the agreement in a thought

I have always been an anxious person, and try to consciously focus on abiding in God’s peace.  In chapter 25 of “Experience the Impossible,” Bill Johnson put anxiety in terms I had not thought of before: “When we begin to live out of fear, we must return to wherever we left our peace. Losing our peace usually involves making a mental agreement with a lie until our emotions become captive to that lie. … The agreements made in those moments work against God’s purposes for our lives” (p. 86).

            Are we really making an agreement when we dwell in anxiety? Is it that willful? It sounds strange, but if we allow ourselves to dwell on a thought instead of casting it out, we “agree” with it. I always tell myself that I am anxious because God never promised that bad things would not happen. And yet, by dwelling in all of the possibilities, realistic or otherwise, how am I honoring God?  I’m fairly certain my anxiety (not common sense precaution like wearing seatbelts, but anxiety itself) has never prevented anything bad from happening. So why do I agree to rehearse tragedy in my head?

            I have a bit of a psychology background and I believe strongly in the power of thought. We have access to wonderful truths in the Bible and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. But most of the time we really have to choose to believe these truths deeply enough to impact our thoughts. Johnson says “living conscious of God’s heart for us keeps us in a place of peace. And peace is more than the absence of something like war, noise or conflict. Our peace is the presence of Someone. It is the actual atmosphere of heaven” (p. 86).

            Mastering anxiety involves changing our thought process and abiding in God. The word “abide” is literally translated to mean “breathe hard.” Our thoughts are like breath. They are constant. We choose, we agree with, what we dwell on. The choice has consequences. Let’s dwell on heaven and peace.

Beth Kropf

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a tall order for 2015

I find it interesting that I read chapter 15 of “Experience the Impossible” so close to the new year. While it can be a great time to make resolutions and goals (although I believe a year when a child is born gets an exemption), it’s also important to think about what God might be asking us to do.  Johnson talks about miracles, and if we are supposed to passively observe God perform them (which is obviously sometimes the case) or be active participants, as the disciples were. Johnson explains “They [the disciples] were not commanded to observe the sovereign invasions of God into impossible situations. That is a given, and is the joy of every believer. But there remains a command that requires obedience and pursuit on our part” (Johnson p. 58).

            Isn’t this uncomfortable? What about the times when we ask for miracles like healing loved ones and he doesn’t? I don’t have a perfect answer, but Johnson’s closing thoughts are powerful. Whether you agree or not, I ask you to consider the implications of the stance. “…we should at least attempt to do what Jesus did- including raising the dead. The fear of looking foolish to others has kept many from responding to this command of the Lord. In addition, we might never do this assignment well. But that does not give me the right to change the assignment to what I do well, and then call that my ministry” (Johnson p.58).

            Does God call us to things we might screw up? Does God call us to things that might alienate us and bring criticism? How do we know if it’s acceptable to call what we do well a ministry?  

            By now you may notice a common thread in my posts: God asks us to do things that are hard. He doesn’t stop storms from coming, as Caz mentioned in Sunday’s sermon. But what will we miss if we don’t even try to do the miraculous, difficult things that God asks of us?

Beth  Kropf

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Introducing “Experience the Impossible” by Bill Johnson

The next book I’m reading was recommended by my dad. It’s a great book that is written like a devotional, with very short chapters. Chapter 6 talks about how some people value the Bible more that the Holy Spirit. Johnson is very careful to state that he of course values the Bible, as we all should. However, he opens the chapter this way: “It is hard to have the same fruit as the early Church when we value a book they did not have more than the Holy Spirit they did have” (p. 31).

            The disciples did not have the comfort or guidance of the New Testament as we have it. They had to rely on the Holy Spirit to figure things out.  We are so fortunate to have both, and yet I see how easy it is to rely on our interpretation of the Scripture and ignore the nudging of the Holy Spirit that might be asking us to do something that will make us uncomfortable.

            The Holy Spirit will never ask us to do something that is contrary to an accurate understanding of Scripture. But what about the times we understand Scripture incorrectly? Are we clinging to our own beliefs so firmly we’re leaving no room for the Holy Spirit to correct us? Examples in our society abound of Christians behaving in a way that is clearly contrary to the Holy Spirit and a correct interpretation of Scripture. Let’s navigate our lives with all of the treasures we have: Spirit and Scripture.

 Beth Kropf

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Advent, Tom Petty, and gluten

One of my favorite Tom Petty songs is “The Waiting Is The Hardest Part.”  He is so right! Like many others, the concept of Advent is fairly new to me. I love the focus on the anticipation of such a wonderful gift. It is especially meaningful to me this year as I am pregnant. I feel this baby kicking and see my belly expand and I can’t wait to meet her (but stay in there and finish growing, little girl).

            Advent is about hope and waiting. Waiting is so, so hard. It is hard to endure pregnancy and wait for my little one to develop.  I loved Caz’s calling on Sunday to learn how to be good at waiting.  We have to wait daily for small things and hard things, like for a child to choose shoes when we are late. We have to wait for big things, like answers to prayers. There is so much we must wait until heaven to experience. I personally won’t be able to have gluten until I get to heaven. Others have to wait to have whole bodies and reunite with dear ones. How do we get better at waiting? How do we learn to have more patience for others and for God?

            What are we missing by not learning to wait, and by giving up hope?  I am sure I am not the only one who has given up hope that God will answer certain prayers. I wonder how He feels about that. Join me in trying to navigate the territory of patience, and hope. Jesus is real. He is coming back, and He is worth waiting for.

Beth Kropf

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Final Thoughts on "Hearing God"

The epilogue of “Hearing God” by Dallas Willard may echo much of the book, but it has really stuck with me and I feel his ideas are worth repeating. When thinking about hearing God and how to interpret silence, it really helps to think about where we are. How often do we want to hear from God because we have trouble trusting Him and want to know that everything will be okay? What would we do if God did speak to us? Have we put ourselves in the best position to listen to God? What if he asked us to do something really hard? Willard says “God wants to be wanted, to be wanted enough that we are ready, predisposed, to find him present with us. And if, by contrast, we are ready and set to find ways of explaining away his gentle overtures, he will rarely respond with fire from heaven.” (283)

            Not hearing from God is hard. And yet if we stop listening entirely, if we stop expecting to hear from Him, I think He generally stops speaking. He respects a closed door.

Join me in doing my best to trust that silence has a purpose. That one day all of our questions will be answered. That if we seek Him, we will find Him and have the unmatched beauty of His words.

beth kropf

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what waits for us

I was struck by Caz’s message Sunday about what God promises us. Isaiah 65 talks about a world without untimely death, and where our families our settled. That hits home for me as so many of the people closest to me do not live near me. Caz asked a question at the end about how we would live if we thought about our future. I was kind of hoping he would answer it for us.     

            I don’t know all of the implications of that, but I think I would be much more patient in suffering, and much less selfish in my relationships with others. Relationships are eternal, job stress is not. It is really hard to keep the big picture in mind when we don’t know how our story ends.  I’m sure you have learned by now, dear reader, that I do not offer nice little solutions. I would love for us all to explore and share what that passage in Isaiah means to us.

            But I do think it’s important to hold on to our faith: God has promised a wonderful future for His children. Let us never be so overcome with the present world that we lose sight of that. Let us live in thankfulness and grace.

Beth

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