PRAY WITH ALL YOUR...

I can remember back when I was in High School I had this one coach who always talking about giving one hundred and ten per cent. I have since come to understand what he meant, but at the time the meaning eluded me. From my point of a view a hundred per cent of anything represented all that was possible. So if it was all that was possible how could you have more than one hundred per cent?

I never did get my coach to explain what he meant either. He was by nature a firm believer in leadership by screaming and insulting. This was coupled with a complete devotion towards favoritism, which worked great for those he liked. For the rest of us it was just a means he used to expend his prejudice and call it inspiration. I always had trouble quite fathoming how degrading and mistreating players other than his chosen elite actually led to any form of desire to excel. It sure wasn’t evident by the results, which might have even been okay if the players he “liked” actually did excel through his style of leadership. But I have to be honest I didn’t notice any of them actually doing much excelling either. Of course that might have been in part from them being hung over on game days from having partying too much the night before. This tidbit obviously wasn’t shared with the student body naturally. It might have risked tainting the image of the coach’s favorites! No, I’m not simple venting either because I didn’t get invited to the parties.

It isn’t my desire here to necessarily wander to far away from the basic reason for this posting. Merely to share out at times those who use this form of though are fallible and don’t always end up conveying it in a way that truly gets the desired results.

During my own experiences with church life and sermons I have heard plenty of the “rah, rah” let’s win or die trying kinds of messages. They never seemed to actually be that successful from my point of view. And in the end it always appeared people did what they could to try and explain why they were a little less than devoted to doing something will all their ability, which as I’ve come to understand is the real essence of such a concept.

In my own life God has slowly guided me down a path that I could understand was one where I could pray with all my being as well as trust him with all my heart. But before I make it sound like I am boasting, what I am speaking about is being able to yield at a given moment to the best I am able. There is an important difference.

For I think we do possess an internal witness that is etched with a self-image of what we perceive to be our real potential. This image is flawed often because we are flowed. So we might have this fantasy view of ourselves as a person who is a pillar of faith, when in fact one is a pedestal of doubt clay. God knows the truth even if we refuse to accept it.

What happens though in time of communion and trust is we gain a certain need to create the pristine illusion of what will be our expected response. When reality doesn’t match that fantasy sometimes we are plagued by guilt. Others we give up because we feel it won’t impress the Lord enough.

To me, I’ve done what I could to not allow such thoughts intrude upon my fellowship with the Lord. I pray and reflect in these postings as I am able. Sometimes it is more imperfect than others. But it is with all the heart I can muster at the time. I rejoice over the grace of God that covers all of us with a blanket of forgiveness even during the times when all our heart is only a faint pulse.