Spiritual Growth Archives - Sharla Fritz
June 15, 2023

4 Questions to Make the Most of Your Summer

I want to help you make the most of your summer by giving you four questions that can guide your decisions.

I love summer. I look forward to being able to go outside without first bundling up in boots, coats, hats, and gloves. I love the more relaxed teaching schedule that gives me more time to read. I indulge in picnics and outdoor concerts.

But the summer often goes by way too fast! Too often, I’ve let the season fly by without doing the activities I enjoy. I’ve come to the first of September carrying regret that I didn’t make the most of the days of sunshine and warm weather.

You, too? We can all get caught up in our daily routines and miss opportunities to revel in summer activities.

So to help you, I’ve come up with four questions to ask yourself in order to make the most of your summer.

Question 1: What feels like rest to you?

This question may surprise you, but hear me out. In those summers when I’ve not taken advantage of what the season has to offer, I’ve arrived at fall just as burnt out and exhausted as I felt in May. I want my summer to renew and recharge my weary soul, but I’ve found it doesn’t happen automatically. If I don’t incorporate restful activities into days, my heart will begin to unravel and my soul will wear thin.

I’ll share a short list of what feels like rest to my soul:

  • time to read
  • walking in nature
  • talking and laughing with friends
  • dinner out with my husband
  • time in God’s Word

Now it’s your turn. Make a list of what feels like rest to you. What energizes you? What renews you?

Question 2: What matters most to you this summer?

Think about what you most want to do in the next few months. What sounds especially fun to you? Which activities make your heart sing? What will you regret if fall comes and you haven’t done this important thing?

It might help to think about this question in categories. Think about:

  • Time to have fun
  • Time to get away
  • Time to relax
  • Time with family and friends
  • Time with God

As an example, I’ll list a few things that matter most to me this summer. I love going to Ravinia in the summer to hear the Chicago Symphony Orchestra play, so this is what matters most in the category of fun. I’m going to get away by going to a large convention in Milwaukee where I’ll meet up with fellow authors and sisters in Christ. I will relax with my favorite hobby of reading (my to-be-read stack is beckoning!). I’ll take advantage of my more relaxed teaching schedule and meet up with friends for coffee or lunch. And my time with God will come in extended quiet times and personal spiritual retreats.

I encourage you to make a list of all the things you’d like to do this summer. Circle the three activities that matter most. Then, put a star by the one that is the number one priority!

Question 3: How will you ensure that your summer includes what matters most?

Hopefully, making that list of what matters most will help you to engage in those activities, but we’re human. We get distracted. The dailyness of life sometimes shoves out the important.

But there are ways to help us live intentionally.

We can make a summer bucket list of all the things we wish to do, listing them in order of importance. I’ve done this in the past and it has helped me come to the end of summer saying, ‘”That was fun!”

We can schedule the activities most important to us. I’ve already looked up the Ravinia schedule and written on the calendar the concerts I most want to attend. We can block out certain days for meeting with friends. Or send a text right now to a friend we haven’t seen in a while and say, “It’s been too long! Let’s get something on the calendar.”

In order to do what matters most, we may also need to eliminate activities that don’t fill us with joy or renew our souls. Maybe you say no to the neighborhood block party in order to go to that concert that stirs your heart. Perhaps you make meals at home simpler, so you have time to walk in the evening.

Question 4: How will you connect with God, the Giver of soul rest?

We not only want our summers to include all the fun, but we also want to arrive at September with renewed spirits. Our refreshed hearts will help us accomplish the tasks God has for us when the fall schedules begin again.

So we need to connect with God who promises to give us the rest we need.

In Jeremiah 31:25, God promises:

 For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.

Is your soul weary?

Is your soul languishing?

The good news is that God is able to satisfy your soul and replenish the emptiness in your heart.

One easy way to connect with the Giver of soul rest is through a practice called Centering Prayer.

For this practice, simply find a comfortable and quiet place to sit. Set a time for 5 – 10 minutes. Then close your eyes and quiet your mind, as you focus on God’s love for you.

Because my mind is prone to wandering, I find it helpful to meditate on a passage of Scripture. I like to use the Word-by-Word method of Meditation where I focus on a verse and repeat it, each time emphasizing a different word and considering how stressing that word gives me a new perspective.

For instance, if I meditate on Jeremiah 31:25 and I emphasize the word I, I remember that it is God who is talking in the verse. God is the One who can satisfy and replenish my soul. I might try a lot of other things like a luxury vacation or even those outdoor concerts that I love so much. But they can only offer temporary relief. Only God can truly renew my soul.

Then, I can move on to the next word, will. God says, “I will satisfy…” He doesn’t say, “I might satisfy” or “I could satisfy (if I wanted to).” He promises that if we come to Him, He will satisfy our souls.

The next word, satisfy, reminds me that God is the giver of contentment. He sees all my yearnings. He knows what truly fills me up and makes me whole. When I think about that truth, I can better trust God to handle all my cravings.

This summer, consider adding 5-10 minutes of time to connect with God every day. You might make this a part of your morning devotions or schedule it as part of your lunch break. It could be a wonderful way to end your day.

Use these four questions to make the most of your summer! Enjoy the season and let God renew and refresh your soul!

Discover Soul Rest

And if you want more information about soul rest, consider my video course Discover Soul Rest. This video course has already helped people escape the hurry and hustle of daily life and find the soul rest they crave.

This course will help you:

  • learn God’s life rhythm of rest
  • defeat the enemies of rest
  • find an antidote to anxiety
  • explore the practice of letting go
  • use God’s Word as a tool for soul rest
  • learn soul-rest practices that will lead you into God’s presence where you can receive soul rest

In the Discover Soul Rest course you will get:

  • 5 Units–each focusing on a biblical word for rest from the original Hebrew and Greek
  • 10 teaching videos–each 10-12 minutes long
  • 10 downloadable worksheets–with key takeaways and Bible study practices
  • 25+ soul-rest practices–all based on God’s Word

Once you purchase the course you will have access to all the videos and worksheets. You can complete the course at your own pace and come back to review the materials again and again.

Click below to find out about this course.

Tell Me More About the Discover Soul Rest Course!
Filed Under: Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Growth
February 7, 2023

Discover Soul Rest with a New Course

What do you do when you feel exhausted and empty? Spent and Stressed? Out-of-sorts and out-of-gas?

You might look for relief in a good night’s sleep or an extended vacation.

But sometimes physical rest or a weekend away doesn’t provide the relief we crave. What we really need is soul rest.

We need soul rest because the world moves at a hurried, harried pace.

We need it because Satan continually plants seeds of doubt and distraction that erode our peace.

We need it because our culture worships productivity and idolizes busyness.

My Journey to Soul Rest

For years I lived a hurried, harried life. Not only did I schedule nearly every minute of the day, but I worked like my life depended on it–even when it didn’t. I strove and struggled for peace–which I thought would come when I had accomplished all my goals or when I had done “enough”.

But I discovered that God does not intend us to live that way.

I discovered that the Father offers me soul rest–the kind of rest that is more than a good night’s sleep or even an extended vacation. In Him, I found a rest characterized by a deep peace and a sense of wholeness. Even more surprising, I learned that I didn’t need to earn this rest. God graciously offers this kind of rest and His Word showed me how to receive it.

Now my life may still have hectic days and weeks, sometimes I still cram too much into my schedule. But I’ve learned to lean on God instead of myself. I’ve adopted God’s life-giving rhythms that revive my weary soul.

Discover Soul Rest Course

In my new Discover Soul Rest digital course, I share what I’ve learned so that you can find soul rest, too. In this course, you will study five biblical words for rest from the original Greek and Hebrew. Examining these words will help you understand God’s definition of rest and how He generously offers it to you. You will also learn soul-rest practices that will keep your heart attuned to God’s rhythm for life.

Here’s a two-minute sneak peek of the course.

This course will help you:

  • learn God’s life rhythm of rest
  • defeat the enemies of rest
  • find an antidote to anxiety
  • explore the practice of letting go
  • use God’s Word as a tool for soul rest
  • learn soul-rest practices that will lead you into God’s presence where you can receive soul rest

In the Discover Soul Rest course you will get:

  • 5 Units–each focusing on a biblical word for rest from the original Hebrew and Greek
  • 10 teaching videos–each 10-12 minutes long
  • 10 downloadable worksheets–with key takeaways and Bible study practices
  • 25+ soul-rest practices–all based on God’s Word

Once you purchase the course you will have access to all the videos and worksheets. You can complete the course at your own pace and come back to review the materials again and again.

If you would like to slow down and learn the rhythms of rest, I hope you will consider taking this course. 

Fight Against Hurry and Find Soul Rest

My prayer is that participants in this course will have the tools to fight against the world’s demand for productivity and Satan’s weapons of comparison and hurry. I pray they will learn to carve out time to pull away from the world and sit in God’s presence long enough for Him to give them rest.

To find out more and to purchase the course, click the button below.

Tell Me More About Discover Soul Rest
Filed Under: Bible Study, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Growth
November 1, 2022

3 Ways to Listen to Your Life

What does it mean to listen to your life?

At the beginning of 2022, I chose the word “listen” to guide my year. (You can find out more about choosing a word for your year here.) During this year I have tried to become a better listener, both in listening to God and listening to the people in my life. I have endeavored to learn more about listening by looking for passages in the Bible about listening and memorizing a few key verses.

I have also read a few books about listening, including, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. I think one of the questions we all ask God is, “What do You want me to do with my life?” We wrestle with this question when we don the graduation gown and wonder what major to declare in college. We repeat the question when the job we have doesn’t seem the right fit. The question inserts itself into our middle years when we wonder what to do with an empty nest. We ask, “Now what, God?”

Let Your Life Speak tells us that God may speak through our very lives. As we reflect on what’s happening right now and interpret it through the lens of God’s Word, we may find clues about our next steps.

Here are three lessons I gleaned from the book and how I’ve been using these principles.

Principle 1: Listen to Your Life by Reflecting On What is Happening

Author Parker Palmer writes,

“We need to listen to what our lives are saying and take notes on it, lest we forget our own truth or deny that we ever heard it” (p.6).

This sounds very mysterious, right Listen to what our lives are saying?

Acts 17:26-27 can give us some guidance here:

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us. (ESV)

In other words, God can use our specific time and place to draw us closer to Him. He can use the good and the bad, the joyful and the painful. He can use the unexpected diagnosis to pull us into His arms. Guidance can come through a job promotion.One of the ways I use this principle is to ask reflection questions. At least one a month I take a few hours to look back and discover mor about my life.

I ask questions like:

  • What in the past 30 days was life-giving?
  • What was life-draining?
  • What drew me closer to God?
  • What led me away from Him?

In answering these questions, I can more clearly see what activities I want to continue and what I need to abandon. Perhaps I discover that too much time on social media is life-draining and so I take steps to limit my time there. On the other hand, I may find that my time teaching ESL at a local literacy center is incredibly life-giving and so I choose to continue it. Of course, we can’t always chuck the life-draining activities. A newborn still needs 2 am feedings. We can’t simply ditch our nagging back pain. But reflecting on our lives can give us clues on what steps to take next in our journey with God.

Principle #2: Listen to Your Life by Knowing Yourself Better

When I look for direction in life, I would like to find a plan with all the steps that would guarantee success and meaningful purpose. But the truth is, no plan can work for everyone because each person is unique. To know what steps to take, we need to know ourselves.

Palmer writes,

One dwells with God by being faithful to one’s nature. One crosses God by trying to be something one is not. (p. 51)

And:

It is the self planted in us by the God who made us in God’s own image–the self that wants nothing more, or less, than for us to be who we were created to be. (p. 69)

When I’m listening to God for life direction, I take into account how God made me. The more I know about myself, the more I have the ability to choose the life path best suited for me. I can better understand my God-given talents and why certain jobs or ways of serving feel right and others don’t. I can listen to my life in order to answer the question, “When do I most feel like me?”

In the past few years, I have used a few different personality tests that have enabled me to know myself better. You might want to check out some of them too.

Clifton Strengths: This assessment helps you discover what you naturally do best and how to develop your greatest talents into strengths.

Myers-Briggs: This well-known personality theory purports that much of our behavior that appears random actually is consistent according to the way we all prefer to use our perception and judgment. The actual Myers-Briggs test requires a fee. But here’s a site where you can take a similar test for free.

Enneagram: The Enneagram is an ancient personality typing system which can help you understand how you are wired and strengthen your relationship with God. Some of the helpful books I’ve read on the Enneagram include The Road Back to You, The Sacred Enneagram, and The Essential Enneagram.

Tendency: One of my favorite secular authors, Gretchen Rubin, has developed a system of how people respond to expectations called the Four Tendencies. Finding your tendency can help you understand why you might have trouble meeting deadlines or completing your own goals. This information will aid you in finding strategies to improve. You can take a quiz to find your tendency.

You can listen to your life by embracing how God has made you and not wishing that He had crafted you differently. In His infinite love and wisdom, He created you in a very particular way to serve with unique gifts and capabilities.

Principle #3: Listen to Your Life by Knowing Your Identity

In addition to listening to our lives to find out exactly who we are and where our unique gifts fit into the world, we need to remember to whom we belong.

Palmer writes,

The ancient human question, “Who am I?” leads inevitably to the equally important question “Whose am I?”–for there is no selfhood outside of relationship. (p. 17)

For those who believe in Jesus, the answer to “Whose am I?” is: God’s You belong to God.

The prophet Isaiah reminds us of this:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
    I have called you by name, you are Mine. (Isaiah 43:1 ESV)

Why is this important? God continually whispers: I formed you with purpose. I redeemed you because I love you. I called you by name because I want a personal relationship with you.

But if we don’t tune our ears to our Father’s voice whispering, “You are mine,” we will be more likely to listen to the other voices in our heads that say: You aren’t good enough. You can never measure up.

When we listen to God’s voice and remember to whom we belong, we are less likely to get stuck on the treadmill of activity trying to get ahead of others. We can do the work God has given us, secure in His love.

Listen

Listen to your life: What is life-giving? What is life draining?

Listen to who you are: Consider taking a personality test or two to discover more about how God put you together. Embrace how God created you instead of wishing to be someone else.

Listen to whose you are: Listen to God who whispers, “You are Mine.” Turn down the volume of the voices that say you don’t belong. Rest in your identity as God’s beloved.

Filed Under: Spiritual Growth
August 30, 2022

Success 101: A Biblical Primer on Success

Ever wonder about God’s view of success? His Word gives excellent instruction on the topic. Here’s a biblical primer on success. Start reading here and then head over to iBelieve.com for the full article.

Signing up for any college course means studying. You listen to lectures. Read textbooks. Conduct research online. Education helps you become an expert in your field.

Learning about success is much the same. We can sign up for webinars about productivity. Listen to leadership podcasts. Buy one of the 80,000 books on success that online retailers have to offer. 

But the best source for wisdom on success is found in a book you probably already own—the Bible. Inside this familiar book, you can find timeless principles about achievement, accomplishment, and prosperity. The values taught in Scripture are just as true today as they were when they were written thousands of years ago.

Read God’s textbook and learn His view of success. Below, you’ll find eight passages on the subject—plus a few questions to get you thinking about how you can apply God’s perspective to your work and personal success:

Proverbs 3:3-5

“Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;

    bind them around your neck;

    write them on the tablet of your heart.

So you will find favor and good success

    in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    and do not lean on your own understanding.” (ESV)

The world’s formula for success may be: Claw your way to the top. Don’t worry about stepping on others’ toes on the way up. And don’t depend on anyone else for your success. 

But the Bible says love and faithfulness are keys to success. Hesed, the Hebrew word for love used in this verse, is characterized by strength and kindness. Instead of clawing our way to the top, God asks us to show grace and consideration to others. And faithfulness leads to success because people will turn to reliable and stable workers rather than those who seem changeable and erratic.

This passage also instructs us to trust and rely on God instead of ourselves. When we depend on the Lord’s wisdom instead of our limited understanding, we have an advantage over others. Plus, wholeheartedly leaning on God will make you successful in His eyes.

Questions to consider:

How can you apply steadfast love and faithfulness to your work?

What do you need to trust God with regarding your job or home responsibilities?

Where have you perhaps leaned on your own abilities instead of God? How can you change this?

Proverbs 16:3

“Commit your work to the Lord,
    and your plans will be established.” (ESV)

In our world, it seems like whatever success we have totally hinges on our efforts. So we work longer and longer hours to get ahead. We take on more and more responsibility to attract praise from our bosses.

But God says we can commit our work to Him. Another version of the Bible says it this way, “Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him]” (Proverbs 16:3 AMPC). Our heavenly Father invites us to roll all our burdens of balancing budgets and managing schedules onto Him. We can trust Him to help us with everything from gigantic corporate projects to our weekly menu planning. God will establish our plans when we first go to Him in prayer and ask Him to show us His will.

Questions to consider:

What work and plans do you want to commit to the Lord?

How does faith make a difference in your work?

How does praying that God’s will be done change your attitude about your plans?

Go to iBelieve.com to continue reading a biblical primer on success. There you’ll fine 7 more Scripture passages and lessons about success.

Filed Under: Bible Study, Spiritual Growth Tagged With:
August 22, 2022

3 Reasons Success May Be Your Favorite Idol

Not sure if success may be your favorite idol? Learn more from this article I wrote for iBelieve.com. Start reading here and then click to continue on their site.

When I traveled to Israel, I visited the famous Israel Museum where I saw many examples of idols. Molded bronze images. Carved wooden figurines. Statues of fertility goddesses. Even though God had commanded the Israelites, “You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:3-4), God’s people often disobeyed. And we wonder: How could they worship an inanimate object—something so obviously lifeless? 

We may not bow down to statues or figurines, yet our culture has its own idols. A counterfeit god doesn’t have to be made of bronze or wood to become an object of worship. Martin Luther said, “Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God, your functional savior.” An idol is anything that captures our hearts, anything that becomes more important than God.

Using this definition, we can see that modern idols might include 3000-square-foot houses or big-screen TVs. Our culture sometimes worships social standing or advanced degrees. Instead of inanimate statues, we might put our favorite sports teams or entertainers up on pedestals. 

The Idol of Success

Another common modern idol is the god of success. Our culture tends to worship the winners. It idolizes wealth and fame. It places achievement and accomplishment above all else. 

You might not recognize this man-made god in your life, but here are three reasons why success may be your favorite idol.

Reason Number One

We live in a success-worshiping world. People would think us very strange if we bowed down to a golden statue, but they applaud those who pursue success at all costs. Books about achieving success sell millions of copies. People flock to movies about the person who makes it big after years of struggle because it makes them believe someday that can be their story, too. We even have awards shows for the biggest successes in entertainment and present little statues to the stars. Success is an acceptable idol in the eyes of the world.

Discover two more reasons why success may be your favorite idol at iBelieve.com. You will also learn three suggestions for overcoming any success-worshiping tendencies you may have.

You can learn more about a biblical view of success in my new book, Measured by Grace: How God Defines Success. If you’ve ever felt like your life is a mess or that it’s too small to make any difference, read how God defines success!

This book studies eight “failures” in the Bible–people who either made a big mess of their lives or simply didn’t look like a success in the eyes of the world. By examining their lives you’ll discover that God redeems our failures and doesn’t measure us by wealth or fame. He measures us by His grace! You can find out more about this eight-week Bible study book and download a FREE chapter here.

Order on CPH.org
Order on Amazon
Filed Under: Spiritual Growth Tagged With:
August 16, 2022

5 Lies About Success You Might Believe

This post detailing 5 lies about success is from an article I wrote for iBelieve.com.

Start reading here and then click to continue on their site.

How do you define success? Our world seems to have definite ideas about who is successful and who most definitely is not. Elon Musk? Yes. He’s the world’s wealthiest man. Tom Brady? Of course. Everyone admires the GOAT in football, right? Meryl Streep? Sure. Her acting abilities are second to none.

But what about the clerk at the grocery store? The teller at the bank? The custodian at your son’s school? Are they successful too?

It depends on what you believe about success. 

Here are five things that many people believe about success that is, in fact, lies. Have you ever believed any of these statements?

1. Success is Only Measured by Wealth and Fame

Most of our modern culture behaves as if this is true. The Elon Musks, Tom Bradys, and Meryl Streeps of this world get all the attention, headlines, and trophies. So we think we need to make a name for ourselves. We believe that we must do something outstanding or we will be considered a failure. If no one notices us, we wonder if we’ve wasted our lives. 

But when I look at how Jesus interacted with people, I find that it wasn’t the rich and famous that He praised. One story about a woman who would never make the list of “Who’s Who in Jerusalem” demonstrates this point. Jesus went to the temple and sat down across from the place where worshipers left their offerings. He saw many wealthy people deposit large amounts of money in the treasury box. Yet, He praised a woman who only dropped in two small copper coins worth only a few cents. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on” (Mark 12:43-44). Jesus measured success not by the amount given but by the amount sacrificed. 

We don’t need to have great wealth to find success in God’s eyes. Instead, He notices those who give generously.

2. Success is a Destination

Often I find myself thinking: Once I reach this goal, I’ll know I’ve made it. Or: If I could only have this one particular possession or position, I’ll know I’ve arrived. But even when I’ve achieved the goal, I’m rarely satisfied. When we view success as a destination, disappointment may meet us at the end of the road.

Psychologists have a term for this success lie: arrival fallacy. This phenomenon is the false belief that achieving a particular goal will ensure happiness. Joy may come after completion of the objective yet quickly fade. Experts tell us pursuing goals can benefit us, but the problem lies in expecting the accomplishment to deliver contentment when it is actually the journey toward the aspiration that brings life meaning and purpose. 

Apostle Paul demonstrated this principle when he wrote, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Like a runner desperate for a gold medal, Paul stretched toward the ultimate prize of eternal life. He admitted he had not yet reached the goal of perfection but continually pressed on and strained forward toward heaven.

We find joy not in reaching a destination but in delighting in the journey with the Lord at our side.

Discover the other 3 lies on iBelieve.com.

You can learn more about a biblical view of success in my new book, Measured by Grace: How God Defines Success. If you’ve ever felt like your life is a mess or that it’s too small to make any difference, read how God defines success!

This book studies eight “failures” in the Bible–people who either made a big mess of their lives or simply didn’t look like a success in the eyes of the world. By examining their lives you’ll discover that God redeems our failures and doesn’t measure us by wealth or fame. He measures us by His grace! You can find out more about this eight-week Bible study book and download a FREE chapter here.

Order on CPH.org
Order on Amazon
Filed Under: Spiritual Growth Tagged With: ,
July 26, 2022

For When You Fall Flat

When you fail or mess up, you may wonder if Christ will give up on you. But the life of the apostle Peter can give you hope when you fall flat.

Peter’s life with Jesus wasn’t a long string of successes. The bold, impulsive disciple got himself into a load of trouble. And often his failures began with stupendous success before he fell flat.

Peter’s Big Failure

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter began with swagger but experienced failure. On the way to Jesus’ favorite prayer spot, Jesus had warned the disciples that all of them would desert Him. He specifically told Peter, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times” (Matthew 26:34). Plucky Peter couldn’t even imagine this scenario. He boasted, “Even if I must die with You, I will not deny You!” (Matthew 26:35).

After that bit of bravado, Peter was probably as surprised as anyone at the events that happened only a few hours later. When Judas came with a crowd of men with clubs and swords, Peter must have watched in confusion as Jesus allowed them to tie His hands and lead Him away.

Peter used the last bit of his courage to follow Jesus at a distance as the guards led Him to the home of the high priest. Perhaps everything would have been fine if one sassy little servant girl hadn’t stared at Peter and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean” (Matthew 26:69). Peter tried to evade her accusation by saying, “I do not know what you mean” (Matthew 26:70).

Peter then stepped away from the fire and stood at the entrance of the courtyard. Did his conscience bother him a bit? Did he feel he was in danger staying so close to Jesus? Did he hope to avoid any more questions? Unfortunately, stepping away didn’t stop the accusations. Another servant girl saw Peter in the doorway and announced to everyone nearby, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth” (Matthew 26:71). Peter’s denial then escalated. He replied with an oath, “I do not know the man” (Matthew 26:72).

An hour passed. What went through Peter’s mind during those sixty minutes? Did he want to run away, yet couldn’t bear to leave Jesus? Did he realize what he had done? Or was he too worried about Jesus and his own safety for the words that he had spoken to register? At any rate, another person came up to Peter and said, “Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you” (Matthew 26:73). Once more Peter’s failure progressed, “He began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, ‘I do not know the man’” (Matthew 26:74). In other words, he said, “May a curse come on me if I’m lying. I promise I don’t know the man.” Before Peter’s sentence ended, a rooster crowed.

This account shows us how God included stories of human failure in His Word to comfort us. Although Jesus saw Peter at his worst and sees us when we fail, He still marched to the cross to take the punishment we all deserved.

When We Have Failed, We Can Still Run To Jesus.

Notice I didn’t write if we have failed but when we have failed. Because of our humanness, we will often trip up in following God’s commands. We will say the wrong thing or neglect to do the right thing. Maybe our collapse won’t match the magnitude of Judas’s or Peter’s, but we will experience significant failure. And when fall flat, we need to realize we have a choice. We can wallow in guilt like Judas did. Or we can discover forgiveness like Peter found.

In studying the life of Peter, I recently noticed an important detail in the Gospel of Luke. When the two men on the road to Emmaus returned to Jerusalem to tell the disciples about seeing the resurrected Savior, Jesus’ disciples told the men from Emmaus, “The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon!” (Luke 24:34). That little sentence tells us Jesus met Peter privately before He appeared to the whole group of disciples.

Scripture doesn’t give us any details of the meeting, yet we can imagine what that meeting might have been like. Peter a mess of joy at seeing Jesus and grief at knowing he had disappointed His Friend. Jesus holding out His nail-scarred hands to Peter, letting him know his failure did not mean an end to their relationship. I find it so touching that Jesus took time for a personal and private meeting to reassure the repentant disciple of His love.

At times we all need this reassurance. We may consider our failures too big for forgiveness and we begin to sink in shame. One woman I know constantly struggles with guilt even though all her friends would describe her as a wonderful person. Intellectually, she knows Jesus’ death has paid for all her wrongs, yet she can’t seem to accept that reality in a way that frees her from the burden of self-reproach. When I told her about Jesus’ private meeting with Peter to reassure him of complete forgiveness, she said, “Jesus needs to do that for me, too.” And I replied, “Oh, but He has! Jesus has given reminders of His forgiveness throughout His Word!” Here are a few:

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)

When you feel weighed down by your guilt, confess your sin and accept the pardon Jesus offers. Let Him remove the sin from your heart and the burden of shame from your shoulders. Then run to Him with the joy of forgiveness.

God’s Measure of Success

God doesn’t measure our success by our perfection. He instead invites us to a successful life of living joyfully forgiven. I love the story in John 21 where Jesus met the disciples at the Sea of Galilee after His resurrection. When the disciples lowered their nets on the right side of the boat at the suggestion of the stranger on the beach and pulled up so many fish they couldn’t haul in the net, John recognized the stranger as Jesus. But it was Peter—too impatient to wait for the boat to reach the shore—who jumped in and swam to Jesus. He no longer shrank back in fear, wondering what Jesus might think of him. He was joyfully forgiven!

Aren’t you thankful that Jesus chose bumbling Peter as a disciple? Because of Peter’s story, we find confidence in the truth that when we have failed, we can still run (or walk or crawl or even swim) to Jesus, the source of mercy and grace.

This post is adapted from my new book, Measured by Grace: How God Defines Success. If you’ve ever felt like your life is a mess or that it’s too small to make any difference, read how God defines success!

This book studies eight “failures” in the Bible–people who either made a big mess of their lives or simply didn’t look like a success in the eyes of the world. By examining their lives you’ll discover that God redeems our failures and doesn’t measure us by wealth or fame. He measures us by His grace!

You can find out more about this eight-week Bible study book and download a FREE chapter here.

Order on CPH.org
Order on Amazon

Filed Under: Bible Study, Spiritual Growth Tagged With:
July 19, 2022

God Uses The Least Likely To Succeed

We might think that God only uses perfect people, but He often uses those least likely to succeed.

Have you ever met someone and thought, That person will go places! I remember thinking that about one of my fellow students in college. We were both music majors and sang in the same choir. But this woman also had talents in the theater and starred in many of the university’s drama productions. While everyone on the stage of one of those shows did an admirable job, this woman outshone them all. The other actors knew their lines and delivered them well, but she became her character.

After graduation, I heard she went to the famed Yale School of Drama. A few years later, our university alumni paper highlighted her career on Broadway. “I knew she would make it!” I said when I read the article. Since then, I’ve seen her in movies and television shows. My fellow classmate whom I thought “most likely to succeed” actually did!

The Bible tells a story about a Samaritan woman who probably would never have received the title “Most Likely to Succeed.” Just the opposite. A woman with multiple failed marriages, she couldn’t seem to keep a husband. And when Jesus met her at a well near her town of Sychar, she lived with a man who didn’t even give her the dignity of legal marriage.

But isn’t it just like Jesus to choose “the least likely to succeed”? He could have chosen to meet with kings or governors, high priests or scribes. Yet He chose a woman who had experienced prejudice and rejection. Someone who perhaps didn’t have a single friend. She came to the community well at noon, probably to avoid the judging eyes of her neighbors. Yet her solitary visit to the community well became the perfect time for Jesus to tell her the Good News about living water.

What do we do when life feels like a string of failures? We see from the life of the woman at the well that even when we have multiple strikes against us, God doesn’t shout, “You’re out!” Her story teaches us about success in God’s kingdom.

Success Does Not Depend On Our Gender, Race, Or Reputation.

The woman at the well had nothing to qualify her for success in her culture. As a female, she was considered a second-class citizen, one not worthy to learn about things of God. Her Samaritan race was considered inferior because of its mixed ancestry. And her reputation? Well, let’s just say her neighbors probably didn’t invite her to the neighborhood barbecues.

Yet Jesus timed His journey to Galilee to meet with the woman, to teach her about living water, and to tell her about worshiping in spirit and truth. He chose to reveal His true identity to someone most people overlooked. He picked her to tell other Samaritans about the Savior of the world. “Come and see,” she told the people of Sychar. We don’t need a degree in theology to share our faith. We can simply tell others about the difference the Messiah makes in our lives.

You might think your gender or race limits the influence you have. Or that your lack of a big platform means your reach will be small. You might believe your reputation or past will prevent others from listening to you. If so, remember that Jesus used a woman with all of these strikes against her to bring many people to faith. Jesus can use you too, right where you are.

Multiple Failures Do Not Disqualify Us From Success In God’s Kingdom.

The Samaritan woman had numerous failures, including the loss of five husbands. “The Jews held that a woman might be divorced twice or at the most three times. If the Samaritans had the same standard, this woman’s life had been exceedingly immoral.” Of course, we don’t know her backstory, but probably everyone in her community would have viewed her as a repeat offender. Did the woman see herself the same way? Men discarded her. Women turned away. Maybe she thought she had messed up too many times for God to forgive her.

Sometimes our culture views God as a sort of cosmic scale. If my good deeds outweigh the bad, people think, then I’ll go to heaven. Of course, this isn’t true. One tiny sin tips the scale to our eternal punishment as much as ten thousand sins. Only God’s grace can tip the scale in our favor. Jesus’ death and resurrection outweigh all of our sins and enable us to live with Him forever.

God’s Measure of Success

Although most of us believe the truth of God’s grace, we might not live it. We may think, If my church knew how many times I snapped at my kids this week, they wouldn’t let me in. Or, If my Bible study friends knew how many men I was with in college, they would ask me to leave. While it’s true we humans often act in harsh judgment of others, we see in the Samaritan woman’s story that Jesus doesn’t see multiple failures as a deal breaker. When we trust in His saving work on the cross, He wipes out millions of sins as easily as He erases one. And when He has wiped them away, He sees us as clean as new-fallen snow. He used the woman with five failed marriages to change a whole town. However many times you’ve messed up, He still calls you to have faith in Him and still uses you to influence your world.

In our culture, the wealthy, the privileged, and the supertalented succeed. Those who experience even a little success are more likely to get noticed. Once they’ve made it to the first rung of the ladder of achievement, they have a better chance of climbing to the top.

But in God’s kingdom, we see over and over again how Jesus picks the least likely. He welcomes those the world has shunned. He chooses to reveal Himself to people society ignores or has rejected. God’s love doesn’t depend on our perfection for we are measured by grace. The Lord uses people with multiple failures for staggering success in His kingdom.

This post is adapted from my new book, Measured by Grace: How God Defines Success. If you’ve ever felt like your life is a mess or that it’s too small to make any difference, read how God defines success!

This book studies eight “failures” in the Bible–people who either made a big mess of their lives or simply didn’t look like a success in the eyes of the world. By examining their lives you’ll discover that God redeems our failures and doesn’t measure us by wealth or fame. He measures us by His grace!

You can find out more about this eight-week Bible study book and download a FREE chapter here.

Order on CPH.org
Order on Amazon
Filed Under: Bible Study, Spiritual Growth
July 12, 2022

God Uses Flawed People

I love how God uses flawed people. How the Lord doesn’t give up on those the world labels also-rans, might-have-beens, and good-for-nothings. We see this over and over again in the stories of Bible characters. God continually chooses the smallest person, the one the world overlooks, the one that messes up big-time. He even opts to work through the person with the bad reputation.

Case in point: Rahab. You may remember her story from the book of Joshua in the Old Testament. The Israelites are about to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Their leader, Joshua, sends some spies to check out Jericho, the first city they will need to defeat in order to possess the land. When the spies encounter danger, God uses Rahab, a “lady of the evening” to hide the spies on her roof. She realizes that these men are representatives of the Almighty God. Seeing that her city had no chance to stand against the Lord, Rahab sides with the Israelites instead of her own people. She makes up a cover story to protect the spies and then lets them out of the window of her home (conveniently located in the city wall) for a quick escape. Her quick thinking helped the Israelite nation defeat the city of Jericho.

If God planned to destroy the wicked city of Jericho, why did He save a prostitute? His grace shines out as He chooses a broken, imperfect woman to further His plan for His chosen people and the world. Rahab was a sinner, no doubt about it. She led a life that was immoral. Improper. Indecent. Most likely the majority of the citizens of Jericho shunned her. Yet God reached out—and gave her faith.

I love the lessons of grace from the life of Rahab:

Lesson One: God uses imperfect people.

If I were in God’s position, I doubt I would have chosen a prostitute to save my people. I’ll bet a city councilman or prominent merchant also had a home in the city wall and he could have used his influence to save the spies. God could have chosen to work through an “important” person.

But He chose Rahab. The Bible continues to emphasize the fact that God uses broken people when it mentions Rahab in the New Testament. Hebrews 11:31 and James 2:25 both praise this Old Testament woman, yet continue to identify her as “Rahab the prostitute.” You’d think after 600 years, the poor woman could get a break from her shameful past. But I think Scripture includes her former profession as an encouragement that speaks to our own weaknesses. It tells us, “See, God loves broken people. He can take the shame and inadequacies of His baptized and forgiven daughters and turn them into spectacular triumph.”

Lesson Two: Know you may not see all the success that your faith brings about.

Rahab had a long-lasting effect on the history of Israel and the salvation of the world. Because of her help, when the Israelites defeated Jericho they purposely saved Rahab and her family. She and her family all became part of the Israelite nation. Later, Rahab married a prominent Jewish citizen and became the great-great-grandmother of King David. She is also mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.

Rahab did see an immediate result of her faith in the saving of the Israelite spies and her own family. But I doubt she lived to see her great-great grandson become king of Israel and she would have had no clue that she would become an ancestress of the Savior of the world. We can’t always witness the successful results of a faithful life.

Perhaps you think: I’m only a stay-at-home mom to a couple of unruly boys. But consider a possible scenario. One of those boys grows up to become a teacher. His kindness leads one of the boys in his class to believe in Christ. As a teenager, this young man starts to volunteer at a soup kitchen where he befriends a drug addict who learns about the grace of God. This grace turns her life around. Years later, this former drug addict teaches a Bible study at her church where her remarkable story inspires another young woman visiting the church. She decides to join the congregation. She’s “just” a stay-at-home mom who brings her children to church every Sunday so they can learn about the life-changing Gospel. One of her sons….

We can’t know the full success God works through our frailties and flaws. We can only trust that God will work through us as we act with His gift of faith in our hearts.

When You Feel Unqualified for Success

Rahab became a key component in the success of the destruction of Jericho. Don’t you love how God used a flawed woman—one certainly unqualified for success? Her role in the defeat of Jericho demonstrates that God doesn’t wait until we’re accomplished, cleaned-up, and respectable before He can work through us. He uses us in our less-than-perfect state. Even when the world looks down on us, shuns us, or overlooks us, He allows us to be a part of His plan to bring victory to His people and glory to His name.

When you feel too damaged and deficient to matter, remember that God uses flawed people.

Success in God’s kingdom does not depend on our qualifications.

This post is adapted from my new book, Measured by Grace: How God Defines Success. If you’ve ever felt like your life is a mess or that it’s too small to make any difference, read how God defines success!

This book studies eight “failures” in the Bible–people who either made a big mess of their lives or simply didn’t look like a success in the eyes of the world. By examining their lives you’ll discover that God redeems our failures and doesn’t measure us by wealth or fame. He measures us by His grace!

You can find out more about this eight-week Bible study book and download the first chapter here.

Order on CPH.org
Order on Amazon
Filed Under: Bible Study, Spiritual Growth
July 5, 2022

How Does God Measure Success?

How does God measure success?

When I examine how our culture measures success, it certainly looks like the world’s success meter rises with every dollar earned, promotion granted, or trophy won, and plummets with each financial loss, professional downfall, or athletic defeat.

But how does God measure success? When we examine the life of Joseph in the Old Testament, we discover how different God’s definition of success is from the world’s definition. Genesis 39:3 tells us this about Joseph, “the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.” When did he experience this success? When he was the favored child of his father Jacob, wearing a beautiful coat that set him apart from his siblings? No, the Bible tells us that God made Joseph successful when he was a slave in Egypt. Working for Potiphar, a captain in Pharaoh’s guard.

Another verse in Genesis tells us something similar about Joseph, “Whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed” (Genesis 39:23). When did this success occur? When he worked for Pharaoh? When he was second-in-command of the land of Egypt? No, Joseph’s success happened while suffering in prison. Working for the prison keeper.

In these unlikely places, God granted Joseph success.

Is This Success?

But I wonder: Did it feel like success to Joseph? Before prison, the work he did for Potiphar made the Egyptian’s home thrive. His master noticed Joseph’s excellent efforts and gave him more and more responsibility, until “he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge” (Genesis 39:6). The jailer, too, noticed Joseph’s excellent management skills and put him in charge of the prisoners. (This in itself is remarkable. Who would put one inmate in charge of others?) Even one of the other prisoners benefited from Joseph’s unique abilities. Joseph’s interpretation of the cupbearer’s dream came true and this servant of Pharaoh was released from jail. Everything Joseph did turned to gold—for someone else.

If someone had said to Joseph, “The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man” (Genesis 39:2), he might have laughed out loud. Scripture tells us Joseph was seventeen years old when his brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37:2) and thirty years old when Pharaoh made him second-in-command (Genesis 41:46). Joseph spent thirteen years as a slave and a prisoner. I doubt he would have described himself as successful.

Not only do I find it remarkable that the Bible describes Joseph as successful when he is a slave and a prisoner, but it doesn’t label him a success when he later becomes Pharaoh’s right-hand man and saves the country from starvation. This doesn’t seem to make sense.

Joseph had success when he served as a slave and languished in jail, but not when he became the second-most powerful man in the world? Throughout the account of the famine and Joseph collecting grain and selling it to the people, preventing nationwide starvation, the Bible doesn’t include a phrase like “the Lord caused everything Joseph did to succeed.”

Perhaps Scripture omits the phrase because Joseph’s success is so obvious, there’s no need to point it out. But perhaps the omission of the word success when Joseph clearly obtains it demonstrates how God defines that word.

Success in God’s Eyes

Success in the world looks big—stadiums filled with fans. Success in the world looks impressive—fancy corner offices with diplomas on the walls. Success looks like fame—names on brightly lit marquees.

But success in God’s eyes doesn’t necessarily look big or impressive.

The Hebrew word for “success” in Genesis 39 is salah. It means “to advance, prosper, make progress, succeed, be profitable.”7 The word sometimes portrays worldly success that even evil people can achieve, such as in Psalm 37:7: “Fret not yourself over the one who prospers [salah] in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” But usually, success in the Old Testament doesn’t happen without the Lord’s help.

The success the Bible talks about is not primarily worldly prosperity but submission to the Lord and living in His presence. In Joseph’s story, God described Joseph as successful when he was a slave and a prisoner. God measures our success based on our dependence on Him.

Success is Doing Your Best Wherever You Find Yourself

One of the lessons we can learn from Joseph’s life is: Do your best in whatever position you find yourself.

When Joseph was a slave, he could have moped and complained to God and done his work half-heartedly, but the Bible doesn’t tell us so. As a slave, he could not have avoided work, but I doubt Potiphar would have put Joseph in charge of his household if Joseph had made only minimal effort.

Whatever work you find yourself doing—balancing the books, teaching rambunctious preschoolers, running a multinational corporation, scrubbing muddy floors—know that God notices your vocation.
You are doing important work even if the world says it’s lowly. Colossians 3:23–24 says,

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

Do your best because you serve a God who is gracious to you.

Although we may view our lives as disappointments, God declares them triumphant when we trust Him to complete the work He has given us—great or small.

This post is adapted from my new book, Measured by Grace: How God Defines Success. If you’ve ever felt like your life is a mess or that it’s too small to make any difference, read how God defines success!

This book studies eight “failures” in the Bible–people who either made a big mess of their lives or simply didn’t look like a success in the eyes of the world. By examining their lives you’ll discover that God redeems our failures and doesn’t measure us by wealth or fame. He measures us by His grace!

You can find out more about this eight-week Bible study book here.

Order on CPH.org
Order on Amazon
Filed Under: Bible Study, Spiritual Growth Tagged With:
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