September hit me hard this year. For some reason the advent of September brought with it a feeling that another year has slipped by with little being accomplished for the Lord. Although our church has stabilized, our finances are strong, and there is some progress, frustration is still present in my heart and mind. I’m not sure if it is because we are not father down the road, or if I am just losing my vision of the next few years.
Whenever I feel like this I stop and look at the indicators: 1) Is there something I want that is not happening? 2) Am I doing something wrong? 3) Have I missed it somewhere and need to backtrack? You know, all those questions that flood your head and try to confuse you when you are frustrated. Then I remember, oh yeah, we are being attacked by a spirit that brings confusion. In seasons like this, in my spiritual walk, I refer to Psalm 103:2-5.
"2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgives all thine iniquities;
Who heals all thy diseases;
4 Who redeems thy life from destruction;
Who crowns thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfies thy mouth with good things;
so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s."
When we get frustrated with where we are, and the length of the journey before us, we must turn to his Word and remember all he has done for us up to now. I am forgiven, I am healed, my life has been redeemed, I have his kindness and mercy, I have food to eat, and my strength is renewed. Never forget to thank him for what he has brought you out of. It helps to maintain your focus on what he wants to bring you into.
That is what we have lost lately at Calvary. We have lost our focus on spiritual things. Too many other things are crowding into our minds and disturbing our peace and consuming our time. We’ve lost our contentment with God and we’ve allowed the cares of this world to choke his Word out of us (Mark 4:19).
One of the things that causes frustration is when you can’t see an end in sight. All you see is one step after another, endlessly circling the wilderness. You forget the destination because you’ve lost your focus on your dream. Like the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, the humdrum of daily life causes us to forsake the dream of the Promised Land. This is the underlying feeling I get when I see the downcast faces around me. They have lost their focus on the prize and are trying to find an immediate victory short of the goal.
In sports you don’t get the points until you get the ball in the hoop. Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. It is the same with the church, we need to press on to the prize — the high calling. One of the paw-verbs I taught my boys when they were growing up is, “If you don’t finish, you might as well not start.” What my saying tries to explain is how much effort and expense comes to nothing, if you don’t press on to complete the course God has given you.
"13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:
but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded."
Philippians 3:13-15
Based on this passage, I feel there is not a place where we should stop along the way and learn to become satisfied with what we have attained so far. I believe that contentment and pressing on can work together. Some people make a mistake believing that contentment means settling for less than God’s fulness and blessings. The other morning the Lord gave me the chapter outlines for the book he wants me to write. Each chapter title had the word struggle in it (e.g., the struggle with sin, the struggle with doubt, the struggle with opposition, etc.). I relate this to what Paul said about sin, “You have not yet resisted unto blood, struggling against sin.” (Hebrews 12:4) We must note that although frustration blurs the goal, we cannot allow ourselves to become satisfied with falling short of it. This is actually what you would call complacency, not contentment. There always needs to be some level of struggle in our lives to achieve anything.
So how do we prevent losing our focus? Well, the answer is simple in its statement, but profound in its exercise: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33) Better yet, it is more about maintaining our focus, rather than actually losing it. It is called keeping your eye on the prize. Again, I reference sports as an illustration. In basketball the goal is not to dribble the ball well, or make great passes, or traverse the court quickly. You need all these skills, but the goal is to get the ball in the hoop. Lose sight of this one thing and you lose the game.
I have recently felt that what I am all about is finally coming through to our church. I am a trainer and equipper. One of my life verses comes from Colossians chapter two. “2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” I want to encourage and unite the body of Christ with a complete understanding of their purpose in him. I want people to focus on the things of God and fulfill their destinies in him. To be an overcomer in this life means to separate ourselves from the cares of this life so that we can completely focus on what God wants us to do. With this in mind, it becomes frustrating when the secondary issues of this life become the primary purposes for Christians. When dribbling, passing, guarding, and running become the goals, instead of tools by which we achieve the goal, we lose the game. Worship, prayer, even preaching, are not goals. They are God-given tools to achieve the goal of saving souls.
Some have said that loving God and loving others are the goals of their church. I understand where they are coming from, because they fashion this purpose statement around what Jesus said was the greatest commandment of all (Matthew 22:36-39). However, in obeying this twofold command, we must not forget the Great Commission in the process (Mark 16:15). There are still those who do not know the Lord. Our goal should be to make the Lord known through the salvation he has provided in Jesus Christ.
Maintaining our focus comes through reminding ourselves of what we are being trained and equipped for. We can’t keep looking back on what we have forsaken. Knowledge is not the goal, a better life is not the goal, a bigger church is not the goal, saving souls is the goal. Loving God, loving others, relieving suffering, and setting people free from oppression and addiction are all great and worthy purposes for our lives, but the purpose when we come together as the church is to save souls.
"3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior;
4 Who will have all men to be saved,
and to come unto the knowledge of the truth."
1 Timothy 2:3-4