GodandMe2theMax

Which race are you in?

Jeremiah 12:5  "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?  If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"

Jackie Evancho.  A household name for anyone who followed the fifth season of America's Got Talent.  She is a bright eyed ten year old girl who submitted a YouTube entry to make it onto the show.  Jackie went on to be first runner up to this season's winner.  If you have no idea who she is, just plug her name into google, and you'll find plenty of links.  Be prepared to be amazed.

To look at Jackie Evancho, you wouldn't think she held any spectacular talent.  Sure, she's adorable, polite, has the sweetest smile and eye combination, but her talent is what blows you out of the water.  You see, out of this little package of a girl, is one enormously mature voice.  Yes, she has a gift, but she hasn't rested in the talent alone.  She practices for hours each day, working to get better.  Jackie doesn't even know her own capacity at this point.  As one of the judges told her, "The sky is the limit."

As I talked with my husband about the verse to learn for this week, he suggested Jeremiah 12:5.  It's his new favorite verse, and to be honest, I think it might become one of mine as well.  In chapter twelve, Jeremiah becomes weary.  He's been obedient to proclaim God's judgment to the people, and he finally feels like he's about had it.  Basically, he asks God to just annihilate the wicked so he doesn't have to deal with them anymore.  Then in verse five, God goes on to answer Jeremiah's plea.

Look at the first part of the verse.  God replied to Jeremiah, "If  you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?"  How many times am I just like Jeremiah?  I've been obedient.  I feel like I've put in my time, and even with a good attitude, too.  But I get tired of obeying and not necessarily seeing results.  I become weary and tired.  But in true God fashion, He saw the big picture that Jeremiah could not see.  And today, God sees the same big picture that we can't, too.

Do you want to give up?  Are you tired and weary, just like Jeremiah?  I believe God wants to teach us endurance in the current race, so He can move us to an even bigger race.  That's what He was saying to Jeremiah.  If racing with men wears you out, how are you going to compete at the next level I have for you?  You have to endure now, go through the growing pains God has for you, and pay the price.  Then God will move you to were He wants you to be, that next level, and then the next, and then the next.

I can't help but think of the verse in I Corinthians 2:9:  "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him."  Do you ever dream?  Do you ever dream big things for God?  I do.  I have a lot of goals of what I want to do for Him.  Then when I read this verse, I'm amazed to think those big goals that I have set are nothing compared to what God has prepared for me.  But if I want to accomplish those big goals, I can't get tired and weary right now, when I'm not even close to running with the horses.

Like Jackie Evancho, we don't even know our full potential.  We have no idea what God wants to do with our lives.  But if we complain about where we are now, if we become tired of the current race we're in, how will we ever know the next race God wants us to participate in?  The verse ends with a similar, yet just as powerful comparison: "If you stumble in the safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?" 

Think about your current "race", your current situation.  It's important to not become weary, like Jeremiah, but one thing that's easy to forget is that you have to be active.  You see, just being in the race doesn't count.  I can be a contestant in a race but never finish.  Galatians 6:9 says, "And let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  The verse doesn't say, "Don't become weary, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest."  No, the verse has an action with it: don't be weary in doing good! 

Just being in the race isn't good enough.  If Jackie Evancho had never practiced, sure, she would have raw talent, but she would never get to the point where "the sky is the limit."  And the truth is, with God, "the sky is the limit" with each one of us.  God wants us to have the faith and perseverance to believe that, too.

I don't know about you, but I really needed this reminder this week.  You see, my family has been in a holding pattern with God for quite some time now.  We've been waiting on God for direction in several areas.  We've been actively seeking Him and asking Him to show us what His will is.  Yet, despite our repeated pleas, He has not yet given us an answer.  Today God is telling me not to get tired.  He's telling me He has a plan, one so amazing that I can't even imagine it.  But if I'm going to get to that next level with Him, I have to be to the point in my life that I don't become weak in my current race. 

So for now, I'm going to keep running with men, until God moves me into the next level of competing with horses.  What about you?  Which race are you in?

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

 

Taking some time to obey...

There's an old children's song that goes something like this:  "Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.  Doing exactly what the Lord commands.  Doing it happily.  Action is the key.  Do it immediately.  Joy you will receive.  Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe."

Obedience.  Sometimes it's easy to do, when you're excited about what you're doing.  Sometimes it's difficult...when you know obeying means you just can't continue at the pace you've kept.  That's where I am this morning.

You see, back in May, the Lord laid on my heart a passage of Scripture.  Sometimes I get some pretty crazy ideas, and on May 26th, I had just that.  As I studied in my quiet time that morning, and as I blogged on the Scripture I was reading, I felt like God was telling me to ask a few friends to do a little spiritual experiment with me. 

Now, this is not an original idea.  I had read a book a long time ago called "What Happens When Women Pray" by Evelyn Christenson.  In the book, Evelyn and her praying friends decided to an experiment, too.  They decided to focus solely on prayer, then sit back and wait to see what God would do.  And let me tell you, God did some amazing things through their obedience and commitment to prayer.

Well, that morning, I felt like God was telling me to do the same kind of thing with a specific passage...to study it, and then sit back and see what He would do!  He outlined it pretty clearly for me, even including which friends to ask and which friends for sure would agree to do the study with me.  We've had quite a few months to pray and prepare, and it's finally time to start.  I'm so excited about what God is going to do in our lives as we seek Him through this process, but I also believe a bi-product of our study is going to be either a book or Bible study that we can share with others.

That's where the obedience comes in.  For the next at least three months, probably longer, my blog entries will be limited to only one per week - the new verse to memorize on Mondays.  Obeying God about this project is an easy thing to do for me.  I'm actually ecstatic in anticipation of what He's going to do in me and in the lives of my two friends.  But when it comes to not publicly sharing with all my friends what He's doing in my life, obedient I will be, but ecstatic is not the word I would choose.  Perplexed, yes, excited, no. 

I love writing and articulating the little things God shows me.  I'm no journalist, for sure, but I know God has been using my writing to encourage other Christians to go deeper in their walk with Him.  Part of me wants to just continue to do the blog entries as God continues to teach me, but God has clearly hit the brakes on that idea.  So, holding it all in for a while is going to be hard, but obedient I will be. 

If you think of it, please pray for my friends Jennifer, Christina, and I as we unite together in our little experiment.  William Carey once said "Expect great things from God.  Attempt great things for God."  We are expecting, and we will attempt, but mostly we are just being obedient to what He's asking us to do.  Thank you for your prayers!  We are expecting great things from God!

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

Monday Memory Verse: Psalm 61:2 "Alone on Survivor Island"

Psalm 61:2  "From the ends of the earth I call to You, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

"Hello!"  (Echo: hello. hello.  hello.)  "Is anyone there?"  (Echo: there, there, there.)  You're alone.  You're scared.  And you feel like you're surrounded by circumstances that are bigger and deeper than you can handle.  You've been dropped off on "Survivor Island" to fend for yourself.  Sure, there may be other people around, but no one who really understands what you feel like or what you're going through.  The fear is intense.  The pain is deeper than you can bear.  You wander through the days, unable to function.  Does it sound familiar? 

As a Christian, I would be lying if I said I couldn't identify with that scenario.  Sometimes I find it incredibly difficult to keep going in faith when circumstances around me seem grim.  I pray, yet God doesn't seem to give timely answers.  I get weary, I get tired, and part of me just wants to give up. 

As I read Psalm 61, I think David could relate, too.  Scholars believe this Psalm was written either during the days of Absalom's rebellion or after David narrowly escaped one of Saul's attempts to kill him while in the desert.  I think I can take some Survivor advise from David -- let's break the verse down. 

"From the ends of the earth I call to You..."
David was lonely, and he called out to God feeling like he was stuck in the middle of nowhere.  Granted, he actually may have been in the middle of nowhere, not just figuratively!  But just like David, I know each of us feels that same feeling of loneliness sometimes.  Our circumstances push us to feeling that God is far away, when in reality, He most definitely is not.  Survivor advice #1: God is omnipresent.  Sure, I may feel like I'm on a deserted island, but in reality, because of my relationship with Jesus Christ, I am never alone.  God is not limited to any geographic location.

"...I call as my heart grows faint..."
We all know King David was known as the "Friend of God."  True friends allow themselves to be vulnerable with other friends, right?  They don't hide their feelings.  They honestly pour out their innermost thoughts.  I love the fact that David just came out and told God how he felt.  David was at the end of his rope, and he had no problem letting God know.  Sometimes I feel like I have to be a "Super Christian."  I try so hard to obey, do what God wants me to, and simply put, "have it all together."  Yet, David clearly did not have it all together.  In fact, he was emotionally falling apart.  So Survivor advice #2: Be honest with my best friend.  How stupid I am sometimes.  I hold it all in, as if God doesn't already know I'm at the end of my rope.  I try to sort it out by myself, instead of just simply crying out to God about how I really feel: the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Just talking to Him honestly and openly, friend to friend like David did, is definitely the right start.

"...lead me to the rock that is higher than I."
Although David was at wit's end, he knew the truth.  He didn't let his emotions and fear overtake him.  A "higher rock" would have been an area of safety and refuge, and he knew that's where he needed to be.  Survivor advice #3: Put your faith in the Rock.   Easier said than done, I know.  See, faith is a tough thing to reconcile.  I have the head knowledge that God is in control, even in negative circumstances that I don't like.  But placing my faith in God during that time instead of trying to manipulate and control the situation is something else.  It's a constant struggle between giving my problems to God, then taking them back, then giving them...  What can I say, I really am not a Super Christian.  I'm just a feeble, weary, human.  But I hope I have enough sense in my feebleness to know that the only way off the deserted island is to ask God for help in getting to higher ground.  That doesn't mean the dangers of the island will go away.  No, in fact, those hard times will likely still stick around for a while.  But if I'm seeking God for safety, it's one step at a time.  One ledge at a time.  And you know what?  He's going to help me.  Just like David knew in his heart the facts, I have to rely on the facts and faith.  The fact that my God never leaves me.  (Hebrews 13:5)  The fact that my God knows the plans for me...plans not to harm me.  (Jeremiah 29:11)  So if I know the facts, then I must dispell the emotions.  I must use the reasoning side of my brain to believe in faith that the things I know to be true actually are.

Do you hear the echo?  Do you want it to stop?  Do you want off the island?  Together let's take David's Survivor Advice.  God's all-surpassing strength is with us as we start the climb, one rock at a time.

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2thMax.com

That voice...Sounds familiar. But do I know Him?

Have you ever had someone come up to you in the store and start carrying on a conversation, but that "someone" is one you've not seen in a long time?  You know them, but you just can't figure out how you know them or even their name.  You muddle your way through the conversation, hoping the other person doesn't figure out you have no clue.  Then you wrack your brain for the next 24+ hours until it comes to you on how you know the person.  Guilty as charged.  That exact thing happened to me at Wal Mart a few months ago.  Granted, the person I ran into wasn't a close friend, only an acquaintance from my old church, but I should have known her.  I think I did a pretty good job hiding the truth in the matter, but for the life of me, I could not remember her name.  Finally, it came to me, but not without a lot of thought and hours of repeated effort.

Seriously, personal evaluation time.  I wonder about Jesus.  If He walked in the room and started talking to me, would I be familiar enough with His voice to recognize that I was talking to God Almighty?  There's an old Wayne Watson song called "Would I Know You?"  It questions the same thing.  The words are powerful:

Would I know You now, if You walked into this room? 
If You stilled the crowd, would Your light dispell the gloom?
And if I saw Your wounds, touched Your thorn pierced brow?
I wonder if I'd know You now.

Would I know You now, if You walked into this place?
Would I cause You shame, would my games be Your disgrace?
Or would I worship You, fall upone my face?
I wonder if I'd know You now.

Or have the images I've painted, so distorted Who You are
That even if the world was looking, they could not see You, the real You?
Have I changed the true reflection, to fulfill my own design?
Making You what I want, not showing you forth divine, divine.

Would I miss You now, if you left and closed the door?
Would my flesh cry out, "I don't need you anymore!"
Or would I follow You, could I be restored?
I wonder.  I wonder will I ever learn?
I wonder if I'd know You now.

Sometimes we turn God into what we want Him to be, instead of letting Him turn us into what He wants us to be.  How well do you know His voice?  John 10 talks about the exact thing in relation to Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  Verse four says "When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep listen to His voice.  He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out."  Then verse fourteen says: "I am the good Shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me."

So what does it mean to know God?  It means "to become progressively more deeply and intimately acquainted with God."  I like that.  As I seek to know God more, I will recognize His voice, I will notice Him more, and I will deepen my intimate relationship with Him.  I want so desperately to go deeper in my walk with Him, but it's not easy.  It takes discipline.  It takes putting my own selfish desires aside.  It takes sacrifice.  It takes being setting aside my own agenda and what I think is best and letting God's agenda rule in my life.

I remember as a teenager hearing my mom tell me what her favorite verse in the Bible was.  I thought it was rather strange at the time, considering my lack of spiritual maturity.  It's found in Philippians 3:10 "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in his death."  What, mom?  You want to know God so it hurts?  Yep, as a teenager, I just didn't get that verse.  Even as an adult, it's a bit difficult to grasp. 

My NIV Study Bible has the following notes about the verse:  "Paul gave up everything - family, friendship, and freedom - in order to know Christ and His resurrection power.  We too have access to this knowledge and this power, but we may have to make sacrifices to enjoy it fully.  What are you willing to give up in order to know Christ?  A crowded schedule in order to set aside a few minutes each day for prayer and Bible study?  Your friends approval?  Some of your plans or pleasures?  Whatever it is, knowing Christ is more than worth the sacrifice.  When we are united with Christ by trusting in Him, we experience the power that raised Him from the dead.  That same mighty power will help us live morally renewed and regenerated lives.  But before we can walk in newness of life, we must also die to sin.  Just as the resurrection gives us Christ's power to live for Him, the crucifixion marks the death of our old sinful nature.  We can't know the victory of the resurrection without personally applying the crucifixion."  The professionals say it much better than I ever could.  The more intimately I know God, the more I understand about his death and life in Him. 

I heard a story recently (I'd give credit if I could remember who told it!, but hence I cannot...) about two shepherds who got caught in a terrible storm with their sheep.  They all went into a cave together, waiting for the storm to pass.  When the weather cleared, one shepherd walked out and just started talking.  The sheep that were his knew his voice, and they followed him.  Those sheep so intimately knew their shepherd's voice that they knew to follow Him and not stay in the cave with the other flock of sheep.  In the end, not one sheep was separated from the shepherd.  Why?  Because they knew the shepherd's voice.

If you've not ever entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ by asking Him to come into your life, forgive you of your sins, and giving Him control, please talk to me.  Message me.  Don't let another day go by without making that decision to be counted as one of God's precious sheep.  Begin today the journey of knowing God.

Maybe you've already made a commitment to Him, but you don't recognize His voice all the time.  Why?  Is it because you're not "becoming progressively and more deeply and intimately acquainted with God" each day?  Do you know Him?  I mean, do you really KNOW Him?  Or is His voice a faint resemblance of someone you kind of know, maybe should know, but you just can't pinpoint exactly who He is when He speaks? 

I'm reminded this morning to constantly deepen my relationship with Christ.  I don't ever want Him to be someone I don't recognize at the neighborhood store.  No, when He speaks, I want to know His voice.  And that can only be accomplished by seeking Him and spending time with Him more deeply and intimately each day.  Help me, Lord to know you.  Help me Lord to shut up and listen, so that I can hear Your voice.  And change me, God, so that the words of this old song will be true in my life.

 

Lord, I want to Know You More
by Steve Fry

Just the time I think I'm at peace with the world that's mine,
I feel at ease, I feel at home, and I know I'm not alone.
Then in rest, there comes a test that shakes me 'til again I know
That what I had is not enough, and again I've got to grow.

Lord, I want to know You more
Deep within my heart I want to know You
Oh, I want to know You.
And I would give my final breath
To know you in Your death and resurrection,
Lord I want to know You more,
Lord, I want to know You more.

The full supply I find as I move closer to the heart of God,
To strengthen me, to nourish me, and to fill my mind with Him.
I've truly grown, but even so my hunger hasn't gone away
Still I long, still I thirst, to know Him more each day.

Lord, I want to know You more
Deep within my heart I want to know You
Oh, I want to know You.
And I would give my final breath
To know you in Your death and resurrection,
Lord I want to know You more,
Lord, I want to know You more.

 

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

 

Monday Memory Verse - Are you ready for some football?

Hebrews 12:1  "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

I'm a football fan.  Let me clarify that---I'm a football fan, but I'm especially a Dallas Cowboys fan.  It took my husband and I about seven or eight years after coming to Texas to "get our life right" but in the end, it was unavoidable.  If you're going to live in the Dallas area and want to watch football with your friends, you gotta love the Cowboys. And we do!  Now, unlike some I know, we're not fair-weather fans.  But, I will say, it's quite easy to sit on the sidelines of my reclining chair and see all the mistakes going on in the opening season game.

You see, SNF (Sunday Night Football) on NBC this week has the Washington Redskins hosting the Dallas Cowboys.  The Redskins, led by Donovan McNabb, formerly with the Eagles, is a quarterback that we owned last season, beating him and his Eagles three times in a row.  Unfortunately, it's only currently minutes into the second half, and the Cowboys can't seem to throw off what is hindering them, namely the Redskins.  Yes, spiritually speaking, the Cowboys need some perseverance.

OK, enough about football, let's bring it home to me (and you if you want.)  First, let me say that I am so thankful I'm surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  You see, sometimes I get really weary.  I get tired of being sure that I'm posting a blog and a verse to memorize by each Sunday night.  It's not that I don't want to stay with my commitment to learn a new verse each week, but the busyness of life sometimes just takes over.  I'm so thankful for our Groupies4God members who keep me accountable to do what God has called me to do.  When I get weary, all I have to do is spend a little time focusing on God and the race He has laid out.  But it definitely helps knowing that I have 570+ people waiting to see the new verse for the week, too.

Next the verse says that we should throw off everything that hinders and sin that easily entangles us.  Now if you know anything about football, think about the imagery.  The defensive and offensive lineman literally are in a battle to throw each other off throughout the whole game.  It's the good vs. evil scenario, and I probably don't have to mention which is which on NBC's Sunday night match-up. 

The verse ends with let us "run with perseverance the race marked out for us."  In football, I think the race marked out is for a Cowboy victory each week, paving the way to a home team advantage at the Super Bowl.  But in real life, I know that's highly unlikely, at least the 'undefeated' part.  That's why the author of Hebrews says to run with perseverance.   If you're guaranteed success, it's not too hard to have perseverance, right?

But for me, long term perseverance can be a struggle.  Sometimes staying up late to watch my favorite television show has repercussions with getting my hiney out of bed early enough in the morning to have a quality quiet time with the Lord.  Perseverance.  Sometimes my lack of discipline results in lack of encouraging friends who are struggling.  Perseverance.  Sometimes I just wear myself out working so much that I neglect even spending time with my own family like I should.  Yes, I need perseverance, in whatever the race marked out for me.

So are you with me?  Can you identify any areas where you haven't been practicing perseverance?  Have you stayed true to your commitment to learning a verse each week?  Are you struggling to maintain a consistent, active quiet time each morning?  What is the sin that so easily besets you?  We all are different.  Identify it, and throw it off. 

Persevere.  Now, I can't say the Cowboys persevered like I wanted them to during the season opener, but only the rest of the season will tell if they really do persevere and throw off what is besetting them.  What beset them on Sunday was penalties.  At least it came down to the final seconds and last play of the game.  What can I say, they at least made it exciting.  Football fan or not, I think we can all learn a lesson about finishing the task God has called us to do.

---Beth Banfill
www.Godandme2theMax.com

Teen Spirit Green Cap or Rice Flower and Shea?

Ephesians 5:1-2  "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

When most children are little, they want to grow up to be just like their mommy or daddy.  Why?  It's who they adore!  (What can I say, they don't know any better or anyone else at the time!)  Of course, when they get a little older, they turn their focus far from the parental figure to the popular figure.  You don't have to look farther than any storefront to see how the advertisers have clued in on this fact.  It's not always the product that results in sales, it's the person representing the product.  Get the right superstar to be an advocate for a product, and it's sure to be a hit.  Why?  Imitation is the best form of flattery.  Kids want to be just like the one they idolize, and if that person uses Teen Spirit deodorant with the green cap, then they want to as well.

Thankfully, we eventually grow out of that impressionable age where we believe everything advertised, even if it's by our favorite star.  But in contrast, as we mature in Christ, should we not continue to do exactly that, except putting our focus on Christ? 

The Bible says in order to imitate Christ, I must live a life of love.  How do I practically do that?  This time the answer isn't rolling off my fingers as I type.  I can't physically understand how much God loves us.  Think about it.  If you have children, would you let your child die so that everyone in the world could live?  Could you watch as your child is beaten and tormented, bruised and whipped?  I love my friends.  There's no doubt about that.  But I don't think I'd let my child die so that my friends could live.  But that's what is so amazing about the love God has for us.  He did just that.  And although He doesn't command us to sacrifice our only child, He does command us to live a life of love.

How do you love the unlovable?  How do you love the ones who hurt you?  How do you love your enemies?  How do you show love practically, day in and day out?  The only answer I can think of lies in dying to self and seeking God.  You see, in and of ourselves, we cannot truly love.  It's only through Christ, the source of love, that we can.  I John 4:7-8, 16 says "Dear friends, let us love one another, for loves comes from God, Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love...And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.   Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

I first must have a relationship with Christ to understand love.  The Bible says that love comes from God and God alone.  When I was a small child, I asked Him to come into my life, forgive me of my sins, and save me.  I gave Him control, and that started a relationship with Him.  But just because I have a relationship with Christ doesn't mean I'm living a life of love.  Daily I must choose to imitate Christ and show love.  Daily I must deny selfish ambitions and put others first.  No one ever said it was easy, or even fun for that matter.  Sometimes it feels so good to just hold a grudge or be angry with someone.  But it's clear that's not living a life of love.  No, holding on to negative emotions are not what it means to imitate Christ.

The verse closes with saying that Christ's death was a "fragrant offering."  How could someone dying be a sweet smell?  Only with God, that's for sure.  Think about your favorite scent.  If you're a girl, maybe it's a perfume or chocolate.  If you're a guy, it's probably food.  One of my favorite scents is from a perfume that Bath and Body Works used to make -- Rice Flower and Shea.  It's a cheap perfume, actually, but I love it more than any of the most expensive smells in the department stores.  I have a large stockpile of it, and each year, that grows smaller.  It's "precious" to me, and one day it will not even be available.  All it takes is a little whiff to make me feel good. 

I wonder, can people get a little "whiff" of me and sense the love of God in me?  What do I smell like, spiritually speaking?  Is the love I'm showing giving a good scent for Christ?  Christ's death on the cross was a precious fragrance.  The love He expressed was such a sacrifice of love that although it was painful, it was sweet smelling to God.  And when we live a life of love for God, we also are a sweet fragrance to God, and we should be a sweet fragrance to the world around us.

So what is it?  Am I imitating Christ and His love, resulting in that "Rice Flower and Shea" kind of smell to others?  Or am I wearing some Teen Spirit green cap, trying to cover up the smelly parts, hoping no one notices?  Who am I imitating?  My favorite star or God Almighty? 

Lord, teach me how to live a life of love so that I am a fragrant offering to You.

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

Fear Factor kind of Faith

2 Corinthians 4:18  "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Fear Factor.  If you haven't seen it, it's probably because you've heard about the show and chosen not to get the images in your head.  If that's the case, you are a much wiser person than me, let me just say that.  Last night, I sat for an hour and watched the infamous show.  Now, I haven't seen it in years, but truly, not much has changed.  In fact, the episode I watched was rather mild compared to some of the brutal ones I've seen before.  (Mostly because there was no disgusting bug eating taking place.)

Task number one last night seemed pretty simple.  I watched as the contestants jumped from a helicopter to hit a target of cardboard boxes in the water.  Now, not to downplay the "Fear Factor" because some people are afraid of heights, but for me, it actually looked like a real thrill.  (I have a life dream of skydiving some day, but my husband won't let me.  He tries to tell me something about needing a wife...)  Yes, maybe for some contestants the task would be difficult, but I think I could do that one! 

The final challenge seemed fairly easy as well.  It was all a matter of timing and mind over matter.  The contestants had to lay in a glass tube that filled up with water.  They didn't know when it would become completely full, and they had to time their breath intake so that they breathed in just before the tank was full.  In the end, the contestant who held their breath the longest became the "Fear Factor Champion" for the week, winning $50,000.

But it was the second task the contestants faced that I want to focus on.  For challenge number two, each contestant had to sit with their head in a glass box, completely immobile, for three minutes.  No big deal, right?  The problem is that while they sat completely still, one hundred venomous tarantulas crawled over their head and face.  They were given only goggles, nothing to protect their nostrils, and nothing to keep the furry legs out of their mouth.  (And trust me, I saw them up close; they had more hair on them then Samson before hanging with Delilah!)  Plus, the contestants still had to find a way to breathe with those creepy crawlers all over their head and face.  For me, that's when fear would set in.  I sat there watching with this strange sick feeling in my stomach.  How could they do that?  Could I do that?  Maybe if it was for the win, $50,000, maybe, I could do that.  But this was just for a chance to get to the finals.  No.  If you know me, I'm afraid of anything that is creepy, crawly, or hairy...let alone all three.  Maybe it's because my brother repeatedly tormented me growing up, chasing me around the house with a dead spider in his hands...I am not sure.  However, one thing is for sure, I could not sit still with one hundred tarantulas crawling over my head.  Not for one minute, and definitely not for three.

The show interviewed each contestant after the task, and by the way, not one of them failed, not even the women.  Each contestant had a similar theme in the answer of how they did it.  They sat in the box and mentally pictured themselves in another place.  They fixed their mind not on what was seen, but what was unseen.  They knew what they were seeing and experiencing was temporary, and that's how they made it through.

I thought about that in the context of this verse.  Paul had faced trials, yet his sufferings didn't stop him from proclaiming the Good News of Jesus.  He knew his body was wasting away, but he chose not to dwell on that.  He chose to dwell on the eternal matters, the things he had faith would take place, even though he couldn't see them with earthly eyes.  Those Fear Factor contestants focused on the ultimate prize of $50,000.  We, too, should focus on our finish line and prize - eternal life with Christ.

Sometimes it's really easy to focus on the current circumstances of today.  For me, it seems to be an ongoing struggle.  I give it over to God, I settle it, once and for all.  Then after a few weeks, it's like the issues I'm struggling with get legs and walk right back into my life.  I don't try to take them back and start focusing on them again.  It just happens.  And then I find myself talking things over with God all over again.  In reality, what happens?  I start fixing my eyes on what I see, instead of having God-like faith in what I can't see. 

Now, I do believe I have a strong faith in God.  I know He's in control of all things.  But I also know I am human, and sin creeps in without me even realizing it, sometimes.  If you're honest with yourself, you'd probably admit the same from time to time.  The verse reminds me this week that my focus and faith needs to be on the eternal.  I need to stop worrying and being afraid of the present, because "this too shall pass."  Verse seventeen, the one just before the verse to memorize pretty much says it all, too: "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."

That's what I want.  Eternal glory.  I didn't even plan it, but last week's verse said the same thing.  "And the God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in Christ..." (I Peter 5:10)  I want so desperately to wear the glasses of faith to look past today into what really matters - eternity.  And that means remembering to tell others about Christ at every opportunity.  That means making a difference for Christ today.  That means impacting the next generation for Him. 

Yesterday in my quiet time, the Lord impressed these words on my heart:

My life is an open book
Take me, Lord, have a look
Change me from the inside out
Teach me what it's all about
To live a life of praise for You
Sometimes I just have no clue
Erase the mistakes.  Rewrite my page.
Mold my life into a life of praise.

Lord, help me to forget about the tarantulas crawling on my head.  Get rid of the fear factor, so that I can focus on what really matters - having a life of praise for you, one that impacts your kingdom for eternity.

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com