Saturday, September 20, 2008

When God says "No"

One by one He took them from me,
All the things I valued most,
Until I was empty-handed;
Every glittering toy was lost.

And I walked earth's highways, grieving,
In my rags and poverty.
Till I heard His voice inviting,
"Lift those empty hands to Me!"

So I held my hands towards Heaven,
And He filled them with a store
Of His own transcendent riches
Till they could contain no more.

And at last I comprehended
With my stupid mind and dull,
That God could not pour His riches
Into hands already full!

Not sure what this poem may mean to you, but it is a lesson that I am constantly learning as a Christian. As a child of God, we constantly seek God, and ask from Him, but yet we go to Him with so much in our hands, expecting that we can carry more, expecting more, not realising that God is asking us to drop and let go of somethings, so that He can bless us with the best.

I realise that when we come before God, seeking Him and praying to Him, asking Him to provide, asking Him to bless, we didn't do the part to first seek Him and His heart first. Because if we have, and when God says "no" to us, we'll understand. We'll not blame God when the things don't happen the way we plan it. We'll not be upset and disappointed with God, because we know that He has something greater in store for us.

I was reading about David; YES, David, my favourite character in the Bible....Again, learning from Him. I am sure His heart must have pained so much when God told Him, that it is not for Him to build the house for the ark of God, but it will be his son, Solomon. Imagine that, at that point, I'm sure David had thought through how he will want to so very much be the one to build the temple of God, probably even wanting to be that master builder, planning and thinking, and even strategising. And then at the point of seeking God, God gently says "no" (2 Samuel 7:12-13 & 2 Chronicles 6:7-9). I'm sure for many of us, we tend to wrestle so much with God, when He says "no" to your dream at that point. But do we realise the heart of God when He says no.

If we learn from David, we realise that there is so much humility in Him towards God, His response is one that is of surrender unto God, saying to God "Who am I" to say that it is me who will build Your temple. Wow........read 2 Samuel 7:18-20, and again verses 22-29. It brought up the deep humility of David to not just obey, but even support God, even when He did not fully understand. I'm sure we feel that at times, what we want to do for God........it is so great to be able to "build that temple for God". It is for God, but why did God say "no". I'm sure David did not fully understand, but he choose to support and run with God.

In the times of challenges, changes, we may resist it so much, thinking that God, what I want to do is to glorify your name, and to do something great for you. But ask yourself, what is truly the heart of God for you in this whole situation. Don't just have a mindset of God, I want to do this for you, but rather, God what would you want me to do. God will commend you for what you want to do, but God desires obedience more than sacrifices; so it's not just about what you will do for Him, but would we seek Him for what He wants us to do? That's obedience.

Sometimes I don't understand as well, why I did the things I did, but only know that it was directed by God. Of course as time goes, it came to being to realise that God knows the best :) Alright, let's learn to take God's "No" with great humility, and not great disappointment.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Communicating for Life Change

This is what I want to do .......... I want to be able to communicate and impart in a way, that will be life changing for people. Since young, when I hear speakers, the ones whom I will remember will be the ones who have spoken something that has "awaken" me that caused me to have a life changing experience. I'm not sure if that's for you, but it is for me. Even for teachers in my primary and secondary school. The ones who impacted me most, are not the ones who praise me and give me good marks. But they are the ones who have spoken LIFE into me, and spoken ENCOURAGEMENT into me, and have INSPIRED me to higher heights. They are the ones whom I remember distinctly because they have changed my life. Hahaha........but as I write this, I also realise that I remember clearly the hurting words of some teachers, even way back to Primary school. This goes to show that the words that we speak can build and change life for the better, or it can tear and change life for the worst.

Anyway, I have been reading this book by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones, on "Communicating for a Change". I am challenged to feel that I need to grow in my communication, not for the sake to be a better public speaker, but for the sake of God's Kingdom. I learn that when we communicate, especially the Word of God, it is teaching people about the Bible, not teaching the Bible to the people. (Leave you to ponder on this :) )

And as well............our goal of communication should be to see life change. I learn that it is easy to grow in communication, but it is not easy to be able to communicate and see life change. I realise that there is so much that we need to rely on God, that as we communicate, that we communicate His heart to the people, His heart for the people is something that God desires for His people to know. His love, his grace and His holiness is something that God desires for people to understand and relate. When we teach and share the Word of God, it is not just communicating a knowledge and principle, but it is about imparting the heart of God, so that there can be life change.

I have been pondering upon this for a couple of weeks (that's why I'm reading what I'm reading).....and have been asking God to show me how can I communicate and impart the Word of God that it will bring about life change. I don't just want people to remember what I share (in terms of the knowledge and principle), but I want people to become convicted through the Word that I share, and through that, people can respond to God, and not to me. That will bring life change then. It is not about how well I can "put flowers" into my sharing, but it is about God's spirit and convictions flowing through and into the lives of others.

One thing that truly still resonates in my heart, from the book, is "INTERNALIZE THE MESSAGE". That's when I realise that I need to internalize my message more, not just about memorizing it, but about relating and identifying with it, convicted about it that the sharing comes out like a heart-felt sharing. This brings me to a very clear message, that I need to grow deeper with God, I need to have those personal breakthroughs, that I need to deepen in all those personal convictions, and that comes through the personal time and relationship I have with God. The internalization does not come because I memorize the message. It comes because God brought it to life in you. That is how one can internalize it deeper.

When I look at it, I realise that every time I deliver a sharing or teaching, when the sharing was inspired by God, I found it a lot easier to impart. But when it is brought out through research and preparation, it is a lot harder to impart. And that's when I said to myself, "Joy, it is time to prepare your hearts before God, not before man." And that's when I pray and ask God to show me in those areas, what I need to grow in.

Anyway.......what I want to share with you all today is that even communication is not a skill in itself. It is an empowerment from God, and to communciate for life change, we need to be changed by God too.