Month: November 2018

Php 4:4-7. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

You are in a bank, sitting in the bank president’s office, who also happens to be the person in whom you have the most confidence in all the world. He is the wisest person you know, has seemingly unlimited resources, has an arsenal of weapons in his office and on his cell phone he can speed dial the Governor, the sheriff, the state police, and anyone else you could ever need in an emergency. And better yet he loves you unconditionally and you always feel safe in his presence.

Over the years you have come to him many times, sometimes for bank loans, sometimes for advice, sometimes for tickets to events, and sometimes for help. He hasn’t always loaned you the money you have asked for and he doesn’t always have tickets to everything you want, but he always does what he thinks is best for you. Sometimes when you ask for help he asks you to participate in the work and at other times he asks you do something either before he helps or in response to his help. But he always does what is best for you.

Now while you are sitting in his office, the alarm goes off in the bank. The tellers can see into the presidents office through bullet proof glass, but you cannot see into the lobby where the customers are from inside the presidents office. You have no idea what the alarm means. Are you going to be anxious? If not how will you avoid it?

Well, here’s what Paul would say according to the verses in Philippians – Be glad that you are in the presence of the person in whom you have the most confidence in all the world. Remind yourself of who he is and what resources he has at his disposal. Remember that he has sensors on his desk and on his phone that have informed him of why the alarm is sounding and where the trouble is. If it’s a fire he will lead you outside to safety. If it’s a robbery he will tell you what to do. (Rejoice always).

You notice that he is calm and not surprised or anxious. You wait for him to speak. You can ask him questions or even make requests but most importantly you just remind yourself of who is in control. You remember his unconditional love for you. You remember his faithfulness and wisdom. You remind yourself that he is near. The tellers are watching you so it’s important that you show them your trust and faith in the president by staying reasonable and calm. (Let your reasonableness to evident to all). There is no reason to be anxious because you know the one who knows everything, has everything that is needed to respond, loves you unconditionally, and always has your best interest at heart.

Becoming anxious will not benefit anyone, it will only make the crisis seem longer and make other people doubt your relationship with the bank president and his faithfulness. So you rejoice because he is near, you remain sound in your thinking and you ask him what you should do. You can ask him for a gun or a drink of water or for permission to run and scream, but you trust him enough to ask and then wait for his response and then obey. (Which means to listen attentively). You are anxious for nothing because you are covered by who he is. You are Noah inside the ark, waiting for the waters to subside.

He tells you to stay in your seat, don’t move, stay away from the windows and he will be back. You ask for a gun and he says you won’t need one. He hands you a bottle of water and a book by Tim Keller and reminds you to stay in your seat and wait. And he leaves the room. Now you have a choice. Are you going to take over, become anxious, try to escape and save yourself or are you going to have Hope.

Hope is confident expectation of good. The evidence of real Hope is Joy.  Hope always has an object. The bank president is your object of hope. You can hope in him. So you sip your water, read your book and wait patiently for him to return. You rejoice in who he is and who you are in Him. You soundly reason that because he loves you unconditionally and knows all things that he will be back and everything will be ok.

You are anxious in nothing. You are safe in him, even when you don’t understand, even when he seems to be gone, even when he doesn’t give you everything you ask for. And when he returns, he will love you unconditionally and not be surprised that you had times of doubt while he was gone.  He will understand that in those moments you had to fight through some anxious thoughts. But you will have learned how to just let those anxious thoughts flow down the river of your thoughts without enlivening them by focusing on them. You will have learned to let the truth of who he is and who you are in him set you free from doubt and anxiety.

Be still and know that he is God.

Here is a great quote about selfless living….”the essence of Gospel humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of your self less.” Tim Keller.

Imagine for a minute that you find yourself at a resort when suddenly the entire kitchen staff for the resort falls ill and needs to be removed from the resort for six months. The owner of the resort has always made it a habit to look over the guest list periodically, making note of anyone staying at the resort who has any cooking ability or experience. He has your name on just such a list. At just the right time (now) he chooses you to be part of his team. He calls you into his office and tells you who he is, what has occurred, who you are in his eyes and what he needs you to do. He tells you that he will make everything that is his available to you (kitchen, recipes, procedures, dishes, etc.)

The owner also tells you that he has summoned his only son to run everything and be responsible for everything. All he asks of you is that you remember who you are in his eyes, doing whatever he believes you are capable of doing in his kitchen, with his cookware, energy and utensils.  He will also supply all the food and ingredients.

He knows you are going to sometimes fall short of perfection, maybe most of the time, but when you do he wants you to do three things – 1. Remember who you are in Him. 2. Remember that his son is in control. 3. Repent, which means turn around and head in the other direction or have a change of heart about who you are in Him. He will ask you to believe in him and in his son and trust that in doing exactly what he knows you already have in your heart and in your mind you will be doing all that he expects you to do.

The owner will be as it were the vinedresser, his son will be the vine and you will be one of the branches. The owner supplies and applies all that is needed for the vine to perform the function that the owner intends for it to do. As one of the branches you just need to remain connected to the vine and the life of the vine will flow through you and accomplish the owner’s (vinedresser’s) purposes.

Notice that you are not to focus on pleasing anyone, not the customers, not your friends, not your family, not even the owner or his son. You are simply to believe in who you are in his mind and heart and trust that in him you can all things he intends for you to do. By believing the truth about who you are in Him, you can be content and complete by accomplishing what he gives you the ability to do and you can focus on others, not to please them or to be validated by them but simply to love them and lift them up no matter how they respond to you.

When you catch yourself worrying about what other people think or in simply being self focused, you just need to repent (change your mind about who you are in Him, or turn around and head in the other direction). The more you remember who you are in him because of who he is, the more you can get over yourself and truly lift other people up. Don’t think less of yourself, think of yourself less!