Negatives & Opportunity

I believe the reason negatives exist in our lives is that we need an upgrade on who God is for us in our lives (identity and perspective).  At times it can feel like negatives can come at us like a building tsunami that threatens to overwhelm us.  Bills may be piling up with not enough income, or kids seem to be constantly struggling, health issues can slow us down, marital conflicts can be wearing, job loss or job difficulties can bring frustration, and other family issues can weigh our hearts down.  We are definitely not living in the Garden of Eden.  Jesus was not kidding when He said in John 16:33, "In the world you have tribulation (trouble) but take courage; I have overcome the world."  Notice Jesus didn't say that it is all up to us to figure out how to deal with the trouble (negatives) that come at us in life in the world, He said He overcame the world.

Could it be that the negatives that are coming your way God is not shocked by and He actually has a plan for your good.  What if in the negatives is actually an invitation to know God at a whole new level, know your true identity, and see breakthrough into a new dimension of living "in Christ."  It was John Eldredge who said that we are born into a world at war with all the forces of heaven and hell clashing.  We know through Scripture that God has the victory through Jesus but live in the midst of warfare and many times this warfare comes through the negative in our lives.

The negatives in our circumstances can often lead to either a lot of self-effort to attempt to overcome them or the negatives in our own soul begin to surface.  Jesus clearly said, "I have overcome the world", which means it's not our job to attempt to do what Jesus has already accomplished.  Our role is to rest in His victory and see His victory applied to the negatives that are coming at us.  In other words a dimension of our identity is to learn how to be warriors, which is almost as important as knowing we are His beloved sons and daughters.

What if instead of seeing the tsunami of negatives coming at us and either gritting our teeth for battle in our own strength or wanting to run away, we turn to Jesus to see who He wants to be for us in this battle.  In the Old Testament many times God instructed His people to send out worshippers to lead the battle, silly in the natural to face an army with a bunch of guys playing flutes but in His Kingdom vital.  Worship is primarily the beholding and praise of who God is, not just what He can do.  It's about focus.  We will lose many of the battles in our lives, when we do not have focus on His face.  This is why several times in the New Testament we are instructed to "Rejoice in the Lord always."  God knows that seeing who He is for us releases new dimensions of intimacy, identity, and empowerment.

Overcoming in Him,
Bret

Freedom from Obligation

"My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  It seems that obligation is often present in our lives, "I have to...", "I should....", "I got to...", "I ought to...", and "there is so much I need to get done..."  If any these words have been coming out of your mouth or those around, it could be that obligation is at work.  Some will say what about duty, responsibility, and being faithful.  I agree these often are good but when this becomes the center of our relationship with Jesus, I believe something is off.  Soon these type of attitudes of the heart, lead to words from our mouth, which form belief systems, and those belief systems create expectations, and those expectations drive our choices.  What only seemed like some things we needed to get done can become a lifestyle of obligation that is heavy.  Being yoked to Jesus is a kind yoke that fits well and is not harsh.  Jesus was declaring a battle cry in Matthew 11:28-30 to the very people who were under a ton of obligation through Law and laws, the Pharisees.  They had turned the Law into an additional laws that was such a heavy weight there were over 680 laws.  They were putting heavy yokes on people and Jesus words in Matthew 11 stood in stark contrast to the ways and words of the Pharisees to the people.

Holy Spirit began to speak to me about obligation because I seem to live under quite a bit, which robs joy and weighs down.  Often as obligation weighs down on us we look for ways of escape under the heavy weight but Jesus comes to give us a whole new yoke (form of teaching) which is both easy and light.  Romans 8:12 tells us we are not under obligation to the flesh but we live life in the freedom of the Spirit.  The flesh is based on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which often leads to us seeking to gain by self-effort what God has freely given us by grace in Jesus Christ.  "Religion" assumes separation from God and then sets out to tell us how to earn our way back.  This is not the freedom and life the Gospel proclaims but a "religious spirit" can penetrate the Body of Christ leading us away from our affection for Jesus.

From Father's love He sent Jesus to free us from the heavy chains of obligation to the flesh, law, and "religion" through an abiding relationship with Jesus.  Rules, obligations, and duty are stale compared to the brilliant wander of who God is for us.  There is such joy and adventure in this journey with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit where we are caught up in their fellowship, plans, and intentions for us.

Free to Live by the Spirit,
Bret

The Lie of Perfectionism

Father recently loving exposed how much I am still stuck in "perfectionistic" thinking and especially how He wanted to free me from this thinking in my relationships.  I heard someone say that the time you want a perfectionist is when he is your brain surgeon.  Perfectionism lies to us because it tells us when everything is perfect then we can be happy or joyful.  It lies to us because it tells us to stretch for it's impossible standard only to fail again and be discouraged.  Perfectionism whispers that if we do things perfectly than no one will reject us or be disappointed in us.  It lies to us telling us if we meet it's impossible standard then finally we can rest.  Perfectionism lies to us telling us that if we do things perfectly we can avoid failure.  Perfectionism lies to us telling us there is only one way to do things and that is perfectly.

I am convinced that perfectionism is not just rooted in high standards but in a deep fear of failure.  Let's face it if you are human living on this earth you will fail, failure can be an incredible opportunity to learn.  Yet perfectionism at it's root forbids failure as an option and thus has no way out when you experience failure.

Perfectionism when applied to other people (which is the outcome if you are agreeing with it for yourself) has destructive consequences.  If you are over 40 years old you have probably realized how much brokenness, sin, and woundedness there is in people.  If it has not deeply touched our own life, we certainly are connected to people who we see have profound influence on their lives.

So what is the antidote to Perfectionism's destructive force in our lives?  I believe Jesus as our perfect sacrifice satisfies the high demands of the Law but also our own perfectionism.  Through Christ we receive complete acceptance, transforming our sinful brokenness to a new beautiful wholeness and newness of life.  His acceptance of us was so complete it included every dimension of our sinfulness, selfishness, failure, shame, addiction, and idolatry.

I believe this radical acceptance making us righteous "in Christ", derived only from God's grace levels the playing field.  We can now accept people freely knowing that "in Christ" they are seen through the lens of new life, not perfectionism.  Let's face it perfectionism is really idolatry because it elevates our standard above God.  Worship of the complete and perfect one leads us to a place of humility and empowered to accept others as He accepts us.

In Christ,
Bret