The Seed of Hope

...about Gifts

...about Gifts

In last week’s post, One, I urged you to seek out the source of your Holy Discontent; that one social or moral injustice in our world that you can just no longer tolerate. And then I challenged you to go out and do something about it.

I hope that you’ve at least begun the process of doing exactly that this past week. Yes, I realize that doing so may involve opening your eyes to some things that you’d rather not see, opening your heart to some things that you’d rather not feel, and opening your mind to some things that you’d rather not think about.

And yes, I also realize that once you’ve identified your Holy Discontent, you can no longer pretend that you don’t know that it exists. Once that happens, you’re faced with two paths to from which to choose.

If you opt to take the first path, let’s call it The Path of Least Resistance, you simply choose not to do anything about your discontent. While you may not be able to forget about it, you’ll bury it so deep in your subconscious that it will only tug on your heart every once in a while. You’ll turn a “blind eye” to your discontent, seeing it only when you glimpse it by mistake, or when you have to. Sadly, far too many of us take this path.

I pray that you choose the second path, which I’m gonna call “The Path Travelled by So Few That You Can Barely Find It in the Overgrowth.” Yeah, I know that it’s a long name for a path, but it really fits. You see, most choose not to take this path because it calls for action. And it requires effort. You have to walk this path, and it’s not always an easy one. Just as being successful in life requires a great deal of effort, so does trying to be a difference maker in the world. And, as is so often the case, this path runs parallel to the path you take in life. What I’m trying to tell you is that many times your Holy Discontent is added to the list of things that you already have to do each day!

So if it’s that much trouble, why bother with it?

“Trust me.”

Why is it that our guard immediately goes up whenever we hear those two little words?

When someone that I don’t know well tells me to trust them, I instinctively trust them a little less. I don’t care who it is! It’s not that I don’t trust people; I do. It’s just that in my eyes, trust is something that is earned. Show me that I can trust you, and I will trust you with everything that I have; without question. Betray my trust, and it’s time for you to find a new friend. That’s just the way that I am, and I neither make excuses nor offer apologies for it.

You may be wondering how it is that I segued from talking about Holy Discontent to matters of trust?

Well, it’s like this: If you’ve visited these pages often enough, it is my sincere hope that I have earned your trust, at least to some degree. If I have earned that trust, I consider myself blessed. If I haven’t, well, I’m sorry. I just offer what I believe to be true, and what is on my heart each week…what you do with it is up to you.

Your Holy Discontent and YOU.

I closed last week’s post by saying…

The next step is for you to do something about it. If you do. Make that, when you do you’ll find that the most incredible thing happens. The more that you feed your Holy Discontent, the more it will feed you. And you’ll find that your life is richer, fuller, and more complete that you ever dreamed possible.

As much as I don’t want to tell you this, I’m compelled to do exactly that…

Trust me. If you act on your Holy Discontent, if you try to make this world a better place, if you try to make a difference in the life of one person or in the lives of one thousand, your life will never be the same. God will bless you oh so much. You won’t look at the world in the same way, and I can assure you that the world won’t look at you in the same way. I believe this with all that is in me, and I use my own life as an illustration of what God will do for you when you’re willing to do for Him. If you’ve identified the source of your discontent, and have already acted on it, you know exactly what I’m talking about, don’t you? And it is awesome, isn’t it?

“What if I know what it is, but don’t know what to do about it? Where do I begin?”

Well, you can start by using some of the gifts that God has given you. No, I’m not talking about spiritual gifts; those are the topic of next week’s post.

I’m talking about your financial resources, or your time, or your talents. You can use any or all of these things in helping to make the world a better place.

Don’t have the financial resources to help change the world?

That’s okay. Devote some of your time to helping in a hospital, a school, a neighborhood outreach, or a retirement community. You look hard enough, and you’re gonna find the switch that starts your engine.

What’s that? You don’t think that you have a talent? Think again.

We’re all born with at least one talent, one “gift”, that God has bestowed upon us. Some of those talents become evident early in our lives. Other talents may remain hidden for years, manifesting themselves when we least expect them, and taking us totally by surprise. We may not know that we possess these talents, but God certainly does. I’m going to use myself as an example.

When I was born again in August of 2006, I made a commitment to be a soldier of Christ and to take the news of what God had done in my life to anyone who would listen. And I told my wife Jackie that I wanted to take that message around the world…

Yep, around the world!

You may be chuckling a bit at my worldly aspirations, and I don’t blame you one bit for it. You see, when I made that statement, even I thought that notion of doing such a thing was farfetched. How was I gonna take anything, especially my thoughts about God, around the world? Didn’t matter. That’s what I said, and that was my intention.

At the time, there was one thing that I hadn’t really considered:

God was listening.

The first thing that He did was to ignite a fire in me to spread His Word, to be a light that shines for Him, to plant a small seed of hope in the lives of those who were hopeless.

And then He put me in front of this laptop. During a six month period, a period of unbelievable spiritual growth, I kept a daily journal of the wonders that God was doing in my life. I wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I didn’t know why I was writing. I didn’t know who I was writing for. I just knew that I had to write.

Looking back now, I believe that God was preparing me to launch The Seed of Hope. He was revealing my gift of communication through writing that I never knew existed. You see, I’d never written anything before. Had never taken a writing class. Didn’t know all the things that a writer is supposed to know then, and still don’t today (This may be quite obvious to many of you).

But I knew what was on my heart, what was on my mind, and I knew that part of God’s purpose for me was to share this gift. So I asked Him to give me the words to say. And I still do that to this day, each time that I sit down to share my thoughts with you. And He does. I don’t do rough drafts; I just sit down and write. (This may also be obvious to many of you! It’s about the message, not the grammar or punctuation!)

And then I got this crazy idea to do a blog page! So here I sit, some 18 months and 84 posts later, trying to crank out the 85^th one. Since its launch, The Seed of Hope has had over 8,500 new visitors from, well, from all over the world! I don’t know how many keep up with The Seed through Face Book, or how many of you forward each week’s post to friends, or how many of you relate what you’ve read to others.

It’s not really about the numbers, anyway. Like I told you last week, I would do it for one. Come to think of, I only do this for one. His name is God.

Sorry for rambling.

Identify your Holy Discontent. Make a commitment to yourself to do something about it. Make a commitment to God to do something about it.

He’ll give you everything that you need to make it happen.

Have an awesome week!

One

A few weeks ago I told you that I had been given the absolute blessing of sharing my testimony during the Easter weekend with two other members of Church of the Highlands here in Birmingham. I was humbled that God opened the door for me to share my story, considering that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of members at Highlands with their own unique stories that would have been more than happy to openly share what was on their hearts with others.

Well, the “numbers” are in from the twenty-nine services that were held at the six Highlands’ campuses that weekend, and they are, in my humble opinion, rather astounding.

An almost unbelievable 21,481 people attended the Easter services at Highlands! Even more incredible was that fact that of those thousands in attendance, 3,421 of them made a decision to begin a relationship with Christ (my calculator tells me that this computes to 15.9%).

I have to tell you, I was blown away by those numbers, grateful that I had been invited to be even a small part of the services, and even more grateful to be a member of a church that is drawing so many people to Jesus.

But then I wondered…

What if the second number had been 1? Just one. And what if the percentage had been a paltry .000046?

Would I have been as humbled or grateful? Would I have been as blessed? Would I, in fact, even be telling you about our one, singular success in this post?

To be honest with you, I probably wouldn’t be writing about it. I would, however, have been just as humble, grateful, and blessed; for that one person.

What if I had been that one person who didn’t know God, or didn’t have Jesus in my life, or had never been filled by the Holy Spirit? Would I have wanted someone to make an effort just for me? What if it had been you? Would you have wanted to be “found”?

Earlier this week I finished reading a book written by Pastor and noted author Bill Hybels titled HOLY Discontent, (Fueling the Fire That Ignites Personal Vision). In his book, Hybels talks about one particular aspect of the world in which you live that, well, that you can no longer tolerate! And then you do something about it.

He cited the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor Man, when he was fed up with a particular situation, proclaiming “That’s all I can stands, and I can’t stands no more!”

“Popeye moments.” When you reach the point that you just can’t stand something in the world that you’ve seen, or heard, or read about. Perhaps it’s something that you’ve experienced. It’s that defining moment in life when you’ve just had enough. I’m not talking about bad drivers, or people that cheat on their taxes, or people that break in line. I’m talking about things that in society that have a negative impact on others. In our cities and states. In our country. In our world.

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, a young teacher in Calcutta, had her Popeye moment after seeing countless numbers of men, women, and children who were destitute, homeless, hungry, and disease stricken. She committed her life to doing something about it. At the time of her death Agnes was simply referred to as Mother Teresa.

A young pastor named Martin Luther King Jr. had seen people of his race, blacks, being pushed to the back of the bus, being forced to eat in a separate area, and being deprived of equal opportunities in education and in the career field. And being lynched. He’d had enough, had his Popeye moment, and dedicated his life to making things different. That dedication ultimately cost him his life.

There’s the evangelist Billy Graham, and Dr. Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, one the largest Christian relief organizations in the world. Both had Popeye moments.

Something tells me that each of these amazing individuals would have been just as dedicated in improving the life of one person as they would have the lives of one thousand, or one million.

I believe that, upon its discovery within, that a Holy Discontent ignites a fire, a passion, in an individual that cannot be ignored. This has certainly been the case with me.

My Holy Discontent centers on those with no hope in their lives for a better tomorrow. I simply cannot stand it when I encounter someone whose life is void of hope, or of the promise that life can be anything more than a one way ticket to despair. Meeting a hopeless person reminds me of, well, of the way that I used to be. Before I knew God.

I know that with God all things are possible, that He will provide me with all that I need, that He will comfort me, shelter me, and pick me up when I’m down. With God in my life, hope is a constant companion. The man that I am with Him is so much more complete than the man I was without Him.

And so I write The Seed of Hope. And I use our business as a platform to spread His word. And I give glory and praise to His name. And I never pass up an opportunity to share the promise of a new and better day with Him in it, using what He has done in my life as an example.

I want everyone to know the sheer and absolute joy of living life with God in it. That’s my Holy Discontent. It’s my passion, my driving life force, my way of trying to make the world a better place.

I invite you to find the source of your Holy Discontent. Oh, believe me; it’s there, just waiting to be found. Look, you don’t have to change the world. Start small. Look inside your heart for that one thing that you just can’t stand any more, the one thing that will make a difference; even if it’s just for one person. You’ll find it. In fact, you may already have an idea of what it is.  

The next step is for you to do something about it. If you do. Make that, when you do, you’ll find that the most incredible thing happens. The more that you feed your Holy Discontent, the more it will feed you. And you’ll find that your life is richer, fuller, and more complete than you ever imagined possible.

You see, our real blessings in life come from being a blessing to others. Even if those “others” are, in fact, just one.

Have a blessed week!

A Prayer

Father, I thank You for Your presence in my life.

I’m always aware of Your presence, but this past week I sensed even more of You than I thought possible. You never left my side, did You? You were there, with me, giving me the strength, courage, and conviction to do some things that I didn’t really want to do, to say some things that I really didn’t want to say, and to keep going when I wanted to quit.

I knew that You were there with me, and it was Your nearness that helped me to remain steadfast in my walk, to measure my words, and to do things in the manner in which You would want them to be done.

I know that there are times when I take Your presence for granted, and I’m truly sorry for that. Sometimes, when my life is on cruise control, I forget that it is You doing the driving, and not me. This week, I was more than happy to let You take the wheel, and very grateful that You did.

I went to church this morning, grateful that I had gotten through the week, and eager to start a new one by seeking the comfort of being in Your “house” with Jackie, our friends, and fellow Christians.

The plan was for me to put things in place for the first service at 9:30, leave and meet Jackie and some of our friends for breakfast, then return to church for the 11:15 service.

Well, You had other plans for me, didn’t You?

There had been a mix-up, and the couple that had offered to help at the 9:30 service didn’t show up, so I had to call Jackie and tell her to go on without me. Disappointed, yet determined to serve You, I put on the best smile that I could to welcome visitors into our church. I was reminded of my life just a few short years ago, when I had to put on a mask of happiness every day in order to welcome people in my business. But this time it was different; this time, the smile was real, in spite of the disappointment that was on my heart.

And I was thinking, “Why is this happening today? All I wanted to do was to go to breakfast with Jackie, and then go to church. Was that too much to ask for?”

You knew what You were doing, didn’t You? You were setting the table for me….

Opting to sit outside the church in a “funk”, rather than attending the service, I pulled out my i-phone and decided to check my e-mails. I had received a message from my good friend Susie on Thursday, but hadn’t taken the time to read it.

Her message was about trials and tribulations, and knowing that You will always be there to protect us, if we will put our complete faith in You. That You will always be with us. That You will lead us through trying times so that we may serve as a witness to others as to what You have done.

While Susie’s e-mail made me feel better, I still wasn’t really happy with the way the morning had played out.

You were setting the table for me…

Jackie and our friends finally made it to church, and we took a seat right up near the front, which is where I always like to sit. This morning, though, I really didn’t care where I sat. I was ready to go home.

The worship portion of the service began, and I sang the songs with all that was in me, but I believe it was more of releasing what was bottled up inside rather than praising You. As I sang, I could feel the tension melting away. But it was still there.

Pastor Chris began his message. It was the second part of a series titled My Best Friend, and it was about You, the Holy Spirit. As he spoke about You, and what we receive when we welcome You into our lives and into our hearts, an amazing thing happened.

I found myself reflecting on the day that I made a commitment to be one of Your soldiers, and to take Your message to whoever would listen. On that day I vowed to stand up for You, to fight for You, and to shine for You. And since that day, I have done everything in that is in me to live up to that vow.

Today, sitting in church, almost four years after I made that commitment to You, I realized that I had never surrendered myself to You, and to Your will, and to Your plan for me. With tears streaming down my face, I found myself letting go of my plans for what I was going to do for You…

How ironic is it that a soldier would find peace in surrender?

Father God, I completely surrender my life to You. I ask You to use me in whatever way You see fit. I ask to filled by Your Spirit daily, and ask You to release Your Spirit in me, so that I may truly be a light that shines for You. May I never question Your plans for me, or the how, the why, and the what You want me to do for You. I seek only to serve You, and to make You happy. I will use all the gifts that You have given me to give glory and praise to You. I ask You for the strength and wisdom to carry out Your plans for me. I am grateful that I am your son, and that You are my Father. In the name of Jesus, I offer this prayer to You.

Amen.