This is the first installment of a series on the Sabbath. Here are all the posts in the series:
Part I–How to take a Sabbath rest. Personal Sabbath testimony, Sabbath symbolism and meaning.
Part II–Key Bible verses and takeaways for understanding the Sabbath
Part III–Commentaries and resources for understanding the Sabbath
Part IV–Practicing the Sabbath in your home–Free guide and worksheet
I just got back from vacation. It was nice, relaxing. All the things you want a little time away to be. But there was something deeper going on in me. I’ve been thinking about rest. Real rest. Something we can all relate to (and many of us struggle with.)
Weeks ago, toward the beginning of the 90 Day Bible Reading Challenge, I started turning over the idea of Sabbath rest. Every time I read anything about the Sabbath my heart skipped a beat, the verse became ingrained in my mind. I thought about it through the day. I brought it up with my husband in the evening. This felt like a call to deepen my understanding and change my patterns.
Vacation forced me to set aside work. And allowed me to set aside lots of things that feel like work. This seemed like the ideal time to share what I’ve been learning at start fresh, when it comes to true Sabbath rest.
The Challenge is nearly over. And I’ve been surprised how often Sabbath rest comes up, and how serious God takes it.
I want to be more intentional about observing the Sabbath. As a family, we’ve started to intentionally act on what the Bible tells us about how to take a Sabbath Rest–but I still have a ways to go. Luckily, God sees the heart. He knows I’m earnestly trying to do better, to enter into the rest He wants me to have.
A New Understanding of Sabbath Rest
Until recently I have never attempted to fully understand the Sabbath. However, I’ve spent a lot of my extra time cross referencing and burrowing into what the Bible says about Sabbath rest. I’ve read verses, revisited chapters, looked at commentaries, and prayed.
I’ve learned a lot. This is a practice introduced at the beginning of the Bible and continues through the New Testament. When Israel falls short or turns her back on God–and God becomes angry–He almost always cites neglect of the Sabbath as one of their infractions.
Interesting right?
Obviously, this is close to His heart. Yet, I think it’s one of the most overlooked commandments in our culture today. We are taught not to have other gods, murder, worship idols, steal, commit adultery, covet, or bear false witness. We know we are supposed to honor our parents and never use the Lord’s name in vain. But when it comes to the Sabbath, we can be surprisingly blasé.
Honoring the Sabbath almost seems like a forgotten commandment.
As I’ve studied, I’ve fallen in love with God’s design for Sabbath rest. It’s beautifully simple, yet so profound it sets our God apart from all others. A sacred day of rest was unique to Israel, a gift from her God. Other Ancient Near Eastern religions and gods did no such thing.
The Sabbath is beautifully symbolic. It symbolizes God’s good-will and care for mankind. By observing it, we show our trust in His care. By setting aside work, we demonstrate an understanding that we are not saved by works–God grace is enough and Christ accomplished the work on the cross.
I could chat for days about how beautiful the Sabbath is. But I’ll let you do some critical thinking of your own.
Some of My Sabbath Takeaways
The idea of “self care” is so hot right now. It seems like everywhere I look I see suggestions and social media posts with ideas for self care. Don’t get me wrong. Self care is fun–and important. But don’t confuse it with the Sabbath. Sabbath rest is deeper and sweeter. Sabbath rest looks outward–turning our eyes toward God, others in need, and expanding the kingdom. In no way is taking Sabbath rest a selfish pursuit. I’m excited to share more with you next week.
First, here are my own bullet points summarizing my new understanding of the Sabbath.
The Sabbath is important and dear to God’s heart, therefore it should be important and dear to our hearts as well.
A day of rest refreshed God. How much more will it refresh me?
The Sabbath is a type of sacrifice. We are to intentionally choose to refrain from work and choose rest. This shows devotion to God and trust that He will provide time and means for our work to be completed–despite sacrificing time away from work to Him.
The Sabbath is metaphorical. Refraining from work and choosing rest is an outward symbol that our works do not earn us favor with God. Christ did the only work that really mattered, and He finished it on the cross.
Sabbath rest is not an excuse to be lazy and binge watch TV. It is not an excuse to be unkind or avoid helping others. The Sabbath is a time to turn our minds to God-honoring thoughts and our hands to God-honoring activities. This means, if I’d be uncomfortable committing an act to the Lord, or partaking in an activity with Jesus in the room–it shouldn’t be done on the Sabbath.
Fellowship, teaching, reflection, enjoying nature, enjoying God’s provision, sharing your experiences with God with others, cultivating relationships…(the list goes on) are all welcome during a day of Sabbath rest.
Observing Sabbath (and gleaning the benefits God wants us to have from it) takes intentionality and practice. Create a plan for how you will observe the Sabbath and get your family on board.
Start Reshaping Your Sabbath Today
Next week we’ll be exploring verses that explain the Sabbath, but I encourage you to start reshaping your take on the Sabbath today. Don’t get overwhelmed. Start with reflection. Here are a couple ideas.
Are you exhausted? Does the word “refreshed” make your soul leap? Do you feel weary?
How do you currently observe the Sabbath? Is it just about church, or is there something deeper happening?
Pray that God would open your eyes and heart to what He wants the Sabbath to look like in your life and home. Ask God to give you a teachable heart and a discerning mind as you reexamine rest. Start a conversation in your home about Sabbath rest.
Coming Up: More on How to Take a Sabbath Rest
Next week I’ll be sharing 10 verses/passages that have reshaped the way I view Sabbath rest. Here are all the posts in the series:
Part I–How to take a Sabbath rest. Personal Sabbath testimony, Sabbath symbolism and meaning.
Part II–Key Bible verses and takeaways for understanding the Sabbath
Part III–Commentaries and resources for understanding the Sabbath
Part IV–Practicing the Sabbath in your home–Free guide and worksheet
In the meantime, I hope you’ll start thinking about how you can take a Sabbath rest. I’d love to have you share this if it touched your heart today–and I’d love to get to know you personally by connecting on Instagram and Facebook. There you’ll find daily encouragement and a community of others striving to live life with intentionality, viewing the world through a Christ-centered lens.
Today I’m sharing three more lessons I’ve learned about difficult times and moving forward through them. Take heart, you can get through this.
Seasons Change. Be Rational. Hard Seasons Don’t Last Forever
When faced with the challenge of getting through hard times, it’s easy to let anxiety and a “woe-is-me” attitude to spin completely out of control into something irrational. I’ll admit that, for me, irrationality and ranting feel really good. It takes a lot of strength to remain rational and speak truth over the lies (more on overcoming lies here and here.) that encroach on us during a trial. Sometimes it feels really good to just give in and let your anxiety fly.
Maybe it’s just me.
At any rate, getting through hard times requires rationality. To move forward during a difficult season you must keep your head on. Remember the verse cited in Part I?
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
The Greek words translated “alert” and “sober mind” tell us to be watchful, calm, collected, with a quiet spirit. Additionally, John 8:44 tells us that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. To resist him is to resist the lies that will vie for your attention and belief during a trial. You can only do this when you are “alert” and of “sober mind.”
Dispel lies. Remind yourself of what’s true. This will end. Hard times, difficult seasons–they don’t last forever. Seasons don’t last forever. Every day survived is another day closer to the end of this chapter. You are surviving, you are moving forward, you are not alone.
Write truths down when they come to you. Find them in the Bible. Tell a friend you are struggling and have them help speak truth into your situation.
Set Realistic Goals While Getting Through Hard Times
In Part II of this series I presented three of the six lessons I’ve learned about moving forward through difficult times. One of the lessons is that progress looks different during a trial. If you haven’t read that, go here first.
In my own life I’ve found that there are stages to every difficult season. First there’s a period of triage. I take on a “stop the bleeding” mentality to simply get through each day. Meeting all basic needs is a win during this time.
After that, things stabilize as it becomes clear this tough time is going to cling for a while. At this point continuing to triage only seems to make the days last longer. On top of that, I become frustrated because I can’t go back to my “normal” activities, but I don’t want to sink deeper into a rut.
That’s where defining some realistic goals comes in. Simple, realistic goals will help you continue to move forward as you are getting through hard times.
During Derek’s most recent deployment, while I was facing unrelenting morning sickness and restrictions from the pandemic, he encouraged me to set some goals to steer my focus away from the hardship and onto something else. Putting my mind to something else (while extending grace and being realistic) allowed me to move forward and eased a bit of the pain of trial. It felt like walking through sludge, but eventually I saw that I was becoming less stuck and taking strides forward.
I felt empowered as I saw progress being made. Hard seasons give us very little control, but setting small goals can give a sense of authority back to us. Here are a few examples of my realistic goals from the last month of Derek’s deployment. (Most are house related, remember…we were social distancing.) They aren’t glamorous, they aren’t earth-shattering, but they helped me see that I was moving–even during a hard season. (More on godly goal setting here.)
Clean the windows
Go for four walks each week
Clean cabinet doors
Remove wall paper from the second floor
Review Matthew chapter 5 (something we had memorized, but I let lapse)
Paint something with Gideon
Look For Lessons–Don’t Waste This Season
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Have faith. God will walk you through this. And in my experience, He has never wasted a trial.
I believe God’s heart hurts when we are hurting. But let’s not forget that He is our Redeemer. The God that is able to redeem us from sin and death can redeem even our darkest hardships. He is our Creator. Surely, the One who created everything from nothing can create beauty from trial.
He can. He will. I’ve seen it happen.
Over and over God has been faithful to transform my ugliest trials and most difficult seasons in life into something lovely. When we let Him lead the way through the storm He’ll bring us into the calm with a wild, exciting testimony to share. He will teach us things that will equip us for next time, empower others, or just inspire us to rave about His Might.
When getting through hard times, listen closely for God’s voice. It’s there. Tune your ear to Him–instead of your fear or lies or anger or anxiety or distress. Those voices are loud–but God’s is calm and reassuring. He isn’t going to leave you, He will restore you and redeem you.
Remember God is the Good Guy When Getting Through Hard Times
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.
Friends, whatever you are facing–or whatever you will face–know that God is the hero, not the villain. He is for you. He has already gone to extraordinary lengths to offer you Salvation and Redemption. God has been faithful and will continue to be faithful. He is unchanging. Take heart. (Unsure about God’s kindness? I used to be too. Read this post.)
What has helped you get through a hard season? I’d love to connect with you on Instagram or Facebook. Come be part of a community seeking to live life with intentionality and through a Christ-centered lens. If this strikes a chord with your heart, please remember to share. Thanks for being here.
In a perfect world there would be no trouble. Even more, people who love God would never see a day of distress. But that’s not the reality of our fallen, imperfect world. We will all face hard seasons of life. As someone who has survived many hard seasons, struggled with anxiety and depression and fought to hold on to Truth and faith through it all–I’m sharing six things that help me move forward in the midst of a trial.
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me [Jesus]. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
I didn’t mean to make this a multi-part series. However, God laid so much on my heart I thought it best to break it up. This is Part II of a three part series. You can see the introduction and further details in Part Ihere.
Progress Looks Different During a Hard Season of Life
When circumstances change and life presents something difficult (or downright painful) your days will look different. In a hard season of life you’ll need to loosen your grip on whatever you consider “normal.” Not all hardships require defining a new normal, but you need to be flexible. Being too closely tethered to an ideal of “normal” will only cause anxiety and added stress. Believe me, I’ve been there.
Progress needs a different definition when walking through trials. I’ve found it freeing to admit when I’m in the midst of trial, then accept that progress will be taking a different form for a while.
During a hard season of life, progress might just be getting through the day with all basic needs met. That doesn’t mean you are completely stalled or moving backwards. Every day is one closer to the end of the season. Every day hard fought is progress toward the end of the tunnel.
The point is, let go of your ideal of “progress” for a while. Perseverance, the ability to endure, and the ability to creatively problem solve during a trial is progress. Life experience is never wasted, especially when we entrust it to God.
Extend Grace
Grace is key to any Christian’s walk and worldview. (Romans 3:24) We cannot possibly begin to grasp God’s love for us, until we begin to understand His grace. God’s grace induces the miracle of our sins being completely covered. (Ephesians 2:8-9) His grace bridges the gap of death through Jesus’ sacrifice and allows us to be right before Him.
Grace is everything. When we have even a little understanding of what God’s grace has done for us–and how undeserving we are of its gift–we are convicted to extend grace outwardly beyond ourselves.
But often the hardest person to extend grace toward is oneself.
I cannot say this loudly enough. During a trial, you must extend grace toward yourself in order to move forward. Remember the grace God has given you. He isn’t expecting you to be perfect, He doesn’t want your works. God wants your heart. That’s something you can give, even when everything else seems to have stalled. If God is okay extending you grace, you can follow His lead and extend some to yourself.
Grace will allow you to redefine progress (see #1). Grace will be a net that catches you before you fall into an abyss of depression, anxiety and self-loathing. To survive a difficult season in life, grace is your biggest ally.
Ask For Help and Be Specific
Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.
I’ve learned this one over and over. Hard seasons of life are even harder when you face them alone. Trials often leave us feeling isolated and lonely. Satan clouds our mind with the lie that “no one wants to hear about our trouble,” or “we should deal with this on our own.” (More on overcoming lies here and here.)
That’s not the way the Church works. God has called us to work together and support one another. Would you be happy to help a friend facing difficult season? Chances are they’d be happy to help you too.
But here’s the catch. No one can read minds.
Do some brainstorming. Think of concrete things that could help you during this season. Besides magically turning everything back to “the way it was,” what would ease your load? (Both mentally and physically.)
Then reach out and ask for help.
My parents and friends were invaluable to me during this latest trial. (See Part I for details.) After days spent miserable, lonely and literally sick with first trimester nausea I made a list of ways others could help. Then I humbled myself and started asking for help. Here are a couple things that I asked others to do:
When my parents came to visit I asked them to meal plan and cook for us–because even the thought of food could make me gag.
Friends babysat while I went to doctor appointments and got groceries.
I identified the loneliest, hardest times of day and asked friends to join Gideon and me for afternoon walks in the park.
What tangible helps would ease your burden?
You Can Get Through a Hard Season of Life.
Now may the God of peace—who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.
You can do this. Hard seasons of life will continue to arise, but you can continue to move forward. And Jesus will hold your hand and equip you every step of the way. Remember, in the narrative of our lives, God is not the enemy. He is the hero, the redeemer, the one who brings good from the villain’s craftiest, most wicked schemes. Cling to that truth and remember seasons don’t last forever. (We’ll talk more about that in Part III.)
What helps you move forward? I’d love to hear from you. Comment here or join me on Instagram or Facebook to be part of a community seeking to live life with intentionality and through a Christ-centered lens.
First, a quick recap. In short, I’m a goal-oriented person who is historically bad at goal setting. I’ve placed by value in the hands of my goals and spent many New Year’s “goal seasons” burnt out, feeling like a failure. Last year I ditched traditional goal-setting to simply focus on grace. Both, God’s grace toward me, and learning to extend more grace toward myself and others.
This year I wanted to explore what the Bible has to say about goals and working toward them. I made a list of “goal-ish” words and studied what Scripture has to say about each one. This was a personal study, but I came away with too many notes and geekery not to share. The words on my list were: Goal, Strive, Ambition, Aim, Intend, and Labor. Today we’ll look at “Ambition”. Next week will be our last post in the series.
Ambition
I love it when my Bible geeking surprises me. When I looked into the word ambition I was surprised by what I found. The Bible makes it clear what a godly goal looks like, that we should be moving forward in faith, growing to maturity in Christ and setting Christ centered goals. However, when I looked at what the Bible says about ambition I found more warning than offensive instruction.
The heart of this series is meant to help us (me) align our goals more closely with God’s heart. The old cliche is very true, life IS short. Our days on this side of eternity are a gift–we need to steward them well. I don’t know about you, but I want to spend my days working at things that matter. I’ve spend too many Januaries setting goals that worked me to the bone, but didn’t matter at all. Let’s leave that pattern for good.
A good first step is examining ambition, both what the dictionary and the Bible says about ambition.
The English definition of “ambition.”
am·bi·tion | amˈbiSH(ə)n
an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment
a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.
desire and determination to achieve success.
Ambition is Heart Oriented
Can you see that ambition is a little more heart-oriented than a goal? A goal/aim is passive. It’s an object. An ambition is desire. Ambition is personal, often dependent on our own labor.
In every translation of Scripture, “ambition” is usually used in tandem with “selfish.” As in, “selfish ambition.” (Some translations do use the word “ambition” in place of goal, ie 1 Thes 4:1q and Rom 15:20–both discussed in this post.)
Because I truly do believe that Scripture is God-breathed, I believe all the words in the Bible are placed with meaning.
So why does the Bible typically speak of ambition in terms of selfishness? Let’s see what we can learn.
What the Bible Says About Ambition
The word most commonly translated into occurrences of the English word “ambition” is actually a Greek word denoting selfish-ambition.
eritheia: a desire to put one’s self forward; self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means
Eritheia has a political background. Outside of the Bible it was used to describe unfair power grabs and seeking to place oneself in a high-ranking position. Keep this and the definition in mind as you read the following verses that use eritheia in them.
For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition (eritheia), slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition (eritheia) or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
I don’t want you to walk away from this post discouraged, or thinking that ambition is negative. Ambition is not negative. Remember, there are verses that translate “philotimeomai” (to strive, goal, aspire) into “ambition.”
Instead, as we examine our goals–the things we are striving toward and setting our eyes upon–we must intentionally ward off eritheia, selfish ambition. What do can learn about selfish ambition from the verses above? Here is my list from my study notes. By all means, this is not everything we can learn from these passages, nor are these the only right answers. (And remember to read the verses in context.)
Paul had godly goals for the church in Corinth–selfish ambition is among the things that could derail those goals. (See examples of godly goals here and here.) (2 Cor 12:20)
Selfish ambition is companion to other undesirable/selfish qualities. (2 Cor 12:20)
We should not pursue our godly goals from a heart posture of selfish ambition. (Phil 2:3)
Humility and genuine interest/care/concern for others is the opposite and antidote of selfish ambition. (Phil 2:3)
Selfish ambition breeds disorder and other bad, hurtful practices. (Jas 3:16)
Guarding Against Selfish Ambition
As we seek to create godly goals, we must guard against selfish ambition. As we’ve learned so far in this series, godly goals are not self seeking. They are peace-driven, church-edifying, God-glorifying. If our goals are truly aligned with God’s heart and what His Word tells us to strive for, we will not operate out of selfish ambition.
It’s also important to remember the character of God when considering our goals. God is all-knowing, all-powerful. He knows us fully and loves us fully. God’s primary concern is not our accomplishments, it’s our heart. (1 Sam 16:7) The God of the Bible will never berate you for not being enough.
Here is the truth. You are perfectly enough when you take your not-enoughness and let Christ complete you with His grace.
Friends, the amount of water you drink, money you make, miles you log at the gym–they are all inconsequential when compared to your heart posture. If your heart is out of alignment, you can do all the things, loose the weight, get the job, etc, etc, etc and still feel like it’s not enough. If your ambition is selfish, there will always be a gnawing emptiness in your belly.
God sees and cares about our heart.
One of my favorite verses is Psalm 37:4.
“Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Can you see that this is a self-fulfilling prophecy? When the Lord is our delight our heart’s deepest ambitions/desires will be met. If our goals are godly and in line with what the Bible tells us is worth setting our eyes on and striving toward, He will be our desire. And God never withholds Himself from those who seek Him.
Your Challenge
Your challenge this week is to prayerfully assess your goals. Check back in. What are you working toward? How are you striving? Why are those the things you’ve chosen to focus on? What is your heart posture? What is your motive? If you uncover selfish ambition (I’ve uncovered more than my fair share in my own heart), ask God to help you realign that goal with His heart.
Next week we’ll wrap up the series by looking at “labor.” Thanks for stopping in. Join me on Facebook or Instagram for more fun. I’d love to get to know you!
As we come into the New Year, I know lots of us are thinking about goal setting. Some may already be frustrated by goals that already don’t seem to be panning out. Today, I’m talking about Christian goal setting. I’m sharing what I’ve learned from years of setting the wrong kinds of goals and how I recovered from the hurt of unmet goals and failures.
This post is the first in a series. Here are others you might like:
You know I am committed to being transparent and authentic here. So I won’t sugar coat this next confession: I am a bad goal setter. I know how to set goals. In my mind I have plenty of head-knowledge about setting appropriate goals and taking the right steps to work toward them. I’ve written about goals and offered council to others about goals.
But at the end of the day, I rarely take my own advice. Thus, I–Amy Allender–am a very bad goal setter.
I set the wrong goals for myself. My approach to the goals is wrought with missteps. Then at the end of the calendar year, when it’s time for assessment, I feel defeated, deflated, devalued and plenty of other “de” words. I have spent many years looking back in reflection and the thought that overshadows all the sweet memories and accomplishments is that “I’ve failed.”
All along I thought I was pursuing Christian goal setting, because I was a Christian…setting goals. But I was mistaken.
There have been many New Year’s seasons in which I’ve dreamed up what I wished and hoped the next New Year would look like–only to be disappointed when the ideal in my mind doesn’t match the reality. This isn’t always my fault. Many things get in the way: moves, jobs, unexpected loss, new opportunities, separation, stress, illness, etc. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve spent many a January feeling another year older, believing I’ve failed because the December 31 me didn’t look the way the January 1 me had envisioned.
Giving Goals Too Much Impact
Last year I pretty much ditched resolutions and New Year goal setting all together. Instead, I focused only on grace. Something that had been missing from my New Year assessment for many years. I spent January trying out a few new patterns and habits–like a test-drive month. I kept a few, I threw the rest aside. And I committed to being graceful to myself as my ideals, goals and ideas shifted, changed, were completed or abandoned.
What I learned is that without trying or being conscious of it, I was allowing my goals (met or unmet) to impact the amount of value I perceived myself to have. My goals didn’t have all the power–but they had some. The truth is, our goals (met or unmet) have nothing to do with our value. Every person is made in God’s image and therefore is invaluable. Only God can supply a safe and sturdy surface for my identity and value to lay upon. Anything else is too fragile and too prone to sink holes.
Exploring Godly Goals
I’ve learned that true Christian goal setting (setting godly goals) looks much different that simply setting secular goals.
After spending all of 2019 focusing on being graceful toward myself when it comes to goals and “success,” I ended the year joyful and content.
This year I want to keep moving in this positive trajectory. After a year off of traditional goal setting I started to wonder what God has to say about goals. How did key Biblical figures work toward goals? Did they have goals? What kind of goals should I be setting? Should I set goals at all?
In short, “What does Christian goal setting look like?”
I’ve spent the beginning of the new year looking deeply into what the Bible has to say about Christian goal setting and godly goals. In true Bible-geek form, I could barely put my Bible down when it was time to stop. I made notes, cross referenced, dug through the concordance and hit the thesaurus. I discovered that the Bible has a lot to say about goals. I’ll be sharing all my findings on that next week in a follow up post.
Christian Goal Setting: Put Goals in Their Proper Place
Before we can appreciate what Scripture says about godly goal setting, we need to put goals into their proper place.
Remember how I told you I used to struggle with feeling like an old failure on December 31? For me, that was a sure sign that I was giving goals more stock in my identity and value than they deserved. Before you set goals or intentions, make sure these truths truly manifest in your heart.
Goals are works.
Goals are works. Our works can accompany our faith. They can be an outward sign of our faith, but works are a separate entity from Salvation or justification before God. Christ saves us from the true death we all deserve. Christ alone justifies us as worthy and right before God. (There are many verses pertaining to this–below is just one example.)
…know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Every single person who has ever been born or ever will be born is made in God’s image. “Made in God’s image” is part of our identity. Our intention should not be to look like Sally-who-lives-next-door (another mortal also made in God’s image)–but to look more like Christ, our Savior.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
If you understand that misdeeds and imperfection separate you from the one and only, perfect God of all the universe and creation–and believe that Jesus (God’s son, fully man yet fully God) bridged that gap by atoning for those misdeeds to fully reconcile you back to God–you are “saved.” Saved from true death. Saved from a life lived apart from the God who made you. You are seen as fully right before God, fully adopted as His child. Just as earthly parents love their children (adopted or biological) God loves His children.
As adopted children, God gives us an identity. He offers us a name, a place to belong, a purpose, and an inheritance.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
God knows us. There is nothing we can hide from Him. He created us and understands us in intimate ways we will never fully understand. God’s ideal for our lives is that we look more like him and less like the world. Scripture warns against working in selfish ambition. Godly goals will never be self serving. Before you set new goals, pray to align your heart with God. Ask Him to reveal any selfish motives behind your intentions.
But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
Next week I’ll be back with part II of this discussion, fully ready to show you all that I’ve learned about Christian goal setting and godly goals. Some of it just might surprise you. Until then, I’d love if you joined me over on Instagram. Thanks for being here!
Want more on godly goals? Check out the rest of the series!
Last night Derek and I were talking on the phone. Because that’s what we do now. That, and FaceTime. But usually our FaceTime calls are a little distracting because someone (with adorable, chubby fingers) thinks he needs to hold the phone the whole time…then it turns into a balancing act of actually seeing each other and keeping a technology tantrum at bay.
As usual, I’m getting off track.
Anyway, we were on the phone discussing one of the most pressing matters with our transition. What to do with the Canyon Lake Cottage. We have a great peace about keeping it (not selling.) Now we need renters. We’ve gone back and forth about keeping it as a short term/vacation rental and looking for a long term renter.
There are pros and cons to both sides. A long term renter would take care of the utilities and bills. However, a long term renter can be really hard on a property and we’ve heard some scary stories.
A short term rental set up means less wear on the property, but more management. More logistics. And maybe craziest of all…it means we need to have a “furnished” house in Rapid City and Minot.
At the beginning of this whole process I thought for sure I’d be going mad without all my “things” by this point. A couple years ago (even one year ago) that probably would have been the case. But I’ve seen God changing me in ways that I never thought possible. Attachments, burdens and struggles that I thought would forever be a thorn in my flesh have slowly and gently been extracted.
I can’t peg what exactly is responsible for this shift, but I think a big part of it stems from a word that God planted in my heart several years ago. Intentionality. Again, I’m not sure what exactly brought it on, but in the fall of 2016 the word “intentionality” kept coming to mind. Since then it’s become a bit of an anthem for me.
Most of you know I have struggled to overcome and manage crippling anxiety and depression. The greatest strides for me came when I became intentional about my mental health. Intentionality when it came to what I said “yes” to and what I said “no” to. This helped guard me from being spread too thin (something that easily triggers a bit of panic for me.) Intentionality in seeking care and asking for help. Intentionality in the way I think.
That intentionality spread to other aspects of my life. I could feel the Holy Spirit encouraging me to be intentional in the Word and prayer. To be intentional in my marriage, and intentional in the ways I wield my giftings.
Intentional about who I am trying to impress.
Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
This has not been a perfect practice. There are lots of days that I don’t get it right at all. There have been many times I’ve wished I could be more intentional about more things. But I’ve never once felt the sting of reprimand from the Lord. He sees the heart, He knows I’m trying. Like I said, this really started to resonate in 2016. I’m finally truly starting to see the fruit of this slow, slow change.
So back to our move. When the jumble of information and logistics started to rain down in the spring my natural reaction was fear. Followed by flitting thoughts about how we could make things quick and seamless. I wanted to find a way to keep things as “normal” and “the same” for our family as possible.
Quickly, it became obvious this transition would be different. Again I heard the Spirit whisper, “intentionality” in my ear. With His urging and leading I began to reframe my thoughts.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Fear of leaving and being without all the comforts of my home became something new and redeemed.:
“In the past, I have been closest to God and gotten to know Him most through times of hard transition.”
“Before when things have been hard and unstable, I find it easiest to lean on the Rock of my Salvation.”
“Even though having very little, and living out of a suitcase for a very long time will be hard (and quite honestly will be very crummy at times) hopefully this season will break some of my long-held attachment to things that God never intended to capture my heart.”
In the narrative of our lives, God is never the villain. He is the redeemer. He is the creative author who can take any plot and twist it into something surprisingly lovely for the characters. Can can redeem our circumstances, and even more miraculous, he can redeem our thinking.
Let me get back to where I started. Last night Derek and I were discussing our options.
“Well, if we find a long term renter we’ll need everything moved out of the Rapid house by the end of September.”
“But our house in Minot will be under construction. Where will we put it all?”
“Probably the basement.”
“What if we left furniture in Rapid City and kept running it as a vacation house?”
“I don’t know. I’m thinking about the holidays. How long do we really want to live like gypsies?”
“I don’t know what the best solution is. Maybe leave it as a short term rental until after Christmas? That will give us time to get some renovation started and by then we’ll all be living in the same place, in a house of our own.”
“How do you feel about not having our things for that long?”
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
And that’s when it hit me that God has been up to something. I was honestly okay with it. Now, I’m not saying that’s our final solution. I have no idea how this is all going to shake out. But I wasn’t yearning for the things that I own. For a girl who craves “home” that’s a really big deal.
All in all, this is my long, drawn out way of trying to offer you encouragement. What are you facing right now that seems impossible? What thinking do you wish you could shed? Turn on its head? Redeem? Becoming intentional (more purposeful) is a process. And it’s not a process that falls on our shoulders to bear. It’s a process led by the Holy Spirit–we simply need to bring an earnest heart and a teachable spirit to the table.
You’ll be hearing more about the soap opera that is our transition in the days, weeks, and months to come. But for now, be encouraged.
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Sweet Success.
If you’ve met me for even half a minute, I’ve likely told you that I hate moving. Like I hate it with a capital H. Which is really too bad, because the life I find myself in requires moves. And lots of them.
It’s not that I dislike the tediousness of the packing. Or that I worry my things will get broken. Or the drag of relocating. Or even fear that I’ll never find another friend ever again.
To be honest, to tell you why I hate moving so much would be really complicated, because I’m not exactly sure why myself. It’s a topic that I’m sure you’ll hear more about in the coming days, months, years (if you keep letting me jabber your ear off.) You’ll hear more about it because the thought of moving touches my heart in a way that very few things do. I love being part of a commuity. Taking part in annual events. Being present in the lives of others. Having those same people present in my life. The opportunity to do a good work that takes time and trust. I crave friends that I’ll be able to be with face to face for more than just three years at a time. (That’s our average stay.)
God has wired me to have a strong connection to home and a yearning to settle in, lay deep roots and crave stability.
All that may seem counterintuitive, since Jesus Himself spoke of not having a place to lay His head. In fact lots of people called by God have found themselves to be wanderers.
But alas…here I am, kicking and fighting against the nomadic life. And after advice, books, prayer, and even paid counseling (which addressed more than just my hatred of moving)–I find that my desire to stay put has very much remained intact. So I’ve drawn the conclusion that this is part of who God has made me to be. It’s my red hottest of hot button issues.
You see–no matter how many times I get yanked out by the roots, I remain optimistic that this next place could (maybe) be my forever home. So I get involved. I get committed. A classic, “You jump, I jump,” situation. (Thank you, thank you to anyone who got that reference.) I volunteer and learn the culture (and in some cases the accordion.) I pick up the slang and a little bit of the accent. I never really care where it is–even if it’s the place no one wants to live (yes, I’m talking about North Dakota)…I just want to stay and never leave.
Total transparency. It’s what I cry my most tears over. It’s what I find myself laying on the kitchen floor over. (That’s often where I do my most pathetic crying.) It’s what I pray about. Stressing over it is what derails my hopes and dreams and ambitions. It paralyzes me with fear sometimes. It’s just about the only thing that stirs up a heated “discussion” between Derek and me. Sometimes it steals my sleep. Sometimes it steals my appetite. More than once I’ve let it steal my peace.
And as you read this–you may think I’m totally crazy. Because to you moving is no big deal. Or -gasp- maybe it’s even something you like to do. That’s totally cool. We can still be friends. In fact…please bottle up some of your bravery and send it to me.
But I bet there is something in your life that causes a similar reaction. Maybe. The symptoms may not be the same. But I’m sure you have a red hottest hot button in your own heart. A metaphorical thorn in the flesh or pebble in your Chacos.
After years (it’s been nearly ten now) of fighting and clawing against my hot button, I’m finally starting to taking a different view. If I’ve tried earnestly all this time to shake it without success, maybe it’s part of who God created me to be. I’ve come to believe that this…one of my biggest weaknesses…is not only a curse. If a stay-putter, craver-of-stability, home-body is part of who God has created me to be, then even this weakness can be a strength for His glory and His Kingdom.
Hear me here. God doesn’t want me living in stress and fear about the day Derek will tell me we’re moving–again. In the narrative of our lives, God is never, EVER the bad guy. Satan would like us to believe that God is setting us up for failure and heartache, by placing these hot buttons in our hearts. But Satan’s identity is lies. He is lies personified and we must be cognizant enough to identify him, deny him and turn our faces back to the Truth.
Let’s transform the way we think about our hot buttons. If God doesn’t intend me to be heart sick–why would He wire me with such a strong longing for home?
Maybe so I will continually need to rest in His stability. Maybe because that desire enables me to establish myself in a community oddly quickly–an asset to a girl who finds herself in a new town every few years. Maybe because that yearning for forever friends means I quickly invest in the lives of those around me. Maybe so I can empathize with others who find themselves away from family. Or so I empathize with those who long to have a place to belong. My optimism about staying put enourages me to continue dreaming, and takes away my fear of making friends.
The truth is, God has equipped me for the unique work He has tasked me with by wiring me to long for stability and crave a forever home. This weakness of mine becomes an asset when placed in God’s hands. It allows me to point back to Him, rely on Him and minister to His people in ways I simply could not if the weakness didn’t exist.
I believe He has equipped you too.
Satan would have us be ashamed of our red hot heart buttons. But if we are in Christ, we have no more shame. None. That means no shame in our weaknesses. And no shame in the things God has created us to care about (**please take a quick note here…God will never wire you to care for/yearn for something that the Bible tells us is against His will or Word.)
It’s time we transform our thinking. Let’s take the things that we consider weaknesses, and instead of brushing them under the rug–take them out, hold them up for the word to see and proclaim them for the glory of God. When we do this, Satan loses all power over our weakness. God can and will bring glory to Himself through our weakness. I firmly believe God will use the side effects of your red hot heart button to better equip you for the work He’d like to task you with. You be you. Own it like a boss. No shame. And be confident in God’s ability to bring good to you and those around you.
I AM AMY AND I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY HATE MOVING.
That’s me proclaiming/admitting my weakness and being confident that God is/will use it for His good purpose. Now it’s your turn. Take some time to identify some major weaknesses or heart issues in your life. Pray over them. In what unique ways has God wired you with weakness? How can you transform your thinking about those qualities to understand that God will use them for His glory? How might God be using them already?
But don’t just believe me. Check out this classic quote from Paul. You may have read it before. But read it anew tonight. Are you reading God’s Words, or really believing them for your life? **Remember, Scripture is always best read in context. I encourage you to click over and read the verses around–or the chapter…or whole book while you’re at it–to make sure you are understanding the true meaning of the verses.**
2 Corinth 12: 9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Today, the first time I’ve written in months and months, I wan’t to talk about God’s calling.
**I’ve recorded this post so your ears can read it instead of your eyes. You’re welcome.***
But first…simply cannot believe it’s January. And not only that, but midway through the month. This time last year I’d done a lot of praying and thinking about what I wanted to do. About what God wanted me to do. About God’s calling for me. Where He had gifted me, what I naturally felt at peace doing. And it all came back to writing and teaching.
So I set out to revamp the website (something Derek says I do far too often…) And I did. The redo took way too long and the launch got pushed farther and farther behind. But I kept plugging away.
But then a funny thing happened. When it was done, I felt this tightness and pressure. Instead of reaping joy from writing and enjoying studying God’s Word I concocted a heaviness that scared me away from writing on my new, beautiful site. So I found lots of other things to do. I convinced myself that I’d know when the time was right. I’d have something perfect to say and I’d write it. In the mean time I filled up my schedule with contracts and projects and all kinds of things. Things that left me too tired to write or study. I knew God’s calling wasn’t to be stressed or not at peace, I knew God’s calling–but I avoided it.
Oh, yeah…and there was a terrible bout of anxiety in there too. It had nothing to do with writing or blogging. But it halted me. Because when I hit a patch like that I convince myself that a person struggling cannot contribute anything but more struggle. That’s a lie.
But as time went on the message became more and more clear. This is what God’s calling me to do–at least at this season in life. Not the struggling and the stress–the learning, teaching and studying. The soft voice I hear in my prayers has become louder and louder. Messages have been coming my way that are prodding me to move forward, be brave, continue. The radio, the Bible, the audio books I’m listening to, even strangers have lately (and by lately I mean over the last 6 months) have all been unknowingly speaking into my soul. I can hear God in my prayers asking me if I’ll listen to them. Because I’ve obviously been avoiding listening and obeying Him.
Maybe you can relate?
Maybe?
And perhaps the most nagging thing of all has been Abraham. Yes, from Genesis. And from the song about him having many sons. (more…)
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To be honest, to tell you why I hate moving so much would be really complicated, because I’m not exactly sure why myself. It’s a topic that I’m sure you’ll hear more about in the coming days, months, years (if you keep letting me jabber your ear off.) You’ll hear more about it because the thought of moving touches my heart in a way that very few things do. I love being part of a commuity. Taking part in annual events. Being present in the lives of others. Having those same people present in my life. The opportunity to do a good work that takes time and trust. I crave friends that I’ll be able to be with face to face for more than just three years at a time. (That’s our average stay.)
