Six months ago when we were sharing our “One Word”, a thoughtful friend sent me these. Tangible reminders of my word.
Whether this is your word for the year or not, a fear most people struggle with is the fear of failure. The other day I listened to a phenomenal message by Craig Groeschel on this topic and I wanted to pass it along to you. I hope you’ll be able to listen here because it’s great and has some delightful illustrations, but if you can’t, here are his main points:
About a year ago I received an invitation to do something new and scary that would be an adventure. Teaching pastors in rural Africa. Stretching. Hard. Solo.
I had been asking God for invitations, so my first thought was “I need to say ‘yes’. Jesus followers always say “yes” to invitations to serve those in need, right?
But several details about this ask caused me to pause and ask for time to pray about it before answering.
I prayed honestly and intensely about this offer for over six months. I felt torn. There were specific reasons God brought to mind that led me to believe I should say “no”, but along the way I kept asking, “If I say ‘no’ is it You, or is it really because I’m afraid of taking this risk?”
And “Isn’t God’s will always the hardest thing?”
It was difficult to send the final email saying “Thank you, but no”.
I was afraid of letting down people who needed help.
I was afraid of letting God down.
I was afraid of making a decision that would close all future doors.
If I turned this down maybe I’d discover how dispensable I really am.
As counter as it was to my initial reaction, and as hard as it was, I felt led to say “no” for now.
And then, last night, as I walked into our quiet house alone, out of “nowhere” as clear as everything real, God whispered, “You don’t need to go to Kitale. I love you. Period.”
You don’t need to be afraid.
What scares you most about saying “no”?
It’s Fearless Friday, so as I was running yesterday I was thinking about what the total opposite of fear would be.
I’m sure there’s more than one answer, but one thing that squeezes fear out is the exuberant filled-up to overflowing joy of the with-God life. Joy doesn’t leave room for fear.
Kind of like pushing back from the table at Thanksgiving stuffed with deliciousness so you can say “no thanks” to a piece of fear pie. You’re already full.
We fill up in different seasons in different ways, but Summer just seems made for “tasting and seeing that the Lord is good”
I had a lunch meeting a few weeks ago. The purpose was for me to help a World Vision guy do some brainstorming and networking. At least that’s what I thought.
I’m pretty creative. I’m good at ideas. I’m good at making work for other people. It’s a gift. My family likes to say “God loves you and Laura has a wonderful plan for your life.” So I was feeling good about meeting with Bradley (the guy) and giving him some ideas. That is until he finished telling his story, turned to me and said, “I want you to run a half-marathon with Team World Vision to raise money for clean water in Zambia.”
What the what?! Not much surprises me. Even less than that leaves me speechless. This did.
I don’t run. Unless I’m running from a bear.
I’ve tried running. I hate it. Truly hate it. Bike, walk, play tennis, golf? Absolutely! Run? Ugh, please no!
As I reflected on the possibility, Fear whispered in my ear:
Honestly, one of the loudest whispers was: This will be a painful, grueling boatload of work and you don’t want to do it.
But Bradley said three things in that meeting that made me think maybe his idea was so crazy that God might actually be in it and I needed to pay attention.
1. He said this run is for clean water, something I’m passionate about. Dirty water is the leading killer of kids under 5 in the world.
In Zambia two years ago I danced with women as a well was dug and fresh water gushed out. They sang “Come and see what God has done.” The old woman next to me spoke in wonder “He saw us. He answered our prayers.” Wouldn’t be incredible to part of an answer to someone’s prayers?
2. 80% of the people who run on Team World Vision are not runners (as in, never done it). And that’s both scary and inspiring. When Bradley speaks to churches his theme is fear not. My one word for this year is Fearless, the word I’m trying to live into. As he spoke I sensed a little nudge. Perhaps this is a tailor made (albeit crazy) invitation to step into something scary that God desires to use.
3. My first response was unequivocal. There is no way I can do this. (Did I mention I. Don’t. Run. Ever.?). But maybe that’s an additional reason why this might be of God. Perhaps, besides providing water, there is something He wants to show me of Himself in this hard thing. His power perfected in my weakness.
There are many days of “small things”, but sometimes God invites us into something big and hard and seemingly impossible.
I think, in this case, God’s answer to Fear is “What if I run with you and do something bigger in and through you for others than you think is possible?”
So, although I have visions of my daughter (who may be running with me), dragging my lifeless body across the finish line, October 26th (Lord willing) I will be running (or shuffling) the Twin Cities Monster Dash half-marathon. You can join me running here! They have a great training program – starting from zero.
You can donate here.
Yesterday morning I tried to check Jesus off my to-do list.
This happens in seasons of stress and busyness (are there any seasons of not-stress-and-busyness??). I check him off by giving Him a nod (Read: glance at a paragraph of a devotional or toss up a “bless so-and-so”). Check. Done. Moving on to important stuff.
The thing is, when I do that, it’s kind of like being in the “fun” house at the circus. Deadlines, people, circumstances become distorted like in those crazy mirrors – scarier than they really are. My perspective is skewed.
I feel the fear of failure.
I feel the pressure of performance, not the presence of Jesus.
I miss the sacred moments. I miss the small mercies to be thankful for.
But yesterday Jesus didn’t seem to want to remain as just a checkmark. He graciously kept showing up in my day, reminding me that He goes before me and behind me (Isaiah 52:12b).
This morning I sat down at Starbucks at my table next to the fireplace with Phillip. He’s like Norm of Cheers, friendly and fun. Except that he’s tall and he’s from England. He’s here every morning at 5:00. He knows everyone and chats with all.
Today he wanted to talk about God and church and how he didn’t think God could love him. And I wanted to listen.
Underneath the jovial facade, what I heard was fear. A fear that all of us have if we’re honest. Fear of not being good enough. Fear of not having a place in community where he would be loved and accepted.
It’s Fearless Friday and one of my favorite people in the world graciously agreed to guest post! I know you’ll be blessed by these thoughts from my talented friend Sharon Sampson. She’s the Director of Communications at our church (Christ Presbyterian Church, Edina) and this year has started her own consulting business called Open Book Communications
There’s an old Stephen Sondheim song I like called “Anyone Can Whistle” because it points to how fear tends to work its way into my life. In the song, a seemingly strong, capable woman sings this:
“Anyone can whistle,
That’s what they say — easy.
Anyone can whistle
Any old day — easy.
It’s all so simple:
Relax, let go, let fly.
So someone tell me why
Can’t I?”
Our family is one of list-makers. We love them. To-do lists of course, but also pro/con lists, goal lists, grocery lists…
And I’m thinking a “Do not fear” list would be a good one.
The list of verses in the Bible that have the phrase, “Do not fear…” is a long one. The longest in fact.
But so what?
The important part is what comes next. Why in the world should we just obey that command willy nilly?
God is with you.
God is with you.
God is with you!
But who is the God who is with us?
“What comes to mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.”
I have a lot of favorite passages in the Bible, but some of the best I think are those that show God at work in unseen ways. Kind of like pulling back the curtain on Oz, but this is the real deal.
One story I especially love is in 2 Kings 6 when the Arameans have surrounded Elisha and his servant.
The servant sees only the enemy, but Elisha sees more. He sees God.
Elisha says “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then he prays that his servant’s eyes might be opened.
“The Lord opened his eyes and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
I love that! Voila! The servant was able to see the protecting power of a heavenly army who had been there, but hidden from his sight.
Sometimes we just need a little help to right-size our view of God.
What are you seeing most clearly today? Your fears or who’s fighting for you?
I hope this video is a fun reminder things aren’t always what they seem.
I wrote yesterday about how I don’t see myself usually as the cowabunga-bungee-jumping for Jesus type.
But I am trying to be a person that responds to whatever God invites me into.
Sometimes that’s leaning in to hear a whisper and being obedient in one of the million small invitations from God in daily life.
But sometimes there are big scary invites that take us off-guard.
They are as clear as a public marriage proposal booming over the loud-speaker at the Twins Stadium. And that can be the most disconcerting kind.
So when I got a request to go teach a class to seminary students in middle-of-nowhere-rural Northern Kenya I wanted to put on Bose head phones to drown it out. (Yes. They are clearly desperate.)
I’ve never taught a seminary course and I’ll be alone without John, my best coach in all things challenging. So the refrain in my head is “Ican’t/I’mnot/Ican’t/I’mnot…”
But like I’ve written before, I’m not, but He is. And I really can’t ignore this, even though it makes me quake in my boots (or in my TOMS as the case may be).
And I’m inspired by some friends of mine who are responding to an much bigger crazy invite…adopting two orphans from the D.R.C. You know, Congo, where there’s been horrendous gender violence (that means rape and worse) and warfare and the perfect storm of natural disaster, poverty, and evil. And yes, you read right. Two, yes two kids, with two more at home.
This is a big invitation that God has confirmed in both their hearts from the time they were dating until now. Through scary developments and uncertainty they are trusting God to knit together a loving family of American born biological kids with Congolese babies abandoned out of desperation.
But there are also invitations of a different kind. Big invitations to rest, that come in the form of end-of-your-rope-exhaustion and require you to say “no” may be just as scary and as the invitations to jump.
Here’s the thing…I don’t think we’re ready to say “yes” to any of the “bigger”, riskier things unless we’ve said “yes’ on the days of small things.
Would David have been ready to say “yes” to God’s invitation to fight Goliath, if he hadn’t said “yes” to the ordinary, boring, everyday stuff of protecting his sheep before that?
Would Elijah have had the courage to say “yes” to a showdown with the prophets of Baal if he hadn’t trusted God to provide food and water before that?
Would Daniel have been prepared to defy Darius when push came to shove if he hadn’t quietly been honoring God daily before that?
So as I prepare to send the email responding to the loud scary-big invite in my life, I’m trying to say “yes” to the whispers of today. And I’m praying for my dear friends on their journey to respond to Jesus’ invite to come pick up two toddlers in Congo.
Are there ways you’ve seen God use everyday whisper invitations to prepare you for loud riskier ones?
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