There is one thing that obstacles cannot beat – ever. Relationship. If the focus of our spirituality is always winning over obstacles, then we’re missing the best part – getting to know the personality, character, humor, and compassion of the living God.

Truth…

1. Obstacles will come – we were promised them in Scripture (not one of the more popular promises – Jn 16:33)
2. God did not bring the obstacles
3. God will train us in them
4. Relationship with with the Triune God is the refuge from every obstacle and storm.

We have the opportunity to focus on what really matters today – take it – spend time your Creator.

“I don’t want to get my hopes up,” is a line most of us have uttered many times in our lives. This is based on the fact that we have placed a level of expectation in something or someone that has not been met. We are leaning on past experience and not wanting to get on an emotional roller coaster again.

I strongly believe in “getting my hope up” and in being a releaser of hope to everyone around me. I want to get your hope up. Our “hopes” are a collection of wishes that may or may not be valid or based in anything solid – while our “hope” is the character quality that for believers is infused in them from Jesus Himself and cannot fade or disappoint (Rom 5:5). As believers, we believe – it’s what we do. It’s part of our job description to give hope to the people around us and raise their level of expectation – not so that it can be dashed, but because Jesus is The One who can meet them in supernatural answers.

Truths . . .

• Hope differed . . . grows our patience and renews our strength. (Rom 8:25)
• Expectations are based on the past (Satan likes our past and reminds of it), hope is based on the future (our future is only winning in Jesus).
• Hope in Jesus is a sure thing.
• Hope is not just for someday – hope gives best results in our life now.

It’s March Madness, which is the holy grail of the college basketball world. If you were to turn on sports radio or television – you would hear pundits, coaches and players alike mention the concept of being underrated, and therefore playing with something to prove – a chip on their shoulder. They use it as motivation. It’s one of the great tools in a basketball coaches arsenal to endeavor to bring out the best in players and teams.

There are many spiritual concepts that are underrated, and my favorite is patience. You might have heard it said, “Don’t pray for patience, you might just get it.” And people are constantly trying to replace patience in the fruit of the spirit with grace or sarcasm or fill in the blank. I joke with people that I’m going to write a book on patience no one will buy, or do a conference on patience no one will attend, and it will be 36 hours of straight silence – just to see if we can endure – haha.

The point is this – patience is amazing. Lacking it will pervert our decision making process. Lack of patience can be a gateway to anxiety, and inconsistency in our spiritual devotion. Patience is one of the core attributes of God’s character (Num 14:18, Ex 34:6, Neh 9:17, Ps 86:15, Rom 15:5, 2 Pet 3:9) – and He is not selective with it. God is patient with everything. He’s never late, but He often passes by opportunities to be early.

You may find yourself in what you feel like is a holding pattern in regard to certain prayers. Be encouraged, the character value of patience is more powerful than we think. You may have heard me say this before, but it is more than worth repeating – play the long game in your spiritual development. You cannot lose – observe the progress God has made in your character throughout the years. He only knows how to win. He’s winning in you.

We have been hard at work finishing our basement, so that it will be done before baby comes :-)! As the project moves forward we have begun to realize it is all about the tools. We built a wall with a hammer and nails – and it took 3 men about 23 hours. We’re building a wall with a (borrowed) nail gun and it’s taken 2 men about 10 hours. It’s like pressing the Staples “Easy” button comparatively. Hammer drill I started with 3 holes – 45 minutes – Hammer drill I’m using now – 28 holes in 45 minutes – and I don’t have blisters on my hands or an appointment with the chiropractor – “Easy” button.

The spiritual parallel is that there are constant upgrades to the tools that we use to develop spiritually . . .

• Many of us have been trying to use the willpower tool to conquer giants that only peace and rest will defeat (Phil 4:7, Ps 23).
• Others are using the striving and effort tools to win battles that patience in the presence of God are built for (Matt 11:28-30, Ps 84:10).
• Just as often we use the vow/resolution tool to attack problems that only rewiring our thoughts will win (Rom 12:2, Phil 4:8).
• Or even the fasting tool gets put in places where thanksgiving has to be governor (Col 3:15-17, Phil 4:6).
• Petitions and wishing/hoping prayers get offered up for healing when Jesus and the apostles only used commands to enforce their father’s will and kingdom in our world (Matt 8:13, Matt 21:21, Acts 3:6).

Allow God’s work in your life to bring you into awareness of the greater tools, and the precise tools for your situations. If you unsure which tools to use – ask God and maybe your pastor too.

Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

In the original Greek “with thanksgiving” is not a sidecar to the thoughts about prayer and petition. No, instead thanksgiving is actually the centerpiece to beating anxiety. Many of us pray, and many of us give thanks to God, however it is the combination of these two that melts anxiety. We have the ability to pray anxious prayers.

We have the ability to thank God about everything except the issues involved in the problem we’re facing. Freedom from anxiety begins when we specifically bathe our problem prayer in thanksgiving. Not that we’re strangely thankful for bad things, but I promise there is more good involved in our life situation than we are possibly seeing. Anxiety melts as we see God’s good purposes and reframe our life in light of eternity and the fact that God is continually and effervescently good.

David and the writer of Hebrews both displayed this attitude in the phrase, “What can man do to me?” (Ps 56:11, 118:6, Heb 13:6). Anxiety melts when we realize that there is nothing on this earth that can harm us – God is on our side, and He is winning. When we try to beat our problems by striving in our prayer time we accentuate rather than beat anxiety. Thanksgiving then is a better weapon to beat anxiety – it’s God’s weapon. It’s simple – not easy – but simple :-).

After a week at class in Springfield, MO having my mind sufficiently melted for God :-), I wanted to bring out a truth that has surfaced in my heart.

Luke 7:36-50 records a story of Jesus at the house of a Pharisee named Simon. In came Mary Magdalene, who was a well-known “sinner” in town. The table was set and the contrast was made between a religious viewpoint and our Savior’s perspective. Jesus flipped the script on Simon’s view of Mary . . .

Who in your life are you able to flip the script for? Create for them a new reality and identity based on how God sees them. There are ways to specifically flip the script for each person in your sphere of influence. Learn to think like Jesus about people and flip the script for their life so that they begin to become the picture of who God sees them as. Take this in to your prayer time. Also, think about how Jesus is flipping the script for you.

Also, notice that in his thoughts Simon specifically doubted Jesus’ prophetic abilities in verse 39. Ironically, Jesus uses a Word of Knowledge to refute him and then calls out gold (prophesies) over Mary. Who’s a prophet now, Simon? Boom 🙂

Talking with God today, the question slipped out of me – “Why are you so good?”

Immediately, I realized that this is not the question or line of questioning our world is asking, but it’s the right question. It’s the question we should be asking. The one that matters. If you want to hear His voice more, why not try asking Him the right questions.

In response, I felt like God told me “Imagine a leaf.” Strange thought, right? I thought so.

Then He showed me – You can’t imagine a healthy leaf without seeing it connected to the entire branch/tree/soil/forest/sun/rain. A leaf cannot be healthy on its own – as soon as it’s separated it becomes a dying leaf. A good act from God cannot be separated from the good acts in our line of sight, from the good that He does in our world, from the fact that He created our world for good and has continued good plans for us here. Why is God good? Because it’s the only thing He can be and do. His big picture for our world is good.

Yes, a forest is filled with decay, but that in no way diminishes the beauty of even a single leaf. Yes, our world is filled with decay, but that in no way diminishes the beauty of God’s good design, or His acts or words – or the beauty He has placed inside each of us humans. We’re the leaf. We’re the beauty that God has created in our world that is directly connected to all beauty/goodness that has ever existed. They cannot be separated because God is good.