Word of Encouragement – Don’t Settle for the status quo

Don’t settle for the status quo.

Today’s Word of Encouragement comes from a good friend of mine and colleague Hamish Thomson, who is the pastor of Abundant Life Church here in Wellington.

It was written earlier this year and I’ve had it sitting in my saved items for such a time as this, as I get a sense that many of us have become somewhat lethargic in our day to day.

Maybe it is just me as I continue to grapple from time to time with fatigue due to my health condition, and the feeling that my get up and go has somehow got up and gone.

But it is almost as if the long hard dark winter here in Aotearoa, New Zealand and the volatile start to spring with its changeable weather has had an effect on each and every one of us.

Couple this with the after affects of covid lockdowns, constant talk of a recession, the cost of living crisis, effects of climate change right on our doorsteps, constant disruptions and changes on the horizon, political parties jostling for votes for the upcoming elections, rise in petty crime (which often isn’t really petty) and the list could go on and on.

And this is not just an issue here in ‘God’s Zone’ – as we look around the world it seems to be a recurring thing in our day and age, especially when you add in the likes of major migration issues, war (not war), conflicts, famine, wildfires raging, mass floods and devastating earthquakes etc. we can easily become rather blasé [blah-zey] about life.

Accepting it for what it is and thinking very little of what is going on in the world around us, setting for the status quo. We could feel as if we are stuck in a rut, constantly asking ourselves “is this all there is?” Have we arrived and settled in for the ‘long haul’?

Hamish writes; “Most of us a familiar with the story of Abraham and how, on a call from God, set out from his home country to Canaan. Often when I think of this I can’t help but compare Abraham to his father, Terah.

In Genesis 11:27-32 we read how Terah “set out to go to Canaan,” a land of plenty, a land the Bible describes as flowing with “milk and honey.” But he never made it! Along the way, he simply settled.

I get that traveling hundreds of kilometers across rough terrain with flocks, herds, children, and servants can’t have been easy. I can easily imagine how worn down Terah must have become by the constant “Are we there yet?” cries from everyone – to say nothing of having to set up tents every night, and pack them back up in the morning. So finally Terah decided he couldn’t go any farther, so he settled where they were comfortable.

I wonder, how many times do we do the same thing? We have a big dream; to excel in our careers, or as parents, or in our walk with Jesus. We get started, but things get difficult.

Along the way, life throws some curve balls. We hit some speed bumps. We are forced to take some unexpected turns and at some point achieving our goal doesn’t motivate us the way it once did.

Maybe like Abraham’s father, we say;
“Let’s just settle here. It’s not really what we wanted, but it’s good enough.”

Have you been there?

Don’t fall into that trap. You were made for more than ‘good enough.’ Don’t settle for a little love and joy, a portion of peace and contentment, or a small helping of happiness.
Pull up the stakes, pack your tent, and start moving forward! Enlarge your vision.

Follow the example of Abraham and keep going, trusting God to lead you and to provide for you. Don’t settle until you reach the end and hear the One who gave you life say: “Well done good and faithful servant, enter your rest.”

Maybe as we go about our day to day lives we need to be reminded to “Be strong and courageous. [To] not be afraid [or] discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (New International Version)

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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Word of Encouragement

Today’s Word of Encouragement comes from a colleague and good friend of mine in the ministry, and pastor of Abundant Life Church here in Wellington, Hamish Thomson.

He writes;

Chances are you’ve probably not heard of Robert Greene. From a young age, all he wanted to be was a writer. After several years of writing and submitting novels to his publisher, one day his editor sat him down and told him he should seriously consider a different career.

Over the next decade, Greene worked more than 60 different jobs as he drifted through life trying to find his place. One day he met a guy who asked him if he had any ideas for a book. Greene told him of his love of historical figures like Julius Caesar and Louis XIV, the similarities he observed in movie executives, and the power games people play but try and fail to disguise.

Long story short, the guy loved the idea and made Greene a proposal: If Greene wrote the first half of the book, then he would cover Greene’s cost of living, find a publisher, and design and produce the book himself.

In 1998, almost 40 years old and after numerous setbacks and disappointments, Greene published his first book: The 48 Laws of Power. That book sold more than 1.2 million copies in the USA and became a New York Times bestseller.

I tell you this because you have a story to tell. A purpose in life that when lived, will weave your talents, gifts, and desires together in ways that will bring fulfillment to you and great joy to your Creator!

So let me encourage you with this thought. What if everything you have been through to date, the ups and downs, and everything in between, has been shaping you and positioning you for your life’s purpose?

Don’t let the day-to-day hustle and the opinions of others pull you off course. Listen to that inner voice. Don’t ignore that dream you have carried over the years. Never forget you were created for a purpose!

Let the wisdom of Solomon inspire you:

“Remember the Lord, [and his plans for your life] before the door to life’s opportunities is closed and the sound of work fades…

Remember him before you become fearful of falling and worry about danger in the streets… before you drag along without energy like a dying grasshopper”

Ecclesiastes 12:4-5 (New Living Translation).

It’s never too late to step out into your dreams!

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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Point to Hope

Today’s Word of Encouragement comes from my good friend and colleague Hamish Thomson pastor of the Abundant Life Church here in Wellington. He writes;

I’m not normally into pop-up stores, to me they’re like a 21st-century version of a shady guy in a long trench coat selling cheap watches, but there is an exception to that.

Increasingly around the world, there are these ‘pop-up’ libraries, only instead of borrowing a book you ‘borrow’ a person to listen to their life story for 20-30 minutes. Each person in these human libraries has a title like ‘Unemployed’ or ‘Refugee’ or ‘Bipolar’ or ‘P.O.W’ etc and the aim is to help break down prejudices as people listen to the stories of people who they may otherwise never talk too.

As much as I love the concept of these Human Libraries, the fact that we need them as a tool to help break down prejudice and stereotypes suggests that somehow, we’ve forgotten the Golden Rule: treat others as you want to be treated (see Matthew 7:12).

You see, in the growing stresses of our society, I wonder if more and more we are hiding behind our sense of busyness as a way of masking our fears.

I get that society has become incredibly tribal and divisive, and I understand the insecurities that can generate. 

Yet unless we take the first step and treat others as we want to be treated, nothing changes! Walls stay up, prejudices flourish, and suspicions abound.

So let’s embrace the Golden Rule more fully than ever. Cross the street and get to know your neighbour. Smile at those who are different to you. Listen to those who push back against you in order to try and understand their story – the chances are it’s like yours and mine; characterised by hurts, disappointments, anxiety and rejection. Let’s choose to step out of our fears and open ourselves up to others.

Let’s become books that others read that point to HOPE. That point to Jesus!

For “hope is like an anchor and our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life. But unlike an anchor, it does not hold us back.” (Charles R. Swindoll)

The thing is, God knows that we all struggle with finding and holding onto hope. When we are facing tests of faith, even the strongest of us can find it a challenge to find hope. 

So, we need to constantly remind ourselves and those around us that in Christ we can find Hope, and so much more.

For our hope should be built on nothing less than His name and His righteousness 🙂  

In closing “I pray that God will open your minds to see his truth. Then you will know the hope that he has chosen us to have. You will know that the blessings God has promised his holy people are rich and glorious.”
Ephesians 1:18 (Easy-to-Read Version)  

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Transactional v’s Transformational Relationships

Today’s Word of Encouragement comes from a colleague and good friend of mine in the ministry, pastor Hamish Thomson of Abundant Life Church, Wellington.

“The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.” Proverbs 4:18 (New Living Translation)

Transactional v’s Transformational Relationships

One of my ‘life verses’ this year is Proverbs 4:18 and the call of God for those who love him to live in ways that light up the lives of others like a hot summer’s day.

You see, when it comes to the way we live, I think our relationships with people fall into one of two categories: transformational or transactional.

Most of our relationships are transactional. They are friendly, they are respectful, they are helpful, but they are superficial. That’s why when you’re at work and someone asks you, “how are you?” you answer, “I’m fine” – even if you’re not. Transactional relationships are safe, but they don’t build people up the way transformational relationships do.

Transformational relations are about bringing out the best in others. They are the type of relationships where you are committed to the well-being or the good of others, even if there’s nothing in it for you! There’s no transaction, no balanced ‘give and take’, no ‘what do I get out of this’, no scorekeeping: just a desire to build up and prosper the other person.

And here’s the thing. The people who have had the biggest influence in your life have been transformational types of people, not transactional. They lived and engaged you in ways that inspired you and lit up your life like a hot summer’s sun! So now it’s your turn.

Now it’s your turn to see people as people and not objects. To go beyond the superficial and start investing in others.

Start small, but be intentional. Start by resisting seeing work colleagues as rivals or burdens, instead choosing to see them as equals. Start calling out the potential in others and fan it into flame.

Because as you start taking steps to be more transformational, however small those step may be, they will grow from being like “the first gleam of dawn” to become like “the full light of day” in the lives of others!

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