God is Faithful

This Sunday's passage in Judges 2 was a clear reminder of God's faithfulness, in spite of His People's unfaithfulness.  In vs 1-2, "The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?"

What a comfort to know that God will always be faithful to His promises and to the covenant, that He will be our God.  But, the question at the end of vs 2 "Why have you done this?"  seems to express the hurt in the heart of God by the broken covenant relationship; and probably some of His anger towards sin.  By analogy to the marriage relationship, it is like a spouse confronting the unfaithful and adulterous spouse and asking "Why have you done this?"  

I ask forgiveness for breaking the heart of God and for causing Him pain through my sin and unfaithfulness.  I pray that I will be as faithful as I can be; and that I will love Him, just as He loves me so greatly.

Uneasiness

If I were to pick a word to best describe how I am feeling overall, it would be:  UNEASY.   While, fortunately, nothing has yet reached disastrous proportions, yet, I have this constant sense of uneasiness hanging overhead like a cloud.

When I think about it, I would say that this is caused by a growing "TO DO" list, as well as wondering about whether there is something else I should to be doing to correct past issues or to help more of those in need.  How did I get to this point?   I would say it started with lack of energy and motivation; and partially a sense of being a little overwhelmed.  And then there is that feeling of lacking wisdom to know what's the best thing to do.    Well, the answer, of course, to the last part is to pray.   Didn't God say, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, Who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."  (James 1:5)?   And, one of the answers to the first part is also to pray.   I have been asking God to help me when I feel overwhelmed, and when I lack motivation.   I do what I need to do, and maybe that's good enough.  After all, finishing the race is done one step at a time.

At this point, I've determined that there is nothing much I can do to "fix" the particular past issues that are bothering me.  I have prayed that God would show me if He thinks otherwise.  As for my "TO DO" list, I did make one out this week, and I feel like I'm addressing them as I can.  I'm going to just prioritize and approach each one task at a time; trusting God to help me get through them all.  And, in all the other areas of my life, may God grant me wisdom to make right decisions.  Amen.

Leadership (cont.)

I finished reading "Developing the Leader Within You." by John Maxwell.   The book has a lot of useful and relevant information.  Based on the essential characteristics of leaders included in the book, my understanding of what makes a good leader has actually changed.   I realized that my earlier perception was that only those who were born with leadership qualities and charisma would make good leaders; but, I now can see that leaders truly can be developed and leadership essentials can be learned.

So, the great "lightbulb" experience for me, from reading this book, was to realize that I am actually a better leader than I thought.   I knew that I didn't possess charisma nor do I naturally command attention; but, while those can help, they are not the only things that can make a good leader.  According to the book, the following important leadership areas were covered:

• The Definition of Leadership:  INFLUENCE
• The Key to Leadership:  PRIORITIES
• The Most Important Ingredient of Leadership:  INTEGRITY
• The Ultimate Test of Leadership:  CREATING POSITIVE CHANGE
• The Quickest Way to Gain Leadership:  PROBLEM-SOLVING
• The Extra Plus in Leadership:  ATTITUDE
• Developing Your Most Appreciable Asset:  PEOPLE
• The Indispensible Quality of Leadership:  VISION
• The Price Tag of Leadership:  SELF-DISCIPLINE
• The Most Important Lesson of Leadership:  STAFF DEVELOPMENT

 I find that by just living my life as a Christian, the way God would have me live it, already provides a good foundation for leadership.  Integrity, seeing God's perspective in all situations good and bad, caring about others, finding God's Vision, exhibiting Fruits of the Spirit like self-control, etc. are all part of the Christian walk.   Then, when I add to that, my abilities to organize, recognize & set priorities, and to solve problems, plus the experiences that I have had over the years in leading, this helps explain why I've been able to fulfill my leadership responsibilities thus far fairly well, despite not feeling like a leader myself.

Now that a "light" has been turned on, and I recognize that I should stop hiding behind my lack of confidence in being a leader, maybe this will help me to become an even better leader.   So, ongoing, maybe I'll be able to embrace opportunities to lead, rather than taking them on hesitantly as I have in the past.   I still have much to learn; but, at least now, I have concrete areas to focus on; and my personal attitude and confidence has changed.

Mistakes

Recently, I had read something to the effect of:  "Mistakes are only devastating if we don't learn from them".   Is that true?

In some respects, it is; and in others, it's not.   There are some mistakes that have truly devastating consequences, and even if we learn from them, the results remain, some possibly for a lifetime.  Fortunately, I don't think I've made those kinds of mistakes.   So, I think the phrase applies to "minor" mistakes, ones that we can sort of afford to make and learn from.  I could make similar analogies to taking risks.   There are some risks worth taking; but, there are some that aren't.   So, the risks worth taking mean that we may fail; but, there is also a good chance that we will succeed and the rewards are worthwhile.

So, mistakes we make, by choice, as a result of taking a risk is okay, if it was a calculated risk.  We can learn from those, chalk it up to experience, and move on.  In some cases, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, mistakes can actually turn out to well, maybe even a "blessing in disguise".

But, mistakes made inadvertantly are a different matter.  We didn't have a choice.  We didn't expect it nor intend it.   Since I'm generally a very careful person who can be characterized as risk-adverse, then, these are the kind of mistakes that I'm more prone to make.  I just made a blunder yesterday, and didn't even realize it until after the fact.  It happened so quickly, and the person affected seemed to gloss over it, that I don't think it's even wise to bring it up again in order to apologize.  Revisiting would seem to be more awkward than continuing the presumption that it was not intended.  I just hope I'm making the right decision.   But, more than that, I hope that I've learned enough that I won't make the same mistake again, accidentally or not.

This reminds me to be grateful for Mercy and Grace; for with our human sinful natures, we do often fall and make mistakes.   But, thankfully, my God is faithful to pick us up and restore us.

Iron Chariots

Joshua had said to the Israelites "[Y]ou shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have chariots of iron and though they are strong" (Joshua 17:18b).  Yet in Judges 1:19, it said, "Now the LORD was with Judah, and they took possession of the hill country; BUT they could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had iron chariots."

What happened?  It would appear that the people let their fears overcome their trust in God's promises.  This is a reminder that we need to remember that God is Able, and that even though we are faced with challenges, we can trust in His promises to help us through and to deliver.

I praise God and am looking forward to what He will teach us through this "Judges - God Delivers" series.  Already, it has exceeded my expectations in what nuggets of truth it contains, displaying God's faithfulness to His promises, His plan of salvation to include the Gentiles as well, and His deliverance.

"The Tailor's Daughter"

I've been reading "The Tailor's Daughter" by Samantha Standish.  It's a wonderful story of a woman who "flourished under harsh conditions", and touched the lives of others with her goodness of heart.  As the book pointed out "One who has not suffered finds no fertile ground for compassion....It was the tragedies, the suffering that had made..a better person...to understand many perspectives."   It was so heart-warming to see main character's steadfastness, humility, and hard work result in well-deserved successful returns.  She "persevered and conquered every adversity".

It is stories like this that encourage me to stand firm and to continue to be faithful, with the hope that God blesses the righteous who are faithful and kind.  I'm also motivated to consider how I can be more industrious, bringing to mind the example of the Proverbs 31 woman as well.

Another Olympics Completed

Well, the Vancouver Winter Olympics have come to a close.   For two weeks, it provided us with excitement, motivation, heartbreak, and a broad spectrum of emotions.   Much-deserved congratulations to all athletes who were able to meet their Olympic goals; but, also thanks for the efforts of even those who met disappointment instead.  I especially applaud those who exhibited the characteristics of good sportsmanship and worthy championship.

In the closing ceremonies, it was interesting to see the contrast between the casual pop-culture program in Vancouver and the serious classical-culture program of the next Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.  I do wonder what it will be like 4 years from now.   It seems like a long time away; but, I'm sure that there are many who are already preparing to fulfill their Olympic dreams in 2014.

Yesterday, I also concluded the "Colossians - Being in Christ" study in my class.  The analogy of the Christian life to that of an athlete fits well - being part of the "team" of believers in the Body of Christ; representing the Kingdom of God, of which Christ is King; staying connected to our source of strength and life; not allowing anything to disqualify us for the prize or reward; setting our hearts and minds on the "goal"; and being devoted to prayer, knowing that it takes more than just our own preparation and hard work.