"Do My Best and Let God Bless the Rest"

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7

The fourth and final ingredient in the MY TIE attitude is to “Be still before the Lord and wait for himim.” This ingredient is perhaps the hardest one for me to surrender to God.  When I was an energetic 20-something, being still and / or waiting on the Lord seemed to be highly counterproductive. After all, Jesus commanded us to “Go and make disciples of all nations." Furthermore, I have seen people abuse this verse in order to spiritualize or validate their lack of taking action. These people will delay decision making, defer an issue to a later time, or diminish the work of other people all in the attitude of "waiting on the Lord."  In reflection the only thing I found more irritating was being told, “Take a chill pill.” In hindsight, I probably needed a continuous supply.

So how did God teach me to be still and wait patiently for Him?

         While I was recovering from an illness in my late 20’s, the first part of Psalms 37:7 began to speak to me in a different way. In the context, David probably wanted to engage his enemies. After all he was a fighter who slayed a bear, lion, and a famous giant.  At the very least he wanted God to set right the injustices perpetrated against him.  For the first time when reading this passage I discovered that David had already done all he could do in trusting, taking delight and committing his way to the Lord, so all that was left for him to do was to wait for God to act.

In my life’s context, I had to slow down in order to do my best to make a recovery. Ultimately, I was hoping to resume my calling in full-time ministry as a pastor. By far this was the most frustrating time in my life. During these two years of recovery, I began to realize that my best efforts and energy was far from my personal best prior to becoming ill. My thinking was slower. My energy was lower. My personal standards for handling the rigors of work, study, and life had fallen well below my expectation. I felt angry at life and God. I would often ask myself, “Why would a loving God allow someone like me who made the most of every opportunity to grow a strong skill-set for serving Him go through such a life altering setback?”

What I began to learn was that there are opportunities to experience of what it means to be still and wait on God when recovering from life’s hardships. For the first time in my life I could reflect and meditate on God’s Word. After all, I was thinking slower. The phrase, “Do my Best and Let God Bless the Rest” began to fill my thoughts and turn my heart towards God. I began to be encouraged that I did everything possible to gain as much knowledge, experience, and wisdom from many mentors prior to my illness. I did my best and now it was time for God to bless the rest at His choosing.  

God reminded me that every class and experience that I previously pursued with all my passion was not wasted. This motivated me to study the Bible in a new living light. I re-read my Bible college and seminary class notes, papers, and textbooks. This time, I studied in full faith that God would help me use the sum of my life up to this particular point. Only then I had the courage to gain new skills, and set a new pace and standard for life and ministry. I began to trust, delight, and commit my life to God all over again.

15 years have passed since this dark time. I have come to embrace that my best fluctuates from day to day.  Being at my best depends on many factors. However, I have grown to understand that there is only one factor that matters. Being at my daily best means nothing unless I trust, commit, and take delight that God will use it. Never has a day been regrettable when I have done my best and let God bless the rest. Therefore, I now passionately challenge everyone to quit trying to be the best but “Do your best and let God bless the rest.” Only then can anyone maximize their benefit from being still and waiting for God to act.

"Commit Your Way to the Lord"

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. (Psalm 37:5-6)

                “Commit your way to the Lord” is the third ingredient to my Take It Easy way of life. David is writing during a time where his enemies were trying to kill him and his name was being slandered. He was writing about his how God will vindicate or set right His justice at some point in the future. David was not sure how this would happen, but he would remain committed to God in his life.

Everyone believes they are right. One daily example is trying to make it safely through a four-way stop near a school. It seems everyone makes up their own thoughts to gain the right of way! Therefore we need to know what it means to commit our way to God.

In Psalm 37:5, “Commit” means to “roll over on.” The picture of commitment is to put a burden on oneself, someone, and / or something.  Today’s vernacular we might say, “I am all in!” When we read through the narratives of the Bible we will find how God blesses people when they are all in. We also see how messed up people get when they replace their commitment to God with a higher commitment to be all in for themselves. Everyone devotes time, energy, and resources that are important for their life satisfaction.

The problem is not lack of commitment but misplacing of commitments.  Our life at church should help us practice well placed commitments in living God’s way. Jesus called his disciples to be all in when He said, “Follow me.” The picture of baptism by immersion has many applications of being “All in” the new life in Christ. Communion is a picture of Christ being all in when it comes to providing the way we live at peace with God. The picture of the “living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1-2) is a daily declaration that we are to be 100% all in the way God wants us to live. He is active in transforming our entire lives to be able to accomplish His mission(s) according to His desire(s).

Why should I commit my way to the Lord?

God knows it is hard to be 100% all in. That is why he emphasizes commitment throughout Scripture. He knows that we have to keep growing in committing our ways to His way to live. But what’s the use? One reason is that we cannot allow injustice keep us from trusting in God. In Proverbs 16:3-4 God tells us that all commitments to Him will work itself out to “its proper end.” We all are guilty in allowing the misdeeds of family, friends and Christians to diminish our trust in God. The more we allow these close relationships skew our image of God, then how much more skewed are we when we encounter personal and social injustices? 

And another reason is that we cannot let injustices steal our ability to have God’s eternal hope. In Proverbs 24:19 we are reminded not to be jealous of people who do evil because their future is destined for God’s judgement. These people have a “life without hope.” How awful is this destiny! We cannot allow ourselves to sink to the same level of hopeless people. After all, we cannot make people be just or righteous. It is only through their surrender to God and His power that gives them the ability to be righteous. Therefore, we must do whatever we can to extend opportunity for all people to have God’s eternal hope.

How can I “Take it Easy” with so many injustices in my world?

                I plan to write future blogs on the following bullets because the question “Where is God in life’s injustices?” seem to be a recurring stumbling block for our times. Therefore, I will end this blog with a simple list that reminds me to commit my efforts to the Lord’s righteousness this unrighteous world.

•   I need God’s mercy just like everyone else (Titus 3:3-8).
•   I need to trust that God is still calling people to His righteousness no matter how unrighteous they might be (2 Peter 3:14-15).
•  I need to make the most of my opportunities to fulfill God mission  (Ephesians 5:15-20; I Peter 5:6-7).

Allow God to help you deepen your commitment to simply trust that He will make all crooked paths straight even if you don’t understand how at our present time. 

"Take Delight in the Lord"

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4

“Take delight in the Lord” is the second ingredient to a My T.I.E (Take It Easy) attitude. To take delight means to “refresh or pamper oneself in something they can find joy or fun in doing.”  I find delight in two different hobbies that bring out my heart’s passions. One is in making music with my guitars. Another delight is in coaching beginners to deepen their joy in trying a new sport like baseball or connecting themselves to the guitar. But perhaps what brings me the most delight is when I am surprised by joy that reminds me of God. Last week I had such an experienced that continues to lift my spirit.

During our Christmas and New Year break, we spent more time housebound during our due to severe ice and snow storms here in Toronto. Cabin fever for kids has the potential to turn bad at any moment. During one of our bitterly cold and stormy days, my oldest daughter took out a 400 piece puzzle that had three different sizes of pieces. The kids all teamed up to successfully put together the large and most of the medium pieces. Then they sucked me into the puzzle for the small pieces that were the oddest shapes that I had ever seen.

Initially, I was irritated by the small odd shapes of the puzzle pieces. I had never seen so many shades of brown. I could not tell the difference between candle light and the pie. However, my daughter would find pieces that would fit together and joyfully sing “I found a piece. I found a piece! I-----FOUND----A----PIECE!” And the song rang out each time any of us found a piece. And when hard to place pieces were found there were high fives and dances to match the songs of delight. No wonder it took us five days to complete 80% of the puzzle!

Then we hit a wall last Saturday where the few pieces left in the puzzle were robbing our joy in doing the puzzle. That night we had small group where other kids helped to tackle half of what was left over a two hour period. Then one of our small group members stayed until the last pieces were placed. It was fun to watch how my kids continued to the songs, dances and high fives even until the puzzle was completed.

Like the puzzle, I am reminded how incomplete the picture of our lives are from our earthly perspective. Yet one of God’s great mysteries is how we begin to see pieces of our lives fit together through circumstance, but more so through the people God has woven together into His family. Hebrews 10:18-25 is a great passage that I like to surmise as for all those who boldly present with God at His throne are able to strengthen and spark fellow believers to live together in God’s presence in this tough and dark world. Perhaps my greatest delight which surpasses playing guitars and coaching is being with people who are striving to be with God. What delight comes from their experiences as God surprises them with another piece that fits together for His eternal glory.

"Trust in the Lord and do good"

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture”(Psalm 37:3) is my first ingredient to the “Take It Easy” attitude. 

    The basic meaning of trust is to “have confidence” and “cause reliability.” During times where our trust is tested when we experience how products, people, and even God can produce responses that erode our confidences. Some examples of how my trust or confidence has been eroded through disappointments include:

  

1. I remember the Dallas Cowboys (aka America’s Team) during the 1970's.  My dad would assure me that they will pull out the victory in the second half even though they were losing at the end of the first half. However, sometimes the team would lose and shock me to disappointment. All these years later, every lost disappoints me.

2. My 1989 Nissan Sentra was the best car I ever owned. I could drive across the Arizona and California Deserts with the confidence to stay cool in the daytime, drive 70ish MPH, and still hit almost 50 miles per gallon on the highway.  However, one time the car failed to start because of a bad battery. Even today, if my vehicle should be slow to start due to cold weather, it takes me five starts before I have confidence in the vehicle again.

3. I cannot count how many times that I have been blessed with a job, gift, rides, or help because of the generosity of people.  However, on rare occasion people have let me down. Someone forgot to mention me in their network when I was looking for a job or leave me without a ride. To this day, I struggle to trust people when they seemingly leave me out to dry.

      No matter how many times my team won, car started, or promises; I am tempted respond to the broken trust, “prove to me why I should trust you.” This is a key sign that I am not trusting God.

     Since my teen years, Psalm 37:3 has been a source of strength to me because trusting in the Lord is to give rise to the opportunity to “do good, dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture” rather than let my confidence in God erode.  

      I remember the car that I had before my beloved Sentra. It broke down time after time until it could run. On my final day with this broken car my choice was to either sale it for scrap or to keep it by spending a fortune. I began to think, “Why is God giving me a hard time when I am trying to serve Him with my life?” Psalms 37:3 began to repeat in my head over and over. As I walked outside the mechanic’s shop to wait for a ride back home. I saw a man who looked hungry and I had to spare is $2.36 the cost of a Whopper after tax. So I thought I would do some good by giving my last bit of change to buy this man a Whopper. So I did and gave it to him. He was sensitive to know that all was not right with me. He graciously tore the Whopper in half and shared it with me. We had great conversation where I got to hear how God was challenging him to help others instead of taking for himself.  I knew God was caring of me by the time that my ride arrived. That semester, I never missed a day of work because of my good college friends.

     What I learned from this difficult experience at my young age was that trusting in the Lord and doing His good was vital to cultivating my faith. I began to see how people who are also “Trusting in the Lord and doing [His] good” can nurture one another to stay on track with God's process for shaping lives for His daily mission.