Lessons

I have this way of training new people on my team at work that I think works really well. I have them work with more experienced team members for awhile...in this process, they're being helped step by step with someone telling and reminding them of whatever they need to know. Eventually, I will set them off to work on their own. Then, someone more experienced will review their work. Then, the reviewer takes a very specific approach to providing correction. If there (for example) 4 mistakes, the reviewer will tell the new person, "Okay, you have 4 things that need to be corrected. Can you figure out what they are?"

If they take a second pass and find 3 of the 4, I will then ask them to go through each individual element or decision and consider why they've completed it in the way they have - letting them know they're still missing 1. Usually, they find the 4th mistake this way. But if not, I'll tell them which thing is wrong, and then challenge them to come up with the correct thing on their own. Finally, if they're still stuck, I will go ahead and give them the corrected version. And then we do the same thing all over again.

My experience with this approach to training is that, as long as the initial "hand holding" stage is thorough, it usually moves quickly. New employees learn to identify, work through and correct issues on their own, and they become self-sufficient for all intents & purposes.

I've seen this parallel lately in my own life and some of the things the Lord has been teaching me this year. As longer term readers will know, early in 2009, the Lord kicked off a pretty "exciting" journey driving me toward deeper belief. I put exciting in quotation marks, because although the results are exciting and the process was dynamic, much of it has been sort of painful and painstaking. I guess I'm a slow learner in this area!

None the less, as the year has progressed, I am seeing the progress in His curriculum for me. Early in the year, I needed to write about, meditate on and study up on believing Him on a pretty daily basis. I was starting from scratch in so many ways! And as the year has gone on, I've needed refreshers. I have had plenty of my own instances where I have had the Lord say, "You're missing 3 things. Can you figure out where they are?" And, at least in this metaphor, they might be 3 ways in which I was not believing Him and His truth.

So, last night, I had a realization about some big ways in which I have not been believing God. I have been relying on my own best ideas for clarity and direction in many ways. So, I had a good heart to heart with the Father and asked for forgiveness and resolutely turned back in a Godly direction (viz., I repented). And as I was digesting all this inside myself, I was realizing that I, too, am being trained and that some of God's process for tutelage resembles training I've done in more practical areas of my own life.

At first, He was giving me direct and blatant reminders about believing all the time. And as I've learned, and put into practice the things I'm learning, I have needed less and less reminding. Now, naturally, part and parcel with being a student is the fact that, sometimes, I lose my way and don't know what I'm doing. When those times come, I need only go to the Teacher and He sets my path straight. For me, the hard part is sometimes 1) realizing I've gone astray and 2) remembering its as simple as turning to Him. But when I do, He always gets me going. He is a patient, kind and amply capable Instructor. I am so grateful!

The Truth under the Truth

Let's do a quick review of a few things that the Bible has to say about truth:

"LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart..." Psalm 15:1-2

"Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.." Proverbs 12:19

"A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful." Proverbs 14:25

"Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man who speaks the truth." Proverbs 16:13

"The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth." Psalm 145:18

So, I know it may be a foregone conclusion at this point, but it does seem pretty clear that the Word is in favor of truth all the way, right?

Well, that may seem a little "duh" at first glance, but let's dig a little deeper; the topic I want to address today isn't just simple truth - as in, "Did you go to the store?" and then saying no, when really you did. That's about lying more than anything. My point is about digging another layer deeper into our surface truths and finding what lies beneath them...and then living that out into the world...and not just because sometimes it's helpful, but because it honors God.

So...what do I mean about something underneath our surface truths? Well, let's make up an example: a husband & wife are discussing their plans for the holidays. They're talking about whether or not to host a Christmas party for their friends and family. The very social wife is all for it, but friction is building because her husband seems reluctant. "Well, I just don't know if I really want to have that much hustle and bustle around the holidays. I'd like it to be quieter." The wife is perplexed; her husband also loves people and she can't understand why having more "quiet" seems appealing. It makes no sense to her.

Well, rather than let this post take 10 years to write out, I'm going to jump ahead a bit... what is really going on for the husband is that he is missing quiet time with his wife. He wants some more time to connect and build their intimate connection. His resistance to hosting a Christmas party isn't about not wanting to host or Christmas parties. It is truthful that he doesn't want to host the party, but his resistance doesn't have a thing to do with Christmas parties, and instead is about what he wants and needs in their relationship.

This is a little off my normal topic style, but I really have been hit between the eyes lately with the realization of just how important the whole truth is. And I can leave out the entire truth without even knowing it...when I hurry and am not thoughtful and mindful about what I say and communicate.

So, I thought I'd check the Bible for some input, and realized all the input I needed was to review the idea of truth. It's a good reminder for me today; I hope it's helpful for you too!

Believe Him for Transformation

As often happens, I got a gentle rebuke the other night when praying about believing God. As I've written about frequently, this is a key topic for me & my relationship with the Lord. In fact, it's hard for me to believe this isn't a key topic for all of us, whether we know it or not, but I will leave that deciding up to you!

I asked God what it was that I wasn't believing Him for lately. And His answer? Transformation.

Ah, what a good God. I forget sometimes, as I am looking at, examining and praying about my human and fallen tendencies that although I am an imperfect being in a fallen world, HE is a perfect God who has drawn us with cords of kindness. Through the sacrifice of Christ, I am not limited by an imperfect world, an imperfect will or anything else. He can make me different. He has already made me different, but that transformation doesn't have to ever stop. I need only to believe and submit to His direction. And I can be continually more and more freed from my natural tendencies and further freed to live into the beautiful creation He designed me to be!

The Grating of the Plane

Do you know what a microplane grater is? If not, it may be helpful to quickly google an image for reference in this metaphor... :)

I've had this image in my head a lot lately, and it may sound sort of morose, but the image has been of a microplane grater rubbing against my skin - just grating away the layers. It may sound a little gory, but I think it's appropriate. If you've ever used one, you know that a microplane grater can definitely get the job done; little can be left of the outer layer of anything you rub it up against. At the same time, it's workmanship makes for removal of little bits at a time; even in its harsh task, it is somehow delicate as well.

I have seen God's had grating away the (metaphoric) flesh in my life in new ways lately, and while I truly am grateful for the refinement, I have to admit that sometimes it hurts! And in addition to some surface wounding, I've found that - in addition - there are some situations in which I also need to grieve a little bit for that which is being scraped away. Or, perhaps it isn't the flesh I'm mourning, but the assumptions of my fleshly self.

The less I attach to the things of my self, and the more I let the Father refine me, the more I realize how foolish it is to attach to my own best plans at all. My own best ways, my own best thoughts, my own best ideas...not a one measures up to His plans, His thoughts, His ways. I will lean not on my own understanding; His way is the path to my greatest good - without fail!

Looking to You

"O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You." 2 Chronicles 20:12-13 (NASB)

I know I am one among many as I hear this sentiment and my feel it resonate in my heart. There are definitely times when I feel powerless before a great multitude who come against me... a multitude of situations, scenarios, limitations, impulses, imperfections... the list could go on and on. I feel, sometimes, like there is a resistance on every side. And, yes, sometimes, I just feel like I have no earthly idea what to do.

But that's the point, isn't it? I have no earthly idea. So I, too, can come to the throne with this beautiful prayer. "I do not know what do to, but my eyes are on You!" Praise God for His righteous leading and His shepherding us! I would be so lost without Him!

On the Approach

I have a book that's been sitting on my nightstand since last Christmas. I have wholeheartedly wanted to read it, and it's on a topic that is of great interest to me. Yet, I haven't; it's just been sitting there. For nearly a year.

I finally started reading it today, and as I fought the urge to put it down half way into the first chapter, I realized why it's taken me so long to start it in the first place: truth.

Proverbs 23:23 reads, "Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding." (NIV)

This is clear instruction, and intuitively, I nod along as I read. Of course! How could the truth not be a good thing? Wisdom, good. Discipline, good. Understanding, also good. I would be the first one to tell you that I believe in the pursuit of these things, and that that belief shows up in the activity and actions of my life.

Yet, sometimes, I resist.

I didn't pick up this book because I was a little afraid of what it might have to say. I am still a little afraid, to tell the truth. It's about relationships, Biblical relationships with others in our lives, and I am fairly certain it has some things to teach me. I'm only about 5 chapters in, and I already know there are some ways in which I'm not living out or living into a Biblical standard. Actually, I suppose I knew that before I even started reading. Yet, before beginning, I could claim simple ignorance. How could I be expected to live God's principles if I wasn't 100% clear on what they are? Well, that might sound nice, but isn't honest. Just as the verse above says, we are to get truth, get wisdom and discipline. It doesn't say, "It's a lucky break for people who accidentally happen upon wisdom." It says "get wisdom." Get it. The word used in translation here is clearly active, assertive, alive. This isn't a verse about dumb luck resulting in some wisdom and knowledge of truth; this is a verse about action.

So, I've started my book, and I am going to keep reading. In fact, somewhere inside me, I have a feeling that once I get going, I'm not going to be able to put this book down. There is a craving deep inside me for this knowledge; for knowledge and knowing. Of Him, of His ways. Fearing them, and fearing the learning is foolishness. So, I'm diving in! Wherever you may find yourself treading lightly around His direction, go forth boldly. You are safe in His ways!

More on Battles

I wrote yesterday about remembering that the wars in our lives (which maybe are all just battles of a single war) are not really our battles. Instead, they below to the Lord, and He will fight for us (see also Exodus 14:14). So, just in case you needed any more convincing, please read and absorb this:

'You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem ' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you." 2 Chronicles 20:17

And please, really do let that sink in. Even though I wrote this, I found myself thinking earlier today, "Wow, I need to take in that message! This is God's battle...and He will be victorious." In fact, He is already victorious. We just have to believe Him for it!

Any place there is worry or fear or doubt, turn it over to the Warrior protecting us all. We do not need to fight this battle. He is with us! Hallelujah!