Stepping into the Light

In the 1986 film, The Fly, Jeff Goldblum plays Seth Brundle, a brilliant young scientist who slowly and tragically turns into a giant fly after something goes horribly wrong with one of his experiments. Goldblum's amazing acting elicits equal parts of pity and disgust from the audience, aided by Oscar-winning makeup. The fear one feels for the life of Brundle's loyal girlfriend, played by Geena Davis, is electrifying.

As dangerous as a giant fly would be, I think I might deal with that threat more sanely than the invasion of dozens upon dozens of regular size houseflies that invaded my home last year. The incessant little buzzing and the fear of germs being spread around my kitchen by their little sticky feet drove me to the brink of fly-directed homicidal mania. Even when I finally found their breeding ground (too gross to be repeated, as I'm writing right before my bedtime), I could not get rid of the out of control fly population in my home. So I frantically called an expert fly killer, better known as Home Team Pest Defense.

It's often the same with spiritual issues. I may feel like I'm on pretty solid ground with plenty of faith to deal with major issues like whether or not I should steal, lie, kill, commit adultery, or take the Lord's name in vain. But sometimes it's the smaller issues--job stresses, money worries, car issues, personality conflicts, etc.--that seem to gang up on us all of sudden and seriously test our giant-killing faith.

When I get weak and worn down, I often think about Elijah, who had enough confidence in God to taunt the prophets of the false god Baal and to call down the power of the God of Israel against them. Yet, when he was done proving God in such a big, public way, Elijah turned and ran from Queen Jezebel. He cowered in the woods and asked to die.

Why?

Probably for the same reasons as we behave similarly. He was human and tired and it seemed like his troubles would not stop, and so he took his focus off God and put it on his own frail heart, just as we do.

Please remember, next time your own frail heart says, "I can't cope," you have someone to call on who can and will defeat anything that attempts to overpower you or chase you into the woods where your view of God is obscured. The same as the big things are never too big for Him to handle, neither are the little things too many for Him. Just call on the name of Jesus and He will feed you hope, as the angel fed Elijah physical food at his weakest moment. Jesus will let you use His strength to overcome all your fragility and fear. In fact, He's praying that you will lean on Him, because you operate more fully in His will then. This is what He meant when He told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9a)

By the way, we have another influx of flies starting up. This time, I'm calling the expert sooner and much more calmly. I know what they can do. Do you know what God can do for you?

Today's post is a sharing exercise. Be a leader and answer the following questions:

1. When you see or hear the word "leader", what comes to your mind?
2. What is the most immediate opportunity you see for yourself to lead?
3. Name the greatest challenges you face regarding leadership?
4. What is your greatest strength as a leader and how many people are aware of it?

You can't help but be blessed and a blessing to others if you share your honest answers. Thank you.

"You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the Lord, have created it." -Isaiah 45:8

When God sends you rain, soak it up. Use every drop to make something good grow. Love Him for the rain, as well as for the sun. Love Him for the cold and the heat. Take in everything God has for you. There's a reason for whatever He presents--and it might be more of a blessing than you think, even if you already think it's pretty wonderful.

(Photograph: Afrique du Sud 1981, by Chris Steele Perkins)

Yesterday I read part of a recent USA Today interview with actress Sandra Bullock. She was hawking her new comedy, The Proposal, and also spoke a little about her life with husband, motorcycle mogul Jesse James. The thing that struck me most was her statement about being a stepmom to Jesse's three children. Sandra said that she reminds herself often that it's not about what she gets (from the children), but that she needs to concentrate on what she gives. I completely agree; more parents, not just stepparents, should remind themselves of that.

My husband's favorite book, and one of mine, is "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran. One of the poems in this book is "Children" and says "Your children are not your children." Another line is "They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you."

The prophet Samuel's mother Hannah was barren and prayed for a son. Her first son's name, Samuel, means "God heard". When God finally gave her this longed-for child, she kept him with her until he was weaned and then gave him back to God, by bringing him to Eli, the priest, to be trained as a servant of God.

Our children don't belong to us; they belong to God who entrusts us with their care until they are ready to live without us and serve Him.

Parents often have trouble being able to sit back and see that children are simply entrusted to us until God is ready for us to give them up.

Maybe it's easier for a stepparent than a biological parent to see that a child doesn't really belong to any parent; that the gift from God is not the child but the opportunity to serve God by raising that child.

I'm not sure, maybe it's just easier for me to see, as a second time stepmom whose heart was broken by my first stepson who saw fit to drop me from his life after his dad died, and then found an excuse to cut me out altogether. I no longer cry every time I talk about him, like I did for three years, but now God has allowed me to see that my need for children or attachment to them is not the point of my being in the lives of my younger two stepsons.

The point is that God needs me to provide them whatever guidance, help, and--yes--love I can during the time they spend with me and their dad. After that, it's time to let go.

If our children come back and bless us after we let go, that is a gift from God. But our job is to concentrate on what we are to give our children, not what we stand to get. Right, Sandy? (I told you--we're this close.)

(Photograph by Craig Jewell)

Just a few weeks ago, I was in a terrible state. Worry and anger were ganging up to beat me down.

One morning I could not stop crying and parked near my office, called my husband and began to let everything out that I had been doing such a poor job of holding inside. My husband incredulously questioned what in the world had gotten into me, when I started screaming at him to "understand that I'm fighting for my life."

The story of my breakdown and deliverance was posted here not long ago. The beginning of recovery and a return to righteousness in Christ was realizing that if I could hear evil more loudly than the voice of God, I was doing something wrong. I wasn't fighting with the power God had given me when I was born again into His family.

What kind of battle are you in right now? Is it financial? Is it marital? Is your trouble with an ex-spouse, or a child who is out of control?

Have you begun to think that arguing is a waste of time? Do you know that anger will get you nowhere unless it is properly focused?

In 2 Corinthians 10:4, we are allowed to know that any fighting we do in the flesh won't change the quality of our lives--at least not for the better. The real war in which we need to do combat is purely spiritual. We need to take up the weapons described in Ephesians 6:11-17 and then do battle through prayer (Ephesians 6:18) in order to stay aligned with God's purpose for us.

We need many kinds of prayers: prayers of intercession, prayers of thanks, prayers of asking, prayers of repentance. Today I offer up a warfare prayer, claiming victory over evil in the name of Jesus.

Let us pray:

Lord, I thank you for your mercy and your grace. I thank you for delivering me and giving me the strength in my spirit to follow you wherever you lead me.

For everything I have done to offend you, I apologize. As each wrong I've done comes up in my memory, with your mighty hand at my back I will turn away from the past and walk tall and steady on the straight path that leads me ever closer to you.

In the name of Jesus, I claim victory over any thought or force that disagrees with your will. I claim that my mind is sound and faith in you fills me so full that there is no room for doubt or fear.

In the name of Jesus, I claim the protection of His blood over myself, my family, my health, my home, my finances, and also over my co-workers and friends. May every person who spends time in my presence know that they have been in your presence as Christ lives in me.

Every evil that attempts to come against your will, I rebuke it right now, in the name of Jesus. You said that anything bound on earth in your name will be bound in heaven as well. You have handed me the keys to heaven, so I believe that you must have also given me the ability to free captives and open doors between my unsaved loved ones and you.

Whenever I do anything to cut off your will in my life, may the Holy Spirit bring it to my consciousness so I can repent immediately and go on freely as you order my footsteps.

I praise you because you are the One and Only Almighty and Everlasting Jehovah God. By my right as your heir, I command everything in me and around me to bow to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. -Isaiah 54:17

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. -Psalm 23:6

Recently I read a post on Bishop T.D. Jakes' blog that asked for responses to the question, "Is God going out of style?" This was not a question from which I could turn away easily. The following is the comment I left there:

'To say God is in style or out of style implies that He is subject to our feelings about Him. He is not. The infinite can never depend on the finite for validation. God is God whether we love Him or not. God loves us whether we love Him or not.

That said, I imagine the fractiousness of religiosity has turned many against God. When His representatives can’t agree on who He is and what is His will, and as the modern church spends more time teaching people to give money and expect money in return than it teaches about the saving power of the blood of Jesus, misled people will become hurt and disillusioned. They will give up on God.

There is nothing in the Bible that says “run around the sanctuary three times if you want a new house this year.” That’s a non-Christian African tradition.

There are too many examples of half-truths and outright lies, of paganism, humanism, animism, and other blasphemous -isms being taught in churches, causing the people of God to think they are following Christ when they are going in the opposite direction.

Religions developed because we all have a need to strengthen our faith by worshipping communally and to serve God by serving each other. This is a good thing, but it is bound to be frequently perverted because that is human nature.

Ultimately, faith is personal. We are each responsible for condition of our own souls. When God is out of style, you can be sure the human soul has gone out of style first."