With Excellence

The past few months have been full of house remodels for our family.  I grew up in a construction family so have had a lot of opportunities to learn how to do home projects.  I have jokingly said, practicing carpentry and wearing sandals are just ways I’m trying to be more like Jesus.   

I have learned many lessons from construction.  Asking one friend how he got so good at drywall, he said the key to a good drywall finish comes from paying attention to the details in 

framing a wall.  No wonder I had to apply 42 coats of mud and sand for days, I thought “rough carpentry” was supposed to be “rough” and then you covered up the flaws with drywall.  How wrong I was.  I feel like Jesus said something about the value of a good foundation in a story about houses built on rock or sand.

 

I was working in my closet the other day finish sanding when a spot was giving me trouble.  My first thought was “it’s a closet, no one is ever going to see that.”  But then I began to think about Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”  How would I treat Jesus’ closet?  Would “good enough” do?  

 

Thinking about a work ethic, I look to God and see that when God works, it is good, majestic, and glorious.  He creates masterpieces!  I have yet to read in the Bible that God said it is “good enough.”  

 

Now I am not God, so sometimes my walls aren’t plumb and my cuts aren’t square.  But I am challenged to consider my work ethic as excellent or just good enough.  As parents, these are great stories to share with our kids.  What lessons are they learning from us and the way we work?  Are we pointing to a majestic and glorious Creator as we work or showing a way of “good enough”?  

 

Oh yeah, I painted over that flubbed spot in the closet.  I’m still on this journey of being challenged in my day to day walk with Jesus.  Thank God I’m still a work in progress that he is making good! (Philippians 1:6)  Reflecting on God's Word and applying it are tough, but each step draws us closer to what we are becoming.

Find the Waypoint

It’s time to write an August article for our church newsletter and this has normally been my time to talk about back-to-school kickoffs and such.  However, this year is not normal.  This month has been somewhat turbulent for me.  At the beginning of July, I was ready to start a new phase of meeting together, my plans were moving toward a new phase of a new normal, when we hit the brakes with an increase of COVID cases.  With this yo-yo of decisions, I feel like I have been a yo-yo of emotions. Can you relate?  With schools making plans for the Fall, the questions seem to still outweigh the answers. 

 

Our pastoral staff had a big discussion about how to deal with chaos in general. Our conversation boiled down to being faithful to what God has called us to do.  One way I think about this is a lesson I learned early as I began to hike and explore the woods.  I learned that, if I ever get lost and cannot find a familiar spot to stop, think about where I’ve come from. Look for any markers that might give me a sense of direction, and if necessary, head downhill and find water. Follow the water in the same direction until it leads to a town or road or something that helps you get home. 

I was reading Psalm 46 and the Psalmist says “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore, we will not fear though the earth gives way…”  When everything feels like or maybe is in chaos, God is present to help and protect us.  Verse 4 says “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.”  Where God is, there is the waypoint, the presence of stability and steadiness that brings us home when we are lost, that rescues us when we are in trouble.  This Psalm has a contrast of chaos and peace.  The chaos of the world and peace found in God.  One of my favorite verses is found in verse 10 “Be still and know that I am God.”  

 

What a great lesson, in the chaos, in the unknown, in feeling lost or wandering, stop…be still… find the waypoint, the thing that can give you a sense of direction, something that is steady that will rescue.  That waypoint is not a thing, but the one true God who is present.  

 

During this season, we have opportunities to hold onto the firm fortress which is our God.  We might not have exact answers for a new school year, or when we are meeting for Sunday School or kids and youth activities, but we do know one thing: God has not left us, God is here in the midst of every circumstance.  

 

How can I know this?  Well the Bible is chocked full of stories of God’s faithfulness.  Moments of lost people (or nations) being found.  Impossible situations miraculously made possible by God.  The more I read the Bible and talk about these stories with my family, the more we look for God to turn dire situations of hopelessness or loss into hope and life.  That is who God is.  When everything is crumbling, God is a still river that faithfully guides us to safety. 

 

There is a lot we miss doing during this season, but one thing cannot be taken away, and that is our ability as individuals and families to be still with God.  To read the Bible and memorize it.  To pray and watch for what God is doing in and around us and to join in that work to be a blessing wherever we are placed.  These are the areas we can be faithful in, no matter what.