Are Christians ‘Needy’ People?

I recently had the opportunity to speak to someone close to me about the Lord. This person (let's call her Jane) commented that she felt that it was not necessary to go to church to be a Christian. Her opinion of churches is that they are filled with 'needy' people! I was horrified! However, I felt that it was important that I take into consideration Jane's personality, her personal situation and worldview before commenting.

Jane has become very successful in her line of work. She is well known, sought after and has had several magazine articles published about her work. Her husband is also successful and they run their own business. They lack for nothing materially and both feel that they are well-balanced, intelligent, strong-willed and highly capable. Neither of them has really felt the need for God in their lives as they have been able to achieve all that they have done on their own without having to 'depend' on a higher power to see them through. They are, in their minds, self-made people.

I then considered what she had said about the types of people who attend church and realized that she definitely cast me into the needy category. You see, I had made some huge mistakes in my life which she was aware of and even though I have learnt from those mistakes, grown as a person, and am now using my past experiences combined with training, to counsel people, in her eyes I am a failure in life. I then considered all my wonderful friends in church and their situations and quite honestly, couldn't think of anyone who fitted the dictionary definition of 'needy'. Yet each one of them loved the Lord with all their hearts and souls and all came to church regularly. Most of them are actively involved in the church in some form or the other, facilitating cell groups, teaching bible study, leading worship, running the children's ministry, etc., etc. They do so happily, with no need to be coerced into helping out at all.

The dictionary definition of 'needy' is as follows; poor; underprivileged; emotionally dependant; deprived; disadvantaged. To me, that described the people that we serve! The HIV orphans living in shacks; the street children; the elderly – not the members of our church. I do know that despite the fact that most of the members of our church are middle-income families, they do have their personal problems just like everyone else! On further consideration I realized that Jane, despite her relative wealth, is just as needy as anyone else! You see, despite her healthy financial status, she never appears to be truly happy. Certainly if you were to ask her, she would insist that she leads a wonderful life and is perfectly content, but she lacks peace, is constantly chasing the next 'big job', and helps herself relax in the evenings with several glasses of wine before bed.

So after looking carefully at both groups of people, I decided that if Christians are 'needy' people I am so glad to be one. For the Christians I know and love are just as hard working as Jane, some are wealthier than her, some are not there yet, however they all have a wonderful, inner peace that comes from knowing that they are loved by their loving Father in Heaven. They have the joy of knowing that He has them safely in His hands and that He is there beside them through good times and bad. They also do not fear death, in fact many even talk of it with a sense of anticipation at the thought of finally being in Heaven with their maker, the infinite Creator of the Universe, who keeps the stars spinning yet is concerned with every tiny event in their lives! They have a sense of belonging, of extended family, of all being the children of God. They have a sense of purpose which they get from knowing that God has a plan for their lives, and that their lives matter, that if they are surrendered to Him, God will use them in amazing ways to advance His kingdom. That He cares for them and will bless them and shower them with His amazing love!

A needy person is very seldom able to give anything of themselves to others due to their physical or emotionally deprived state. That being the case I firmly believe that, with all the loving, kindness and generosity that is displayed by all the Christians that I know, they are certainly not the 'needy' ones!

Calm in the Chaos

Have you ever met one of those people who exude calmness and quietude? Despite the fact that they may be frantically busy and under pressure they always manage to appear as though nothing really bothers them. They frustrate the rest of us who rush around like headless chickens, and yet they are the ones we turn to in times of a crisis situation. Funny isn't it? We lambaste them for their apparent disorganization, their laid back ways, etc., and yet, in the long run they achieve just as much as we do – maybe more!

I have the privilege of knowing someone just like that. I am not saying that this person never worries about situations and even occasionally gets a trifle flustered, but there is a quiet strength and calm about them that never really leaves them. Until this morning I only had an inkling as to what the reason is for this person's behavior, and then I read Isaiah 30:15 "This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says. "Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength." That is when I got it!! The light-bulb moment revealed to me that this person's quietness and confidence is a direct result of walking with the Lord. This person has been through as many trials and difficulties as anyone else and yet one would not think so on first getting to know them.

So what does this mean for the rest of us? Simply that we are not turning to God, not trusting Him with all aspects of our lives. We say that God is the "pilot" in our life's journey, and yet we are constantly wrenching the controls out of His hands. By saying that we must 'trust God" with our daily lives, does not mean that we must live "fatalistically". Rather we need to deal with each day's difficulties as best we can, but trust that God, who does have our best interests in His heart, will see to the outcome of every situation.

When you are able to live your life fully resting in God's arms, then you too can be calm no matter what situations come your way. No-one is perfect, yet by trusting God we are given His strength to face life's challenges, and the result of choosing to do this will be that we too can become a calm haven in a world of chaos. We too, can lend our strength to others and have the calm assurance in our lives that, no matter what happens, God is ultimately in control.

DETOURS AND SIDE ROADS

"A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery while on a detour!" This quote was one that I had to re-read several times to really "get" it. I don't know how you feel about detours and side roads but I am one of those people who likes to have my whole trip mapped out in advance. I make lists of all the things that I need to take with me, tick them off before leaving and like to know exactly how long the journey will take and try to plan ahead for all eventualities! Stop laughing!! Yes, I am a bit of a "control freak" in that way. In fact, a joke amongst my friends and family is a small cosmetic bag that I have packed and keep in my car – it contains (amongst other things) pain killers, nail clippers, scissors, band aids, an emergency blanket, tape measure, calculator, note pad, energy bars, energy tablets, guitar strings, pen-knife, etc., etc. I would just like to point out that I am not the one who has had a need for anything from my bag, but several of my friends have!!

Anyway, my point is that no matter what precautions we take we can never know just what life is going to throw at us. No matter how much planning we do for a trip we cannot control the weather conditions, the potholes, road-works, accidents and other things that take place that may cause us to have to select an alternative route to our intended destination.

That is why I am so glad to have the Creator of the Universe in my corner and in control. No matter what plans we may have for our lives, if we surrender everything to God and let him be the driving force in our daily living, He will always get us to the best place we can be! God only wants us to live for Him, to live our lives doing His will and if we do that, we can be sure of an interesting time and that the journey He takes us on will be for more rewarding than anything we can plan for ourselves.

So if your best laid plans don't seem to be going the way you want them to, no matter how much prayer you have dedicated to them, then just enjoy the detour God is taking you on and trust Him to get you to your destination. He always has your best interests at heart because he totally adores you!

WHERE IS GOD?

I am currently feeling as though God has left the building! That I am standing on a crumbling ledge with no where to go but down. Intellectually I know that this is not true. But knowing something in my head doesn't always connect with what is in my heart!

I know that most times when someone feels like this it is because they have experienced some tragedy or crisis. Alternatively the day to day problems just seem to get to a point where they are too heavy to carry any longer and you just want to turn your back on everything, walk out the door and keep on walking! In my case my depression has been rearing its ugly head telling me that I am a waste of a human skin, worthless, useless and my life always has been and always will be meaningless! Not a very pleasant place to be let me assure you.

So what do we do when these feelings take a grip on our hearts and minds? Do we give ourselves a pep talk and say "buck up, you are just being silly", do we ignore how we are feeling and try to pretend that all is well and simply keep ourselves so busy that we do not have time to think about how we are feeling. Or do we allow the strong pull of depression to suck us down to the very bottom of its miserable black hole and wallow in our pain and misery? Well I tried the pep talk, it didn't work! I am too tired to pretend but have decided that I have had enough time in that black hole to never want to go back down there again. But believe me, the mouth of that hole is treacherously slippery and it is an uphill battle to pull out of it.

The only thing that we can do is call out to God and know that He hears our cries! He has promised to never leave us and because He is Truth, He cannot lie! There are times though when He is silent, as we may have a lesson to learn from the situation that we are going through. That does not mean that He is not still with us and ultimately still loving us completely!

We have to remember that God pursues us with His love. He wants all of us to come to Him but will never force us. He gives us the choice of following Him or not! So if He is going to devote so much time and thought and love on US then He will not leave our side or let us down, no matter how bleak our situation may be.

So that is where God is, even in our darkest times – He is right beside us, waiting lovingly and patiently for us to acknowledge Him and understand that when we feel worthless, we are not because He loves us, created us and has a purpose for our lives. When we wonder why we are still alive and other, more deserving people are not, it's because He hasn't finished with us yet! When we feel as though we are standing alone on a crumbling ledge, He is wanting us to trust Him and take a step of faith out in to what seems like a vast nothingness but is actually the start of another part of His wonderful plan for our lives!

ARE YOU LIVING YOUR DREAM – OR SOMEONE ELSE’S?

If faced with the question "what is your dream for your life" how would you answer? About a year ago this question was asked during a leadership programme that I was on. It sent me into a complete tailspin and was the catalyst for my depression to sink to an all time low! I realised that, in my late forties, not only did I not have any dreams for my life but that the few that I had in my youth had withered and died. After almost a year of soul-searching, fighting depression and clawing my way through each day, I have finally found the courage to tentatively start dreaming again.

As this subject is so close to my heart, I was thrilled when our pastor began a series of sermons on living God's dream for our lives. His one question raised an alarm bell and that is why I am using it as the title for this message.

Many people, women in particular, find their dreams being shelved or chucked out completely when they get married. I don't think that this is always a deliberate decision, rather it is a case of putting the needs of their spouse and children first.

Another similar situation is when a parent imposes their dreams on to their children. Pressure is put on little 'Johnny/Mary' to become an engineer or doctor, when all he/she wants to do is ……. (fill in the blanks if this applies to you.) In so many cases the parent who does this is someone who was unable to live out their own dreams and so tries to do so through their child.

To all those people out there who find themselves in this situation, I beg you to do something about it! God has put a dream into each of our hearts that He will use to fulfil His purposes. The dream that He has given us will be the one thing that will make our lives purposeful. Living out someone else's dream instead of your own is not a sacrifice that God wants us to make and is unhealthy in the long run as a time will come when bitterness and resentment will take up residence in our hearts.

Are we Insignificant? Or Not?

Have you ever watched a programme that shows how tiny our planet is in our galaxy and how we are positioned in an extremely "insignificant" section of our galaxy. Then you find out how small and insignificant our galaxy is in relation to other galaxies in the universe!!! You can't help but wonder about how significant we are. After all we are nothing but minute particles on a tiny planet that hangs out on the outer edges of a relatively tiny galaxy…… therefore why should we matter? After all if we accept that God created all this magnificence and we are such a miniscule part of it, then what is our role?? Do we even have one?

Well, the fact that God created us in His image immediately makes us significant. He didn't make the galaxies, or the oceans, or anything else for that matter, in His image. Just us. To me, that means a lot. I have been asked, "Well what if we are not the only planet that God put living beings on"? My thinking on that is "So what?" If God chose to populate millions of other planets with people then that would be His choice. It wouldn't make any difference to the fact that He made us, He loves us, so much so that He sent us Son to die for us, and He wants us to spend eternity with Him! As far as I am concerned, that makes us extremely significant!! As for our role, well God has told us that He wants us to love Him and do His will in our lives, but He gave us the choice to either accept Him or reject Him! He gave us CHOICE!! That is significant!! He could have made us love Him automatically, without any say in the matter, but He didn't. He chose to allow us to choose as to whether or not we want to be in relationship with Him.

As miniscule as we may be in the Universe, with lifetimes that are comparatively short, God has taken the time to make each one of us different from the other, nobody shares our fingerprints, nobody has the same dreams and aspirations. God has lovingly crafted each and every one of us to His specific design, for His specific purpose, and yet He still loves us so much that He allows us to choose to come to Him or not!!! The Creator of the Universe loves us, cares about our daily problems, and wants to have a personal relationship with each of us, I'd say that makes us significant, wouldn't you?

TODAY IS YOUR BEST DAY!

Psalm 118:24 'This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it.' How many times have we complained about having a "bad day" or felt buoyant because we have had a great day! Every day we face is a gift from God. The good ones and the bad. The bad ones refine us and the good ones restore us. It is important that we understand the fact that once a day has gone, it is not going to be repeated. That we have to make the most of every day that we have. If you are working in a job that doesn't satisfy you, but you need it to keep a roof over your family's head and feed and clothe them, then try and find ways to get satisfaction out of your day in other ways. I will use myself as an example. I worked as a secretary ever since leaving college (secretarial college) and I hated every moment of it. I did, however, find that I enjoyed being with people, made friends easily and always had people coming to me with their personal problems. I remember my different places of employment not by the work involved, but by the people I worked with and the problems they faced. Looking back on my life, I realized that God had made it possible for me to get through the dreary times and at the same time showed me what area He had in mind for me. I have recently completed a course in Christian Counselling!

Be grateful for every day that you have, even when it seems impossible as you deal with hardship or even tragedy. For God is using all these situations, good and bad, to mould you into the person that He designed you to be. I am not suggesting, when I say make the most of each day, that you go out and live your life recklessly, but rather that you make the best of whatever situation that you are in. Living this way allows God to work through you and your life will be enriched and filled with an inner joy and peace that no man can destroy.