Westwinds continues to amaze me. Despite all my church has gone through this summer–the resignation of the founding and lead pastor of 18 years, the leaving-to-church-plant situation with our worship leader/associate pastor couple and now the stepping-down of another staff person–core lay-leaders have remained resilient and committed to the cause. And God keeps bearing fruit through us.
Today’s service was a little different: there was no spoken message. It was media delivered. And being a member of Westwinds’ IMAGE team–and it being my weekend to work–I got to be heavily involved in designing the delivery. It was fun and rewarding.
But even more rewarding was having the opportunity to experience the message (which was delivered creatively via our computers/projectors) multiple times and have the Lord reveal more to me each time.
The core of the message? “Life isn’t about ‘us.'” It’s about being part of God’s greater purpose. It’s about engaging in surrender to His will and purpose.
Some key reflections/revelations:
“God isn’t necessarily looking for the ones who look the part and say all the right things. His eyes aren’t focused on people with shining resumes and killer endorsements…”
That’s been my life up to this point: pursuing glitz and glamour with my portfolio and resume, all the time believing that God will use it to expand his kingdom. It’s noble goal and desire; I think my heart is pure in it and that God will honor my desire. But at the same time, I fee he asking me to surrender that in return for something more. His overwhelming stamp of approval on my life rather than man’s.
You see, behind all those noble desires is a cry for acceptance and approval from man. Strong resumes and degrees and knowledge impress men pretty quickly. But they are just mean’s to an end for God. He can use them–but he doesn’t need them. He doesn’t rely on them.
“Your life can be unlimited only to the degree that it’s also surrendered…As long as we attempt to live our lives, we’ll be limited to our human strength and willpower to get things done.”
H U G E. How often do I rely on my own strength to accomplish stuff? From day-to-day things like fulfilling work duties to initating spiritual conversations with friends or whatever… I always judge a situation on whether I can handle it. I rarely dip into the Lord’s resources, which just so happen to be abundantly more plentiful than mine. I’M LIMITING MY OWN POTENTIAL.
“Every day, thousands of people accomplish thousands of self-imposed goals and still feel empty inside at the end of it all. Why? Because life isn’t about us. Before we were ever born, God designed us exactly as we are with His purpose in mind for us. Only when we recognize this at our spiritual core, and get our hearts in line with His heart, can we accomplish anything of genuine significance.”
I think I’ve lived quite intentionally these past years. I’ve been pretty clear in my goals and dreams. But I feel my focus has been off just a few degrees. To use the cliché, I’ve put God in a box. I’ve held the reigns. It’s scary to yield to God’s potential because getting there often requires messiness and discomfort. But it has to happen because people’s eternal destinies hinge upon it.
“And this is intentional living…”
