get to know Him better. We cannot love someone if we don’t intimately know them. The invitation from Jesus goes way beyond envisioning yourself in the Garden, it beckons you to find yourself in Him. Everything about yourself — what you’re made of, your dreams, your identity, and your very life — all found in Jesus.

As I ponder the hymn and listen to my favorite rendition of it, the word’s of its writer echo in my heart and remind me that Jesus is waiting and whispering to me, “Come to the Garden, my beloved. Put that distraction down and spend your time more wisely with me. Don’t wrestle with that hard stuff by yourself over there… come here with me instead. The empty thrills you’re seeking can never compare to the depth of my love and the satisfaction of spending time with me.”

Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Garden of prayer is that the gate into it is open 24 hours a day. Sometimes we are only able to linger there in short intervals, perhaps in the middle of a hectic workday or when taking a quick breath during a difficult conversation. Other times, we may rest in His presence for hours, wishing that moments like these would never end. Regardless of the amount of time, He just wants us to keep coming back consistently so we grow to be completely dependent on Him as our primary source of strength, peace, hope, and joy.

God intends for every day of our lives to include a Garden experience. And He takes delight when we show up. But like anything worth doing, the depth of our experience will take a lot of practice and mental discipline. For the longest time I just expected to feel transported into God’s presence from the moment my lips uttered “Dear God…” at the beginning of my prayer time. But being in the Garden with Jesus isn’t contingent upon anything I say. In fact, there are times when the Holy Spirit impresses upon me to say absolutely nothing. No, being in the Garden is more about what we do with our hearts and minds. It’s about a complete surrender of our wills, agendas, desires, fears, and worries. When we enter the Garden with open hands and a receptive heart, there’s no telling where He will lead us along the path of prayer and deeper into His presence. In the Garden anything is possible.

Questions for Further Reflection

• When we enter the Garden, Jesus wants us to be willing to lay down anything we shouldn’t be carrying around in our lives. The burdens of sin, distractions, and worries block us from fully hearing His voice and receiving His peace. What are some things you sense that He might be asking you to surrender to Him at the Garden gate?
• God has given us imaginations for a purpose that extend way beyond the fantasies of childhood. Do you ever use your imagination to envision being with Jesus? If not, what holds you back? Are you willing to try using it more in the coming weeks? You can learn more about using your imagination for God with this previous Glimmers blog post.
• Try spending some time imagining a walk with Jesus. It doesn’t have to be a literal garden scene. It might be your favorite place to hang out or your childhood playground. Wherever it is, take the time to let your vision fully develop. To get you started, you may want to watch this music video for The Garden by Kari Jobe.

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One of my favorite Christmas movies is The Family Man with Nicholas Cage and Téa Leoni. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it or haven’t seen it in a long time, here’s the basic premise of the film. A very successful and wealthy Wall Street executive (named Jack) goes to sleep one night in his own bed but mysteriously wakes up the next morning as himself but in a different house with a dramatically different life. He goes from being a single, career-driven city-dweller with so much wealth that he can buy whatever he wants to a married father of two living very modestly in the suburbs. One minute Jack is the CEO over a huge company with sweeping international influence and the next moment he is a salesman in his father-in-law’s tire store. At first, he is terrified and hates leaving behind his lavish lifestyle, but once he experiences what true love feels like from a devoted wife and two adoring kids, he realizes that his priorities and desires have been all wrong.

Every time I watch this movie, which admittedly is almost every year, I’m always freshly fascinated by what Jack is willing to give up at the end of the film. Spoiler alert: Unlike many Christmas “fantasy” movies, Jack doesn’t miraculously get what he wants at the end of the film. The real miracle of the story is the transformation of Jack’s heart to the point where he desperately desires sacrificial love over power, prestige, and all the money he could ever want. Giving up himself for the benefit of others becomes more appealing to him than receiving all that his old lifestyle had to offer.

I’m sure the Hollywood writers didn’t set out to illustrate Psalm 37:4 when they crafted The Family Man script, but the truth of that verse swirls in my mind over and over when I think about Jack’s choices. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Jack’s self-centered, self-pleasing choices were transformed by receiving sacrificial love. What a perfect Christmas message to ponder when thinking of what Jesus offers us, starting with the manger in a dank, dirty stable. While there is no movie, novel, or analogy that could truly help us grasp the kind of love that would compel a king to give up his splendor in order to wrap himself in the rags of common humanity, this story comes pretty close. In his wealthy life, Jack only let the finest Italian suits touch his exceedingly toned and pampered body. In the glimpse he was given as a father, Jack was rapidly developing a “dad bod” and wore a cotton-poly blend sales shirt with his name embroidered on the left pocket. I’m sure you get the picture. The dad version of Jack working at the tire store couldn’t afford a tailored suit (there’s a poignant scene about that in the movie), nor a gym membership, much less have the time for it.

But now try to imagine what Jack gave up on a much, much grander scale… a heavenly scale. One minute Jesus was walking on streets of gold and the next he was beginning a long journey on a dusty road to a destination called Calvary. Since before time began, He had been dwelling in endless perfection and unfathomable beauty, and He chose to subject Himself to abject poverty in unrelentingly harsh conditions. Most shockingly, He chose sacrificial love to the point of death over inexhaustible pleasure in the presence of God the Father. As Hebrews 12:2 puts it, He chose to suffer beyond anything you and I could possibly fathom for the “joy that was set before Him.”

But that’s because the joy that Jesus was focused on, is vastly more than we can possibly fathom. And what’s even more astounding is the faith, belief and trust in His Father that Jesus demonstrated while He was enduring the difficulty of his time — and eventually His brutal death — here on earth. Jesus knew the joy that waited on the other side of the cross and triumphant resurrection — was us. You and me. We are His joy. He lived and died solely that our union of joy might be complete in the Father. Being with us forever and abiding with us here in our hearts was worth everything He had to give for us. In John 15:10-11 Jesus said, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” This concept is repeated in 1 John 1:3-5 where it says that the message of Jesus was given so that our joy may be complete.

As a king on Wall Street, Jack could’ve never imagined changing a stinky diaper in the wee hours of the morning, yet he eventually came to realize that all the sacrifices and discomfort of being a father were worth it for the joy of loving his children. Even more so, imagine the love our Heavenly Father lavishes upon us, His children, through the birth and eventual sacrifice of Jesus. The Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3:15-21 that when we offer Jesus a home in our hearts and learn to trust Him, He empowers us to not only grasp how long, how high, and how deep God’s love is, but to also share that love with others at a level that will exceed our wildest dreams and expectations. When we allow the Spirit of Christ to complete His work in us, we become Christmas miracles ourselves.

A week from today Christmas will be over. But after the torn wrapping paper is wadded up and tossed in the recycle bin… after the last bit of ham is eaten… and after the last house guest goes home, will you and I remain unchanged? Will there be anything different about us other than a few additional pounds that need to be run off on the treadmill after New Years? My blog post for next week is already written and it’s entitled “The Day After Greatness,” and ironically, God laid it on my heart to write it before today’s post. I think that’s because He wanted to remind me that the big events, the holidays, the mile markers of our lives, are not destinations in themselves. They are steps on a journey with Him and none of them is without purpose. None of them is a carbon copy of the last one that requires us to only go through the motions. Absolutely none of them is ordinary unless we allow them to be. When we take the time to honor, celebrate, and meditate upon the birth of sacrificial love, we cannot help but to be changed — no matter how many times we think we’ve done it before. John 1 tells us that the Word became flesh in a manger so that the Word could one day live in us. The Word is God. The Word is Jesus full of grace and truth. Scripture is the God-breathed Word that gives us life. The Word is alive in us. If you haven’t already, read John 1:1-17 again several times. Read it aloud. Read it in several different versions, like The Message. Ask the Word to fall fresh upon you this Christmas and then rest. Really rest. Breathe and let yourself receive the joy, awe, and wonder of what only Jesus can bring.

Questions for Further Reflection

• In what ways do you think happiness differs from the kind of joy Jesus came to make complete in us? What do you think God might be prompting you to change in order to experience this kind of joy?
• How have you seen God change the desires of someone’s heart in miraculous ways? What desires in your heart do you wish He would change? Are there any that you are not willing to release if He asked you to give them up? In what ways can you delight in Him this holiday season?
• Ponder how John 1 defines what the Word is. What aspects of its description confuses you? Encourages you? Make a few notes about your reaction to reading that passage and spend time in prayer asking God to help you grasp how long, how high, and how deep His love is for you.​

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For some reason, a strange and almost impulsive desire to rebel comes over me when people other than those with clear and specific authority attempt to tell me what to do. I used the word “almost” because after many years of practice, I am usually able to pause long enough to reasonably assess the situation, filter what’s being said, and restrain myself from reacting too quickly or blurting out something that I will definitely regret later.

But that hasn’t always been the case, especially when it comes to God’s direction in my life. While there is no one with a clearer or more specific authority than God, like so many other believers, I still struggle with obeying a being I can’t literally see, touch, or physically hear. Even worse, my own strong need to be in control seems to overwhelm any earnest desire to trust Him in uncertain times and fearful situations. And the icing on this crazy cake of doubt is the nagging feeling, driven by pride, that makes me think that I just might be the exception to the rule. That if I could talk to God in person — really converse with Him face to face — He would see how special my situation is, how important it is that I know His plans ahead of time, and how critical it is that He gives me the desires of my heart.

Thankfully, however, He is sovereign and just, which means that He cannot be influenced to do anything that is not completely right. So, no matter how much I plead in prayer for relief or answers, my Heavenly Father won’t give me something that is not best for me and for His glory. Of course, His definition of what is “best” is usually different from mine, which is based entirely on my earthly experience and limited grasp of the bigger picture. When I am floating in the middle of an endless ocean of the unknown, it is impossible to see the shores of resolution He is guiding me toward. In this predicament, I have a choice. I can flail about to the point of exhaustion, which I have done countless times, making myself ill, both physically and emotionally. Or, I can trust in the God I can’t see, believing that He is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He can do, and that He not only knows where the shore is, but can also command the sea to bring me to shore whenever the time is right. If I love the God I claim to believe in, then I will trust Him enough to receive the peace He offers in the middle of an endless, and often apparently senseless, storm.

Once Mary announced her news from the angel, Joseph was immediately hurled into the middle of an endless, senseless storm. In a split second, he went from an ordinary, predictable life to complete and baffling chaos. To say that Joseph’s whole world changed is an understatement. Imagine the routine he had prior to the angel’s news. Life in the hamlet of Nazareth was probably fairly quiet and small compared to Jerusalem, which was teeming with political intrigue, bustling marketplaces, and religious activities at the temple. Joseph likely did what his father did, waking up every morning and walking into his carpentry shop. Day after day, he’d quietly work the wood, shaping it into a chair, a side table, or a cradle. But the day after the angel came was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.

I can’t even fathom what went through his mind. Mary’s story would be the equivalent of today’s science fiction or religious fantasy. Everyone in Nazareth probably knew each other, which meant hiding anything would be next to impossible. The weight that settled on Joseph’s shoulders must have felt unbearable. The sweet, seemingly innocent girl he had fallen in love with, had concocted some crazy story to cover up a grave sin punishable by death. As his mind flew between the hurt of utter betrayal and all-consuming anger toward the man who violated his bride, it is a wonder that he was able to sleep at all following the angel’s news.

At the end of Matthew 1, we read: “And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called His name Jesus.”

Somehow I think many of us read that and think, “If an angel appeared to me in a dream and spoke that clearly, of course I would obey, just as Joseph did. Oh, if only God would be so clear with me, I could go through anything if I knew all the details.” But I think most of us make a mistake with that assumption for two reasons. First, I think we erroneously believe that it was easy for Joseph after the dream and that he became miraculously comfortable with the whole outlandish scenario playing out before him. We must remember that he was just as ordinary… just as human as you and me. And secondly, we always underestimate what we think we need to feel comfortable or at peace. No reasons, explanations, or revealed plans will ever satisfy like we believe they will. That’s because our desire to know something is driven by our need for self-preservation and self-protection, both of which are the antithesis to trusting and loving God without reservation or dependence on self in any way.

In his classic book Trusting God, Jerry Bridges says, “Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of the soul by which we choose to lay hold of the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelm us.” It comes down to this: if we love God, then we will trust God, and in order to trust, we must continually choose to obey. I don’t think the angel gave Joseph a magical injection of trust serum when he delivered his message. The angel’s message to Joseph didn’t end the chaos, it only signified the beginning, and Joseph loved God enough to obey without question.

Just as we did last week, I encourage you to use your imagination to put yourself in Joseph’s shoes. The storms of your life are no less important to our loving Father, and He is faithful to send you messages of direction, hope, and peace if you are open to receiving His often unexpected words. Joseph needed an angel to appear in a dream because he didn’t have the Holy Spirit residing within him. For those who have invited the Messiah into their hearts, we have the Spirit of the living God whispering to us, singing over us, and comforting us 24 hours a day. The problem is we’re often blinded to God’s messages because we’re looking for angels. Maybe not literally, but in a way, we childishly want God to make us the exception to the rule… we want Him to give us the immediate solution… we want Him to appear or talk in such an obvious way, that we miss His whispers from the Word on a daily basis. We don’t have the patience to cultivate a habit of prayer, meditation, and stillness before His throne.

As you continue through this Holiday season, take a few moments to evaluate your willingness to love God enough to obey as Joseph did. Take a few moments to be alone with Him and prayerfully listen to the song “Strange Way to Save the World” by Mark Harris. (Play on Spotify or YouTube) As your heart swells with appreciation, ask God to give you Joseph’s heart this Christmas. A heart like his anticipates the coming King. A heart that perseveres even among the unknowns. A heart like Joseph’s will do anything it takes — sacrifice anything — to serve His God and love others even when it’s uncomfortable. An obedient heart like his is willing to walk through darkness for the sake of the light that is to come.

For Further Reflection
For those of you who use these weekly posts as devotional content, here are three reflection questions to ponder.

• Before we can truly love we must truly believe. Do you really believe God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do? What areas of belief do you struggle with? Why? Using an online topical search, look up verses that address your doubt and commit to memorizing at least one them.
• Read Matthew 25:21. What kind of “angels” have you been waiting for instead of turning to Scriptures and prayer to find your answers and direction? What are some of the “little things” from the Bible that you have not been faithful to obey? (i.e. tithing, forgiving someone, purity, etc.)
• Read Lamentations 3:22-23. How does this change your perspective on your current circumstances or a problem you are facing? What kind of “mercies” do you think God gave Joseph and Mary on the day the news broke across Nazareth?

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This is part one of a three-part series for Advent.

Quite a few years ago, I went on a trip to visit a long-time friend of mine who has what many people call the “It” factor. Having first met her in the business world, I had always known she could’ve charmed even Ebenezer Scrooge given the opportunity, but when she took me to the airport I experienced the effect of her magnetic presence in a way that took even me by surprise.

Being the gracious host she was, she insisted on waiting in the check-in line with me rather than just dropping me off at the curb. My departure time was early in the morning, so she had on sweats and was wearing no makeup at all. I tell you this because it’s important. As we stood there chatting in line two guys near us joined our conversation. Before I knew it, they were offering both of us some of their points to upgrade to first class. They were corporate road warriors and had so many points they could never hope to use them all. My friend smiled, thanked them, and then informed them that she wasn’t traveling today. I smiled at them and shrugged. Rather than confirming that their interest solely lied in meeting her, they awkwardly followed through on their offer and conferred the necessary points to me anyway. Once my friend left me at security, they didn’t say another word to me the rest of the trip.

Now I bet you’re thinking that she must be gorgeous. Then prepare yourself to be as baffled as I was with the strength of her “It” factor. Her charming appeal to virtually everyone she encounters — men, women, kids, pets (I’m not kidding!) — doesn’t really have to do with any single, specific characteristic. After much pondering about the airport incident, I’ve come to the conclusion that the “it” of my friend’s seemingly universal appeal is the magical combination of what she possesses — not a standalone trait or capability. She has just enough physical appeal to elicit a pleasurable reaction when you see her. But she is not so beautiful that anyone would feel intimidated or jealous. She’s been successful enough to wear trendy sweats to the airport that look like they came from the Athleta catalog and not the Walmart bargain bin. And she is a fantastic listener with a sparkling wit. Oh, and did I mention that she’s a savvy entrepreneur?
If I stopped there with my description of her, you might conclude that she sounds perfect and too good to be true. But here is what I came to realize. It is her flaws and weakness, and how she’s handled them, that really gives her that special spark. The hard experiences of her life have shaped her in a way that others are drawn to her like moths to a flame. I know enough about what she’s been through, how hard she’s had to work, the rejections she’s been dealt, the heartbreaks she’s endured, and the disappointments she’s experienced, to realize that hardship has tenderized a person who would otherwise likely be perceived as arrogant, intimidating, and unapproachable. In a word, my friend’s combination of incredible qualities is powerful because of the most important trait of all — humility. To embody all that she does with humility makes her simply enchanting.

During the Advent season, many people have only a superficial understanding of one of the most pivotal characters in the Christmas story — Mary. In the centuries and millennia that passed after the birth of Jesus, she has been elevated and revered to the point where most people forget, or never realize, who she really was. We often overlook her humanity. And it is such a mistake, because like my friend, it is Mary’s weaknesses, including the dire circumstances into which she was born, that truly make her story remarkable and a lesson for us all.

We certainly don’t know if Mary had the “It” factor, but it is highly unlikely since not many of the Biblical heroes God raised up and used for His glory had it either. In fact, many of them were not respected, accepted, or even noticed. Mary wasn’t some superhuman with angelic powers (or a halo). She probably wasn’t the most beautiful girl in town, and she certainly didn’t come from a wealthy family. She was betrothed to a common carpenter and lived in a place with a bad reputation. And in that time period and culture, women were not offered any formal education. Any knowledge or skills they gleaned would be only through the instruction of their parents.

But Mary had the most important ingredient for God to use her to usher in the greatest event in human history — humility. Like yeast added to dough, humility is the ingredient that triggers spiritual greatness for God’s glory. All the raw ingredients can be inside a person, but without humility, even the best combination of traits will fall short of God’s plan.

We can glean the greatest insight into Mary’s true nature in her exchange with the angel and subsequent reaction in Luke 1:26-56. Due to the length of the passage, I won’t include it here, but I encourage you to stop and ask God to open your heart as you read it. Keep in mind that the news the angel gave Mary was practically a death sentence. In that era, a woman becoming pregnant outside of marriage could cause the Jewish leaders to stone her. Put yourself in her shoes and imagine an angel telling you that God has favored you, and as a result, something will soon happen to you that normally would mean death. Yet Mary’s reaction in verse 38 was, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” She was humble enough to care more for God’s desires than her own, and that level of humility always triggers something else remarkable — an unwavering, odds-defying sense of trust. She was humble enough to believe that God would do what He said He would do and that she didn’t need to worry about her circumstances or try to control the situation by concealing the coming miracle. She was not ashamed of what was likely to be perceived as the most shameful thing that could happen to her. The approval of her Heavenly Father was more important than the approval of her parents because Mary found her self-worth and identity in God, not in her own capabilities. The angel had told her in verse 37, “For nothing will be impossible with God,” and she simply believed it.

After visiting her cousin Elizabeth, who was also miraculously pregnant with John the Baptist, Mary was overwhelmed with wonderment for God’s love, presence, and unfolding plan. The rest of the passage contains her joyful song of thanksgiving back to God. Just as Mary was preparing her heart for the coming Christ child, her response is the perfect model for us to prepare in the same way this Christmas season. In just 10 verses, Mary’s words outline the beautiful outcome of a humbled heart submitted to God’s glorious power. In her description, we witness the incredible splendor of what God can do with a life joyfully yielded to Him.

Finding the time to be still with God during this time of year is difficult. But if you want to encounter God in fresh ways during the holidays, I invite you to carve out a few moments to sit at the manger in Bethlehem. If you can’t do it now, try the following in your next quiet time with God.

Envision that rough bed of straw on the cold cave floor. Try to feel the scratchiness as it pokes through the fabric of your clothes, reminding you of the real bed you can’t afford. Imagine the place not only where the Christ child laid His head, but also where Mary’s surrender to God brought forth the salvation of the world. What the angel foretold was rife with difficulty from beginning to end. Now read Mary’s response to God in Luke and then listen to her ballad brought to life by Todd Agnew and Christy Nockels in this beautiful rendition of the song Magnificat. (Listen on YouTube or Spotify for free) The words are almost verbatim from Scripture. As you sit there on the scratchy hay and adore the One who came to give you life forever, sing it back to Him in your heart. Make Mary’s words your own and mean them. Then wait in the stillness for your Savior to come.

Not unlike the rough, inhospitable hay, our hearts were destined to contain a King. We may not have the “It” factor, nor the money for a warm bed in a fancy inn, but if we have humility, our Savior will show up and do exactly as the angel said. The impossible will become possible as He uses us for His glory and changes the world again and again.

For Further Reflection
For those of you who use these weekly posts as devotional content, here are three reflection questions.

• How do Mary’s response to the angel and her song back to God speak into your life? Does it bring comfort? Joy? Conviction? Wonderment?
• In the full passage from Luke, which verse jumped out at you the most? What do you think God is trying to tell you through this verse? How could it change your perspective or priorities this advent season?
• In what ways do you think God is challenging you to release pride, surrender your plans, or trust in Him more?

Consider writing your answers down in a notebook or journal so that you can capture your experiences with God. Recording your prayers, praises, and progress is not only an effective way of preventing spiritual drift and capturing deeper meaning, but it will also encourage you during hard times.

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Have you ever noticed that when we refer to an unpleasant, difficult, or mundane task, we often imply that it has accumulated to a level that is beyond reason or fairness? From piles of snow and stacks of overdue projects to mounds of dirty laundry or mountains of bills to pay, there are times when life seems to be consumed by sky-high drudgery. No matter which metaphor you prefer, from gobs to loads, there’s not a human being who doesn’t make mountains out of molehills when it comes to things they dread doing.
In some ways, the worst part of grunt work is the anticipation of it. Just knowing something arduous is headed your way, whether its hours or weeks away, can become a heavy cloud over your mood or a huge weight on your shoulders until you get it done. When we know a task or uncomfortable situation is inevitable, we often struggle to enjoy being in the moment or even concentrating on what we’re doing right now. And if there’s any way the drudgery can wait, we may even fall into the trap of procrastination and then moan in misery when we realize that putting it off made it even worse.

So how do we find God’s glory in the grunt work of life? Scripture gives us very specific promises and clear direction in this matter because God knew that drudgery and mundane tasks would consume more of our waking hours that we would like them to. Sorry, I know that’s a very pessimistic thing to say, but stick with me on this topic because good and amazing things can come out of what we perceive to be miserable, but necessary uses of our time. Wherever your source of drudgery is usually found — in your job, home chores, family responsibilities, health problems, financial issues, etc. -- God’s design for your life includes miraculous transformation in every little detail.

In pondering my own snow and ice shoveling misery this week, God led me to see five steps toward glorifying Him even in the most annoying situations. But before we jump into those, it is important to understand the Biblical premise of transformation. In fancy Christian lingo, it is called sanctification. It’s a difficult word with an easy concept to grasp, but oh so hard to implement. It simply means the believer’s process in becoming more like Jesus. When we choose to pursue a life given over to His leadership, we enter the process of sanctification and are slowly transformed over time. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says all believers become a new creation in Christ. Sometimes, however, the fruit or outcome of this transformation is hard to see. Sanctification is the spiritual mystery we must believe is at work at all times in every Christ follower, even if we can’t see the evidence immediately.

What’s so fascinating about sanctification is that its transformative work occurs in two different ways. First, the Bible promises that we are continually being transformed as we let the Holy Spirit work in us. Second, any task we perform is an opportunity for sanctification, no matter how exciting or mundane, and is inexplicably and often invisibly transformed into an act of divine glorification. And guess what? When we are glorifying God, misery becomes magnificence. This may seem like an impossibility, but for these five steps to work, we must begin by believing that God not only makes all things possible but that He can also transform the most common things on a daily basis.

Step 1: Embrace God's direction 
1 Corinthians 10:31 gives us this command, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” This verse isn’t hard to understand, although many have tried to make the interpretation of it complicated. It means what it says. It means everything you do — from giving someone a hug to cleaning toilets — do it all as for the Lord. Perhaps not as obvious, but as vitally important, it also means that it is indeed possible to glorify God in everything we do. It is possible to experience His glory all day long.
People often wonder what God’s will is for their lives, but they fail to start with the most basic direction from Him. In order to obey this command, we must embrace God’s foundation of truth. When we embrace someone or something, we go far beyond resignation, way past acceptance, and plunge headlong into passion. Jesus was passionate about conquering the sin in our lives with His sacrifice, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we can humbly surrender our desires, stubbornness, and resentments to Him. 

Step 2: Shift your perspective
There are no shortcuts on this step because it takes practice to continually ask God to shift your perspective and give you the eyes to see your situation from His point of view. For example, God may look at a stack of dirty dishes as a character builder or a humility generator, but you just see it as something your spouse forgot to do. Your perspective will make you grumpy with each crusty dish that goes into a time-consuming soak. God’s perspective yields sanctification. Yours would only yield frustration. Romans 8:28 says God works all things… ALL things … for His glory. Brother Lawrence, a monk who learned to communicate with God virtually every waking moment no matter what he was doing, said, “The difficulties of life do not have to be unbearable. It is the way we look at them — through faith or unbelief — that makes them seem so. We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.”

Step 3: Continually confirm and communicate
1 Timothy 4:4-5 says, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” This is such an instructive verse. Everything received with gratitude to God is transformed through the power of Scripture and a prayer of surrender. When we continually go to the Word to confirm our validation and direction and then follow that up with constant communication with God through prayer during every task, we can have complete trust that He will use anything we do for His purposes.

Step 4: Use Your Imagination
Since God said He will transform every task, then imagining how He might choose to do so is not only a way of praising Him, but it will also help pass the time during an especially boring or long task. Divinely directed visualization is encouraged in Scripture and not many adults know how to do it or are comfortable with the concept, but when you combine imagination with prayer, you open up your heart and mind to see the impossible. 1 Corinthians 10:33 instructs us to do everything with love towards God and others, knowing that every moment is an opportunity to encourage others and point them to the love of Jesus. (Read more about using your imagination for God in this post.)

Step 5: Receive the promise
Jesus’ sacrifice guarantees that we will find more than we ever imagined by letting Him lead our hearts and lives. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Although we are to offer everything up to God solely because we love Him, Scripture makes it clear that He will reward us for doing so. When the going gets tough, we can rest assured that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. There is always a reason for the struggle. We have the reward of hope in every task and in every moment.

Oswald Chambers said, “If we will arise and shine, drudgery will be divinely transformed. The inspiration of God is required if drudgery is to shine with the light of God upon it. When the Lord does something through us, He always transforms it.” So next time you’re facing that mountain of misery, take God at His Word, pray your way through it, and then watch it transform into a gift of glory.

For Further Reflection
For those of you who use these weekly posts as devotional content, I’ll be including three reflection questions from now on. Consider writing your answers down in a notebook or journal so that you can capture your journey with Jesus. Recording your prayers, praises, and progress is not only an effective way of preventing spiritual drift, but it will also encourage you during hard times.

• How have you seen God transform mundane or miserable tasks in your life? Which ones do you need His help with right now?
• What scripture verse jumped out at you today? Why do you think God has brought this to your attention?
• Which of the five steps do you need to work on the most? What do you think God is leading you to do next? 

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Those of you who have been reading the Glimmers blog for a while know that I often write about my own spiritual wrestling matches with the ups and downs of life. I figure if I'm struggling with something, then there must be someone else who could benefit by hearing my stories. Most importantly, I pray people see a glimpse or hear a whisper from the One who is waiting to be discovered amidst the stuff of everyday life.

That’s the calling and driving passion He’s ignited in my heart and asked me to spend my time, energy and resources pursuing. And while this path is at times exciting, sometimes the effort, requirements, and complexities surrounding it spill over healthy boundaries, rushing in like a cresting river in my mind at the most inconvenient times … for instance, when I need to be sleeping. In fact, I struggle more with sleep now as a fledgling full-time writer than I ever did when working insane hours in a high-stress corporate career. And I’ve come to understand that’s because my calling doesn’t have any of the usual structure or familiar routines associated with a company environment.

No, it’s just me and God on a wild frontier, and I don’t know where He’s taking me. It’s the most incredible adventure and opportunity of my life, yet it is also the scariest. Since James 3:1 says, “We who teach will be judged more strictly,” I pray daily that what the Holy Spirit speaks will rise above the noise, assumptions, prejudices, and weaknesses of my mind. When the father of lies starts whispering to me and reignites the fears in my heart, I often wake up in the middle of the night ready to throw in the towel on this whole thing. After many nights of lying awake feeling panicky and completely inadequate — I am finally starting to understand something critical. Unlike a career, a God-calling only comes to fruition when it operates entirely under His hand and for His glory. I knew this intellectually, but I am just now coming to understand this truth on a heart level. And this new depth of understanding rose out of my struggle, not at a time when I was feeling confident, successful or satisfied.

When we go through trials in our relationships, our health, our jobs, or even something like the election results, our hearts, minds, and souls long to be soothed. For example, the other night when I was over-the-edge frustrated with trying to convert my new devotional eBook to a Kindle-ready format (don’t get me started on that one!), I sought out a soothing release in the wrong place — lots of chocolate and a saccharin Hallmark movie. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with chocolate in itself, but neither it, or the ridiculously unrealistic movie, did anything to help me sleep that night. It got my mind off my struggles for a while, but once the sugar therapy had worn off both mentally and physically, I still woke up with my brain running a million miles a minute. In the middle of the night, it’s funny how we all erroneously tend to think that the world’s problems depend on us and everything is all about us. That’s how Satan works his best lies on us. They are born and bred on a foundation of self-centeredness.

But instead of letting his nasty tricks twist me up this time, I turned to the only soothing word that doesn’t wear off. The second time I woke up in a mental spin class, I ran to THE Word, and the most miraculous thing happened — after a little session of saturating myself in it and yielding to its effect, I fell into a deep, much-needed sleep. When morning came, I bolted out of bed with thoughts about the multi-faceted and incredible power of the most soothing Word in the world.

Some of you might think of the Bible when I say, the “Word.” Others think I’m referencing Jesus… or the Holy Spirit… or God. Well, it’s all Him. And that’s what has me spellbound in a whole new way today. The Word in its all-encompassing, harmonious nature is alive, relevant, and fresh every day. John 1:1-5 so beautifully explains this mystery:
In the beginning the Word already existed.
    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through Him,
    and nothing was created except through Him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and His life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Because Jesus is the Word, and Jesus is God, and God’s Spirit inhabits the Word, which is alive, dwelling in us, then the Word is life itself. And if we want that life, then we need to take all of it in. We can’t expect to be fully soothed, calmed, cheered, strengthened, satisfied, or healed when we only partake of a mere slice of it. God calls us to receive, experience, and nurture a relationship with all of Him. Life-boosting, deeply satisfying relationships don’t happen in pieces.

John was inspired to call this all-encompassing nature of God the Word because, according to John Piper, “He had come to see the words of Jesus as the truth of God and the person of Jesus as the truth of God in such a unified way that Jesus himself — in his coming, and working, and teaching, and dying and rising — was the final and decisive message of God.” God sent the message in the person of His only Son, who in turn, left His Spirit to dwell in us.

To thrive spiritually, mentally, and physically, God has provided the Word to impact every area of our lives. Like food and water, human beings were simply not designed to function without it. When you sin and fail, the Word is like an antibiotic salve, capable of treating the most infectious spiritual bacteria running rampant in your life. When you struggle or cry out in pain, it’s the soothing balm for your frazzled mind and wounded heart. When you long for something or seem to be waiting endlessly, the Word offers true satisfaction and endless patience. When you feel overwhelmed, hopeless or lost, it delivers hope, reassurance, and direction for every decision. Like a breath of fresh air in a toxic haze, the Word brings clarity to our lives.

While sitting at a community well with an outcast, Jesus said in John 4:10, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” In every frustration, every need, every decision, the Word beckons us, saying to us over and over the same thing, “If you only knew the gift God has for you.” Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us that this life is not to be lived without the covering, grace, and strength of God’s mercy. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

Jeremiah 2:5 warns us that when we seek worthless idols, we will become worthless ourselves. That doesn’t mean God won’t help us or doesn’t love us, but it does mean that we will be rendered useless for His kingdom. So, whatever your world looks like today… whatever challenges you face… whatever hurt you feel… the well of the Word is waiting for you. The Holy Spirit is ready to help you draw from it, if you’re willing to use the bucket He offers and then fully digest its contents into your life. But holding the bucket isn’t possible until you drop the idols from your hands. The Word can only be embraced with open hands and a willing heart.
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Finally, we’ve reached the last week of the election season. Please join me in a collective sigh of relief. Following last week’s post of finding compassion in a culture of condemnation, it seemed only appropriate to talk about finding truth amid the chaos of election season. Even though next Tuesday is a mid-term vote, it seems as though this year's advertising push has been bombarding us at a level usually only seen in the presidential elections. Like most Americans, I am eagerly anticipating the removal of the countless tacky yard signs which take away from the splendor of the fall colors, not to mention finally being able to watch my favorite TV show (The Voice) without the incessant noise and rude volleys between the local candidates. The political rhetoric this season has been much scarier than anything that can be seen in tonight’s spooky movie marathons.

So when the negative rhetoric is more frightening than Hollywood’s thrillers and the fantastical accusations are flying from both sides, how do we see the truth and make decisions that honor God? Recently, I came across a brilliant ray of hope on this topic. Nestled deep among the litany of disturbing news stories, was a The New York Times op-ed piece by Timothy Keller, the pastor of Redeemer Church in NYC. The essay, which was drawn from his newest book about the life of Jonah, is a reminder to Christians that we cannot "transcend politics and simply ‘preach the Gospel.’” It also offers a reminder to the general public that we as believers don’t fit into the stereotypical boxes of America's two-party system.

Because I cannot say it as eloquently as he does, I encourage you to read the essay for yourself. But his two main points are this: (1) God calls Christians to be actively involved in seeking and supporting the truth in our governmental bodies, no matter which political affiliation is espousing the truth; and (2) we should not allow the Body of Christ as a whole to be fully identified and publicly married to one political party because the issues we should fight for often cross party lines or are aligned with no party at all.

In his essay, Keller explains: "So Christians are pushed toward two main options. One is to withdraw and try to be apolitical. The second is to assimilate and fully adopt one party’s whole package in order to have your place at the table. Neither of these options is valid. In the Good Samaritan parable told in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus points us to a man risking his life to give material help to someone of a different race and religion. Jesus forbids us to withhold help from our neighbors, and this will inevitably require that we participate in political processes. If we experience exclusion and even persecution for doing so, we are assured that God is with us (Matthew 5:10-11) and that some will still see our 'good deeds and glorify God' (1 Peter 2:11-12). If we are only offensive or only attractive to the world and not both, we can be sure we are failing to live as we ought."

What I love most about this essay is the way it so beautifully stands out in the sea of polarizing stereotypes about Christians in the media. As one of the most regarded and well-known Christian leaders of our day, Keller used one of the most visible platforms in the world to proclaim that Jesus and those who seek Him in spirit and truth cannot be defined by the constructs and perceptions of humankind. Of course, the challenge is for us to walk in spirit and truth in front of our neighbors, friends, and co-workers and refuse to be hemmed in by anything the world tries to impress upon us. After all, it’s much easier to succumb to the status quo and go with the flow.

If you’re like me, though, you were hoping that Keller would prescribe some particular spiritual antidote to apply at the voting box this coming Tuesday. When we trust a leader, we often find ourselves wanting him or her to simply do the thinking for us, but that’s not what Keller does, nor did Jesus when He was leading the disciples. Like the first band of believers, Jesus expects us to do the hard work of seeking God’s personal and specific direction for each of our unique situations. So as you head to the polls next week or cast your absentee ballot, as a believer you have a responsibility to invite the Holy Spirit to guide not only your mind in evaluating the truth, but also your heart and soul. The election is a call to Christians to pray… a lot. No matter how it turns out, ultimately voting should be about Christians earnestly seeking communion with God, not merely fulfilling a civic duty. John 14:17 says the world cannot receive the spirit of truth, on the other hand 16:13 reminds us that believers do possess the spirit of truth. He dwells inside of us and “He will guide us into all truth.”

While the Roman Empire was governed quite differently than the U.S., Paul had a great deal of experience handling the intersection of faith with politics. As a Roman citizen, he knew firsthand the weight of both his civic duty and his calling from God, so therefore he emphasized the need for prayer. In 1 Timothy 2:1-2 he writes, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” In referring to “all people,” Paul specifically highlights governmental leaders.

I also love the way the Message version puts our command to be responsible citizens in Romans 13:1-2: “Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible.”

When we honor God by praying for guidance, for our leaders of both parties, and for the people of our nation, we can let go of any worry over the outcome. Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.” Furthermore, no matter how helpful or how damaging we perceive the election results to be, we must continue to pray for righteousness to prevail and trust in the sovereignty of our Heavenly Father. My go-to verse when I need the reassurance of God’s benevolent, wise involvement in everything that happens on earth is 1 Chronicles 29:11-12: “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength.” Oh, that all Christians would get on their knees this Election Day and just pray those verses back to our Heavenly Father!

This Tuesday your vote does count, but not just for the obvious patriotic reasons. Every vote counts because Jesus expects us to be vessels for the truth motivated to action in every opportunity. He doesn’t want us to be spectators sitting on the sidelines hoping to go unnoticed any more than He wants us to blindly and abrasively champion the views of a single party line for the sake of convenience or public attention. Jesus wants us to trumpet Him above all else, and the only way to do that is to rise above the rhetoric and vote in spirit and truth.
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Hey did you notice that this week's post is 30% shorter than usual? If you prefer the shorter length, please let me know so I can improve the blog. :-) Also, if you like this blog post, why not invite others to read it, share it, and subscribe to my weekly emails? You will be encouraging them and you will be helping me share the love of Christ with others. It’s a win-win!

For almost six weeks this summer, my house was like a B&B with a string of out of town guests. Believe it or not, I had a great time playing hostess, baking early morning wild blueberry scones, making sure that each visitor had all the essentials, and checking the weather for any impact on our plans. Now, I don’t really consider myself overly gifted in the hospitality department, but I have to admit that my inner Martha Stewart emerged just a tiny bit, minus the over-the-top decorations and crafting projects. At the end of each day, I wanted to go to bed knowing that they had a good time, ate some amazing food, and felt comfortable enough to truly relax.

Despite this, after about the third week of welcoming family and friends, I was surprised to find myself struggling emotionally without the familiar comfort of some of my usual habits. In order to accommodate the desires and schedules of a houseful of vacationers, there were some routines I just had to temporarily give up. A few of my emotions were far stronger than I would have anticipated, and this realization made me stop and ask myself if I was just becoming too set in my ways (i.e. old!) to be flexible or if the power of my repetitive behaviors was far greater than I realized.

Then I recalled a quote from a research-driven book that I read a few years ago called The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg: “(Habits) shape our lives far more than we realize — they are so strong, in fact, that they cause our brains to cling to them at the exclusion of all else, including common sense.” Phew! It’s not necessarily that I am getting old. I felt immediately better. But now I still had to figure out what to do about the emotions I was wrestling with since my life wouldn’t return to normal for several more weeks and, above all, I wanted to make everyone feel comfortable. I mean, who would want to come back to a cranky person’s house for vacation?

As I pondered this, I came to realize how many of the habits I was missing at the moment had a direct connection to my sense of place… my home. When I’ve gone away on vacation, it’s always been easier to forgo some of my routines because I am simply not in the usual place where they occur. This fact is actually a detriment to some of my good habits that also go out the window when I’m traveling, like eating right. Sigh. But being out of routine in the place where you dwell is naturally unsettling and both our bodies and minds immediately experience dissonance when a familiar environment becomes inhospitable to our habits. This is exactly why changing our bad habits is so hard in the first place. We are conditioned to them and our minds and bodies naturally return to them, especially in times of weakness, stress or sadness. According to Duhigg, “Habits, scientists say, emerge because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort. Left to its own devices, the brain will try to make almost any routine into a habit, because habits allow our minds to ramp down more often.”

Hebrews 12 is one of my favorite scripture passages about the importance of keeping good habits and working to change the bad ones. In verse 11, we find incredible encouragement: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Being watchful of our habits and making tough changes to our routines can only be done through continuous training. I placed this verse on my wall above my computer last year following a major career shift in my life. After 25 years of ingrained work patterns, disciplines, and routines, my productivity was virtually paralyzed without familiar surroundings, expectations, people, or schedules. Knowing that Jesus was working to bring about “a peaceful harvest of right living” inside of me, as the New Living Translation phrases it, sustained me through months and months of feeling like a fish out of water even though I was sitting in my own home office.

Paul goes on to say in verse 12: “Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” The Holy Spirit is with us to lift us up, empower us, and give us the endurance to make hard changes and then stick with healthy habits of all kinds, no matter whether they are spiritual, physical, or relational in nature. Paul had firsthand experience with replacing bad habits with new ones. Imagine the changes that he had to make when he abandoned his life as a Jewish persecutor of Christians and became a Christ-follower himself. Every habit, schedule, expectation and routine he possessed needed to change. And when you’re facing a mountain of changes all at once, there’s nothing Satan wants to achieve more than to bring you down and make you feel weak in the knees. That’s when we lift our tired and weary hands regardless of our emotions and sing praises to the One who will always lift our heart and our hands. Psalm 64:10 says to make praise your habit because God is always at work, and Psalm 3:3 says He is the lifter of our heads.

We are promised success when we honor God with our lives as living sacrifices, which is the same thing as turning our daily habits, goals, resources, and time over to Him to direct and manage for His purposes. 1 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” As believers, we have the power inside of us to change any habit and cultivate lives that point to Jesus. I am reminded of this everyday before I exercise. I don’t want to exercise. As a matter of fact, I dread it. Daily. But there’s no room for laziness when committing to a good, but a difficult habit to maintain. If I let just one day go, with the exception of simply being unable to exercise due to something like illness, then I suddenly find that it’s even easier to let the second day slide, and the third day after that… and before I know it, I’ve fallen off the fitness wagon and onto my couch… with a bag of chips. And maybe some Ben & Jerry’s. Not good. Mental habits are no exception to laziness either. As a continually recovering worrier, I must exercise the muscles of my mind every day to avoid sliding into anxiety or negative thoughts. Yes, there are days I fail at exercise and at cultivating a peaceful heart, but deep diving into scripture meditation and prayer are good habits that also act as guardrails to keep me from completely sliding off the cliffs of laziness, complacency, and discouragement.

So I bet you’re still wondering how I avoided turning into Oscar the Grouch with my guests. Well, like any would-be novelist with a strong imagination, I simply pretended. For the last few weeks, at least in my mind, we were all on vacation together at a rental house that I picked out with our specific guests in mind. I still felt somewhat responsible to entertain and accommodate, but I suddenly wanted to do all the things I loved on vacation too, like getting lost in a really good summer novel. I ended up being more relaxed and less bothered by my missing routines.

Now I sit here writing this in an empty house, with one of my favorite afternoon habits — a cup of hot green cinnamon tea. The instrumental music is playing to help me write… everything is quiet and everyone is gone. Back to their jobs, schools, homes… and their own habits and routines. And I am back to mine. Only this time, I have determined to set fresh eyes on my habits with renewed inspiration to make some adjustments. One of my favorite quotes is from David Mathis who wrote Habits of Grace, “Your habits are, in fact, one of the most important things about you. Those repeated actions you take over and over, almost mindlessly, reveal your true self over time as much as anything else.” Being reminded of how powerful my habits are and how important God’s calling should be in my life, has made me realize the very things I don’t usually think about are some of the most critical things to actually spend time thinking about. Taming our habits is certainly not easy, but yielding to the Holy Spirit to help us do it gives us a power that’s even greater than the force of the habits themselves.

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The time we have on earth is a lot like living in a big backyard surrounded by an unscalable wooden fence. As believers, we know that an eternal life waits for us on the other side, light years better than anything we can see or understand from our vantage point here in the backyard. But because we can’t see through the fence, we depend on faith to assure us that there is indeed much more in store for us than the routines, struggles and earthly pleasures of our everyday lives. 

Every now and then, however, we are blessed to come upon a knothole in the fence. It might be something someone says at the perfect moment, a fleeting sense of wonder, or even a momentary vision, but these often unexpected knotholes give us tiny, yet enlightening, glimpses into God’s miraculous work behind the scenes on our behalf. Sometimes we find them right after a difficult trial when our eyes are suddenly opened to see why God allowed certain events to occur. Other times, a glimpse happens right out of the blue through the power of a scripture passage, a timely word from a friend, or a moment of worship. Like precious evidence in a scientific investigation, these small insights build our faith over time and encourage us to keep going through the toughest of seasons.

Prayerful stillness is one of the best ways to find knotholes, especially if you find yourself sitting in the backyard staring in frustration at the fence line, instead of flourishing where God’s placed you. We’ve all been there… frustrated, discouraged, or maybe even feeling betrayed. We believe God must be working, but we’re tired of only looking at that big, stationary fence. We long for movement, change, improvement… anything, really. And if we’re not careful, our longings will eventually eclipse our desire for God Himself, and then we risk camping out at the fence line forever. And this is where prayer comes in — not with a goal of finding the knotholes, but with an aim of knowing and depending on our Heavenly Father more and more whether we can see what’s on the other side or not. 

We can spend hours, days, weeks and even years asking why, when all God wants us to do is be still before Him, humbly listen, and then obey. Even when we take the time out from our jobs, commitments, and chores, we often remain busy in our minds. The to-do lists, over analysis, and worries, spin in our head, drowning out any chance of hearing His voice, feeling His comfort, or seeing His hand move. Prayer, scripture meditation, and solitude in God’s presence are the antidotes to an obsession with staring at the fence line and asking why over and over. God can reveal deep things in our prayerful stillness that we simply cannot perceive, or receive, when we’re busy with life’s demands or consumed with worry. 

Stillness is hard. Solitude is practically a lost art. And if you’re an extrovert, like me, these spiritual disciplines are even more difficult to cultivate. But the “whys” of life will never stop. As soon as one unknown is revealed, another one will always pop up. The Enemy of our souls knows this and uses the crazy busyness of our lives and our minds to make sure we never find peace in the storms of fear, doubt, and unanswered questions that flood our backyards. But Jesus says, “Peace, be still” to our hearts, minds, and souls. In fact, peace is mentioned more than 400 times in the Bible, and Jesus talked about it repeatedly with the disciples. He knew that our tendency toward busyness would choke the life out of our spiritual health, so He modeled the practice of stillness and solitude (Luke 6:12, Matthew 14:13). Jesus wanted to make sure the disciples understood that nurturing a deep intimacy with God the Father, was foundational to the abundant life He promised them. Repeatedly, He left the busyness of ministry and the demands of His closest companions to be alone with God.

It took me many years to realize that the reason I couldn’t see many of God’s divine knotholes was that I was focusing on the storms themselves instead of keeping my eyes on Jesus, despite the unsettling circumstances swirling around me. I used to expect Him to make everything go away, rather than holding my hand through the struggles and unmet expectations. I used to keep myself so busy I could ignore the storms on the horizon, rather than being still with Jesus and letting him teach me, prepare me, and then lead me through them. Every time a new trial comes, I struggle to keep from reverting back to my old habits, but God has always been faithful to make me stronger when I trust Him.

In the gospel of Mark, we see Jesus’ habit of quiet time with God at the very beginning of His ministry. “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed. And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him, and they found Him and said to Him, ‘Everyone is looking for you’.” (Mark 1:35-37) Notice that Jesus went far enough away from them to truly get alone with His Father. Also, He didn’t give in to the mental busyness associated with His work or relationships. We often forgo quiet time with God when the expectations of people around us are particularly pressing or close-by. Jesus’ example in this passage especially spoke to me, as I have had a series of summer house guests for more than a month. While I tried to carve out the time and a place to be alone with God daily, it didn’t always happen. But on the days it did, I had abundantly more grace, joy, generosity, and love for those staying in my home. And exhibiting the love of Jesus to my guests was far more important than how much lobster they ate, swimming they enjoyed, or the wildlife they observed.

Jesus, of course, didn’t need knotholes in the fence of earthly life to know what His Father was up to. We read in John 5:19, “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise’.” So if Jesus Himself needed solitude with His Father, then how much more so do you and I need it to get through the days, months and years? As Jesus was one with the Father, His sacrifice ensured that we could also be one with God through the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26, 16:7). When we’re open to the movement of the Holy Spirit, we just never know when He’ll stir our hearts and awaken some new, previously unknown corner of our spirits. Whether clear and strong or muted and gentle, the Spirit moves to help us grasp or experience His truth, direction, and presence in life-altering ways. No matter how the knothole appears or what form it takes, it will most often come in a moment of stillness. The Psalmist said, “Be still and know that I am God,” (46:10), and Isaiah urged, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. (30:15)”

The backyard of your life might be a thriving pleasant landscape, or it may be undergoing a major renovation. It might be a place filled with weeds or as barren as a desert plain. But no matter what its condition, God planted you there or is allowing you to linger there for a reason. You may not see any knotholes in the fence and even feel like the boundaries are getting smaller, but He longs to create an oasis for you right in the middle of it all. Through intimate moments alone with Him, your heart can overflow with gratitude, sink into deep peace, and laugh with joy, whether you’re enjoying a season of plenty or climbing a mountain of hardship. The backyard of life can only have one Master Gardener, but we have to let Him come inside to do His work on a regular basis.
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Birthdays. I often wonder if Jesus celebrated his. Did the disciples ever attempt to throw Him a surprise party or did they realize early on that any attempt to sneak up on Jesus would fail? If they did try it, did Jesus pretend to be surprised to make them feel appreciated or would He have considered that the same as lying? One thing is for sure, I believe Jesus exuded good humor and happiness in His time here on earth. And I have a sneaking suspicion that He loved to laugh. After all, He’s the only perfect human to ever exist, and He embodied all the joy of His Heavenly Father. So if the disciples did throw Him a birthday celebration, I bet He was the life of the party… quite literally. 

This past weekend, I celebrated my own turning of another year, and I couldn’t help but ponder what God thinks of our traditions. Most people celebrate birthdays with gifts. A good meal is universally required. And many people make a wish (or 5, or 10, or more!) when they blow out the candles on their cake. And although I can’t specifically recall a single birthday wish from my last 46 years, I am certain that all of them have been minuscule, miscalculated or misdirected longings compared to the immense pleasure and satisfaction that God truly offers. 

C.S. Lewis, one of my favorite authors, said in his sermon The Weight of Glory, "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us… like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

One of Satan’s sneakiest ploys is to corrupt the joy of a Christian’s heart by making him or her think that following Christ should be primarily defined and visibly marked by self-sacrifice and deprivation of our deepest of longings. Yes, self-sacrifice is clearly required in the Christian life, but God never asked us to make it the aim of our relationship with Him. No, He makes it clear that the ultimate goal of our relationship with Him should be delighting in Him. When we find ourselves in the rut of duty and self-denial as the end game — a way of just checking off the spiritual to-do list — we are in dangerous territory. Sure, we may be helping others and doing good things, but if the primary outcome isn’t an overflow of pure pleasure and spirit-driven exhilaration, then we could be missing out on the greatest happiness known to man and falling prey to Satan’s greatest deception. 

I grew up in a culture that emphasized the disciplines of faith more than the joy of a relationship with God. As a result, I spent many wasted years honing my skills in Biblical study, prayer, self-sacrifice for others, and scripture memorization. Now, of course, all of these things are very important and valuable, but my upbringing led me down a dangerous path of duty to God versus desiring God. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit led me to discover John Piper’s writings on Christian hedonism and the refreshing reminder that the disciplines of my faith should flow out of me like living water because I love God and others, not because duty dictates my service. Since I was one of those kids that always followed the rules (yes, I was a nerd), it had never clicked in my brain that God wanted me to focus all of my being on delighting in Him and letting the disciplines naturally follow in time with His empowerment, not mine.

Even more astounding, as I determined in my heart to not do anything — not a single “duty,” like reading devotions or volunteering — unless the Holy Spirit created a desire in my heart to do so out of pure love for God, I found that the longings in my life began to radically change over time. It didn’t happen overnight, but I was willing to turn off the voices in my head from my upbringing, and instead take God at His Word. At first it was downright strange to stop doing certain spiritual habits — almost like going to bed without brushing my teeth (just the thought makes my skin crawl!). But I knew in my heart that I had just been following a routine and going through the motions to check things off my list like prayer and quiet time. And then, little by little, as I asked God daily to teach me how to delight in Him, to replace the desires of my heart with His, and to empower me to love Him above all else, He was faithful to create within me a longing like I had never known to spend time with Him. No longer did I have to set a calendar reminder to read the Word. Just like physical hunger, the Holy Spirit was literally changing my nature to crave time with God.

This is the essence of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 11:28-30 when He said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” The oxen analogy is so brilliant because He’s telling us that while it does take effort to live our lives for Him, when we are surrendered to the Spirit, as illustrated by a farmer driving his team in the fields, the work brings with it a deep satisfaction we would never find on our own. When we go out to plow the fields of life by ourselves without being tethered to a team driven by the Shepherd, everything will seem harder. Through our hard work, our longings may be temporarily satiated, but the deepest desires of our hearts will never go away. We will always crave something more, something bigger, something different. This is why it is fruitless to do good just for good’s sake. One of the most difficult concepts for people in Western culture to grasp is that we were created to be happy, contented, joyful and satisfied. It is not only okay to desire to feel that way, but it is commanded and encouraged by God. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

Most of us, however, have a hard time separating the concept of pleasure as a goal from the twisted and contaminated version associated with sinful behaviors and selfish desires. And because it’s counter-cultural to the way most of us were raised, it’s too uncomfortable or difficult to ponder what it might mean to live our lives pursuing the pleasure of God. Even worse, we don’t really believe in our deepest places that the enjoyment of God can hold a candle to the pleasures of indulgence, wealth, fame, or any other worldly or physical pursuits. That’s because all of the pleasures we typically experience reward us in a way that makes us feel better in some way fairly quickly — if not instantaneously. The pleasures of God, however, take much more time to cultivate and our lack of belief, patience and endurance often get in the way before we ever see them come to fruition.

John Piper put it this way: “Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as He causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the Word and in the world.” He goes on to explain that delighting in God, which produces real joy and pleasure, is indeed an emotional response we cannot control as the Holy Spirit makes us into a new creation over time. It is true that faith is not a feeling, but the pleasure that comes from our faith is. We cannot fabricate this emotion, nor can we force it — it is supernatural. And it is amazing. It’s worth whatever it takes to experience it. And that’s the beautiful truth of our partnership with God: we commit our hearts to love Him above all else, and He does all the work to make us truly happy about that decision.

If you’re curious to study more about finding pleasure in pursuing God, check out John Piper’s six-part video series on Philippians entitled: Jesus and the Journey to Joy.
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Ahhhh, summertime. As kids, it was the season we lived for all year long. It was a chance to get out of the routine of studying, homework, and packed schedules. And although it flew by, we learned to relish every moment of swimming, ice cream cones, sleeping in, and going on the family vacation or camping trip.  ​

And then… we grew up.

In America, that means we suffered through the reality shock that most jobs don’t offer the summer off. Eventually as college finished and we started job hunting, we also woke up to the more subtle but more shocking fact that in order to be admired by our peers and to build a desirable workplace reputation, we must be as productive and dedicated as humanly possible. Oh, and then we found out that this standard didn’t just apply to our jobs. No, to be truly admired, we needed to be well-rounded and interesting. So in addition to insane work hours, we threw in a hefty dose of cultural and social activities, a fitness regime, plus a measurable splash of volunteerism or activism. 

Last time someone asked you how you’re doing, do you remember your reply? Chances are, your response included some reference to being busy. According to multiple studies highlighted in the Harvard Business Review, the vast majority of Americans now view busyness as a status symbol. In other words, the busier you seem, the more likely people will respect you and think that you’re prosperous, highly valued, and hard working. The researchers saw evidence of this perception in social media, interpersonal communications, advertising messaging, and hiring trends. By stark contrast, a century ago, the ability to enjoy free time and leisure activities was universally perceived by most Americans to be a blessing and a sign of success in life. And we are predominantly unique in our obsession with busyness. Studies conducted among Europeans, for example, show that they largely perceive that a more relaxed lifestyle is still a sign of success. 

Researchers speculate that this dramatic shift in American culture is partially due the rise of the knowledge economy, particularly fueled by our insatiable appetite for technology. We practically sleep with our smartphones, which means texting, calendar reminders, to do lists, social media interactions, and a host of other time-intensive demands are constantly vying for our attention. Studies on this topic, repeatedly indicate that as a society, we are multi-tasking more and quite literally reshaping our brains to be less inclined toward reflection, meditation, long-form reading/studying, and deep conversations. 

Unfortunately, the cultural value for busyness has also infiltrated and tainted the spiritual outlook of many believers to the point where all margin for rest has been entirely squeezed out of our lives. Some of us volunteer to serve until we teeter on burn out. Others of us justify crazy schedules and overindulgences all week long by not working on Sundays. But overall, most of us aren’t doing much better with finding time for rest than people who don’t profess a belief in God. 

Four Keys to Getting out of the Busyness Habit
So how do we get out of this busy rut? How do we become counter-cultural when every voice and influence around us is saturating us with seemingly important requirements and demands? Do we have the courage to let God take care of how we’re perceived by others, rather than building up our image by appearing to be busy, needed and validated? Four key things really stick out to me when reading the Word or doing a study about God’s design for rest.

1. Understand the broader meaning of the Sabbath principle. God’s design for rest is much bigger than not working on Sundays. In her study, Breathe: Making Room For Sabbath, Priscilla Shirer says, “God always and eternally intended the Sabbath to be a lifestyle — an attitude, a perspective, an orientation for living that enables us to govern our lives and steer clear of bondage.” She goes on to say, “Sabbath margin is the boundary God intended for us to place around the things we enjoy so that we’ll never be a slave to anyone or anything other than Him.” When I went through her study last year, I was immediately convicted about numerous areas of my life where I had allowed myself to be enslaved to either things I enjoyed or by the expectations set upon me from other people. Whether your time is eaten up by things you love or activities you feel pressured to do, anything that prevents you from having the margin in your life to obey the Holy Spirit on a daily basis should be cut back or eliminated. When we cram all our “rest” into Sundays, versus making it a daily lifestyle, we squeeze out the room for God to show up all week long. If you don’t have any margin in your daily schedule, you won’t have any space for God to bless you. Galatians 5:1 says, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” 

2. Entrust your time to God and then let Him take care of your reputation. I used to wear the badge of busyness with pride. When I began to recognize that my true worth was found in yielding my time to the leading of the Holy Spirit, versus my desire to please others or get things checked off my list, obeying the command to add Sabbath margin into my life became easier little by little. However, my deep-seated desire to be viewed as an over-achiever has been much harder to release. Jesus wasn’t worried about being regarded for his accomplishments or success. He came to serve and obey His Father’s instructions (John 5:19-20 and Romans 15:8-9). In the same way, we are to do our Father’s bidding and let Him worry about how we’re perceived. Paul also shunned any concerns over his reputation. Galatians 1:10 says, "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” 

3. Have faith in the Biblical principle of multiplication. One of the many reasons to read and study the Bible is to know and feel confident in the character of our loving, heavenly Father. Over and over throughout the Bible, God makes it clear that He will take care of us when we give up something to Him or in His name. When the widow at Zarephath obeyed and gave up her grain and oil to serve Elijah (1 Kings 17:7-24), God blessed her pantry so that her supplies never ran out again during the famine. In Exodus 16, when the Israelites gave up their temptation to collect extra manna for the Sabbath, God miraculously multiplied their portion so that no one went hungry. In Malachi 3:10, God tells us to test him with the giving of our tithes and offerings and He will “open the windows of heaven” for us. The disciples witnessed the principle of multiplication in Matthew 14:13-21 when Jesus miraculously fed thousands with five loaves of bread and two small fish. Our time is no less valuable than our tithe, but many people struggle to let go of the addiction of busyness to generate breathing room for God to move in their lives. But God’s character is something you can count on every time. If you draw healthy boundaries around the stuff and tasks in your life, effectively making your life more flexible for God’s interventions, He will multiply what’s needed to ensure that He is glorified and you are taken care of. 

4. Get comfortable saying no with love and grace. Drawing boundaries around a blessing that has turned into an over-indulgence is hard, but telling someone else no is borderline traumatic for some people. But through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can grow in strength every time we practice saying no. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” When we step out in faith on that promise, God will always be faithful to help us through the discipline of saying no, whether it’s a volunteer opportunity that’s not a good fit, a promotion at work that would negatively impact your family, or limiting how much time you spend on social media or watching TV. Whenever God prompts you to say no in order to leave margin for Him to interrupt your day or spend more time resting in His presence, He will always provide you with a way to obey Him (1 Corinthians 10:13). It may not be easy, but He wants us to depend on Him for the strength, grace and wisdom to follow His leading.

As a recovering perfectionist who has always struggled to stop and enjoy God’s blessings in my life, I still wrestle with needless busyness. But when that familiar frantic feeling creeps into my day, I recall something the Holy Spirit once whispered to my soul: Things don’t have to be perfect to be incredible. My house doesn’t have to be pristine and tidy if it means I am not able to sit and enjoy the presence of family or friends. If guided by the Lord, the words of my blog don’t have to come out perfect to strike a chord in someone’s heart. If the work piles up, I don’t have to get everything done in one night — God will help me get it all done in the right time if I honor Him first with my commitments and boundaries. Jesus gently but firmly corrected his dear friend Martha to stop and rest when she started wearing the badge of busyness. In Luke 10:38-42, He told her that her sister had chosen the “better portion” by sitting and listening to Jesus rather than preparing for and serving their guests. Each day, you and I also have the option to choose the better portion… to leave breathing room for the movement of the Holy Spirit to change the course of our day. Some days it may be harder to do than others, but those moments are blessings within themselves because they teach us to depend on God and His mercies even more. And the more we depend on Him, the less we’ll be in the way of His amazing plans.
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Last week’s blog post highlighted the ways God commonly communicates with us. To get the most out of this post, I would suggest reading part 1 first. 

​Have you ever misinterpreted an email from a friend or co-worker? It’s such a common issue, I bet every single person on earth who uses email has made inaccurate assumptions or has misinterpreted its contents. Then we all know what happens next. Either we sit and stew on it because we don’t want to call the sender to clarify the meaning, or we do the most dreaded thing we all know we shouldn’t do (but we do it anyway)… we hit the reply button and send back a completely inappropriate response based on what we assume we heard. The bottom line is that mistakes happen when we assume. (And, yes, I think the acronym for assume fits, but I won’t repeat it here. Ahem.)

This is kind of how listening to God can be. When He speaks to us, it’s not like receiving a phone call from your best friend, who you can often recognize just by the way she breathes or clears her throat. With the Almighty’s voice, there’s no audible tone or style to hear. No inflections to indicate humor or anger. In short, we have so little familiarity with what He’s saying — either because what He’s asking us to do is so surprising or because we’re simply new or out of practice with hearing His direction — that after He’s spoken, we may spend minutes or hours second guessing what we’ve heard. We can make some radically wrong assumptions. We can jump to conclusions. Sometimes we miss out on a blessing because we were too unsure to act when He spoke.

As you become more and more familiar with His unique voice in your life, which happens over a long period of time and with frequent practice, you will begin to clearly experience for yourself the signature characteristics, or hallmarks of His voice. These are in no way to replace the step of seeking wise counsel and Scripture for confirmation of what He’s saying (see last week’s post), but they are helpful in knowing what God’s voice sounds like and understanding His nature. While God is too big and simply unfathomable to pin down as a personality type (Romans 11:33, Isaiah 55:9), there are clear indicators of His voice that can be gleaned throughout Scripture.

When the many Biblical accounts of God speaking are viewed holistically together, certain patterns, tones and defining characteristics emerge. Just as important, the hallmarks of what is NOT His voice also materialize out of the preponderance of evidence in Scripture. Whether it’s your own voice or Satan’s sinister attempt to distract or misdirect you, knowing what is not God’s voice is equally important.

He pushes us out of our comfort zone, without imparting fear, a sense of foreboding, or worry. Only the wisdom of an omniscient (all-knowing) God who loves you beyond your wildest dreams and knows you better than you know yourself, could simultaneously ask you to step out of your comfort zone while giving you a shot of unexpected motivation and courage. When God asks you do something, most of the time it will be something that you would not naturally want to do or think to do. Whether it’s a simple command to talk to a stranger or sell something you value more than you should, when God speaks it goes right to the heart of the matter and the Holy Spirit gently but insistently pushes you to obey. And as you step out on faith, strength, courage and peace flow. Philippians 4:6-7 makes it clear that when we are communicating with God, He gives us peace, even when the task at hand is difficult. Jesus said His peace is to rest upon us always in John 14:27. He wasn’t ambiguous when He said that. If something is from the Holy Spirit, there will be a sense of peace.

He uses repetition to get His message through the noise of life and emphasize His point. When the Holy Spirit is trying to get your attention, He often sprinkles the message in front of you repeatedly in multiple channels. Two or three people mention the same Bible verse to you. You sense His leading  in prayer about something and then the sermon on Sunday contains almost the same message. When you start noticing something repetitive start paying very close attention. In the Bible, Jesus repeated things of great importance multiple times. I researched online how many times concepts are repeated in the Bible (because it is so, so many), but I couldn’t find a specific number. (Hmmm… that would be a fun project!) But I did find this post from Jon Bloom on the most repeated command in the Bible — God wants us to be happy. Not in the transitory earthly sense of happy, but as in fulfillment, delight and joy, overflowing with thanksgiving. Now that’s a repetitive statement I love hearing about!

His direction can always be confirmed, but not through circumstances alone. A message from God will always line up with Scripture. If it doesn’t fit with the Bible, then dismiss it immediately, no questions asked. Don’t even entertain the thought or search for a different verse or interpretation to justify what you think you’ve heard. Confirmation can also come through wise counsel (Proverbs 11:14 and 12:15), especially if it has to do with a decision that may not be a question of right or wrong, such as whether to accept a new job offer. The Word tells us to seek the counsel of mature, grounded believers to pray with us and ask for discernment. But I’ve learned the hard way, as have many others, to never rely on circumstances alone to confirm what you think God said. Evaluating the circumstances in your life and using your own assessment to make a decision based on that alone is no better than reading tea leaves or flipping a coin. In other words, no matter how tempting, don’t do it. Charting a course for your life based on what’s happening around you is one of Satan’s best deception tools for Christians because he can veil himself in light and never be noticed until it’s too late.

He usually delivers immediate instructions with authority, but not in a compulsive, frantic, random or bargaining manner. While God still chooses to anoint some with the gift of prophecy, most of His communication with us is about everyday dependence on Him. Usually He gives us just enough instruction for the next step ahead. He tells us what He wants for us to do right now. This is in line with the rest of the Bible. He gives us new mercies each morning, just for the day ahead. As we learn to listen for His voice throughout the day, what He asks us to do will become clearer over time. As we obey in the small things, He gradually gives us bigger things. On the other hand, Satan, or sometimes our own sinful desires, will throw random or frantic ideas at you that are compulsive or hyper-urgent. Satan loves to give you this intense feeling of pressure, like a used car salesman making you believe that if you don’t act now you’ll miss out on the best deal of your life. James 3:17 says, “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” What an excellent verse for testing everything you hear!

He speaks to bring conviction and freedom, not guilt. Learning the difference between the  conviction of sin and guilt is crucial to distinguish God’s voice from the enemy’s. The Holy Spirit will search your heart, especially in prayer or in a moment immediately following a sinful act, and He will make you long for repentance. He will make you want to ask for forgiveness. Guilt is the feeling that you are condemned, a screw-up, worthless, ashamed, or unforgivable. Think of conviction as a revelation that you’ve done wrong with a clear desire to repent. Guilt is foreboding, heavy feeling not being able to be free to move on and forget about your sin. Guilt will chain you down spiritually and eat away at your joy. Guilt will literally rob you of being effective for Jesus. No matter what you’ve done wrong, there is forgiveness in Jesus. Believe it. Ask for it. Receive the gift and move on. Any voice that makes you want to stay in the pit of guilt is coercing you into rejecting God’s best for you. Romans 8:1 gives us this clear, matter of fact pronouncement: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

His speaks to draw you closer to Him and to love others more than yourself. He will never give directions that promote human effort, glory, or favoritism. In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment. He replied with, “And he said to him, ‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” So, God is never going to tell you to do anything that would tear down others or elevate yourself above others. And I am finishing up our list with this one because it is the Scripture you should run through your head the most when you think you hear God ask you to do something in the moment, such as “help that elderly lady with her groceries.” According to Jesus’ words, you have all the confirmation you need to proceed. Other times, of course, you need to wait and seek more specific confirmation. But, again, remember that no message from God is too small to ignore. Even the smallest things could be the most significant in either someone else’s life, or even your own spiritual growth. You may think that He’s giving you “junior” level work to do, but He sees it as building blocks to a plan that He may take decades to unfold in your life. Trust Him. Listen to Him. Walk and learn with humility and a teachable spirit (Proverbs 15:31-33).

One of my favorite authors, John Piper, said God speaks to everyone — not just those who believe. This may surprise you, but here is what he said, “Oh, unbeliever, God is speaking to you in your pain to warn you, and God is speaking to you in your pleasure to woo you.” On the other hand, for believers, Piper says the sacrifice of Jesus changes everything. It turns our pain and suffering into instruments of sanctification, which simply means the process of become more holy… more like Jesus little by little. It turns our moments of pleasure into reminders to praise Him and faint glimmers of the eternal joy that awaits us one day. In either case — in suffering or happiness — the Holy Spirit enables us to live supernaturally by displaying characteristics that could only be from God: humility, joy, gratitude, contentment, and hope in all circumstances. Living in this manner is one of the greatest ways we can speak to others about God. When we become vessels, albeit imperfect ones, that show glimpses of Jesus in everything we do, God speaks through us to a world that so desperately needs to hear Him.

If you still want to go deeper about hearing and following God’s voice, I suggest Priscilla Shirer’s book, Discerning the Voice of God. There is also a Bible Study with companion videos.
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Mark Twain once said that there is no such thing as a new idea. “It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations.” Heroes versus villains, boy meets girl, good versus evil, the underdog making a comeback – these themes and outcomes are as familiar to each of us as the voice of a loved one. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an epic battle in space told in a 2018 movie theater or a child’s bedtime story told by a roaring hearth in the Middle Ages, humans are creatures of habit and a good story well told has been important to us since the dawn of time. 

In the same way, both amateur and professional storytellers are fond of incorporating magic into a tale to make it more alluring and exciting. Disney built an empire by weaving stories of magic. Seven of the top 10 best-selling novels of all time are from the Harry Potter series. Even CS Lewis, one of the most respected Christian writers of all time, used magic in his stories to explain the Gospel to children. He did such an amazing job, Disney turned it into a feature film franchise grossing over $1.5 billion worldwide. 

We are enticed by the thought that something magical could occur to rescue us, comfort us, and remind us that there’s more to life than meets the eye. That’s because we are created in the image of God, and deep within every human being is an innate sense that there must be something more. In their innocence and with trusting hearts, children find it easy to believe in the supernatural. Unlike adults, they don’t have anything to come between them and believing in the unseen or inexplicable. Their vision is not blinded by pride, skepticism, personal agenda, and arrogance. Children are like sponges, constantly exploring and stretching their minds. It’s almost as though everything they see has an element of magic to it. 

Unfortunately though, the definition of what’s magical changes as we grow up. As children, magic is as simple as following Kermit the Frog to the end of the rainbow. As adults, our fantasies become far less innocent and significantly more tainted. And the more we drown ourselves in them, the more extreme they seem to become. It’s one of the most ironic facts of this post-industrial age — the larger our appetites expand for consuming fantastical entertainment about supernatural things, the less we believe that anything supernatural can actually happen. Therefore, the very thing most people crave, is the thing that they will never experience in real life. Instead, many choose to gaze at shoddy counterfeits and lurid diversions until they feel numb and able to forget about their hard day at work, the fight with their spouse, or a looming financial problem. As Neil Postman prophetically said, Americans (and I’m sure the rest of the world) are "amusing ourselves to death". 

So as adults trying to survive in a hyper-stressed, seemingly crazy world, how do we not become jaded, hurt and bitter? How do we cultivate a childlike heart that’s trusting, open to the supernatural, and capable of believing what it can’t see? The answer is simple: humility. Easy to understand, but challenging to implement. Contrary to what many people think, being a savvy, brain-using adult doesn’t mean that we have to kick all notions of the supernatural to the curb. And being an ardent believer in the possibility of the miraculous doesn’t mean we are not called to think. God doesn’t want us to have an immature faith or to not use our intellect in the pursuit of Him. In fact, far from it, we are commanded to move on from milk to “solid food” in our spiritual growth. (Hebrews 5:14) And the Apostle Paul admonishes us to grow up in Christ in 1 Corinthians 13:11-12: "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” Yet then why does Jesus seem to emphasize the need to be like children over and over? Because pride grows in us as we grow up. We become too proud to admit there are things we cannot understand. Jesus knew pride was the motivation of the disciples when they asked about being the greatest in the kingdom in Matthew 18:1-4. So he put a child on his knee and said they needed to be humble like her. I love the way Luke 10:21 in The Message version puts it, "At that, Jesus rejoiced, exuberant in the Holy Spirit. 'I thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.'” Again, we see that the typical wisdom of the world can blind us to the real truth and prevent us from seeing the miraculous — whether it’s in the form of something truly spontaneous or something that is slowly transformed over time.  

John Piper says in his book Think, “There is no way to awaken faith or strengthen faith that evades thinking … the mind serves to know the truth that fuels the fires of the heart.” The entire book is a manifesto to truly using your mind as an integral part of your faith experience, and is based on Proverbs 2:3-5, "yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” When we have a mind that is seeking the True Knowledge, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see God’s supernatural work going on everywhere. 

Since one of my greatest passions — perhaps even my calling — is to help people see glimpses of God in the routine happenings of everyday life, storytelling has become my lifeblood. It’s the reason I quit my job last year to make time to write a novel and blog about God’s relentless pursuit of us. And like CS Lewis, I think the careful, thoughtful incorporation of a kind of magic is critical to draw people in and encourage them to see more clearly the divinely-directed things that happen around us every day. When I write, I am driven to create wonderment for the reader of God’s glory, magnificence, power, and unending love for us. It’s a tall order in a distracted culture with a short attention span, but as Aslan the lion said in Lewis’ first novel, “there is a magic deeper still … before the dawn of time” and it will always triumph. Of course, Aslan represents the Lion of Judah, another name for Christ, who existed before the beginning, who reigns in heaven now, and who is to come back in glory. His light always burns, no matter how brightly other false lights try to outshine it. By following my calling to write, I am believing that God will do the miraculous, and somehow cause the messages He lays on my heart to find their way to the right people at the right time. 

We are all living stories, unfolding day by day. When we get out of bed each morning, the decision that awaits us is will we live out our story for ourselves or be willing to turn it over to God to write for us. Magic in a fairy tale is instantaneous, unpredictable and used as a means to an end. Miracles in our stories may be instantaneous like hearing God’s direction in your heart, or they may take many months or years to come to fruition, like the restoration of a relationship or the healing of a mental illness. Some miracles are as predictable as the sunrise if we have eyes to see them. “His mercies are new every morning…” Lamentations 3:22-23 Most importantly, God’s miracles are never just a means to an end. They are always part of His grand story. And the coolest part is that His believers know exactly how that story is going to end. 
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Americans spend almost $3 billion annually on energy drinks and about one-third of us have coffee in the afternoons. And who knows how many people turn to chocolate or a Diet Coke for a boost to get through the day. All of these tasty – and caffeinated – options will usually do the trick to lift our mood and give us a little kick to power through a long afternoon. But what if a prayer break could deliver similar immediate results, but also pay other long-lasting dividends? Most of us turn to prayer for the big things. Healing from a scary diagnosis. Help out of a financial quagmire. A new job with a boss that treats us better. You get the idea. But what about something as simple as that common, everyday afternoon slump? I don’t mean praying about the slump itself, but what if taking a quick break to pray could actually cure your slump instantly? It’s cheaper than heading to Starbucks, and the studies show it will do you a whole lot more good.
 
More and more clinical and psychological research is showing that prayer and meditation can dramatically improve everything from energy levels to blood pressure. So besides the clearly spiritual reasons to pray, I was curious to explore all the other “fringe” benefits that God has in store for us when we supplement our longer, private quiet time with frequent bouts of conversation with Him throughout the day. Other than Jesus himself, one of the most famous prayer devotees was a monk called Brother Lawrence way back in the 1600s. Although he spent a large portion of his time tending the garden, washing dishes, or performing maintenance on the monastery, he made it his daily passion to pray unceasingly while he worked. As a result, he became convinced that when we do everything “wholly for the love of Him” by inviting God into every moment, we can find complete peace, happiness, and contentment in everyday life. “It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God,” Brother Lawrence said.
 
In our modern, hyper-stimulated world most of us are doing things much more stressful, frustrating or exhausting than picking up a piece of straw or serving in a peaceful mountain monastery, so the tangible benefits of a saying a few prayers several times a day may seem far-fetched. But before you dismiss the idea and head to Starbucks anyway, take a look at these research-backed, amazing benefits that occur when you take a short prayer break. (Quick tip: if you can find time to go to the restroom, then you have a built-in window for a brief prayer. I’ve invited God to walk with me to the bathroom many times!)
 
When you pray…
 
1. Your energy rises as the stress hormone cortisol plummets, helping you to physically feel better and be more productive the rest of the day. There are many studies linking prayer and meditation to a reduction in cortisol and better long-term stress management, but one of the most stunning ones is from Rutgers which showed a 50% reduction in the hormone with routine meditation. Plus, there are a host of other physical improvements that occur following a time of prayer, such as a drop in blood pressure, reduced heart rate, increased melatonin and serotonin levels, and a better immune response. So if you have a stressful job and you incorporate small bursts of prayer throughout the day, you might not get sick as often since your immune system will be stronger over time. Most importantly, if you need an energy boost to conquer that next project, deal with that angry customer, or to simply stop procrastinating, a prayer break can fire up your brain and rejuvenate your ability to focus more effectively than a latte (and it’s calorie free – bonus!).
 
2. Your perspective shifts, opening your mind up to broader, less self-focused opportunities. Dr. Andrew Newberg of Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia has been studying the effect of prayer on the human brain for more than 20 years. When observing the brains of people praying, he says the scans reveal that the area of the brain associated with our sense of self begins to "shut down" in prayer. In other words, if you are less concerned about your own agenda, promotion or protection, you will probably be more receptive to others’ good ideas and less defensive in difficult conversations. Plus, you may be more likely to praise others for their hard work, making it easier for your co-workers, family members or teammates to like you and want to support you.
 
3. Your mood will improve, which will make the rest of day go more smoothly. A study by Columbia University showed that a regular spiritual practice like prayer actually thickens part of the brain’s cortex, which may be the reason that prayer has been shown to not only lift mood but also help prevent depression. Everyone knows a tough day will seem to drag on even longer if your mood continues to tank. Recently, my husband had a difficult day when he ran out of gas on the side of the road because his usual gas station was unexpectedly closed. With the temperature hovering around 15 degrees and a client waiting for him, he had every reason to be frustrated and stressed out. But a quick prayer helped him shift his perspective to be thankful that the car stalled out near another open gas station with a friendly attendant willing to help him. Rather than showing up at the client’s office visibly frazzled and angry, he was relieved and thankful to make it on time. Researchers have found that prayer makes people nicer by reducing the amount of aggression they feel and helping them to maintain their cool in stressful situations.
 
4. Your motivation increases and you’ll be more inclined to finish your tasks with excellence and focus. It may sound like mumbo-jumbo from a self-help book, but the studies clearly indicate that prayer and meditation increase the production of specific brain chemicals that help us concentrate, reduce fatigue, and feel motivated. Of course, if you are striving to work as though you are serving God, then you will naturally want to perform with excellence in whatever you do. And when we invite God into every little thing, the Spirit is going to work in ways you’ve never imagined. Colossians 3:23 and Ephesians 6:7 make it clear that when our motivation is driven by the love of Jesus, whether we are serving in our workplaces, volunteering in our communities, or helping our families, then we will find a lasting satisfaction that has eternal significance. So the next time you think filing paperwork or washing dishes isn’t satisfying, pray while you’re doing those kinds of chores and see if your motivation doesn’t change.
 
5. Your ability to make decisions and generate more creative solutions will skyrocket. One of the most ironic things about being human is that the more we strain to make something happen, the less likely it seems to become. Whether it's writer’s block, feeling paralyzed in the face of a big decision, or trying to find your soul mate, some of life’s greatest irony is to be found in unmet goals and faded dreams. I’ve personally experienced it many times and I’ve witnessed in the lives of countless friends, but when you practice turning things over to Christ and release them to His control in prayer, one of two things happens. He either opens the door in His time in a way you didn’t expect, or He changes your heart’s desires to long for the things He has for you. The Bible makes it clear that we can boldly go to the throne room of grace and ask God for what He’s already promised us. James 1:5 says that God gives wisdom freely to all those who seek it from Him. Philippians 4:7 promises peace. A “living” hope is promised in 1 Peter 1:3-4. Strength is provided for those who wait on the Lord in Isaiah 40:31.
 
When it is creativity that we need, praying is like tapping into a superhighway directly hooked into the Source of all creativity. By God’s amazing design, praying helps to stimulate our neocortex, which is the newest part of our brain responsible for creativity, problem solving and strategizing. So when you feel the pressure to summon the most innovative ideas from within, the best place to find them is where God leads you in prayer or meditating on Him. As author Stephen Altrogge says in his blog post, “Creativity is hardwired into our DNA by God Himself. All of us were made to be creative people. God, the greatest of all creators, the One who fashioned the sun, and the humpback whale, and the Great Dane, made us in His image.” So next time you are stumped, blocked, frustrated, confused, stressed, or just plain drained, try prayer instead of something with caffeine or sugar. And when you’re not experiencing any of those things, pray in advance to ward off those feelings before they can take hold and drag you down. Brother Lawrence said, “There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God; those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it.”
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Every now and then I come across an author who is so quotable I end up highlighting the entire book. Whether it's because the topic is feeding a soul-deep hunger I didn't know I had or the author is simply talented, books like these become my own personal tools helping me improve my life over and over.
 
One such book I only recently discovered – The Art of Divine Contentment by Thomas Watson – has been around for almost four centuries, but its rules for learning how to find contentment in life are just as relevant today as they were in 1653. I guess it doesn't matter whether you are grumbling because you can't afford the newest iPhone or your team of oxen won't plow your field fast enough, learning to be content with what we have and what life brings us is an age-old problem for any generation. Rather than writing about all the reasons why you should desire contentment in both good times and bad, I'm assuming that almost anyone would want to experience daily joy and peace versus a life brimming over with dissatisfaction, complaining, and persistent unfulfilled longings.
 
For a self-confessed word nerd like me, the ornate language in Mr. Watson's book makes his quotes all the more intriguing and beautiful. However, I don't want 400 years of change in the English language to get in the way of wisdom, so I've taken the liberty of paraphrasing his rules here. By the way, in case you want to read the book, he actually published 18 rules, but I didn't think anyone would read a blog post that long, so I consolidated them into 10. And if your mind starts filling with objections as to why you can't feel contentment right now, he even has a chapter on objections and how to overcome them. Don't worry, he doesn't include ancient agrarian frustrations like misbehaving oxen, but rather serious impediments we can still relate to like a financial loss, death of a loved one, and betrayal by a friend. Life has changed dramatically in the last four centuries, but when it comes to matters of the heart, most everything is the same. So without further ado, here are the 10 rules.
 
Rule #1: Put your faith in action
All discontentment is rooted in unbelief. Having faith that God is trustworthy, that He is aware of your situation, and desires to help you through whatever life brings you, is the antidote to unfulfilled cravings and feelings of entitlement. When we determine in our hearts to trust that God knows what He is doing better than us, we put our faith in action. Psalm 84:11 says "The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly." The problem is that we think we know what is more good for us than God does. And here comes one of my favorite Watson quote: "We imagine a certain condition of life as good for us, but if we were our own carvers, we should often cut the worst piece. We often see things in our own light, but if we could sort out and portion out our own comforts, we would get it wrong." When we choose belief, we'll be able to receive the best portion.
 
Rule #2: Work for God, not for money or your boss
When we focus on serving God in every little thing we do, and we labor so that He will be glorified in our lives, versus money, achievement or accolades, and then everything else falls into place. As Steven Curtis Chapman sings, "whether you're flipping burgers or cooking up mergers, do it all for Him," and discover contentment in the fruits of your labors, no matter how meager or huge they may be.
 
Rule #3: Strive for humility
If unbelief is the root of discontentment then pride is its food and water. Pride can make a fledgling unbelief blossom into a full grown thorn bush of discontentment, grumbling, and pessimism. "When you lay humility for your foundation, contentment will be the superstructure," according to Watson.
 
Rule #4 Delight in the right things
When we ask God to replace the desires of our hearts with His, we will be gradually transformed into vessels of joy and generosity, overflowing with satisfaction in our work, our relationships, and our financial situation. Meditate on Psalm 37:4 and discover real delight.
 
Rule #5 Stay positive
At first blush, this sounds like a cop-out rule, right? But Watson asks, "who looks at the backside of a painting?" Instead, he admonishes us to focus on what's beautiful, lovely, true, excellent, and praiseworthy. When we discipline our thought life according to Philippians 4:8, the Biblical promise of transformation can occur.
 
Rule #6 Don't place your hope in people or things
Everything in our culture today revolves around the idea of doing whatever it takes to make yourself happy. But happiness is a feeling and contentment is a virtue. Happiness is temporary and contentment is a state of being that breeds peace and trust. When we look to people, things, jobs, circumstances or money to make us happy, we will eventually be disappointed and even emptier than before. "The foundation of contentment must be within yourself. The word for contentment in scripture signifies self-sufficiency," Watson says. When you place your hope in God's promises and direction, you will have strength and endurance from within.
 
Rule #7 Compare yourself to others the right way
Comparing yourself to others is like walking on thin ice, you might fall through into a well of envy and end up drowning in discontentment. However, Watson encourages us to compare ourselves to others in light of Christ's sacrifice and how He's called us to honor and serve them as He would have. Jesus washed the disciple's feet, which was considered the lowliest act for the lowliest servant of the household. (This Rule is actually #10 in Watson's book, and it has five eye-opening components. A blog post for another week, perhaps.)
 
Rule #8 Adjust your perception
In the field of public relations, there's a common saying that perception is reality. That's because we often believe what we think we see, and we see what we want to see. But within each of us there is an ability to change our perceptions, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, our vision can vastly improve over time. We can choose to see what we have versus what we don't. We can choose to place a high value on spending time with friends versus spending money on the latest outfit. We can focus on things that bring glory to God, versus glory to ourselves. Watson says if we could cure our distorted, sin-trained perceptions, we would find the secret to conquering a discontented heart.
 
Rule #9 Meditate on the promise of heaven
We are most tempted to be discontent at our extremes - when we are the happiest and when we are in the greatest discomfort. When everything is going well, we can be lulled into a false sense of security, and then entitlement, and eventually complete self-reliance. We don't see our need for God because it is covered by all of our creature comforts. On the other hand, when nothing is going right, we can become despondent and fixated on everything we lack. And most of life is spent going between the two extremes. But when we place our "treasure in heaven," as Matthew 6:19 says, our satisfaction comes from glorifying God in any circumstance. Paul said it best in Philippians 4:11-13, "…in any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance, and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."
 
Rule #10 Pray… A LOT!
Back in the 1600s physicians used a horrible medical treatment that makes me cringe. They used to intentionally bleed patients thinking that the letting of blood would take the toxins with it. Although the practice is grim, I mention it to provide context for Watson's statement that, "When the heart is filled with sorrow and disquiet, prayer lets out the bad blood. The key of a prayer oiled with tears unlocks the heart of all its discontents. It is the unburdening of the soul…" As we endeavor to find contentment deep in our hearts, prayer is the best medicine for a lifetime of soul satisfaction. When you spend a lot of time living in the King's throne room, your desire to wander the streets looking for trinkets vastly diminishes.
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Every time I go on a morning run, the same baffling thought comes to my mind when I pass by a certain house. Sitting up on a hill, there could be an incredible view of a lake from its back porch, but the owners have opted not to maintain the property. So wild brush, brambles and small trees obscure the scenic vista. Like any perplexing situation, when I see this house my brain starts whirring trying to figure out why the owners have made such a bizarre choice. The first thought that comes to my mind is that the place must be abandoned. But it's not. I've seen lights on and heard a family dog barking occasionally, alerting its residents that someone is running by. (Apparently the dog can see something through all that brush!). Most mornings when I go by, I make up stories about who lives there and why they don't (or can't) clear the overgrowth. Sometimes I imagine a little old lady who simply can't upkeep the grounds. On mornings where I am feeling especially creative, I picture a young owner who inherited the place from his great uncle and really doesn't have the time for yard work. But no matter what scenario I concoct in my head, none of them satisfies me. None of them has enough evidence to make me think that the resident's decision is the right one. 

And so, I run or walk on by each time, always closing out my thoughts with the same feeling – regret. Sure, it's not my house ... not my view ... and not my responsibility to clean up the yard. But because I can see the view that's waiting in vain to greet the owner every morning, I feel sorry for the people who call that place home. I even feel sadness for the view itself – as if it has feelings of its own with a deep longing for interaction. As I've processed this phenomenon, which occurs for me several times a week in cooperative weather, there are times I have felt so strongly about this wasted opportunity, it has been all I can do to keep myself from knocking on the door. 

The last time I passed by, I made a mental note to write about it. While I may never know the real story, I do see a very real truth in the situation. No matter how good the reason is behind the lack of upkeep, the hard reality is the owner is missing out. Every day. Missing out on countless morning sunrises and sparkling afternoons in the late summer sun. I just imagine all the "life" that happens within view of the house – abundant life the owner will never see. Like the playful grooming of a loon mother with her chick or the neighbor kids having water fights. Even in winter, a frozen lake teems with visual blessings, from jagged crystal snow drifts to endless white plains dotted with ice shacks. 

As with almost everything I see, God's handiwork shouts to me of his glory. Trumpets his mercies. Serenades his love. All this can be seen in the views that God sets before each of us everyday. Your view may not be of a lake or even anything so obviously picturesque. But the two questions to ask yourself every morning are: (1) Have I allowed the brush and brambles of bitterness, discouragement, pain, disappointment or worry grow up around my heart, blinding my sight to God's work, love and glory on display before me? (2) And if my view is clear, am I really seeing it from God's perspective and not my own?

If you are like me, then you are missing small glimmers of glory, tiny miracles of life, and thin rays of hope in some way, almost every day. I recently watched the movie Miracles From Heaven, and the thing that struck me the most about that story is that the most amazing miracles were the ones that occurred in the midst of the mundane or nestled in the crevice of pain or suffering. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." God doesn't give you leftovers each morning. He gives you freshly prepared sustenance to feast your eyes and your heart upon. His mercies are uniquely tailored to each of us, fresh and new as the morning sun. The mercy he has for me tomorrow morning will be different than yours, but neither of us will ever see it – much less receive it – if we've allowed our hearts to harden or our perspectives to be completely distorted by things and desires of this world. 

As you seek him, he will reveal himself to you. It is a promise delivered over and over in his Word (Deuteronomy 4:29, Matthew 6:33, Psalm 63:1). Just remember that what you find when you ask may not be what you expected, sound like what you thought, or look like something spectacular to the naked eye. But when you walk with Jesus, he will give you new eyes and a new mind to see things from his perspective, and that, my fellow seeker, is the best motivation to keep our view focused on him. (Ephesians 4:22-24, Romans 12:2)