by David Delp | Oct 4, 2016 | Grief & Disappointment, Joyful Living, Leadership, Uncategorized
How do you re-engage a joyful life when joy has been stripped away? We are committed to the pursuit of a joyful life. Boldness is actually required for joyful living. We will boldly pursue joy!
People mean well. They want to make us aware of how things should be. They want to help us clarify our obligations to God, nation, church, and family. I’ve found yet another comforting key to living a joyful life; I scroll past political commentary on my social media feeds. I unfollow the most vitriolic, don’t have time for it. I limit my news consumption to a few minutes a day from measured sources. If I want to dive deep I can, but I’m not going to let FOX or CNN roll while I eat my evening cereal. I will be informed, I will not overdose on opinionated commentary.
You see, I already know what I believe. I do. My thinking is well developed. I’ve chosen a path for my life. I research when I am confused, but I stand when I have certainty. I know where I’m going. I know what I’m to do with my life. Opinions considered, I want to just get on with my mission.
When I listen to rants I usually get enraged about something over which I have no control. I will vote. I will state my beliefs. I will chart an unwavering course. I will live a joyful life which comes from focusing on what’s important and giving less focus to things not central to my personal mission.
[shareable]Boldness generates joy in a strange sort of way.[/shareable]
… The boldness to defy the conventional in favor of the transformational
Living our lives in a cage of convention puts our focus on parameters instead of simple joys. Yep, anal people like me have a harder time being joyful. Joy comes through transformation into the newness of abundant living. Not every “i” is yours to dot, not every “t” is yours to cross. If you spend your life dotting and crossing every incomplete “i” and “t” you come across it will strip your joy.
… The boldness to defy routine for the extraordinary
Habit and routine are keys to success… They are… But taken to an extreme they strip simple joy. Do something different. Find new places. Discover the joy of a new adventure. To reach for the extraordinary we must reboot our routine.
… The boldness to defy the mundane for the next miraculous
When we were children we marveled at the veins in a leaf and the fuzz on a caterpillar. Have you lost your wonder? Have you come to see the miraculous gift of life as something to be endured rather than enjoyed? We’ve been there! Don’t be so focused on where you are going that you fail to live right now.
… The boldness to defy hypocrisy for reality
I am an unapologetic Christ-follower. Jesus loved hypocrites, but he hated their hypocrisy. Condemning others for things we ourselves practice, though perhaps in a slightly different form, is hypocrisy. If you want to live a joyful life, cut off the people who strain a knat and swallow a camel. See, “they” want you to adhere to standards they cannot even keep. If you try–no joy for you!
… The boldness to defy deception with truth
The truth will set you free. Freedom brings joy. We lie to ourselves about ourselves too often. God thinks I’m awesome, he does (another #writingthought)! I’ve always seen myself as less than I was. Arrogance and humility aside, most of us beat ourselves up when actually, most of us are pretty awesome people. I can never be joyful unless I like me.
We are committed to living a joyful life. We will joyfully embrace transformation. We will pursue the extraordinary. We will rediscover a wonder for the miraculous. We’ll ignore hypocrisy and the agendas of the frightened. We will live with the largess of God. We will joyfully embrace who we are…because God does.
by David Delp | Sep 29, 2016 | Spiritual Life, Uncategorized
When you see obstacles, odds, and enemies larger than your own resources — do not be afraid.
I am at a men’s prayer summit this week. I decided I would do a post every morning related to what I’m “hearing” and “seeing.” I am a recovering perfectionist, so shooting from the hip is hard for me, I don’t like to push “publish” until I’ve completely over thought a post, but I am intentionally not over thinking this week… because I need to loosen up a bit and let who I really am show through. This is the final installment of my “Thoughts from the Summit” series.
God is laying out new paths in my life. Dreams and visions that have emerged for decades are finding legs. Every dream and every vision comes complete with its own set of obstacles. We have to wrestle through the obstacles. Whether you are leading a church, a business, or building out new platforms in your life, you will, of course, face obstacles and resource challenges.
In The Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 20, God gives directives for going to war. In the pursuit of our calling, our dreams, and the fulfillment of God’s vision in our lives we have to cross the boundaries of our comfort zones and move into conflict.
Deuteronomy 20:1 says, “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt” (ESV).
How can we position ourselves to boldly pursue the things in our hearts? Here are four things declarations necessary to go boldly into the battle to contend for the vision.
Rely Upon God’s Resource
Look around. See the odds against you. Just look at all the other people who have gone before you who failed and the remnants of their foolish attempts lie scattered on the ground. Faith says that if my directive is from God, God will provide. If the battle is the Lord’s, then we trust him to intervene in the battle. When my resource is inadequate, then it does not really matter how inadequate my resource is… too little is too little no matter how it scales. When I get into a God-zone, then either I trust or I don’t, there really is no in between.
I’ve always wanted to live my life in pursuit of God’s plan for my life in such a way that I was reliant upon him. To pursue God-dreams so big that if God did not resource and intervene, I would utterly fail. I am getting dangerously close to such a posture, and it is kind of scary. It’s scary because I have to give up control. It’s scary because my resource is not enough. It’s scary because I have to trust, trust that God is sufficient.
God is With You
The difficult implication of Deuteronomy 20 is that God is with “you” and not “them.” Be careful with this. When I frame this in the context of God’s calling on my life, if God has called me to a task, if he has birthed a vision within me, then his purposes and activity in my life supersedes the strength of the obstacles. Walking through the grief process the greatest comfort to me was, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he is WITH me.” I learned in a new way that God was with me. The word of God to his people is, “When you see obstacles 10x bigger than you are, don’t be afraid because I am with you.”
Stand Against the Obstacles
A house divided against itself cannot stand. God cannot be for the thing he put in you and for the things that tear you down. Think about it. Sometimes we pursue our own imaginations, and it is dangerous to assume our own imagination is a directive from God. We have to work out the difference. Sometimes all we can do is move forward with a sincere heart and proper motivations. Time and God’s activity will bring some adjustments.
There are always obstacles, and I cannot let them scare me away from the things I sincerely believe I am to pursue.
God Has Proven Himself in the Past
When we look back we see good things and bad things. I’ve been through the times of looking back and just getting angry that God did not intervene differently, but I also look back and see God working on my behalf. David, the shepherd boy, had the courage to go against Goliath because he had been victorious in his skirmishes with bears and lions while protecting the sheep. David’s reasoning was that God helped him with the bears and the lions, he would help also him with the giants. If God helped us before he will help us again.
Contending for a vision is sometimes like going to battle. We have to wrestle against ever-present obstacles. Usually, the world isn’t out to get us… it just feels that way sometimes. Stepping into our desired future is always hard because it necessitates leaving our comfort zone. That, in and of itself, is a battle.
I will boldly content for the things in my heart… because I believe they came from the heart of the Father.
(NOTE: This post is the last in the series of “Thoughts from the Summit.” I took on the challenge of posting “from the hip” things that were stirring in my heart this week.)
by David Delp | Sep 28, 2016 | Grief & Disappointment, Spiritual Life
I’ve always lacked boldness… that’s a nice way of saying I’m a natural born coward. I care about what others think, this is a strength. I am influenced too much by what others MIGHT think, this is a weakness. Some people think I’m intimidating, I can be, but on the inside I want everyone to be happy and think only happy thoughts about me.
I am at a men’s prayer summit. I’ve decided to write the next few days about what God is speaking to me. I’m a perfectionist, so to just publish on the fly like this is out of my comfort zone, but that’s the point…
God has given you everything you need for life and godliness. He has given you gifts. He has called you with a calling unique to you (2 Peter 1:3).
It is time.
It is time to step into your calling with boldness.
We must challenge each other in the context of our culture, but we must not bow to the culture.
I grew a beard on sabbatical. I liked it. Donna liked it. Being the natural coward I am, as the sabbatical wound down, my thoughts turned to shaving, not because I wanted to, but because of how it might be perceived. “He’s trying to be cool.” He’s going through an emotional crisis.” He’s trying to figure out who he is.” “It looks raggedy.” “I don’t like it.” “It doesn’t look professional.” People really care far less about what we are doing than we think! Getting noticed is far more challenging than anyone focusing on us.
I decided to keep the beard. I kept it because it reminds me of who I am, because it brings me pleasure, and because, oddly enough, I believe it brings God pleasure.
I’ve decided that I’m not a weasel. I’ve decided that God likes me. He thinks I’m cool. I’ve decided that my life was not turned upside down because I’m a worthless worm. The days I walked in that belief were painful days. I don’t know why our worlds got turned upside down, but it is not because God doesn’t like us or that he is out to get us.
[shareable]God actually likes me! Wow![/shareable]
Over the past few years I’ve met and talked to a lot of people who have lost people they love. We never signed up for this ministry, but it surely found us. Most of us who have suffered untimely loss have felt, at least for a few moments, that it was our fault because we were worthless and not worthy of being spared from intense pain.
Before we can move forward we have to find a boldness. A boldness to stand. A boldness to be. A boldness to embrace the path and what’s ahead.
[shareable]We must have boldness to move forward. A boldness to stand. A boldness to be. A boldness to embrace the path and what’s ahead. [/shareable]
I am UNAPOLOGETICALLY who I am.
I am UNAPOLOGETICALLY David Delp. The good, the bad, the ugly, the crap, the wonderful things… but this one thing I know. My Daddy, Abba, loves me. He adores me. He dotes over me. He has called me to live in his presence. He has called me to hear his heartbeat. He has given me the privilege of listening to his very heartbeat. He has allowed me close enough to hear. To feel his warmth. To smell the aroma of his very presence.
I will UNAPOLOGETICALLY follow the demands and directions he gives me.
I will UNAPOLOGETICALLY go where he wants me to go. I will ask for the resources to do so, both of my Father and of those who are holding on to his wealth.
I will UNAPOLOGETICALLY write what he puts on my heart. I will UNAPOLOGETICALLY say what he wants said. I will UNAPOLOGETICALLY go where he wants me to go. I will UNAPOLOGETICALLY be who he wants me to be.
