From Fatalism to Faith
“I guess it’s just meant to be.”
The words rolled off her tongue, a verbal white flag.*
Before, even months ago, I probably would have nodded, smiled, perhaps even commended her for her full surrender.
But now, something rose up inside, indignant.
No. That is not true. The works of the devil are not just “meant to be.”
They are meant to be … destroyed. (1 John 3:8)
The anger that rose up inside wasn’t about me. In fact, it would’ve been easier, in that moment, to assent to this line of thinking. Easier to slip my hand softly on hers, around that white flag, and wave it with her, to resign together to the “will of God” and feel a strange sort of comfort, pride even, that we were chosen to “suffer” in that way.
Except that isn’t what our King calls us to do.
Digging deep into God’s Word clearly reveals the heart and will of God. He’s shown us the Stuff Jesus Does and He’s verbally given us a clear and great Commission. Sure, He might not have told us which brand of toilet paper to buy, but He’s made His overarching will for us on earth crystal clear.
Preach the gospel and perform signs to physically demonstrate the love and power of God (Matt. 10:7, Mark 6:12-13, Luke 10:9, John 10:38). Destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). While you do that, you will suffer much persecution (2 Tim. 3:12). But the persecution will actually work to increase your hope and prove your faith and prepare for you a glorious reward in heaven (Rom 5:3-5; 1 Pet. 1:6-7, 2 Cor. 4:17).
Here is what I’m trying to say: I have taken the biblical concept of surrender and skewed it. It has slipped from surrender to resignation to fatalism, all in the name of trusting the sovereignty of God. This is a perverted view of sovereignty. God is SO sovereign that “when He redeems a situation He does it so thoroughly that it looks like He created the problem as an opportunity for His power and glory to be seen” (Bill Johnson). [bctt tweet=”When God redeems a situation He does it so thoroughly that it looks like He created the problem as an opportunity for His power and glory to be seen.” @billjohnsonBJM”]
We think that a situation was “meant to be” but in reality God is so powerful He can destroy the works of the devil and turn them on their head, redeeming them and using them for good. But He calls us to partner with Him in this. Practically, this means that we must not just resign to the evil around us, but we must believe God and press in, praying in faith for the complete redemption of every evil, for the glory of God and the furthering of His kingdom.
What does this mean for my mundane today?
- It means I will refuse to mindlessly accept all that happens as “meant to be.”
- It means I will immerse myself in the Word of God so I can better understand His heart and His will.
- It means I will reject overwhelm, that throw-your-hands-up mentality that breeds hopelessness and despair.
- It means I will pray in faith, as best as I can, for evil to be destroyed, for sin and sickness to be destroyed, for salvation and health and life to spring up, so that many will witness the power and glory of God.
- It means I won’t look at my child’s sin and say, “Oh that’s just the way she is. It’s the terrible twos.”
- It means I won’t give in to cynicism and defeat.
Getting really mundane it means I won’t give in to the entropy of my endlessly dirty house–I will reject apathy and destroy the works of the devil and scrub that toilet once again! 🙂
I will surrender my way, and my will, and take up God’s way and God’s will. And I will trust His Word to show me that good and perfect will.
Fatalism says, the future is fixed. Accept it. Faith says, God is alive, and He has graciously chosen me to be an active part of His will, in His world, to let His Kingdom come.
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
{Thanks for reading.}
*Originally from March 2015, seeing glorious answers to prayer in this area! God does move, let’s pray and not give up!
What you taught me, Mom.
Happy birthday, Mom. I love you so much and I’m so glad I was born to you! I cannot imagine anyone more loving, kind, sacrificial, gentle, patient, and faithful as a mom. You are a gift from heaven to all who know you and I can’t thank God enough for letting me be born to an amazing woman like you. Of course there are so many things you have taught me, by example, but a few come to mind, that I’d like to thank you for:
::People are more important than things::
I remember every time I’d spill something, or break something, or ruin something; I remember you cheerfully grabbing a towel, or a broom, or some glue, and saying, “Well, people are more important than things.” You never shamed me or made me humiliated because of ruining some object of yours, even when I polished your special silver with shoe-polish! This made a powerful impact on me, in so many instances, remembering that people are always more important than things.
::Joy is found in serving people::
I remember being critical of you, because you so selflessly laid down your life for others. You cooked, you cleaned, you constantly laid down your life to serve dad, to go to his ballgames, watch his games, take on his projects, do his thing. You were always serving us. But you knew a secret I hadn’t learned back then: Joy is found in serving people. You came alive serving others. You poured out your life loving Dad, and us, and you truly glowed with joy as a result. I think it’s funny that now Dad is the one doing all the cooking and cleaning for you! 😉 You both are humble servants, and I’m so grateful for that example.
::Prayer is more effective than power::
I was an idiot in high school. Can we just all agree on this? I remember doing so many stupid things and watching you never panic, never freak out, and never pull me into a power-struggle. Instead of getting upset, yelling, or throwing around your weight … you prayed. I know you did. You prayed guys out the door and prayed bad situations to pass. You prayed and prayed because you knew that prayer is more effective than power. I believe that God’s abundant goodness and grace on my life is a result of your prayer. Thank you for praying me out of the idiot-years!
::Homemade bread will fix most things::
It sounds silly, but I’m so grateful you taught me to bake bread. Not only has it saved us probably thousands of dollars (Killer Dave’s is like $6 a loaf!) but it’s often forced me to slow down and take the simple way. Even on hard days, my kids will light up if I offer them a buttered slice of bread, and homemade bread fresh from the oven has been given to many neighbors over the years, a delicious treat that costs mere pennies to make. I feel like the ability to bake delicious bread gives me something I can take to any gathering, no matter how fancy the meal, to bless people. It makes a great hostess gift, and is a wonderful cooking activity to include kids in. For all those loaves, thank you.
::Loving people is usually just listening::
I remember you saying that the best way to bless people is to let them talk about themselves. Ha! It’s true though, we all desperately want to be listened to, we long for someone who’s willing to listen to us share our heart. You are the best listener I know. Thank you for 35.5 years of listening to me — listening to me cry, complain, boast, pray, and speak. Thank you for listening to me recounting my victories and failures. Thank you for listening to the friends I brought over, and showing genuine love to people by simply listening. You have completely won the hearts of my children by just listening to them, sometimes for hours on end! I think Dutch would be content to sit and talk to at you all day long! 😉
Happy birthday, Mom. Thank you for loving me and teaching me so much through your life. I love you.
{Thanks for reading.}
Throne of Grace
Just as I was walking out the door, I saw it — that notice on the counter that reminded me of one of my mistakes, of how I fall short even when I have no idea. I pushed the thought aside and walked out the door. A half-hour later, I was driving along, happily headed to a retreat, lifting up the various details of the weekend to the Lord in prayer. Something triggered a thought, and I remembered a conversation I’d had earlier that week. Then suddenly something dawned on me, a new perspective I hadn’t seen before: I realized I’d been a complete idiot.
And I didn’t even mean to be. I thought I was helping, and then I saw it different — how can I be so stupid?
Seriously, people even on my best days I manage to do damage. It’s a wonder He hasn’t just completely shelved me yet.
Of course, the retreat was great. Yet another reminder of His faithfulness, His love, His sovereignty and perfect timing and amazing power.
He is truly awesome!
But then, there’s me.
I am not awesome. I can’t look anywhere, it seems, but that I see some unpleasant reflection of myself, my daily failures, my lack.
So as I sat in prayer and poured this all out to Him, this one sentence echoed back in my heart:
You’re becoming impressed with Me and not you.
You know that strange way that God crumples you and encourages you all at once? Yeah, that. It’s good and glorious when we echo John the Baptist:
He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)
[bctt tweet=”He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)”]
Here’s the thing: What I am discovering in the gospels, all over again, is that Jesus is more glorious, more beautiful, more powerful, for gracious, more awesome and mighty and holy and good, than I had ever realized. I had known it in my head, I am beginning to be convinced. He is the answer for every need, the nourishment for every hunger.
But to come into His presence and discover Him for who He is: we all cry out like Peter:
“Depart from me; for I am a sinful man!” (Luke 5:8)
When Jesus displays His power and glory, Peter sees himself as he truly is.
It’s not elating, it’s disturbing.
Peter falls on his face, overwhelmed by His utter lack.
Isaiah did the same. In the presence of God’s holiness, the only thing he could mutter was:
“Woe is me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips.” (Is. 6:5)
So much for seeking God’s presence to get a little lift; God-encounters usually leave us lower.
So then, how can we live? How can we go on? We must change diapers and do dishes and go through these ordinary days–how can we cope once we’ve seen His profound greatness and our profound emptiness? One word.
Grace.
Grace isn’t a blind eye turned to our naughtiness. Grace is the wondrous fact that we can, fallen and frail as we are, with “confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16)
His holy throne? The one that puts us on our face? It is a throne …
of grace.
For those facedown, there is grace.
[bctt tweet=”For those facedown, there is grace. (James 4:6)”]
For those facedown there is confidence, there is joy, there is freedom and love to cover a multitude of sins. There is power to forgive others, there is faith for moving mountains, there is all that we need for life and godliness, found in the knowledge of HIM. At His throne. At His feet.
He is holy, and kind. He is awesome, and gracious. His throne of grace draws us in because despite our despicable nature, petty and fickle as we are, there is mercy and grace in time of need.
“Time of need”?
Yes please, that would be today. And tomorrow, and every day after that.
God’s stream of grace, from the throne of grace, never ends.
{In my utter lostness, I’m finding His greatness. May you drawn near to His throne of grace this week. Thank you so much for reading.}
Nothing short of total transformation
So I guess I had the flu. What I thought was a looooong cold took a sharp downturn and landed me flat on my back for days and I’m just finally coming up for air and headed to speak tonight (pray for no more crazy coughing fits!), so it’s been quiet here on the online front. But, my laundry’s done and everyone’s fed. Glory!
The upside of the flu (!) is that it forced me to the couch, and while my children played happily in this week’s glorious sunshine, I had time to read, pray, and pound out a few chapters on the book. Hooray! As I was revising the chapter on prayer, I flipped back through A Praying Life and was blessed all over again by the simplicity and power of this book. In the current journey we’re on, I’m once again floored by the Father’s relentless love, that He stops at nothing short of total transformation in our lives. It reminded me of this from last year …
~
I wish I could send a copy of A Praying Life to every single one of you.
This book is resonating with the deepest part of my Spirit. You know the feeling, right? That internal Yes! that makes all those loose fragments come into focus and your heart “gets it.” I don’t mean we understand prayer in the sense that we dissect how it works, but we “get it” in the sense that it’s made accessible. There is still profound mystery (and, inevitably at times, profound frustration!) but we’ve waded into the waters of effective prayer and we’re learning to dive down deeper and deeper into its glorious depths. That’s what this book has been for me.
What’s struck me again and again is the fresh awareness that through prayer, God is seeking nothing short of total transformation.[bctt tweet=”Through prayer, God is seeking nothing short of total transformation.”]
While we may be tempted to believe that we’re asking God for “too big,” the truth is that God is always doing something so much bigger than I can even imagine. He’s changing me in the process. So the last few weeks I’ve been considering: What are the characteristics of prayers that I’m most often seeing answered, in the Scriptures and in my life? So far I’d say …
1. Faith. Scripture is crystal clear on this—if we ask with doubt, we cannot assume we will receive anything. Faith is the key that unlocks miraculous and astounding “results” in prayer. There is just no getting around this. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The more than we drench our lives in the truth and promises of God’s Word, the more we will believe He is who He says He is, we will know His heart and His will, and we will ask in accordance with it, for His glory. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!
2. Repentance. Probably the most significant answer to prayer I have seen recently is in direct response to repentance. God showed me a clear area of sin in which He wanted to me to practice repentance—daily bringing this area to God, acknowledging my “bent” toward it, and asking Him to forgive me and deliver me from evil. To my everlasting amazement, He has! He is, and even did some other awesome things like removing the behavior in another person (i.e. a child of mine!) that was triggering that sin issue. A huge praise, and it all started with repentance.
3. Requests firmly rooted in Scripture. As we saw in Jesus’ radical promises regarding prayer, if we are Christ’s Ambassadors, performing His work for His sake, we need to know clearly what He wants us to do. I’m finding that unless I’m convinced this is the kind of thing my Master would want, my prayers are weak because I lack confidence of His will. Studying the Scriptures helps clarify the Stuff Jesus Does, and gives us greater confidence for praying prayers of faith.
4. Honesty. God sees what I really want, not just what I say I want, so it does no good to doll up my requests with Scriptur-y language if I don’t really mean what I say. We don’t let God work in the real part of us until the real part of us is exposed and laid bare to God during prayer. Whenever we are hiding the “real us” behind churchy language, we forfeit the real transformation that God can work through our honest pleas.
5. Heart. I do not mean mere emotionalism; we don’t have to muster up tears or put on a show. But Jesus was moved with compassion during His days walking this earth, healing people and performing miracles. Again, we can’t fake this or conjure it up on our own, but we can humbly ask God to break our hearts for the things that break His. The more we seek His kingdom during our day, with our time and energy and money, the more our hearts will be turned toward the things of Him.
{Ready to dive deeper? Whether you’ve been praying for five minutes or 50 years, let’s continue to grow in our pursuit of prayer. Thanks so much for reading.}