Gauges

Mile marker 62. An hour outside Cincinnati. That’s when the oil pressure gauge in my truck started to flutter.

And I started to pray.

Now, I know it’s easy to dismiss someone else having car trouble. I’ve done it, we all do it. But when it’s you in trouble, well, well, well, that’s a whole 'nother story, isn’t it? And no matter how many Clint Eastwood films I’ve memorized, or Steve McQueen DVDs I own, I was doing everything I could to keep my cool.

Even though the engine was running fine – it sounded fine, it felt fine, no huge plumes of smoke coming out the exhaust pipe – the simple fact that that one single gauge wasn’t working right had me sweating. And praying. Hard.

After 15-20 minutes of borderline panic, I’d simply had enough and said, “No...I’m not going to be afraid. No, no, no. Not going to do it”. And I started praying if God wanted my truck to break down, for me to be even more behind at work, for me to rack up yet another tow charge and repair bill, well then fine, it’s His deal. But I didn’t think so. And all I got back was a soft, “Keep going...this is what having real faith is all about.”

“Real faith”. Uh-oh. Because my faith pretty much stinks. All God was asking me to do was to keep driving and have faith I would make it home ok. And all I wanted to do was bail.

Because faith is tough. We pray. We hope. We try to do the right things and hope we’re doing what God wants us to. But, for a lot of us, we keep looking for gauges in our life to “see” if everything’s ok or not. Which is the rub, because God is more interested in what we do in faith than acts of obedience or being “good”. It’s tough, trust me, I know. Sometimes it’s the hardest thing we can go through.

Just how important is faith to God? Check out Hebrews chapter 11. The first couple verses set it all up right out of the gate, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.”

And what follows those verses is a laundry list of biblical “All Stars” as well as a description of how their faith led to their eventual greatness. Abel. Enoch. Noah. Abraham. And the list goes on and on. What’s interesting is the author makes sure to list the adversity each person went through first, then how their faith lead to their eventual success. Much more than simply saying “faith is good”, the author makes it crystal clear by listing first the struggle, then the glory. Check it out for yourself, I think it’ll really inspire you.

So here’s the deal. What I want for you, as well as myself, is to be more open with your faith, your white knuckle faith, in God. Sure, it makes you vulnerable. Open to failure. Takes the “control” out of your hands and gives it back to God. For some of you, it may be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, and that’s ok. But know this, God honors those who have faith in Him (again, read Hebrews 11). If He’s nudging you to do something in pure faith, it can be scary, it can be completely outside your comfort zone, and, it can be the best decision you ever made.

And He will get you through it, every single time. That’s what I learned. So then next time, you’ll be able to not look at your own gauges to “see” if everything is ok but instead, step out in faith to say, “Ok, God, I really do trust you. Let’s do this...together.”

Dreams

“Mama...what’s a pipe dream?”

That’s what she heard her little sister ask her mother through the kitchen door. But there she was, our dreamer, busy in the bedroom packing up all her worldly belongings into a hand-me-down suitcase to pursue acting in New York.

But this was the early 1950s. And she was living in a boarding house with her mother, grandmother and step sister in an impoverished area of California. Not exactly a guaranteed recipe for success, huh? Didn’t matter, because she was going for it. She was off to realize her dream. Her “pipe dream” as her mother had put it.

So, lemme ask you, do you have a pipe dream?

What’s that one reoccurring notion that lives with you day in and day out and is much more than just a self-serving wish, but more like a calling? That idea that’s more about purpose than about “you”? That initiative that you speak so passionately about, others around you can’t help but get excited about it as well?

Over the past month, I’ve had the pleasure meeting with several people who all have their own passionate calling, vision, business idea or ministry. They see a need. They want to act. To seek out an opportunity and go for it full throttle. Whether other people are whispering “pipe dream” in the next room is irrelevant to them. They’re planning, doing due diligence, making contacts and seeking advice to get things off the ground.

And this is why I’m bringing this up in this week’s “60”, God loves people who will follow Him blindly. Whether it’s something burning in your heart or you have your own “Voice from Heaven” experience, God seeks out the unlikely dreamers who have simple faith in Him and the guts to see it through. And the more room we leave for God to do the miraculous, the more miraculous it becomes.

Such was the case with Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a unlikely prophet from a obscure little village that God had preordained to guide His nation in a critical hour. That’s pretty heavy stuff for a young kid. It’s in Jeremiah, the very first chapter in fact, where God tells him audibly, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart.” Again, pretty heavy stuff.

And Jeremiah, in very typical, human, “Who me?” fashion basically tells God that he’s not so sure if he can pull it off. He’s too young. He’s not eloquent enough. He doesn’t have enough experience. In short, “Thanks God, but I’m not sure if I’m the right guy for the job.”

But God presses on with Jeremiah, and in using yet another unlikely hero to get the job done, He does so in miraculous fashion. If you read through Jeremiah, you’ll find his message wasn’t terribly popular with the people. He was met with road blocks, the wrath of other prophets, even death threats from royalty as well as extreme resistance every step along the way. But God gave him enough to see him through to make His will happen, His message heard and His vision succeed.

Jeremiah 1:7-8 says,“‘Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.” Know that. God has a specific purpose and a specific plan for your life. God is there for you every hard, arduous step along the journey toward the dream. And He won't let you fail.

So this week, spend some time with God discussing your own dream and see what He has to say about it. If it’s the right time. If it’s even the right dream. And if it is, that He blesses and guides you as he did Jeremiah. Every single step along the way.

Because God loves a dreamer who follows Him. Whether your a prophet. An entrepreneur. A servant to others. Or, a pipe dreamer named Carol Burnett packing up your suitcase for New York City.

Fear

Fear. It sucks. And it sucks the life right out of you.

And right now, a lot of folks are living with a ton of it. Losing their jobs. Losing their homes. Losing their faith. Losing the life they once enjoyed.

Or, ok, let’s get a little more personal. Fear of failure. Fear of starting a new relationship. Fear a current relationship is on the rocks. Fear of being 50 years old and having no earthly idea what you’re supposed to do with your life. Fear of existing and never really living.

Me? I was living with fear solid for over two years. Day in. Day out. It was like trying to lose my own shadow, constantly right there with me driving everything I did and didn’t do. I'd started my own business and was living off unemployment and savings for the first year and was scraping up as many clients as possible to make it through Year Two. And it was tough, and it still is. But there comes a point...and I want you to know this 100%...there comes a point where it either breaks you or you break it.

And for me, this past Christmas morning was when it broke. Not me, “it”.

I had driven from Cincinnati into Evansville to play my recurring (and critically acclaimed) role of Santa Claus for my nieces and nephew. So after my 5:45 am showtime, I was driving back to my grandpa’s house when I was pulled over for speeding. The officer’s first question - no kidding - was,“Have you been drinking tonight?” I’d driven in from Cincinnati. I’d played the role of the Jolly Elf. But drinking at 6:30 on Christmas morning? No sir, I don’t believe so.

And here comes the fear part: After he took my license and was running it through the system, well, that was it. I just started shaking my head and gritting my teeth. I’d had enough. Now, it wasn’t just about getting nailed by a small-town speed trap. It was simply I’d had enough of living in fear. Period. And in a gut-level prayer I pretty much said as much. I was done. Had enough. Whatever happened, it was God’s show. But let it come, let’s get this over with and move on.

In Luke 8:40-56, we find that Jesus is being called by Jairus to heal his twelve-year-old daughter. Along the way, a sick woman touches his cloak and He pauses to ask, “Who touched me?”. He then begins talking with the woman. While Jesus is still talking to the now-healed woman, friends of Jairus come to tell him his daughter, his twelve-year-old daughter, is now dead.

Ok, let’s stop there. Time is running out for the girl, she’s gravely ill and Jesus, more than being slowed by a mob, is being held up by this woman who wants to be healed. There’s a girl dying nearby, in fact, she’s the reason Jesus came here in the first place and she’s going to die if he doesn’t get to her soon. But, instead, he’s chatting with this woman. How would you react? With fear or confidence?

That’s when Jairus’s friends tell him his daughter is dead. It’s no use. There’s no hope. In fact they say, “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

But here’s the spin. Jesus tells Jairus, “Don’t be afraid, the girl will be healed.” When they arrive at his house, the Bible says all the people were wailing in grief. But Jesus? He gets annoyed. Annoyed with the people crying and sobbing and carrying on and orders them to stop it (seriously, read it) and then tells the little girl to get up....which to everyone’s amazement, she does. Jesus even gives her something to eat just to show people how alive she really is.

And that’s what I want for you if you’re living with constant fear or even fear about certain aspects of your life. Life will tell you, “Don’t bother the teacher anymore”. That’s it’s no use. There’s no hope.

But Jesus, he’s no worried. He shows up and more than revives you, He feeds you as well. We just have to give it to Him, trust Him and believe in His word. Even after all seems lost and in the grave that He will revive you. Your spirit. Your hope. Your life.

Because He can. And He does. And all the while reminds us, "Don't be afraid".

Thankful

Sometimes you just have to stop and be thankful.

And I’m not talking about the “sit-around-the-Thanksgiving-Day-table-and-take-a-turn-saying-thanks-for-Aunt-Hazel-and-her-cranberry-salad” kind of thankful. And not the “just-found-my-car-keys” or the “got-the-’A’-I-needed-to-cover-my-butt” thankful, either.

No, I’m talking about gut-level gratitude. Those times when your world slows down, maybe even stops, for a minute or two and the only thing you want to do is say, “Thank you, God. Really, thank you”.

See, if you’re anything like me, we get stuck in that rut where we pray (and sometimes half heatedly) and just kind of hope for the best. So we throw up a hollow prayer and it’s kind of like sticking a token in a slot machine. You hope you win big, that God answers your prayer...maybe even half-way answers it...but down below you’re pretty sure you won’t see a three of a kind. Usually you just get a pear, a plum and a lemon.

And then we conclude, “oh, it’s God’s will” and go about our life.

But then, then, there are the times when God comes through in big, huge, audacious ways that can only be attributed to Him. They can’t find any trace of the cancer. An opportunity that seemed like a wish too delicate to actually hope for presents itself. Haunting ghosts from the past diminish as you look around and see the sun shining on you.

All that...and it’s only Monday.

And for those experiences, for those times, for those kind of days, yeah, I have to stop and be thankful. And it means even more because I’m really lousy at praying.

Since I’m a writer, I know how to insert bullet points of necessary information into conversational prose. Add in some humor here, make a poignant point there and everything comes out sounding pretty good. But when I do that in prayer, it usually ends up as a clunky collection of words. Not from the heart at all. Just shallow. Superficial.

And I get frustrated and end up saying something like, “(*sigh*) God...I’m really crappy at this..so here’s what I’m thinking...who I want to pray for and I guess you’ll do whatever You want to do anyway. But whatever happens, just don’t let me get in Your way. Amen.”

But that’s the thing with God. He’s not looking for professional orators. He doesn’t care if you can recite Bible passages as you pray. He doesn’t care if you don’t "get it right”. It makes no matter whether you’re on a pulpit or a park bench. In a church or a Chinese restaurant. He just wants you.

A conversation, a relationship, with you. For you to be open. Honest. Trusting. Lay it on Him, He can take it. He knows your heart. He knows your past. He knows you fears, your dreams, your desires.

In short, He knows you. And He just wants you to know Him.

The only way to do that is with real, honest dialogue. With a real, honest God. And when we do that – be real with Him – that’s when the real prayer comes out. Answers come. And blessings begin.

And for that, yes, I am truly thankful.

So go ahead, have your own conversation with Him sometime this week. And just see what happens in your own life. I'm betting it's something you'll end up being grateful for.

Walker

Last weekend, I was back in my hometown and spent Sunday morning with my dad and step mom at church. The service opened with the 5-6 year old kids singing, “The B-I-B-L-E (Yes, That’s The Book For Me!)” on stage. And, in typical little kid fashion, most of them sang out of sequence, forgot the words, were clapping off beat or simply looking at the "Jumbotron" while their teachers tried to coax them through the song.

And as it happens with 5-6 year olds singing out of sequence, forgetting the words and clapping off beat, everyone in the audience was smiling. Parents were waving at their little performer and grandparents’ eyes welled up with tears. And, ok sure, I’m a sucker for little kids singing and clapping so I dug it, too. When they ending their arousing rendition of “B-I-B-L-E” the kids walked off the platform. Most of them waved to their parents and I, along with the rest of the congregation, gave them their due applause.

But then, I saw “her”. And as I write this, I still get chills.

See, as all the other kids were happily bounding off the stage, one little girl was hobbling towards the edge of the platform where her teacher brought out her walker, her child-sized walker. Dressed in her “Sunday best”, I hadn’t seen her leg braces before because they were hidden by the kids standing in front of her. But now there she was, teetering back and forth just to go a few feet to get to her walker. And my heart just went out to her (still does). And even though all the other kids had run off the stage and were no doubt half way to enjoying milk and donuts in their classroom, her teacher was there – right beside her – step by every slow, arduous step.

And for that, for her, I found myself clapping even louder.

Now for a lot of us, we’re like that those other kids. We’re a little off sequence, don’t get the words right half the time and find ourselves just kind of staring around looking for some kind – any kind – of guidance.

But then (and here comes the heavy part) there are the times when we’re the little girl with the leg braces. We’re having trouble “walking” on our own. It’s painful. It’s exhausting. Grueling. And it’s unfair because everyone else is out there running and jumping and here we are just trying to make it one more step. And then another. And maybe another. And we can’t even look at how far we have to walk or we wouldn’t even try.

But here’s the thing, you don’t have to. Not in Christ.

In the book of Luke (24: 13-35) we find the account of Jesus and the Road to Emmaus. Go ahead, crack open your own B-I-B-L-E and read it for yourself. The account is about two of Jesus’s followers who are walking to Emmaus after his Crucifixion and they are completely devastated, broken-hearted and numb. A “stranger” begins walking with them as they travel. Along their seven-mile route, the two disciples of Christ speak with this stranger about Jesus, who He was, what He did and about their pain of the loss of their Teacher.

Upon arriving to the small town, they ask their new acquaintance to stay for dinner and shortly afterward, the stranger leaves. It’s then and only then that they recognized that it was in fact Jesus walking with them the whole time. They didn’t see Him. They didn’t recognize it as Him until He left. But it was Him, walking with them, step by every slow, arduous step on their journey.

Because like any good Teacher, He’s walking with you in the hard times, running with you in the good, but always....always...right there stride for stride. Not just for a few steps or even a couple miles, but throughout your entire journey.

So here’s the challenge: Welcome Jesus into more of your own walk this week and see what happens. Just welcome Him. And see if your steps aren’t a little easier, a little lighter, and your journey isn’t a little better. Each step along the way.

Wind

The wind. Today it's not kind or pleasant, it's an adversary.

Because it's the wind that came in violent blasts on my drive home and tossed my truck around at will. It's the wind that's taken out power in complete sections of town. It's the wind snapping limbs from trees. Because sometimes, that's what the wind does.

Sometimes that's what life does. It pushes you around. Bullies you. And wears you down.

And you didn't even see it coming.

For some of us, it's like the past year, maybe more, has just been one big wind storm. A loss of a job. Someone you love becomes ill. The stress of a thankless job. You look around and it's just one more thing to deal with, one more burden for you to manage, one more thing on a "to do" list you already didn't have time to do.

And, like the wind, you never even saw it coming.

In Matthew 14: 22-33, we find the disciples, "... in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o'clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw Him, they screamed in terror, thinking He was a ghost. But Jesus spoke to them at once.

"It is all right," He said, "I am here. Do not be afraid." Then Peter called to him, "Lord, if it is really You, tell me to come to you by walking on water." "All right, come," Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. "Save me, Lord!" he shouted. Instantly Jesus reached out His hand and grabbed him. "You do not have much faith," Jesus said. "Why did you doubt me?" And when they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped...

Here's what I want to point out in this account – sometimes, sometimes, a blessing can be terrifying at first. And Jesus simply says, "I am here. Do not be afraid".

And Peter, trusting Jesus, steps out on faith and onto the water. Then the waves kick up and, *wham*, the rug gets pulled out from underneath him. He was doing alright, trusting Jesus, and now he's sinking, just hoping Jesus will save him. And instantly, He does. Jesus reaches out to grab Peter first, then calms the winds.

Which is what I want you to know, the very promise I hope you land on every day of your life – Jesus puts you first. He reaches out and grabs on to you instantly. Without a second thought. No hesitation. The wind...the waves...that's not His focus, you are. Know that. He will calm those in time, but His first instinct is to grab you and keep you safe no matter how bad the storm.

So as I write this tonight, winds howling and sirens wailing in the distance, I'm thinking about what it must have been like on that lake that night with the disciples. More importantly, I'm thinking what wind storms are raging in your life right now. And I just pray that you know Jesus is reaching out for you and puts you first. Always.

Life will beat on you, bully you and try to bury you. But Jesus will reach down and grab on tight and tell you, "It is all right, I am here. Do not be afraid."

Until suddenly, the wind isn't quite as scary anymore.