Friday, July 18, 2008

What I've Learned So Far - Part 2


For the last five days Jeannie and I have been at a retreat in Delafield, Wisconsin called “Cedarly Pastor’s Retreat.” It has been a time of rest, reflection and a true Sabbath. It has been time without television, internet or cell phones. The focus has been getting quiet enough to listen to God rather than the usual one-sided conversations that we curiously call “prayer.” I have learned a great deal during this time that I believe, most of all, will impact me as a person but also as a pastor and leader. I’m sure it will take some time to process all that God has been teaching me through being quiet, but I wanted to share a “part 2” of some of the things that I have learned during the entire sabbatical.

Here are some more of the things that God has been teaching me during the whole sabbatical (again in random order):

· God knows what it will take to transform me completely and so for me to complain about His method is to set my own selfish ideas above His.
· God’s development of me is an ongoing process with words like “show” and “teach.” I must never be proud of my progress or judge someone else’s because I don’t know where they started or what they’ve gone through.
· Most of my prayers tend to focus on my desires and want God to accommodate those rather than using my prayer to place myself under His desires.
· Truly following and obeying God is never safe or easy, but I am increasingly becoming dissatisfied with any other alternative – it leaves me totally unfulfilled and guilty.
· I need to learn to be able to follow God on a step-by-step, “need to know” basis and not assume that I always need the big picture. Often, I just need to obey and listen for the next step.
· Going “deeper with God” is simply this: becoming more like Jesus Christ. God will do nothing more or nothing less than His expressed will to make us like Jesus.

I believe that the bottom line message that God has been repeating in numerous ways during the sabbatical is that I need to trust Him. Now on a casual reading you may respond with something like: “it took you twelve weeks of sabbatical to figure that out?!” But believe me, trust is no small thing and the ways that God has revealed that it is lacking in my life are astounding.
- Trust means it is OK to spend and hour just listening for a word from God when I have a whole list of unfinished tasks.
- Trust means that I can take more time to simply invest in being with people, even when an unfinished sermon sits on my desk.
- Trust means that I can press ahead with God’s kingdom agenda, even if everyone else isn’t totally on-board yet.
- Trust does mean that I acknowledge I can’t do it all and God never intended for me to think that I could.
That is just scratching the surface of some of the things God is teaching me about trust. I hope that, likewise, God has been impressing you with the same message – He is God and we are not!

I would love to hear what God is teaching you!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for be willing to share your heart. I thinking I becoming an avid "blogger". I enjoy reading them, and I have started my own. It's a neat way to share what God has put on your heart.
We miss you guys next door! I am ready for things to get back to normal!!!!! Everybody in the spot where they are supposed to be!!!
Betsy