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Stay In Your Lane

Growth & Development, Life Balance, Overcoming / Tom Stuart

Years ago I was invited to a meeting with a couple of Christian leaders in our city with the purpose of exploring a cooperative ministry effort. I knew each of the men and was familiar with the intensity and dedication with which each led their well established and successful ministries. As I was making the thirty minute drive across town on the freeway I decided to take the time to pray for the meeting. Almost immediately I heard these words, whispered by the Holy Spirit “Stay in your lane!” At that moment traffic was fairly heavy on the four lane stretch of road that I was on and my first impulse was to warily check the lanes on either side of me.

Assured that everything was alright, I figured I would stay in the lane in which I was driving until I needed to exit and turned my attention to what the Lord really intended with the words “stay in your lane.” I knew it was a word of wisdom for me as it related to the meeting. The lane I was being warned to stay in was my lane and focus of ministry. God was reminding me of the importance of fixing my heart clearly on His calling and purpose for my life, and not being drawn or forced out of that lane into the lane of another. Having this quickened in my spirit brought a sense of peace with the realization that there was sure to be pressure in the meeting to change ministry lanes.

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The Joys of Childlike Creativity

1 Comment / Holy Spirit Aha's, Life Balance, News & Reflections / Tom Stuart

“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14 (NIV)

Children have a lot to teach us about kingdom ways and the joys of being a child of the Heavenly Father. I am relearning some of these valuable lessons simply by being on vacation with two of my little grandchildren. My wife Susan and I are on a Caribbean getaway sharing a condo near a beach with our oldest daughter and her family. Sophie (6) and Greta (3) like all children have boundless energy and active imaginations. What has been fascinating to me is their tireless delight in creativity and play.

It is no exaggeration to say that every waking minute is taken up with some industrious engagement either in creating something or game playing. Their creativity is channeled through many different activities including drawing, coloring, writing, singing, dancing and acting out imaginary scenarios, all of which others are invited to enjoy, critique, applaud and/or participate.

They have an amazing capacity to churn out works of art with great rapidity, ushering from a free flow of ideas that are uninhibited by over thinking and self-critical judgments. One typical day Sophie drew and colored several beach scenes, wrote a story entitled “The Three Ants” akin to the three bears tale and joined Greta in opening an art gallery and spa to which all of us were invited. We also played tag in the pool between numerous games of Uno, Skip-Bo, and Mexican Dominoes. In the evening Greta orchestrated a show in which she performed and then assigned each adult an instrument to play as she conducted.

There is something to be said for the renewing and energizing power of playful, creative pursuits in life. My joy in watching and participating in my grandchildren’s creativity reminds me of how God must feel when He sees us as His children utilizing the creative gifts He has given us. I am convinced that an integral aspect of ruling and reigning with Christ Jesus is conceiving, designing and/or generating new things for God’s glory.

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Who do you want to become?

2 Comments / Life Balance / Tom Stuart

I call to God Most High, to God who fulfills His purpose for me. Psalm 57:2

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” I’ll bet you have asked that question of children numerous times. At what age do you remember first being asked that question? Do you recall some of your early answers? At the root of the question is an even more important life-purpose question – “who do you want to become?” From childhood on, that question can intrigue, inspire, infatuate or infuriate us our entire lives.

Why do we find ourselves, like hiking some circuitous looping trail, repeatedly stumbling back upon that same probing question? For one thing most of us in our unguarded moments would admit we still feel like eternal kids or teenagers in our heart of hearts. There is a sense we have when confronted with our own vulnerability or weaknesses or failures that we really have not progressed as far in life as we had imagined; and in fact may be stuck in a kind emotional adolescence still groping with questions of that sort.

I had a friend, a diminutive woman with the boldness of a lion, who was a social worker in a men’s residential treatment center. She made it her practice to stand toe to toe with new residents, and while staring up at them and pointing her forefinger at their chest. She would ask, “How old are you? I mean really, not chronologically, but inside, how old are you?” And she told me in her many years working there nearly every man gave the same essential answer. They all admitted to still being teenagers.

“Who do I want to become?” Why do we keep coming back to that question? Probably the most salient reason is that it is all too easy to repeatedly get side-tracked by seemingly urgent and persistent questions such as “What do I want to get done?” The pressure of getting things done often preempts and causes us to disregard the more important focus of pursuing who we want to become.

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Second Thoughts on the Pursuit of Success

2 Comments / Life Balance, Overcoming / Tom Stuart

“And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not.” Jeremiah 45:5a ESV

This verse is not your typical name it, claim it promise, nor something you would find typed on a strip of paper in a fortune cookie. In fact at first blush, these are not the kind of words any inspired, faith-filled, goal-oriented believer ever wants to hear. This advice seems counter intuitive coming from the all-things-are-possible God whom we serve. And yet, despite the fact that there are other instances in the Scriptures where God encourages His followers to dream big and press forward to lay hold of those things which we desire, in this case He says the opposite, “seek them not.”

It helps to understand the context in which God would say such a thing and there is a life giving principle hidden therein. These words are spoken on God’s behalf through Jeremiah the prophet to his faithful scribe Baruch. Baruch had just been lamenting the frustrations of fruitless labor – how overwhelmed he feels, weary with groaning and finding no rest. (vs. 3) Their nation of Judah is poised for God’s judgment and in essence He is saying to Baruch, look “I am bringing disaster upon” the whole land. It is not a time for you to seek success, “but I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.” (Jeremiah 45:5b)

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A Place for Holy Hurry

1 Comment / Life Balance, Relationship with God / Tom Stuart

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” Luke 19:5 ESV

Seldom in the scriptures do we see God encouraging people to be in a hurry. More often than not we find Him speaking to His harried creation about doing the opposite – the necessity of slowing down and waiting. “Be still” He says, “and know that I am God.” “Wait on the Lord . . . wait I say on the Lord.” (Psalms 46:10, 27:14)

Even Jesus, despite the frenzy around Him, never allowed Himself to be pressured into being in a hurry. He always had time to pause in His journey from place to place to give attention to the no-name people who pressed upon Him with their needs.

Interruptions for Him were the order of the day and it often confounded His disciples and those who followed Him. Invariably His priorities as evidenced by how He chose to spend His time were counterintuitive to the conventional wisdom of someone they thought had come to set up an earthly kingdom. Why should such an important person on a mission to rule the world be lavishing time on little children or blind beggars like Bartimaeus? (Matthew 19:14 & Mark 10:46-52)

But, being in hurry obviously makes sense when it comes to doing an act of kindness or more importantly, saving a person’s life. In that regard it is an imperative since time is of the essence. Ironically therefore, even for Jesus, it could be said that He was in a hurry to take the time to pause. This sanctified kind of hurry to do good, might be termed being in a “holy hurry.”

When you stop to think about it then, being in a holy hurry certainly has its place. And that brings us back to the story of Zacchaeus. Jesus was in the midst of another very busy day as the He was passing through the crowded streets of Jericho when He noticed the diminutive Zacchaeus perched in a tree trying to get a glimpse of Him. Without hesitancy He stopped and called the man out by name, doubtless startling him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” In other words, “Z, it’s high time you quit sitting on the sidelines being a spectator, and hurry down to come and spend time with Me!” Or phrased even more simply: “Hurry! Let’s hang out!”

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