So What’s The Problem?

The simple truth about life is that things come our way all the time that create challenges.  Are these challenges problems or opportunities? A renewed mind understands that there aren't any problems in heaven and if we took "heaven's perspective" we would realize that God has a solution for all things. Finding God's solutions starts with right believing which in turn raises our level of hope.  A hopeless situation is a Godless situation, so how does God see our lives and circumstance?  I have to be honest, I have a hope i.v. supernaturally injected in my veins.  All my life I’ve been that person to see things half full and just believe that something good would come out of a big mess that could be staring me straight in the eye.  Even when I’ve found myself in situations I created that were seemingly “hopeless”, I still believed good things could come out of it.  I’ve been told this was resilience and determination.  I’ve decided it’s relentless hope and a gift from Heaven that I've chosen to partner with.  I’ve been trying to crawl into the eye of God all of my life to see situations the way He sees them and I believe that He’s given me that exact opportunity, to live a life full of relentless hope.    

My current perspective is setting up my future experiences.  

What we believe about God shows up pretty quick when we’re in crisis.  I can remember back in ’04 I suffered a pretty serious sports injury.  I took a line drive in the face while playing softball.  I was diagnosed as having a tripod fracture with an orbital blowout.  It’s a common hockey injury for all you Red Wings fans (Steve Yzerman had a similar injury the same month in the ‘04 Stanley Cup Semi-finals) reading.  It’s a brutal injury to say the least.   At the point of injury and coming aware of what had actually happened, I started asking myself questions like if I would be able to see again, if my face would be marred all my life etc.  It’s funny how quick these things roll through your mind.  I knew I was helpless as I lay there on the ground waiting for the ambulance.  I decided that the best thing I could do was to welcome Holy Spirit and I began to speak in tongues and releasing peace over myself.  (When we speak in tongues we edify our human spirit!) The guys were all gathered around me and pretty concerned.  I remember them asking what I was saying and one guy telling me afterward that he was touched so much by my desire to rely on Holy Spirit in that moment while navigating all the wide emotions.  Even in my injured state I was setting the tone that Papa God was present and we had the opportunity to be aware of Him.  His hope was my reality because I knew the truth about my situation before finding myself in it. The truth was - God was greater.  

Hope is qualified by truth and truth is centered on who He is.

My level of hope is completely connected to how much I’m willing to see things according to His perspective.  I mentioned in a recent post I wrote that while we don’t ever want to be focused on our spiritual enemy, it is a reality that we have an enemy who is looking to steal, kill and destroy.  His greatest tactics are found in deception or rather seeing things according to his perspective.  Our foundation of truth is essential in living a life of hope in all things.  While most Christians would say that they believe the bible, it’s a radical choice to put how the bible teaches us to think in motion.  Many believers try to just find a scripture they think is the exact situation they are in and whatever outcome there is in scripture will be their outcome.  I don’t believe scripture always teaches us specifically what to think as much as it teaches us how to think.  This is a mature perspective that allows us to live out truth in the greater context of God’s nature rather than in the limitation of a few examples of peoples lives before us.

What would it look like to have relentless hope for our circumstances?   

What if the problems or challenges in your life are an invitation to experience God’s goodness toward you?  If God’s nature allows Him to be all knowing and also the provider at the same time, it sounds like this would be the recipe for unlimited breakthrough. While God isn't in the business of enabling problematic cycles in our lives, He is a good father who loves to see His children succeed.  Part of that success is what we're able to get from Him that we can't be for ourselves and the other is what is developed in us by going through the circumstance.  It's not about enduring hardship, it's the opportunity to experience who He is and see things the way He sees them. The more we become like Him, the higher our hope becomes.  The greater the breakthrough in our lives, the more benefit there is even for the people around us.

What is the truth about your situation?

Once again, what you believe about your circumstance will easily define the result.  What is God’s hope level for situation, your life and your relationships?  How does God see it?  What if your level of hope matched your heavenly father’s?  What could become  possible?  Let’s believe God’s best, take the risk of living a radical hope filled life, believing we are never alone and will never be forsaken.  I would recommend Steve Backlund's devotional book Higher Perspectives.  It's full of truth relating specifically on how to overcome hopeless situations.  Life comes out of the tongue and we say what we believe.  In the devotional, Steve does a great job creating declarations that match our believe system and these declarations will change your life. Let HOPE rise

State Of The Church Address: What If?

State Of The Church Address:

Could you imagine if someone each year got up in front of the world and let everyone know where the church was currently and where it was heading? This leads me to a catastrophe of thoughts, but needless to say it's interesting to think about.  Here are a few quotes from two of our most beloved presidents.  In times when Americans needed reminding of who they were and the values they stood for, Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy both delivered thoughts that will resonate in us for a lifetime.  If the church had a president, I wonder how close in resemblance to these statements he would come to remind us of who we are and what it is we stand for? (I'm asking for a long leash here, there are obvious thoughts that don't relate, but create context for the  remaining quote, thanks for reading.)

Ronald Reagan, our 40th president.

"Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty."

"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves."

"Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives."

"I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress."

"If the federal government had been around when the Creator was putting His hand to this state, Indiana wouldn't be here. It'd still be waiting for an environmental impact statement."

"If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen."

"Man is not free unless government is limited."

"There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect."

"There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder."

"They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong."

John F. Kennedy, our 35th president.  

"A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth."

"I look forward to a great future for America - a future in which our country will match its military strength with our moral restraint, its wealth with our wisdom, its power with our purpose."

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."

"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic."

"The greater our knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds."

"The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining."

"Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly."