To Live As Christ - Page 4 of 35 - A Personal Journey With God

Let love in

December 28, 2017 by brianmichaelsteck Leave a Comment

Our kids wake up early. I rise at 5:30am, not to be “holier than thou”, but because, if I don’t, I get no chance at solitude in the day. So when a couple of ours woke at 6:30 this morning, we tried to convince them to sleep it out a little longer. My son was not having it.

In the middle of a temper tantrum in the darkness of a pitch-black room, I hung my head in desperation, pleading with him to lay back down and keep sleeping. Giving no relent in response to my exhaustion, I pulled my tearful child close to me and gave him a hug. The tears slowed. I was on to something.

“You want me to snuggle with you?” Immediately, he responded and headed towards his makeshift cot on the floor (because he insists on sleeping next to his sister, who he lovingly calls “gigger” because he can’t pronounce “sister”). He stopped his wailing, laid down on the giant overstuffed Costco teddy bear and sniffled on the floor next to me.

Love.

It all comes back to love, doesn’t it?

How many problems and stresses do we endure, when, if we would just let love in, we might solve or dispel in an instant?

When I’m anxious about work, fearful that a client will be frustrated or disappointed… love reminds me that I’m okay, even if I do fail.

When there is conflict in marriage… love reminds me that we’re on the same team.

When the brightness of day doesn’t overpower the darkness of hopelessness you feel inside… love says that you’re not alone, and that it’ll all be okay.

And when we scurry about from place to place, seeking meaning in gifts, or trophies or affirmation… let God’s love into the deep places that long to be held, stilled and quenched.

It will change your life, your pursuits, your interactions and expand your ability to freely love those around you. Let love in.

Looking up when we want to look down

December 13, 2017 by brianmichaelsteck Leave a Comment

I was reading Psalms his morning and chapter 55 describes David’s experience of betrayal. In the midst of understandable frustration towards his enemies who had hurt him, he pauses to say,

But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.” Psalm‬ ‭55:13-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬https://bible.com/111/psa.55.13-14.niv

You can hear the shock and horror in his voice. There has been a tragedy. It wasn’t my enemies who have wounded me; you would expect that.

Proverbs 27:6 says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” So there is a time and space for our close friends to tell us the hard truth; and we should be thankful.

But this was different. This was someone near me. A trusted friend. My neighbor in church.

Yet, despite the pain and shock of betrayal, this misfortune is met with a beautiful response. David looked up when he wanted to look down.

As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change— he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God.” Psalm‬ ‭55:16-19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Where to look

Where does our attention go when we’re hurting?

Most of the time, I get self-centered and focused on the wound. Like a little child who scraped his elbow and wants to show everyone the band-aid, I go in search for attention. See my pain! Validate the hurt!

Or maybe your response is despair. You’ve been shell-shocked so many times in your life that you’ve begun to give up.

Or maybe your response is pride. Betrayal just adds to the heap of burning hatred you feel towards society. It’s one more reason that God should wipe this planet clean again. You take on your own “savior mode” and experience the betrayal as injustice toward’s God’s righteous one.

The pain of betrayal can take on so many different tones of response. And let’s be honest, whichever we choose, we feel validated in the response.

But David models looking up when we want to look down.

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm‬ ‭55:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He turns towards God, pointing his mind towards the truth of God’s character.

This is how I long to respond. When I’m hurt, I want my reaction to be: “I was wronged. But my God, who is good, will vindicate me and be my source of hope.”

May I look up when I want to look down.

Move in the opposite spirit of offense

November 9, 2017 by brianmichaelsteck Leave a Comment

We live in an offended world. My sin nature, passed down spiritually from generation to generation, makes me prone to hostility, indignation, bitterness, judgment and entitlement. I can see it. It’s in my heart. And until the Holy Spirit awoke me to my predisposition to self, I was on a road destined for painful relationships and brokenness. We all are. Yet, the way of God — His intention for his royal priesthood — is that we move towards healing, wholeness, honor and authority. It is critical that we move in the opposite spirit of offense.

My personal journey

In the past year, I’ve walked through three tortuous situations where I was wronged. I had completed high quality work for business clients, who then refused to pay and threatened taking legal action against me without justified reasoning. Despite my efforts to serve and bless these clients, I was left in a financial hole with the threat of litigious lions looming above. I felt stuck, abused and unjustly attacked. I sought legal counsel and they advised me that though I was in the right, a legal battle would cost more than what it was worth, and only leave me worse off than I already was.

These were very difficult seasons for me. I was hurt and I was angry. Thoughts of these clients stir up pain in my heart, and the desire for vengeance — or at best, justice.

Where to turn when injustice has taken it’s toll?

It’s natural to feel sadness, anger and fear. But these emotions, left unbridled, reap disastrous consequences. They turn into bitterness and only add to the hostility that pervades our world today. So what do you do?

Thankfully, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, scripture and Danny Silk’s powerful teaching on Culture of Honor, I’m learning a better way. The idea is this: we are honorable towards others, not because they deserve it, but because of who we are. I choose to honor, because I am honorable.

This frees me from the entitlement towards anger and need for justice. Justice is the Lords — and yes, there will be times when we must plead His throne for justice — but then we must relinquish control of the person who has offended us. Un-forgiveness holds the other person hostage, but ultimately binds us in chains. It’s been described as “drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” While the pain is valid, the resentment only hurts us.

We have to surrender our claim to getting even. We have to let go of our desperate desire for fairness.

Then, we must move forward. Letting go is the first step, but we take ground when we move in the opposite spirit of offense.

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:27-38

My wise grandmother once told me that “you don’t know that you’ve forgiven someone until you think good towards them when their name comes up.” Now that’s releasing someone from their debt!

To oppose the world is to move in the opposite spirit of offense. It’s to go the extra mile, when the first mile was unjust. A good friend and trusted brother often says, “You’re not a slave if you do it of your own free will.” Going the second mile is choosing to serve the one who intends to harm you — it frees you from being their slave, and relinquishes the control they have on your life.

For me, it looked like letting go of my desire to sue. It looked like forgiving the debt. It looked like giving them the work I had completed for free. And you know what? When I returned good for harm, it lifted the weight on my heart.

I’m not sure if I’m at the place of complete forgiveness yet, because their names still carry an air of pain and irritation — but with each memory, I bring the Kingdom of God to this offended world. I advance heaven on earth when I move in the opposite spirit of offense.

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