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Josh Reich

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3 Things to Move a Sermon from Good to Great

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There are many good sermons and good preachers, but there seems to be a level of great. Communicators that thousands listen to, thousands respond to and the Holy Spirit uses in incredible ways. So while I would not stick myself in that category, I hope to continue growing to be used by God as much as I can.

Before laying out the difference between a good and great sermon, a quick definition:

To expound Scripture is to open up the inspired text with such faithfulness and sensitivity that God’s voice is heard and his people obey him. -John Stott

A sermon is not a sermon if it doesn’t point people to Jesus. It is just a motivational talk if it is simply self-help and not focused on the gospel. So, yes, God is the one who moves in powerful and mysterious ways through the act of preaching, and we can’t make someone change. But there are things we as preachers can do when it comes to preaching and sermon prep.

With what a preacher has power over, what separates a good from a great sermon?

Three things.

3 things (you control) that separate a good from a great sermon.

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Tell stories. We all know that stories move people; stories are engaging and memorable.

Now, pastors can go overboard and tell too many stories. As a preacher, I am more comfortable with logic, data, and history, and those can be interesting, but they rarely move people. I have had to grow in my storytelling ability, and I still have a ways to go. But, if you listen to great communicators, you will hear great storytellers who can build tension and add layers and details to their stories.

Edit. A lot. Years ago, I read this: For 33 consecutive years, 1981 to 2013, every Best Picture winner had also been nominated for the Film Editing Oscar, and about two-thirds of the Best Picture winners have also won for Film Editing.

One of the most overlooked skills of preaching is the ability to edit, to leave things out. As a result, many sermons that get preached on a Sunday are two or three-week series.

I remember saying to our feedback team recently, “I feel like I have two sermons here.” And I did. I had to decide which way to go, both were good topics, but I needed to pick one and go deeper.

What about length?

I know some pastors who wear it as a badge of honor that they preach 45-60 minutes. So if you can be interesting for that long, do it.

Let me confess: I have never listened to an hour-long sermon. Ever. That’s just me. My mind wanders off.

Editing is an overlooked skill for pastors.

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One point. This follows closely with the second thing. People listening to a sermon cannot remember multiple things, only one thing. I saw this with a group of younger leaders I meet with. We watched some sermons, and 5 weeks after the one sermon, we were talking about it. Although the guy didn’t like the speaker (he said he was shallow), he could remember the main point he communicated 5 weeks later.

Make your main point into a simple, memorable statement. And say it again and again in your sermon. Make your church say it with you. Then, long after your sermon is over, they will remember the stories and that one statement.

3 simple ideas to improve your preaching.

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Be the Friend You Want

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Over the last several years, study after study has talked about the rise of loneliness and isolation. In 2018, almost 50% of Americans said they sometimes or always felt alone. In the last year, 1 in 3 Americans says they face serious loneliness. This is across the board in terms of ages, but the greatest rise has been among students. This has led to increases in suicide, alcohol use, and more. 

This isn’t new. But it is more front and center in the midst of covid. 

The reality is, we were not made to live life in isolation. 

Are you lonely? Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology and neuroscience, said, “Loneliness is thought to be more of a subjective, distressing feeling, but it’s the discrepancy (or distance) between one’s actual and desired level of connection.”

Loneliness is thought to be more of a subjective, distressing feeling, but it’s the discrepancy (or distance) between one’s actual and desired level of connection. -Julianne Holt-Lunstad

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Loneliness isn’t just something in our culture, but something that many people who attend church experience. This is incredibly sad because we were made for relationships, for community. The whole New Testament was written to groups of people, to churches. As Gordon MacDonald said, “None of us can ever be strong in the Christian life without intentional participation in a smaller group of people.” But many of us try. 

None of us can ever be strong in the Christian life without intentional participation in a smaller group of people. -Gordon MacDonald

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In Paul’s letter Philippians, we see this simple truth: Relationships are at the heart of joy and hope. 

Relationships are at the heart of joy and hope.

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We see how important relationships are to him in Philippians 1:3 – 11:

I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

What is the hope of loneliness and isolation? Friendship, a community, moving towards others. 

Paul tells us here what is incredibly important: A friend is safe, gives you their best, and brings out the best in you. 

[Tweet, “A friend is safe, gives you their best, and brings out the best in you.”]

Paul tells us three important things in this passage about friends:

First, a friend remembers the best. Do you have a friend that remembers the best about you? Or just the worst? Does your spouse remember the best moments or remind you of the worst? Third, do you remember the best moments or the worst?

A friend will give you their best and bring out your best. Friends are partners, working together, moving as one, in the same direction. A great partnership is one where each person knows how they are wired, how they are gifted, what they do well and don’t do well. Then, they make up for each other’s weaknesses and blind spots. In a partnership, everyone knows the other person’s blind spots and brings them up, so everyone is aware. They don’t keep secrets. 

In a partnership, they see the good work God is doing. They give their best and expect your best. When Paul says in verse 6, “God will complete the good work,” he is seeing what God is doing. This is the hardest to do in our closest relationships. In our closest relationships, we see all the weeds, broken places, and bad work. Paul is choosing to see the good work. 

Here are some other ways this plays out:

  • Assuming the best about other people’s motives
  • Speaking the truth in love
  • Calling each other up to deeper, more authentic faith

A friend will pray the best for you. All of us need friends that we can text at any time of the day and say, “Pray for me about this.” Do you have a friend who prays for you? Do you have a friend that you pray for?

A friend is safe, gives you their best, and brings out the best in you. 

Who is this for you?

Who are you this for?

A friend is safe, gives you their best, and brings out the best in you.

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Mission vs. “The Way we Do Things”

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In his great book Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory, Tod Bolsinger quotes James Osterhaus on the principle of Red Zone-Blue Zone decision making. 

The principle of Red Zone-Blue Zone decision making.

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The red zone is making decisions that are “all about me.” The blue zone is making decisions that are “all about the mission.”

One thing I see creep into churches when it comes to decisions, though, is that the mission slowly becomes the same as “the way we do things.” The line between the mission and the model slowly becomes the same line. When that happens, a church easily moves into the red zone because they make decisions to keep themselves comfortable, not make changes, or to keep power. 

The question leaders and churches need to ask themselves, according to Bolsinger, are, “Does this further our mission? Because a healthy system makes decisions that further the mission.”

A healthy system makes decisions that further the mission. -@todbol

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Asking what furthers the mission and what furthers the way we do things are not the same question. Or, asking what furthers the mission versus what furthers the ______ (insert church name) way, are not the same question. 

Asking what furthers the mission and what furthers the way we do things, are not the same question.

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Too often, churches and pastors confuse the mission and the way they do things. 

How does this happen?

Asking what furthers the mission versus what furthers the ______ (insert church name) way, are not the same question.

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Here are a few ways this creeps in:

Not having a clear mission. The first way this shows up is in not having a clear mission. If you don’t have a clear mission, this is why our church exists and what we are put on this earth to do, then it is easy to drift from that because there isn’t a right answer. 

Many churches are in this spot.

They lack clarity of mission, where they are headed, or even clarity of their strategy. And for many leaders and churches, it is easier to articulate “how” you do something instead of “why” you do something. As a result, pastors can often talk all day about how they do ministry, how they do a program but struggle to articulate why they started it, why it must keep going, why it must be this way instead of that way.  

When that happens, the way you do church becomes the mission, and you make decisions to keep your job, to stay comfortable, and to not go through the pain of change. 

Not having a clear model. Many pastors and leaders have not done the hard work of saying, “This is how we make disciples; this is how we do worship services; this is how we follow up with people.” It is far easier, they think, to bounce from one idea to another without actually asking, “How has God uniquely wired us and called us as a church for this time and place?”

How has God uniquely wired us and called us as a church for this time and place?

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God did not place you in your church or in your city to be exactly like North Point, Elevation, Saddleback, or _____. He placed you there, to be you. So, yes, learn from others, steal great ideas and implement them, but do the hard work and ask about contextualization and what makes sense for your church and your area. 

Falling in love with your model more than your mission. Leaders who do the hard work will find that their mission and model come out of their passion and story. This is one of the reasons it becomes blurry. And this is often why we fall in love with our model so easily. We created it, and it is who we are; it is what we like, what would reach us or does reach us. 

But you must stay flexible on your model (the how) and stay clear on the mission (the why). 

As Andy Stanley says, “Date the model, but marry the mission.”

Date the model, but marry the mission. -Andy Stanley

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Continue to ask yourself questions like:

  • What is working?
  • What is not working?
  • What isn’t clear?
  • What did we start 5, 10, 20 years ago that doesn’t make sense anymore?

Jesus continued to come back to the kingdom of God. That was what he talked about. That was his mission. Yet, he disappointed people, met people in different ways and through different means throughout his ministry. Paul did the same thing throughout the book of Acts. 

The mission was the same. However, the model and values shifted. 

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Managing a Job Transition

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Many of you know that my family moved from Arizona to Massachusetts to take a new job as the lead pastor at Community Covenant Church. It has been quite a summer. Throughout the transition, Katie and I have tried to be attentive to what God was teaching us, what we could learn through the different interview processes, and what God might be preparing us for.

Since then, I’ve heard from many leaders who are transitioning or thinking about transitioning. More and more will happen as we move out of covid into this new world. To help you as you think about it, here is everything I’ve written in this last season in one place:

Finding the Heart of a Church

How to Interview a Church

How to Know It’s Time to Leave a Ministry

How to Know It’s Time to Leave a Ministry Part 2

How to Let Go of Your Last Ministry Season

How to Start a New Season of Life & Ministry

Don’t Waste Your Desert (While not a job post, looking for a job will feel like a desert)

When You’re Passed Over or Rejected for a Job

Why Job Hunting is So Exhausting 

How to spot Red Flags at a Church During the Interview Process

Decide What You Won’t get in a Job

5 Questions to Ask Before Quitting Your Job & Taking a New One

The Hardest Part about Moving

And many of you have asked about books I read during the transition. So here are some of my favorites:

 

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When You’re Passed Over or Rejected for a Job

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no sign

If you follow this blog, you know that my family and I moved to a new church in Massachusetts this summer. I’ve tried to spend a good bit of time processing leaving a church, how to choose a new job and church, starting a new season, and how to let go of a previous season (especially if you’re hurt).

At some point, you will apply for a job and get rejected. You may apply for a job at your current church and not get it (like I did), and you might see a co-worker or someone you know get chosen instead of you.

How you process this moment and the feelings that happen will greatly impact your future ministry.

So, how do you handle rejection? How do you handle it when someone says, “This isn’t God’s will for your life?”, as that will happen at some point for you in Christian circles.

4 things to remember when you’re rejected for a job.

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Rejection isn’t always about you. If you’ve ever hired someone, then you know the feeling of liking multiple candidates and choosing only one. Often, it is a gut thing; sometimes, it is a data thing.

This is a hard one, though, when you are turned down. But the reality is, rejection isn’t always about you. For example, in the process of interviewing, I’ve heard things like:

  • We want someone more outgoing than you.
  • We want a deeper preacher than you. We want someone less deep than you.
  • You are too conservative theologically. You are too liberal theologically.
  • You aren’t in our “tribe.” We want someone outside of our “tribe.”
  • You’re too young.

The list goes on. And if you apply for enough pastoral jobs, you will hear some ridiculous reasons given to you that aren’t worth repeating in a blog post.

When you apply for a job, they have a picture in their mind of what they hope for and what they want. Just because a church doesn’t choose you, it isn’t personal. You aren’t a fit for them, what they hope for or what they want.

I remember hiring a person once because we lacked their personality style on our team. Of course, others were just as qualified, but we needed a specific personality and gift set for the next season.

But when it happens, and if it happens again and again for you, it is hard not to take it personally.

Job rejection isn’t always personal.

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Have friends who will speak the truth to you. Have some friends in your life that you can call when you get rejected, and they’ll say, “I’m sorry. I know you were hoping for that job.” You need friends who will commiserate with you and grieve with you.

You also need friends who will speak the truth to you. I remember when I didn’t get a job, I called a friend, and he said, “You dodged a bullet on that one. I’m actually glad you didn’t get that job even though you wanted it.” He went on, “If you got that job, in 3 years you were going to be burned out, disappointed, fired because you failed and then trying to get a job.” Yes, that was harsh for sure, but he was right. I’m an enneagram 8, and that’s how close friends speak to me!

As you are applying for jobs, you need to have friends who help check your motives: your motives for leaving, applying somewhere, wanting to move to a specific place, etc. Too often in job hunting it can become like dating: you stop thinking clearly and it becomes all emotions.

Try to find out why and learn from it. If you can, get some feedback from a place that rejected you. They may Christianize it and say “God told them,” or they may say nothing. I got some helpful feedback on how I interviewed, how I came across, my resume, experience, etc., just because I asked people. They won’t always give you this feedback, but if they will, it is very valuable.

Sometimes a rejection is God protecting you or preparing you for something else. Sometimes a closed door is God protecting you from something you aren’t aware of. It is hard to learn everything you can about a church in an interview process. However, churches put a great foot forward, and so when a door closes, God may be protecting you from something. 

He might also be preparing you for something else. And those are both great things, even if you can’t see them at the moment. 

God may be protecting you by closing a door.

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Don’t burn bridges. No matter what, no matter how much it hurts or how emotional it gets, don’t burn bridges. 

You never know when you might cross paths with someone again. For example, in this last search, I interacted with an executive pastor I came across in an interview over 15 years ago. So you never know when you might meet someone again. And you never know if a church might come back to you for some reason or another. 

A closed door may be how God prepares you for something else.

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Finding a Better Life

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In one of my favorite bible verses, found in John 10, Jesus says, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. The Message version says it like this: I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

Life.

Life to the full.

More and better life.

The reality for all of us is that this is what we are looking for and longing to have.

It is why we spend money on things. It is why we pack our schedule, why we have kids, go on vacation, choose the job that we do. 

We do it in hopes of finding life in hopes of finding meaning. 

Yet, few people know what it is they are searching for. 

Have you ever stopped to ask, why am I doing this? And, if I do this, where will it take me? The only time we ask those questions is when stress hits or life falls apart. Another question that rarely gets asked is, “What does this promise me, and will that promise be fulfilled?”

When we make a decision, we should ask “What does this promise me and will that promise be fulfilled?”

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So we pack out our schedules; we run from one relationship to another, never getting too close to people; we find ourselves unfulfilled at every turn, and we wonder why.

For many of us, if you are a Christian, we think that we need to spend more time reading our bibles, being in more bible studies, or praying more. And while those might help, we miss something in the process.

Throughout the gospels, Jesus walks up to people, has conversations with them, and challenges them to follow him.

Then, as they follow him, he doesn’t say this is how early you should pray, this is how much you should read your bible or tithe. Instead, he says, “Watch me, do what I do, take my yoke upon you, and you will find rest. You will find life.”

As John Mark Comer, “To experience the life Jesus has for us, we have to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus.”

To experience the life Jesus has for us, we have to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus. -John Mark Comer

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The invitation that Jesus gives to his first disciples and us is not just about heaven and eternal life. It is also about life now and the longings that we all have. The longings for meaning and purpose. Jesus invites them and us to follow him but to stay in the same lane. Not to take them out of their life or out of what they were doing or were passionate about. Were they excited about their job as fishermen and tax collectors? I don’t know, but they did it. And Jesus said they would keep fishing, but in a different way. 

Are we always passionate about our job or stage in life? Sometimes but often, we aren’t.

The invitation to follow Jesus redirects our purpose.

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When Jesus invites us to follow Him, he gives us purpose. He redirects what we are already doing for his purposes so that it brings more fulfillment to us but also a more significant eternal impact.

Jesus is inviting us to see what we do differently so that we can have more and better life. 

Jesus is inviting us to see what we do differently so that we can have more and better life.

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The Most Important Minutes to a Guest at Church

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Guests at a church are a big deal; they matter a lot. They are gifts from God that need to be cared for and stewarded well. Notice, I didn’t call them a visitor. Visitors are people who come and go. We don’t really like visitors to come to our house, but we love guests. So we pull out the red carpet for a guest.

To this end, are there moments that matter to a guest more than other moments in a worship service or event at a church? I think there are. There are two moments you need to pay attention to:

  • The first seven minutes they are on the church campus.
  • In the last 10 minutes they are on the church campus.

I’m not saying these are the most important moments of a church, a service, or what we think matters most. But, they are the minutes that matter the most to an unchurched guest.

In the first 7 minutes, a guest is deciding if they will come back. How easy was parking to find? How hard was it to find their child’s classroom and get them checked in? How secure was the kid’s ministry? Were the bathrooms easy to find? What about coffee and refreshments? Did someone wave and smile at them? If they are online, did someone say hi to them and tell them they were “seen?”

All of these things happen before a guest sits down or the service starts. 

In the last 10 minutes, they are asking about their fit in a church. Is anyone talking to them? How did the preaching and music speak to them? Did they find the pastor understandable? Relatable? Did he talk over their heads? Did he make them want to come back and find out more about Jesus? Did the spirit move them during the preaching and the music? Did anyone say, “I’ll see you next week?” 

Taken together, these minutes decide a guest’s opinion of the day and if they will be back.

The most important minutes to a guest at church.

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Pastoral Warning Signs

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One common refrain I hear from pastors, again and again, is “I’m tired, I’m worn out. I feel like I have given everything I have”.

I get it. I’ve been there, and I will find myself there again at some point. But over the years, I’ve tried to figure out warning lights for myself. Much like a warning light in a car, is there a way to know when I’m getting too close to burn out, too close to the edge of tiredness, and not being a healthy leader?

While each one of us is different, and there will be warning lights for you that I don’t have, I think there are a few that every pastor needs to pay attention to:

4 warning lights for pastors.

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1. Monitor your sleep and eating. Pay attention to what time you are going to bed and getting up, and what you are putting into your body.

For many of us this is such an obvious one, but we overlook it. As a result, we find ourselves staying up later and later, watching this show or that to wind down, or taking sleeping pills because of having difficulty falling asleep. Then we find ourselves waking up later and later in the morning.

Going to bed at the same time each day and waking up simultaneously is such a good thing for your body. You create a rhythm. So what does your bedtime and morning routine look like?

For me, I try not to look at my phone or the TV an hour before bed. Of course, this doesn’t always happen, but it’s a goal, and I shoot for 8-9 hours of sleep each night. These two things together mean I miss out on many TV shows that others are watching, and that’s okay.

My morning routine is also the same: Get up, coffee, Bible, and some leadership reading. I have my favorite spot in the house where I go, and I listen to worship music to help set the tone for my day.

Lastly, food. Monitor what you are putting into your body because it is the fuel for your body. You don’t have to eat clean 100% of the time; go for 80/20. But know that food is fuel, and you want to make sure you are giving yourself good fuel.

Food is fuel for your body, so make sure you are giving yourself good fuel.

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Each person is different with their needs when it comes to calorie intake, doing keto or gluten-free. The type of eating plan you have doesn’t matter as long as it is clean and you drink plenty of water. Again, this is such a simple thing but makes an enormous impact on your leadership.

2. Sermon content. Another warning sign for pastors is their sermon content and how fresh and new it is.

Here’s something I’ve learned: When I am tired, it is easier for me to look back at past sermons I’ve done instead of doing the hard work of creating new content.

Now, here’s a caveat: You should repeat sermon series or books of the Bible. Your church has changed, and new people have come, so do that series you did 5 years ago, but update it.

Pastor, are you giving your church something new or something rehashed?

Pastor, are you giving your church something new or something rehashed?

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What was the last new thing you learned? Are you finding yourself falling back into paths you’ve already walked, or are you blazing new trails?

3. Lack of close friends. One of the things you hear again and again from leaders is that leadership is lonely. While this is a whole other blog post, here is how this applies.

Yes, leadership can be lonely, but it doesn’t have to be. Leadership is often lonely because we as leaders isolate ourselves. We keep ourselves from getting close to others, or we think, “no one knows what I’m going through.” While the higher up you go in leadership, sometimes fewer people can relate to you, the reality is, people can still relate to you, and you need to relate to them.

I’ve learned in my life that when leadership has been lonely, it has often been a decision I’ve made instead of because it was really lonely.

Pastors, do you have any close friends? Does anyone know you at a deep level? Who in your life are you able to take your mask off and be yourself? All leaders need a place where they can stop leading and be. We all need people who are not impressed by us or don’t see us as the boss or leader, but just as a friend.

When was the last time you had fun?

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When was the last time you had fun with a friend? Unfortunately, we are often too serious for many leaders and pastors and miss out on playing and having fun. This is a warning sign for you as a pastor.

4. Difficulty making decisions. One of my last warning signs as a pastor is making decisions. Being a leader is mostly about making decisions. So, how easy is it for you to make decisions?

How easy it is for you to make decisions?

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When I find myself struggling to make decisions about what to read, eat or watch, I know that is a warning sign for me.

What are your warning signs? Do you know what they are so you can keep an eye out to make sure you stay in the leadership game?

4 early warning signs for pastors and leaders to pay attention to.

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Don’t Waste Your Desert

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Have you ever had a moment where things didn’t go the way you expected them to go? You had a plan, you were working on that plan, but then, it shifted. The job fell through, the money you planned to have got used up somehow, a relationship dried up. Maybe you prayed for something, and God didn’t do what you expected or hoped He would do.

All of us experience that.

For the last year, I expected God to do something. I was so convinced I knew exactly what God was doing, but I didn’t. So what seemed like a perfectly laid out plan for my life didn’t happen.

When life doesn’t turn out how you expect.

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At first, I was frustrated. I wanted to stop praying. I was so mad at God. Didn’t he know the great plans I had for my life?

As I look back, though, what I saw as great plans were really just easy plans. If I got the job I applied for; my family wouldn’t have to move, we wouldn’t have to leave friends and start over, I would move into a new role at the church I was already on staff at and keep things moving into the next season. It was easy. I also know, now looking back, I wasn’t wired for that, and that wasn’t my next best step.

How God forms us.

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How do you make sure you don’t waste your desert? Or, as I recently heard Albert Tate say, “What if the season you are in isn’t the test, but the preparation for the test to come?” So how do you make sure you are ready?

This is incredibly important but easy to miss in the desert. But we want to make sure we are prepared for the future God has for us.

As I walked through my most recent desert, here are 3 questions I found helpful to ask:

3 questions to ask, so you don’t waste your desert.

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How are you spending your time in the wilderness? In the desert, it is easy to be like the children of Israel and complain. This makes sense because the desert isn’t fun. It is harsh. It is a barren place with little water, lots of sun, no shade, and creatures that can kill you!

But it is important to ask, how am I spending my time in the desert? And, am I spending my time on the things God is spending his time on in me?

As Katie and I spent months walking around the desert of Tucson behind our neighborhood, we kept asking, “God, what are you doing? What are you doing in us? What are you preparing us for?” These questions shifted our perspective, which is incredibly important to not wasting your desert.

But how do you figure those things out? It is what you do with your time in the desert that determines what happens in the desert.

What you do with your time in the desert determines what happens in the desert.

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When Jesus was in the desert in Mark 1 & Matthew 4, he spent his time fasting and praying, so he was ready to battle the devil and do the work in the desert that He needed to do.

Are you moving closer to God or pulling away? Every desert in Scripture is an invitation from God to pull closer to him or pull away from Him. To listen more closely to His voice or to listen more to the voices of those around you. It is a moment to decide if you will dig into the soul work God is doing in you or pull away from that and go the shortcut and skip that hard work.

The shortcut seems easier. The nation of Israel got tired of waiting on Moses to bring a word from God, so they built a golden calf to worship.

The reality of the desert is that God will often seem incredibly distant and silent. You can go weeks, months, or even years without a clear sign from God, a clear word from Him. This is disorienting and disillusioning. In our most recent desert, God felt silent for over a year. It seemed like He was speaking clearly to lots of people around us but not to us. In fact, we almost missed Him because of how He spoke to us about Massachusetts; it wasn’t what we expected Him to do.

If the wilderness is your training camp, what is being toned and strengthened in you? This last question is critical.

Don’t waste your desert.

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The best way to not waste your desert season is to ask: God, what is being strengthened in me? What do you want me to learn about you? About myself.

There are things about God and ourselves that we can only learn in the deserts of life.

There are things about God and ourselves that we can only learn in the deserts of life.

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Don’t mistake this question, though; this isn’t necessarily why God has you where you are, but it is the path that God wants you on to know what He wants you to know.

As Katie and I walked through our desert in Tucson, God showed us things in our hearts that we ended to know. He showed us what our desires for life, family, and ministry really were and that they wouldn’t be found where we were. He showed me what I really valued in life and what it would take to get to those places. We needed the time of the desert for those things to crystallize in our hearts and minds.

I think something else happens; our faith is strengthened as we dig into God’s word and presence in the desert. As we fight to hear God’s voice, as we strain to hear Him, we learn how to hear Him, and that is such a gift. It is not always easy and obvious, but His voice is always there.

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God’s Love for You

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One of the strongest and clearest messages throughout the Bible is God’s love for us. We are reminded that God doesn’t forget us (even though many of us feel forgotten), that God is close to us (even though He often feels far away), and that not only has He created us in His image, but He knows us, and that doesn’t scare Him away (although we always fear that the moment someone truly knows us, they’ll bolt).

And yet, many of us still struggle to believe God loves us.

We believe God loves the world. We believe that through Jesus God will redeem and restore the world, but we have a hard time placing ourselves in that.

So we run, we hide, we put up fronts, wear masks, beat ourselves up for past mistakes, try to earn God’s love, try to prove ourselves worthy of God’s love, and all the while God’s love sits there.

If you’re like me, you can relate to this.

The problem for many of us is that we read verses about God’s love for the world and us (John 3:16), that Jesus loves us (John 15:9), that God predestined us in love (Ephesians 1:4 – 5), that God sings over us (Zephaniah 3:17), that God loved us first (1 John 4:19), that God draws us to Himself (John 6:44). We read the apostle Paul saying over 160 times that as a follower of Jesus, we are “in Christ”, and yet we live each and every day as if God is disappointed in us, indifferent towards us, mildly happy with us or just “likes” us.

We’ll say things like, “I know God has forgiven me, but I can’t forgive myself.” Or, “Yes, God loves me, but I can’t love myself.”

When we say those things, we have made love and forgiveness something it is not. We have based that on our own definitions and life.

Over the last two years, if there is one message that God has put on my heart for me to learn, it is this: His gracious, unrelenting, never stopping love for me.

Personally, I keep going back to Luke 15 and the stories that Jesus told. A shepherd who goes after a lost lamb, a woman who searches for a coin and a father who runs out to meet his son who doesn’t deserve grace, let alone a party. Through this passage, God has softened my heart to understand and feel His love.

Some of us (at least I did) balked a little at this because it seemed too emotional, made God too close and personal, and we feared it would take away His transcendence and power. He’s God, Creator of the universe. Yes, and He’s also a personal God who created you in His image and sent His Son to die in your place so He could rescue you and so you could know His great love for you.

Here’s my challenge to you. Spend as much time as you need, months or years. Dive into Luke 15 and the passages listed above and ask God, “Show me Your love for me; help me to understand and feel Your love for me.”