I am not complex, at least in the eyes of God. I am a simple being in need of care and guidance.

“⁵Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful. ⁶The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. ⁷Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” – Psalm 116:5-7 (ESV)

God does not see me as complex at all. In fact, I am simple to the point that God has already scripted all for me. He has put together the flow chart for me to follow. Yes, I have choices, however the consequences to those choices have already been formulated by God.

Think of traveling. When I travel, I rely on a map or GPS to get me to the destination. I have scripted the route and even, alternate routes, “just in case”. God has already put together the map for us, and we are here to follow that map and let things fall as God has planned.

Why do I make things so difficult. I spend too much time and effort to be more than I am to “please” others. I am constantly worn to a frazzle as I continue trying to drive change when it is clear that change is not something that others are interested in.

I am here to do the work of the Lord and there is where I should place my energy. I cannot “save” anyone. I cannot “fix” things for others. I can only do the will of God and He will take care of the saving, fixing, and changing.

Are you still trying to make things complex? What can you do to simplify your approach? What if you allowed God to provide the grace to your simple life?

This morning as I study I am again in Psalm. Today in Psalm 103 which is titled in my ESV; “Bless the Lord, O My Soul”. This Psalm is a glorification of God that focuses, as I am looking, at just how complete and full God’s grace and mercy is for us.

“⁸The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” – Psalm 103:8 (ESV)

You can see in the verse, the word “abounding” which means according to Merriam-Webster Online: existing in or providing a great or plentiful quantity or supply. As I looked at this passage that abundance and plentiful quantity really stood out to me in the words and phrases used throughout Psalm 103, as you can see here.

all – (used 9 times)

abounding

forever

as high as the heavens are above the earth

as far as the east is from the west

from everlasting to everlasting

in the heavens

I saw in these verses the unending mercy and grace of God. I am reminded of the fullness of His love for me. I am humbled by how He does not and will not give up on me. I am gracious for the care he provides for me always.

Will you reflect on the completeness of God’s Love for you? Is your take on God’s mercy and grace one that is full and complete? Are you able to see God’s grace as all and unending?

The phrase, “you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar” is one that I thought of this morning as I study God’s Word. God is waiting for me, and shouldn’t I be the one to acknowledge Him first?

“¹⁵But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” – Psalm 86:15 (ESV)

Here I see that David is glorifying God with praise and definition of what He is “merciful and gracious”. And this should be an example of my approach. I should praise and identify God’s qualities and their impact to me as I continue to do His work.

As a child of God, there is no expectation of stopping simply with the praise and adoration. I have the ability to then ask. I give and God will give back. David asked plenty and was given by God to fulfill his need. Look here at David’s ask immediately following the praise offered to God.

“¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to be; give your strength to your servant, and save the son of your maidservant. ¹⁷Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.” – Psalm 86:16-17 (ESV)

Notice the ask of David here. Not to defeat his enemies, but to “be gracious” and give “strength”. David simply asks God to give him a way to deal. David is asking for the ability to persevere through the adversity that has befallen him.

I have to remember that God is not there to solve all of and take away the adversity. He is there to simply help me get through it in service to Him. And how does he do that, through mercy and grace. I live for a merciful and gracious God and deliverance is His to give.

When you ask God, have you gone through the process of praise? Are you asking for more than you are willing to give to Him? Are you willing to declare before you ask?

“²³But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them nor has he cast them from his presence until now.” – 2 Kings 13:23 (ESV)

What we do not see in this verse is why it is so important. You see, the Lord was gracious even when Jehoahaz was leading Israel and they were worshiping idols and had turned away from God. God continued to honor His covenant with the people of Israel that He had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Am I always honoring and completely turned to God? Certainly Not. I am human and will stray from my Lord each day. Even if only for a moment and even when I do not realize what I am doing at the time. That is why repentance is so important. I must repent and pray to my Lord each day to remain faithful to Him. And how, by following the model of prayer Jesus gave to the disciples.

“²And he said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. ³Give us each day our daily bread, ⁴and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’” – Luke 11:2-4 (ESV)

When I look at the model prayer given to me by Jesus, I am taken back to the simplicity by which God requires us to act. I am required only to love God, ask only for my needs, repent, forgive, and ask for guidance. When taking this approach my graciousness to God is revealed.

But, here’s the thing, God will love, guide, provide, and protect me even when I may miss a day, week, month, or year. He cares deeply for me and you and will continue to honor His new covenant, even when we wander away briefly.

When you look at your relationship with God, are you aware of that relationship daily? What actions can you take to get back to and demonstrate your graciousness for Him? Are you aware of the grace of God even when you may not be gracious back?

I just completed the book by brothers Chip Heath and Dan Heath, “Made to Stick”, and in it they discuss the “curse of knowledge”(when you know about something and expect that others will know as well). I hear on a regular basis from others to be blessed, and I accept their words and thank them. I will say however I am pretty sure that I take the words for granted. As a Christian, blessings are a significant part of our lives and I fear I may expect that everyone gets the same out of the words.

Here is what the Bible says about blessings:

“²²The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²³’Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, ²⁴The Lord bless you and keep you; ²⁵the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; ²⁶the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. ²⁷So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.’” – Numbers 6:22-27 (ESV)

The words here are great, although when I see them, I have to admit to myself that again I may be swayed by the curse of knowledge and therefore I studied a bit further into the commentary of my NIV Bible and here is what I found.

“A blessing was one way of asking for God’s divine favor to rest upon others…Its five parts conveyed hope that God would (1) bless and keep them (favor and protect); (2) make his face shine upon them (be pleased); (3) be gracious (merciful and compassionate); (4) turn his face toward them (give his approval); (5) give peace. When you ask God to bless others or yourself, you are asking him to do these five things.”

When looking at what offering blessings to others is, it is more than just favor from God. There is a depth of what I am saying and what others are saying to me that I must embrace fully to get the most out of what God has to offer and has been providing.

I have to be mindful of what I am saying to others and remember that I they may not really know what I am trying to convey. When giving blessings, I must remember I am asking God to do the five things for those I am speaking.

When you think of someone granting you blessings, what goes through your mind? What about when you are offering blessings for others? Do they know, and more importantly do you know what you are saying?

God is very deliberate in all of His actions. There is nothing left to chance and there are no coincidences.

“¹⁹And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name “The Lord.” And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.’” – Exodus 33:19 (ESV)

When I read this verse, I think to myself, is that why I don’t feel as though I am getting all that I want from God, He does not feel gracious to me?

The answer is NO. I do not feel that I am getting what I “deserve”, because I have gotten what God knows I need. God is and has been gracious to me with what He knows is in the best interest of me. He may be keeping me from things that will cloud my mind and turn me away from Him, like fame, fortune, & recognition. I have to remember that God gives what I need and His grace is demonstrated in that provision and not in getting everything I want.

God will provide for and grant me that which is good for me when I need it as He determines. He listens to my pleas just as He listened to the plea of Moses in the passage Exodus 33:12-23. God will give graciously when I ask, but He will not give more than I need so as to keep me on the path to Him. If He were to give everything I want, I would certainly lose my way and worship the things I have before me.

God gives graciously to me at His choice. He provides for me all that is needed, in abundance and when asked.

Are you aware of God’s provisions? What kind of things are you asking God to provide? Are you okay with God’s gracious giving at His choice and for your needs?

I have a unique name, Trevor Flisowski. I have a unique approach. I have unique gifts. My service is unique.

“⁴Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; ⁶and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.” – 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 (ESV)

Paul explains to the Corinthians here that there are “varieties” in everything, but only ONE for which they should be using those “varieties” to serve.

I am unique and that is certainly okay and frankly set up that way by God.

“⁷To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. ⁸For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, ¹⁰to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.” – 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 (ESV)

The varieties of my “gifts, service, activities” are from God and for a purpose that may or may not have yet to be revealed to me. But, they have been given for me to b used by our Lord.

“¹¹All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.” – 1 Corinthians 12:11 (ESV)

What are the varieties that have been given to you? How are you using those varieties for God? Are you using your uniqueness to serve?

“²⁴And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,” – 2 Timothy 2:24 (ESV)

And there you go. “kind to everyone”.

I know that it is hard to be kind when I am not treated as I believe I should. When I am persecuted by those I engage with on a regular basis. When I encounter adversity due to “man”.

I am only human, and God knows me better than I know myself. He provides for me in all, and I mean all, situations. Even those that drive the adversity and persecution I experience. He is molding me into the man He has in store for me. He teaches me through those situations and with His word on how to overcome and make sure that I am headed down the right path and not giving in.

Being kind to everyone is paramount. When I am treated what I believe to be unfairly, I am responsible to move past it and be kind. I am responsible to understand the situation and care for, teach, and serve all. The timing of the situation may not be ideal, but, I am in charge of me and how I react and respond.

I am to serve everyone, regardless of the situation and/or their actions toward me. I help everyone. I care for everyone. I serve everyone.

Are you able to endure? Are you able to look past the situation and understand others? Are you able to serve everyone?

My business career has taken me to be a teacher in the corporate and business world. Everyone is different in their style of learning, and it is my job to determine those styles and guide the learning for every individual in the classroom. As you can imagine, there are a lot of factors that aid me as well as get in the way of determining the style of each person. Therefore, I have to provide a method where I can reach all regardless of style and that is to:

• Tell the learners about the material
• Teach them how to use the material
• Have them practice the material

Paul provides a similar process in three verses in his letter to Timothy that guides him in his education of the people.

“⁶If you put these things before the brothers…¹¹Command and teach these things. ¹⁵Practice these things, immerse yourself in them…” – 1 Timothy 4:6, 11, & 15 (ESV)

As a young man, Timothy did not have years and years of experience and Paul provided detailed guidance on the process of leading and instructing the even younger in the faith. Paul was not there to give daily guidance and therefore, he trained Timothy on the grand process and what the final outcome should be. When followed, the job could be done with the final outcome in line with what it should be.

I only shared the beginnings of verses 6 and 15 above. There is more to them that give provide even more direction as to why Timothy should take this approach and what can/should result.

“⁶…you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and the good doctrine that you have followed…¹⁵…so that all may see your progress.” – 1 Timothy 4:6 & 15 (ESV)

When I read the full verses and the passage itself, I am reminded that I have been told of the right path to take. I am responsible to learn more about what I have been told. I have to continue to practice so that they become a habit and so that others may see those in me.

When you learn, what does your process look like? Are you aware that you have been told, taught, and should be practicing? In your service, are you telling, teaching, and practicing?

“⁷but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” – Philippians 2:7-8 (ESV)

I have seen a lot of movies where the king, queen, prince, or princess have left the castle for a short time to wander around and engage with the people to get a better sense of them and their needs. Where this is noble and great from a leadership perspective and makes for good entertainment, Jesus, our king, dove headlong in to the role.

Jesus was in heaven with all of the power and authority of God. He could have come down and mingled with the people, even for just a few days. But no, Jesus was born into the people to fully immerse Himself. He took on the role to fully become a part of our world and assimilate to our condition. Jesus even served to the point that He was put to death for His work with and for us.

I think of those that give to charitable organizations and the good that they are doing with their giving. I also am amazed how their giving is enhanced when they take an opportunity to truly get in the trenches with those in need. This immersion creates even more urgency and drives the service to an entirely different level for that individual.

In my life, how much have I assimilated to those around me? I should be humble to the point that I serve everyone even before serving myself. Paul writes of that in the verses that precede those above.

“³Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” – Philippians 2:3-4 (ESV)

Paul points out that the Philippians should make sure to serve others as much as they serve themselves. Therefore I should take the same approach. I should be looking out for the needs of those around me and serve them in the capacity that God has given me. I should be immersed in work of Christ to the point that I assimilate to those in need and truly understand their needs so that I can work to meet them.

When you serve, how immersed are you in the work? What does serving others look like to you and are you fully aware of the needs? Are you willing to assimilate and understand the needs of those you serve?