Ask yourself the why questions

The answer to your why questions can only come from you. They are personal and private. They can't be borrowed, or rented, or stolen from anyone. Your "why" is uniquely you. The way it was, the way it is, and the way it will be. 

 

Whys are complicated? How questions are simple: How much will it cost? How long will it take? How do I get rich? How do find a new job? How do I protect myself against coming uncertainty? How do I get more out of life? 

 

Why questions are different, they aren't answered in the self-help section. The answer doesn't come in a 7 step book, a motivational seminar, or a training manual. The answer doesn't come from Sunday school or seminary. It isn't hidden inside stacks of books. Whys take you inside yourself. Are you ready?  

 

Whys lead us on a quest for personal meaning, for definition, for significance. The search is more than assessing and evaluating the facts and listing the options. It takes us beyond personality tests, wishing wells, and fairy tales. 

 

Your whys are not once-in-a-lifetime events or special knowledge. The "Why" is not the goal or destination at all. It's discovering your on God's team even when you didn't know it.

 

Paul tried to explain this unique relationship to Timothy, "God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.  2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

 

Since his name-change, Paul had lived in this new relationship. He makes it clear that all believers have that same Spirit. The Spirit is now, regardless of circumstances. So, no matter what you are facing this week, Trust HIS Spirit to turn on the power to make God look good. Nothing to too challenging for HIS power. Remember you are in this together, Creator and created. We work together.  

 

It's a God thing even when we don't recognize it! 

 

I love the way my friend Lenard Sweet tells this story:

Remember the song, "Like a rolling stone‚" (1965 Bob Dylan)? They were in the recording studio making it happen. Guitarist Al Kooper wanted in on the action, but he was banished to the production booth by the superior skills of guitarist Michael Bloomfield. 

 

Kooper however, refused to stay sidelined. He just wanted to be part of this magical moment. So, he snuck into the studio and slid quiet onto the organ bench. When Dylan began recording the song, Kooper threw into the mix of sounds some organ chords that he made up on the spot. 

 

If you listen carefully you will note that these chords are stutter-stepped into the sound. That's because Kooper didn't really know how to play the organ. 

 

When the producer realized what Kooper was up to, he ordered him back to the sound booth. 

 

But Dylan was in the moment. For him the recording of the song was more free play than planned execution. He heard a rare sound being born with the mix of cymbals, organ, and guitar. And he famously shouted over the confusion‚ "Turn the organ up."

 

Too many of us have a locked-in image of God moving chess players around on the board of life, able to checkmate us at any moment and end the game. He has the power, we have nothing. It is easier for us to think of Jesus as a talker more than a listener or partner. 

 

However, the great thing about God's good news is that we get to be partners, we have power. We have conversation. WE share HIS Spirit and life is a blend of creator and created. And sometimes, we don't have a clue what's happening.  

 

So...

 

Why do I believe? Because I've witnessed God's transforming power and I see HIM in the people I meet everyday.

 

Why do I exist? I exist to partner with HIS Spirit, that way I live so HE always looks good!

 

Why am I on this planet? I am here to live out my part, even when I don't know how to play. I'm here to work with God and give birth to a rare new mix of wonder and awe. I am here to see the good in others, sometimes before they see it in themselves.

 

This is your week to live in the middle of your Whys, to live in the Spirit. Imagine God saying,  "Hey, I like it, keep it up. Turn up the volume."