Taking a Praise Pause

This is a culture of do more, work harder, and where success tends to be measured in earthly accomplishment more than anything.  It is so easy to get caught up in the rush.  The noise of the world telling you that your worth is in your schedule and checklists rather than The Creator of the universe.  Sometimes I think we need to stop and take a praise pause.  

Just stop moving.  Rushing.  Going.  And meet The Creator with praise and thanksgiving.  

This has been a summer of daily pouring in to pour it right back out.  I tell you that only because it is very clear to me that any fruit that comes from this summer is completely and totally the Spirit of God moving.  I am so weak, but He is the Almighty.  And I will boast in His strength, because He is good and He is moving and He is powerful.

So, I just want to pause a second and praise Him for some of the things He is visibly doing:

This summer the Lord has provided opportunities to pray over three different former students—all of them I have taught in public schools.  

Time and time again He placed scripture on my heart that needed to be poured into a brother or sister in Christ within the week of meditating on it.

He gifted me with sisters in Christ that at my breaking point let me cry it out, held my hand, and prayed with me.  Always helping to turn my focus back to Him and what He is doing.  

He gave me the outward expression of the inward transformation He has done in my life by my baptism at one of the most special places in my life.

And just this week He gave me the opportunity to counsel for a week.  His Spirit was evident and moved in the lives of these girls.  The things that I had been praying and asking for at the beginning of the week ended up becoming prayers of thanksgiving from the girls at the end of the week.  Exact words that came out of my mouth as a request to God came out of theirs as a praise.  Words that they said were: thank you God for moving this week in a big way, thank you God that we got to see a new side of you, thank you that we are your children, thank you God for drawing us together as a cabin and that we are a family.  One camper said that she had always thought of God as peaceful and gentle but that she had seen a completely different side of Him this week.  Girls that have been coming to camp for years said they learned more this week than they ever had.  And when we came together as a junior high girl's cabin to share testimonies it was a night of celebration.  Not dwelling on every tough thing or turning into a sob fest—but truly thanking God for every good thing He has done.

Notice that I said I wanted to share some things He is visibly doing.  These are just a few ways I have seen Him move this summer.  I didn't write all of them down—and I can guarantee there are far more things that can't be seen.  Seeds planted.  Lives changed.  Hearts turned.  Decisions made.  In the quiet secret places.  

Just like it says in John 21:25, "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did.  Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."

God is powerful you guys.  He wants to move.  He wants to show himself.  He wants to teach us and stretch us and grow us.  That's the beauty of a relationship with Jesus.  It's not a one moment and done sort of encounter.  It's a journey where He continually asks us, "Do you love me?  No, really.  Do you love me?"  And He commands us, "follow me."  It's a constant journey of Him revealing more, empowering more, and loving more.  It's a relationship, guys, not just one encounter.  It's a lifetime of personal, intimate encounters.  A walk with the King of kings and Lord of lords.  A constant pouring out of His strength, compassion, love, mercy, and every other thing He has to offer.  

Can we stop a second and praise Him!  He is definitely worthy.  This summer has been hard and I'm not going to say otherwise.  But, God, you guys.  He is moving.  His Spirit is evident.  And I want you to hear of His wonders and the things He has done in one person's story over the past few months.  

"Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens!

Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound; 

praise him with lute and harp!

Praise him with tambourine and dance;

praise him with strings and pipe!

Praise him with sounding cymbals;

praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!" 

Psalm 150

Rough Around the Edges

It's funny how God works things through His body.  I've found common threads even in the lessons learned among brothers and sisters in Christ.  Again and again this summer I have meditated on a certain verse only to have one of my brothers or sisters bring that exact verse up later—or tell me they are struggling with something that directly relates to the verses I have been trying to soak into my own heart.  It shows God's awesome sovereignty and His desire for community.  

Ironically, this summer the lesson that seems to keep popping up among the body is actually about the body.  How do we strengthen the body of Christ?  Are we focusing on each member’s strengths or weaknesses?  What does encouragement through the body look like?  How do we hold each other accountable?  It has been so powerful to not only wrestle through these questions myself, but to see others do the same alongside one another.  

Community is a blessing from the Lord.  We are not created to have to do this alone.  Blessings are multiplied when you can share them in the body of Christ.  In all honesty, though, sometimes it takes struggle to experience the blessing.  

I'm reminded of Proverbs 27:17: "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."  

I think that to really sharpen one another it takes a lot of wrestling through different topics and struggles together.  Which can be exhausting, and frustrating, and honestly, pretty uncomfortable.  

I have worked at the same camp for four summers now.  I remember telling different counselors in completely different circumstances that "conflict shows you the true heart of a person", in regard to arguments among campers.  And sometimes you get smacked right in the face with your own words.

What does conflict reveal about my own heart?  Would someone see me in conflict and label me as gracious or with a less pleasing description?

Then I have to ask myself what Jesus tells us about conflict and how to resolve problems among the body.  

Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:15-20:

"'If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.  If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.  But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.  And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector.  Truly, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered in my name there am I among them.'"  

Jesus didn't say, just let it go.  Bottle it up.  Vent to another person about it.  Get so frustrated you snap at the person.  No.  He wants us to bring it to our brother or sister that we are struggling with.  He wants us to work through it.  He wants us to sharpen one another.  And that's hard.  It's painful.  And like I said earlier, uncomfortable.  

Then Peter comes up to Jesus and asks the most human question for this topic of conversation: "'Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  As many as seven times?'" (Vs. 21)

I mean, really.  How human is this question?  I can hear the inward battle: but Jesus, he keeps sinning against me.  He keeps doing the same thing over and over again.  Surely I don't have to keep forgiving!  Give me a number.  How many times?  

And Jesus says: "'I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.'" (Vs. 22)

I read an article about this passage and love the way they worded what Jesus meant by His answer.  

"When Jesus responded that forgiveness should be offered four hundred and ninety times, far beyond that which Peter was proposing, it must have stunned the disciples who were listening. Although they had been with Jesus for some time, they were still thinking in the limited terms of the law, rather than in the unlimited terms of grace.

By saying we are to forgive those who sin against us seventy times seven, Jesus was not limiting forgiveness to 490 times, a number that is, for all practical purposes, beyond counting. Christians with forgiving hearts not only do not limit the number of times they forgive; they continue to forgive with as much grace the thousandth time as they do the first time. Christians are only capable of this type of forgiving spirit because the Spirit of God lives within us, and it is He who provides the ability to offer forgiveness over and over, just as God forgives us over and over." -Charles Stanley

His Spirit will provide the ability to offer forgiveness over and over, just as God forgives us over and over.  Powerful.

So, I think that here on earth the body of Christ is a little rough around the edges, because let’s face it—we are a part of the body, and we are far from perfect.  I believe that as we struggle, as we wrestle, as we forgive, we are sharpening one another.  We are strengthening the body.  We are smoothing out those edges and becoming more like Christ.  

I'm not writing about this because I have perfected working through conflict.  I'm actually pretty terrible at it.  It is something that the Lord is working through me right now, but I believe in common threads.  So, maybe this is something we can work through together?  I don't know about you, but I would love to see the body of Christ become more and more like Him—giving us a clearer and broader image of who He is. 

Challenge: let’s not let opportunities (even when we are in conflict) to sharpen one another pass by.