Being Transparent

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend.

This past week, I was asked a question that on the surface didn’t seem that penetrating, but in the end was life changing for me. The question was simply: “What do you need from me this week?” Now this wouldn’t seem like a difficult question to answer, but for me it was. After a few seconds of thought I gave the standard surface answer: “You can pray for me.”

It was from this exchange that God began to unravel my inner wiring and identified a short circuit in the system. The friend who had asked me the question seized the opportunity to speak truth into my life. He elaborated that his prayer for me was a given, but that his question was an offer to walk beside me as a brother.

GALATIANS 6:2 (NASB)
Bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.

My friend was seeking to help me carry the burdens of my life, there was just one problem. I was not allowing him to walk with me through my journey of life. The truth of the matter was that I had many needs. Let’s be honest, I just left a salaried ministry position to start a church and live by faith. The problem was, I didn’t want to be totally transparent. Something inside of me wanted to hide the fact that I had needs…some of them pressing in quickly.

When I got home that afternoon, my wife could see I was grinding on something deep within me, so she asked. I told her about my interaction earlier in the day and she immediately informed me that I had taken the easy way out. She elaborated that God was trying to provide for our needs, but I was allowing my pride to thwart those very provisions. Ouch! She was right; my pride was hindering the very thing I was seeking from God. I wanted to simply tell God all of my problems and sit back and wait for the provisions to flow in.

Unfortunately, that is inconsistent with the way God chooses to work in our lives. He has joined us with others who were put into our lives to help us carry our burdens. The channels of blessing are those who walk along side of us. We are truly dependent upon the other members of Christ’s body, if we are to function at a peak level.

The next time you are asked “what do you need from me?” Don’t pass off the question with a quick “pray for me.” Choose instead the route of transparency; allow others to see you needs and burdens. You will find that their presence beside you brings God’s comfort and blessing. God never intended for us to walk alone, so take joy in those who care enough to ask the “tough” question.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

In Christ,
Carl

If My People

Good morning! I hope you had a great weekend and are starting your week off with renewed energy.

Over the past few weeks we have seen our nation and different parts of our world rocked by serious natural disasters. This tornado season has been one of the worst on record, the Midwest has been ravaged by floods while other parts of the nation face a serious drought. In China the earthquakes continue and in Myanmar the devastation of the cyclone continues to take a human toll. The stock market is a roller coaster ride and the price of oil is making families choose between food and gasoline.

So how do we handle such crisis situations? The answer is simple; we need to get serious about renewing our intimacy with God. What I am going to say next may not be very popular, but the Bible makes it clear that it is accurate. The wickedness of men does not go unchecked. Just as God prevents and protects, He also chooses at times to allow. I am amazed so many times that we want God to be “Almighty” and able to move mountains, but we don’t want Him to be holy or righteous. We expect Him to just bless and bless and bless without any regard for our actions. That is utter foolishness!

God gives us the antidote for those times that He is allowing difficulty to break our rebellious spirit:

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT)
Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.

What a promise…the only “if” is us. Please understand God is a loving Father who disciplines those He loves, not to bully them, but to better them. His actions are no different than any parent who molds their child’s will and behavior.

This week take a few moments, assume a posture of prayer and ask God to show you the areas of your life that need to change course and claim this promise that if we will all commit to doing this their will be forgiveness and healing.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl