Thoughts that have come from various quotes taken from the book, "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim Based Society" by John H. Hovis. Click here to link directly to the audio file.
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"Victims use past trials as proof to justify their jealous ways of hoarding and doling out whatever it takes to get what they need to find fulfillment."
As quoted from the book "Victor - Breaking Free From a Victim-Based Society" by John H. Hovis Page 132.
Sitting in Church today I did something that always seems to get me into trouble. I actually listened to the words we were singing during our worship time. Have you ever done that? So often my worship is simply regurgitating the words back out of habit. What happened to me today is that I listened to the words in a way where I had to take a close look at those words and let them penetrate my heart in a manner that might actually have some real impact in my life.
I happen to believe that music, spiritual and secular alike, has real power in this world. There is just something about the creative process required to make a song come to life. I'm not a musician, sometimes that fact really bothers me. But I have gotten to know some amazing musicians over the years and I am blown away at how making music of any kind is a deeply personal and, dare I say, God filled process. It is times like today when I can see behind the words and go beyond the melody that I believe music has it's way in my life.
At Church we sang a beautiful song called, "Build Your Life" by Housefires. The chorus of this song says the following;
And I will build my life upon your love it is a firm foundation.
And I will put my trust in you alone
Oh Lord and I will not be shaken
What does this have to do with our topic today on trails and generosity? Good question. I was thinking about being shaken in my life from time to time. Trials really have a way of doing this to us don't they? It is when the things of this life turn against us that we can really find ourselves shaken to the core.
I have found that when this happens those things I have used to be generous with really come into question. It might be money or time or a host of any other things that I have poured out in what might be seen to be generous ways. When I'm shaken it is so easy to hoard those things in my life and generosity can become less and less of a trait. Listening to today's worship songs, this fact just didn't sit well with me on so many different levels.
Why would I get to a place where generosity and the things I'm generous with is hoarded because of challenging situations in my life? The answer is in the words we sang. It is because my trust is in other things than God alone. See why I might not listen to the words I sing that often - that's a conviction that is really hard for me to hear.
Trust is a commodity that is so hard to come by. It is more precious than silver and gold when it goes missing in our lives. Having a trust in God is something that is so valuable, particularly when the bad times come. Trust is one of the most powerful means of getting to a place where we can weed out the victim thinking ways that seem to grab hold when we face a series of trials in life.
Today's Bible reading is short and to the point. It deals with the essence of how to trust in God when things go south. It says,
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Psalm 56:3 (NIV)
Fear plays such a critical role in life when things get shakey. It's no wonder that I start to hoard the those things that I use in acting out in generous ways - I am afraid I might not have those things for myself. Today's reading gives us insight on how to get back on that solid foundation of God's love. It says "PUT" my trust in you.
That word "put" is such a simple and seemingly insignificant word. Yet it has a power to it that we need to grasp in order for our victor status to really take flight during the shakey times of life. When I put something somewhere it requires me to act in a definitive and absolute way. I have to choose to put something somewhere. I have to intentionally carry it to where it will be placed and then let it go!
Letting go is the power behind this simple three letter word. To put my trust in God I have to intentionally take the circumstances that are shaking my life to God. I have to then set them down, in other words lay them at His feet. Then I have to let them go. Failing to go to Him, failing to set it down and/or failing to let it go are all reasons why it can seem so impossible to put trust where it needs to be in order for power to be the result.
How do you know if you let it go. Check your level of peace. If you have taken that thing to God, have set it before Him and feel you have let it go only to have the burden of carrying that circumstance in your life still be there - do it all over again! That feeling of burden will rob you of your peace. If your peace is missing, it might be that trust is still the issue. Remember, it is the process that God is so much more concerned about - not the result. He loves interacting with you as you come to Him. If the burden continues to follow you, it isn't that you have failed. It just might be that He wants to spend more time with you!
The answer to trust is always going to be love. Love isn't a process that can be perfected. It isn't a formula that can be developed. Love is something that takes time and effort, particularly when the circumstances of this world work in ways that make you feel that love is the furthest thing from the truth.
What's shaking in your life today. When you feel that shaking feeling may be it is time to do some "putting." Put your trust in God and let His love be all it can be in creating that firm foundation promised in the lyrics of a worship song that reached down into the soul of a victor trying to find how to live a life anchored on the foundation of a love that we all need to see in our lives.
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