Click for PDF: Get over it 03.10.15

Passage: Exodus 4:1-20

Key Verse: “The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” v.11

I could see my younger daughter muttering something under her breath as she stared at the beam in front of her. It was time for the frightful cartwheel on beam, part of her gymnastics routine. My heart skipped a beat. “Thank God I’m not a mother of boys,” I thought. Challenging sports are just not good for my heart.

Gravity scares this little gymnast. It’s almost an oxymoron, I know, since gymnastics is a gravity-defying sport. Yet, she loves it, even though her fear often stalls her progress. A couple of months ago, she was told that she didn’t make it to the competitive team in her gymnastics academy. As parents, my husband and I were concerned that the decision would make her retreat and give up gymnastics altogether. Instead, she gained new resolve. She understands her limitations, but she refuses to give in to fear. Instead, I watched her reciting the verse of scripture that I taught her, right before facing the dreadful beam:

“I can do all things through Christ. I can do all things through Christ.”

She is eight years old and already understands it: on her own, she isn’t able to overcome her fear. But through Christ’s strength, she can do all things.

I smile as I think about awful fears that I had to overcome in my journey with Christ. One of which was the fear of failure and rejection that haunted me when God called me to become a faith writer and speaker.

Yes, I can relate to Moses too well.

No, I haven’t been called to lead a nation out of slavery and into the Promised Land. Nor have I been called to do anything mighty for the Kingdom of God. Regardless, the moment I heard God calling me, a flood of excuses filled my heart…

“I’m not a writer…”

“I have never taught the Bible to adults before…”

 “What about my accent? What if they don’t understand me?”

“Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” V.10

And yet, God’s calling became increasingly louder, as each imperfection I quoted was met with His Sovereignty:

“Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” Vs.11-12

Is it your work or Mine?

This is where we, Yahweh’s children, mess up, each time He calls us out of our comfort zone and into the beauty of His Kingdom’s work. We think it to be humility, but in reality, our hesitant attitude is veiled pride and lack of faith.

Doctors spend ten years or longer at medical school to be able to perform their work. Ballerinas and gymnasts work diligently, several times a week for many years in order to develop the skills that help them become great. Generals must study the enemy’s strategies in order to win wars.

So when it comes to Kingdom work, we have a tendency to believe that we need to be “qualified” to do His work.  Conversely, there are only two simple things that a child of God must do when He calls:

• Spend time with the Master Designer, whether in prayer or studying His Word
• Take one step of obedience at a time, all the while listening to His guidance.

Indeed, if God calls you to do anything in the Name of Jesus, you need to get over yourself.

Because you are completely right – You can’t do it. You are probably unprepared, inadequate and broken. You have possibly made many mistakes in life and Grace has brought you out of a mighty mess.  And yet – YES – it’s you He’s calling.

“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong.” 1 Corinthians 1:27

Indeed, most of us are in a long list of broken and imperfect messes that God has called to change the world for Christ. When He walked on this earth, He loved to use the unwanted, the lowly and the broken: Fishermen, tax collectors, persecutors, and even prostitutes…

Lowly receivers of His Grace, who became mighty proclaimers of His Name. All they did was say Yes. Spend time with Him. And take one step at a time. The rest is history. His history, which He calls you and I to continue to write with Him.

So, go ahead, you can say it aloud: You’re not able.

You cannot accomplish the tasks He’s given you on your own strength. But that should not be an excuse not to move. Or to fight God, as Moses did, while repeatedly giving excuses to avoid blind obedience. Instead, do as I (finally) did… and as my little one did while facing that beam. Tell your fearful heart:

No, I’m not able. I’m not qualified. But He is.

With Him, I can do all things (Philippians 4:13).

Because His strength will be made perfect in my weakness. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)

Defy gravity. Jump into His arms in abandoned trust.

Then watch the mighty things He’ll do in you… and through you.

The post Get Over it: You Are NOT Qualified appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.

Quoted from the memorable blockbuster film “Dead Poets Society,” these were the words I recalled when I heard that one of the funniest men on earth had died. His characters made me laugh, cry and remember to keep life in perspective. Whether in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” portraying the hilarious father who didn’t spare extreme measures to reunite with his children, or as John Keating, the unorthodox, free-spirited English teacher in “Dead Poets Society,” Robin Williams’ endearing personality conquered Hollywood and gave the world countless moments of joy for almost four decades.

I was thinking about Williams’ death while walking in the park this morning. I noticed a gentleman I often see there. He sits on the same bench and looks at the horizon, as if contemplating something that no one else can see. His demeanor is somber. His eyes, always sad. I have never seen a smile, even as regulars greet him. Because of his demeanor, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me he suffers from severe depression. Indeed, there are people around us who cannot hide their sadness.

Conversely, the news surrounding Williams’ suicide shocked the world because we, his fans, believed the smile. We believed those laughing eyes. We believed that the glamour that surrounded his life was enough to feed his spirit. We believed that the joy he portrayed while performing extended to his personal life.

However, no matter how many journalists and psychologists speculate about the reasons for his depression, one truth remains: Robin Williams felt hopeless. Hopeless enough to take off the mask, turn off the camera and put an end to his life.

His suicide brings hope and joy into perspective in a society where wealth, fame and status are synonyms with success and happiness. It reminds us that there is more than what meets the eye in the cover of magazines and under the limelight. We see famous people’s happy faces and we believe them. We watch them parade their smiles, perfect bodies and mansions and we buy the propaganda – that material possessions bring happiness.

“There is a hole in man’s heart that only God can fill.” In 1670, Blaise Pascal introduced this concept in his book “Pensées,” written as a defense of Christianity. The concept of the “God-shaped hole,” however, has taken on a life of its own and has been used by various theist authors to refer to that perpetual thirst in man’s soul that only God is able to quench. Many spend their lives attempting to fill that void with possessions, relationships and accomplishments, and often get to the end of their lives feeling hopeless and defeated. On the other hand, we meet people of great faith who have very few possessions and even go through unimaginable pain without losing joy and hope.

To many, these people are delusional. To people like myself and so many others, there’s a different answer. God is our hope. That special hole is filled. Indeed, because of hope, I have gone through cancer and did not lose my joy. I have experienced great financial loss without losing perspective. And as I focused on God, regardless of my circumstances, I have found the strength to press on.

No one knows Robin Williams’ relationship with God. I certainly would not dare to speculate. Indeed, even people of faith can lose hope. But I personally choose to keep God in that place designed for no one else but him. Because only in him do I find hope to indeed seize each day and the strength to make life extraordinary.

The post A Reflection on Robin Williams’ Death – Last Weekend’s AJC Column appeared first on Soaring With Him Ministries.