Lifegiving Devotionals

Do You Know What To Do?

by Tammy

in Lifegiving Devotionals, The God Who Sees You

I have a friend who, after a lifetime of unsuccessfully fighting her weight, managed to lose fifty pounds. When I asked her how she did it, she told me, “I finally figured that I knew what to do. I’ve tried nearly every diet on the planet. I knew what foods are problematic for me. I knew I need smaller portions. I knew I need to exercise every day. I didn’t need to be educated. I just needed to do what I knew to do.”

That’s something I think we need to remember when it comes to those blind times in our lives, those times when we just can’t sense God’s presence or direction. We may be waiting to see God, to get more instructions, to be inspired, when what we really need to do is start walking and do what God wants us to do.

And what God wants is no secret. We’ve got a whole book of instructions. We have the witness of thousands of years of believers and the testimonies of others in His Body reminding us to:

• love God with all our hearts and minds and souls and strength (Mark 12:30).

love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31).
confess our sins, repent, and accept God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9). In my experience, this alone is often enough to give me clearer vision and make it easier for me to see God.
forgive as we have been forgiven (Matt. 6:12–14).
feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, care for orphans and widows, visit prisoners (Matt. 25:31–46).
love, support, and encourage our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ (John 13:34–35; Heb. 10: 24–25).
trust in God and not lean on our own understanding (Prov. 3:5).

We’ve got our marching orders. So maybe it’s not inappropriate to ask: What are we waiting for? We don’t need to have an epiphany to tell us to do those things. We don’t need a life-changing vision. We just need to … obey. And interestingly enough, the very act of obedience often helps us see God better. . . .

I love the way the Oswald Chambers explains this: “All God’s revelations are sealed until they are opened to us by obedience…. God will never reveal more truth about Himself until you have obeyed what you know already.”*

Sometimes, in fact, I suspect God goes into hiding to nudge us into actually using what He’s already given us. He lets us go it alone (or we feel like we’re alone) to help us develop confidence and experience in living His way.

I’ve done that as a parent. When my children were little, I would sometimes let them be outside by themselves or walk to a friend’s house without supervision while I’d secretly keep an eye on them. They needed that experience of making their way in the world. They needed to learn to function without my constant direction. So I stayed close, but I tried to stay out of their sight, for a little while at least.

I really believe that God does this with us as well. He gives us the freedom to do things on our own because He wants us to grow. It’s like He’s saying, You’ve got a map (the Bible). You’ve got GPS (the Holy Spirit). You’ve got your cell phone (prayer) and your instructions (see above). You’ve got My promise that I’ll be there if you need Me. So what’s stopping you?

And here’s one other wrinkle. In my experience, at least, God often doesn’t show Himself until I start moving on the path to obedience. It’s the very act of doing what I’ve been told to do that both strengthens my faith and opens my eyes to see more of what God is doing.

I’ve said it many times, and I believe it with all my heart: You never know what’s on the other side of your obedience. With every step, you may well see more of God. . . .

But what if you take a step, or many steps, and nothing seems to change? What if you take step after step, doing what you know to do, and you still feel like you’re walking blind?

If that’s the case, you might consider something radical. Maybe you don’t see because you don’t need to see.

God is your Father. He knows what you need more than you know it. And that means He knows what you don’t need. You may be stronger than you think. Your faith may be more robust, your trust more solid than you realized. You may have the precious ability to walk in faith, not sight.

But you’ll never know that, either, until you take a step.

*Oswald Chambers, “Whereby Shall I Know,” My Utmost for His Highest, October 10, http://www.oswaldchambers.co.uk/Readings.php?day=10&month=10.

Order The God Who Sees You here. The God Who Sees You

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God Sees What You Do Right

by Tammy

in Lifegiving Devotionals, The God Who Sees You

Did you ever see the television show Undercover Boss, which premiered in early 2010? It’s a reality show that follows the heads of companies who go “undercover” in their own companies. The CEOs or other high-ranking executives disguise themselves and join the ranks of ordinary employees—scrubbing toilets, assembling burgers, loading trucks, cleaning motel rooms, and getting to know their fellow workers. Usually they struggle to keep up with the work, and they gain new appreciation for what these jobs entail. They also come to appreciate the hardworking, creative, enthusiastic employees who struggle to do a good job while coping with money woes, medical problems, and other personal issues.

At the end of all the shows, the undercover bosses reveal their true identities and express verbal appreciation along with more tangible rewards—bonuses, vacations, promotions. Tears flow at these “reveals.” But it’s not the tangible rewards that touch the employees most deeply. What matters most to them is realizing their efforts have been noticed.

There’s power in those tearful moments because they touch us where we all live. We work so hard and pour out our lives and mean so well, and too often we feel that nobody notices what we do. Perhaps nobody even cares.

But God does.

Matthew 6:4 says it clearly: “Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Since God sees what is secret, that means He’s well aware of what nobody else even notices. He sees your faithfulness and your obedience, even in the face of doubts. He sees the choices you make to follow Him and persevere in doing right. He sees you trying again, even when you’re weary. And because God looks at the heart, I believe He sees and honors your attitudes and your good intentions, even when you don’t quite succeed. He honors your attempts to act on what you hear Him saying, even when you get the message wrong. He even honors your honest doubt and your feeble attempts to move toward Him despite those doubts.

In fact, just as Jesus once held out His hand to a sinking Peter, God responds to your smallest attempt to reach Him. He sees what you’re trying to do and reaches down His hand to help you up.

I truly hope that you receive approval and appreciation for what you try to accomplish here on earth. I hope you enjoy the satisfaction of knowing your efforts are successful and appreciated. But even when you feel like nobody sees you, keep reminding yourself that God does. In fact, He’s your best and most appreciative audience.

When you take a step of obedience and faithfulness, He’s applauding all the way.

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Affirm the Good-Grow the Good

by Tammy

in Lifegiving Devotionals, The God Who Sees You, The Lifegiving Home

A little thing comforts us because a little thing afflicts us. Pascal.

Be the “little thing” in someone’s life today.

Small is under rated these days. We think bigger, faster and cheaper will bring ultimate satisfaction in our lives.

What a trap for our personal lives, families and our communities.

I am convinced one of life’s greatest blessings is the ability to find joy and pleasure in our often mundane daily efforts.

It is often the small simple offerings that are woven into our daily lives that make the tapestry magnificent. Opportunities are all around you. That is why starting simply but simply starting is the ticket to lasting fulfillment.

A good friend recently recommend the best selling book The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference: Authors Thaler and Koval. This excellent book is a clear example of how we need the miracle of a perspective change. It isn’t just the grand and lofty deeds that bring the grandest changes. It is often the small deeds and simple works that grow into the largest lifegiving impact.

Sometimes the great miracle in our lives is just seeing something we always knew to be true but by seeing it differently it changes everything about the way we live.

Start simply but simply start. Begin today by…

Telling your children what they do right. Affirm the good…grow the good.

Share with your spouse once again exactly why you married him. Affirm the good… grow the good.

In fact while your at it let your parents, coworkers, in laws, teachers, pastors, grocery store clerk, neighbors, siblings, and friends hear a word of lifegiving encouragement from you. Affirm the good…grow the good.

No we can’t do everything but we can do something.

We can…

Start to see.

Start to listen.

Start to value.

Yes start to see all the difference one small lifegiving act can lead to.

A perspective change truly is the greatest miracle of all.

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How not to be Jesus

by Tammy

in Lifegiving Devotionals, The God Who Sees You, Weblogs

When we encounter another person, we always have a choice about how to respond to him or her. Sadly, not all our typical responses are the kind that reveal Jesus to the world.

For instance, it’s so easy to look away instead of really looking at the people around us.

We focus our attention on ourselves—what we need to do, how busy we are,

how little money we have, how difficult our lives are at the moment, what important issues need our attention.

I’ve done this way too many times, and I’m sure you have too. It’s basically the same response as the lawyer and the Pharisee who hurried by the wounded man in Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan.

Even more commonly, I find, we can respond to those we encounter with judgment and criticism—by keeping our eyes on the other person’s sins and shortcomings. We choose to give our opinions rather than acknowledging our common humanity. And even if we would never do this out loud, we may do it mentally—assuming we know what made them what they are or what they should be doing or what’s going on with them.

It’s so easy to fall into doing this on a little or a large level—to categorize people on the basis on what they’re wearing, what they look like, how they act, what we believe they may be thinking or doing. Because our vision is limited, it’s all too easy to jump to conclusions. We need the reminder of a quote that I’ve often seen:

“Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.”

Another possible way to respond to other people, especially people in need, is to patronize them—to help them without really seeing them. It’s absolutely possible to give to others or serve them without actually loving them. It’s possible to interact without engaging—without actually entering others people’s reality or paying attention to what they really need. When we do that, we miss the opportunity to really see that other person and to show them Jesus’ heart.

A very common substitute for really seeing someone is to try to change the other person, to basically offer our help and attention in exchange for the other person’s response. This is another way of making it all about us—our opinions, our requirements. We attempt to assert control by laying down ground rules. We’ll give money … if it’s used for food and not alcohol. We’ll invite someone over … if that person invites us back. We’ll help others … if those others are properly grateful. This, too, misses the point of seeing Jesus in others and being Jesus to them.

Now, this last issue can be a little tricky because in some cases we do help another person by holding him or her accountable for change. But in my opinion, this is only appropriate if we’ve earned the right to do that by becoming fully engaged in the other person’s life, being current. And only if we do it with the other person’s permission.

It’s just so easy to miss out on the chance to see Jesus and be Jesus to the people we encounter.

But we don’t have to miss out. We always have another option. The option to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s nudge and obey the commands of Scripture. The option to open our eyes and our hearts and hands.

To see Jesus in others.

To be Jesus to them.

Learning to do that may take a lifetime, but it’s an adventure worth living.

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Releasing the life we planned to embrace the life that is waiting for us.

by Tammy

in Lifegiving Devotionals, The God Who Sees You

The Truth of Restoration

We all want our hearts to be healed.

But once you’ve been traumatized you just can’t bear the thought that it could happen again. Everything in you tells you to hunker down, to cut your losses, to settle for a little bit of happiness. That’s when you need to act counter-intuitively, pick up your life again and move on down the road.

You need to choose the work of restoration.

There are times when I’d rather do almost anything other than the hard work of restoration and recovery. And what is that work? It’s the equivalent of ordering timber and bricks and starting to build the walls of hope again in our lives.

It means being willing to release the life we planned to embrace the life that is waiting for us.

Here are just a few things it has entailed in my life:

The work of hope—which means being willing to say you need restoration and actually asking for the help you need.
The work of waiting on the Lord—quieting down my life so I can hear…trusting his timing…staying in curiosity and out of judgment as to what God is doing.
The work of honesty and transparency. In the aftermath of trauma, that could mean shouting at God and telling him how you feel. It can mean refusing to put on a happy face and insisting that everything is all right. There are certainly times when you need to control your feelings for the sake of others. But your restoration absolutely depends on finding a place to confess your honest thoughts and feelings—at very least, in prayer, in a journal, or with a few friends who are close to you.
The work of “controlling the wild horses.” I love the way my friend Emily describes this. She’s referring to that tendency we all have, but trauma victims have more than most, to let our “vain imaginations” run away with us. If we give in just a little to fear, panic and worry, those emotions can quickly take control of our lives. So while we need to be honest with our feelings, we also need to be alert to the ways our thoughts can run away with us and learn to short-circuit the runaway thoughts. In the process, as the apostle Paul describes, we move toward being ‘transformed by the renewing of our minds.’
The work of obedience instead of instinct. Our instincts can serve us well in the early moments of trauma. A “fight or flight” response could actually save our lives in an accident. But as we move from survival toward restoration, our instincts can being to get in the way of what God wants to do with our lives. Your instinct may be to pull away and withdraw when you need to press in to relationships…or to hang on too tightly when you need to let people make their own mistakes. I tend to rush in to ‘fix’ things instead of waiting on God’s timing. But I’m learning obedience sometimes has to trump instinct in this too. We have to act on the light we’re given, do what we know to do. And all this takes both courage and discipline.
The work of forgiveness. Bill Ritter sums this up beautifully: “Sooner or later, you will have to forgive what you can’t understand. For you may never figure it out. Or even if you do, the conclusions you reach in your head may not necessarily heal what you feel in your heart. The only way out of your pain may be to start splashing forgiveness in every direction…forgiving the one who [caused the trauma]…forgiving yourself for anything you did or didn’t do, just before it happened…forgiving God for allowing it, or not stopping it…and even forgiving circumstances for being so damn hard and weighted against you.” [1]
The work of gratitude. This is simply looking for signs of God’s presence in our lives and resolving, by choosing to “give thanks in all things.”
The work of modeling faith and integrity. This does not mean faking a faith, covering up our doubts, or sacrificing our integrity to our witness. In fact, it means the exact opposite. As God walks us toward restoration, it’s good to realize that others—our children especially—are watching the way we walk, and how we live into our own restoration can have a powerful impact on their relationship to God. The more honestly and trustingly we can walk, the more integrity we manage, the more we confess our mistakes but accept forgiveness…the more others will be blessed and helped.

I cannot tell you how the work of restoration will look in your life. Or how God will grow you though your times of sorrow or loss. But I know He will…He will grow you into healing…He will grow you into wholeness…and He will use your hard work of recovery to bring forth his (amazing mighI say) grace.

[1] Bill Ritter, Take the Dimness of My Soul Away: Healing After a Loved One’s Suicide (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse, 2004), 49.

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How Can I Forgive this?

February 10, 2013

I don’t know of anything more difficult then the on going issue of forgiveness. I must say the more I read and live, the more I am learning true forgiveness is a daily choice. And it is a choice to live free. Seth Barnes sent out this article tonight from the Mayo Clinic. (http://www.sethbarnes.com/?filename=fighting-pure-evil-finding-grace) It focuses on the reality of […]

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What God Sees in You

February 6, 2013

There’s a scene in the movie The Joy Luck Club that I have always found very moving. Based on a novel by Amy Tan, this film tells the story of four Chinese-born women and their American-born daughters. One of the daughters, June, has always felt she’s a disappointment to her mother, Suyuan, who suffered greatly […]

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The things I need to give up to live a meaningful and rich life.

January 3, 2013

A New Year. The things I need to give up to live a meaningful and rich life. 1. Comparison to others life gifts or things 2. Blaming anyone’s choices for mine 3. Controlling people for my comfort and ease 4. Unforgiveness towards others or myself 5. Excuses for the consequences of my choices 6. Unkindness […]

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A Christmas Epiphany

December 17, 2012

Has anything like this ever happened to you? You might not have seen a light or experienced a vision. But maybe you’ve had one of those moments when everything seems to come clear and you suddenly understand something in a whole new way. When you find yourself newly and intensely aware of God’s presence. When […]

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