Life Change

So there I was sitting in the blue “pew chair,” in an over sized office room full of wide eyed folks hearing about all the benefits of Dale Carnegie training, and the course we were about to embark on for the next 12 weeks.  “Here we go again,” I was thinking.   Throughout my ministry, and in the course of life I have sat through so many seminars, classes, courses, conferences, sermons… . . .lectures.  I was excited to be there.  I had always wanted to take the course.  But I was somewhat disappointed when I sat down and realized…this was just another class.  Then someone said it.  “This class will change your life.”  

I lost all of what was said at that moment.  Stuck on those words. How many times have the headlines of life read “This will change your life.”  The news reporter promises the story that “will change your life.”  The class promotions said, “This will change your life!”  The conference host promises, “This conference will change your life!” The church promises “The message that will change your life!”  We hear the phrase often.  That promise of life change.  It sounds exciting!  It sounds positive! It sounds like amazing growth.  Yet, unless its cancer, a death, Hitler or some negative change, experience has shown us, and told us that, that promise, always ends up falling short. 

The phrase, “This will change your life” gets racked up there on the shelf with the overused and over stimulated power word advertising that has become common place talk.   We could shelf it with the word “Awesome.”  Today everything is so “Awesome” that nothing truely is “Awesome.”  I used to get excited by the word Awesome…but now there is no Awe.  My blood used to get pumping at the phrase “life change!”  I was excited, and looking forward to what was coming because everything was going to be better now!

But, honestly, It’s not something that gets my blood going and pumped up anymore.  So when I herd those words… “here we go again” was all that it said to me.  Another class.  “I’m sure ill get something out of it…but life change…I’ve herd that before.”

Now I sit 13 weeks later.  My wife Kari loves me more.  My children have a better dad.  The people I work with have a better friend, a better co-worker, and a better leader in me.  I have grown up.  I have learned how to keep the 2nd greatest commandment from people who didn’t even know they were teaching it to me.  Was it life changing…and for the better.  Absolutely! and I meen that in an ”absolute” kind of way!

Thank you Allison, Thank you John, (the Carnegie instructors) for teaching me to love people more in a practical way.

In Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) it says,
“Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”“

Pleading!

“Daddy…can I have some chocolate?  Daddy…can I have some candy?  Daddy…can I have two?”  “No. It’s 7 in the morning…wait till after lunch”

“Awwwwwwwwhhhhhhhwwwwwhwhhhwhwhwhwhhwhw”

5 minutes later….repeat. 10 minutes later…repeat.  20 minutes, 30 minutes, on the hour every hour till noon.  When it comes to pleading it seems to be something we really know how to do even from childhood.  Sometimes, What starts out as a simple mundane request becomes something we long for.  We plead for the desires of our heart.  We plead for gifts from mom and dad.  We plead for help from others.  We plead, and plead, and plead.  Sometimes our simple asking just slips down the hill to pleading and begging. 

Sometimes we even find ourselves pleading to God.  “God I’m Begging you, help us find a way to pay these bills.  God I’m begging you take the lumps and the cancer away.  God I’m begging you, keep the drug dealers from our kids.  God I am begging you to take the abuse and the memories away.  God I’m begging you, dont let my loved one die.  God I am begging with you to help to stop this marriage from exploding.  God I am pleading with you to stop those people who are trying to hurt me.  God I am pleading with you…I am begging you…please remove this sin from my life.”

It’s interesting to notice that Paul the apostle himself prayed the same prayer.  He prayed, the verse says he pleaded.  Of all the pleading in scripture It’s the only place in scripture where we see someone pleading in prayer to Jesus.  Paul pleads with God multiple times, all day long, morning, afternoon, and evening.  Three times a day he prays.  He has a thorn.  We aren’t told what it was exactly.  But thorns stick, they hurt, they prick, they make us bleed, and they just plain out suck.  And we see this grand apostle, humble like the rest of us, and praying, pleading with Jesus to take it out.

Surprisingly, the answer came back as a resounding ”No.”  How frustrating.  Back to pleading.  But while we are at it…maybe we can learn a lesson about leaning on Jesus in those times.  And instead of being ungreatfull for what he has done for me, cross and all, I’ll lean on his grace.

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NIV) it says,
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.“

Being Thankfull In All Circumstances

“I just need to learn to cooperate with the inevitable”  Suzie was talking about how her supervisor had laid down the law.  Stress was building and people were fighting.  The supervisor laid down the gauntlet and Suzie realized she could avoid a ton of conflict, a ton of stress, a ton of pain…if she would just learn to cooperate with the inevitable.  Life with the supervisor instantly got easier.  She had no clue God was talking to me through her.   She thought she was doing an off the cuff last minute Carnegie speech, but her words went miles into the depths of my soul.

So often I would fight the inevitables I didn’t like.  I would worry about them, fret about them, build up pain in my chest and twist my stomach about them, and complain, complain, complain, about them.  And somehow, the  only person i have ever seemed to effect in the process was myself. 

All day, that day, I sat incapacitated over an inevitable.  I was so wrought with frusteration I sat at work starting at my laptop screen for hours not doing a thing.  Lunch time…grab a burger…back to the office to stare at the screen, no one home…but irritability.  Luckily I had to head to class that evening and then there was Suzie. Thank God for Suzie.

“Learn to cooperate with the inevitable.”

Those words reminded me most of all that as a disciple, i need to learn to give thanks in all things.  This year i have learned to give thanks when the flood waters come and almost destroy your place of work.  I have learned to give thanks in Church conflicts and to overcome them.  I have learned to give thanks in financial struggles, growing pains, tragic deaths, suicides, murder, abuse, and tough times.  Now, with another inevitable on the horizon looking into my eyes….Suzie reminded me to give thanks.  Thanks Suzie.

In James 1:2 (NIV) it says,
” Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,“

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV) it says,
“give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.“