Thursday, October 25, 2007
God Soaking 101
"...you are immersed in the truths of God to SOAK in them before Him."
- My Utmost For His Highest, October 19
The past 26 months in my life has been a regeneration and time of growth unlike anything I've ever experienced. Often challenging, frustrating, stretching, exciting, exhilarating, confusing, but above all has left me in a state of peace and contentment in cherishing these days that I have to do nothing more than focus and grow into who it is that I am supposed to be. It has been a full on God-soak.
Much like a dry sponge that instantly drinks up the water its placed into, so has my soul been to the Spirit of God in the last two years.
I have wrestled with and been dealt with on the need for and benefits of wholeheartedly giving a portion of my income as a tithe in thanksgiving for what I have and in thanksgiving in advance for what is to come. And as I have done that I have had nothing less than real-life tangible results and benefits of steady self-employed income.
I had come to the conclusion that if I put my faithful giving and following of the calling upon my life above ALL else - seeking God in both of these - then the few debts that I wish to pay off will be dealt with in due time. I had to come to this conclusion in my own time, but I did, and it seems to be working.
In this same vein, my time has been freed up so that I can simply live and live simply. Here's how:
In the previous iteration of my business, I was so stressed out that I couldn't even think straight. Ironically, I was so stressed out that, being involved in a creative business, I couldn't even create anymore. Working 7 days a week, 8, 10 and 12 hour days was a nightmare that I didn't even know I was starring in.
Having my time supernaturally freed again has allowed me to live again. By being allowed to live again, its allowed me to create again.
I love to work. Truly. Work is edifying. Not work just for the sake of work (see the quote at the end of this composition), but work that MEANS something. Work that I can pour my being into. Volunteer work that makes a difference in someone elses life. We were created to work. I have faith. And faith without WORKS is dead. And work with faith I do because now that I have been regenerated by rest and recovery I am most certainly not dead anymore.
The catch: even though I live to work, God will purposely only bring the amount of work that I need at a time. He will regulate my time so that I have just enough to keep me busy and out of trouble and so that I have just enough income to survive on. Just enough to know that I must be responsible to be a good steward of what I've been given, including the aforementioned tithe.
And He will build downtime into my schedule to enjoy life. To relax. To create. To be with people. To build relationships. To focus. To learn. To grow. To be polished.
To live.
I believe myself to be a creative person. From designing, writing, acting, sketching, shooting workout videos, working on music, designing t shirts, et al, I AM creative. And its what drives me.
In the same way I have wrestled with doing the proper thing with my finances, I have also wrestled with my daily devotional time.
Ok God, I get it.
But, I'm in a constant state of praying and communicating with You. I'm in touch with friends and accountability partners all the time during the week. I know all the bible stories. I know there's 66 books in the Bible. Right?! Blah blah blah blah BLAHHHHHHHHHH. I FREAKING GET IT.
I.
FREAKING.
GET.
IT.
But I still didn't have my own personal devotional time.
Until now.
It only makes sense that in the same way that God provides income from which I am to give a portion, that I should take a portion of the free time that God blesses me with and "tithe" a portion of that time in devotion to Him.
And IF I DO THIS, which I am now doing consistently, then ultimately ALL of my time will be mine. No time clock punching at the Y. No projects for other people. Unless I CHOOSE to take those on by God's leading.
And this is the crossroad where secular and holy meet.
"Secular meet Holy. Holy meet secular."
Don't misunderstand. It blesses me immensely to assist people in bettering themselves with health and wellness. It blesses me immensely to be able to assist those - those that respect my work anyway - with web, logo, print and other design related issues that will better their business or organization and possibly make them more profitable or recognizable.
But ANYthing can become a "job." Going to the gym with a client can become a job. Designing mass amounts of websites for anyone and everyone will become a job. again.
But to be able to reach out and take hold of your dream and vision that God has implanted in you, and to think that you could survive off of that - because heck, everyone has bills to pay - how perfect would that be? "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life." We've all heard it, but how many of us actually DO this?
I wasn't created to do the same thing all the time. I love diversity and I have grown to love change. Yes, I said GROWN to love change, because change is hard. BUT, the several major instances of growth in the past couple of years have yielded benefits FAR above and beyond the temporary struggles and growth that came from that change that I look forward to new change these days.
I was born with many many innate interests and creative goals. I am thankful for that and I make NO APOLOGIES to those that have given me the advice over the years of "you really need to pick one thing and stick with it." No, if God didn't MAKE me this way, with many different interests, I wouldn't BE this way. Thank you, but no thank you.
If we were created in God's image and if God is a creative being, then we ALL have some measure of creativity to bring to various situations. Yes, ALL includes you.
If I give a portion of my time to God then I will ultimately be able to exist in a state of complete creativity all the time using the ideas that God inspires me with to do my OWN projects for my OWN self to then produce income from which a portion will be given as a tithe thus creating a positive vicious cycle of living directly from the creative pipeline and financial provision of God.
When this happens, it will happen in God's time due to God's plan. It is supposed to be this way so that WE cannot take credit for making it happen. Much like I believe my tithing financially will free me from certain debts, it will only happen according to God's plan. Why is this you ask? Because if it happens by way of OUR making it happen, then we puff our chests out and take credit for being self-made people that don't need the influence and provision of God in our lives. "See this, look at what I did. God who? Oh, no, HE didn't have anything to do with this. It was ALL me." Thus, HE doesn't get the credit.
BUT, and this is a big BUT, if it happens according to God's plan, in God's time and you have
done your best to grow and stay focused and make the most of every opportunity that comes your way, then when your moment DOES come, or the success that you see DOES come to fruition, then you can wholeheartedly, humbly, and thankfully be completely sincere when you respond by saying, "It wasn't me, it was He."
And THEN, God is truly glorified for being God.
And this is when God excels. This is His show and He knows how to be the star. And when you humble yourself before God in this way, He will lift you higher than you have ever imagined.
If you are at a place in time where you don't seem to be moving forward too much, maybe you're being dealt with on some issues that God deems necessary to have work done on in your life. CHERISH THIS TIME! Revel in, and give thanks for, each day. For it means that you are chosen by God. It means that you are called to great things. It means that God deems you worth polishing.
We are ALL worth a great price.
We are ALL meant for great things.
And if I may be so bold, we are ALL worth polishing.
We are ALL called to soak in Him.
And sometimes we are FORCED to stop and soak in Him. But unlike a trip to the dentist, its a visit to sit before the throne of God and become more like Him and to become more of who He created us to be.
Have a strong God-soak.
"And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God's redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of SOAKING before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will REMAIN TRUE TO HIM whatever happens."
- My Utmost For His Highest, October 19
- My Utmost For His Highest, October 19
The past 26 months in my life has been a regeneration and time of growth unlike anything I've ever experienced. Often challenging, frustrating, stretching, exciting, exhilarating, confusing, but above all has left me in a state of peace and contentment in cherishing these days that I have to do nothing more than focus and grow into who it is that I am supposed to be. It has been a full on God-soak.
Much like a dry sponge that instantly drinks up the water its placed into, so has my soul been to the Spirit of God in the last two years.
I have wrestled with and been dealt with on the need for and benefits of wholeheartedly giving a portion of my income as a tithe in thanksgiving for what I have and in thanksgiving in advance for what is to come. And as I have done that I have had nothing less than real-life tangible results and benefits of steady self-employed income.
I had come to the conclusion that if I put my faithful giving and following of the calling upon my life above ALL else - seeking God in both of these - then the few debts that I wish to pay off will be dealt with in due time. I had to come to this conclusion in my own time, but I did, and it seems to be working.
In this same vein, my time has been freed up so that I can simply live and live simply. Here's how:
In the previous iteration of my business, I was so stressed out that I couldn't even think straight. Ironically, I was so stressed out that, being involved in a creative business, I couldn't even create anymore. Working 7 days a week, 8, 10 and 12 hour days was a nightmare that I didn't even know I was starring in.
Having my time supernaturally freed again has allowed me to live again. By being allowed to live again, its allowed me to create again.
I love to work. Truly. Work is edifying. Not work just for the sake of work (see the quote at the end of this composition), but work that MEANS something. Work that I can pour my being into. Volunteer work that makes a difference in someone elses life. We were created to work. I have faith. And faith without WORKS is dead. And work with faith I do because now that I have been regenerated by rest and recovery I am most certainly not dead anymore.
The catch: even though I live to work, God will purposely only bring the amount of work that I need at a time. He will regulate my time so that I have just enough to keep me busy and out of trouble and so that I have just enough income to survive on. Just enough to know that I must be responsible to be a good steward of what I've been given, including the aforementioned tithe.
And He will build downtime into my schedule to enjoy life. To relax. To create. To be with people. To build relationships. To focus. To learn. To grow. To be polished.
To live.
I believe myself to be a creative person. From designing, writing, acting, sketching, shooting workout videos, working on music, designing t shirts, et al, I AM creative. And its what drives me.
In the same way I have wrestled with doing the proper thing with my finances, I have also wrestled with my daily devotional time.
Ok God, I get it.
But, I'm in a constant state of praying and communicating with You. I'm in touch with friends and accountability partners all the time during the week. I know all the bible stories. I know there's 66 books in the Bible. Right?! Blah blah blah blah BLAHHHHHHHHHH. I FREAKING GET IT.
I.
FREAKING.
GET.
IT.
But I still didn't have my own personal devotional time.
Until now.
It only makes sense that in the same way that God provides income from which I am to give a portion, that I should take a portion of the free time that God blesses me with and "tithe" a portion of that time in devotion to Him.
And IF I DO THIS, which I am now doing consistently, then ultimately ALL of my time will be mine. No time clock punching at the Y. No projects for other people. Unless I CHOOSE to take those on by God's leading.
And this is the crossroad where secular and holy meet.
"Secular meet Holy. Holy meet secular."
Don't misunderstand. It blesses me immensely to assist people in bettering themselves with health and wellness. It blesses me immensely to be able to assist those - those that respect my work anyway - with web, logo, print and other design related issues that will better their business or organization and possibly make them more profitable or recognizable.
But ANYthing can become a "job." Going to the gym with a client can become a job. Designing mass amounts of websites for anyone and everyone will become a job. again.
But to be able to reach out and take hold of your dream and vision that God has implanted in you, and to think that you could survive off of that - because heck, everyone has bills to pay - how perfect would that be? "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life." We've all heard it, but how many of us actually DO this?
I wasn't created to do the same thing all the time. I love diversity and I have grown to love change. Yes, I said GROWN to love change, because change is hard. BUT, the several major instances of growth in the past couple of years have yielded benefits FAR above and beyond the temporary struggles and growth that came from that change that I look forward to new change these days.
I was born with many many innate interests and creative goals. I am thankful for that and I make NO APOLOGIES to those that have given me the advice over the years of "you really need to pick one thing and stick with it." No, if God didn't MAKE me this way, with many different interests, I wouldn't BE this way. Thank you, but no thank you.
If we were created in God's image and if God is a creative being, then we ALL have some measure of creativity to bring to various situations. Yes, ALL includes you.
If I give a portion of my time to God then I will ultimately be able to exist in a state of complete creativity all the time using the ideas that God inspires me with to do my OWN projects for my OWN self to then produce income from which a portion will be given as a tithe thus creating a positive vicious cycle of living directly from the creative pipeline and financial provision of God.
When this happens, it will happen in God's time due to God's plan. It is supposed to be this way so that WE cannot take credit for making it happen. Much like I believe my tithing financially will free me from certain debts, it will only happen according to God's plan. Why is this you ask? Because if it happens by way of OUR making it happen, then we puff our chests out and take credit for being self-made people that don't need the influence and provision of God in our lives. "See this, look at what I did. God who? Oh, no, HE didn't have anything to do with this. It was ALL me." Thus, HE doesn't get the credit.
BUT, and this is a big BUT, if it happens according to God's plan, in God's time and you have
done your best to grow and stay focused and make the most of every opportunity that comes your way, then when your moment DOES come, or the success that you see DOES come to fruition, then you can wholeheartedly, humbly, and thankfully be completely sincere when you respond by saying, "It wasn't me, it was He."
And THEN, God is truly glorified for being God.
And this is when God excels. This is His show and He knows how to be the star. And when you humble yourself before God in this way, He will lift you higher than you have ever imagined.
If you are at a place in time where you don't seem to be moving forward too much, maybe you're being dealt with on some issues that God deems necessary to have work done on in your life. CHERISH THIS TIME! Revel in, and give thanks for, each day. For it means that you are chosen by God. It means that you are called to great things. It means that God deems you worth polishing.
We are ALL worth a great price.
We are ALL meant for great things.
And if I may be so bold, we are ALL worth polishing.
We are ALL called to soak in Him.
And sometimes we are FORCED to stop and soak in Him. But unlike a trip to the dentist, its a visit to sit before the throne of God and become more like Him and to become more of who He created us to be.
Have a strong God-soak.
"And if you waste your time in overactivity, instead of being immersed in the great fundamental truths of God's redemption, then you will snap when the stress and strain do come. But if this time of SOAKING before God is being spent in getting rooted and grounded in Him, which may appear to be impractical, then you will REMAIN TRUE TO HIM whatever happens."
- My Utmost For His Highest, October 19
