CREATION - Stay Near

¹⁰ And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹ To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:10 – 11 (NIV)

We are on a journey to materializing our wholesome and healthy “it”.  “It” can be the network that you don’t have, that you need to secure that next job or organizational role.  “It” can be the collection of advocates who need to vocalize support for you in rooms that you don’t inhabit. “It” can be the actual opportunity to actualize your potential or show what you can do.  “It” can be a boundary that you need to establish to keep yourself safe.  Whatever “it” is, if non-existent, you can create “it” using the C.R.E.A.T.I.O.N. framework.

Recall the elements of C.R.E.A.T.I.O.N. framework as shown below.

As we continue this journey of creating the wholesome “it” that we desire for ourselves, we have done the following:

1. We have defined the CONTEXT of our situation, recognizing that things are neither ALL good nor bad, but a mixture of states. We have labelled out “it” and hopefully shared it with others. We have reflected on the future benefits we foresee receiving and the negative present circumstances we are experiencing (as a result of not having “it”).  Our “it” may be related to our relationships, careers, personal comfort, personal characteristics, social connectedness, financial security etc. “It” can be any wholesome longing that we have that is currently not in our grasp.
2. We engaged our RATIONAL mind to reflect on the feelings and thoughts we have about our current circumstance and perception of the future. Feelings are expressed using the sentence stem “I feel…” and involve some aspect of the emotional states of sadness, happiness, surprise, anger, disgust, fear and shame/guilt.  Thoughts are expressed using the sentence stems “I am…”, “You are…”, “He/she/it is…”, “We are…” and “They are…”.  These capture our perception of how our characteristics and those of others (or the environment) intersect with our current circumstance and the feasibility of achieving our “it”.
3. We extracted the thoughts we identified and conducted an EXERCISE in judgment to create separation between thoughts we can do something about and those that we can’t. Additionally, for those thoughts associated with things within our control, we identified the ACTIONS that we need to take address the thought.  If my “it” is to create a broader professional network, then one thought I may have is “I am not interesting.  No one will want to connect with me.”  An action to address this thought might be to challenge this thought with feedback from a trusted colleague, friend or partner.
4. We consulted with trusted others to determine the proper TIMING and content of our action plan. We recognized that the enemies of proper timing are impulse and inertia.  We ensured that access to experienced counsel and sage advice helped us to formulate the correct sequence and content of events.  We exercised appreciation of the finiteness of the resource of time and we committed to not waste it.
5. We used prayer to INCLUDE God in the alteration and optimization of our quest. We recognized the specific struggle associated with this inclusion, namely the acceptance of God’s sovereignty over all things and his ability to manifest himself in spite of our doubts and presumed inabilities to communicate (with him).
6. We made a decision to OCCUPY our current place of blessing and use our strengths and resources to make the most of the opportunities that we are presented with.  We chose not to lie down and die but to stand up and engage our challenges.

This brings us to the last step in our C.R.E.A.T.I.O.N journey:

Genesis 2:2-3 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

If we want to experience change, hard work is required.  As an old year ends and a new one dawns, we will take time to reflect on what we have accomplished and what we want for ourselves.  We will create lists, make resolutions, establish commitments and goals.  Whether we achieve any of these things will depend on our levels of effort, follow-through, motivation, inspiration and grit.  Above all things however, we will have to believe firmly in God’s desire to bless us with opportunities and outcomes that are best for us.  The maintenance of a consistent connection with him and his body will constantly calibrate, sustain and nourish this belief.  The God who created and rested is able to create for you. He is committed to establishing you as a strong and steadfast individual who weathers disappointment and achieves.

Staying near to God also means being active in his body.  If you are not already part of the believing body, find a home church.  If you are part of a church but on the sidelines, get active.  Join a small group or volunteer ministry. Set aside inviolable time for bible study, prayer and personal time with the Creator. Share what you are learning with others.

2024 is going to be a tremendous year of growth for Jesus Lifts.  If you don’t already have a place for a small group experience, we encourage you to join our bi-weekly group meetings.

Shivana and I wish you a Happy New Year!