Committed — Shipley Norway

“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.”
Psalm 37:5 NLT

It was early 2021 and I was taking time in quiet reflection of the past year while at the same time looking ahead to what 2021 might hold. What had I learned the past year and what would I learn this coming year I pondered to myself. This transitioned into a time of prayer and listening and the word that came to me was “Committed.” I know that there are people who always have a “word for the year” in their lives and I am traditionally not that person, however that was not the case for 2021. The impression I was getting in that time of prayer was that I was to be “Committed” in all of my plans, works and actions as a follower of Christ. Maybe that sounds a little daunting to you as you read this, but for me personally I took it as a word of encouragement and to be steadfast with the calling God has given Mikaela and I.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines committed as, “Loyal and willing to give your time and energy to something that you believe in.” To be honest I quite like this definition as to me it highlights the essence of being committed. As I reflect on the word “committed” now as the year 2021 closes I amusingly think to myself, “How does the word committed fit in with the year 2021 when so much of daily life has been affected and impacted by Covid?” We have had plans constantly change from one day to the next from postponing our U.S. trip from the summer to the fall of 2021, to life being flipped upside down when Mikaela was in the hospital for 5 days with a life threatening situation, and going in and out of lock downs here in Norway that impact what we are and are not able to do here on the mission field.

I can say this has been a year in which when making plans I have scaled back in how far out I make plans. I am the type that likes to have a goal in knowing what the objective is, identifying what will be easy and what will be challenging, and plotting out the path with purposes in achieving the goal. In Mikaela and I’s relationship, we recognize we each are different in terms of our personalities. Mikaela is the creative free spirit and I am the planner. So for myself with 2021, there has been a sense of freedom in relinquishing my control with my “planning mindset” because I cannot control what will happen from one day to the next.

There is a particular teaching that Jesus gives in The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 that I feel has embodied itself very well in my life over the last year compared to previous years. Particularly verse 34 in which many believers often quote and reflect upon even though many of us struggle with this teaching.

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:31-34 NLT

I feel that it is easy for many of us to find ourselves in a place of worrying without realizing at times. I believe that is why Jesus spends this time in teaching about worry not only to those in the crowd present, but also for us as Christians today. In verse 33, Jesus “gives the positive alternative to worrying. Single-minded commitment to God and seeking his reign through Christ (see 6:19-24) must be the primary concern of Jesus’ disciples” (Illustrated Study Bible). From this teaching and in the year of 2021, I am finding myself more in that place of living in today and not living in tomorrow or the next week. Personally, it has brought me more peace because the past two years have taught me how little I can control in the midst of a pandemic. Then one day when this pandemic is over, it does not mean I go back into a planning mindset where control is more easy to establish again and into a place where I am never really living in the present, but rather I continue to live in the present in being mindful of Jesus’ teaching here in Matthew 6.

With all that being said, I believe what God is telling me through the word committed is, “Be committed in what you can control in the here and now.” I think it is easy for many of us to be living in tomorrow, the next week or month. For me being committed means being committed to what God has placed before me in the here and now. How can I be committed to things in the future if I am not committed to the things in the present? I often find myself posing these reflection questions towards myself to help with my faith journey. I also pose them to understand my calling in life with how it fits into the Kingdom building culture of God.

Growing up my father taught me the value of a mans word and his work. I remember when I was in my early teens working with him one day and it was one of those father-son teaching moments with the work we were doing as he turned to me and said, “A man’s word is worth more than gold.” He was getting at that sometimes you may not make a profit and that it was more important to keep your word rather than trying to gain extra money than going back on your word. As I reflect on that lesson now over 15 years later I see more of the significance in this lesson through the lens of Scripture. It was your word as a man that would take you further in life in being respected that was much more valuable than sitting on top of riches and having no one respect you. Among the many lessons my father has taught me, this particular lesson reminds me of 1 Colossians 3:23 and has stuck with me ever since I was young. This verse reads…

“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
1 Colossians 3:23 NLT

For me being committed in what I do each day can be summed up by this passage in 1 Colossians. I have had different employers through out my life thus far and done lots of side jobs and this verse is a melody that plays in the back of my mind in the work that I do. This verse still rings true even when I am doing volunteer work or find myself helping the elderly lady next door get her car free from being stuck on ice.

So committed has been my word for 2021 and I have a suspicion that this will be something that I carry with me in the years to come. To me one of the things that I love about my faith journey with God is that it is one with new teachings and lessons learned every year. That with each new year I pray and hope that I am a little wiser and maturer than the previous year so that I can stand bold as an ambassador for Christ and share with others what God has taught me. Hence one of the reasons why I enjoy doing this blog as it is a way to share and point to what God has done in my life whether these are victories or defeats because I will never know or understand it all. However, I can learn from God in what it means to be committed as an obedient servant so that I may serve him and those around me faithfully.

I thought I would change things up and end with a song for you to listen to by Tenth Avenue North. It speaks to the intentions, hopes and plans we make in life and ultimately giving them up to God.

Blessings

VERSE 1
Here I am, all my intentions
All my obsessions, I wanna lay them all down
In Your hands
Only Your love is vital
Though I'm not entitled
Still You call me Your child

Chorus
God, You don't need me, but somehow You want me
Oh, how You love me, somehow that frees me
To take my hands off of my life and the way it should go
Oh, God, You don't need me, but somehow You want me
Oh, how You love me, somehow that frees me
To open my hands up and give You control
I give You control

Verse 2
I've had plans, shattered and broken
Things I have hoped in, fall through my hands
You have plans to redeem and restore me
You're behind and before me
Oh, help me believe

Bridge
You want me, somehow You want me
The King of Heaven wants me
So this world has lost its grip on me (Repeat)