Naked And Unafraid

Scripture: 2 Samuel 6

Risk Exposure

When you think of the word vulnerable, what’s your first response? Does it make you feel defensive? Do you automatically think of weakness? Does the idea of vulnerability just seem too reckless?

The truth is, being vulnerable is a huge risk. David shed his robes to dance in the streets before God, at the risk of judgment from those around him. His wife, Michal, looked down at him from the window, disappointed and critical.

Michal said to David, “How the king of Israel distinguished himself today! He uncovered himself today in the eyes of his servants’ maids as one of the foolish ones shamelessly uncovers himself!” (2 Samuel 6:20 NASB).

Before you shake your head at Michal’s judgment of her husband, just remember that you’ve probably spent plenty of time in the window, too. We all have. It feels like a “safe” space; it keeps us from engaging and interacting with life. We can keep our walls up and ourselves sufficiently removed from feelings, people, decisions, and life, in general.

Vulnerability is making a move with no guarantee of the outcome. It’s coming down from the window. It’s blind faith, and it’s crucial to embrace as we step out to move forward toward God’s best in our life. Great risk equals great reward. 

I can’t tell you that exposing your truest self means you won’t experience setbacks. Because as much as we prepare ourselves and lean on our God-given wisdom and the input from those we love and respect…life still happens. How we respond to those moments is what matters most. Being vulnerable also means choosing faith, and pushing through the resistance that tries to contain us. (“What will they think?” “What will they say?”) It means choosing to not shrink back in our insecurity, but standing firm on what we know to be true.

It’s easy to stay comfortable, to stay inside, to keep walls up and “robes on”. To stay, watching from the windows (Michal), instead of dancing in the streets (David). When we give no weight to the expectations of those around us, walls and robes no longer have a voice in our world. We walk by faith when we don’t allow the opinions and expectations of others to shape our beliefs. We step out of the shadows, open and exposed and purposefully vulnerable, in full light of the sun. 

What does vulnerability look like to you?

Scriptures: Proverbs 24:10, 1 Samuel 16, 1 Samuel 17

Abandon Smallness

Have you ever had opportunity knock, and you were absolutely certain it had the wrong door? I imagine David may have battled those feelings a bit when he was chosen to be next in line as King of Israel. David, a shepherd of his father’s sheep…a job quite monotonous and mundane in nature. That probably seemed like a giant leap.

But, when David was chosen, he was walking into a proving ground; unfamiliar territory for which he was unprepared. God had huge plans for David, but David had some growing to do. He needed to stretch David beyond leading sheep, and into leading His people.

Any time you are doing something seemingly small, you can go about it one of two ways. You can underestimate the significance of what you’re doing, or you can give 100% of your effort in that season of your life. Doing the latter creates an impressive résumé for your future. That’s what David did. He turned an otherwise boring task into a self-development classroom. He took advantage of that season in his life to grow him into the one that was coming for him down the line.

And when predator’s threatened his father’s sheep, David responded with courage and confidence (1 Samuel 17:34). He abandoned the smallness of his current reality and stepped up into the bold, courageous leader God had called him to be. Looking at today’s Scripture, it doesn’t say we faint because of the size of the adversity. It says we faint because of the smallness of our strength. “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small,” (Proverbs 24:10 NKJV). 

We can’t do anything about the size of the adversity, but we can do something about the size of our strength. We can think bigger, pray bigger, have greater courage, have a bigger vision, increase our knowledge, and grow our faith. That’s what David did, and he was prepared when adversity came.

Have you ever worked on a massive jigsaw puzzle? It makes absolutely no sense as you begin until the smaller pieces are slowly and meticulously joined together to reveal the bigger picture. Abandoning smallness, to embrace the bigger picture. That’s your life, and mine as well. 

God’s plan for you is so much bigger than you can comprehend. Every challenge, every battle, is used to stretch you into the best version of yourself. Where you are now is part of the process of preparation for where God is taking you. The season you may not understand is an opportunity to trust God and the pieces—even the jagged, misshapen ones that don’t seem to fit anywhere.

What are some things in your life right now that you can accept as pieces to a bigger picture, even if you don’t know how they fit in yet?

Scriptures: Genesis 22:17, Genesis 17, Genesis 21:1-6, Genesis 22

Sand and Stars 

Sometimes life happening around us, or to us, seems to be in direct contradiction to God’s Word or His promises to us. God told a man named Abram, “I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies” (Genesis. 22:17 NASB). How can Abram, a man with a barren wife, receive a word from God that speaks to him being a father to many? 

It’s simple: God’s truth has to be greater than what seems like the truth surrounding us. Abram’s wife was barren, but God told Abram that he would be a father to many, and Abram clung to that belief. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham because Abraham means “father of many” and God needed Abram to start seeing himself as God called him to be. Abraham believed, and his vision for his sand and stars grew and grew. He indeed became a father to many, including one that was born of his wife, Sarah.

Sand and stars are the biggest, deepest dreams we have for our future, and it looks different for every one of us. It begins to happen when we imagine what we haven’t yet seen. As we think about it, it begins to influence every aspect of our lives—from where we spend our time, to where to spend our money, to who we become as people. It becomes deeply ingrained into our hearts and becomes a part of us.

Do you have a dream to own your own business, but you lack the funds or resources to bring it to fruition? Are you praying for the salvation of a loved one? Do you have a passion for a cause that you don’t have the education or credibility to serve? That’s your sand and stars dream. Most of what God does on this earth is through people, and that is what sand and stars are all about. 

It’s about vision growing inside of us, and us being a willing participant in the creative process. Sometimes it means abandoning everything we know, stepping outside of comfort zones, coming down from the window and into the street, exposing ourselves and being vulnerable to the possibility of falling flat on our faces to see a sand and stars dream come to pass.

God hasn’t left you out. Everyone has sand and stars. There are things God has impressed upon your heart that may not even have come to light, yet. But, they are intended to become physical reality in the future. It could be that God is waiting for you to open your heart and mind, or to expand your thoughts to accommodate this huge vision. Or, maybe He’s waiting to see if you really trust Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Sand and stars will always call you beyond where you are, in your current circumstance.

Do you have a sand and stars dream in your heart? What would it take for you to step out in faith?

Scriptures: Proverbs 19:20, Psalms 27:3, Hebrews 10:35-39

Push Past Criticism

Did you know we are four times more likely to remember negative criticism than praise? Nothing has a sticky factor like criticism does, and it’s usually not something that gets better the older we get. We get really, really good at stewing, replaying, and reprocessing negative feedback and criticism. It takes a ton of positive feedback to make up for the psychological effect of just one negative event. Understanding this impact is important, but it doesn’t mean you will be exempt. It just means you can learn how to qualify and regulate the criticism so that it serves you better.

Not everyone is qualified to be your critic—there are too many critics out there without credentials. Kind of like those armchair quarterbacks (someone who has no skin in the game, but lots to say about the people who do). Imagine a giant table, if you will, and you are responsible for filling every seat. Who you allow at your table is up to you. The people you invite to your table are the ones who deserve a voice in your life, and their input is worth listening to, even if it hurts to hear it. The book of Proverbs encourages us to turn a listening ear to wisdom: “Listen to advice and accept discipline, and you’ll be wise for the rest of your life,” Proverbs 19:20 (ISV).

Criticism has the power to help or hurt you, and it can also keep you in the window when you’re meant to be in the street. It can also keep extraordinary people from living extraordinary lives, for fear of being torn apart by critics who don’t deserve to have that level of impact. Fear of criticism is why people don’t speak up. It’s why people struggle to make decisions, or why we’re so uncomfortable with vulnerability. It causes us to feel intimidated, and defensive.

Confidence is the anecdote for intimidation, and David is the best example of this in response to his critics. He declared his confidence over and over again in the Psalms. One example is in Psalm 27, “Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.” 

Confidence isn’t something you have or you don’t. Confidence is a muscle, and it takes time and attention to grow it and build it. Building your confidence will help you handle the critique you need, and to push past the criticism you don’t need to dwell on. Confidence is what separates the weak from the strong. It’s the secret sauce.

What criticism have you been rehearsing in your mind that you need to release?

Scripture: Nehemiah 6

Don’t Come Down 

One of the best stories in the Bible about handling critics is from the book of Nehemiah. He responds directly to his critics by saying, “I’m doing a great work; I can’t come down. Why should the work come to a standstill just so I can come down to see you?” (Nehemiah. 6:2–3 MSG). 

This verse is Nehemiah’s response to his critics, who kept returning to get him down from a wall he was building. This is everything we need to remember when facing our critics. They came back repeatedly, and he repeatedly reminded them of why he was up there. 

His confidence was unwavering! The last time, they even changed their tactics to intimidation, but Nehemiah couldn’t be shaken.

Some critics are sent to distract you, intimidate you, shake you, and take your attention away from what truly deserves it.

When you’re doing great work, don’t come down from the “wall” you’ve been called to.

When complainers call, don’t come down.

When critics talk, don’t come down.

When lies get told, don’t come down.

When haters hate, don’t come down.

Nehemiah wasn’t reliant on approval for the work he was doing—he was completing what God called him to do. He knew what he was doing was great, and their mockery and insistence on his inadequacy had fallen upon deaf ears. If you’ve experienced criticism before, you know the pressure to respond can be unbearable. But, you don’t need to defend yourself every time. Next time, remember Nehemiah and consider whether your best decision is to put your blinders on and your noise-canceling earplugs in and don’t come down.

Whatever you’re called to do — raising a family, leading a ministry, helping in your child’s classroom, providing clean water to a remote village, building a business, writing songs — don’t let the voices of distraction pull you from your assignment. When frustration builds, remind yourself: “I’m doing great work. I can’t come down.”

Do you need to refocus on what you feel called to do? What distractions can you remove from your life to help you refocus? 

Scriptures: Psalms 119:165, Romans 8:28, Hebrews 12:15, Ephesians 4:31-32

Unoffendable

Are you unoffendable?

Take a moment to really weigh the impact of that question. What if nothing could offend you? Consider if nothing was a scandal, a snare, or a stumbling block in your life. We become unoffendable when we aren’t caught up in what other people say to us or about us. You can think of it as becoming “offense-proof” when we actually trust God with everything and believe that all things really do work out for the good as Romans 8:28 promises us. And, in Psalm 119:165 it clearly says, “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them,” (Psalm. 119:165 KJV). This has to be the common pursuit of all who dare to dance: be unoffendable.

We all have opportunities to be offended and to live in that moment. In fact, we live in a highly sensitive culture where it’s trendy to do so. But, being offended is exhausting and distracting. It shifts your focus from important things, and whatever consumes your mind controls your life. 

Being offended spills over into every area of your life—your family, friends, and all other relationships. I’ve talked to many, many people who quit going to church when they were kids because something happened that upset their parents—and most of them never went back. Generational blessings happen when people free themselves from the snare of offense.

If you live offended, you attract other people who are offended and healthy people will avoid you. When people are focused on living a positive life, they will quickly recognize offense and avoid it!

There are two stages of offense: feeling offended, and living offended. Feeling offended is unavoidable, but you can fight to not live offended. The line between the two can be foggy, but recognizing the feeling of offense and choosing to fight for freedom from offense will be some of the most important work we do. If you didn’t know you had a choice, don’t feel bad…  for years, I didn’t realize it was a choice either. And most people don’t. 

No one can offend you without your permission. When you truly own your story, you have the power to choose. To live unoffended means there’s nothing bubbling under the surface, there’s no holding on to something that happened or something that was said. It means moving on mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. 

Even though we all feel offended from time to time, it doesn’t mean we have to liveoffended. We can set down that feeling of offense and move our lives forward into peace and forgiveness.

Recall a time you felt offended. Were you able to move on from that offense, or are you still carrying it today?

Scriptures: John 16, Genesis 39

Being Your Best In The Stress

There is no such thing as a stress-free life. Read that again.

So often, you see reminders and warnings about the harmful effects of stress, scaring you into believing that the only option is to work to eliminate stress completely. The sooner we come to terms with the fact that stress is inevitable, the sooner we can release ourselves from the pressure to chase a life without it. A life worth living is always going to bring hard decisions, painful turning points, learning moments, and hard-fought lessons. 

John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus is telling us that trouble is unavoidable, but He gives us His peace to accompany us to the places He sends us.

God is in the quiet parts of your day, and it’s good to go there to recharge with Him. But, God is also in the turbulence. He’s in the noisy, loud, pressure-filled places that He has assigned to us. Good things happen in places of pressure. Pressure is where giants fall, and battles are won. Pressure is where diamonds are formed, and where babies are born. 

The truth is, the presence of problems doesn’t mean the absence of God. If you are facing a problem right now in your life, big or small, be encouraged and know that God is with you right in the middle of that problem. 

All progress has opposition, and all advancement has adversity. Everything that’s worth obtaining has a price. When you feel the pressure mounting, it’s not the time to retreat. God was with Daniel in Babylon and closed the mouths of lions. God was in Macedonia with Paul and Silas and opened the doors of their jail cell. God puts us in places that are stressful to achieve the work He wants to do in that place.

Stress is not the enemy! The enemy is the smallness we feel in those stressful places. Embracing stress (instead of retreating from it) can turn those high-pressure situations into positive experiences. You can use stress to your advantage. Stress isn’t the bad guy, when we embrace it we can actually convert it into usable, helpful energy.

How do you process stress? Do you retreat, or do you embrace the place of stress and use it to propel you forward in your life?

Scriptures: Philippians 3:13, Matthew 6:33-34, Ephesians 1:17-19, Psalms 23, Psalms 25

Fight for Your Future

You made it! Here’s what I want you to take away from today (and from this past week)…  

Be your best you today and moving forward!

When we stay in the present mentally and emotionally, we protect ourselves from regrets about the past or speculations about the future. Staying in the present is a fighting position that allows you to position yourself to turn a setback into a comeback. The Apostle Paul said, “Forgetting what is behind,” (Philippians 3:13) and, Jesus’ words encourage us when we read, “Do not worry about tomorrow…each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

We don’t need to spend extra time rehearsing, nursing, or cursing the past. Let’s learn whatever lessons we can from past mistakes, regrets, or failures, but then move on. Forget what is behind, like Paul said, and yet, don’t get too caught up in the “what if’s” of tomorrow either.

Be present. Learn from the past, and plan for the future. But, don’t be harnessed by worry in either direction. We fight for our future the best when we are present in today. 

We come full circle and have a chance to look at King David again. We began our journey with him dancing in the streets. 

Being vulnerable always requires courage. King David had to have courage that day when he danced in the streets and celebrated the return of the Ark of the Covenant to the city. And, King David had to have courage and be vulnerable at so many other points in his story. 

What I admire so much about David is that in good times and in tough times he always went back to God. He wasn’t afraid to get real with his Creator through prayer or songs. Much in the same way, we can use our words to build strength and courage and faith in ourselves. We won’t get anywhere confessing our weaknesses all the time. The only way you get stronger is to start saying things like:

• I’m strong.
• I’m stronger than I think I am.
• I am made in the image of God.
• I am loved by God.
• I am a conqueror.
• I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
• I am an overcomer.
• I am able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

You and I have access to each and every one of these things—and more—in our lives and in our relationship with God. Don’t count yourself out of what God has included you in. Be present in what God is doing in you and through you today and believe that God is with you in every step.

Borrowing some of the words from the apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:17–19: I’ve prayed God would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened and that you would know God’s incredible power for you when you believe.

I pray that you will always . . . Risk exposure, Abandon smallness, Push past criticism, Own your story, and Fight for your future!