Not By Sword

Psalm 44:3 “It was not by their sword that they won the land.” The first year that I participated in our annual fast at Solomon’s Porch, I told my partner Ramanan that I planned to work half days and not eat for the first three weeks of the year. He thought I was crazy especially because we had the biggest and most important deal in our history right then. If it didn’t work out, it might mean the end of our firm. I explained to Ramanan, who is a devout atheist that “if you look at the Bible, the Israelites didn’t fast when it was convenient. They fasted when they were about to go to battle, because that’s when it’s especially important to demonstrate that it’s God’s power and not their own strength that brings them the victory. If we’re about to enter a life threatening battle now, it’s not the worst time to fast. It’s the best time to fast.” Well Ramanan conceded, and we won that deal, which has been the biggest win for our firm to date. Now, whenever I tell him that I need to fast he says “I still don’t agree and I still don’t get it, but it seems to be working… so go ahead.” The author of Psalm 44 writes to remind listeners that it was not the Israelites sword that brought them conquest. “But YOU give us victory over our enemies.” Over the last few weeks I’ve felt increasingly overwhelmed. We have bigger and bigger battles to face at work and at home, which lead to more demands on my attention. I feel like I’ve been squeezing in quiet time with God instead of really creating the space that He deserves. So this morning I just want to write and remind myself that it is not my sword and not my striving that bring victory. Lord, YOU give me victory. I’ve seen you do it before and I know you’ll do it again. I repent for a misalignment of priorities and I commit to put you first today. You are all I want. You are all I need. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Resigned to Despair or Designed for Delight?

Psalm 34:5 “Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.” A close founder friend of mine shared that he had been falling into feelings of depression for the last few weeks. “I wonder if it’s even possible to live a life that’s perfectly poised, and unaffected by such emotions” he wrote to me. My friend pointed to the many expressions of despair outlined in the Psalms as evidence to support his view. “There ARE many Psalms that express despair, but pretty much every one of them transitions into an expression of delight and praise by the end,” I replied. “Elsewhere in scripture, the apostles encountered incredible turmoil, but they found peace, love and joy in the midst of those trials. God has not resigned us to a life of despair. God has designed us for a life of delight. He will allow challenges, but he promises victory and peace in the midst of those.” This morning I read through Psalms 34 and came across this passage confirming God’s plan for us. I prayed it over my friend, who had already started coming out of his funk and breaking through the lies of the enemy. A life with God does not lead to depression. A life with God does not lead to even a shadow of shame. A life with God leads to radiant joy and delight. Lord, I come into alignment with the truth that you have only the best in store for me. You are all powerful, and you are a loving father. When you put those two things together, how can I not have faith that goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life? I love you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Tech Trials

Psalm 31:24 “Be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord.” Yesterday I had a video conference with over 100 bankers who are working on a deal together with us at Amasia. We had another important meeting right before, so I asked one of our colleagues to get us a conference room and sort out the tech. She really went above and beyond the call of duty, and got us totally sorted with some redundancy in place in case of any issues. It went really well, until all of the sudden the connection cut and we got kicked off the line. We scrambled to get everything back online, which took a few minutes. By the time we jumped back on a few dozen participants had dropped off. I could see my colleague was visibly disappointed. We finished up and in the debrief I smiled and said “Look don’t worry about it. This is God’s business not mine and not yours. If he wants it to be successful, a little power outage isn’t going to stop him.” We have several entrepreneurs at our house church, and on Saturday we were discussing what it means to really know that your business is not your own. Life has its ups and downs, but when we’re really connected with the Spirit, we are naturally strong and courageous, because the battle is already won. Lord, thank you for fighting all my battles. Thank you for conquering it all on the cross. Thank you that I can be strong and courageous. In Jesus’ name, Amen.