THE BIG THREE

I was speaking at a church recently and just before I walked on stage, the producer let me know that the service would be streamed via Facebook Live. For some reason, this news immediately threw me through a loop— a crazy loop.

All I could think about were things like, What if the camera zooms in so close that viewers can see this zit I’ve been trying to get rid of for a year?

What if I forget one of my points or flub a line?

And the most outlandish thought of all:

What if my high school boyfriend—from when I was 15 years-old, whom I haven’t spoken to in well over twenty years, who lives in a different part of the country—happens to be on FB this morning? What if he also happens to follow the church where I’m speaking? And what if he sees me now, on FB LIVE, and thinks, “phew- dodged a bullet with her; sure glad I let that one get away!”

By the way, in case you forgot, all of this irrationality was going through my brain while I was supposed to be PREACHING THE WORD OF GOD.

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Believe it or not, my problem that Sunday morning wasn’t my obsession with FB Live. No, what had gone wrong was this: I had allowed the distractions of looking perfect, performing flawlessly, and the silly distraction of my past, to keep me from loving the people right in front of me.

I wasn’t concerned about their hearts or their healing. I wasn’t prayerfully thinking about their connection with Jesus. I had forgotten to love, like 1 Corinthians 14:1 says, “like my life depends on it (the Msg.).”

Why I am telling you all of this?

We’re in the messy middle of the holiday season. And whether or not we’re speaking in front of an audience (most of us aren’t), each of us has an “audience” that we serve. As we’re balancing everything we do—leading, working, managing, organizing, creating lists and checking them twice; as we’re carrying the specific holiday burdens that women carry—the challenge for all of us is the same one I was faced with:

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Let go of your distractions, in order to love God and love others like your life depends on it, because here’s the secret: it does. As we all know, even if you’re the most accomplished woman in the room, if you’ve forgotten to love those you serve, none of your accolades truly matter.  

But how, exactly, are we supposed to do that?

1 Corinthians chapter 13 identifies three things that are essential: 1) Trust Steadily in God; 2) Hope Unswervingly; 3) Love extravagantly.

If you find yourself distracted—struggling to love God and love those in front of you—remember the big three:

1. Trust Steadily in God.

Trusting in God is not simply about agreeing with a belief system. We’re not called to believe in God and stop there; our belief should lead to action, to obedience. We were created to trust him enough that we actually live for Him.

When life triggers fears and anxieties, they can so easily keep us from living wholeheartedly for God. In those moments, we have to remember (sometimes again and again) that God has a present and a future for you that is bigger, better, and more beautiful than you can possible even imagine. In fact, Ephesians three reminds us that God can do immeasurably more (literally translated, God can do regions beyond) than what we can ask or imagine.

Take some time to write Ephesians 3:20, or another verse that helps increase your trust in God, on a piece of paper. Tape it to your fridge. Write it in lipstick on your mirror. Draw it on your arm. Do whatever it takes to engrave God’s word on your soul, because his word always speaks louder than our distractions.   

There are tremendous, “regions beyond” things that God wants to accomplish in you and through you—for your good and for His glory. Your only job is to keep on trusting him. He’s got this.

2. Hope Unswervingly.

Hope, biblically, is not “looking on the bright side.” Hope, for the Christian woman, is not the same as having a platitude-attitude. Nearly every time hope is mentioned in scripture, it is always about the object of our hope, Jesus.

If there is any distraction you’re clinging to this season—any performance-pressure, anything in your past, any idol of perfectionism—Jesus is saying, “My precious one, my daughter, whose soul I created, whose heart I know intimately, whom I love unstoppably, let it go. Let me bind your wounds. Let me replace your broken dream with my hope. That is not only my job; that is my nature. So, stay laser-focused on me.”

Take some time to list your distractions on paper and confess them aloud to Jesus. Imagine yourself handing them over to his tender care, one by one. Lay them at his feet or place them in his hands, so that he can fill you with something much better – himself. Then throw that piece of paper in the recycling bin, and do not pick up those distractions again!

To hope unswervingly is to let go of the lesser things we cling to, so that we can stay unwaveringly attuned to the object of our faith—Jesus Christ, who never swerves.

3. Love Extravagantly.

There is a certain type of love that only women who are intimately connected to Jesus can express. Like the woman who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume, a woman’s love, when born out of a relationship with Christ, is extravagant, rich, and overflowing.

But, just like me on that Sunday morning, our distractions so often get in the way of our loving God and loving those in front of us.

This holiday season, above anything else you do, make it a priority to reawaken your heart to the great love of God. Instead of focusing on your distractions, dive deeper into God’s presence than you ever have before. Grab a new journaling bible or an artist’s bible and interact daily with the scriptures. Crank up those holiday worship tunes. Light a candle and pray for your “audience” to experience God’s love through you.   

In other words, stay intimately connected to the perfect lover of your soul. If you do that, nothing but love will pour out of you.

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Now, each time I speak or serve, I first ask God to help me release my distractions so that his love will take its proper place. Guess what? He is always faithful to help.

Lay down your past. Lay down your perfectionism. Lay down your apprehensions. Pick up trust, hope, and love—in Jesus—instead. You won’t regret it.

Aubrey Sampson

Aubrey Sampson is the author of Overcomer: Breaking Down the Walls of Shame and Rebuilding Your Soul (Zondervan) and an upcoming book on lament and hope with NavPress. She and her husband Kevin, and their three young sons, planted Renewal Church in the Chicagoland area, where Aubrey serves on the preaching team. Aubrey is part of the Propel Cohort at Wheaton College and travels around the country speaking and preaching at a variety of churches. Find and follow Aubrey @aubsamp, Facebook, and www.aubreysampson.com