Assessment Time

 Lamenations 3:40
A Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.

This week, I will have the courage to re–assess.

Do you still hold today exactly the same beliefs that you held ten years ago?

“Always.” We like that word. “I’ve always believed...”

We’re fond of the idea of rock-solid values. We believe in sticking to our guns, holding fast to our beliefs.

But the practical fact is ... Life is fluid. Our values will actually shift over time. I can’t foresee the challenges that my standards will undergo in the days ahead. Many of our values are actually birthed out of unforeseen conflicts and challenges.

Solomon, wise as he was, discovered this himself. “When times are good, be happy,” he wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:14; “but when times are bad, consider: ... A man cannot discover anything about his future.”

Parents deal with this phenomenon. They map out a standard for their family, then find out that their child got into a situation that their family standard doesn’t really cover. So they morph the standard — only to find that some new surprise occurs!

Each of us establishes many of our values “on the run,” simply by responding to challenges as they occur. In each case, I make the right call, or the wrong call. Afterward, I feel good about it, or I feel crummy. I need time to think about it, talk to God about it, hear from God about it, assess my position on it. Out of the crucible of surprise, my values gradually emerge. But a solidified value still encounters new surprises and challenges ... so I find myself continually re-assessing.

Re-assessment isn’t a sign of weakness or sin. Indeed, it’s healthy. As we lead and serve in God’s Kingdom, we need to continually scrutinize our organizational values, taking a spiritual stethoscope to the heart of our ministry. God has wired us to handle issues and inspect them as one handles a beautiful, complicated piece of jewelry — holding it up to the light, considering the flaws, considering the potential, and counting the cost. Examination and re-examination of our standards, our values, are intrinsic to our human condition.

So when I find myself doubting my own values, I need to “go with” that instinct. Ask questions. Probe deeply. Question my motives, my perspectives. Get to the bottom of it. Did I think something was important some time ago, when I established that value — but it’s really not that important anymore?

As I talk to God and listen to God ... as we “kick the tires” of my ministry’s values ... as we journey together in intimate conversation ... I’ll learn God’s heart for my ministry. And that, I’ll discover, will be continually fresh and new!

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days... Father, let me hear your heart every day. Let me be solid, but not solidified — I want to be pliable in your hands. Give me whatever fresh, new thing you want me to have, and help me to be flexible as you teach me and grow me. Amen