OnFire Encouragement Letter
Hi folks:
Ian has finished his exams and goes back to classes this week. Mark is still stacking, as always. He is getting ready to go to Denver in April for the worlds championships again. In addition, he is becoming quite the video editor, and is helping us with some projects at church. He has a good eye for what works.
Our new Japanese student begins school this week. After being here almost two weeks without much to do, this will be good for him and for us.
Apart from these things, life is it’s normal whirlwind. I had a birthday on the weekend, with lots of greetings, cake and food. Our church’s annual meeting was held a few days ago and I get to hire a small group coordinator, which will be a big help.
Blessings for your week.
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Last week I asked two questions. Many people responded, especially in the context of the letter - that there are influences and values in families and organizations that form over time and become entrenched, but which may not be helpful. In fact, some may be sinful and we need to change directions or repeat mistakes of the past.
I’m going to keep the questions open or another week or two and so I invite you to respond. “What have been the biggest changes you’ve seen in church in the last 15 years?” And, “what do you think are the biggest changes the church needs to make to face the future?”
Questions are powerful and have the ability to penetrate to the heart of a problem.
“What are you doing?” My grade six teacher, Miss Dover, asked me this one day in class. Afraid I was in trouble for something, I responded, “Nothing.”
“Exactly,” she replied. She was very clever, indeed.
Nehemiah was so troubled by the plight of his people back in Jerusalem that the emperor noticed his change of mood. In fact, Nehemiah tells us that he had never been sad in the presence of the king before (2:1). Artaxerxes did not need to be interested in the ordinary citizens of his realm, but he was that day and gave us another one of those powerful questions: “What do you want?”
Every once in a while I have to ask myself the same question. “What do I want?” It is not so different from the something a pastor asked me one time. After I poured out a problem he asked, “What would make this all better?” His act of asking the question was eye-opening. I had become so focussed on the problem I hadn’t even hoped there could be a solution. His question opened up new possibilities.
What do I want?
What do I want to accomplish? What do I want for my family? Questions like this clarify for me what is really important and lift me above the problems and routines which constantly call out for my attention. Almost always, when I start to feel pressured by life, backed into a corner and frustrated, it is because I have lost sight of these goals and have become busy doing things which lead me in other directions.
As I remind myself what I really want, I find my spirit renewed. I experience less frustration, more satisfaction, and I begin to live with purpose and hope again.
Some examples. I would love to have a speed boat, but the financial realities of children at home, buying a home, and facing college education make this highly unlikely. I have been frustrated by this in the past, but when I remember that my real goal is spending good time with my family, then I find other ways to reach the goal and I am more satisfied.
There are constant pressures of ministry, to be there for everyone, to be all things to all people. Even if I wasn’t in ministry, with my make-up I would probably still feel this pressure. This can be frustrating because I can’t do it all. When I remind myself (or rather when I fall short and God reminds me while I’m lying flat) that I should concentrate on what He has called me to do and leave some of the other things to other people, then I find strength and hope for the journey.
We should notice that Nehemiah could answer the question. In fact, the way he answered showed that he had been thinking about this for months. Sometimes we run into difficulty because we can’t answer the question. This is a process of making sure our desires and God’s will come together. If not, we’ll end up chasing the wrong things and we won’t ever know the joy and satisfaction of really, truly, living.
“What do you want?” I hope this helps. Be on fire.
Troy
OnFire is a weekly letter on authentic faith and character written by Troy Dennis. This letter published Feb 3, 2010. Scripture references taken from the New International Version. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com Blog located at http://onfireletter.blogspot.com