Missional: A product, or a posture?

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  Scripture:

  
  2Chronicles 28:9 - 29:19 
  "28. For Ahaz plundered the house of the Lord and the houses of the king and of the officials, and gave tribute to the king of Assyria; but it did not help him."
  
  

  Psalm 27:14

  
  

  Wait for the Lord;

  
  

  be strong, and let your heart take courage;

  
  

  wait for the Lord!

  Observation:

  
  Poor King Ahaz is under attack from every side. Aram and Edom, and even Judah's northern brother's and sisters - Israel - have attacked and conquered Judah. The chronicler would have us know this was due to Ahaz's poor judgement and leadership. One of the many problems with poor judgement is that it is a poor judge of the quality of its own plans and activities. In this case, instead of stepping back to assess and evaluate the mess that his way of leading had landing Judah in, Ahaz doubles down. The King chooses to place his faith/hope/trust in another person/system/program/plan/power that is not the LORD ... "but it did not help him."
  

  Application:

  
  I have lots of opinions and ideas. Some of them are awesome (...did I ever tell you about my plan to build a mobile green power generating station that would leverage sweat equity to help schools raise much needed funds while also addressing the childhood obesity epidemic?)! Many of them are not so great. But, here is the most important thing I am coming to understand about your ideas and my opinions: None of them are sufficiently bold to stand in for what God has in mind for us together through his church active in the world. The trick is, to develop skills and disciplines for getting clearer on God's vision and de-centering all that would otherwise compete for our attention (including: business best-practices, super-powers, best-selling media, and ...).
  
  So, how can we do that? Well, I am going to be bold and suggest that we look to the life of Jesus for an answer. Throughout scripture we can see a clear theme regarding the created rhythms of life. Specifically, as we look to the life of Jesus we see that his pattern was to spend time dwelling in/with the Father. From this posture of connection He discerned what the Father was already doing and joined into that work. Sounds good, simple, and hard. Yep, that sounds like the God we know!
  
  

  So, what threatens to overwhelm you today? 

  
  

  What are you doing about it? 

  
  

  How is that working out for you? 

  
  

  Could you use a dose of clarity and courage? 

  
  

  I know I sure could.

  Prayer:

  
  

  God of wonder, God of love; some times this life, these struggles, this world, just seems so full of problems and strife. I am specifically tempted to despair at the situation of disrepair in Your church in North America. I confess I am tempted to try to fix it through my own ideas and through strategic alliances with the powerful and successful as advertised on Amazon. Sheild me from such temptation I pray, and shepherd me to your embrace. For their I will hear your heart - for me, for Your church, and for the world. Then, realigned with you, send me renewed into the work to which you have prepared for me. Amen.