Try, Fail, Change: Prune, Try Again and Grow

The CEO of IBM quoted Try, Fail, Change this morning.  I immediately thought of John 15.  It's no coincidence that God conveyed the example of Jesus as the True Vine through John.  Consider the following from John chapter 15:

1I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 9As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 

If you consider yourself to be a branch, then imagine what's on a branch and what comes forth from a branch.  Branches are compelled to birth fruit of some kind.  Sometimes it's flowers, could be nuts, or literal and edible fruit, or it could just be leaves.  If you have watched a tree grow and bear fruit and if you have subsequently collected the fruit of the tree, there are some basic things that you learn to accept.  First you cannot take all of the fruit from a tree.  You cannot pick a tree totally dry of it's fruit or eventually it will fail to produce.  Second a tree must be properly pruned in order to harvest consistent and continual growth and to produce more fruit.  The fruit of each tree must be treated differently - not all trees are alike.  Some fruit must stay on the tree until it is ripe or almost ripe.  Some fruit must be removed from the tree and allowed to ripen that way.  In the end the key is to learn through the planting (trying), through the failure to yield fruit (failing) and through rethinking how to approach the situation so the tree will bear fruit (change).  

Also consider that not all of the fruit that is produced is edible or usable.  But just because a branch produces some non-edible fruit doesn't mean that the branch is no good and should be cut off.  Instead it is an acceptance that part of growing is failure.

What I am trying to articulate for you today is to consider the times of your life where you have tried and failed.  There is a wealth of information to gain and learn from failure.  It's in our failure where God's strength is brought to the forefront.  Its in our failure where we can do nothing but acknowledge that God has sustained us, kept us, forgiven us, moved us forward and picked us up.  

Today as you go through your day, maybe you will be faced with a failure in your personal life or in your work life.  You may have to deal with the fallout of a failure.  Transparent moment for me - I have been blessed with opportunities for a great deal of education.  I am an extremely introverted person.  I am very task oriented and driven.  However, over the last year, after a failed marriage, I am learning that I must show the people around me that I do treasure and value them.  Because I am introverted and task driven, I find it difficult and somewhat painful to grow in my personal relationships.  It's not at all because I do not value the relationship.  It's more because I have not developed properly in that area.  When become adults, everyone around us assumes that we know how to respond, how to act and what to do and for the most part many of us, even knowing our weak areas are too prideful to admit them so that we can be pruned and learn from our failures in order to grow.  

I so treasure my friends who know all of this about me and accept me anyway in my failings.  I feel like those are true friendships.  There are people that I'd like to reach out to, but I sometimes even fail to form the relationship outside of my own mind.  I think how great it would be to be some one's friend or to have a better bond with people that I love and care about, but years of abuse, lack of trust, and under developed social skills have stunted my growth in the area of creating and properly maintaining personal relationships.  For some, it seems that personal relationships are so easy.  They find it easy to talk to others, to share a piece of themselves, to trust and to develop friendships.  For me establishing personal relationships is painful because it's just difficult for me to talk at the right time or to know what I should say and to feel like I'm being genuine and real when I say it.  Most of the time I feel like relationships I want simply pass me by or I let them go too easily.

BUT . . . I realize that I can't stop trying. Even when I've experienced an epic failure and all of the associated hurts.  Just like everyone else, I need personal relationships.  I am not immune to the the need, even though, I sometimes tell myself that so that I don't have to push through difficult conversations or situations.  Sometimes it is directly in the middle of my failure that I learn the most valuable lessons, like how to be loyal and how to keep confidences.

I am glad that this area of my life is only a portion of what's on my branch and it's a fixable portion.  Through my failures, my tenacity to recover quickly and to keep trying and to want to grow, I believe that God sees that in me and that He cuts those areas that need to be cut and allows me to continue to grow.  Not everyone will stick around to see that growth and to know that they have a part in the results.  Not everyone who does stick around will readily recognize my growth, but I thank God that He will do it anyway for His glory and for my edification.

Think of yourself as a branch, which has been grafted into the true Vine.  There may be some unusable fruit or some leaves that are not so green.  No worries.  Yield that up to the Father who is the keeper or the husbandman as the scripture puts it.  It's His job to observe the branches and the fruit and to prune in such a way that will produce more.  Pruning may not feel good, but in order for you and I to be at our most productive, it is necessary.

Keep trying.  Accept that there will be failure.  Learn from the failure and make chances.  Allow yourself to be pruned based upon those needed changes.  Try again.  Grow.

Do You

Have you ever looked back over your life and began to regret what you hadn't done or what you hadn't accomplished?  If you have then you're just like Kind David!  In 1 Chronicles chapters 22 and 23, David laments over his regret at not being able to build a temple for God.  It was an accomplishment that he so wanted to achieve because he loved God and he wanted the Ark of the Covenant to be in a stable place.

This feeling is normal.  There comes a time when you realize that you cannot do everything that you've envisioned.  This shouldn't make you sad.  It should actually make you hopeful.  There's so much work to do in the Kingdom of God that such a notion should make us realize that we should be busy doing what we were instructed by God to do and moving out of the way so that others can do the same.  We are part of a body and each of us has a function and a purpose.  I cannot do what you do and you cannot do what I do, but when we work together we can fulfill the work of the Lord.

The scripture above reveals that God specifically told David that he would not be able to build the temple as he had so desired.  Guess what?  God told David this and David accepted it.  This information didn't make David any less a great king.  It didn't diminish his accomplishments or feats.  It made no dent in who he was in God.  David still remained a man after God's own heart.  He still wrong songs.  He still secured a great nation.  He still was an awesome leader.

When you come to the realization that you can't do everything for everybody all the time and that you may not get to do some of the things that you've envisioned accomplishing in your lifetime, please do not take this realization as some type of defeat or as some indication that you are less than who God called you to be or not where you should be in life.  There are reasons that God called you to the position He called you to fulfill.  There's a plan and a purpose just for what you're supposed to accomplish and do.  If we continue reading in 1 Chronicles we find that it was David's job to prepare the way for Solomon to have the years of rest and peace needed to fully focus on building the temple for God.  David's purpose was not to build the temple, but to set Solomon up for success so that he could build the temple.  David made sure that there were resources laid aside with money, skilled people, and items that would go into the temple.  David made sure that he built good strong relationships with the rulers around him so that there would be enough years of peace so that the temple could be built and so that Solomon would have people he could reach out to for other materials and funding that he would need.  David even began the process by setting up the Ark in a stable place and instructing the Levites on how to proceed from that time forth.  So while there was one ultimate thing that David didn't do, there was so much more that he did do that made the temple building process even possible.

So now look at your own life.  Who are you preparing the way for?  What is God doing through you that someone else will be able to pick up and run with?  What are you laying up so that someone else can use to further the Kingdom of God?  Do not be saddened by what you haven't done, but instead be encouraged at what God has purposed for you to do.

Here's a transparent moment . . . I recently went on a 3 day fast.  I went into it with my prayer requests and supplications, with my thoughts of what I needed to accomplish and where I thought I needed to be.  After it was over, someone came to me and shared their struggle.  Instantly, I realized that I had not gone through the consecration for myself.  I had gone through it for that individual.  I was able to minister to that person because of my preparation and out of fulfilling what God had told me to do.  It was both a rewarding experience and a painful realization.  It was rewarding because I knew instantly that God told me to do something, I did it and He was glorified in it.  It was painful because there was something that I had wanted so much, that I was praying about and I learned that the moment wasn't about me or what I wanted.  So at the end of it all, I turned to God and acknowledged that His will be done and not my own.  It hurt as I imagine that King David hurt when God told him that he would not be the one to build the temple.  But like David instead of focusing on what you can't do, focus on what you can do to prepare the way.

Today, your mind my be invaded by thoughts of what you don't have, where you haven't been, what you haven't seen, what you haven't done for the Lord or what you know you'll never be able to accomplish.  If and when that should occur, remember that you remain who God called you to be.  You are not diminished as a person.  Your godly position does not change.  Ask God to shift your paradigm and help you to prepare the way.  Ask God to show you how valuable you are and how important it is for you to be obedient to what He has called you to do.  And remember that without a David there would have been no Solomon to build the temple.  Without a you, someone else would not be in a position to do what they need to do for God.  Settle your heart and mind in knowing that God's purpose for you is just for you to fulfill.  Do it with joy.  Do it to the best of your ability.  Do it with all obedience to God and He will bless you greatly.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I was reading a devotional this morning and the writer admonished that since we are so blessed and since we are the hands and feet of Jesus in the world today that we should do our best to give to others by donating gently used clothing, shoes, etc.  What stood out most to me was that the writer said that Jesus was a master recycler.

In fact He is.  Take a look at the definition of recycle:

1. Convert (waste) into reusable material.
2. Return (material) to a previous stage in a cyclic process.

We are so used to talking about God's creation power, but today I want to talk to you about His power to recycle, to make renew, to make over and to restore.  When I look at the definition above I get excited because what it shows me is that when we accept that Jesus does this in our lives, it gives us hope that truly it ain't over until God says it's over.  I can put so much of my current situation into perspective because I see that Jesus is recycling me, my voice, my ministry, my calling, and my destiny.  He is taking parts of me that I thought were wasted and used up and He is conforming those things to a new use, for His glory and for my edification.

In my prayer time this morning I asked God to use me.  Actually, it has been a consistent prayer of mine since I was a seven year old just learning to pray.  I used to imagine myself as a tool that He could take out and use when He wanted.  I still see that.  When we grow up sometimes we feel regretful about whole portions of our lives.  We feel like it was time wasted, hopes lost, dreams deferred or disappointments in people.  But I truly trust that all things do work for the good of those who love the Lord and who are the called according to His purpose.  So there's no experience that I have endured where God wasn't trying to mold me and conform me into reusable material for His glory.

God is able to return us to a right standing in Him.  He is able to reconcile us to a Holy place and again this is for our edification, but most of all it is for His glory.  Following are some scriptures about God's restoration power:

Jeremiah 30:17, ESV For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord… Isaiah 61:7, ESV Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.

Joel 2:25-26, ESV I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

Job 42:10, ESV And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Isaiah 1:18, ESV Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. 2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Psalm 51:10,12 NLT Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. 

Examine yourself today.  Are you in a place where you have been wondering about your current purpose?  Have you been a worker in the Kingdom and now you're feeling like your season is over?  Have you been in a holding pattern for a while?  

If your answer to any of the above questions is Yes, then just know that you may in fact be in a place where God is reducing some things from your life; maybe even some people, so that you can travel lighter, move faster, be more responsive and have more ability to move when He needs you to move.  If you answered Yes, then God may just be moving you into a new season in your life where He wants to reuse you.  God provides more and more clarity for us as we seek Him diligently and where you may have once been used in one capacity in ministry, God may be moving you to a new place or a higher level so that you can be reused.  Don't fight Him on this because it is for your edification.  He's not through with you yet.  Don't give up on Him!  Endure what you need to endure just like Job.  Go through all that you need to go through to be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that God can put your life to reuse!

Last, if you answered Yes to the previous questions, God just might be recycling you.  He just might be preparing the places in your life that looked like: wasted time, wasted space, wasted talent, wasted potential, wasted effort, failed marriage, failed relationships and wasted opportunities, for a new use.  Do not limit God with your imagination, but instead allow Him to work through your limitless faith and trust in Him to do what He needs to do.  Ask God today to allow your will to align with His will so that you can pray strategically, so that when you are in His presence you can seek His purpose for your now in your current state because I know that He still has use for me, which lets me know that He still has use for you.  Let the Master work with you.  Be flexible, pliable, malleable, and mold-able.  If He needs to burn some things off of you, let Him.  If he needs to wash you over and over, endure it.  If He needs to shake you to get some things loose from your life, take it.  Today, make it up in your mind that it's not too late for you because God wants to reduce, reuse and recycle you.  He wants you to become a new creation.  He wants you to be renewed in your mind and in your heart.  Take on the mind of Christ.  Accept this opportunity for God to do His greatest work in you with what you thought was nothing.  As Pastor Christine Woods would preach, God works well with nothing.  There is an awesome potential in your nothing!  Because God can take your nothing and turn it in to His reusable material for His glory.

What's in Your Weighting Room?

The entire 27th Psalm is a great read for encouragement, but there's one verse in particular that caught my attention yesterday morning as I spent time in God's presence during intercessory prayer.  He asked me what my waiting room looked like.  I was clueless until I read Psalm 27:14, Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

God asked me what I was doing between the time that I made my supplication known to Him and the time of the manifestation of His promise to me.  He asked me if I was being of good courage and if I was allowing Him to strengthen my heart.  He asked me if I was getting to know Him better during the wait.  He asked if I was re-learning to trust Him in my waiting room.

The interesting thing about waiting is that we all have to do it.  None of us are exempt.  We can do it in a way that facilitates what God wants to do for, in and through us or we can do it in a way that just makes the wait longer.  Once, I was heading to the cashier's office at a university.  While I was in the office, I walked past a young man in the line who said aloud, "Man this line is too long.  I'm not going to school this semester!"  It was at that moment that I changed my philosophy that everyone deserves a chance to go to college.  It was the most asinine statement I'd heard at that point in my life.  Who would throw away the opportunity for higher education because they had to wait in a line, but reflecting back on that now and typing out this blog, we throw away the blessings of God everyday by getting out of the line.  Funny thing though, we wind up praying the same prayer for the same thing and waiting even longer on the same manifestation because of our ignorance, impatience and immaturity. 

We all must wait for something, for some reason at some point.  It may be at the DMV, the grocery store, the bank, or at the movie theater.  It may be waiting on your change to come, on your ministry to develop, on your next level in spiritual maturity, or on your calling to come forth.  It may be on a spouse, on a new car, on your financial situation to change, or on the baby you've prayed so earnestly to God to have.  

We all have the experience of waiting.  It is part of the human condition.  The question is not whether or not we wait.  The question is how are you waiting?  What's in your waiting room?  I was chatting about this with a friend and she said it reminded her of a doctor's office.  While we wait to be seen by the doctor, in the hopes that she/he can help fix what ails us, we have to wait for our turn.  You see some people reading magazines, others may be on Facebook or texting, or something on their smart phones; still others may be holding a baby or chastising a child, and there's that one guy or gal who has to complain about how long the doctor is taking and how the doctor must be running way behind because they got there at such and such time and it's been over an hour.  If you're not this person and if you're like me you probably cringe and try to find a distraction so that you don't have to listen.  But there are those who are persuaded to join in the negative conversation and soon there's a group of folks feeling sorry for themselves and justified at judging a situation that they know little or nothing about at all.  Sort of like Job's friends huh . . .?

The thing about waiting well is asking God what He wants you to gain during the wait.  Generally speaking, meaning I can't tell you what you need to acquire during your wait, but I can say that whatever it is that you're waiting on, is something that's needed for God's glory and for your edification.  It is the key that will unlock the promise.  It is something that needs to be added to you so that you will be ready for your promise.

Think about it this way.  Let's say, you're recently divorced . . . and your finances are horrible . . . and you don't really trust . . . and you're shy . . . and you're a bit overweight . . . and you're tired . . . and you need to spend time with God . . . and you need to read the Bible . . . and you know for sure that you don't want to be alone.  Given all of these things you begin to pray and ask God for the blessing of a help mete or a spouse.  You're wanting your Ruth or your Boaz.  

As He does always, He answers you.  He shows you a vision of your future.  But think about it seriously, if your spouse were to come to you in your broken condition would you be ready for him or her?  Would you like you in all that mess?  Would you want you like that?  So what happens is between the time we ask God for something and the time that it becomes manifest in our lives, we get this wonderful opportunity to exercise in our waiting (weighting) room.  We get to pray and lay prostrate in His presence.  We get to shed a few pounds and lay aside the weight and the sin that so easily distracts us.  We get to get our finances in order by living within our new normal means, paying tithes, giving an offering of our time and our money to Him.  We get to read and learn who He is.  We get to observe how He moves in our lives; rearranging things, people, scenarios and situations.  We get to trust Him beyond what we have ever done before and slowly we are encouraged and our hearts, minds, bodies and spiritual beings are strengthened.  We start to look good financially, spiritually, physically and mentally.  We are less likely to complain in the waiting room because we have purpose, goals and objectives.  We have something to do.  We have something to strive for.  I offer to you today that no matter what it is that you've just come out of, that you are about to go into or currently find yourself in, God is watching your waiting room activities.  Will you extend your time in the waiting room because you're not redeeming it?

Look around your waiting room today and consider how you're waiting.  Consider what you asked God for and what He has shown you.  Don't worry about the how, the why, or the when; that's God's part.  Focus on the yes, the what do you want me to learn Lord, the is this glorifying you Lord, the how is this edifying me Lord.  Focus on the strengthening of your core and your inner man.  God wants to grow you.  He wants to stretch you.  He wants to mature you, but most of all, my job today is to tell you that it IS HIS good will to bless you.  He is not withholding any good thing from you.  He is preparing you in your wait.  He is making you ready in your wait.  He wants you to be able to handle the promise without losing it.  He wants you to appreciate it.  He wants you to be happy in it.  Look around your waiting room.  What you need for your next level is in there, and as my friend told me, God really meant for you to wait well because He said it twice in the same verse!