This isn’t everything you are

I love having songs that sort of echo the soundtrack of my life. Do you ever hear an old song, and it totally transports you back to another time and place, and circumstance?

One of my favorite bands, Snow Patrol, just came out with a new album last week. GREAT timing, as I was needing some new tunes to fill in the background track of this season in my life! And one song, and one chorus in particular, has been ringing in my ears/heart for the past week. The title says it all: This isn’t everything you are.

(Note: The track embedded above is a radio edit.)

And in one little moment
it all implodes.
This isn’t everything you are!
Breathe deeply in the silence,
no sudden moves.
This isn’t everything you are!
Just take the hand that´s offered
and hold on tight.
This isn’t everything you are!
There’s joy not far from here, right?
I know there is.
This isn’t everything you are!

It goes right along with something I heard from Pastor Craig Groeschel last week:

‎”You are not who others say you are, you’re who I [God] say you are.”

In other words, my circumstances do not define me. Other people’s opinions don’t define me. It’s my identity in Christ – what HE says about me – that defines who I am.

If you’re a Christ-follower and you’re tempted to believe the lie that anything other than your identity and position in Christ is the sum total of who you are, may you hear the words of this song loud and clear! And let these words of truth from the Scriptures redeem your thoughts.

To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. (Ephesians 1.6-8)

The whirlwind

In the last 10 days, my world has been turned upside down. My family and I have said goodbye to our church, the students and leaders we worked with, many people we love, and my job. And soon we’ll be saying goodbye to our home, our town, this state we love (North Carolina), and our closest friends.

I have found myself saying on more than one occasion, either to myself or to others, “Wow, the last few days have been a whirlwind for us…” Things have not panned out the way we hoped or imagined, but that’s life. Whirlwinds and storms often come out of nowhere, sometimes with or without warning. You may or may not have time to prepare, to get all your stuff in order, to protect yourself from potential damage.

As He usually does, God spoke a word to me today. I was reading in the book of Nahum, as God is detailing the vision of Naham, which is all about God’s wrath against Ninevah. But in this context, which has nothing at all to do with me or my life or current situation, God whispered a gentle reminder into my spirit’s ear:

The LORD has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. (Nah 1.3)

Is any commentary necessary on this one? God is reminding me that he has his way in the whirlwind, and in the storm. Things may be up in the air, feeling out of control and chaotic — and who knows where I’ll land (literally)? But it’s not total chaos. It’s not out of control. The destination is not unknown and random.

If you’re facing the unknown today, realize that it’s only unknown to you. God knows. God has plans. God’s got this! (Thanks to our friend Samantha who randomly said this on facebook one day, not knowing how God would use this simple phrase in a big way for us over the last week!)

God will have his way in the midst of all our junk. So let’s make sure that while we’re in the whirlwind, and while we’re in the storm, that we allow Him to have His way in us. God will take care of the rest.

Be careful to love the Lord your God

As the calendar strikes the final month of 2011, I find myself wrestling through a difficult season of life. I have a million questions, and close to zero answers (give or take). Life is foggy, the road ahead unclear, and I’m drowsy at the wheel. This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last. Solomon said, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven” (Ecc 3.1-8). This “time” will give way to another “time” at some point, the Bible says, and I’m sure of it. The hardship is in the waiting, the wondering, the questioning in my soul.

This morning God directed my attention to some of the final words of Joshua, the courageous leader of God’s people. In his old age, he calls the nation of Israel and all her leaders, before him. His life’s work is done, and like a father beckoning his eldest son to his side to issue his last words of exhortation, Joshua addresses the people he was leading into the Promised Land. (Read Joshua 23)

He reminds them of all God has done so far in driving out the nations. He encourages them to faithfully follow the Book of the Law. He warns them to not serve other gods.

But the following admonition from Joshua jumps off the page, out of Joshua’s mouth and straight into my twenty-first century ears.

But you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. For the LORD has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you. Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the LORD your God. (Josh 23.8-11)

Hold fast is translated as “cleave” in Genesis 2.24 in the King James Version, when it says a man shall “leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.” The idea is to cling to, follow close after, be joined together, pursue hard.

As tightly as I hold to my wife, and depend on her, I hear God calling me to have an even stronger grip on Him. He is the LORD my God who fights for me, who drives out and delivers. I’ve come this far only by the grace of God, and I’ll only move from this season to the next by the grace of God.

Joshua’s words are pleading with me: Be careful to love the LORD your God! Don’t let your attention be stolen by external circumstances or people, but pay attention to yourself, the inner man. Let God fight for you; (you) simply fight to keep your heart captivated by who He is.

As the questions pile up in my life, I must allow them to drive me back to the one most important question: Am I being careful to love the LORD my God? He’s got the fight covered – I’m simply called to cleave to Him and love Him fully.

Father God, thanks for being a strong tower I can run to, a comforter I can cleave to. Thanks for being a warrior who fights for me, who drives out and delivers. I trust You. The battle belongs to You. My heart belongs to You. Help me to be careful to love you, in spite of what’s going on around me. I love You and trust You, Jesus. Amen.

Proverbs 20.7