Category: Purpose

Lockdown

Lockdown has thrown the world into a silent pause. Thomas Lecocq, a seismologist at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, stated the volume of the earth’s noises dropped significantly once the lockdowns started. He said it was a unique time in history because now they could study seismic events that they could not in the past. It was like the world implemented a white noise filter.

Trains and buses and factories shut down, people stopped commuting to work, and concerts, sporting events were canceled. Airplane traffic dived as destinations closed. The world went silent.

This pandemic pause created a unique opportunity for all of us. Like many opportunities, it can have a good side and a bad side. The good is a chance to pause and reassess; it is an opportunity to improve and move forward. The bad is that we may have time to look too deeply at ourselves and not like what we find. We may dwell too long in the awkwardness of it.

Listening to the Silence

It took me a while to adjust to the new normal. I usually wake a 4 a.m.; I’m at work by 5. The early quiet in the office allows me to get the bureaucratic tasks under control before the hum of the day starts. It starts to crescendo by nine, and then it is off to the races. Now, well, it is different. The crescendo never arrives; there is just a constant hum. So, I sleep later and work later. I have trouble knowing what day it is. If I need to take a break mid-day, I do. If I think of something in the middle of the night, I get up and do it. I now run on a 24-hour clock. It is decidedly more peaceful, less stressful, less urgent.

But it is filled with silence, at times, mind-numbing, deafening silence.

It took a while to learn to fill that awkward silence in my head with something meaningful. I had to shut off the random thoughts freely flowing through my brain. It was like listening to a crowd of madmen spouting anything and everything. I needed a new order for my thoughts. I had to set goals and channel my thoughts to achieve them.

 Hearing the Music

What brought me back to moving in the right direction was scripture; It has great stories that entertain, it has beautiful poetry and sound advice. When I get stuck in a cul-de-sac of lousy thinking, there is always a verse that pulls me back.  

When I’m thinking along the wrong lines, I go directly to:

Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report: if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things.”

I’ve gone there so many times I know it from memory.

When I start to think about my inadequacies, I think of:

Moses– He was a murderer, and his people rejected him:

Exodus 2:4, “The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?”

But in the end, God spoke to him face-to-face as a man speaks to a friend:

Exodus 33:11 , “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.”

David – The Bathsheba ordeal is mind-boggling:

2 Samuel 12: 7-9 ,”This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down, Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.”

And still, God thought of David as a man after His own heart:

Acts 13:22 ,”And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’

There are more; this is just the start. There are great passages that tell stories about great people, all of them flawed, all of them a lesson in Character.

When I start to feel down, or I just need a lift me up:

Romans 8:38-39 ,”For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Matthew 6:25-27, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can anyone of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged; for the Lord, your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Psalms 18:28, “My God turns my darkness into light.”

Isaiah 40:31, “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Silence is when God speaks. He won’t compete for your attention unless it is absolutely necessary. God will wait for us to calm down, relax, and start to listen. It is there that He speaks to our hearts.

1 Corinthians 2:9 “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”

When I think of Heaven, I think of a vast expanse of glory. It is covered in a brilliant white light that has no origin. The sky is azure blue with puffy white clouds; there are streets with light posts that actually work. There are tree-lined boulevards and gentle streams.  There are beautiful mountains and rolling pastures.

I don’t want a grand mansion. I want a small shack on the wrong side of the tracks. I’m a guy who will be elated just to be there. I want to walk down the streets and see the true greats of God’s kingdom. I want to meet Agur and Jabez.  I want to remember people who did the small things in my life that kept me going in the right direction, people whose names I have long forgotten or may have never known. These people are pivotal to my being here. It is not only the strong, great Christians that I will always remember for the years they spent mentoring and modeling for me, but it is also the person who saw me in a single dark moment and cared enough to lift me.

I want to go down to the Pearly Gates every sunset to welcome the crowds of people coming home. I want to help them feel welcomed and loved and appreciated. I want them to feel as I do.

What I want, more than anything, is to be sitting in the park by the lake, or maybe a small patio restaurant off the beaten track. As I eat my pizza or hot dog, I remember the great swell in my heart when God called my name.  As I am lost in a memory too great to describe, a person breaks the silence to say, “Hey, are you, Tomme Stevenson?’. He’d say, we met in Kenya, or Kyrgyzstan, or prison, or Roswell Day of Hope, or on the street outside a MARTA station. Maybe we met in a parking lot in Asheville or a McDonald’s in Atlanta or the mountains along the Chattooga River. I had said something or did something that changed their heart. I want to know that I made a difference for His kingdom.

I want to know that there are people here, embracing the God of the universe, reveling in all His glory, that I helped get a ticket. I want to know that there are people who did not get left behind because of me.

I want my sidewalk café and my morning coffee. I want Gracie, the greatest Springer Spaniel to ever live, by my side. Most of all, I want God to call me His friend.

Revelation 21:1-4, “Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Ecclesiastes 2: 26 “This also is pointless and chasing after the wind.”

My dad drilled into me the importance of keeping your commitments, all of them. Seventy was a long way away when I made this commitment to myself; now, it is here. Fear not, there will be another season, the Lord works out everything for its proper end.

Ecclesiastes 2: 18-19, “Then I despised everything I had worked for on earth, that is, the things that I will leave to the person who will succeed me. And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish?”

Many of you are far from the finish line. Some of you can relate to my situation, and some can’t. I can’t imagine spending a third of my adult life doing something from which I couldn’t wait to get away. But that is another story for another time. Whether to love your job or hate it, this message is for you.

My lament is along the lines of; who will take my place? Not that I am narcissistic and believe I am irreplaceable, I’m not. I have no great idea or vast wisdom, but I have a place. I am a cog in the wheel. It is not the tasks I do to keep the company running as much as it is what I do to support the people around me. I have friends and relationships that I cherish. Many of these are younger people that would never “hang” with me after retirement. Work is part of the cadence of my life; it provides a purpose, direction, and a sense of accomplishment. That is a lot to leave to someone else.

This morning King Solomon was asked by God to help me understand my priorities. Ecclesiastes 2 was my reading for this morning. I think of some of the greatest names in history; they’re names with extended biographies. We intellectually know about them, but they are pieces of data. Much of what they accomplish has been rewritten by those who followed.

I am afraid that everything I do here on earth will have minimal value. Sooner or later, it will either be surpassed or forgotten. Every accomplishment, and every idea, will turn to dust. What will be left is my eternal impact for Christ.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 “And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

Here would be my advice, no matter where you are on your journey, serve only God. Use the position God has given you to move His Kingdom further down the road. Treat your situation as your mission field. It is not the money, or status, or ideas, or accolades that will survive eternity. It is the people you will meet again in Heaven.

Proverbs 16:3-4, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. The Lord works out everything to its proper end— even the wicked for a day of disaster.”

I will miss the past. I have more anxiety for me than then the ones I leave behind. I will miss them more then they will miss me. God has turned the page in my life; a new adventure waits for me. He will use what I have learned to keep kicking that can down the road.

Colossians 3:17, “And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”

Here is the full passage, and it is worth taking the time to read.

Ecclesiastes 2: 18-26 “18 Then I despised everything I had worked for on earth, that is, the things that I will leave to the person who will succeed me. 19 And who knows whether he will be wise or foolish? Either way, he will take possession of everything that I have done on earth, especially where I have excelled. This also is pointless. 20 So I came to be in despair about everything I had accomplished on earth. 21 For sometimes, people who strive to obtain wisdom, knowledge, and equity leave everything as an inheritance to a person who never worked for it. This, too, is pointless and greatly troublesome.

22 For what does a person gain from everything that he accomplishes and from his inner life struggles that he undergoes while working on earth? 23 Indeed, all of his days are filled with sorrow, and his struggles bring grief. In fact, his mind remains restless throughout the night. This is pointless, too!

24 The only worthwhile thing for a human being is to eat, drink, and enjoy life’s goodness that he finds in what he accomplishes. This, I observed, is also from the hand of God himself, 25 for who can eat or enjoy life apart from him? 26 After all, to the person who is good in God’s sight, he gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy, but to the sinner, he gives the troublesome task of acquiring and accumulating in order to leave it to someone who is good in the sight of God. This also is pointless and chasing after the wind.”

Why in the middle of the night am I sleepless for having known all of you? My memory was from a half-century ago when we were all filled with youthful potential. Some like Jack exceeded what I thought they would do, and I never knew that Jack. Others, like Steve, died way too early following a path much too dark. I wanted to talk with that Steve to see if he left this earth with the same kindness is his heart as when I knew him. My lasting memory of Joe was a fight in the school library. He grew up to receive a Grammy in Nashville as a drummer. He had children and grandchildren and just passed away. He doesn’t care, but I was proud of him anyway. Dennis, I have no idea what happened to Dennis. It makes me sad not to know.

Some people are not troubled by growing old. Are they content because they lived a full life and feel complete? Or are they glad it will soon be over because the time was so hard? I don’t fall in either camp. Although I am a Christian and know my fate, I am still troubled.

I have done more in my life then I could have ever imagined, I have traveled the world; I have run big organizations and started small companies. I have rubbed elbows with the greats. Not the greats that you would bring to mind, but the truly great. Men and women with a passion for a cause much greater than I could imagine. People who changed the world I live in, some with inventions, some with ideas. I have volunteered in Prisons and third world nations. I have grown from an angry adolescent to a man chasing God.

Philippians 3: 8, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ “

This, I believe, is my discontent. I have robbed God. I have robbed Him of years on my life. I have deprived Him of my worship, my attention, and my dedication to the plan He had for me. I wish I could say I was ignorant of God most of my life and didn’t know better. But that would be a lie. I knew Him since I was a child. I knew Him and didn’t care. My life was not a series of unintentional sins and mistakes; it was willful indifference. And when I grew tired of being me, He picked me up and welcomed me back into the family.

Ephesians 2: 1-3, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.”

I cannot pass on. For when I do, I will no longer serve Christ on earth. To cross over too soon would be to deprive the person I could have been. My old self is dead and gone, but the memory of him still pushes me forward.

Ephesians 2: 8-10, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

It is not about earning God’s love or salvation. It is about being the person He knew I could be. It is about completing the task He has set before me, He has blessed me with health and resources, so I know He is not done with me.  I must run the race marked out for me, fixing my eyes on Jesus.

Hebrews 12:1-2, “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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

James 1:2, ” Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, “

Happiness is a fleeting experience in a fallen world; it is unpredictable. It comes from strange places and hides from the obvious. An antagonist fails; we find happiness in the act. A promotion or a vacation leave us indifferent, why? If finding happiness in life is your thing, welcome to the world of sporadic, maddening, and inconsistent fulfillment.

James 4: 1-2, ”  What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. “

Joy is another issue. Joy can be created, at will, regardless of the situation. It is critical that we, as Christian, know the difference. We need to understand that there will always be challenges, but the challenges need not define us. What defines us is the way we react to the challenges. Do we lean into Christ, or do we separate from Him?

Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us”

There are two main obstacles to creating joy; one is to avoid running after other gods, and the other is focusing on the right question.

Running after other gods.

Psalm 16:4, “The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply.”

One of my vices is that I do not always see other gods in my life as other gods. I have a passion for or dedication to something; I don’t recognize that it might slowly elevate itself to a god in my life. Most of the things I am talking about are good things, like family. The problem comes from me putting it before Christ. Do I derive my happiness from it, then allow my joy to be an extension of that happiness?

“You must have more joy in Christ than anything, or you are an idolater.” – John Piper

Our Children are important, we can sometime elevate them. You want them to be well rounded. You want them to have experiences that broaden their horizon. You’re in the car seven days a week taking them everywhere, sports practice, music lessons, dance lessons, tutoring, you are exhausted. Between the kids, housework and a job there is no time for sleep. Exhaustion brings on mistakes, mistakes create conflict, conflict can separate us from God. But you won’t give it up; it is your kids. You have a responsibility.

We can say the same thing about marriage, jobs, careers, school, vacations, hobbies, and even church (little c). The goal is admirable, the process sucks the life out of you, yet you continue.

Wrong Focus

Sheryl Crow “Soak Up the Sun, “It’s not having what you want; It’s wanting what you’ve got.”

It’s all about focus and perspective. I remember several years ago at a Champions for Life Weekend; I heard the testimony of Bruce Collie. Bruce won two Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers. Bruce was a hard-charging, live life to the fullest kind of guy. But after the Super Bowl wins, he was left empty. He spent his whole life wanting a ring; now, he had two. He talked about it not being the highlight of his life, but the low point. He questioned his whole existence. Luckily for Bruce, he went to the Philadelphia Eagles and ran into Reggie White. Reggie opened his eyes to the Gospel and turned his life around. Christ gave Bruce a real purpose that never disappoints.

John 15:9, “Jesus loves us with the same love that the Father loves him.”

How do I change my focus to eliminate the idols in my life? Here is the hard part. It should be the natural part, but it’s not. You have to believe in your heart of hearts that God cares about you. I mean, really cares about everything you do. He cares about your kids, your job, your education, your life. There is nothing about which he does not care. In everything He wants the best for you.

James 1:16–17, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.”

The massive things that I can’t handle alone, I give to God. Why not, it’s too big for me anyway. It is the small things, the things I want, and I think I can do by myself, that I hold to myself. These are the things that build up stress and anxiety and eventual disappointment. It is at this point I have a choice. I can pout because bad things happen to good people, or I can decide that God is in control of everything, and this will prove to be the best. It has always been about Him, not me.

To believe that God redeems even when I can’t see takes faith. It takes faith to believe that God really cares about me. It takes faith to believe that the small things in my life are just important to God as the big things. All things work for His glory (Romans 8:28).

Joy is a choice, but it is a big choice. Many times, it is a hard choice. It is counter-intuitive. The God that created the universe cares about my bad day. The fact that He can even see that I am having a bad day is mind-boggling. You would think He had better things to do. He doesn’t, He cares that much about you.

Psalm 37:4-6, “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.”

James 4:14, “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

There is so much I could say about this. I could extol the virtues of loving hard means hurting hard. I could rejoice in their heavenly freedom from pain and worry. I could wallow in my sadness. But none of these would begin to paint the picture of the depth and width of my despondency.

When morning their loss, I must face my future. The life they lived raises a mirror to my own life. I desperately want something more. I don’t necessarily want to be remembered, but I don’t want my time here forgotten.

“Give me a longing for a scent of a flower I have not found, the echo of a tune I have not heard, and a grace so powerful that it changes all the lives I touch.” – CS Lewis

I want people to weep over my passing because they want just one more day with me. I want to have an impact. I want Heaven to dance and Christ to sing. I want to be the man God made me.

Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”

Eternity is a very long time. My lifespan Is a blip on the screen. But it is all the time I have to gather those who need to hear the message. I am not an evangelist; we talked about that this last week in my Monday night group. I’m a life-on-life kind of guy; an empower other people type of guy. It is who God made me. Seeing those close to me and their impact on God’s kingdom makes me want to be a fireworks display. I want my life to explode into the night with sound and fury and light. I want to be unmistakable, intentional, and deliberate.

John 15: 13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

When the emotions of the moment ebb and flow away, I have to hold on to the reality that I will leave a legacy. The question is, what legacy? 

Proverbs 3:27, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.”

“When it is in your power to act,” This is a specific command to do. Not to think about, pray about it, and plan about it, but to do. Everything starts with prayer. When God opens the door, prayer without execution is dead. James 2:14-26, read it, and believe it. I must act according to God’s will.

In doing this, Heaven will dance, and Christ will sing. A rock dropped in a still pond send out ripples in every direction, so can I. I can be a light to a broken world regardless of the size of my actions. My task may be small, or it might be significant. It doesn’t matter to God. It matters that I am obedient and intentional.

Today I will do what others won’t so that tomorrow I can be what others can’t.

Ephesians 5:1, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”