God's Fringe Benefits

fringe ben·e·fit

an extra benefit supplementing an employee's salary, for example: a company car, subsidized meals, health insurance...usually negotiated.

Emphasis on extra and negotiated...

in the 103rd Psalm, where we are reminded "as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us" (v 12), David starts his meditation with praise (see below) and in the second verse, tells us to "forget not all His benefits" (italics added).

Here's the list that follows (adapted for the list people, personalized for impact)

God forgives all my sins

God heals all my diseases

God redeems my life from the pit

God crowns me with love and compassion

God satisfies my desires with good things

We know the list goes on and on, throughout Scripture, and yet it is the word benefit that captures my attention when reading this. It's kind of not a Bible-y word. It's a word we use in lots of other ways.

Maybe here, the point was not to say "blessings", (which these clearly are) because blessed and blessing are too familiar to me in my spiritual vocabulary. But, the benefit word made me stop and list them and reflect on them.

Wherever reading God's Word takes us, when He gives us a pause word or concept, it is worth taking a moment to stop and reflect. Journaling, writing, drawing, memorizing, circling in our Bibles, highlighting on our devices, and praying God's word are all ways He pours more of Himself into us.

If God only forgave my sins, that would be enough...but God goes above and beyond: heals, redeems, crowns and satisfies. And God is in business to benefit others through us and so He's piling on the benefits...for His glory.

Psalm 103 of David.

1 Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Trading Responsible for Laser Focus on the Bigger Mission

We are responsible. It's part of our DNA as Leaders. We plan, execute the plan, and move on to the next strategic move. We calculate risk and reward. We look at the investments of time, energy, and other resources. We know where we are going and how we are going to get there. And, when some of those things are not "on track," face it- we get a little nervous... sometimes more than a little nervous : o Many of us have great faith and yet, we lead responsible lives from the middle of our roads, chasing our sweet spots and making measured, predictable process. But, God... keeps trying to align us with His Strategic Purpose for our lives. And, our God is an off-road driver with the wild abandon of a crazy person. If we're going with Him, it will require buckling up with Him in the drivers seat and taking giant leaps of faith- on a consistent basis.

What is the purpose of our lives through God's lens? Are we clear on it? Because if we are, the Leader that God has made us will become laser focused on God's bigger mission build our lives around it. And, it will not look "responsible" to some of those looking on. They might just think we're crazy until they see Who's driving and where He's going.

Let's climb in and ask God to take the jeep off road and plunge us into His journey... for His glory.

The world has yet to see what God will do for and through and in and by someone who is fully and wholly consecrated to Him. Dwight L. Moody    (personalization added)

Voice... Request... Expectation...

Think about the last time just the voice of a friend brought an immediate sense of calm or companionship...

What a gift the sound of that voice can be. More importantly, friends take requests for help, for prayer, or just let us grouse. And, we expect the requests to be met, the prayers to be prayed, and the grousing to be taken in stride and held safe.

In Psalm 5, verse 3, David writes:

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice;

in the morning I lay my requests before you

and wait in expectation.

• Wonder for a minute at what the sound of our voices bring to God's ear...

• How He responds when we lay our requests before Him...

• How He hopes we can wait expectantly and not fretfully...

Take a few sentences and share with God how His character, as described above, impacts our lives. What about our lives as Leaders?

As Leaders, we sometimes have to stop and focus in order to hear those we lead. In working with teams through the years- in any group, when we ask "What is the single most important quality a Leader can have?"- the word "listen" is always on the list multiple times.

Let's ask God to help us to hear our people more and receive the sound of their voices positively. Let's listen more closely to their requests. And let's follow up responsibly to meet their expectations.