Through Me

There are a lot of cycles that are popular these days...ever notice that? The Nitrogen cycle, the rinse cycle, the spin cycle, the breeding cycle (thanks National Geographic), icicles, bicycles, motorcycles, tricycles, motorcycles that look like tricycles...bunches of cycles! You know which cycle seems to get me in the most trouble though? The "Me-cycle." Oftentimes it's easy to get stuck on me - what I want for today, what decisions I want to make, what place I want to go, which people I want to see, when it's convenient for me. It's the "Me-cycle" taking me for a spin. When I land, though, I realize how self-absorbed I can be and how it's not very productive in the end.

That's where I turn my attention away from "me" and focus on the "we." Whether it be my wife, my co-workers, or the strangers that surround my everyday life, all us "we's" in the human race function at our most productive, God-intended best when we harmonize. You know, a 7 billion-part harmony. Social symbiosis. Yeah, world peace would be great, but that won't happen until God's good and ready to bring heaven to the scene. I'm not necessarily talking about world peace, I'm talking about you and me. I'm talking about you and that co-worker that you've felt compassion for. I'm talking about you and whoever else God places in your path. Here's an experiment you can try as homework: don't pray for yourself for a week. Yup, you heard me. I'm tellin' ya, you may not think that's a good idea, but you'll see what I'm talking about with this whole "we" thing. And trust me, God doesn't need you to pray for your finances, your job, your health to keep your little world glued together - He's not bracing the beams of your life with sweaty palms saying, "What are you doing?! You're not praying for yourself?! Are you crazy?! I can't hold this up much longer, you gotta pray or else this whole thing's comin' down on you!" On the contrary, if you focus all your prayer energy on others, you'll feel...well, just try it and leave a comment below on how you feel :)

When we focus our attention, our resources, our effort - our prayers - on others, God's design called "community" starts to flourish and dance. But how does this design become reality to us? Read a how-to guide? Say a magic incantation? Plant a magic bean? Well, not really. It's simpler than all that. We can see God's hand reaching and care-taking this great garden of humanity through us. Yes! One amazing thing that baffles me about God is that, even though He is more than able to do it Himself, He often chooses to empower us to touch people's hearts in lasting ways. What an honor. So we embrace the honor with excitement, eager to see how God can use our gifts and abilities to make a meaningful impact on the lives of those around us. That's the prayer behind a song I wrote called "Through Me."

Take a few minutes to watch my original worship song "Through Me" on YouTube by clicking HERE. As you reflect on what it means to you, ask God to use you to affect someone's life this week. Then comment below when you see God's hand at work. I promise, you'll see what I'm talking about. And this isn't one of those hokey, chain letter kind of promises - this is real. God is at work all around us, and He wants to use me and you in the greater story that's unfolding - the bigger picture we can't see. So come on back with a comment and let me know what happened when you prayed your "Through Me" prayer.