Mondos, Tradesies & Other Life Choices
What's going in always comes out.
I always brought my lunch in elementary school. Except on pizza + corn Friday, when I’d line up with the other fourth graders, red plastic tray in hand. But M-Th, my lunch was the same: peanut butter & jelly on white bread, chips, whatever fruit was about to go bad, a fudge round and a red Mondo. When my dad dropped me at the bus stop, he’d complete the meal with $.35 for a chocolate milk.
And, every day, my friend Christa and I would grab our milks, lunch boxes in hand and take our seats. I’d slide my Mondo over to her, she’d slide her chocolate milk over to me. We’d eye the lunches on either side of us, trying to decide what else we could trade for: a bag of Doritos for some french fries? Fudge-a-round for Oatmeal Creme?
The options were endless in the Bonny Kate Elementary lunch room, bartering our way to a better lunch.
What To Know
I didn’t love what I had, so I traded my way to what I wanted. I’m still doing it.
Maybe not at a lunch table with a Mondo in hand, instead I’m at the foot of God’s throne with my current circumstance in hand.
“God, so here’s the deal. I don’t love what’s going on. Allow me to remind You that I’ve done my part, k? So I’ll leave my circumstance here, along with the list of reasons it should not be my circumstance and You can just get to it.”
The worst part? I start to believe I deserve His favor. Ick.
To quote the tea kettle, this is “a tale as old as time”.
Remember our guy, Moses? Back in the Old Testament, God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. Spoiler alert: things in the desert got pretty dicey.
No one wanted to be there.
So there’s Moses, doing his best to lead some cranky wanderers (me, I am a cranky wanderer), all the while seeing God provide food, direction, etc. - but the problem was…it wasn’t the provision they expected. Or, frankly, that they wanted.
Long story short, they created their own idols (enter: golden calf) and complained against the how/why of God’s plan. In Exodus 32, Moses busted up the first tablets written by God as a covenant with Israel because Israel had broken the covenant. Moses interceded on behalf of the cranksters, they repented and God restored.
Which brings us to Exodus 34 - a fresh start with fresh stone tablets.
Moses stood with God on Mount Sinai. And in this moment, God reveals His character:
The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out,
“Yahweh! The Lord!
The God of compassion and mercy!
I am slow to anger
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations.
I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin.
But I do not excuse the guilty.”
Scripture says Moses immediately fell to the ground in worship. See, I’ve got tell you - my approach is off sometimes. Because of Jesus, we have this kind of access to God. He doesn’t just stand with us, He sits with us, kneels with us, rides in the car with us, rolls into the meeting with us, picks up toys for the 179th time with us, lives in the really junky circumstance with us.
With us.
Jesus-Immanuel. God with us.
The God described above…with us. Compassionate, merciful, slow to anger, unfailingly loving, faithful, forgiving and just - and He’s with us.
But, my truth is, I bypass His presence to get to my deliverance. I don’t fall in worship, I raise my questions.
Now, hear me: God is not afraid of our questions. Or mad at them. He invites them. Because deeper questions mean deeper intimacy with Him.
My approach was all wrong, though. My questions weren’t in context of my worship.
If we start with worship, it changes the context of our questions.
If we fix our eyes on Him, our praise is not contingent on Him fixing our list.
Moses worshipped and then he asked: God, will you come with us? Yeah, we’re not great - forgive us - but then will you claim us as Yours and stay with us?
In the real, overwhelming presence and glory of God, Moses could have requested anything: a short-cut to the Promised Land, less complaining from the peanut gallery, better skills to prove he is a great leader.
He didn’t ask for deliverance. He asked for God’s presence. Because a life lived in God’s presence is a life of deliverance. Not just a moment - but a life.
When I treat my relationship with God as transactional, my contentment will always be conditional.
If my obedience is for any other reason than to see and live in His glory - then it’s time to hit reset.
One of the best ways to hit reset? Hit play.
Can I suggest starting with this Worship Playlist from our NOTM Faith & Culture Contributor, Kaley?
Your questions matter. But, your approach does, too.
Trust me, we don’t actually want what we deserve.
What To Ignore
The chaos of the world around you by putting in your airpods and listening to an audiobook. Really - it’s the ideal way to take a run/walk, fold laundry, clean the house, wait on your Kroger pickup, commute to work, walk around campus.
I love a book in my hands - but having it in my ears is a little more accessible on the busy days. (“Having it in my ears” - I don’t know how I feel about that phrase. Obviously I’m not uncomfortable enough to remove it.)
Input impacts output. What goes in influences what goes out.
This is another opportunity to be intentional with our inputs. Here are a few inputs worth…inputting?
Ten Words To Live By (Jen Wilkin)
She Works His Way (Michelle Myers & Somer Phoebus)
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (John Mark Comer)
An oldie, but still one of my favorites:
Having A Mary Heart In A Martha World (Joanna Weaver)
And even better news! You can give Audible a whirl for 30 days for free!!
What To Try
I’m just now getting here, okay? I realize most of you will say, “We’ve been here.”
Protein drinks mixed in your coffee. I’m personally a Vanilla Premier Protein drink poured into my coffee kind of gal.
Word on the street (aka my husband who is the least “street” person I know) is the Caramel flavor is real good.
So maybe give it a whirl?
We’ve made it to the end of another week - reward yourself with a run through your favorite drive-thru. Do I have that kind of power? Probably not. But sometimes it’s just nice for someone to give the ol go ahead, you know?
