Still tired? Feel “done?” About to “lose it?” Me too.
In my last blog, Blizzard Breakthrough Part One, I left us stranded in the fury of the flurry, crying out for rescue… all the while admitting the lurking human desire for immediate resolve and comfort over ongoing, transforming Lordship. However, with further scripture reading, prayer, wrestling in thought, and processing with friends, it became clear that God‘s perfect love does not command us to give Him instant Lordship; but rather invites us to an ongoing and sustainable rhythm of transforming Christ-likeness.
Upon penning, “To be continued…” I seriously thought that Part Two would be a simple, resolved, once-and-done step on how to “let” God be our “Rope,” our Lord, to guide us safely home.
But then I read a very unexpected Scripture passage that spoke into my thinking. Judges 6:1-6 describes the desperate state* in which the Israelites were in due to their “fearing the gods of the Midianites.” (Judges 6:10) (*huh… they had “blizzards,” too?)
Interesting… The Israelites allowed false belief-systems to take hold of their thinking, wreaking havoc on their very lives and souls. Judges 6:1-6 lists out the havoc in eight very brutal ways…
What goes on inside you when you read over these chilling descriptors found in this passage?
· To be “Dominated over”
· To be “Cruelly treated”
· To be “Overpowered”
· To be “Up against”
· To be “Devoured”
· To be “Left with no sustenance”
· To be “laid waste”
· To be “Brought very low”
How close do these words describe yourself these past few weeks, even months?
Perhaps you, like me, default to thinking our “overwhelm” and “exhaustion of heart, mind and body” is totally due to the busy schedules of our “doing.” We admit our to-do list and our calendar schedules could use a major over-haul so we begin walking toward the road with that well-known signage called “New Year Resolution.” Things will be different. I will stop doing… I will start doing…
What drives us as humans to this same defeating cycle of new resolve year, after year, after year?
What if it had less to do with us as humans and more to do with our Divine Creator, who has designed each one of us with eternity in our hearts?
God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end.
— Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)
What if the tension, overwhelm, inadequacy, ill-temper, grumbling and exhaustion are not God‘s way of condemning our to-do lists or scheduling choices; but rather His loving way of inviting us back to living aligned to our God-given design?
What if this design-alignment invitation from God is not at all pointed at our spending account, calendar fills, or unending lists: but instead, an open door to contemplate the “gods we’ve been fearing over this year?”
Emmanuel, “God with us,” means all of God is with us: not only His righteous conviction that leads to sorrow and repentance, but also His mercy and love that compels us to say no to fearing the “gods of this world” so we, in His immense loving kindness, are enabled to say a persevering “Yes!” to Him as trusted Lord as we walk this jagged life.
What if His love is so perfectly holistic that He openly welcomes us to come to Him just as we are so we He can wrestle with us as we lay bare our raw emotions, thoughts, doubts, feelings, limits, and frustrations?
What if this invitation gives way to a warmth of hope and healing as our fierce and futile belief systems to which we’ve been clinging are tenderly revealed?
Spoiler Alert: Christ’s Lordship in our lives is not centered around what He says we can or cannot do. Rather, the essence of allowing Him as Lord of our lives is centered around what He declares as truth, reality, His perfect design.
We so often cut-to-the-chase when our angst climaxes during our end-of-the-year “Holiday Hoopla.” We quickly default to determining what needs to be done differently.
This time around, I invite us to consider a different road less traveled. A narrow road at that. A road that aligns to our God-given design… Because we are human beings, not human doings.
And our journey begins with thinking about our thinking. This is the heart of pure coaching. Consider what God says about how dire it is to think about our thinking in these following Scripture passages:
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is.
— Romans 12:2 (NLT)
We are human, but we don't wage war with human plans and methods. We use God's mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil's strongholds. With these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God. With these weapons we conquer rebellious ideas, and we teach them to obey Christ.
— 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NLT)
What if I told you that the “blizzard” I described in Part One of my blog, Blizzard Breakthrough, will not subside until we see Jesus face-to-face?
What if the “blizzard” is really the onslaught of damaging thoughts, degrading self-talk, demoralizing circumstances, and deceiving promises which barrages us on a daily basis, declaring war against the Truth?
What if the root of our tiredness, exhaustion and overwhelm stems from our thinking, the belief systems that we hold on to and “fear?”
Let us consider these thoughts together.
Attached is a resource that I often use with myself and with those I serve through my Masterpiece Coaching business. It is a valuable tool to help us contemplate possible belief systems, “gods of this world,” that we have been adhering, fearing.
Prayerfully consider what belief systems might be causing you to feel “overpowered, devoured, left with no sustenance, laid waste, or brought very low.”
I invite you to join me in using this resource as a starting place, leading you to the root of the symptoms you may be presently experiencing:
1. I started by listing out the tension, angst, ill-temper, grumbling, etc. that I have been experiencing as of late.
2. Then, I asked myself to consider what I may be believing about myself, about God, and about others that could be driving those ravaging experiences I listed above.
3. As possible beliefs come to mind, I recorded them. I simply took out a notebook and began making bullet points. (2 pages worth!)
4. Finally, I referred to the “Limiting Beliefs” resource (attached) to open new angles of consideration. I recorded the limiting-beliefs that came to mind.
And now, I leave us once again, to keep moving forward amidst the blizzard. Be ok with the loose ends.
There is something Divinely powerful and revealing when we give ourselves space like this.
…to be continued… (Part Three coming soon...as we head into the New Year)
Be Aware: Even as I consider my own “gods” to which I’ve been fearing, my shoulder muscles are tightening with tension that comes as I willingly unveil such faulty, but somehow alluring belief-systems. Acknowledge this exercise may bring out strong emotion. Welcome this as a healthy part of the healing journey on which He is faithfully leading us.
Take Heart: In our listing out such thoughts on paper, we will see just how dark and ugly they are. And yet, in this gifted moment of contemplative space, allow ourselves to lean in and sense the Presence of Hope and invitation that as we come “just as we are" to our Abba Father, He will give us the grace to persevere in our imperfect, moment-by-moments of receiving Him both as Perfect Savior AND Trustworthy Lord.