No more Flashback Favorites

About a year ago, I learned a hard truth.  It has rattled around in my brain, gone away, and then boomeranged back to the front of my thoughts at some rather interesting times since it was first presented to me:

Contempt is often a cover for shame.

But let me back up a little further…I first picked up this blog from Joe in 2013.  By 2017, after writing and posting at least once per week…I needed a break.  So I scheduled what I called a “Flashback Favorite” – using republished posts from previous years.  Doing so gave me two weeks off from the pressure of writing, and fulfilled my concern that I didn’t want to “go dark” and leave people hanging.

In the years since 2017, I have published various numbers of “Flashback Favorite” posts – whether it was time for a break or the other responsibilities of life had crowded out my ability to write for the week.  However, every time I posted one…I felt a twinge of guilt.  I felt like I was letting you down.  And labeling a post “Flashback Favorite” was my admittance of defeat.

I felt contempt toward myself – thoroughly convinced that if I had just worked hard enough, to get far enough ahead that I didn’t need to rely on “old stuff” to cover for me.  But the contempt really was a cover for shame…that I let you down, let myself down, and (most importantly) let God down.  That my efforts weren’t good enough.  Or that I had been too lazy or undisciplined.  Nobody would have said it out loud, and they wouldn’t have needed to…because I said it enough internally for the both of us.

Up until the last couple of weeks, I was really proud of myself for only having one Flashback Favorite this year – the week my wife was in a car accident (she’s ok now, thank you God!).  But much like 2017, for the past two weeks, I needed a break.  So, I reluctantly scheduled some previous posts to go out while I have worked on the next new series.

But God brought this passage to mind…and this one little verse has reshaped my thinking, dissipating my contempt and its shameful root:

Matthew 13:52
“Therefore,” He said to them, “every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom treasures new and old.”

Through several parables, Jesus had just taught His disciples about the Kingdom of God.  It was clear from these stories that Jesus was taking the old and familiar lessons from the law and expounding upon them with His new teachings.  The old wasn’t being tossed aside…instead, a disciple would be able to see how the old foreshadows the new, and how the new fulfills the intended purpose of the old.

The observation that stands out the most to me is that both the old and the new are treasures.  The owner of the house knows when it’s time to redecorate, but also when it’s time to look at the pictures of yester-year.  The new does not replace the old, but instead both have value.  Both have their time and place, and the wisdom of the house owner dictates when each should be brought to light.

That’s how it is, too, with our growth and maturity, right?  We don’t always learn something new from God.  There are times we have to relearn a lesson from before.  Sometimes, it’s applying the same learning in a new context.  Other times, it’s healthy for us to remember how far God has brought us.

So, going forward, I’m not going to label any posts as a “Flashback Favorite”.  If I need to bring back an “old” learning, then I will do so without shame or contempt.  There is value in the treasure which God has brought to me through writing this blog for the last 13+ years…and I don’t want to diminish that gift in any way.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: The greatest reward possible

When a new US President takes office, he gets to pick who will be in his cabinet and inner circle. Those opportunities aren’t afforded to just anyone. The person who voted for him is certainly on the “winning team”, but simply casting a vote would not qualify an individual to be a cabinet member. Those inner circle positions are only available to those the President knows the best and trusts the most - men and women who have worked with him and for him all along the campaign trail.

The same will be true when Jesus takes His rightful place in the Millennial Kingdom and Eternity Future. Those who have believed in Jesus for eternal life will be part of the Kingdom, but those who have followed Him now will have even greater opportunity to serve and have access to Jesus in the future.

The greatest reward possible
Originally posted on September 26, 2019

Assuming you had the necessary skills and the opportunity, what is the biggest earthly prize you would aspire to?

Maybe it’s directing the highest grossing movie of all time…or Quarterbacking your favorite team to a Super Bowl victory…or building a business up from your garage into a global empire…or perhaps you are content to win the lottery and retire to a private island.  What would be “the ultimate prize” for you?

How does thinking about this feel?  Scary?  Overwhelming?  Unrealistic?

As those who believe in Jesus for eternal life, we know this present life will continue on with Him into Eternity Future.  While there are big dreams and opportunities to be had here and now…we should also wonder if there are eternal opportunities that God has made available to us.  In God’s revelation to John, He reveals a big one:

Revelation 22:3-5
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will worship Him.  They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.  Night will be no more; people will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever.

They will reign.

Those words carry a weight to them, and they should.  To reign means that a person has obtained or has been given the authority to rule, to lead, and to preside over the lives of others.  While we fully expect Jesus to reign in Heaven and over all creation…John tells us that in addition to Jesus, His servants will reign.

Servant Kings.

Those words don’t seem to go together, but it is exactly what Christ taught to His disciples.

At one point, Peter struggled with comparing the life he left behind with his choice to follow Jesus as a disciple.  He could have believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, continued to work the family business as a fisherman, and still gone to Heaven.  What Peter struggled with was seeing the tangible benefits to accepting Christ’s invitation to intimately follow Him in Discipleship, to living his earthly life learning how to imitate Christ.  Let’s drop into their conversation:

Matthew 19:27-28
Then Peter responded to Him, “See, we have left everything and followed You.  So what will there be for us?”  Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Notice that Jesus does not rebuke Peter for asking this kind of “What’s the reward?” question.  Jesus replies that there is a reward – a reward of authority – to those who have followed him.  Jesus didn’t say that this magnitude of a reward was available to everyone who believes…rather those who will be great at the renewal of all things are those who, after believing, have spent their earthly lives learning how to imitate Christ.

Learning to imitate Christ, the greatest example of a Servant King, is what will qualify His servants to reign forever and ever.

You and I have the necessary skills and the opportunity to do the same.  Will we follow Christ now so that we, too, can become Servant Kings in eternity future?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite: Good FOMO

As I continue to think about the eternal rewards available to us, I came across a previous post that covers another reward - two rewards, in fact! - that we are already familiar with. The rewards are being praised and receiving new opportunities. We enjoy receiving them now…can you imagine what it would be like to receive them from the God of the Universe?!?!

Good FOMO
Originally posted on May 25, 2023

The term FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out, was first coined in a 1996 economic research paper; however, the feelings associated with FOMO have been around much longer.  FOMO is an internal concern that your day-to-day life doesn’t match up with the external lives you see other people experiencing.  It is an insecurity that you are missing out on something – and because you are left out, it means that your value is less than whomever is having the experience you are not.

It's pretty apparent how FOMO can be intensified by social media.  The daily highlight reels of seeing other people’s fancy meals, vacations, kids’ achievements, perfect couple selfie poses, and witty comments can leave us thinking that others don’t have the stressors and issues that we experience and struggle with. 

A little self-analysis on this topic goes a long way.  So, let’s jump in:

The things we experience FOMO over reveal what we value the most – but more than just at the surface level.  When we see someone post about having a great meal, or a great experience, or a great relationship, we often respond with “Must be nice…”  All those things would be wonderful to have, but – and here’s where we have to be brutally honest with ourselves – don’t we also have a secret desire to have other people see us have that great thing, too?  At a very core level (one we don’t like to acknowledge)…it’s as if we want to induce FOMO in other people, as a way of propping ourselves up or establishing our own value.

We want the thing, but we also want other people to revere us for having the thing.

And that, my friends, is called pride.  It’s so sneaky, isn’t it? 

If you ate the gourmet meal, took the romantic trip, or got the promotion – and never posted on social media about it – would you still be satisfied with the experience?  Well Ken, of course I would!

Or do you find even more satisfaction with the event when sharing it on the socials, in the hopes that others will admire you for what you have?  Ok Ken, maybe I don’t want to answer that…

We like to achieve, and we like to impress our audience.  But it’s too easy to slip into a prideful mindset about achievements or good experiences, especially when we’re focused on how others will evaluate our life.  It would be easy to rant against pride here, but I think there’s a better way to deal with prideful FOMO: change our audience.

Jesus told His disciples about a man who left part of his fortune in the hands of his servants.  In today’s wages, he gave the first servant $5,000,000, the second servant $2,000,000, and the third servant $1,000,000.  After a long time, the man came back to settle accounts.  Both the first and second servants had doubled his money, but the third had done nothing.  Interestingly, the first and second servants received the exact same response:

Matthew 25:21 and 25:23
His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!  You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Share your master’s joy.”

We would probably expect the one who earned another $5,000,000 to receive a higher praise or reward than the one who earned another $2,000,000 – but that’s not what happened.  The master congratulated and praised both equally.  He granted them new opportunity, both in responsibility and in a joyful relationship with him.  The one who did nothing with the master’s investment ended up giving back the money, but he also lost out on all that the others gained.

The first and second servant worked with what they had been given, with the goal of impressing their master.  They were looking forward to hearing him say ‘Well done!’.  I think it’s accurate to say that they feared missing out on their master’s approval, otherwise they wouldn’t have worked so hard or been so eager to show him what they had accomplished.

FOMO can be a good thing, but it depends on who it is that we’re trying to impress.  If we’re trying to impress other people, or even make them jealous, then we’re going to end up like the third servant and waste the talent God has given us.  We’ll also miss out on the rewards God has instore for believers who are intentionally working with and developing the gifts He’s given us.

So I encourage you to take what you have – your time, your talents, and your treasure – and invest it well.  Intentionally develop these gifts and invest them in other people, doing it so that you can point others to God.  That is what earns the ‘Well done!’ from God and leads to even greater opportunity and relationship in Eternity Future.  We certainly don’t want to miss out on that!

Keep Pressing,
Ken

My unexpected reward

I have been “guest preaching” for my church for a couple of years now.  Usually four or five times a year, just enough to give our pastor an occasional break.  However, this summer I did something new – I wrote and delivered an entire message series.

The three-week series was titled, “Don’t be a Cretan”.  Each week, we walked through Paul’s letter to his protégé, Titus, and the directions he gave for the churches on the island of Crete.  Cretan society was more than a little rough, so Titus had his hands full as he taught these new believers what it means to follow Jesus in a difficult culture.  If you are interested in hearing these messages, you can find them on YouTube: Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3.

Handling an entire series was a new experience for me, and I now have even more empathy for pastors who shepherd a church while also holding down a full-time job to pay the bills.  As I concluded the series, I was very happy to not have to be planning out, writing, and getting ready to deliver the next sermon series.  Preaching is both a blessing and a burden, and I was ready for a break.

I received several heartfelt “thank yous” and had many great conversations based on the messages I delivered.  However, I was not expecting the shout-out our pastor gave me this past week at the beginning of his message.  He publicly said “Thank you” from the stage and led the church in a round of applause.  That in itself was more than I would have expected, but he continued – telling our church how me teaching the series gave him the largest speaking break he’s had in 6 years and how he was freed up to be fully present for some significant moments within both his family and God’s family.

He didn’t have to do that.  He had already expressed his gratitude to me privately several times, so I knew where his heart was.  However, he still wanted to publicly reward my efforts. 

I think a lot of Christians live their lives that way, too.  We know the tasks God has given us to do, and we know His heart towards us when we make the wise choice or do the thing He has asked us to do.  What we don’t expect is that God plans to publicly reward us for our efforts.

Does that sound odd to you?  Then let me remind you of something Jesus said during His Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 6:19-21
Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

If we are told to store up…treasures in heaven, then that must mean (logically) that there are actual treasures in heaven.  Jesus’ words make it clear that being in heaven isn’t “the treasure” we’re to be aiming for.  Getting into heaven is guaranteed when we believe in Jesus for eternal life.  These treasures in heaven must be something more…and if they can be stored up or not, then we all will have different amounts.

The topic of “Eternal rewards” is not talked about much in our modern-day churches.  But Jesus talked about them quite a bit and so did the other New Testament writers. 

You might have heard someone say, “I don’t need any rewards.  I’ll just be happy to be in heaven”.  While a statement like that sounds quite humble and spiritual…it’s actually pretty arrogant and selfish to think that way.  Jesus wasn’t giving a suggestion or an optional side-quest in His Sermon on the Mount.  He told us to store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.  That’s a pretty clear direction.

Imagine getting to heaven, standing before Jesus, and realizing that all your treasures were stored on earth.  I don’t think the “I’m just happy to be here” defense is going to feel all that comforting.

So what are the treasures in heaven and how do we store them up?  We’ll take a look at those in the coming weeks.  But for now, stop and ask Jesus to reveal where your heart is at, what do you find valuable?  It’s just like He said: for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Is your heart focused on earthly things or heavenly things?  Being honest with that question is the best place to start.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Flashback Favorite - Blindsided

I received one of those calls this week - my wife was in a car accident due to the other driver’s negligence. She’s ok. Nothing is broken, but she’s feeling beat up, stiff, and sore. The car, however, is not ok. So as we deal with the fallout of this unexpected situation, I’m bringing back a post from nearly 11 years ago about Psalm 119. I often come back to it when life doesn’t go as planned. I hope it’s a good reminder for you, as well.

Blindsided
Originally posted on May 22, 2015

Blindsided.
Knocked down.
Run over.
Left for dead.

Life does that sometimes.  Just completely out of the blue, you get that phone call.  A relative in good health suddenly dies.  A friend’s child is in an accident.  Layoffs.  Divorce.  Cancer.  Any number of things can take us out at the knees without any warning.

And we’re quickly reminded of how fragile and small we really are.

In Psalm 119:25-32, the author use two descriptive phrases to relate how he feels after life has knocked him down.  First he says, my life is down in the dust.  Other translations render his words as my soul clings to the dust or I collapse in the dirt.  He feels so low that he can only relate to the trampled dirt on the ground.  Secondly he says, I am weary from grief.  Other translations relay the author’s meaning by stating my soul melts from heaviness and my soul weeps because of grief.  We can relate to the psalmist because we’ve all had times when our hearts are so heavy that even our souls are shedding tears.

Our typical reactions to getting knocked down by life is to ask God “Why me?” or, if we’re feeling mature, we’ll ask “God, what are You trying to teach me in this?”  However, the psalmist has neither of those responses.

As you read this section of Psalm 119, look for where the psalmist turns to when life has brought him down low:

Psalm 119:25-32
My life is down in the dust; give me life through Your word.
I told You about my life, and You listened to me; teach me Your statutes.
Help me understand the meaning of Your precepts so that I can meditate on Your wonders.
I am weary from grief; strengthen me through Your word.
Keep me from the way of deceit, and graciously give me Your instruction.
I have chosen the way of truth; I have set Your ordinances before me.
I cling to Your decrees; Lord, do not put me to shame.
I pursue the way of Your commands, for You broaden my understanding.

When life has him down in the dust to the point where he is weary from grief, the psalmist looks for life and strength though Your word.  He’s not looking for an explanation or a life-lesson, rather he is looking for God himself, as revealed in Scripture.

It is noteworthy that when he asks God to help me understand, he’s not looking for the meaning of what knocked him down to the ground…instead he’s asking God to explain the meaning of Your precepts.  Again, he’s not focused on how he got there or why he got there…he’s focusing on meeting God in the midst of it all.

When life has knocked him down, the psalmist implicitly trusts God with all aspects of the situation.  And he seeks God through the Scriptures to reinforce his faith.

So should we.

Keep Pressing,
Ken 

A personal pep-talk

Life’s been busy lately.  “Very full” would be a better description. 

I won’t list everything out for you…I fear that would not only be rather dull for you to read, but I don’t want to get anywhere near a “humble-brag”, either.  To say I have shared a lot of worthwhile time with many different people/groups, both at work and in the community, will suffice.

I’d rather we talk about how we feel when we’re dealing with a season like this.  There’s some mixture of tired-fulfilled-weary-happy-reflective-drained that I think we can all relate to.

That’s why I love spending time in the book of Psalms.  These song-writers did not hold back on sharing their life experiences with God.  You’ll find the entire range of emotions, multiple times over, as you read through them.

Here’s a portion of Psalm 42 that is really resonating with me right now:

Psalm 42:5-8
Why, my soul, are you so dejected?  Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

I am deeply depressed; therefore I remember You
from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls;
all Your breakers and Your billows have swept over me.

The Lord will send His faithful love by day;
His song will be with me in the night – a prayer to the God of my life.

I wouldn’t say I’m at the level of feeling dejected and deeply depressed, but I recognize those feelings from other times in my life.  We all go through seasons when those are very real and very deeply felt.

The part of this psalm that resonates for me right now is the psalmist giving himself a pep-talk.  Did you notice that?  He’s talking to his own soul.  He identifies the feelings of turmoil, but doesn’t claim them as his identity.  Instead, the psalmist encourages himself to put your hope in God, insisting that despite how low he feels, I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God.

When we’re struggling, a dejected soul may want to just curl up in a ball in a dark room, but instead, the psalmist takes three bold steps away from the darkness:

1.       When he feels depressed, his first step is to remember the God who loves him.

2.       Next, he enjoys nature – being present in and listening to the sounds of God’s creation, like His waterfalls, can help clean out the junk we feel inside.

3.       Lastly, he looks for God by day and in the night, trusting that God will meet him there.

This three-step pep-talk helps clarify our perspective when a season of life has been so full.  However, let’s be clear – these steps don’t “work” because we simply do them.  We’re not capable of fixing ourselves.  These steps only “work” because by doing them, we bring ourselves back to the God who loves us more than we can understand.  Keeping close to Him is what we truly need, in all of life’s seasons.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

What's in the New Testament?

We commonly refer to the Bible as a “book” – in fact, it is the best-selling book of all-time.  However, the Bible itself is a collection of 66 individual books.  These books were written over approximately 1500 years, by 40 different authors, and in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek).

Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the authors to write His words and His message to humanity.  Each author brought their own experiences, concerns, and writing style…and as such, we have a variety of literature types within the Scriptures.  The major division of the Bible’s books is between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  For this blog post, we’ll look at what God has said in the New Testament:

New Testament – This is a collection of 27 books which details Jesus’ birth, ministry, death on the cross, His resurrection, and the world-wide impact of these events.  They are divided into 5 different categories:

The Gospels – These 4 accounts tell of Jesus’ life, ministry, death, and resurrection.  The only other historical contemporary to Jesus who had four biographical accounts of their life at that time was the Emperor Tiberius.  The gospels show a remarkable consistency for having been written by four different authors writing for four different audiences.  The gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

History – Just one book, Acts.  It begins with Jesus giving the disciples their mission to tell the world about Him, and then He ascends into the heavens.  The rest of the book tells how this mission was fulfilled through the early church.  It also reveals Paul’s incredible conversion to Christianity and his role as a missionary.

Paul’s letters – Not only did Paul take multiple missionary trips, bringing the gospel to several nations around the Mediterranean, but he also wrote letters to the churches he established and specific people he partnered with in ministry.  These books contain a mixture of Christian doctrine/teachings and practical advice on how to live like Jesus in a messed-up world.  Paul’s letters include: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

General letters – These are smaller letters written to larger Christian audiences.  They contain additional teachings and practical applications.  These letters include: Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Jude.

Prophecy – The book of Revelation is God’s foretelling of the end of earth’s history and the beginning of Jesus reign into Eternity Future.  You’ll find lots of symbolism and references back to many Old Testament people and situations.  Whereas Genesis begins with the story of Paradise Lost, Revelation ends with Paradise Restored.

A few things to keep in mind:

The Bible isn’t a science text – but it does contain some science references.  The Bible isn’t a history book, but there’s never been an archeological find that has contradicted a historical statement in the Bible.  The Bible never claimed to be “the book of every explanation”, but it does contain everything we need to understand God’s love and design for humanity.  The Bible tells us of God’s original partnership with us, how we fouled it up, and God’s plan to rescue us from the mess we’ve made.

I hope and pray that this brief description is helpful to you…perhaps even spurred some questions or curiosity about a book of the Bible you haven’t read in a while.  I’ll end with Paul’s encouragement to his protégé, Timothy:

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

What’s in the Old Testament?

We commonly refer to the Bible as a “book” – in fact, it is the best-selling book of all-time.  However, the Bible itself is a collection of 66 individual books.  These books were written over approximately 1500 years, by 40 different authors, and in 3 different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek).

Through the Holy Spirit, God inspired the authors to write His words and His message to humanity.  Each author brought their own experiences, concerns, and writing style…and as such, we have a variety of literature types within the Scriptures.  The major division of the Bible’s books is between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  For this blog post, we’ll look at what God has said in the Old Testament:

Old Testament – This is a collection of 39 books of ancient Hebrew literature, which begins with the story of Creation and the fall of humanity into sin, which separates all of us from God.  These texts continue through the establishment and history of the nation of Israel, which are broken down into 4 major categories:

Torah/Pentateuch – These are the 5 books of Moses.  Torah is Hebrew for “teaching” and Pentateuch simply means “five books”.  These books detail out how God created everything, but quickly focus in on the establishment of the nation of Israel.  The books include: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

History – These 12 books travel through Israel’s many ups and downs as they struggle between keeping in step with God and doing everything on their own.  Many of the familiar Old Testament stories are found in these books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

Poetry/Wisdom – This is a collection of some of the most interesting and beautiful poetry you’ve ever read.  Many common sayings we still use today trace their origins back to this section of the Bible.  These books include: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.

Prophecy – God sent many prophets to Israel throughout the centuries.  Their writings are divided into what is call the “Major Prophets” and the “Minor Prophets”.  However, that distinction has nothing to do with the importance of their individual message, rather the prophets’ writings are divided up by size, with the Major Prophets having significantly bigger texts than the Minor Prophets:

Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Ezekiel
Minor Prophets: Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi

After Malachi’s teaching, God did not send a prophet to speak to Israel for approximately 400 years.  Then everything changed with the arrival of Jesus. 

Some modern-day Christians have wondered if it’s worth our time to read and study the Old Testament.  After all, since Jesus came and saved us, wouldn’t His teachings be enough for us to focus on?

The Apostle Paul had to say this to the church he planted in Corinth, in reference to the events of the Old Testament:

1 Corinthians 10:11
These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction

There are three ways to learn – by instruction, by example, or the hard way.  God has given us instruction and examples in the Old Testament so we don’t have to learn the hard way.  As such, it’s definitely worth our time to see what God has to say in those books.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Dealing with agitation

There are so many triggers that lead to me being agitated.

I hate to admit that.  I’d like to be better at managing it.  What I have gotten better at is keeping the surface-level calm, but the agitation still stirs in my heart.  I’m not certain that’s real progress, though.

Sometimes, my agitation is my own fault.  If I’m running late, I always seem to find the lane with the slowest driver…which, of course, means I’ll hit all the red lights along my path, too.  Or I could get pulled into what I thought would be a short conversation that quickly turns into a deeper discussion than I wanted to budget my time for.  A particularly agitating situation for me is when I’m depending on someone – especially if I’ve paid this person to do a job – and they aren’t meeting the standard we had agreed to. 

Do any of these situations sound familiar?

The American Hertitage Dictionary has this description as a part of its definition of agitation:

A stirring up or arousing; disturbance of tranquility; disturbance of mind which shows itself by physical excitement

That sounds about right.  I may begin with feeling frustration, but if I progress to agitation, there’s probably some physical tell to go along with the shift in my mood.  I’ve suddenly lost my poker face.  The chances of me lashing out before thinking it through have definitely gone up.

One sure-fire way to get me agitated is external to me.  I despise people taking advantage of others or taking advantage of “the system”.  We all need to make a living, but we don’t have to price-gouge.  I am 100% in support of entrepreneurs (there are several in my family), but I’m shocked and agitated when people create fake businesses, like daycares or hospice centers, only to get paid out by government programs.  Worse yet, it appears that some people just take advantage of others simply “because they can”…and that agitates me to no end. 

And to fix situations like these, we may even convince ourselves that we gotta meet them on their level.  We justify defrauding them just like they defrauded others.  We daydream of pulling it off and yelling, “See?  Do you like how that feels?”

David recognized the same feelings of agitation we have, but his advice runs counter to our knee-jerk reaction:

Psalm 37:1-9
Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong.
For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants.

Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely.
Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act,
making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.

Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him;
do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
by the person who carries out evil plans.

Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated – it can only bring harm.
For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who put their hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

My first thought when reading through is “That sounds nice David, but not very practical.  Me ‘doing good’ doesn’t stop them from ‘doing bad’ to others.  I still see them running around taking advantage of people.”

However, this line of thinking misses what God says to do first when we’re agitated by evildoers.  “Do what is good” comes second.  “Trust in the Lord” comes first.  Too often, I expect that I can wield “my good” to bully or shame the other person into doing what I think they should.  In those cases, I haven’t included God in the equation.  I’m expecting my own righteousness to prevail.

Instead, God is telling us that we aren’t the cure for evil – He is.  When we trust Him, He will act.  But His acts will come on His timing, not ours. 

Does this mean we are to be a doormat and simply let bad people be bad?  No, I don’t think so.  Part of doing what is good is advocating for and protecting others.  But we do so with a humble attitude that God’s correction is better than us lashing out of our agitation.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

How do you know my name?

A little over a year ago, my wife and I went to support our younger son and his then-girlfriend (now wife, but that’s a story for another day) as they ran through downtown Raleigh.  Our son ran the half-marathon, while she ran the 10k.  Fortunately for me and the missus, their race paths merged for a short portion of the course.  We set up shop and began to watch excitedly for them to run by, ready to cheer them on.

I’ve run a number of races, and I’ve always appreciated the people in the crowd who would cheer for me.  There’s something uniquely special about having complete strangers yell encouragement as you work to keep moving forward.  So, while we waited for our two runners to come by, we started to cheer for the rest of the runners, too:

Let’s GO!!!!
C’mon, you got this!
Keep it up.  Keep it up.
You’re doing great!
Don’t quit now!

At one point, however, I realized that the bibs each one wore with their race number also listed the runner’s first name and last initial.  It was in much smaller font below the extra-large race number, but on many of the runners I was able to read their first name.  So, for any runner I could, I added their name to my yelled encouragement:

Let’s GO, James!!!
You got this, Brian!
Keep going, Nancy!

And you know what?  There was a visible shift in the runners.  When I called out their name, they made eye contact directly with me.  I kept smiling and cheering them on.  The encouragement I was calling out suddenly hit deeper and you could see it in their responses – some would straighten up their form, many smiled back at me, a few picked up their pace with confidence. 

One older lady named Nancy who was race-walking with two other ladies, when I called out her name, practically stopped her pace to ask me, “Do I know you?” 

I said, “Nope” and shook my head.

“Then how do you know my name?” she asked with a bewildered look on her face.

“I read your bib.” I replied with a smile on my face, pointing across my own chest, as if I had a bib.

She didn’t know what to say but went back to race-walking with her friends.  She seemed pleasantly surprised to get called by name like that.

I didn’t know anything about them, other than their name.  What many of us forget is that God knows us, even more than just our name:

Psalm 139:1-3, 13-14
Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
You understand my thoughts from far away.
You observe my travels and my rest;
You are aware of all my ways…

For it was You who created my inward parts;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.

These verses are only a sampling of all the ways the psalmist realized that God knew him.  I would suggest that you take the time to slowly read the whole psalm.  Even better, try reading it out loud, as if the psalmist’s words were your own.

God knows more than your name.  He knows YOU.  And He wants you to know Him.

Keep Pressing,
Ken