I shouldn’t start a blog post with an apology, but I’m going to!  This blog is a mish-mash of things that happened in the last week.  I’ve included the Scriptures that have helped me process these stories.

I’m sure every one of us has read ‘ad nausium’ about goals lately since it’s the first month of the new year.  We constantly hear, “Believe in yourself in order to accomplish your goals.”  This is at best a partial truth and at worst a distortion of the truth.  We should actually believe in God in order to accomplish our goals.  God works in us to enable us to do the right things.  Our own resources are limited just because we’re human.  We run out of determination, patience, energy, ideas, motivation, etc.  We need a source of help beyond human capacity.  We absolutely need God.  We need his Word to show us what God wants us to do and think; we need his Spirit to whisper comfort and guidance. We need his love, his wisdom, his strength, his hope. We even need him to give us faith to draw close and get his help.  We desperately need him every step of our way. When we trust him, we have the confidence to move forward.  Confidence is very important, but let’s put our confidence in our God who helps us. 

“They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.”  Psalm 112:7

“As for me, I look to the Lord for help. I wait confidently for God to save me, and my God will certainly hear me… you delight in showing unfailing love.

Once again you will have compassion on us.
You will trample our sins under your feet
and throw them into the depths of the ocean!
You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love”  Micah 7:7,18-20

“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”  Philippians 1:6

“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.”  1 John 5:14

This brings us to another thing to consider.  Are my New Year’s goals pleasing to God?  What is motivating my goals?  Do I want these goals because I need validation?  Do I need others to notice and appreciate me?  This kind of goal is elusive.  How many others do I need to notice me?  How often?   
Or am I willing to be faithful doing what God has tasked me to do without recognition?  Will I be diligent without the praise of others?

I can think of many endeavors where we may not receive kudos.  Parenting comes to mind.  Mothers spend years changing diapers, feeding, and nurturing their babies.  I don’t know of any baby that says, “Thanks, Mom, for changing my diaper.”  Or in the early years, “Thanks for feeding me, Mom.”  Even in later years, children often take their parents’ sacrifices for granted and forget to thank them for all the ways they serve.  It’s clear that parents care for their children for higher reasons than seeking thanks or recognition.

I had an experience last month that did validate me.  But it didn’t come from being recognized by others.  You probably remember from previous blogs that friends of ours lost their firstborn son in a car accident that wasn’t his fault.  He was only 16, but had lived his life devoted to Jesus.  Arriving at his celebration of life service, dear Husband and I walked into the large auditorium that was overflowing with friends who came to honor him.  I was shocked to see huge screens cycling through my portraits of him.  (I’m a photographer.)  This was the closest I will ever come to fame, even though no one knew they were my portraits. I got to see that my hard work blessed a thousand people.  I saw that my work mattered completely apart from getting recognition.  Every one of us knows the feeling of working hard without receiving recognition.  Instead, we have to get our satisfaction from doing to the best of our ability what pleases God.

Not only do we often not get thanks for our obedience, we sometimes get hardship because of our obedience.  I think of so many areas of the world where putting faith in the God of the Bible brings persecution.  I often remember my sisters in Jesus in China who are sitting in prison cells because they obeyed God. Sadly, my mind jumped to our great-niece who recently experienced hardship right here in my own state.  Her teacher at school was encouraging students to embrace ideas that are now socially acceptable, but clearly not acceptable to God.  My brave great niece got up and left the classroom.  She was disciplined for it and she and her parents were required to meet with the principal where they were grilled and reproached.  Apparently, those obeying the Scriptures must resist increasingly strong pressure to agree with behavior that violates their conscience.  I’m so proud of my niece, her husband, and their very brave daughter!  Let’s encourage each other to bravely obey only God in spite of pressure.

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.  Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”  Matthew 10:32,34

In the past two weeks, two men we are related to reaped the consequences of bad health habits.  One died, and the other is hospitalized with a bleak prognosis.  This time of year we hear many voices encouraging us to take better care of our health.  We should exercise.  We should eat healthier.  This is very good advice.  Today I was so sad to get a phone call about a relative by marriage.  He has a serious, life-threatening illness and is hospitalized.  The back story is that his doctor warned him against some particular eating habits he had (drinking pop was one of them) and despite his wife’s pleading, he didn’t change. Last week another relative by marriage was buried.  He, also, refused to listen to warnings about his bad habits.  He refused to eat healthily or exercise and he continued to smoke heavily.  These heart-wrenching stories got me thinking.  Do I recognize that the way I treat my body reflects on what I believe?  If I believe that God created me and gave me this body, then how I treat it tells what I think about God’s gift.  If this body is a gift from my Creator and is now inhabited by his Spirit, shouldn’t I be earnest about how I take care of it?  Isn’t it a slap in God’s face when I treat what he gave me badly?  

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”  1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I know this blog post was scattered.  I needed to put my thoughts into writing because they kept swirling in my head.  I hope some tidbit resonated with you. 

Only God can help us move toward worthy goals.  We don’t have to do it on our own.
Often we won’t be thanked or recognized for doing our God-given work, but he sees and rewards.
Sometimes we’ll encounter opposition on our path, but we remain committed and brave.
We are stewards of our God-given bodies.  I want to treat mine responsibly.