Living in the Flow of Life

Pastor Gina Johnson

So how many times have you been out trying to do something perhaps in the garden or wash a car or something like that? And you know, the water is not coming through the hose.

I've had those situations where I take off the sprayer nozzle and I'm just like looking in it thinking, what is going on? What is going on? You know, and there are those times where nothing comes out and then eventually, you know, you realize that something's kinked. So I'm holding this hose and I'm trying to shake it, trying to get it to come undone and it does and I get a great drink of water in my face. That's God reminding me I need to hydrate more.

You know, but what about those times where you're like, what is going on? What is going on? And then it hits you and it's, oh, it's your brother or it's one of your kids pulling a prank on you, right? But the thing is, no matter how much you twist sometimes and stomp your foot and check the spigot, nothing seems to happen. It's until you find what's holding that kink that then, ah, okay, that's it. And in that moment, you recognize that the hose wasn't broke.

You recognize that nothing was actually wrong with the hose nor the faucet or anything. It's just the flow wasn't there because it was blocked. And maybe sometimes it is blocked because it got kinked just from being wrapped up poorly.

But maybe sometimes it was, like I said, that brother, maybe it got caught on one of the lawn chairs. Who knows? You like how we always blame the brother? The sisters didn't do it. It was the brothers, right? Yeah.

But the thing about it is, as Jesus said in John 7, he said, whoever believes in me, out of their heart shall flow rivers of living water. Whoever believes in me, out of their heart shall flow rivers of living water. And the living water is the divine flow of love, the divine flow of peace, the divine flow of kindness, generosity, all of those things that flow through us to the spirit.

And all of those things are already flowing in you each and every day. But sometimes we kink the hose. Imagine that.

Sometimes the reason that we can't get things to flow is because we've kinked the hose. We hold up, we tighten up, we block the stewardship that God is giving us so freely, and then it keeps us from passing on that good stewardship to others. When you are living in the flow, as we've been talking about for the past four weeks now, it means you are being a good steward of everything that has been poured into you that you can pour it out to others.

It's not just about your finances. It's also your time, your energy, your words, your attitude, your relationship. It's how you show up.

You know there's that phrase, how you do anything is how you do everything. And so when you take the time to place kinks in your hose due to not letting the love and the flow of God and spirit move through you, then you're gonna have some different challenges. You're gonna face some things in life because you're not remembering that life doesn't belong to you.

Life moves through you. You are a conduit of life and spirit. You're not the source. You're the stream. You're the stream. The source has given you absolutely everything you need and then some.

And it's up to you to keep that flow open because everything that's connected to you when that flow is open will continue to thrive. But when you tighten up, when you let fear and pride, when you let comparison, when you let doubt and worry get in the way, when you let clutter get in the way, well then things get blocked and things dry up.

So today I wanna talk to you about some of the, I'm gonna call them the five common kinks that tend to block our hose.

And I told my volunteer, Virginia, Sunday “Hey, the church is gonna hear this but we're gonna get a little kinky this Sunday.” And any of you who are thinking of anything besides garden hose kinks, you go in the prayer room and pray a little bit today. So, use your imagination for little bit, would you please, as you visualize my assistant coming to the stage. She has no idea what she signs up for with me but that's good. All right.

So, Virginia, has come on stage and is standing next to a curled up garden hose. Perfect.

So the first kink that I want to talk to you all about this morning would be the kink of comparison. So, okay. I’ve kinked the hose and this kink went under her left foot.

The kink of comparison might be one of the biggest flow blockers that we all face. Now I told you a little bit about those, the Pharisee versus the other humble man that was there who was saying, just have mercy on me, God. And the Pharisee was saying, oh, I'm so thankful I'm not like other people.

You know, he was so busy comparing himself that he wasn't connecting with God. Nor was he connecting with the others who were there. You know, and don't we do that all the time? You know, it's interesting because with social media, something that wasn't always around, we find ourselves scrolling, judging, and measuring where other people are at.

And then sometimes just it's our workplaces, our schools, maybe even in our church when we pull into a parking lot and we look around and we see maybe it's in our neighborhoods as we're looking at our neighbors' homes, our neighbors' lawns, maybe it's when we're out and about and we're looking at other families, other relationships, and we have that moment of saying, why don't I get that opportunity? Why do they have that and I don't have that? Why does their life look so easy? Well, they don't deserve that. How come they have that? When am I gonna get my chance? Well, how do they get that? Do they pray for that? Because I've been praying and I don't have that happening. Why did this happen to me and not them? It's interesting because when we spend time in that space of comparison, be careful.

It's almost like you're wishing illness on someone else. It's almost like you're saying, you know, I want what they have and I deserve it just as much if not more than them. And so you sit there and start to pass judgment and you start to project into your own life why God hasn't blessed you a particular way.

But the truth of the matter is it's you that's sitting there doing the comparison, letting everything get kinked and dried up. In Romans 12:15, it says, rejoice with those who rejoice. And C.S. Lewis says, pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more than the next man.

So then we have our second kink. It's called the kink of control. You know, for a long time, this is the kink that really would trip me up.

Pastor Gina: All right, Virginia. Here is your kink of control. Let’s just put this kinked part of the garden hose in your left hand. Yeah, okay. There you go. That's right, you don't let that go. Doing good? All right.

You know, have you guys ever tried to make something go faster? You know, it's like that moment that I am excited to get somewhere quickly or to experience something faster. That is my most impatient moment.

When I'm going to something I have to do and then it's like, oh yeah, traffic, or oh, look at this construction in the road that's been here for years and years and years. It's like those mornings where it's like, oh, I'm excited for that cup of coffee and you're just waiting. And there's nothing you can do. I mean, you can encourage it. Come on, drip, drip, drip, drip. You know, and if you want, you know, they made that great feature on coffee pots.

I remember this so many years ago where you can pull the pot out ahead of time, you know, and it's one of those really deceitful things because you pull it out, you pour that cup, you're like, oh, whoa, that's why I'm supposed to wait for this, right?

And what about the elevator? How many times have we been waiting for an elevator or have you witnessed somebody doing this, like press, press, press, press? Because you guys know if you press it 20 times, it's going to go faster. I don't know whether to laugh at them or be humbled for the times that I try doing the same thing. Oh, come on, I'm pacing back and forth between the two elevators hoping one's going to open.

But you know, it's funny, coffee pots, elevators, hoses, when you try to force outcomes, when you try to force schedules, when you try to force people, when you try to force relationships, when you try to force God, that's when you are trying too hard to control. And you know, where does control come from? Where does the need to control come from? I believe it comes from fear. We have this fear that something's not going to happen.

Oh, man, if this traffic doesn't clear up, I'm not going to get there on time, then I'm not going to receive this or that. Or perhaps it's the other way. You know, if this doesn't happen and this doesn't take place, then what are people going to think of me? You know, we have a fear that if I don't get there within this particular moment, I'm going to miss out on something.

I love learning new little trendy things from my kids. Some of them I can't say in church, but one is called FOMO.

It's the fear of missing out. And you know, sometimes that FOMO will cause us to want to be very controlling, will want us to try to steer and make our way through everything the way we want to see it. It has to go my way.

But you know, Jesus says that water flows through those who believe, not those who micromanage. You know, Jesus says water flows through those who believe, not who are so tight-fisted in control. What is one of the verses that's always been said to me throughout my entire life is Psalm 46:10. Do we know what Psalm 46:10 is? It's be still and know that I am God.

There's another teacher that I've shared with you before named White Eagle, and he says, when you let go of your anxious clutch on life, you make room for divine order to do its perfect work. There are a lot of things that I would like to see happen sooner, faster, bigger, my way.

But you know, it's one thing to hope for that, but it's another thing to try to force it and make it happen. It's another thing to think that you can control all of these things. And I'm telling you, when you get stuck there, things are gonna dry up. Things are not gonna flow.

Pastor Gina: How are we doing, Virginia? Okay. All right, so as things are getting a little kinked up here, how's it feel?

Virginia: Uncomfortable.

Pastor Gina: Uncomfortable. Well then, hey, let's help you out with that third kink. Oh, let's see how we can do this. All right, this is the kink of complaint. There you go, let’s put that under your right foot. All right, you're looking good, looking good.

The kink of complaint. You know, how many of us complain? And you know, complaining is absolutely what Virginia's doing right there. It's stepping on your own hose. Everything backs up. You know, it's easy to do because we pour out, right? We pour out love. We pour out service. We pour out time. We pour out effort. And then what happens?

We get weary. We get tired. We don't know how to set boundaries. So then instead of just giving ourselves permission to step back and take a break, we go from complaining about everything we have to do to complaining about everyone who's not doing anything to complaining about the place we're at to complaining about how fast or slow things are going.

And it just continues on and on and on. When we complain, we lack focus. We lack presence when we keep complaining.

And it starts to steal our joy. You know, it's so funny. Sometimes as I find myself trying to strategically complain, you know, it's like, oh, I'm not complaining. I'm just pointing out some of the things that I've been doing in hopes of encouraging other people to do them as well. You know, I'm not complaining about what's missing. I'm just pointing out that if that wasn't missing, then things would be going a lot better.

You know, it's not that I mind doing a lot. I love doing a lot. I love a full plate. It would just be a lot more fun if you guys would join me in it, right? Isn't that the thing? You know, I don't know how many times I find myself in that space of saying, I love doing this and I want to serve and I want to do all these things. And then I get there and I say, well, wait, where's everybody else? Well, I've done a lot. Who's gonna take care of me? I'm always taking care of others. I want people to take care of me. Isn't that funny?

That always goes back to stewardship and our giving. And I don't mean financial giving. It's just like, what are you giving for? Because if you're not giving for the right reasons, and I mean that, of your love, of your time, of your efforts, of your finances, if you are not giving for the right reasons, then you're just giving to start the chain of complaining. You know, right away when you feel that there's something to complain about, just take a pause and get to the root of what's really going on there. Have you overextended yourself? Have you been complaining so much and behaving in such a way that others don't want to work with you? Others don't want to be near you.

And maybe that's why no one's showing up. Or maybe you just simply haven't trusted that while God has put you in that time and space, he is preparing someone else to come along. The kink of complaint.

And then there's number four. The kink of clutter.

Pastor Gina: I said five, right?

Virginia: Yeah, you said five.

Pastor Gina: Okay, let’s just put this kinked bit of hose between your knees.

Virginia: Oh, no.

Pastor Gina: Okay. There we go. All right, got it. Okay, all right. You're doing great, Virginia. You are doing great. Perfect.

So, the kink of clutter, you know, that's when there is just too much in the hose. There's too much in the hose. You know, and sometimes what is in that hose? Because it's not just commitments, although that can be cluttered in the hose. It's not just all the opinions of others that tend to get in and clutter up our minds. You know, it's not just all the things that we think we have to do.

Sometimes the clutter comes from our fear, comes from our pride. It comes from all of those unchecked emotions that we are letting just swarm all around in our head. It comes from saying, I don't feel like enough, so I'm gonna keep adding more and keep adding more and keep adding more and recognizing that that's not going to help you become enough because you already are enough.

And so if you're seeking something external to become more, then you're going in the wrong direction. You know, too many commitments, too many opinions, and too many have-to-dos are gonna kink that hose. They're gonna block that flow.

And when that flow gets trapped in our over-scheduling, in our over-owning, in our over-thinking, in our over-controlling, in our over-fearing and over-doubting, when that flow gets trapped, it's not that spirit has stopped. It's that you have dried everything up to where spirit can't flow through. And so in Hebrews 12:1, what does it say? It says, let us throw off everything that hinders.

Let us throw off everything that hinders. When we simplify, we move from pressure, we move from tension, and we fall into divine order in the rhythm of life.

 And then the last kink is the kink of a closed heart.

Pastor Gina: You know, there's a lot of kinks/people/closed hearts in this world, so I just wanna go ahead and kink this a couple times and let’s put these in your right hand. There you go, all right.

The kink of the closed heart is the, “I'm fine. It's gonna be better this way. You know, I don't really like what's taking place here, and so I think I'm just gonna move on.” It's one of those times where, you know, things aren't necessarily going your way, but you do not have the endurance nor the patience nor the trust in the Lord to allow your heart to be open and free so God can show up and remind you of who you are, remind you of what's already at your disposal, remind you of what you are able to do, but most of all, remind you of who God is.

You know, when we have a closed heart and we just say, you know, I'm gonna do it this way and I don't care what you all are doing, I'm fine. You know, I've managed this far without everybody, I'm fine. And it's even beyond that.

It's when you're really challenged with something and someone comes along and says, can I help you? And you don't wanna accept the help. And when someone comes along and says, tell me what's wrong, they're really willing to offer you a listening ear, but you're still so caught up in making sure that everything looks smooth on the outside.

I'll tell you a little personal story. I was in quite a bit of counseling back in 2010. Yes, 2010 through, clear through the rest of 10, all of 11, and then part of 12.

And I remember one of the first times I sat down with this counselor and she was extraordinary. She was telling me, “You know, Gina? You spend so much time trying to make sure that your surface is so smooth. That's only gonna last for so long because as that surface is nice and smooth, everything underneath it is bubbling up. Everything underneath it is coming up with pressure and eventually that surface is gonna crack. And when it does, you're gonna feel it and your family's gonna feel it. And your church is gonna feel it. And your close friends are gonna feel it. Your work is going to feel it.”

And she was really challenging me to open my heart, to accept help, to delegate, to be more vulnerable, to be more transparent. And I think a lot of the time that I got to walk alongside of her and the spirit and others who showed up in my life during that time, I had to recognize that, “I'm fine. I got this. If you're not gonna do it my way, just step aside and I'll get it done,” I had to release all of those things because they weren't helping me.

As much as I thought keeping it all organized and checked was the best way to go, inside I was controlling. I was complaining. I was cluttering. I had my closed heart and I was comparing, but from a place of, “Well, I guess I'm the only one experiencing this, doing all these things and so I'll trek on forward.”

But you know what's funny is along with that pride and ego came depression, came forgetting who I was, came not recognizing how my family appreciated and loved me and how much they meant to me, came taking my church for granted, came a place of feeling very disordered and the only thing that was able to help me in that time was God, was turning inward, was going back home and recognizing that if I can remember who I am, who God has created and called me to be, who God's empowered me to be, not the way the world sees me, not the way I like to pretend the world sees me, but the way God sees me. And I had to open my heart to new possibilities, to being that new life, that new creation in each new moment. In James 5:16 it says, confess your faults to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.

Pastor Gina: So Virginia, if I needed you to move right now, carrying all these kinks, how would you manage that?

Virginia: I don't think I could.

Pastor Gina: You sure?

Virginia: I'm positive.

Pastor Gina: But I have a question, do some of us look like this on the inside and we still try moving around? Do we need Virginia to try to give us a display right now? We have some head nods out there. Cool. Yeah.

Virginia tries to shuffle forward, but can’t.

Pastor Gina: You know, it's almost like you're not getting anywhere. You know, it's like your own personal hamster wheel with a hose. It's beautiful, it's absolutely beautiful. Well, all right, I only got a few more minutes, but here we go.

All right, so what do we do, right? What do we do about all these kinks in our life? Well, one is the kink of comparison. And so when you celebrate all the blessings in your life, when you celebrate them with gratitude, and when you have gratitude for the blessings that are taking place with others, then you unkink that hose. We’ll take this part of the hose from Virginia’s left hand and stretch out straight here.

Gratitude replaces comparison. What flows to one can then flow to all. And then that kink of control.

Remember trying to back float? Maybe you guys didn't have this experience, okay? But I remember when I would try to back float, I would freak out. I was so scared and I would start sinking right away. Actually, any kind of trying to swim, I would start panicking.

I would hug the wall in the swimming pool and someone would try to pull me away. Like, no, no, no, no, no. And it was always my brother of all people.

But I remember as people wanted to teach me to swim, I just was in such a panic. Such a panic. But the moment that you relax, the sinking stops.

The moment that you trust, it just happens. And that is flow. Trust replaces control.

And then we have that kink of complaint. How many of you all have ever gone through a drive-thru and got a drink and got a straw and you put that straw in that drink and there's a crack in it? And so you're trying so hard to drink and you're basically just sucking in more air than you are of the beverage you were hoping to receive. That's what complaint does.

It pulls in frustration instead of refreshment. It pulls in aggravation instead of joy. But joy seals the leak.

Joy releases the tension. Joy brings it so you're taking in that refreshment and nourishment and you're back in the flow. It's joy that replaces the complaint. So, let’s unkink that part of the hose under Virginia’s left foot and lay it out straight.

And then there is the kink of clutter. How many of us have cleaned out a closet, an attic, a shelf, something, and we found things that we forgot existed? And as we looked at them, we said, why do we still have this? This is a message you guys have heard me give time and time again, right? We need to make room for what's new and release what's no longer serving us. The same is true for our souls.

We need to make room for the new good thing that God is doing in our life and release what's no longer serving us. And that simplicity will replace the clutter, so let’s just straighten out this part that was between her knees.

And last but not least is that kink of a closed heart.

Healing happens when we connect with one another. You know, if you ever have those times where you wake up on a Sunday morning and you really are feeling like I don't wanna go, this person's ill, this person passed away, these finances aren't working out, this relationship is challenged, I just don't feel good, I just can't talk to people today, I wanna really encourage you to still come, to still show up.

If you get invited to hang out with a group of people, maybe it's some of the ladies that get together, maybe some of you guys are palling around, maybe it's other couples coming together, whatever it is, you're like, no, I'm just gonna be a poor sport, I'm just gonna be the Debbie Downer.

You know, that connection is what helps the water run through. That connection is what opens your heart. And yeah, maybe you don't wanna be the center of attention, you don't wanna share the challenges you're having, but it's in those moments where God will show up.

And maybe someone in that circle is experiencing something really similar, and it was you showing up and being willing to share what you're challenged with that opened up the opportunity for them to not only serve you and not commiserate with you, but to stand beside you in unity. When God flows through people being real, being vulnerable and being beside one another, that's when love replaces the fear and replaces the closed heart.

And with that we’ll take these last two kinks and straighten them out. Now we have a completely straight garden hose to work with.

In Ezekiel 47:9, it says, wherever the river flows, everything will live. As we come to our close in Stewardship Month, I want you guys to know that stewardship is just the art of keeping everything clear.

It's the art of living in the flow of the spirit, standing in the abundance of your blessings, recognizing that even when you think you have nothing to give or you have nothing to share or no one would even want you around, recognize that there is always so much more, that there's so much more within you that you just need to move some of these things out of the way and you'll see spirit flowing through again.

So, this week, I challenge you to keep your river clear, your finances, your mind, your relationships, the space, but most of all, your soul. Remember to take that time to spend with the living water because that living water flows through you so much better when you take time to really take in the living water. And this week, don't force anything, just stay open. Untangle your hose and trust. “Whoever believes in me out of their heart shall flow rivers of living water.” Please pray with me.

Our most gracious and loving God, we are so grateful that we can be conduits of your love, of your spirit. God, as we continue to navigate through this beautiful educational sandbox of life, may we show up as a fountain overflowing, as a hose that's gushing, may we show up in the representation of who you are and who we are because of you. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Amen.