Adrenaline...Red Bull...and How Did I Get Here?
"...that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior..." I Tim 2:2
A few weeks ago, the Lord and I were having some intense discussions concerning a few decisions I was about to make. I really wanted to make sure I got it right, and had set aside extra time in prayer to make sure I was hearing Him clearly. Some amazing lessons did come out of that prayer time…a few of which I am going to share with you today in this article.
I’ll be honest. The above passage of Scripture has been haunting me…I mean really haunting me. Not in a spooky kind of way…but in recognition that I truly had not understood the gravity of that verse. And I am understanding how costly my ignorance has been.
So, I’m figuring that if I needed some adjustments in these things…I’m probably not the only one. This reminds me of some principles I felt were very important to instill into my children as they were growing up. One of them was concerning “regrets”. Understand that you’re certainly gonna have them…but in the decisions you will make in life...consider carefully how to keep them to a minimum! I have discovered in that above verse a major key to limiting the amount of “regrets” I have at the end of my days. I’ll bet you’ll say the same thing when we are done.
ZOOM
The world we live in is full of high speed information. For instance, the internet has opened the world’s thoughts and activities to anyone wanting to take a peek…anywhere and at any time…in a simple Google search. Wanna know what the bookstore in Beijing has to offer…or what the Prime Minister of New Zealand is doing next week? Just tap a few buttons and voila!
As a result, the pressures of performance in quick time have never been so felt. We are driven by ourselves…our bosses…our families…the soccer schedule…we are an obsessed generation with no time to look back for fear we will get run over. Or that is certainly the impression many of us are living under.
These things to various degrees have infiltrated our Church culture as well. Preachers are great at revving us up and getting us to burn on all cylinders for God…admonishing us concerning how “on fire” we need to be…how the time is short…that if you’re not at church five times a week you’re backsliding…and c’mon, no time for playing around guys, our generation is going to hell! The list goes on.
And all of these are certainly valid aspects and responsibilities as participants in the Kingdom of God. We all need to be reminded and encouraged and even "straightened out" once in a while on the priorities of our Christian service to God and mankind. A genuine, godly ministry will certainly pay adequate attention to these convictions.
Yet these things are not the sum of the gospel message nor the expected behavior for every Christian…24/7…for an entire lifetime!
Guilt…fear…and yes, legitimate hunger for the things of God…can cloud us to realizing that the Christian life isn't always about living on adrenaline and Red Bull...preaching "hellfire and brimstone"...working in 20 ministries and feeling guilty you aren’t doing more. From the standpoint of many, how “spiritual” does it sound to be thinking “calm down and enjoy the ride” while people are going to hell…the children’s ministry isn’t big enough…the tithes and offerings were low...and the big conference is next week that’ll have the secret to growing a big church?
HACKUNA MATATA
Did any of you see the Disney movie “The Lion King”?
There was a song in that movie that I used to sing regularly. I actually used it many times as an illustration in my sermons (I'm thinking now that I shoulda listened to myself more). It was called “Hackuna Matata". The chorus translates the phrase “It means no worries…for the rest of your days”!
It’s not taking me long to see more today than ever…”Hackuna Matata” is Scriptural!
So, let’s consider a few things. Of course, I would advise us not to confuse “having no worries” as the same as “having no responsibilities”.
Being at peace is not the same as being asleep!
“Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:13-14
Of the many names He could have identified Himself by while giving the world potentially the biggest introduction of Himself it has had since maybe the flood…God chose this particular one. He called Himself “I AM”
I AM. To be over simplistic, that means He is "Yesterday"…He is "Tomorrow"…He is "Good and Merciful"…He is "Love"…He is “the Way, the Truth and the Life”…He is…well…
He just...“Is.”
There is no doubt we should be desiring God's best for ourselves...our churches...our nations. Revival and a mighty outpouring of God are things we should greatly hunger for to the rescue of the souls of men. I am regularly po