Change: not circumstances, but perspective

Ever drag your feet into Mondays? 

I do -some weeks more than others. 

For me, it often depends on how the weekend went, what is going on during the week, if I feel like I can conquer it or not, or if I have enough things planned in the week that I look forward to. 

But this week, since we are almost done with week 4 of potty training with little progress, among other challenges in life I face, I found myself really dragging.

"Oh, no... Not another week of this. Here we go."

I have to admit, this morning I was complaining to God about it. 

There is safety in going to God with your complaints. It can even be healthy for you, as long as you take it one step farther. 

If you do it like the Israelites, where you only say what you're upset about and you tear down the character of God by choosing the lie that your circumstances are proof He is not good to you, you dishonor Him.

But if you do it like David, who always had God's character in mind while doing it, it can be the catalyst for heart change.

After pouring out my complaints to God, I was reminded of the psalms, where David would pour out his heart, and then follow it up with praise. 

I decided to follow up my complaints with praise and a Godward focus. Here is how it looked for me:

...

But you, Oh God, are still the same as you were last week. You never change.

Here I am, looking at circumstances as if they will do anything for me, yet knowing they won't, when all the while there You stand, an endless adventure awaiting me, aching to be found, longing to be known, yet never fully known, for all that You are is infinite -and You have given me freedom to explore and find You out.

You are my exciting adventure.

Who are you in the midst of this dullness? Who are you in the middle of the discomfort? Who are you in the middle of my patience being stretched to its limit? 

I want to know who You are. 

...

You see, it is not usually the circumstances that need to be changed, but our perspective about them. 

If I make it my goal to survive this week, that's all I will do -and barely.

But if I realize that in the midst of less-than-ideal circumstances, I can find a more than sufficient God, there is no end to the adventure, even in the mundane, the dull, the chaotic, the difficult, the challenging, the painful, or whatever it may be.

...

I keep coming back to this passage in Psalm 31:19-20. It goes like this: 

"How great is the goodness You have laid up for those who fear you..." 

We will never really find out just how great that goodness is, but if we want to taste it, we must believe Him to be who He says He is and treat Him as such, we must revere Him and respect Him as God, knowing our place before Him as His creation.

We are not God -He is.

"...which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men." 

The other key to tasting His goodness is trust -simple, childlike trust. 

If you want God to lavish love on you, you can't keep standing up and questioning His love -instead, you must learn to trust it. You must let Him hush you into silent awe and let Him love you without putting up a hand in protest.

His love and goodness are great enough that, once received, they will change you, and others will notice.

"You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence..." 

The secret place of His presence... Doesn't that sound magnificent, yet peaceful? 

Hidden there... Oh, how I want that.

Circumstances assault. 

Noise all around. 

Pain unfurled.

Chaos ensues.

Yet, He hides me in deep the secret place of His presence.

These cannot find me there.

This, my friends, is the adventure that He calls me -and you- to go after. 

You see, He is infinite in measure. Once you start to wade into the limitless ocean of His character, you cannot stop. You will always find that there is more -far more- of Him than you can even begin to taste and see.

Why would we ever stop to go after something so temporary as changed circumstances or a better life? (Side note, I'm not saying He won't give you practical help in your circumstances to change them or better them -but sometimes He wants us to be so satisfied in Him that we don't have to have better circumstances to be happy or to feel confident and secure.)

Isn't Christ enough?

Oh, child of God, look up. 

"Your anguish is His home. Go to Him." (Dane Ortlund in Gentle and Lowly.)

...

 "...Your real life is hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3)

If my real life were in the circumstances that go well, success in potty training, or in other things I do (like getting more than one thing done on a to do list, for example), or in feeling strong and capable, or in always handling every situation that pops up just right, I'm sorry, but my life is fading away really fast. 

But thank God, none of the things you see me doing, none of the things I aim for succeeding at, none of the things I do well or not so well, are the measurement for my life. 

My real life is hidden with Christ in God. 

Actually, the next verse gets even more specific about what my life actually is. 

"...Christ, who is our life..." (Colossians 3:4)

My life has nothing to do with this earth and everything to do with Jesus. 

My life cannot fade, because Jesus cannot fade. 

My life cannot fail, because Jesus cannot fail. 

He is my life. 

And if you are in Christ, you need to know that He is your life too.

Your job is not your life.

Your friend base is not your life.

Your motherhood or fatherhood is not your life. 

Your spouse is not your life.

Your ministry is not your life. 

Nothing that you do is your life. 

Only Jesus is your life. 

And you can have as much of Him as you want in any circumstance, in pain, in chaos, in suffering, in any situation, whether you are pressed on every side by troubles, whether you are perplexed by circumstances, whether you are being cast down by others, whether you are being spoken evil of, or whatever may be happening in your physical life.

He is the life that cannot fail you.

And He is the place you are welcome to hide.

....

So, if you find yourself dragging your feet into Monday, look up. Your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 

Accept the adventure He sets before you of finding out His goodness that He has laid up to give you the moment you stop putting up a fight and start trusting Him and treating Him as God.

Ask Him, as I am asking Him, who He is in the middle of the circumstances you find yourself in. 

...

Oh God, 

You have created us with a thirst for adventure, a deep longing for satisfaction and fulfillment. 

And then You gave us Yourself as the fulfillment of those desires. 

Give us eyes to see how You fill every void our circumstances leave. We want You...We need You.

So, come, be to us all that You are. 

We choose afresh to put our hands of protest down and simply trust You, letting You love us and lavish Your goodness on us, for You are God, and we are not.