Confession of an Achievement-Oriented Person #1

I tend to be an achievement-oriented person. It used to be one of my chief frustrations to not complete every single project on my "To Do" list for the day. It was much easier to dive into a task than to wait for the Lord to have input (let alone leadership) in it. Yes, that was pretty presumptuous for a person who had supposedly given her life to the Lord, and I realized it, but it took the Holy Spirit's intervention to get me off dead center and become a different me. It has taken about six years, since I got serious about it--but that's a short time compared to the decades I spent previously, knowing I wasn't very "spiritual."

I don't mean to say that I have completely arrived, but a few months ago I noted that a shift is taking place in my in my basic motivations. Accomplishments alone do not satisfy; I need to do things in fellowship with the Lord.  This morning I realized how I had arrived at that point: by experiencing partnership with God often enough to develop an appetite for it.

I now believe that's how all true spiritual growth occurs--by desire born of much tasting. (Or hunger for something that seems superior to what we now have.) Yes, my default personality came in handy in determining that I wanted to change. But then I impeded progress by trying to engineer transformation (by praying harder, spending more time reading the Bible, etc.--which could have been highly fruitful if my heart had been connected with the Holy Spirit as I did so). Gradually, I learned to respond to the Lord instead of always initiating. At first, learning this new style was as painful as pulling teeth--and very sporadic. But once I perceived that I was changing from a perpetual motion machine into a person of peace and focused effort, my old habits began to give way to my new appetite for following the Lord.

To try to become more spiritual because we "ought to" is like trying to fall in love with a random stranger. Love grows by itself--one incident and one shared experience at a time. It's just the same for coming into closer partnership with God.

"Taste and see that the LORD is good" (Psa. 34:8 NIV).

UNENDING JOY

"VITA" read the sign. It is the Latin word for life, and there it was--in large, enthusiastic letters . . . on the wall of the catacombs—the sewer system tunnels under the city of Rome where early Christians hid from persecution.

Life! What kind of life could one possibly have in a smelly sewer?

Probably the same life we’re all looking for: internal vitality and joy. When we think of our favorite things—is it the things themselves we’re seeking, really? Or is it the fulfillment and joy they give us?

We set our hearts on the next cruise, a new home, a chic outfit, a husband or wife, a baby, chairmanship of the board, a blue ribbon at the fair, or a best-selling book. Why? We desire the pleasure, delight, love, or fulfillment that they offer. So we continually run after one more experience for one more moment of feeling really alive and joyful.

It reminds me of Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well in Samaria. He told her that if she asked of him, he would give her water that would spring up eternally—unlike the water for which she had to return day after day to the well.

It was that eternal, living water that welled up inside the early Christians in the catacombs. It did not come from external sources, so changing circumstances could not cut off its supply.

Okay—but there is a mystery here. They had turned to Jesus, been born again and filled with his Spirit—but so have many of us. Why were they so much more full of life than we?

Here’s their secret: They had weaned themselves from a merely earthly lifestyle. They were living for Jesus and for his kingdom. In order to follow Jesus, they had turned loose of all they had once thought was necessary for happiness. In the process they had found greater and more constant life and joy than they had ever experienced before.

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it (Matt. 16:25).

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ . . . But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matt. 6:31, 33).

A Bigger Picture

From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." . . .


Jesus went thoughout Galileee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people (Matt. 4:17, 23).


The Good News, as I remember hearing it--from my earliest years to now--has always been a message of personal reconciliation with God. What a different flavor Jesus' good news carried! It was an invitation to join a new order of things. A heavenly order. His kingdom.

. . . your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10).

Yes, those who believe on Jesus enter into a saving, sustaining, satisfying personal relationship with him--a very personal one, because he is a Shepherd-King. But the relationship is not primarily about "me and Jesus." A follower of Jesus is one of many citizens of his kingdom, one sheep in a large flock.

Does this viewpoint make a difference? Does it illuminate some scriptures that have been puzzling up to now? Are you unhappy about giving up the strictly personal understanding of the gospel? Or does the kingdom view make the "good news" even better news? In what way?

Come clean

I read this incident again a few days ago. This time, instead of leaving puzzled, I left with awe.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"

Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness" (Matt. 3:13-15a)

Jesus knew and John knew and you and I know that Jesus did not require baptism. Baptism, as John preached it to the people, signified repentance and cleansing of sin. So what was sinless Jesus' purpose in participating in this rite?

The first thing that struck me was a single word--righteousness. Jesus' first public act, the launching pad of his ministry, was to align himself with baptism to show how important sinlessness and righteousness was to him. God is holy!

I also saw this: He who desires to preach should be clean himself.

Ready--or Blindsided?

Several days ago I was reading in Exodus 14 the account of the crossing of the Red Sea by Moses and the Israelites. I saw something which I have--for some reason--entirely missed before. When Pharaoh's chariots came thundering up behind the fugitive Israelites, trapping them between the army and the sea, Moses was not thrown into panic like the rest of his compatriots. Was he just a clear-headed, courageous sort of man? No--here's what I noticed: God had told him ahead of time what would happen. In fact, he had instructed him to lead the people in an seemingly random path to give Pharaoh the idea that they were confused and would be easy prey for his troops. So, when the Israelites spotted the Egyptian army, and the people accosted Moses with their terrified accusations, he had a ready answer:

Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Ex. 14:13-14).

Actually, his answer had more information in it than what is recorded in the Lord's message in verses 1-4. I'm curious--did verses 1-4 just leave out some of what the Lord said in his initial message? or was Moses hearing more on the inside as he spoke to the people?

Either way, this narrative portrays a God who is gracious to prepare us for whatever lies ahead. The key to being ready instead of being blindsided is to follow him, consult him , and listen to him. Those who were panic-stricken were following Moses (but with no real conviction); they were following their countrymen (because they dare not stay behind in Egypt); they were following whatever seemed the least threatening at the moment (which changed constantly). They never entered into the soul rest of those who lifted their eyes a little higher than people and circumstances to find and follow God. The minority who did--like Joshua and Caleb--seemed to hear him too.

Just come

Before I was afflicted, I went astray,

but now I obey your word (Psa. 119:67).

When I was afflicted, some years ago, by a failing marriage, I came to the Lord regularly, wondering when he would get tired of my coming to him for me, me, me and problems, problems, problems. But at least I was coming to the right place, and I was contacting him--from the heart--far more often than usual. Gradually, a desire to know him and be consumed by his purposes began to dawn.

This little light of mine

"Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the LORD rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn (Isa. 60:1-3).

In the past, when I have read this passage, I have envisioned a time of especially great grace for the church, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit which will cause believers to be filled with the glory of the Lord. I still believe that. However, the political and economic circumstances have caused me to see this phenomenon in a new light. I am noticing that in the above prophecy, a glorious light rises on God’s people at a time when thick darkness envelopes the (rest of) the earth.

Could it be that one factor in this brightening of believers is that light appears much brighter in darkness? Automobile headlights which barely show up at high noon are practically blinding once night falls. And, in the dark, even a small light is visible from a distance. I am aware of this because of an object lesson I observed a number of years ago. Our pastor instructed the ushers to turn off all of the lights in the sanctuary. Then he lit a match. In the dark, that pinpoint of light flared up brightly—to the farthest row of pews. Even a small amount of light is conspicuous in the dark.

So what is it about a believer that shows up as light? This verse contains a clue:

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe (Phil. 2:14-15).

A cheerful, willing attitude in the midst of low morale. Honesty instead of corruption. Peace rather than anxiety. Helpfulness in place of self-centeredness. None of these spring up automatically in those of us who follow Christ. We become more and more like him by seeking and praying, by trusting and obeying.

It may seem that our small daily choices, our trust and our loyalty to the Lord are unseen, private matters. We may forget how different these attitudes are from those of people around us. But to those watching us, the bright contrast is unmistakable.

Then . . . let disaster strike. Let the moral climate spiral to all-time lows. How do simple displays of goodness appear then? They blaze up gloriously. Those who observe this distinctively godly behavior no longer simply say, “How commendable.” In their dark uncertainty and fear, they are irresistibly drawn to the brightness of this light. It stirs up hope. It challenges them to better things. They begin to crave the glory of God in their own lives.

In these unnerving times, following close to the Lord is much more than a matter of survival. It is a prime way for each of us to arise and shine. In the dark, even small amounts of light in us will brilliantly show forth the glory of the Lord. Let's be ready to introduce to the Lord those who come to the brightness of our rising.