Growth

The Pick Up Game

We’ve all seen the kid who has played the “pick up” game. For those who need a refresher, the game comes something like this.

1) You give a baby a toy.

2) The baby drops the toy.

3) You pick up the toy.

Then you repeat the cycle until one of you gets bored.

And while the game may seem remedial and a little silly, we often do the same thing with God.

We ask God for something.

He gives us a good gift.

But instead of treasuring the gift He gave us, we thrust it to the floor.

  • We mistreat our loved ones.
  • We neglect to serve His church.
  • We use our talents for our own purposes.

When we do this, sooner or later we realize that we’re no longer holding the treasure we so desperately wanted. We’ve thrown away what’s good for empty pleasures.

And sometimes, in His grace, He picks it back up again.

  • He restores relationships.
  • He provides opportunities to serve.
  • He uses our talents for His good purposes.

And we realize that the best place to leave the treasure, is in His loving hands.

Now it’s your turn…

Practically, how do you show that you’ve placed your treasures in God’s hands?

Continue Reading

Growth Hope

Rock, Fortress, Deliverer

He said “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” – I Sam. 22:2

As I tell my students often, in business it’s important what you are known for. In marketing, we call this positioning – the space you occupy in your customer’s mind (relative to your competition). The idea is that you want to so “own” a place in your customer’s mind that when they think of that need or that attribute, they think of your company. So let’s say you focus on quality. When customers think “quality” you want them to think of you.

What’s interesting is that it’s very hard for a company to occupy more than one position. After all, if a company tries to be “low-cost” while at the same time being “high-quality”, people will get confused.  However, this verse in I Samuel makes it very clear that God can and should occupy multiple and distinct positions in our mind.

He is our rock. – He is the One who is our support, Who stays steady even when the world goes crazy. He is the immovable, grounded in Who He is, unchangeable to the end.

He is our fortress. – He is our protector. He is our defense against the enemy; the One in Whom we take refuge. He is our security, the harbor in which we can find respite.

He is our deliverer. – Not only does He protect us when we come to Him, but He rescues us from the storm. He thwarts evil’s plans in order to bring about good through our lives. He acts on our behalf so that our lives may be used by Him.

Three separate positions that God should occupy in our lives.  Three different ways in which we should consider God. And yet, while they are distinct, they are also complimentary. Because the God Who delivers us, is our fortress that defends us, and is the rock on which we can depend.

And for us, the best position to be in, is completely dependent upon Him.

Continue Reading