John and Kathy Deisher

One Call, One Harvest, 50 Teams

God

Companions

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It is easier to find guides, someone to tell you what to do, than someone to be with you in a discerning, prayerful companionship as you work it out yourself. This is what spiritual direction is.”

— Eugene Peterson
Photo by Andrea Tummons on Unsplash

I have said it. So have you.

“I wish someone would just tell me what to do!”

What should I study in college? Should I marry this person? Do I take this job or that job? How do I handle this situation?

Just tell me what to do!

So we look for a book, a speaker, a conference, someone, anyone who can give us an answer.

A guide who knows all, sees all, tells all.

But we should be looking for a friend, a companion. One who will walk with us, listen to us, pray for us. They will ask the hard questions that help us discover that God speaks to us and we can find answers through him.

Life is more frustrating if you keep looking for a guide.

Life is more fulfilling if you find a companion.

Go!

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The child, in Jesus’ mind, was not an annoying distraction. The child was a last-ditch effort by God to help the disciples pay attention to the odd nature of God’s kingdom. Few acts of Jesus are more radical, countercultural, than his blessing of children.”

– Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon, “Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony

Some co-workers of mine have a year and a half old son. I had a chance to spend some time with him this past Sunday night. He has a new word he likes.

The word is “Go”.

And he does.

I try to get him to come sit. But he grabs my hand and says “Go”.

He always seems to be ready to go. He is always moving. He is full of energy. He is full of life.

I am more comfortable with “Stay.”

But he tugs on my arm, looks at me, and says “Go.”

The Kingdom of God is “Go”. It is movement. It is energy. It is life.

And when I am comfortable with “Stay” the Holy Spirit tugs on my arm and say, “Go”.

No wonder Jesus blessed the children.

In His Image

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Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image.”

—A.W. Tozer, “The Pursuit of God” 
"Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and to bring Him nearer to our own image.”

I shared with our interns the other day a different way of looking at the Bible.

Instead of reading the Bible and asking, “What are you saying to me, God?”, we should read the Bible and say, “What are you revealing about yourself, God?”.

It seems simple when you think about it. We were made in his image. So, that means as we learn more about God, his nature and attributes, we learn more about ourselves.

We make adjustments to our lives.

What is God revealing about himself to you, so that you can live in his image?

God’s “Best”

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“The secret to following God’s will, I discovered, usually is wrapped up in rejecting the good for God’s  best.” 

― K.P. Yohannan, “Revolution in World Missions”
“The secret to following God's will, I discovered, usually is wrapped up in rejecting the good for God's best.”

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

I have heard it said that “Good is the enemy of Best”. 

And I suppose that is true. 

There are times that “Good” is good enough. It gets the job done well enough to bring a sense of self-satisfaction. We can put that task behind us and move on.

But most times, “Good” doesn’t leave everyone else satisfied. There is a feeling that little effort was extended…that there was no thought for others.

And the question comes, “Is that your best?”.

Accepting “good enough” for a Christian means we feel satisfied with our lives. We have done the “Christian” thing and can now move on with what we want to do.

But it doesn’t leave God satisfied. Because he knows that there is a “best”.

When we follow him, he has a plan for us. And following that plan means that we make the hard choices to find his best so we can be our best.

“Good” is easy. “Good” is effortless. “Good” is convenient.

“Best” is hard. “Best” takes work. “Best” is inconvenient.

To find God’s best and follow him costs us everything.

But, it is the best.

What Do I See?

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“With the goodness of God to desire our highest welfare, the wisdom of God to plan it, and the power of God to achieve it, what do we lack?” 

― A.W. Tozer, “The Knowledge of the Holy”
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

I have the ability to sometimes see what I don’t see. What I don’t see are things that I feel I need.

I don’t live in a house. I live in an RV. But one of my favorite things is hospitality, and an RV is not a great place to host people. I need a house, but I am lacking one.

It is easy to see what I don’t have. It is harder to truly see what I do have. So, I change my perspective.

What do I have?

I have a God who is good and watches over me. He blesses me with family and friends who walk through life with me.

I have a God who has given me a purpose. He has placed in my heart eternal plans and placed people in my life to partner with me.

I have a God who has given me the ability to carry out his plans. He has given me gifts to help me in doing the work to which he has called me.

So what do I have?

Everything.

What do I lack?

Nothing.

It’s all about perspective.

Deeper Things

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“We should remember that God always meets us where we are and slowly moves us along into deeper things.”

— Richard Foster, “Celebration of Discipline”
Deeper Things
(Photo by Cristian Palmer on Unsplash)

Someone recently found an old picture of me from college in 1978. I was 5’11”, 145 pounds, and had a large, curly “afro” (as they were called). I looked like a giant q-tip.

I don’t look like that anymore.

In 1978, I thought I knew how God worked, what he wanted from me,  and how my life would work out. I thought I knew the “deeper things”.

I don’t think like that anymore.

God was real to me in 1978. But in the last 41 years, I have changed. I have had experiences I never could have dreamed about then.

I have had life experiences.

I have had God-experiences.

And I have come to realize that God is continually meeting with me in the present to draw me into his future.

That means more “deeper things”.

God loves me where I am right now. But, he is not content to let me stay here.

He has “deeper things”.

God’s Faithfulness

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I planted a garden this year. OK, I actually planted some vegetables in three large containers. That is what you do when you live in an RV.

I planted tomatoes, peppers, and pickling cumbers. I did not expect bushel baskets full of produce, but I thought it would be nice to have a few fresh vegetables.

But it rained. All of April, all of may, much of June, it rained. Despite the rain, I picked two tomatoes and had three more growing, along with two peppers and one cucumber. Not a bumper crop.

Then it got hot. Hot as in a week of over 100 degrees. Two of the three tomatoes survived the heat, but the rest of the vegetables wilted and died.

Where am I going with this?

I could have lamented what was lost. I could have shaken my fist at the rain and the sun for ruining my harvest. I could have regretted the money I spent and the time I invested.

Or, I could enjoy my salad. Actually, two salads, each with two tomatoes. And I could look forward to next year.

Life brings you stuff. But we choose how to live, how to respond.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

I wonder what I should plant next year?