No One Whose Hope Is In You Will Ever Be Put to Shame

"No one whose hope is in You will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse." Psalm 25:3

This morning at church, we sang a familiar song by Cory Asbury called "You Are My Hope." I remember the first time ever worshiping to it, feeling much like today. I cried out to God singing "All my hope's in You, my strength, my song!" Only God can deliver us, and when we put our hope in Him, the Bible tells us in the above verse that we won't be put to shame.

As I write this, as I've been praying to God, as I've confessed my sin and struggle to others... to then live a life where I never am free from obesity... I think that would make me feel ashamed. But, my hope is in God. Likewise, I read within the past day or two Isaiah 45:17, which says "But Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to ages everlasting."

 After worship came the sermon, where God very much spoke to me again through youth pastor Jason Mitchell (now I know his name and title!) from LCBC. Today was the last sermon from the series "Flip Side," which I have thoroughly enjoyed, even though (and maybe because) the Word has challenged me to re-think my entire way of doing things and re-examine how Jesus wants us to live. If you haven't had the opportunity to hear them, I would encourage you to go to www.lcbcchurch.com to listen to them.

The sermon started with Luke 9:51, where Jesus "resolutely" set out for Jerusalem. This was the start of Jesus' journey to be crucified, and He was resolute in His purpose as he went. [This verse reminded me of Daniel 1 where Daniel "resolved" not to eat the choice food but instead set himself apart for higher purposes.] As Jesus was walking, He talked to three men as we continue with the scripture through Luke 9:63. The subtitle is "The Cost of Following Jesus."

• The first said he would follow Jesus wherever he went and Jesus replied that He didn't have even a place to lay His head. Then Jason went on to describe how Jesus knew that He was going to be rejected, betrayed and not welcomed. Most wouldn't choose this kind of life. This journey isn't about us but rather about God. 
• Then Jesus met another who wanted to bury is father, and what this man was really saying was 'some day I'll follow you,' but Jesus said in essence 'not one day but today.' Jason further explained that the expectation was that the children would bury their parents but Jesus was asking if this man would go against expectations and care more about what God thought than people. There will be lots of people in society that will do the 'expected' things but few who follow God's will.
• The third man said he had to say goodbye to his family. Jason noted that in that culture, that meant that the man was asking his father for permission to go and was already laying the foundations for his excuse of why he couldn't go with Jesus. Jesus, using the example of the plow, showed how important the intense focus and level of intention it took to follow Him. Jason demonstrated that one hand would be steering the ox and one hand would be driving the plow and even a slight deviation could ruin the whole field. Your eyes needed to look solely on the prize or a look back would wreck the work at hand. We can't dwell on the past or look to others instead of God.

Finally, the sermon started concluding with the verses from Luke 13:22 and Matthew 7:13-14 about the importance of working hard to enter the narrow door of God's kingdom. We don't just stumble into a life with Jesus. It takes intention and focus and the realization that sometimes it leads to rejection. Then Jason used the example of where the interstate dumps off in Harrisburg and there is less than six feet to get to the Lancaster exit. You have to put the peddle to the metal, be paying attention and not be scared about the other cars who are moving this way and that if you're going to get your exit. Otherwise, you miss it. Not paying attention will lead to a wider path that isn't the correct one. Other cars will encourage you to go on the wrong path. You have to grit your teeth and 'fight' for it. But, it leads to the way of life.

Then we ended with the fact that saying "YES!" to Jesus leads saying "NO!" to a lot of other things. For the second man to say yes to Jesus, he'd have to say no to fulfilling other people's expectations of him. We were asked to write down things where we felt like Jesus was asking us to say YES to him and NO to other things. Examples were YES to generosity and NO to excess. Maybe it was YES to forgiveness and NO to revenge. There were many others. I felt like if I was going to say YES to Jesus' will for my life, then I needed to say NO to overindulging in food. It's easy to say yes and live up to expectations of this world - every time I resolve to eat less, I'm invited to social gathering of eating out or a special birthday party with cake & ice cream. These are seemingly little things but they've kept me on the wide path (no pun intended) and not on the narrow path where I am supposed to be. 

I chose to symbolically walk through the door of saying yes to Jesus and no to things of this world.. to be intentional in my path of choosing. This is going to be a hard week for it - it's my birthday, and we have lots of plans. Plans with family and friends and just us and I'm sure lots of sweets from my sweetie. Please pray for me in this journey. Let's walk the narrow path together. For, no one whose hope is in the Lord will ever be put to shame!!!

Dear God, thank You for Your Word. Thank You for giving it meaning in our lives. Thank You for beckoning us onto a narrow path - thank You for calling us by name and choosing us. Lord, we don't deserve it. It's by Your grace that we're here. Please help us journey with You and choose the narrow path. We say YES to what You have for us and NO to things of this world and the expectation that we would eat at every opportunity everything that is put before us. Help us choose to say NO when the Spirit leads us. And may we not focus on ourselves or look back at our past but rather keep our intention pure and on You and Your kingdom. May we glorify You. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

Do Not Set Your Heart on What You Will Eat or Drink

^"And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it." Luke 12:29

This past weekend at church, we heard a good sermon on what's controlling us. The first story we looked at was in Luke 18 where Jesus told the wealthy man to sell everything he had and give it to the poor then to come follow Him. The man left sad because he rich. The speaker made this point: it wasn't necessarily about money for all of us - some of us become controlled by money, but some of us are controlled by other things.

He then asked the question, what do we have our hands on so tightly that we would be sad and 'miss Jesus' calling' if He asked us to give it up? While possessions may not matter, maybe it's control over a person or situation. He said maybe it's a title or position. Maybe it's work we do. He gave the example of a mom who came to him and told him all about her son who wasn't living the way she wanted him to. He said this mom was so upset, she was all but screaming until the end and her blood pressure was sky high. At the end of the day, while the mother wanted to control the son's behavior, his behavior was controlling her. She was the one losing sleep and upset while he was doing what he wanted. He asked again, what haven't we given over to God? What do we think we need to control?

The sermon series is called 'flip side' and the point is that when we give God the control, He in turn gives us freedom. The next set of verses from Luke 12 began my wheels turning.

Do Not Worry

 ²²Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. ²³Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^[l]? ²⁶Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

 ²⁷"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

 ³²"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Where was my treasure? Recently we were asked to do a 5-day fast where we ate nothing but rice &  beans to get a feel for how the truly poor lived. Wanting to lose some weight in the process, I tried to have nothing but one meal of rice & beans so I could truly experience the 'poor life.' The speaker (I'm not sure if he's the pastor, but I know he's at least the youth leader if not the youth pastor of the church) said that when we fast, we often have SEVERE cravings that come up in our lives. Often, when we're giving up food, we start desiring specific foods in a way we never thought possible. The lack of what we want makes us grumpy and it starts controlling our thoughts. We as Christians then realize that if food can have this powerful effect on us, there are other things that can control us that we don't even realize as well.

I was listening intently as originally I thought maybe it was food controlling my life. He wasn't kidding about those cravings. I wanted pineapple (of all things) in the worst kind of way! But the more the sermon went on, the more I realized that once again what I had allowed to control my thoughts was the desire to be thin and healthy. I don't remember if it was that morning or the morning before as I was going jogging, I thought to myself "if I could double my workouts, maybe I could lose some weight before my birthday." So, I began thinking about getting up early to work out and then doing it again while my children napped. Then I began obsessing about what I could eat during those next couple weeks (this birthday one is a 'big' one for me...ugh!).

As we read the verses about 'do not worry,' I began to hear God once again reigning me in. I hadn't done anything to accomplish my previous weight loss. And when I start trying to control it, it seems like my eating becomes anything but healthy and I put on more pounds rather than shed them. You see, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. I had been allowing my desire to become healthy to start being my treasure and therefore affecting my heart and actions. I was more concerned with it than with Jesus and what He is calling me to do. I was ashamed to go back to the same evil of obsessing over food - only this time, it was wearing a disguise. 

Life is more than food, the body more than clothes. We're not to worry about what we're going to eat. That means we don't have to 'diet' per se. We are to eat what God tells us to and not go crazy. We're not to be gluttonous and yet we're not to starve ourselves. God knows what we need. He designed our bodies and He knows how they operate best. His Holy Spirit is ready, willing and able to prompt us on good choices, and by all means we should follow Him. But, we don't need to take the reigns and dig our claws in so tight that we're no longer giving God the glory or allowing Him to work in us and through us. This pursuit had started controlling me, my thoughts and my time (without any success, I might add).

The sermon ended with this powerful note: if God took whatever it is that you've dug your claws into so fiercely, could you still love Him and be happy with life? (Okay, so that's not word-for-word, but it's basically how I understood the question.) Could I stay overweight if God so desired and still be head over heels in love with Him, honor and serve Him, and give Him my life? I cringed at the thought. I knew the answer had to be yes. Still I was struggling. So, I admitted to God that I was struggling. I told Him my desire, but I also told Him that I loved Him and it wasn't about my body, which is here today and gone... well, hopefully not tomorrow, but soon enough! I told Him I would serve Him until the end, and I was taking my claws out of this pursuit. It wasn't about me, anyway.

The next night, I saw a glimpse of a VERY attractive young blond gal who had just lost the battle to cancer. It was the only reminder I needed. I would give anything to see my kids grow up and hopefully their kids someday. I'm happy with the body God has given me. While I want to treat it respectfully, I'll be honored to serve God in whatever vessel He's given me.

I continue to work out. It makes me feel good, and I know it's good for me. I'm still trying to get up early to do it, because I think that's what God is calling me to. I also ate healthier this week than I have in a long time. But, I'm not obsessing over it. I'm taking one day at a time and not living for my own glory, but the Lord's.

This was a good reminder for me, and I hope it also helps you as we glorify God together with our bodies. Let's not set our heart on what we'll eat or drink (and I could even go on and on about what cravings can do to us! But that's for another post someday!). Let's seek Jesus first and His kingdom. I believe God will add everything else in His time, whether in this life or the next. Much love, my sisters (& brothers, if any read this blog).

Dear Heavenly Father, once again I must confess how sorry I am for trying to control something I have no business controlling. I'm sorry for where I've dug my claws in and stopped enjoying the weight loss but being controlled by it. Forgive me, I humbly ask! Help me start again, where my focus is on You and my desire is for You alone. May I treat this body as a vessel for Your Holy Spirit and Your glory. May I do Your will and bring You glory. We love You, sweet Jesus. Thank You for always reminding us and standing with us. In Your Name we pray, AMEN!