Being, Not Just Doing

It isn't enough to go through the motions of faith, to say all the right things, do all the right things. It has to come from within. We have to BE faithful. We have to BE hopeful. We have to BE joyful. Acting the part will only get us so far.

It's in the early morning hours that I confront this concept most often. I wake, before I am ready to get up, filled with thoughts and worries, fear eating at my gut. In the dark, everything I knew and said and did in the light seems insignificant and insubstantial. I am practically powerless against the the thoughts running through my mind, the anxiety eating away at my peace and contentment.

I ask myself, "Am I just going through the motions? Or do I truly believe that God has everything in hand, that so long as I follow him I can't go wrong? Do I believe that He has a good and perfect plan for my life? That He WANTS to do good things for me? Do I believe that He is faithful and true and that He honors His promises?" I do. He is. He does.

So I say no to the fear and anxiety. I say no to the thoughts that run rampant through my mind. I turn my focus away from 'what ifs' and back to what and who He is. I can be faithful and hopeful and joyful because of who He is and what He has done and what He will do. Nothing has changed since I first fell asleep. Nothing will change if I sit up and worry and nitpick. Nothing will change if I let go, rest, and go back to sleep.

Worry and anxiety are my way of taking control back from God. Of saying 'Look at me, look how well I can reason this out, how well I can handle it." But that's not faith. That's going through the motions. I can say all the right things and still hold back on the inside. But I am not doing that today. Today, I will rest in His grace and I will be faithful. I will be hopeful. I will be joyful.

Are you being or doing?

Today's Verse
Numbers 11:23
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!"

Alone but not Lonely

I am an extrovert. In fact, just saying I am an extrovert is a bit of an understatement. I love people. I love being with them, talking with them, studying them, writing about them. On personality tests my results are always people-oriented. People like me are concerned with what other people need to feel loved, to feel provided for, to feel comfortable. I am 'The Teacher', always wanting to share ideas and communicate. I find energy in being with others, serving others.

I think sometimes I am afraid to be alone. Afraid that all the thoughts I think about myself will overwhelm me if I just sit still instead of distracting myself, instead of drowning them out with other people, books, music, work.

But today, I find myself taking space to breathe, to rest. I find myself alone. I don't have to be - I've been invited to do several things. I could have gone out with a friend for lunch or shopping or just a walk. I could have gone downtown and spent time at a coffee shop, at least near other people if not actually chatting with them. I decided not to. I wasn't feeling all that great and I had things to get done at home so I've been alone. All day.

I love how God reaches out and really grabs me, really opens my eyes on the days when I choose to be alone. Sometimes, often times, I'm not trying to use my longer stretches of alone time to be with God. But still, He shows up.

Today I find myself incredibly happy. I am alone, my thoughts aren't filled with things I could or should or did not do. I'm alone, and I am at peace. I am filled with the knowledge that God is with me, that God's plans for my life exceed the circumstances of my day. I know that I am walking the path He has laid before me to the best of my ability. I know that I don't need to worry about anything: God has it all handled.

I can spend today alone, in my house, and not screw anything up. I can rest. I can be alone.

When did you last let yourself be alone? Is alone time something you make time for?

Today's Verse:
Psalm 46:10
Be still and know that I am God.

When Christ is the Cornerstone

On Sunday night at bible study we discuss the idea that Christian community should have Christ as its cornerstone. Dictionary.com defines cornerstone as ‘a stone that forms the base of a corner of a building, joining two walls’ and as ‘an important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based’. We ask ourselves, ‘If Jesus is truly the cornerstone of a Christian community, what would that community look like?’ If we were to base our community on Christ, to depend on Him, to build our community with Him as our foundation, what things would characterize that kind of community?

For me, the answer to that question kept coming back to one concept: grace. A community with Christ as its cornerstone would be one full of grace: Grace for ourselves when we mess up or embarrass ourselves, grace for others when they mess up or annoy us. This community would be one of peace, of respect. Ephesians 2:17 says that Christ came and preached peace to those who were near and far. He preached peace to those close to Him, and to those who were far from Him. I wonder if I am doing that, if I am preaching peace to those close to me and far from me. I think about whether I preach peace to myself. Do I think about things peacefully, do I extend myself grace when I fail to live up to my own expectations?

To me, peace and grace are intrinsically linked. When grace is present, so is peace. When we extend grace to others, we live in peace with them. Their faults and foibles are less important to us when we extend grace. When we extend grace to ourselves, in our own hearts and minds, the fears and insecurities that leave us vulnerable and prone to lashing out at others are lessened. If we are at peace with ourselves, if we treat ourselves gracefully, we can do the same for others.

It’s true that the grace of God is not something that can be fully understood. As humans, full of faults and imperfections, we are incapable of extending grace in the consistent and unconditional manner of God. But we can try. We can make an effort to put Christ first in our lives, to accept His grace and love. Then, following His example, we can make an effort to see others the way He sees them, to treat others the way He treats them: with grace and peace.

Today’s Verses

Ephesians 2: 17-20

He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.