Short Term Joy, Long Term Gains
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 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 3:12-14)
I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to all of you who are praying for the pastors and leaders of Advent who are joining us this week at the church growth conference. Your prayers for us are always needed, but they are especially appreciated this week as we look to sharpen the ministries of Advent.
One of the things that has always bothered me about conferences – whether they are for church or for business – is that when people go to them, they tend to get fired up for whatever is next. They get very excited about some new concept, new approach, or new trend in whatever it is that they do. They return home, changing everything in their business hoping that this new thing will completely change the outcome of their work.
Yet, more often than not, this only causes chaos at home and limited results. The difference between taking what you’ve learned and making is a success or failure isn’t the concepts that are new – it is with the wisdom of the application. Knowing what to implement and how it best fits into the good that is already present.
I think that the same thing can happen in our faith life sometimes. There are times when we’ve had amazing “mountain top” experiences with God that we think will change everything, but in the days and weeks that follow we often fall right back into our own routines. What’s great about this is that is shows hunger for God. We long for something more, and now, we know that there is still another level to what God can do in us. We want to hold onto what we have gained from the top of the mountain, and stay there permanently. We just don’t know how to apply it well to keep that moment going.
The real trick with our mountain top experiences with God (and a few good conferences too), is to realize that God’s purpose in these moments isn’t to rebuild your foundation.
Instead, God can use those moments to show us what can be built on the foundation that we already have. We don’t need to re-invent the wheel. We need to replace the tread. After all, these amazing moments in our life aren’t something new at all, they are just reminders of what God is already doing, and continues to do every day. The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is
said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10)”.
Sometimes it can be disheartening when we don’t stay on the mountain, but I think that God gives us those moments to get us through the valleys. Knowing what can be gives us the strength to get through what is. Today, I want to encourage you to pray for mountain top moments, but ask God for wisdom on how to best apply those moments in your life. We never get to stay on the mountain, but what we learn there can stay with us always!
See you Sunday,
Pastor Patrick