Where Art Thou?

  Why aren’t you helping?  Where is the love that is supposed to be shown?  Don't YOU CARE?  The questions we ask ourselves when we don’t see God moving in our lives or working through us.  It’s soooo easy to play the blame game for life not going our way, but the finger that you point should always be turned around and pointing at you first, before you ever think of blaming others especially God.

  It’s funny when we get impatient and try to force things to happen or hurry up and go find out why things are the way they are.  These are the times when God just sits back and watches us, how we act, what we say, where is our heart.  I recently was in serious need of some money; I was down to my last $20.  Instead of doing what I know I should do and what I tell others to do I decided to go it alone and see what I could make happen.  After all we are called to action, to be doers right? 

  Without going into all the details for the whole world to see, let’s just say I wasted plenty of gas running around to places that I didn’t need to go to.  Instead of trusting that God has my best interest in mind and that He keeps me and watches over me, I was determined to acquire the money needed for bills.  There was no morning prayer or bible reading, heck He wasn’t even on my mind to be honest.  It wasn’t until I wasted all that gas and running around in futility that I finally came to the end of myself, and turned back to Him.  Now this is while I’m driving home in desperate need, my mind racing on ways to do this or that, or how I’m going to alter or change my plans and strategies.  I wasn’t at peace, I didn’t feel warmth, or hear a voice saying it’ll be alright, nothing, just me and my thoughts.

  I’m home now after driving allover and it occurs to me that I was relying on myself for my needs, when in the bible we read that HE supplies ALL our needs according to His riches and glory.  A simple truth I’ve stated over and over thousands of times in the past but I’ve never really had to completely lean on that statement like yesterday.

   I’ve was in the military for 12 years and 5 months, that’s 634 guaranteed paychecks not even including bonuses or extra pays here and there.  I had no need to rely on God for my money supply or bills, the government met my needs. I still remember Jesse Duplantis saying at our church in Hawaii years ago, “Your job is not your supply or security, God is your supply and security.  If you’re relying on your job and your talents to pay your bills and get you by then you’ll be disappointed when you’re not getting ALL that God has promised.”  If we do this to ourselves, where we work really hard and RELY on those paychecks, how can we get upset at God if HE doesn’t supply everything according to His riches and glory, EVEN IF we pay our tithe?

  After going thru this retarded, self inflicted experience I now see and understand that this doesn’t just happen to me, I’m sure it happens to thousands or millions around the world.  We ask, seek, pray, and fast but we miss the point COMPLETELY!!!!  We truly are destroyed for our lack of understanding.  I know I wasn’t doing my part, so why should that obligate Him to do His part.  Because He’s God?  Because He’s the definition of love?  God didn’t move on my behalf UNTIL I came to the end of myself, and my efforts to correct a situation.  When I was done trying to help myself, and decided to just let Him be Him and let me be me, that’s when peace came.

The least shall be first among you!!

Not only is it a great biblical truth about how we are supposed to treat others, but if you look at it from a leadership perspective then there is another truth in there.  If you are in a leadership position or even have a part-time leadership role then you MUST live by this truth.  If you don’t take this truth and apply it to what you’re doing then you might very well be a dictator.  I know some will disagree and say, “There are times that you must lead and steer people in a direction.”  And I will definitely agree with that, BUT, and here’s the kicker, you can’t affectively lead people that way for a prolonged period of time.

It’s human nature to want to be in control, to call the shots, and to be THAT GUY.  If you have a calling on your life to lead, guide, mentor, and develop people then you have a responsibility to have wide range of leadership STYLES.  Every situation calls for a different approach and response.  If the building is on fire it doesn’t make any sense to “ask” and “plead” for people to calmly evacuate.  No on the contrary, you “TELL” and “INSTRUCT” those people to get the heck out of there as fast and as orderly as their human feet can carry them. 

People get hurt, scarred, or discouraged from a single style of leadership, that doesn’t change even though circumstances and situations will forever change.  You have the trust and confidence to lead, and guide your people in a direction that is safe, efficient, and most of all productive.  If you can’t do that then you SERIOUSLY need to reevaluate your position and ask yourself if your even supposed to be a leader in the first place.

Is this normal, is this for life?

What is normal?  Who is normal?  What constitutes living a normal life?  I’m sitting here asking myself these questions, and honestly I don’t like the answers.  Everyone says who wants to be normal or live a “Normal life.”  Well if you’ve had a chaotic and abnormal life then I guess you would qualify as someone who would like some normalcy and order to your life! 

I’m not one who subscribes to the living your whole life a certain way and doing certain things all the time.  That’s not me, I like changing seasons, and the ability to on a whim just go do something, or be unexpected.  That to me is what makes life so much fun, and well….LIFE.

When you are living in NOT normal circumstances you ask yourself sometimes, “Is this what life is, and how long life will be this way.”  Lisa I’m not talking about the living situation, so just put that thought to rest.  I’m talking about people in my life.  There are some relationships I just can’t put up with the way they are for the rest of my life.  I guess maybe that’s my dilemma to either deal with and move on or change things.  But what if you can’t change the circumstances, then what? 

When frustration and concern are replaced with normalcy, is that a time to be worried?  Or is it a desensitizing that ultimately takes place, after years of behavior and let down from a person.  Is it healthy to not care in the end one way or another, what that person does or doesn’t do?  Is it wrong to not have ANY feeling for someone, where there should be something?  Or have I just become that jaded and numb to certain people, actions, and behaviors.