For they did not take the land by their sword — their arm did not bring them victory — but by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, for You were pleased with them.
Psalms 44:3 hcsb

Taking the Land

Great ventures risk great failures and successes. Both are possible. Both can happen simultaneously. All success is not 100%. A good success can most often be found on the end of a trail strewn with flops. And then sometimes the venture is just a big flop. It happens.

Surveys

Doing faither/daughter summits, we uncovered interesting notes. Teen and twenty-something daughters were asked what they wanted most from dads. The daughters want to be told about failures. Seems dads like to brag about the good and ignore the flops. Daughters want to know. They want to know that dads know that it is okay to flop. All of us need to know it okay to make mistakes.

Workplace

A young assistant transitioned to a new job. It was a good promotion and I was excited for her and sad to loose her. Rather than say goodbye in person, she left a note. That was strange for me. In the note she explained how hard it was for her to say goodbye. She had learned much and was most grateful that I taught her it was okay to fail, to make mistakes. Her dad made her feel she had to be perfect and she learned to flop and go on when working for me. It so impacted her she would remember for life.

A Big Flop

This year I put together a grand plan for a Tree Festival. It was a huge effort with a lot of design, marketing, announcements, letters, phone calls, and energy. It was a flop. A big kerfuffle. A mash up. A bomb in the wrong direction. And I became exhausted after pouring every excess ounce of energy and pride into it only to have to cancel at the crux point in the exit plan. We were poised to send announcements out across 100 locations and invest thousands of dollars in marketing and I had to cancel due to lack of needed supporters.

Personal?

It seemed to say, “You are alone. You are a failure.” And more flop followed flop. Energy on another project resulted in the same. A team hit the wall and could not move forward. Three huge flops happened at once with my energy, a core team, and a needed project. Add to that a project at home that crashed. Get the picture. All looked like a flop.

Remember the Alamo

In the war between Mexoco and Texas, the Alamo flop became a rally cry. Can you imagine your battle cry being, “Remember the Big Flop!” Not a bad strategy really. Big flops can be big successes if you learn from them and pursue the goal and the vision not the skirmishes.

Pursue the Goal – Let God Prevail

My sword is not big enough for God ventures. I need His. After and in the middle of the flops, I sought God in prayer. The flops still happened. Even the prayer times failed. People committed and then in six prayer events one person showed one time. Talk about lonely! And then His arm was revealed.

In a series of moves, He pulled back the covers of several big successes in spite of my messes. Partners came along and delivered huge wins for the team that hit the wall, another new team appeared for which we had looked and prayed for years, a helper with specific abilities that we needed joined, and a community event that is more impactful that the festival I planned is in high motion.

The Lord had success planned in every area in which I flopped. Had I succeeded, I would miss His supply and been on my own. Yes, He worked through me, but He did the work. Now I can rest in Him and relax and be restored. What I really needed was a good flop that led me to lean on Him.

Lean

Take those flops and learn to lean. He has a mean right arm of power that delivers. He is ready, willing, and able to deliver the right wins even when we flop pitifully and especially when we remember to lean into His faithfulness.

More flops will come. More successes will be delivered. And I learn to lean.

“Lord, when You showed Your favor, You made me stand like a strong mountain; when You hid Your face, I was terrified.” Psalms‬ ‭30:7‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

The show and hide of God builds a confidence in us, when we let it. When we let it. When we let it.

Those are key words, “When we let it.”

Take the strength of the favor and apply it to the moments when He seems to be hiding. He is not hiding. He is watching. He is watching to see your faithfulness in the fearful. He is watching to see your loyalty in the challenging. He is watching to see your love when you feel unlovely. He is watching to see your faith grow.

Faith is amplified in favor on the mountainside. Faith is founded in the lone days in the valleys of desperation.

When we let it..

Agur is a friend. He just dives in and levels the playing field as he approaches God and wisdom.

“The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh contain this message. I am weary, O God; I am weary and worn out, O God. I am too stupid to be human, and I lack common sense. I have not mastered human wisdom, nor do I know the Holy One.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭30:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

His weariness causes him to get down on himself, but he pops out quickly realizing God is Bigger. He really is not stupid, he just positions himself as a lifelong learner and attacks his own pride. People don’t collect your writings because you are stupid.

“First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neithepoverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.” Proverbs‬ ‭30:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This next piece of wisdom just is beautiful. Keep me with a reasonable happiness, Lord. Keep me contained. Let my life be neither too troublesome, nor too extravagant.

In the end, we do not take a UHaul to the cemetery. But our friends and family gather in the last moments and that is the sum of our lives here on this side.

God is faithful in these days of change. He speaks quietly, though. Do not expect Him to scream into your life, but listen for His small moments. Take an Agur Attitude – too stupid, willing to learn. You might see something you have never seen. Go someplace you have never gone. Enjoy someone you have never met. With an Agur Attitude.

Praying for you that God instills wisdom for the moments and a healthy attitude of adjustment that is ever learning and never too smart.

The Think Doctor, Pastor Phil

When I was secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.”
Psalms 30:6 HCSB
I am at rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will never be shaken. How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you attack as if he were a leaning wall or a tottering stone fence? They only plan to bring him down from his high position. They take pleasure in lying; they bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly. Selah Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken.
Psalms 62:1‭-‬6 HCSB

Change brings out treasure from hidden closets, when God is the Author of your change.

This morning as I woke the Spirit spoke to my Spirit, “Put on the prophet’s robe. This is what you asked.” It rattled me.

Over the last few weeks, every day in Gainesville I run into another person who has been changed by the ministry of SOLUM and the Morning Moment. These are ones in the community that I rarely see face to face. At Walmart, Taco Casa, Neu House, Fried Pie and other places, they come up and say thank you. Online, they check inand say thank you. It is more than normal. Almost like they know I am leaving, even though they don’t. It is the Holy Spirit prompting and reminding me that the discipleship and investment of love continues when I am gone.

And the Holy Spirit yearns to express Himself stronger than ever. And He speaks of fresh oil to a weary land. My weariness will pass with rest and exercise and a stable nutrition and home and family time. The deep prophetic anointing will rush to the top a s manifest. It is time. The season of preparation closes and the next season begins.

These are days that require great faith. Stepping into yet another unknown that is secured in Christ.

Moments accumulate value.

For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor, a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning.
Psalms 30:5 HCSB

Last evening in parenting group, the weight of how sorrowful moments touch our memories weighed on me. A memory comprised of an event and an emotion has long impact. It lingers for decades. Yet, we can change that emotion attached.

Forgiveness, mercy, compassion, gratitude, hope, faith, and love are powerful forces of emotional and spiritual and mental healing. There is change.

Earlier in the afternoon, another group on relationships included a group of teen boys on probation. One defied the idea that people can change. He reviled the concept. What a tragedgy, if he stays this way. He is blocking hope for himself.

In the new life ahead of me in my changes, I will no longer be in back to back groups changing their lives. A certain sadness and weeping touches me. And then the joy comes.

With less responsiblity for groups, I will have more monents of one on one to see inner healing. That regimen of restoration is precious to me. Memories of instantly changed lives through inner healing and at prophetic healing flood my mind. For 15 years, I stood before and after services and prayed every week for folks. 15×50=750×5=3750+ one on one encounters. That does not count countless hours in Mexico praying for thousands the same way. Now, I will have time again to look you face to face and administer healing grace.

It is the personal encounter with an EverLoving God that elicits a joy in the morning. While He busys me differently, He increases my time and capacity to be a hand of healing. The tests and trials of the strain of the last 7 years as a missionary for broken families prepare me to see great joy.

Change enables grace. Our tough memories can be washed and revisited with improved faith and hope and love and the negative emotion attached healed and the pained person of our past released into the fresh new creation in Christ reality. These are exciting days.

Articles like this one Depressed Pastor Leaders are written and rewritten multiple times a year. We love commisseration. Rarely are there answers, just observations and questions. It is ridiculous to expect happy go lucky to accompany a hard, thankless task. Sometimes leadership is just hard. But it is equally ridiculous to not address the stress. As a counselor and think doctor, I have a box of tools to ward off the evil spirits of depression. The black bile bites, but there is healing in the name of Jesus. Let’s skip the CBT toolbox for corrective action and look to resiliency basics for a pastor or business professional.

Here are a few.
1. Get a good friend outside your church/business and spend quality and quantity time enjoying them. Go fishing. Golf. Watch monster trucks. Enjoy college football.
2. Celebrate family in the church, business, and home.
3. Develop a mentoring relationship with someone who mentors you and someone you mentor. That is two people different than number one.
4. Be active in community. A ministerial alliance, kiwanis, rotary, lions, neighborhood association is a healthy place to connect. Be a community participant. Love where you live.
5. Take care of your personal exercise, nutrition, prayer, devotions, and growth. Be a lifelong healthy learner.
6. Take it to heart to give glory to God. Praise Him and give Him credit for everything.
7. Now, go do the work of the ministry or business to which you are assigned.