Loving God When I'm Not On Top

Several years ago I was discharged from a position. I was young, and had made some very bone headed mistakes, and my employer exercised their right to let me go. To make things more difficult I was living in a city some 400 miles from my family. I needed help in the worst way. I felt rejected and tossed aside. God was trying to get my attention and working to get through all of the busyness in my life to drive home a message. I can rely on God even when I am not on top. This is the point of the 9th chapter of Jan Johnson's book Enjoying the Presence of God. So often Christians feel as though we have to present this image of Christ in our lives that never worries, never gets scared, and is never weak and on our knees. I don't think the world expects that of us, and I wonder if we do the world a disservice by hiding our fears. Paul explains God's grace and power is made perfect in our weakness. I think it is okay to be knocked down by the world so long as we decide not to wallow in self pity, and instead turn to God for strength. Is that easier said than done? Sometimes. But if we do not step out into the waters of faith a little we will never know just how deep God's love for us really is.

When Life Is Irritating

Chapter 8 of Jan Johnson's book Enjoying the Presence of God is about finding God when we're irritated. Most of the examples she uses deal with people who aggravate us during our day; the people in our car pool, the person who cut us off in traffic etc. The example she does not give is the first time parent trying to survive the first month of parenting. We are into week three and I am typing this one handed while holding Evan so Karen can have five more minutes of sleep. Evan is at that stage when eating, messing diapers, and sleeping just aren't enough. He can't tell us what he wants/needs so he cries - and screams through much of the afternoon. It's not an all day thing, but it frays the nerves very quickly. We love him to death, but here lately those are the times we find ourselves looking to God for strength, peace, and most of all PATIENCE.

The encouraging thing about what Johnson writes is her reminder it is okay to go to God with our anger, and our frustration - with ourselves or with other people. We should certainly have a healthy fear of God, but that doesn't mean we, like Evan, cannot cry out to our heavenly Father in frustration. It is okay to get angry. The trouble comes when that anger causes us to sin. It is not a sin to confess that anger to God. YHWH already knows what you are mad about, but offering it up to God is a great way of starting to let that anger go instead of acting on that frustration in malice.

What is Right In Front of You?

About a year ago I was in a small group of guys working through the ScrewTape Letters by C.S. Lewis. In one of the letters there is a story about a man in a museum. The man is looking at the art while eating his turkey sandwhich. A demon, thinking he had the man well in hand was directing the mans thoughts from one painting to another and away from anything important. Then the man began to think about the other people in the room and about God. The demon immediately reacted to what it presumed was the presence of an angel speaking into the man's life on God's behalf. So the demon diverted the man's attention to the man's lunch, to the weather outside, and finally to a random story in the newspaper. All of these diversions were the demon's way of putting the man off thinking about God. In America we get so distracted by stuff, material possessions, or perhaps worse reality TV. I know. I've been guilty of it as well. Wouldn't it be nice to have a new car that doesn't break down? Wouldn't it be nice to have a new brush pen for inking? Wouldn't it be nice to have that latest translation of the Bible or the newest commentary. Stuff Stuff Stuff. We think about you too much.

Chapter seven of Jan Johnson's book Enjoying the Presence of God is about focusing on what's right in front of you, and I don't mean your computer. Who are those people right in front of us who could be helped by God's grace right now? Can't think of anyone? Who else is in the room, or your office, or your house? Try thinking about what they are going through and offering them a one line prayer. "Praying for whatever is in front of us includes praying while reading the newspaper or watching the news (Johnson 51)." When we hear gossip it is an opportunity to pray for the person who told us the gossip and to pray for those being gossiped about. When we stop thinking about the things we want and start focusing on what and who other people need it goes a long way toward bringing us closer to the presence of God.

Walk the Walk

St. Augustine once wrote, "Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words." This quote plays very nicely with the sixth chapter of Jan Johnson's book Enjoying the Presence of God. This chapter details ways we can do Random Acts of Kindness for people we find it difficult to pray for, and to do those acts as if we were doing them for God. To put it another way; to offer service to others with our heart, mind, soul and might. I have tried to apply this line of thought to my school work, and sadly, on several occasions, have burned myself out in the process. For me it does not work well with school work. However, it does work well with Habitat Projects, serving others through the Mana ministry at church, or through Room In The Inn, or making breakfast at the Uptown Homeless Shelter. It's a terrific way to share the love of God without beating people over the head and shoulders with the gospel.

Weaving Prayer with activity...

...is the title to chapter five of Jan Johnson's book Enjoying the Presence of God. In many ways this is similar to the material in chapter four discussing, "Talking to You Means Praying for You." The difference is there is a larger element of the self in this chapter - but in a good way. It is all about giving praise and finding ways to include God in the day to day bus-y-ness of life. I try to understand Jan Johnson's point this way. If the purpose of reading Scripture is to discover what God has to say about Himself through the Word of God, then my daily life should be focused on sharing with the world what God is saying about Himself in my life. It is not about me. My life, and the way I interact with everything in it has to be about God. Some times the task is easier said than done. However, the goal is worthy so I continue to pick myself up and keep trying.