Category: Things I’m learning

I remember when we were little my brothers and I would catch fireflies on summer nights. We would put them in a jar, fill it with grass, cover the top with hole-poked tin foil and take them to bed with us. After being tucked in, we would stare at the jar and watch for the little flashes of light. Eventually, the blinks would get fewer and farther between and we would wake up to a stinky jar of bugs.

I think we’re like fireflies. Fireflies use their lights to communicate with each other. When they’re put in a jar, they have no one to communicate with and therefore stop emitting light. As Christians, we are called to be lights to the world. But sometimes the world distracts us. In other words, we get put in a jar and our lights go dim. When fireflies use their lights, they’re different from other bugs in that they don’t blend in with their surroundings. When they are not using their lights, they’re just like any other bug. In the same way, when we allow ourselves to become complacent about our faith, we start to look the same as everyone else around us.

When we become complacent and stuck in a jar, we lose our effectiveness. By blending in with the world, we basically tell God that He is not important enough for us to be uncomfortable. We have to avoid being put in a jar. We must keep our eyes out for potential circumstances that will squelch our lights and our faith; whether they be idols that distract us, compromising situations or careless conversations. We have to constantly be on the alert, for Satan desires nothing more than for our lights to be extinguished. So….what’s putting you in a jar?

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."  ~Matthew 5:14-16

Remember when I was putting myself down in order to not be “proud?” Well, during that time, I started looking around and comparing myself to other people. Eventually, I became insecure and began to feel terrible about myself. Through my insecurity, God led me to realize that I needed to surrender an area to Him. After I surrendered, God gave me freedom and joy in the place of my self-consciousness as well as a glimpse of just how big He really is.

Insecurity is the opposite of over-confidence yet it stems from the same sin—trusting in yourself. When we are insecure, we are fearful because we personally do not have control over everything. As a result, we take the burden upon ourselves to make everything work.

When we try to take things into our own hands, we put God in a box. We tell Him that we don’t trust Him enough to direct our life. We squeeze God down to something smaller than us and, in a sense, place ourselves before Him. Because we trust in our own strength, we become discouraged. According to Oswald Chambers, “Discouragement is disenchanted self-love.”

When we are insecure or self-conscious, our relationship with God suffers. We end up fighting God because we alternate between trusting Him and trusting ourselves. Our times of introspection and insecurity show us what is most important to us–what we’re afraid of losing most.

When we hit times of insecurity, God is often trying to tell us that we need to give something up and surrender it to Him. Oswald Chambers says,

“Self-consciousness is the first thing that will upset the completeness of the life in God, and self-consciousness continually produces wrestling…Anything that disturbs rest in Him must be cured at once, and it is not cured be being ignored but by coming to Jesus Christ. If we come to Him and ask Him to produce Christ-consciousness, He will always do it until we learn to abide in Him.”

It’s during these times that God pries our fingers off of what we think is ours and says ‘give it to me’. And we can choose continue to wrestle or to give it to him and rest in peace that He has it under control.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. ~1 Peter 5:7

This is one of my favorite speakers and my favorite sermon of his. He's actually starting a church in Atlanta if you want to come check it out.

I used to be afraid of being prideful. Whenever I felt that I was getting prideful, I would squelch it by lying to myself. I would say, ’no, you’re not good at that.’ After a while though, I actually started to believe it. I thought that by having a low view of myself, I was being humble. My view of humility was characterized by not bringing any attention to yourself. I had this view that I almost had to become average to be humble. This kept me from pursuing excellence wholeheartedly; it made me constantly look around and compare myself to others. Continually putting myself down eventually led to insecurity which is detrimental spiritually and emotionally.

I had the wrong view of humility. Humility is not putting yourself down so that others will not feel bad. Jesus was the most humble person on earth and He went around proclaiming that He was the Son of God and confronting people

about their sin; he even threw people out of the temple. So what is humility? How do you balance being too complacent and too cocky?

My dad says that humility is power constrained. It is knowing that you have the ability to do something great, but only exercising that power at the correct moments. Just like a horse with a bit in its mouth. Because the horse has a bit in its mouth, doesn’t deny the fact that it can run, jump or buck; it simply means that its power is under control.

In the same way, our gifts should be like the horse. We should use them to exercise our strength when needed and restrain it when needed. This doesn’t mean that we parade our gifts around for all to see; nor does it mean we hide our gifts for fear of showing off. We should accept the gifts that God gave us and use them for His glory. He’ll let us know when it is appropriate to bring the tools out of the shed. All we have to do is trust Him and follow His lead.

Man looks at the outward appearance…

In this world there is a cause and effect relationship between what we do and who we are perceived to be. As humans we think our acceptance is based on our actions. In some ways, this is true. If we choose to buy designer clothing, we are perceived to be rich; if we choose not to go to certain parties, we are considered antisocial. All of us, to some degree or another, worry about what other people think.

Oftentimes, when we get caught up in how we are perceived it can be detrimental. When we start to make decisions based on what other people think or how they will treat us, we gain an unhealthy outlook. We start to lose confidence in ourselves and rely on others to build our identity. We also become unable to make decisions based on bare facts and wisdom. Instead, we count on other humans to make decisions for us.

Most of us wouldn’t think that we fall into the acceptance trap; we think we are true to ourselves. Yet this habit creeps in unexpectedly. Maybe it’s pleasing our parents; or trying to dance well when the director is looking; or maybe it’s choosing the decision that’s popular among that particular group of friends.

But the Lord looks at the heart…

The worst part is when we play the acceptance game with God. We think if I do this, I’ll be more spiritual or if I pray this, God will like it better. But the truth is, though people may care what we do, God doesn’t love us any more or less based on our actions. When we play the acceptance game with God, we are relying on ourselves to bring Him glory. In essence, we are actually robbing God of His glory.

To keep from getting caught in the acceptance trap, we need to take our eyes off of the world and focus on God. We need to rest in the fact that our identity is found in Him; we bring Him glory simply by being His child and following Him. He holds our future and no matter what others may think, it’s God’s opinion that matters.

My mom sent me this while I'm at my SI (summer intensive)

Have you ever felt like you've been jipped? Have you ever felt like someone gave you less than you deserved? Maybe it's when your friend says she'll invite you to her party but she doesn't. Or maybe someone else got the role you thought you should get. Or maybe your teacher gave you a D on a paper that took most of your weekend.We've all felt like this at one point or another. Most of the time we feel this way because we were expecting something and we didn't get it. It's times like these when you have to step back and assess the situation. We need to ask ourselves…

• What was I expecting?
• Why was I expecting it?

Often, we feel entitled to things and when we don't get them, we feel short-changed. It's part of our selfish human nature to feel this way. But the truth is that we don't deserve anything. Nothing in this world has our name written on it; it's all a blessing from God. We need to remember…

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ~James 1:17

 

It's beginning to get warmer, buds are poking out, the days are getting longer. Spring is a season of beginnings and ends. The school year comes to an end like the deadness of winter; new experiences and stages of life are beginning like the sprouts in the ground. Sometimes, I think these sprouts and flowers do a better job of declaring God's greatness than I do. They make me feel like I'm not doing my job and remind me that I should be doing the same. It's these little things that make me appreciate God more. How He orders His creation so that it all brings glory to Him. How He also uses His creation to remind other parts of His creation of Himself. I thank Him for that and I pray that He uses me to bring Himself glory.

   

To the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time, and now, and forever. Amen. ~Jude 1:25