Month: August 2016

Success in the Psalms: Part 2 – Succeeding in the Midst of Chaos

Psalm 2 – Success in the Midst of Chaos

Earthquakes in Italy, floods in Louisiana, wildfires in California: it seems every way we turn there is something going on that is unfathomable. From terrorists driving their cars into crowds of innocent people to mosquito bites killing people. In our families there is turmoil: from the church to the kitchen table, things seem to be upside down. How do we handle it? How can we keep our hearts from exploding and our minds from breaking down? How can we have success in the midst of so much chaos?

In Psalm 2, King David was wondering the same thing as he experienced nations all around him in an uproar and people everywhere going nuts (vs 1-3). If you’ve read about the life of David at all, you know he experienced lots of battles, heartbreak, failures, and successes, and through it all he was referred to as a man after God’s own heart. Here, in this Psalm, in this chaotic time in his life, he reveals his secret to success and staying on track when everything around him seems to be off the track.

Again, it’s a simple thing. Verse 12 says he “took refuge in Him!” When I first moved away from my home in Kentucky all the way to the Big D, Dallas, Texas – and mind you, I’d never been off Tucker Ridge – I always knew in my heart that if something went wrong or the end of the world happened (I really thought this!), I could run back home and “take refuge” at my mom’s house. Really. I felt this way. It made me fearless because I knew there was somewhere I could go where there was someone who loved me and would never turn me away.

I realize how blessed I am having grown up with such unconditional love, and I also realize that many never get to experience this; however, if you’ve never experienced this kind of love and security – even if you are near the end of your life – you still can! Just like David, you can know the love of a Father in whom you can take refuge at any time. So, before we go any further, if you’ve never had this security – or perhaps you have, but it’s been so long ago you’ve forgotten what it’s like – stop right now and run into this strong tower of the love of God. He’ll never turn you away. Ever. You can take refuge in Him right now and forever by saying, “Save me, God! Do it.

Now, how did David make it in chaotic times? He knew God was in control to the point that he said, these evil people causing all this chaos think they are in control – ISIS thinks they will infiltrate America and bring terror to all of us; the government thinks they can infiltrate every area of our lives, taxing us into submission, destroying our constitution, co-workers think they can intimidate us into denying our faith and being silent – David said, because he knew his God, “The one who created you and this universe is sitting on his throne laughing at you (not alarmed at the chaos) because He knows the end of the matter (vs 4-6).

David knew that, no matter what went on or how bad it looked, God had a plan. Often, though, we get outside of God’s plan for us – and yes, he does have a plan specifically for you – and we fall prey to the chaos and start to think, “I’ll never make it” whether it is financially, physically, mentally, or relationally. We get caught up in the day to day grind and fear grips us. I know. I’ve been there, recently!

First secret to succeeding in the midst of chaos is found in verses 10-12. Simply worship the Lord with reverence! When was the last time you let yourself truly worship the Lord? I’m not talking about turning to page 15 in the Hymnal (although that is definitely a way to worship corporately). I’m talking about, when was the last time you let yourself be still? Worship is not just singing. Google defines it as the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.

You can worship God by getting quiet in your favorite spot (mine is my patio – I’m writing this blog right now in my quiet place) and just express yourself to God. Simply tell him how you feel. Open up to God. He knows anyway, but he receives it as worship when you express yourself to him. Go ahead. Right now. Open your mouth and say something to God. David sometimes said to God, “Answer me when I call, O God…!” Being real with God is true worship.

Here, on my patio in my quiet time, I worship God. Sometimes I open my mouth and talk out loud; other times, I write my worship in my journal. If you’re not comfortable yet with talking out loud to God, I challenge you to write to God. He will read it.

The second thing to do to succeed in the midst of chaos is to “take refuge in Him!” (verse 12) For a while this chaos is going to run rampant in the world. God does not want us to dig a hole or run to the hills. He wants us to keep moving toward our goals, keep living life abundantly, and keep letting our light shine.

Well, now you are contradicting yourself, Vickie, you may say. Which is it? Keep moving or take refuge which sounds like running to the hills to me! Here is the key. Running to the strong tower of the Lord is the ONLY way we are able to keep moving, keep living, and keep shining. Back to my moving to the Big D analogy. This hillbilly was able to approach the big city, scared, away from everything familiar because I had taken refuge in knowing I was loved and couldn’t fail in the eyes of my Mom and Dad. How much more-so can we be fearless when we know the God of the universe gives me a refuge even greater than this!

Right now, where you are, you can be hidden the shadow of his wings EVEN THOUGH you are walking through the chaos. You can get up and go to your job. You can get up and look for a job if you don’t have one. You can make that presentation. You can go to the grocery and clean your house. You can meet someone on the street and acknowledge them. You can do all these things right in the midst of this chaotic world – and do it with peace and joy in your heart because you take refuge in Him which means you’ll not “perish in the way” (verse 12).

ACTION STEP

  1. Right now, determine where your quiet place will be where you can worship Him. You’ve already determined a time each day in which you will give at least 15 minutes (part 1) to the word, right? Now, designate a place and either before or after you read the Scriptures, worship Him. You don’t have to sing (although you can). You don’t have to talk out loud (although you can). But, you DO have to express yourself to God. As a minimum, write out your worship/adoration/thoughts about/to Him.
  2. Take refuge right now. Perhaps you’ve been walking around unprotected. Do not do that any longer. Say, “Protect me in this Chaos and help me succeed/function each day!” When fear jumps up in your heart, remember and say, “I have a refuge!”
  3. Now go out and succeed with your life.

As always, I love hearing from you. Share with me your victories, your failures, your plan. I will respond.

Success in the Psalms: A Look at God’s Way to Come out on Top.

I got so excited when I realized what was actually in the Psalms. They are not just a Jewish song book or a collection of feel good poems, easy to check off our Bible reading list; instead, they are a treasure of tips to overcome and succeed in every day living. So, here we go.

First, let’s clear up the fact that success is not always the size of your bank account; As Jim Rohn, someone whose advice I follow, says “Success is doing ordinary things, extraordinarily well” and “walking from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” I see this in King David. Over and over he messed up. Over and over he got back up. Over and over he praised God in every situation!

I got so excited when I realized what was actually in the Psalms. They are not just a Jewish song book or a collection of feel good poems, easy to check off our Bible reading list; instead, they are a treasure of tips to overcome and succeed in every day living. So, here we go.

Psalm 1 – Who can be Successful?

In this Psalm it is clear who can be successful. Verse two says it is the person who loves the Word of God. Not just that, but it is the person who thinks about it day and night. “Well, that’s just unrealistic,” some might say. It is if you think it means your head is in the clouds and your nose is in the Bible every moment of every day. That is not what it means. God is not stupid. He said, if a man wants to eat, he needs to work. Thus, he knows we have to get up and be about our day.

To meditate on the Word day and night means that it is your guiding principle day and night because you have given it a prominent place in your daily life. If you sat and studied the Bible all day, every day, you would get nothing done; you wouldn’t see anyone; you couldn’t help anyone; however, if you love the Word and you do meditate/study/think on it every day, it will always be in the forefront of your mind; therefore, it will guide you, preventing verse one from happening which will zap your joy, kill your purpose, and rob you of your success.

Greater still, if you love the Word, you will be confident (firmly planted v3) where you are – even if where you are is not where you want to be because you are still trying to get where you want/need to be. This love and delight in God’s word will water your spirit and mind so that you can be healthy in your thinking and planning in every day things.  A tree with a constant source of water will have roots that grow deep and branches that produce luscious fruit. So will you. If there is a constant flow of the Word into your life, your understanding will be deep and your life will result in prosperity wherever you are (verse 3). This is not man’s idea. It is God’s plan for anyone who wants to be successful. It is so simple, we miss it.

In contrast, the one who despises the Word – or not even to that extent – the one who simply pays no attention to it or has no time for it in the daily scheme of things will not have it pop into their mind when decision making comes around; there is no thought given to it; they just simply chose what seems best at the time or what others have done that works. Therefore, as opposed to being confident and able to stand, this one will be blown about like dust in the wind – or the proverbial ship tossed about by the waves.

“Well, I know some very successful people who don’t give a flip about the word of God, and they are running circles around me,” you may say.  It is true; good happens to the just and the unjust; however, that success is short lived. Do not look to those whose end is destruction (though it looks great at the moment). Look to the one who created the universe and shows the way to true success, both now and forever.

ACTION STEP:

  1. Look at a calendar right now. Consider your schedule. For the next 21 days, write down a time that you will focus/meditate on God’s Word. Some love the early morning quiet. Others use their mid-day break. Night owls love the late night quiet time. Pick one. Give the Word a minimum of 15 minutes in your life every day. If you say “I’m going to spend more time in the Word,” and you don’t plan when that will be, most likely it won’t happen.
  2. During this 15 minutes, highlight in your Bible or write in a journal at least ONE thing that stands out to you for this day’s reading.

Share with me here which time you will carve out for the Word.

When Life Includes Death

In Psalm 13 David feels abandoned and says, “Lord, how long are you going to forget about me. I can’t take it any more because my heart breaks all day long!” We’ve all been there, right? I know so many are there right now. I know hearts are breaking right now because of loved ones who have been lost to a broken world.

David said, “If you don’t help me understand this, I’m going to die, and then those who don’t know you will say laugh and say ‘some God he served'”

There’s no words for what two of my family members have recently gone through, my cousin here in KY and my niece in TX: my cousin lost her baby who was 7 months old, and my niece lost her husband to be.

In the midst of all his loss and feelings of abandoment, David said, “But…I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; my heart will rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord because He has dealt bountifully with me.”

Some would say, “there is no lovingkindness in this” “there is no reason for rejoicing.” Yet, God is near to a broken and contrite heart; there is only refuge in Him. As long as we live in this broken world, we will not understand many thing, but there is still hope.

Cling to the Father. Let him be your strength. We will see our loved ones again; hold out for that day. Let the God of peace keep you, and let your soul find rest in Him. If any man be in Christ, though he is dead, yet shall he live.

Where’s My Owner’s Manual?

…new means different. As a matter of fact, Google’s definition of new is: not existing before; made, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time.

I read this morning about the meaning of prototype and it made my day – even though I know this – the reminder that God loves me uniquely and I’m special to him (I’m his prototype and there’s not another one like me), it was like hearing it for the first time! How can that be? Oh wait. The scripture does say that his mercies are new each day doesn’t it.

What’s really cool about this is, new means different. As a matter of fact, Google’s definition of new is: not existing before; made, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time.

That is why, when we hear a scripture or an encouraging word from God, even though we may have read the Bible through 10 times, in his mercy and brilliance, he gives us a NEW perspective of it. He created us, remember? He knew we needed fresh mercy, fresh energy, fresh creativity, fresh ideas.

He could have created all of us humans to be just alike: same hair, same heighth, same build, but he made each one of us new; he didn’t duplicate or repeat. Each one of us is his own special prototype, unique to his special idea when he created and formed us in our mothers’ wombs. No one can take our place..

There is something for you to do – a road only you can travel. Sure, other’s could walk down it, but they cannot leave the mark on that road the way you can, the way you were intended to do it. Sometimes the road is not scenic or lined with flowers and waterfalls on each side; instead, there may be rocks and mountains that seem impossible to navigate. But, remember. It’s your road. Embrace it and see what God intends to show you on your journey. Embrace it and let that new thing He is trying to do in you emerge.

How to know you are a prototype:

  1. Do you often ask yourself, “why is this happening to me” or “what exactly is my purpose”?  Then, you are one of God’s prototypes. He has the owner’s manual and knows how to put the pieces of your life together so that the finished product works as intended.
  2. Do you often feel like you cannot do this on your own anymore? Then, you are one of God’s special prototypes. He has the owner’s manual, and the special instructions reminds you that your version came with a constant companion who will never leave you nor forsake you. You are not alone.
  3. Do you often wish you could start over? Then, you are one of God’s unique prototypes. The manual has a section that discusses how to become a new creation, and I believe it indicates that you may start over as many times as necessary in order to produce what was intended for your life.

I just came back from a conference of 20,000 fitness coaches. We each listened to the same trainers, heard the same ideas, and will apply the knowledge same knowledge, yet none of us will produce the same results. Why? Because each of us is unique, and each of us has a path to travel unlike anyone else’s, and everyone’s owner’s manual reads differently because there is not a one of us who is the same. We are all a special prototype with different purposes.

Take a moment and ask yourself, “Have I consulted the owner’s manual lately?” If not, perhaps that is why the machine is not running as smoothly as it should.

Assignment:

  1. List some things that are not going well for you today (lately)._____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
  2. Now check your owner’s manual, and find the section that discusses the area of your life that you listed in number one. Read it carefully, and list here what it says. (for instance, have you been feeling angry or upset and cannot seem to get your joy back? The manual says “if you have anything against someone, take care of it before you go to God.” The instructions also say to not go to bed angry so that a root of bitterness doesn’t begin to grow. From this I would write: “Lord, I fogive that person for (fill in the offense). I give it to you tonight and will not carry it anymore”)

If this helped to remind you just how special you are and there are answers, I’d love to hear from you in the comments. I will respond.Vickie (124 of 143)