Influence With Your Generosity

This post was originally published on the GT Blog

I just wanted to leave. I wanted outta there in the fastest way possible. I wanted to be at home with my family, in my room, where everything was familiar. I was 10 years old, it was my birthday and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what I was feeling or why.
I grew up in suburban neighborhoods where everyone was pretty much the same. Not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination but not poor either. I did all the typical kid stuff that you did in the 80’s- staying out to play till it got dark, catching lightening bugs, riding my bike or walking all over creation, eating Pop Rocks and then drinking soda to see if I’d actually explode…all the important things.

When I was around 9 years old we started attending a church in the city. I really didn’t know anyone there but I begrudgingly attended their Wednesday night children’s program. We would play in the gym, do some kind of activity, and earn fake money with which to buy trinkets or candy at the church store for memorizing scripture verses. Just for the record, I never earned a penny.

But on the evening of Wednesday November 4th, 1980-something the program was going to be a little different. Instead of our usual time in the gym, we were all going by bus to a bonfire. Sounded like fun, but being the social butterfly that I was and not knowing anyone there, this was just torture for me. As I was sitting by myself on the bus a very outgoing girl started talking to me. You’d think I would have been thrilled to have someone to talk to but I wasn’t. I didn’t want her to talk to me. Her clothes were mismatched and dirty with holes in them, her hair was greasy and messy, by the way she smelled she clearly hadn’t showered in some time, and my 10 year old self just didn’t know what to do with that. I was very uncomfortable but at that age I could not quite put a finger on why. Having lots of friends at school who were all pretty much like me, I had never encountered anything like this before.
As she and I talked she learned that it was my birthday. Oh she was so happy for me! Genuinely happy for me! Which made me even more uncomfortable. Then she did something I’ll never forget. She reached in her pocket and handed me every single fake dollar she had earned for memorizing her bible verses and insisted I take it. She said she wanted me to use it to buy a birthday present for myself. I wanted the earth to drop out from under me and swallow me whole. I reluctantly took the money from her and stared out the window for the rest of the bus ride, fighting back tears.

I didn’t know why I wanted to cry. All I knew was that I just wanted to leave. I wanted to go home. I had never been around another girl my age who smelled, or sounded like she did; who had nothing but gave me everything. It was too much for my just barely 10 year old self to process and though I tried so hard to fight it, thinking that if I just kept my head turned and stared hard enough out that window I could stop it, the tears rolled.

Obviously I’ve never forgotten that girl. Looking back on it as an adult can bring tears to my eyes all over again just as if I were right back on that bus.
I’m sure she probably thought I had it all and yet I didn’t even want to give her my conversation.
She had nothing of worldly value to me.
But she still reached in her pocket and gave me everything she did have.
It still amazes me.
What an incredibly generous gift.

I now realize that she was far richer than I was or maybe ever will be. She had stored up the treasure of God’s word in her heart week after week faithfully and the overflow of that was poured out on me in her generosity. I didn’t deserve it.

All I had was an eraser and a candy bar that I bought with the money she gave me.

She’s the one who had it all.

When I think about it I realize she didn’t just give me money, she gave me her time, friendship, conversation, and even joy that evening. It didn’t matter how much or what it was, she was generous with everything she had. And it doesn’t matter how much, or what we give. It’s our generosity that matters. Are we generous with our love? With our time? With our conversation? With our friendship and who we give it to? And yes, with our resources (fake or real ;)?

Her generosity left an undeniable mark on me.

I don’t know her name, but I’ve prayed for her over the years. Prayed that I could be a little more like her. Prayed that she would be blessed with wonderful friends and family and that her every need would be met. Prayed that I could be half as generous as she was. Prayed that I could look as much like Jesus as she did on that evening of November 4th 1980-something.

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READ //
Psalm 112: 3-5
2 Corinthians 8:2
JOURNAL PROMPT & DISCUSSION QUESTIONS //
Has anyone’s generosity toward you ever influenced you to be more generous yourself?
In what ways can you be more generous with your time, talents, and resources this week?
PRAYER FOCUS //

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Mark 12:41-44

Is it easier for you to be generous with some people than others? Why?
Dear Lord, we want to look more like you. Help us to be more generous with all that you’ve given us. Help us to see the needs around us and be quick to respond to them. Help us to honor you with our time, talents and resources, and help us to see everyone as you see them- as loved, valued, children of God. Help us to be a Godly light and influence with our generosity. In Jesus’ name…

Epic Showdown

This post was originally published on the GT Blog

When I first sat down to write this blog post, I carefully crafted a lovely essay talking about how God showed up for Daniel in an epic showdown at the lion’s den, how God has showed up for us in epic showdowns before, and how he wants to do that for you too. It was a great feel-good story written to uplift and spur hope within you. Blah blah blah.

But as I read and re-read the account of Daniel and the lions den, something kept nagging at me…stay with me here…

In Daniel 6, right before he was about to be thrown into the lions den, the king (who did not want this to happen) said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” Hmm….

And then when the king comes back to check on Daniel in the morning and finds him completely unharmed, Daniel says in verse 22, “My God sent His angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight.”
And if that’s not enough, in verse 23 it says, “When Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.”

This all got my wheels turning. Seriously. If you look closely you could probably see smoke coming out of my ears right now.

As much as I don’t want to admit it, there it is; this correlation between serving God continually, being found innocent, trusting in God, and having Him show up big in our lives because of it. I’d love to comfort you with a story of how God will defend you in an epic showdown going on in your life and all you have to do is believe Him for it.

But that’s not what I see here.

I see Daniel, who was taken from all that he knew in Jerusalem and thrown into Babylon. It was culture shock for sure. And to be honest, I highly doubt the cultural climate in Babylon was a whole lot different than our cultural climate right now. Sin ran rampant and no one really batted an eye at it. Daniel could have chosen to blend in with the culture that surrounded him and no one would have blamed him. To not do so could have ended in his death. But instead Daniel chose to continually serve, honor, and trust his God despite all that surrounded him. He chose to look different than those around him and trust God with the ramifications of that.

Goodness me. Let that soak in for a minute.

Fortunately for those of us blessed enough to live in the U.S., our lives are not on the line here. So then what are we so afraid of?? Why do we seem so unable to take a stand for God in even the small things in our lives?

Instead we choose to watch that movie.
Listen to that music.
Engage in that conversation that’s going nowhere good.
Tell that dirty joke.
Read that popular pornographic book.
Go on that website.
Tear someone else down in an attempt to make ourselves look better.
Skip church because we just. can’t. even.

I could go on and on. I’m sure you could too. And please hear me, I’m not trying to shame anyone here. I’m just as guilty in some of these areas as you are.

Sometimes it’s easier to stop swimming upstream and let the culture-current take us where it will. But here’s what I know about that current- it will take us farther than we ever thought we’d go, keep us longer than we ever thought we’d stay, and cost us more than we ever thought we’d pay.

The truth I can’t get away from in the story of Daniel and the lions den is this: the love of God is unconditional, but His blessings are not.

Ouch.

I said it.

Are you mad at me?

Daniel radically lived his life for the Lord. He knew he didn’t need to fear when being thrown in the lions den because he had a relationship with God that was so tight that nothing could cause him to doubt. He and God had history together. And that history came from time spent with Him. Continually serving, obeying, trusting. When we are walking upright with the Lord we can expect His blessings in our lives. Please note I did NOT say walking perfectly with the Lord. But when we’re not, when we choose to coast along with the cultural current, God will often times lift His hand of blessings; never to shame us- shame is not from God, but in an effort to get our attention and draw us back to Him.

It’s always about Him.

So here’s the good news in all this… God’s mercies are new every morning. Praise God for that because some days I feel like I’ve used them all up by noon! He loves us even when we screw up and if we’re faithful to bring that moment of failure to Him, He’ll be faithful to forgive it and show us a new way to live. And if you do that over and over again, pretty soon you’ll find yourself having to do it less and less. You’ll find yourself walking hand in hand with your Savior in His ways every day and the blessings and favor of God will flow yet again. God is so good isn’t He? He will never leave us without a way out of temptation (1Cor. 10:13).

So can we try this? What if we as the body of Christ decided that it wasn’t so bad to look different than everyone else? What if we decided that being called the “Jesus Freak” wasn’t the worst thing in the world, and was maybe even a great thing? What if we decided to boldly live as a modern day Daniel in our modern day Babylon? I can tell you this- our lives would be radically changed. Our families would be radically changed. Our church would be radically changed. And maybe even our world would be radically changed. And we wouldn’t have to fear the lions.

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READ //

1 Corinthians 10:13
Daniel 6
Luke 9:26
2 Timothy 4:7

JOURNAL PROMPT & DISCUSSION QUESTIONS //

Do you find it difficult to be in this world and not of it?
In what areas of this do you struggle the most?
What is one thing you can do differently this week to live like a modern day Daniel?

PRAYER FOCUS //

Dear Lord, we love you and we so long to please you. It’s getting harder and harder to stand for you in the culture we live in. Lord, keep us strong. Help us to live boldly for you. Give us ears to hear you and a heart that longs to do your will. Help us to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

4 Things You Can Do While You're Waiting On God

So I’m feeling a little grouchy this morning.  Ok maybe stabby is a better word for it.  All I know is that I’ve had two cups of coffee already and that’s not even touching it. This may be a job for a Chick Fil A milkshake.  I swear the secret ingredient in those things is crack…

I know what my problem is…

I’m waiting.  Impatiently.  Waiting for God to open a door.  Any door.  Please. 

I hate waiting. Don’t you?  

I don't think I've ever in my life heard someone say, “Ya know, I just love waiting in line!” or “I am so excited to wait for the next big thing to happen in my life!”  And if I ever did hear someone actually say those things, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't hang.  Have you ever felt like an airplane that has to circle the tarmac for what seems like forever before it can take off?  That’s how I feel right now.

Waiting on God is one of the hardest things for me. I’m fully aware that I’m impatient and usually want things to happen yesterday.  People will tell me it’s all in His timing, and I get that.  But for goodness sake, could His timing be my timing just once?!  For a type-A person like me, waiting for God to open a door somewhere (anywhere!) can be excruciating.  I wonder if you’ve ever been there too?

So I’m going to preach to myself and hope this applies to you too ;)

Here’s four things you can do while you’re waiting on God…

1. Go to the word of God.  Isaiah 40:31 says, “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  In other translations the word “hope” is “wait”.  This struck me as interesting.  When I think of waiting I think of drudgery.  I think of getting my driver’s license renewed at the DMV; two hours of my life I’ll never get back, and a horrible picture of myself to commemorate the occasion for the next four years.  Kill me now.  But when I think of hope, I think of a positive expectancy, an excitement for what’s to come. Merriam Webster defines hope as this: to desire with expectation of obtainment, to expect with confidence.  I love that.  So often we’re looking for hope in all the wrong places, if you will. But what Isaiah says here is that when we place our expectation with confidence, our hope, in the Lord that He will renew our strength.  Thank you God for that!  We will wear ourselves out hoping in ourselves or our abilities.  We have to remember where we should be placing our hope.  Not in man, not in ourselves, but in Him.  Which leads me to my next point beautifully…

2. Resist the urge to make things happen.  Oh I hate this one. This is what I do!  This is how I roll!  I love to take matters in my own hands and MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!  Like I did four weeks ago…I got tired of waiting for God to open a door for me and decided to try my hat at doing hair again.  Why not?- I reasoned.  I’m not doing anything else anyway so what could it hurt?  Me.  It could hurt me.  And it did.  I found myself numb and in pain all at the same time for weeks afterward, and I took what felt like four steps back in my recovery.  My body wasn't ready and likely never will be again.  Sometimes we think we can handle that thing and we just aren't ready. Had I waited on the Lord instead of trying to kick a door open for myself I could have saved myself a lot of pain and frustration.  God knew I wasn't ready but I didn't want to listen.  Lesson learned.  Sometimes a closed door is just as good as an open door. 

3. Pick up that thing right in front of you.  Do you have a home?  Good.  Go clean it.  Do you have kids?  Good.  Go feed them. Or in my case, do you have a blog??  Good.  Go write it!  So often we miss out on what’s right in front of us because we’re so focused on what’s ahead.  Maybe God knows you won’t be able to handle that next big thing if you can’t even handle your household right now and wants you to take care of that first.  Or maybe He knows that if He gave you what you’re asking Him for right now that your marriage wouldn't survive it.  Go back to the basics.  What areas of your life do you need to work on?  Are you taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually?  Are you caring for your husband, family, or home well?  Do you need to get back on track with your finances?  Whatever it is, go do it.  If we’re faithful in the small things, he’ll give us bigger things.

     A couple of weeks ago I decided to put this to the test.  I thought, ok fine.  If I’m going to be  stuck here at home all day with no job and nothing to do then I guess I can treat my home like it’s my job and go deep clean the bathroom today and work at it as unto the Lord blah blah blah… I was less than enthused.  But the most amazing thing happened.  As I was scrubbing the shower, and the floors, and the walls, God brought person after person to my mind.  Even some people that I forgot existed!  I found myself praying for each and every person God brought to my mind, and I found myself renewed in the process.  That’s so like Him isn't it?  

4. PRAY.  Pray that thing through, whatever it is.  

Pray for peace and patience in the waiting.  

   

Pray that you’ll learn every thing God wants to show you during this time of wait.

  

Pray and ask God to show you how to wait well. 

Pray and ask God for encouragement- maybe directly from His word or from a friend.  

Pray for wisdom and discernment for when He does open a door.

Find someone else to pray for!  Be an encouragement to someone else! 

You guys, I really hope this helps.  I know it’s helping me.  I’m feeling slightly less grouchy with every word I type.  But I still want a Chick Fil A milkshake.  I feel good about making that happen.

What are you waiting on God for?  I’ll pray for you if you’ll pray for me?  Leave me a comment telling me what you’re waiting for and we can expect God with confidence together :)

Till next time…