so there's this *new* band that i've been listening to a TON. . .like shane and crowder tons. they're a little band called STARFIELD, and man, their music is good. and i missed their concert here b/c i was back in seattle (and i missed shane and shane and john piper b/c i was here in san jose! noooooooooo!!!!)
first off, the band just rocks musically. the songs are well crafted, the riffs and hooks are super catchy, and the band just is plain good. but that can be said of a lot of music out there nowadays. what sets them apart to shane and crowder level to me is the depth of the songs, and how it's an honest and TRUTH based cry from the band's hearts. a lot of songs can be brutally honest but not uplifting at all, depending on where and how deep the heart of the longings lie. longings that are based on truth, there's power in that.
i was actually praying through the album, as weird as that sounds. i've heard the songs numerous times before, but it wasn't really till today that i started really identifying with them. maybe i'll post other musings about it later, but one song particularly stuck out to me:
ORDINARY LIFE
Take me and invade me
Make me someone new
Wake me from the dead
And break me with the truth
Move me and disturb me
Interrupt my peace
Tear open my heart
And pull me to my knees
There's a world outside
That is burning
While I'm turning blinded eyes
While I stand by
I won't survive
To live this ordinary life
I'm not alive
To live this ordinary life
And I will try
To see this world I live in
With Your eyes
To love this world You've given
With my life
To see this world I live in
With Your eyes
To love this world You've given
With my life
Take me and invade me
Make me someone new
Wake me from the dead
And break me with the truth
Move me and disturb me
Interrupt my peace
Tear open my heart
And pull me to my knees
There's a world outside
That is burning
While I'm turning blinded eyes
While I stand by
I won't survive
To live this ordinary life
I'm not alive
To live this ordinary life
And I will try
To see this world I live in
With Your eyes
To love this world You've given
With my life
To see this world I live in
With Your eyes
To love this world You've given
With my life
in the midst of my current longings for more of God in my life, i was struck by how much God ISN'T the central point of my life. i'm sure i've posted about this before, but today has been a really good reminder for me that our lives get so easily sidetracked to becoming focused on ourselves.
living for God does not even necessarily mean drastic changes in our every day lives, ie attending school or going to work. people seem to think that a lot of times if they don't go out and *serve* actively or do something extreme, that they aren't living for God, or that their mundane every day lives aren't as God centered, holy, or meaningful as those who have dedicated themselves to such things as full time ministry, missions, etc.
God's placed us where we are in our lives for a REASON, and nothing *more* has to be done, no drastic changes need to be made if we are truly, honestly following God and his plan for us. in being in God's will, me going to work every day and crunching numbers is as *holy* and God serving/loving as mother theresa's work among the poor in india.
so if it isn't necessarily the deeds that we complete that make up extraordinary lives, what is it then? God didn't save us for us to live mundane, ordinary lives did he? but He also hasn't sent all of us to africa either. what exactly is it then? it matters so much that we know the answer to this. . .and that's the line of the song above that really stuck out to me: "i won't survive to live this ordinary life/ i'm not alive to live this ordinary life."
i think the answer lies squarely on the way we perceive things, specifically the way we perceive God. the way we view things really changes the way we go about acting and living our lives. if my view of God is that EVERYTHING that comes my way is good and an opportunity to serve him, what does that mean for my time spent at work? if my view of God is that He truly is better than anything or any other situation i might desire, how does that change my attitude toward the *dreary* situations that i'm in at the moment?
that's what i think having a God centered life means. of course i'm not going to be thinking "God, God, God" 24 hrs of my day, because some things in life just require intense concentration (ie figuring out dumb audit procedures! grrr, and pooping), but i don't think that's what God means or wants either. to be driven, motivated, and to live for something does not mean that i think actively on it every waking second. my intense desire to learn a song or find a toilet in time does not mean i don't concentrate on the means to getting to the desired results. it just means that i'm driven by the right things and focused on them, and that everything i do is based on those things. the problem that i think i have, and many others as well, as that we get distracted from making it to the toilet to focusing on running just for the sake of running or b/c it makes us feel good that we forget why we're doing it in the first place.
to have a God centered life means seeing things the way that God sees them. not that we can even being to understand the breadth of my He does things the way He does, but to have THE SAME ATTITUDES THAT HE HAS for where He has placed us, the things that He has put us to work on, and the people in our lives. then even those dreary situations, the boring work, and the difficult people become blessings and not something that hinders us to "getting closer to God". . .because those ARE the means that God is using to draw us to Him.
it's so easy to live for ourselves. . .i know, i think that's what i've been doing the last couple of months. oh, i go to church and small group and even serve there, i'm nice to people even if they're mean and i put up with loads of crap from work b/c i need to be patient with people. . .but for what purpose? is it really for God?
how do i view my money? is the first thought i get in my head every time i get a paycheck, "how can i honor God with this? how can i best put this to use toward kingdom purposes?" ummm. . .no. they're more along the lines of, mmmm now what can i do to make myself happy? time to buy that new car, sweater, game, bling, whatever, whatever, whatever.
do i really believe that doing it God's way of tithing, even though i can think of so many *better* uses of my money that would make things a lot more comfortable for me, is the way that i should go? that it will ultimately be better and make me happier than if i spent it doing what i wanted?
that attending this church that is struggling really a better place for me to be than a church that is thriving and encourages me every week with great music and messages? that in the end i'll be closer to God even in the midst of the *lack* of encouragement and the frustrations associated with being at a struggling place God wants me to be?
that being away from my family, my girlfriend, my friends, my home, and the ministries that i long for every day better than if i was still there?
it's honestly really hard. .. .and i think i need major attitude changes. . .
but thank God! it's not up to me to create these new outlooks on life. . .it's not me that needs to improve myself and put on this new person. because this new me is already CREATED by God, and that by putting myself in the avenues of his blessing (seeking after Him by the means of prayer, devotionals, mediation, etc. etc) i'm doing all that i'm to do.
so i encourage you all to live extraordinary lives. . .lives that are sacrificed to God and what He wants in them. whatever that may be. to be content with where you are. . .not that you don't actively seek to *get better* and be in a better situation or whatever, but to NOT see the situations you're in as something that is wasted time/effort. . .because it was given by God. to not view those hard people in your life just as annoying, boring, or lost causes, but to see them as God sees them and love Him by truly caring for them. and as God leads us to different places, to not get ahead of God or try to get to those destinations for the wrong reasons of self comfort or want.
to live lives that are driven by the one who breathes life into all, whatever those lives might look like. to never lose sight of the goal of more of Jesus wherever He wants us
just like i'm not about to lose sight of my goal to sit on the throne in about 30 seconds as i'm pinching my cheeks and getting ready to sprint for a reason =)
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