Sharla, Author at Sharla Fritz - Page 10 of 29
November 19, 2019

Navigating Unmet Desires

How do you deal with unmet desires? Those longings you’ve held for years? Those empty places in your heart that never seem filled?

It turns out those unmet desires can be a key to spiritual growth. It’s a lesson I learned on a shopping trip.

I love to browse at the outlet mall near my house and sometimes find wonderful items within my budget. However, on one such browsing session I wandered into the Armani store. Now I knew Armani was an expensive name, but I thought this is the outlet store, right? Looking through the racks I found a beautiful blouse. “This would be perfect,” I thought–until I looked at the price tag! $221.00!

Now I should add that although I love to browse at the outlet mall, I normally buy my clothing at resale shops where I can get an Ann Taylor sweater set for $4.99, a Liz Claiborne trench coat for $5.50, and a Jones New York jacket for $4.00. I couldn’t quite fathom $221.00 for one item of clothing. 

In a resale shop I can usually buy anything I desire. But in the Armani store my desires would remain unmet.

Shortly after the trip to the Armani store, my daily quiet time led me to Deuteronomy 8:3 and as I read I felt God flip a switch in my brain.

“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” Deuteronomy 8:3

I saw something in that verse I had not noticed before. Moses told the people of Israel that God humbled them, causing them to hunger. He did not immediately meet their needs. And when God did feed them, He gave them manna. This was a miraculous food to be sure and it kept them full, but it did not totally satisfy their appetites. They still longed for the taste of fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic (Numbers 11:5).

 

God purposely caused them to hunger, let their mouths water, their stomachs to growl. Why?

To teach them that “man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” God caused the hunger, gave them a desire that He didn’t immediately meet in order to show them that what they really wanted was not what they thought they wanted.

Let me say that again: What they really wanted was not what they thought they wanted. Their deepest need, their most intense desire and our deepest need, most intense desire is to hear God’s words to us. We need to recognize His voice and experience a real relationship with Him.

Looking back on my life, I see many times when I have had a deep longing, an intense desire, a pressing goal. I worked hard to get what I wanted and prayed with all my heart, yet what I longed for remained just beyond my reach. Now I see that it was during those times that God was withholding that desire, delaying the answer to the prayer long enough for me to see that what I really wanted was Him. To realize that Jesus is enough. The desires I had were to lead me to true satisfaction in the Lord–in His words of life to me.

What desires do you have? Does it seem that God is withholding a key ingredient to your happiness? Maybe He is trying to show you that what you really want is to hear His voice. Take time to do that today. Read His loving words to you. Be still and listen. He is the One who will give you what you really want.

And it isn’t something you can buy in the Armani outlet.

If you would like to learn more about finding enough, check out my new book Enough for Now: Unpacking God’s Sufficiency!

A study of the parable of the rich fool, it will help you discover:

  • enough money
  • enough stuff
  • enough food
  • enough relationships
  • enough time
  • enough of me

You can find out more about it here. And order it here and here!

Filed Under: Contentment
November 5, 2019

Book Review: Finding Holy in the Suburbs

Every once in a while, a book echos exactly what is rolling around in my head–Finding Holy in the Suburbs is that kind of book.

In 2018, I chose the word enough as my word of the year. I wanted to challenge myself to find enough in God–not in having enough money, shoes, or even dark chocolate. Throughout that year, I limited my shopping and practiced gratitude for what God has already given. I steeped myself in God’s Word and learned a little more about contentment.

And that is why I love Finding Holy in the Suburbs.

Author Ashley Hales tells of a similar journey. She thought she wanted to live in a big city or maybe in the country, but she ended up in the suburbs and somehow that didn’t seem like enough.

Although the suburbs appear as lands of plenty, they can become deserts of wanting more. Even though they may seem lands of excess, what they have plenty of doesn’t actually fill our hearts.

In Finding Holy in the Suburbs, author Ashley Hales challenges readers to examine their hungers–big and small–and how they are seeking to satisfy them. Her book shows that many of us try to satiate our desires through the suburban gods of consumerism, individualism, busyness, and safety. Yet we often end up unsatisfied and empty.

Instead of using these suburban gods, Hales encourages us to go the true God–the only One who can fill our empty souls. She points out the need for repentance and the truth of our position as God’s beloved. Then she asks us to risk practicing hospitality, generosity, and vulnerability.

I especially loved the Counterliturgies Hales included at the end of each chapter. These practices became ways to evaluate my current attitudes, meditate on God’s Word, and put my faith into practice. For instance, one Counterliturgy she suggests is:

Pray through your calendar. As you start a new season or new month, pray through your calendar with your family. Prayerfully consider your commitments and what furthers a life of generosity and other-centeredness versus what satisfies your whims.

I encourage you to grab a copy of Finding Holy in the Suburbs. Inside the pages, you will find hope for your thirsty soul.

Filed Under: Contentment
October 31, 2019

Why the Reformation Matters

WhyTheReformationMatters

More than 500 years ago Martin Luther nailed 95 Thesis to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany. And we might be thinking, “So what?” 

Luther himself probably did not realize the importance of this simple act. The church door in a German town was like a public bulletin board. Along with Luther’s document outlining the corruption of the church in his day, the church door might have also held an announcement for a lecture series at the university or a posting of the times for confession in the upcoming week.

But Luther’s act of nailing the 95 Thesis was the beginning of the Reformation of the church–a church that had added man’s rules and customs onto the Word of God. A church that had misled the people. A church that told the masses they needed more than faith, more than grace to get to heaven.

The three cornerstones of the Reformation were Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, and Sola Fide–Word Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone. These cornerstones are still important to us today.

Sola Scriptura–Word Alone

In the years leading up to the Reformation, the church had begun to add onto the Word of God. The edicts of the church and of the pope were considered equal to the Bible. Martin Luther and other reformers reminded the people that God’s Word has all the truth necessary for our salvation and that no words added by men–even important men–are on the same level as the Bible.

In our modern world, we are also tempted to look for the answers to our problems everywhere but the Bible. Certainly, Scripture does not tell us how to bake a red velvet cake or give directions to Minneapolis. But it does tell us how to have a relationship with God, how to obtain peace and joy,  how to love and live in a broken world.

Why theReformationMatters

Sola Gratia–Grace Alone

In Luther’s time, people were told that God’s grace was not enough to get to heaven. Good works were a prerequisite. Luther himself agonized over this teaching, totally despairing because he knew he could never be good enough. He could never be perfect.

But through Scripture, Luther realized that none of us can measure up to God’s standard of perfection and that the only way to heaven is by the Lord’s mercy and grace. None of us deserve God’s forgiveness, it is only available to us through Christ’s death and resurrection.

This truth matters today because we often try to fix our problems on our own. We rely on self-help books. We work hard to improve our financial situation. We live like it all depends on us.

Grace alone allows us to let go of the try-hard life and rest in God’s mercy. It is only through His love and acceptance that we can come to Him. His grace gives us the strength to live day by day.

The truth of Grace Alone allows us to let go of the try-hard life and rest in God's mercy. Share on X

Sola Fide–Faith Alone

Another falsehood the church of Luther’s day promoted was that faith in Christ was not enough to get to heaven. A man named Johann Tetzel and others were selling indulgences–little pieces of paper that “guaranteed” a quicker path to heaven. Most of Luther’s 95 Thesis dealt with this practice.

Romans 1:16-17 tells us:

 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.

These verses were the turning point for Luther’s relationship with God. Once he realized that salvation was not dependent on good works or expensive little pieces of paper, but on faith in Christ, he felt the burden of his sin lift. Righteousness can only come from faith in what Jesus has already accomplished on the cross. I do good things out of gratitude for what He has done, but I do not have to be “good enough” to get to heaven. What a relief!

Even today, listening to preachers on radio and TV today may leave listeners with the feeling that there is so much they need to do to be a good person. So much to do to earn a ticket to heaven. But God’s message is faith alone–faith given to us through God’s grace. We accept this faith as a life-changing gift.

Faith alone in Christ’s death and resurrection gives us access to God and His power and love.

Faith alone in Christ's death and resurrection gives us access to God and His power and love. Share on X

What happened 500 years ago in a little town in Germany changed the world. A list nailed to a church door still matters today.

Next step: Take a moment to contemplate the three tenets of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide. Which of these truths is hardest for you to put into practice in your everyday life? Ask the Father to help you in this area.

Filed Under: Bible Study Tagged With:
October 29, 2019

Book Review: A Louder Song

Are you in a period of suffering? A time of questions without answers? The book The Louder Song meets readers in the pain and ache of life. It answers the question of what to do when you’re in a period of Suffering and Not Yet. No cliches or easy answers here. Instead, author Aubrey Sampson leads readers to learn the concept of lament–the rope that keeps us tethered to God’s presence.

Written in a time when she experienced a debilitating illness and a loss of a family member, Aubrey admits she wanted to handle suffering well. She wanted to learn whatever lesson God was teaching and move on. But things didn’t happen that way. So when her life crises didn’t neatly resolve, she went to God’s Word and discovered the power of lament.

God knows life is often hard and so He included songs of lament in Scripture. Aubrey writes:

Laments minds the gap between current hopelessness and coming hope. Lament anticipates new creation but also acknowledges the painful reality of now.

God gives us the laments of those who have gone before us as a way to talk honestly with him, as a way to enter into the biblical story, as a way to connect with the suffering people of God, and as a tool for thrusting our anger and our mysteries and our losses at him.

The title of the book comes from an experience that Aubrey had at a concert where a choir walked onto a stage and sang a slow funeral dirge. The atmosphere in the theater grew dark and heavy. Then slowly another choir slowly filled the room and surrounded the audience singing a much more hopeful song. The second song gradually drowned out the dirge and Aubrey realized that the experienced mirrored spiritual life. Our existence often appears dark and plays in a minor key, but God sings to us a louder song of hope, of love, of His presence with us.


Throughout the book, Sampson weaves stories of her own sufferings with an examination of lament songs in Scripture. She reminds us that it’s OK to be honest with God and that authenticity can open our hearts to an awareness of God’s presence in the midst of our pain.

In the middle of your bleakest times, discover that lament can lead you back to hope because God sings a louder song than suffering ever could. Listen to His song of love for you. Hear His melody of promise.

I encourage you to grab a copy of The Louder Song. If you’re in a period of suffering, waiting, or illness, this is the book for you.

Filed Under: Spiritual Disciplines
October 22, 2019

Book Review: All Shall Be Well

The book All Shall Be Well serves as a perfect companion to my year of aiming to notice God. At the beginning of 2019, I chose the word “notice” as my word of the year, hoping against hope that focusing on this act of noticing would help me discover God in the big and small moments of every day. One spiritual practice I use to accomplish this is the spiritual discipline of Examen, but this year I’ve been reading about new ways to remind myself of God’s omnipresence.

Fortunately, my writer friend Catherine McNiel wrote a book that guides my journey. In All Shall Be Well she shares how we can notice God’s presence in nature when we slow down enough to look. Of course, I have always appreciated the Creator’s majesty and power when I view magnificent mountains and seemingly endless oceans. But Catherine helped me see God in the smaller details of rich earth, thawing ice, and falling leaves.

All Shall Be Well led me on a journey to meet God–not in the miraculous or supernatural–but in the everyday and ordinary. Through it I’m learning to slow down enough to see God in the messy thawing of springtime, the abundance of summer, the letting go of autumn, and even the wilderness of winter. Her beautiful, poetic prose helped open my eyes to notice God in my ordinary moments and humdrum days.

One of my favorite chapters of the book, “Leaves,” recounts a time when the enormous walnut tree in her front yard released all of its leaves at one time. In a few minutes, the tree went from full to empty, leaving a thick carpet of gold on the ground. She uses this story to remind us that even as part of our spiritual journey is receiving grace from God, we also must empty ourselves. Catherine writes:

We let go of what has been, with an eye on what is to come. Mastering this lesson takes a lifetime of practice. Embedded within are so many additional lessons–humility, surrender, courage, contentment, acceptance, and above all, wisdom. (p. 107).

I encourage you to grab a copy of All Shall Be Well. If you’re longing to discover God right where you are, this is the book for you.

Filed Under: Spiritual Disciplines
September 3, 2019

5 Ways to Ignore Cravings and Live By the Spirit

“Don’t do it,” I told myself as I started down the basement stairs.

“Don’t do it,” I repeated as I walked toward the shelf where my secret stash sat.

“Don’t do it,” I said again, as I opened the container.

But I did it. I grabbed a piece of mint-chocolatey goodness and popped it in my mouth. The shouts of the chocolate calling my name were louder than my own voice urging me not to give in to temptation.

I keep my stash of dark chocolate in a tin in the basement. My rationale is: out of sight, out of mind. And if the chocolate calls so loud that I can’t ignore it, at least I burn a few calories going down to the basement to get it. (Surely, going up and down one flight of stairs burns two hundred calories, right?)

Sometimes I’m able to ignore the voice of the chocolate, but sometimes, no matter how many times I tell myself, “Don’t do it,” I go down and raid my secret stash.

Chocolate Cravings and Human Desires

Chocolate cravings aren’t the most heinous of desires, but they certainly provide a good illustration of how our sinful nature does not always want what is best for us.

This week I’ve been reading through Galatians and this verse struck me:

So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. (Galatians 5:16-17)

The whole discussion of desires is what motivated me to study the concept of enough. I spent a year exploring what the Bible said about finding enough, about finding contentment. (Click here for more of my posts on this topic.) Just like I sometimes ignore my own inner pleadings to ignore the shouts of the chocolate in the basement, sometimes I go against the Spirit’s nudgings and seek to satisfy more serious cravings of my sinful nature even though, deep down, I know they aren’t good for me.

As long as we live in this human body, we will have this struggle.

When Paul wrote “live by the spirit,” he used the present tense of the imperative mood in Greek. In layman’s terms, this indicates habitual conduct. We must continually listen to the prompting of the Spirit. We must always work in the power of the Spirit. Otherwise, we will constantly go back to our default mode of gratifying our sinful, human desires.

Live By the Spirit

As I thought about this, I wondered what it would mean to continually live by the Spirit. Here are a few ideas of what it looks like in my life.

  • Spend time in God’s Word. God speaks to me through Scripture. As I read, the Holy Spirit gives me guidance, teaches me about God’s kingdom, and reassures me of the Father’s love.
  • Incorporate times of silence. I find I usually need silence in order to hear God’s voice more clearly. I’m trying to start my Bible reading each day with a couple of minutes of silence to quiet my mind. Also, every month, I try to take a personal retreat–a morning to read, journal, and purposefully listen to what God wants to say to me. (If you would like to try this, read my post about taking your own personal retreat.)
  • Pay attention to feelings of dread or anxiety. These feelings may be signs that I am following the desires of my sinful nature. I take these emotions to God in prayer and ask Him to help me sort them out.
  • Memorize God’s Word. When I have Scripture stored in my heart, the Holy Spirit can pull up the appropriate verse to speak to me in His language.
  • Limit time exposed to social media, advertising, and shopping. All of these things can feed my human nature, spurring on discontent, envy, and false desires.

As I practice these things I am better able to follow the path God has for me. Romans 12:2 says, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” The world and Satan will always try to make us fear and doubt God’s will for us. But Paul reassures us that God’s plan for our lives is continually good. When I remind myself of that fact, I’m able to live by the Spirit and shut out the old desires that only lead to pain, anxiety, disappointment, and disillusionment.

And maybe I’ll also be able to ignore the calls of the dark chocolate stored in my basement.

Filed Under: Contentment, Spiritual Disciplines Tagged With: , ,
June 25, 2019

The One Thing Keeping You From The Life You Want

eyes of love

Once upon a time a rich young ruler comes to Jesus. This man had everything: money, power, youth. Maybe he was even not-too-bad looking.

But even though it seemed like he had everything anyone could want–he knew he was missing something.

He came to Jesus with a burning question

“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17)

This young man knew that the things he had wouldn’t last forever. He needed eternal life.

Jesus gave the searching man a rather standard answer: Follow the commandments. Don’t murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Honor your father and mother.

The young man thought: Good. I’ve got this. He told Jesus, “I’ve done all those things since I was a boy.”

But Jesus knew there was one thing that was holding the man back from the life he really wanted. There was one thing that was distracting him from his real life. So Jesus looked at the young man and said:

“You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21)

The rich young ruler went away despondent. Because this was the one thing he could not do.

I totally get that young man. Not that I’m rich. Or powerful. Even youth has pretty much passed me by. But there have often been things in my life that have distracted me from my real life–the amazing, beautiful life that Jesus wants me to have. Sometimes Jesus has asked me to surrender things I held tightly–in order to wholeheartedly follow Him.

And often I have been exactly like that man that met Jesus. I have said no. I’ve hung onto whatever I thought it was I couldn’t live without. Music career. Pursuit of dream house. Wanting family close.

But when I’ve hung onto those dreams, those desires–I discovered that didn’t actually make me happier. They only pulled me away from Christ. I couldn’t follow Jesus closely because I was dragging around the weight of my own will, my own expectations.

Usually I come to my senses and realize that a life of following Jesus is better than any other path. I eventually release that one thing that is holding me back from the life I really want–the life God has planned for me.

What are holding onto? If Jesus spoke to you and said, “You lack one thing. Go and surrender _________” What would that one thing be?

If Jesus spoke to you and said, 'You lack one thing. Go and surrender __________' What would that one thing be? Share on X

It’s always difficult to surrender things we hold dear. But there is one phrase in Mark’s account of the rich young ruler that makes it a bit easier.

Mark wrote “Jesus, looking at him, loved him” (Mark 10:21).

When I struggle to surrender whatever God is asking me to let go, I remember Jesus’ love. I picture Him–looking at me with eyes of love–holding out His hands to take whatever burdens He has asked me to relinquish.

Jesus doesn’t ask me to release my desires or my possessions because He wants to make me miserable. He asks me to release them because, in His love, He knows the one thing that is keeping me from the life I really want.

Next step: If Jesus spoke to you and said, “You lack one thing. Go and surrender _________” What would that one thing be? Spend a few minutes basking in Jesus’ love for you. Then write a prayer surrendering that one thing–the one thing that is keeping you from the life you really want.

In this world we struggle and strive, convinced that we can only be content if we have more. But we can only find enough in the God of sufficiency.

If you would like to learn more about finding enough, check out my brand new book Enough for Now: Unpacking God’s Sufficiency! 

A study of the parable of the rich fool, it will help you discover:

  • enough money
  • enough stuff
  • enough food
  • enough relationships
  • enough time
  • enough of me

You can find out more about it here. And order it here and here!

Filed Under: Contentment
June 18, 2019

To Find Enough: Watch Out for Satan’s Lies

Satan works overtime to spoil our appetites and too often we fall for his lies.

Why is contentment so difficult to attain? Why do we always want more? This post is part of a series on finding enough.

When I was a kid, my dad had a habit of pushing back from the table after a delicious and enormous feast and saying, “I spoiled my appetite.”

Of course, he spoiled his appetite. He had eaten two servings of roast beef, a generous mound of mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, and two pieces of apple pie. He was no longer hungry.

My siblings and I laughed at my father’s joke every time.

But a spoiled appetite isn’t always so funny.

Satan works overtime to spoil our appetites and too often we fall for his lies.

It all started back in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had everything they could want: delicious food, rewarding work without any of the problems, weather so delightful that clothes were unnecessary. They didn’t need anything. And yet, Satan knew how to tempt them—to make them think they didn’t have enough.

God had given Adam and Eve permission to eat from any tree in the garden—except one. He told them that if they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would die (Genesis 2:16-17). Satan, however, tried to convince them otherwise. He said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).  He insinuated that God was holding out on them. He tempted the first couple to want more—to be like God. Suddenly all the Creator had given was not sufficient.

Satan continues to tempt us with the idea of more. He tells us that God is withholding His best from us. He whispers that what we currently have couldn’t possibly be enough.

To combat Satan’s lies, we need to arm ourselves with God’s truth. His Word tells us:

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? Matthew 6:26

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. Matthew 6:31-32

God promises to meet our needs. We may not always have everything we want and sometimes we may not get everything we need as quickly as we like, but God daily cares for us. He wants us to trust Him.

To combat Satan's lies, we need to arm ourselves with God's truth. Share on X

So when you are struggling with contentment, recognize Satan’s lies. He trying to spoil your appetite for God. He wants you to think God is holding out on you.

Instead, rest in the fact that God cares for you and promises to care for you.Trust Him for all your needs. Let Him be your enough.

Next step: Think about what lies Satan may be trying to get you to believe. Print out the Scriptures on God’s provision and post them where you can review them when Satan tries to whisper in your ear.

If you would like to learn more about finding enough, check out my brand new book Enough for Now: Unpacking God’s Sufficiency!

A study of the parable of the rich fool, it will help you discover:

  • enough money
  • enough stuff
  • enough food
  • enough relationships
  • enough time
  • enough of me

You can find out more about it here. And order it here and here!

Filed Under: Contentment Tagged With: ,
June 11, 2019

How To Be Extraordinary

This post is an excerpt from my book Enough for Now: Unpacking God’s Sufficiency. Learn how ordinary can be extraordinary.

A few years ago, I attended a writing conference where one of the speakers asked participants to write the names of our three favorite movies. It didn’t take me long to come up with three titles: While You Were Sleeping, It’s a Wonderful Life, and The Sound of Music.

“Next,” the speaker said, “think of something these movies have in common. What ties them together? What underlying theme do you find in all three? This is a clue to your true passion.”

It took me much longer to uncover a shared theme. After all, what do a Chicago token taker, small-town loan officer, and an Austrian nun have in common? Finally, I realized all three movies have a main character who thinks he or she desperately wants one thing, but in the end discovers happiness in something totally different.

Yes, I thought, this reflects my passion of living in the love of Jesus. Time and again my human nature desires something out of my reach. I become certain contentment is not possible without this one thing. Sometimes God answers my prayers and gives me that desire, but more often He gently and lovingly shows me what I long for doesn’t lead to joy. I reluctantly give up the dream, plan, or goal and God gives me something much more satisfying in its place.

Ordinary vs. Extraordinary

But recently, I realized another connective theme between the three movies–the theme of: ordinary. At the beginning of each movie, the characters—Lucy Moderatz, George Bailey, and Maria Von Trapp—want something extraordinary, glamorous, or special. But in the end, they find fulfillment of their dreams in the commonplace, mundane, and ordinary. In While You Were Sleeping, Lucy has a crush on a handsome, mysterious, successful businessman but finds happiness with his more humble tradesman brother. George Baily dreams of traveling the world and building impressive skyscrapers but discovers his life has impacted hundreds of people while he stayed in his humdrum hometown and worked at the family business. Maria thinks she needs to serve God through full-time Christian work and retreating from the everyday world, but God calls her to a more ordinary role of wife and mother. (This movie has a little twist: Maria’s life turns out extraordinary—even as she chooses the ordinary path.)

This is not easy for me to admit, but I have been like Lucy, like George, like Maria. I wanted to do something big for God—write a bestseller or lead hundreds of people to Christ. I wanted to impress the world and show God I deserve His love and grace. Perhaps this is because our culture continually drums this call to big and important. A truck commercial that frequently plays on my TV goes something like this:

How do you want to live? As a decent person? Fine human being? As a good father, friend, son? It that it? Good? Of course not.

Parent of the year? Better. Employee of the month? Absolutely. One of a kind. The center of their world. Like a boss. Like a pro.

As the truck rolls across the screen, the ad reminds me it is not enough to be good, to be decent, to be a fine human being. I need to be better or the best.

But God doesn’t call me to do something big and important. He asks me to love the people around me and work in the place where I find myself.  This may not look impressive or get my name on the five-o-clock news. My seemingly insignificant efforts may not win awards or garner a million hits on social media. But as I obey in the small things, God Himself will do the extraordinary.

God Calls Us to Ordinary

Oswald Chambers, author of the devotional My Utmost for His Highest, wrote:

It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God—but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people—and this is not learned in five minutes.

God calls us to the ordinary. He calls us to everyday faithfulness. He calls us to adopt the words of John the Baptist, “He [Jesus] must increase but I must decrease” (John 3:30). At first this seems a hard thing. We want to be noticed. We want to be special.

But constantly striving to prove ourselves is exhausting. As we focus on decreasing, we let go of pushing toward the exceptional and remarkable. We live redeemed and restored lives that are anything but ordinary because the Spirit dwells within us. We become less noticed, but Jesus’ fame grows. Jesus invites us to rest in His enoughness and live for His glory.

In Christ’s kingdom, ordinary faithfulness is extraordinary.

Next step: Try the three movies exercise I did at a writing conference. a) Name three favorite movies. b) Find a connecting theme. c) How does this theme reflect your life passion?

This post is an excerpt from my book Enough for Now: Unpacking God’s Sufficiency. It is used with permission from Concordia Publishing House.

Check out the book Enough for Now: Unpacking God’s Sufficiency which explores how we can find enough in God even when the world encourages us to search for more.

A study of the parable of the rich fool, it will help you discover:

  • enough money
  • enough stuff
  • enough food
  • enough relationships
  • enough time
  • enough of me

You can find out more about it here. And order it here and here!

Filed Under: Contentment Tagged With:
June 4, 2019

A Better Question Than “Does It Spark Joy?”

This post is an excerpt from my new book Enough for Now: Unpacking God’s Sufficiency. Learn better question than “Does it spark joy?”

“Oh, say can you see…” The toy in the backseat sang out the national anthem for the 101st time. We felt we would go crazy if we heard it 102 times.

It was Christmas time—that joyous season of consumerism. Three days before the non-stop recital of “The Star-Spangled Banner” my husband and I had packed up our four-year-old daughter and almost two-year-old son in our little fire-engine red Nissan Sentra to drive from our home in Illinois to see grandparents in Wisconsin.

Grandparents love to spoil their grandchildren and how could I limit their joy? But that year the abundance of gifts became overwhelming. It was the year my younger sister worked at a toy factory. She–and my parents–had the opportunity to buy quality wooden toys at factory discounts. Grandma and Grandpa bought my children wooden blocks, dominoes, train sets, and puzzles. One puzzle contained all fifty of the U.S. states and played the national anthem when the puzzle was completed. “How cute,” we thought when our daughter opened the gift.

But when the time came to go home, not all the toys would fit in the small Sentra trunk. So, we stacked the extras in the back seat between the car seats with the United States puzzle on the top of the pile. However, we didn’t realize the chip that played “The Star-Spangled Banner” was light sensitive and the puzzle piece that covered the chip had moved off in the shuffle of packing. Every time a semi passed us, its lights cued up the anthem. I couldn’t reach the puzzle from the front seat and the kids had fallen asleep so we didn’t want to stop. As much as we love our national anthem, we quickly grew tired of it. If a convoy of trucks zoomed by, the song would start over with each pair of headlights. “Oh say can you…Oh say can…Oh say…” It was the purgatory of patriotism.

While I vividly remember that United States puzzle, I also recall the sheer number of toys our children received that Christmas. When we finally got home, it took us days to find places to store them because, truthfully, the toy box was already full. We appreciated my parents’ generosity and our kids loved all the new playthings, but it became the beginning of too much stuff.

Many of us have an addiction to stuff. We want to buy it. We like to own it. We need to store it. Why do we feel this need for things? Part of this desire certainly stems from living in a materialistic society. Advertisements tell us that we deserve a better watch. That our loved ones will only appreciate us if they receive a diamond necklace. That our significance is entirely dependent on the type of car we drive.

And yet, the more stuff we have, the more it may actually weigh down our souls and our minds. Psychologists have found that unchecked clutter in our homes can lead to depression and anxiety. UCLA researchers discovered stress hormones spiked in the brains of mothers when they dealt with their belongings. Those stress chemicals (which often result from disorganization) eat up the beneficial chemicals in our brains that stabilize our emotions. Every single thing we own can add a heaviness to our tired soul.


Instead of “Does It Spark Joy?” Ask This Question

Most of us realize this burden of excess on our minds and souls. And yet we have trouble getting rid of our stuff. What to keep? What to discard? A very popular book titled The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (not a book I recommend, by the way) suggests holding up each item you own and asking yourself, “Does it spark joy?” This can be a useful question. Yes, my favorite gray cardigan sparks joy. It fits me well. It keeps me warm. It coordinates with many of my other clothes. On the other hand, the red satin top I bought to go with one of my blazers does not spark joy. It’s beautiful but didn’t actually work with the intended blazer and doesn’t look good with anything else I own. I should get rid of it, but I paid a lot of money for it and I feel I should wear it at least once. That item only sparks regret.

“Does it spark joy?” can be a practical assessment, but I would like to suggest an even better question would be, “How does this item affect my soul—does it draw me closer to the God of sufficiency or does it pull me away?” This question will require some careful thought. For instance, a classic car could be seen as something that pulls the owner away from God. It requires large sums of money and weekends filled with maintenance tasks. Working on the car could isolate the owner from his family and keep him from attending Sunday services. On the other hand, a pair of hiking boots could be seen as an item which draws the owner closer to God. When she wears the boots, she is experiencing nature and witnessing God’s glorious creation. Her heart fills with praise for the Lord of the universe.

But the opposite could be true as well. Perhaps the classic car owner uses the hours spent maintaining his vehicle as quality time with his son or daughter in their shared interest. Maybe he takes this prized possession to classic car shows designed to spark conversations about Jesus to the unchurched. And the owner of the hiking boots? Maybe she’s the one missing church every weekend to visit the great outdoors.

When you begin decluttering or before you purchase something new, determine how each item draws you closer to God or pulls you further away. Does the item weigh down your soul as one more thing to dust and clean? Or does it fill your heart with gratitude each time you see it? Does it pull you away from time with your heavenly Father? Or does it make life easier, giving you more time with the Savior? Is it a useful tool, saving you time or money that can be used for the Kingdom?

In Christ We Find Enough

In Luke 12:29-31, Jesus urges all of us:

And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

I read this and hear Jesus telling me:

You don’t have to act like the rest of the world, chasing after things to fill your soul. Rest in the fact that you have a Heavenly Father who sees you and knows exactly what you need. Trust Him in this. Don’t set your heart on material possessions, instead, seek out God’s kingdom—a kingdom where the size of your house or the price of your car has no relevance. I want you to be rich, but rich in things that matter: peace, joy, love. You can’t find these things in a grain elevator or a walk-in closet. They are only found in Me.

In Me you will find enough.

Next step: Next time you are decluttering a closet or considering a new purchase, ask yourself, “Does this item draw me closer to the God of sufficiency or does it pull me away?”

This post is an excerpt from my new book Enough for Now: Unpacking God’s Sufficiency. Reprinted with permission from Concordia Publishing House.

If you would like to learn more about finding enough, check out my brand new book Enough for Now: Unpacking God’s Sufficiency!

A study of the parable of the rich fool, it will help you discover:

  • enough money
  • enough stuff
  • enough food
  • enough relationships
  • enough time
  • enough of me

You can find out more about it here. And order it here and here!

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