There are so many times we may feel consumed; with demands for our time, expectations, jobs, media, even church. We may feel consumed by the weight and responsibility of caring for our children…or our parents.

Lately, I’ve been feeling consumed by some health challenges, that while not overly-serious require attention and some life-style modifications. Planning a special diet, watching my weight, and my lack of energy drain my emotions and consumes my thoughts.

In fact it was after one extremely difficult day that I read this scripture:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

God reminded me that no matter how I felt, whatever I was facing would not consume me.

That was good news to my weary mind.

I remembered Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 4: “We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair; We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed.”

Let God’s promise encourage you today. Even if it feels as if you aren’t going to make it. When pain or disappointment intensifies, it won’t crush or consume you. Nothing in this life can destroy your relationship with God, his promises, your peace, your joy, or your salvation. His mercies (and his compassionate, passionate love for you!) fails not.

This is true in the work world (or church or ministry world) but it’s also true in our personal worlds.

I may think I am leading the way-in my relationship with God, with others, in my personal habits, in my household…when in reality I am merely managing. When (like Martha) I am concerned with details, dos and don’ts, should be and should haves, I am missing the opportunity to lead with vision. To lead by example. To lead with love.

Jesus was a leader in every scenario of his life. He led quietly at times, forcefully at others. Yet, he consistently left the managing (the details, the day-to-day-operations of his life and ministry) in his Father’s hands.

A good lesson for us, perhaps?

Are you facing obstacles that seem insurmountable or impassable? Do you get a knot in your stomach when you think about a certain issue? Does your creativity feel blocked?

You may be STUCK.

God is our way out when we feel stuck. He is the roadway in the wilderness and the river in the desert. His presence in our lives can open doors, set us free. As it says in 2 Corinthians 10:4, we are mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds. Through God, we can get UNSTUCK.

Often, feeling stuck is the very reason we become unproductive, irritable, and even distant from God and others. We need a change, an answer, a solution, and we simply don’t know what it is. It could be in any area of  life: your work, ministry, relationships, even your health habits or finances.

Here are four quick ideas that may help you get unstuck and get the river flowing again…

1. Get rid of the assumptions you have about the situation or obstacle. Write down everything you think you know about it. Now read through those and ask yourself: are each of these absolute bedrock truth? Are they really non-negotiable? My guess is there is more wiggle room there than you originally thought.

2. Get a fresh opinion. This is super helpful. Farm your issue or challenge around to some trusted sources. Capture their initial response. It may turn the light on for you.

3. Let your brain do the work. Enlist some free association exercises to help you look at the issue from every angle. These exercises help shake free old ideas and uncover fresh ones.

4.Act as if. Ask yourself this question: If I woke up tomorrow and this obstacle was removed/problem solved/relationship perfect, how would I know. What would it look and feel like?
Then act the same way you would if that had actually happened.

“I will be to you what the sun is to the flower, what the water of the ocean is to the fish, what the sky is to the birds. I will give you life, light, and strength. I will surround you and preserve you, so that in my you may love, move, and have your being, existing in me when apart from Me you would die. I will be to you as the wide-open skies, in that I will liberate your spirit in such fashion that you will not be earthbound.

You will live in the realm where the things of earth will not be able to impede and obstruct and limit your movement; but you will be freed in me to a place where your spirit may soar as the eagle, and you may make your nest in a place of safety and solitude, unmolested and undefiled by the sordidness of the world.

You will have companionship but it will be the companionship of those like-minded with you; yes, those who like yourself are done with beggarly elements and whose sense of values has been readjusted so that they deem the unseen as of greater worth than the seen, and the spiritual riches more precious than the wealth of the world.

Be done with petty things. Be done with small dreams. Give me all that you have and are; and I will share with you abundantly all that I have and all that I have and all that I am.”

from Come Away My Beloved, Francis Roberts

Are you ready to be done with “petty things and small dreams”?

In what ways do you need to dream bigger?

Are you excited for a new adventure or still holding on to your promise of a brighter tomorrow?

Wherever you are, decide today to believe God has big plans for you and through those plans will reveal Who He is and Who you are IN Him…

The ability to persevere is admirable; the inability to continue moving forward and embrace new seasons and new frontiers in life is not.  Sometimes we admire someone’s faithfulness, when in reality they are mostly fearful of letting go and taking a step toward something new. How can we tell if we are acting out of faithfulness or fear? This is really the question…

To begin with, true faithfulness should be grounded in faith. (Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?)  Faithfulness believes that God is going to do something as a result of our efforts. If we have lost this expectation, it could be we are holding on to what God did in the past, not looking forward to what He wants to do today and in the future. If somehow we believe the best is behind us, we may need to ask ourselves, am I remaining faithful for the right reasons?

Also, I believe faithfulness should produce fruit. If we are persevering in faith we should see new crops and fresh growth in everything we do. Psalms 1 says we: “will bring forth its fruit in its season, [our] leaf also shall not wither; And whatever [we do] shall prosper.” There must be fruit throughout our season of faithfulness.  If we can’t identify the fruit of our efforts, or see any recent growth, this could be a sign that our season to remain faithful is drawing to a close.  Perhaps God is trying to get your attention to ask you to pursue something entirely different with Him.

Another trait of true faithfulness is action. Faithfulness should not be just a passive, enduring existence. There may be times when you feel God has put you on the shelf for a season, and He holds you back from doing the one thing you feel called to do. He may even ask you to remain faithful when nothing is happening in your circumstances. However, this does not mean He requires nothing from you during the wait!  He asks us to give thanks at all times, to love our neighbors, to work heartily for Him, and to look for opportunities to bless those around us. We cannot use the idea of being faithful to excuse not doing all we can when we can.

I don’t want to confuse faithfulness with seniority. Does God really look at years of service the way we do, I wonder. Is pure faithfulness or “steadfastness” always the basis for spiritual promotion? I’m not sure.  At least not as we often define faithfulness. Perhaps he looks at our hearts to see why we have persevered, and if we are remaining faithful in what He called us to, not just what is comfortable and familiar to us.

These are tough questions I think. As a person who has worked in a ministry setting for just 13 years, I can tell you I recognize the difference in my own life. I have stuck with a ministry longer than I should have because I loved what I was doing. I loved reaching people, hearing how I was helping their lives. I saw fruit at every turn. BUT when God was done with it, I had to move on regardless of what strokes it gave me and how much I would miss it. Working in a ministry position is no different. Just because you can stay in a position, or have for many years, doesn’t mean that’s all God has for you.  When He starts tugging at your heart, don’t ignore Him in the name of faithfulness.  We can’t let our fear or comfort hinder the work God wants to do in our lives.

“Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?”
(II Kings 7:3)

This reminds me of a story in II Kings about three lepers.  They sat outside Jerusalem day after day with no where to go and nothing to do. They were as faithful as could be in what they were doing.  One day they asked themselves, why are we sitting here until we die??  In other words, we have nothing to lose, what are we going to do about it? You may know the rest of the story in that they went up against Israel’s enemies and God used them to defeat the enemy’s army. All because they were willing to believe that God might have something bigger and better for them. Their prior existence had ceased to produce fruit and they were basically waiting to die. They knew if they sat there any longer, any hope to see God move in their lifetimes was gone. They were not content to sit and remember Israel’s past victories. Instead they made a radical step and ultimately made history.

Like the lepers, we may have forgotten how to dream big dreams for God; we may have forgotten that His promises are never about the past, but always about the future.  Our place of comfort and commitment may come at a price if we miss out on what God has for us next.

I’ve never actually run in a race. Well, in Jr high I was on the track team and I suppose I ran in races. I don’t really remember any meaningful learning experiences from those races though. (Maybe I have blocked it out…).  I wish I could use a great example of when I ran a marathon, or how I triumphantly crossed a finish line against all odds. The best I can do, is to tell you I finished the season with the team even though I didn’t win any races and was pretty miserable most of the time. That should count for something…

A  friend reminded me yesterday that we ARE in a race, and sometimes all we can do is keep running.

We may feel we aren’t making ANY progress, or the course is TOO hard, or we are just too worn out to keep going. We may want to quit the race all together and do something else with our time. BUT what if, this is just a leg in the race—a bumpy, frustrating, uncomfortable, uphill leg of the race—and very soon around a bend in the course, you hit the next leg? That would be different wouldn’t it? Now, you have a reason to run to get to what’s ahead. There is a purpose in every step…you might even find fresh passion and determination to push through this JUST to get to what lies ahead.

Now, I KNOW we are supposed to be content and joyful in ALL circumstances. But let’s be real for a minute. I may be content to know God is working in my life, but I don’t have to like all the circumstances or feelings I deal with, do I? Maybe like me, you’ve been running with your head down for so long, you forgot that there is more up ahead…there is something different…and better.   My encouragement is, all we really have to do is keep running. Pretty soon each of us will look back (way, way back) on this leg of the race and understand it’s purpose. I may even appreciate how it made me stronger. But for now, it’s enough to know there is something up ahead worth running towards.