Focused and Fueled!

I had a very restless night’s rest last evening and awoke at 6:30 this morning feeling tired, out-of-sorts and a bit confused.  I usually wake up like clockwork at 5:00 each day in order to take the dog out after his long stay overnight.  It surprised me that I had slept through my normal internal clock’s timer, but even more… that the dog hadn’t come in and jumped on the bed or stood near me and whined!  Then after I slipped on some shoes and threw on a shirt, I went into the living room figuring that I’d find the dog asleep on the couch… But… he wasn’t there either!

I checked the area rug in front of the couch and then caught a glimpse of something white peeking his head from the hallway near the study door, into the living room!  And at that moment… it all came into focus! 

The thunderstorms forecasted for early this morning must have come into fruition!  Obviously, I slept right through them, but not Fiver.  With his keen sense of hearing, he must have immediately bolted for the study seeking his normal shelter under my desk. But with the door closed, just laid down near the door until I got up and rescued him!  You see… I know my dog.  If I had heard the thunderstorms I would have gone straight to the office, knowing his typical response to thunder and lightning.

And speaking of KNOWING… The Apostle Paul talks about his priorities in life in Philippians 3:8-10 declaring,

“I consider everything else worthless because I'm much better off knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. It's because of him that I think of everything as worthless. I threw it all away in order to gain Christ and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn't receive God's approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God's approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith that knows Christ.”                                                                                                             (God’s Word ©)

Paul is telling us that his success in life is based upon his relationship with Jesus Christ.  This relationship was his focus and the fuel of his life’s endeavors.   He boldly states that his belief in Christ “is based on a faith that KNOWS Christ.”  But what exactly does he mean when he says “KNOW”?  Is it the same kind of KNOWLEDGE that I have of my dog when he responds to things in his environment?  Or is it more?  David Guzik’s Enduring Word Commentary says that, “Paul here puts a personal relationship with Jesus Christ at the very center of the Christian life.”

So, he clarifies a little here by telling us that “KNOWING CHRIST” means that we have a personal relationship with Him.  I guess you could say that I have a relationship with my dog… but its not like he and I can sit down and have meaningful, two-way, interactive discussions, does it?  No, Paul says that it’s a lot more than that.  It is a relationship of mutual trust, giving and the imparting of life to each other.

But then Paul nails it by getting even more specific.  The Greek word used for “KNOW” or “KNOWLEDGE” in the above verses denotes a deeply personal and even intimate relationship with Christ.  Let me give you an example here… and please don’t take offense or think that I may be insensitive to anyone’s feelings or experience. 

As it turns out, the most common response I have received from individuals over the last three years, when I’ve shared of how I lost my wife, has been “Oh, I KNOW how you’re feeling, or what you’re going through as I recently lost my mother.”  Many times, they’ll even say that “I KNOW exactly how you feel!” and while I do not doubt or question the sincerity of their feelings of pain and great loss… I would have to say that losing a spouse is different.  Simply said, it is a totally different realm of attachment.

I loved my mom dearly and had a very close relationship with her.  As a child I would go to her with every need, concern, good news or just to share a funny story or event.  When I wanted to propose to Piper, my mom was the first person I told.  She was the only one whose approval I desired (besides Piper’s of course!)… I didn’t even ask her Dad… but in my defense… at that time, I didn’t know about the tradition of asking the father for the hand of their daughter… Hum… I wonder if he ever forgave me for that?

When Piper got sick, my mom was the only family member in either of our families that I felt I could share my heart with.  She was always like a second mom to Piper and up to a week or so before she passed, my mom would call every day and ask about Piper and if there was anything she could do to help me in Piper’s care.

But with all that closeness and interactions, my relationship with my mom couldn’t compare to the depth of intimacy in which I KNEW Piper.  Be it physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually, Piper and I were like one individual.  I could share with her from the deepest recesses of my heart and emotions… and her with me.  We knew things about each other that we had NEVER shared with any other person. 

I KNEW how she would respond in almost every situation.  I KNEW the desires of her heart, her deepest spiritual beliefs and what her opinion would be on any subject.  I had to laugh the other day as I was watching a very descriptive commercial on TV about some skin care products.  It made me think about Piper and how I could describe every unique marking on her skin, including her freckled shoulders, the triangle of three moles on her tummy and the one on her back that I had her doctor in North Carolina check out to make sure it wasn’t a problem.  As the Alzheimer’s advanced and I needed to care for her every need, it wasn’t an inconvenience or difficult because I KNEW her so well and thereby felt assured that I could give her the special care that no one else could match.

Paul is telling us that this is exactly the level of commitment in an intimate and personal relationship that we need to have with Jesus!  Don’t misunderstand me here when I say that while it is of utmost importance to KNOW the WORD of God… that it doesn’t do much good if you don’t have an intimate and deeply personal relationship with the One who wrote those WORDS.

I saw many people who probably had more scriptures memorized than I might ever have, but when it came to joining in with Piper’s and my stand of faith… to put feet to their faith… their faith took a second seat behind what they saw with their physical eyes.

They were more apt to listen to their natural senses than to the voice of the One who repeatedly kept reassuring Piper and I to “'Be strong and courageous! Don't tremble or be terrified, because I, the LORD your God am with you wherever you go.  I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, I will never neglect you or abandon you.” (Joshua 1:5,9 KJV/God’s Word ©) 

My intimate and deeply personal relationship with Jesus is what fueled my faith and gave me the focus to believe HIM above everything else, in order to get me successfully and with great blessings… through the roughest time in my life.

And if can work for me… it can and will also work for YOU, for Acts 10:34 reassures us “that God is no respecter of persons.” (KJV)