Friday, January 25, 2013

Does God Know What He is Doing?

That is one of many questions I have asked myself lately.

Could He be wrong about the direction my life should take? Can he be distracted from his love for me? Can that love change? As I mess up, can God be shaken by my misdeeds? Can I change God? Can my circumstances?

I think if any of us said we have never doubted God, we would be lying to ourselves.

While at first glance those questions don't sound very becoming of a follower of Christ, they are a reality of our broken humanity. As much as we try to follow Christ, to be like him, and obey his will, life will inevitably lead to times when we find ourselves questioning God.

I believe at those points there are 2 ways to handle it.

1. We can feel terrible for ever doubting God and put ourselves through a good amount of shame and guilt until our behavior is corrected.

or

2. We can be honest about it, share it with God (and others we trust), and work through it.

I prefer the 2nd way.

Questioning God is normal, and is sometimes born out of arrogance, sometimes born out of fear and anxiety. Both ways are ultimately prideful, because they are our way of saying "I know what is best and God does not."

Folks, I have to be honest, we don't know whats best. Believe me, it is a battle I am fighting with God even now. Trying to tell him how things should be. Yet time and time again and I humbled to realize, God really does know what he is doing.

And no, even though we as humans can be easily shaken, God cannot.

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."

(Hebrews 12:28 emphasis mine)

I dont know what shakes you to the core, what makes you question God. But I do know that without a doubt, God is faithful and that he really cares about us and who we are becoming.

Much of life is about how we interpret or making meaning of the circumstances surrounding us. We can choose to view life through the lens of God's love for us and faithful plan to mature us and grow our character, or we can view ourselves as victims caught in an endless cycle of tragedy and pain.

I'll make a deal with you. Next time we both feel the desire to question God, lets put the accusation and hurt on pause, and instead seek a different perspective on the matter, because there is a good chance that what we perceive as God being against us is really the opposite.


Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Run Away.

Ever feel like you want to run away from it all?

I do on many occasions. Maybe more times than I can count as of late.

The reasons are always different. Sometimes good. Like the desire to travel, or to be a part of what God is doing on a global scale. Sometimes circumstances just feel too overwhelming, relationships with people are getting tougher, or I feel burnt out.

I know of a student right now who has pretty good reason to run away. Life at home feels like a daily hell. Things got so bad recently that they tried to escape home by throwing a mattress out of a second story window so they could jump out of their room, land on the ground, and run away.

In the present moment, there are multiple authority figures in play handling the situation. Issues are being worked on. But regardless of the efforts to try and create a healthy environment for this individual, things at home remain tumultuous.

My heart breaks for this student, because I remember a past filled with a tough home environment, and it was no fault of 1 individual, but a perfect storm of stress, anxiety, and fear all working together. I was as much a contributor to my rough home life as anyone else, because when you live in poverty and in isolation from healthy community, all you know is pain, hopelessness, and stress.

I also know of many friends my own age, including myself, that are experiencing times of painful growth. Reality is setting in, God has character issues to work out with us internally, the world around us feels increasingly more like a cage. Life feels like a daily hell.

Though different, both circumstances involve feelings of hopelessness, frustration, fear, and a desire to escape.

I want this student, and so many like them that I know, to be able to escape from the hellish environment they face daily. But more then anything I want them to know their worth as a human being, and the power that lies in the love of Jesus. I want to see them out of unhealthy places, and into ones where they are shown this love firsthand by the community around them.

I want this for my friends who want to escape as well. I want to see healthy community form that keeps them accountable to maturing as people and engaging in their weakness. I desire to see growth in myself and those around me, the kind of growth that can only happen by facing our fears and the places we avoid, by letting Jesus walk through the dark places with us into maturity.

My point is that running away isnt always an option. Whether its a student in an awful home environment that has no where else to go, or friends that can go, but God is having them stick around to face up to their weaknesses.

Life can feel like hell. Period.

We all want to escape sometimes. God has much more for us than we could ever hope for or imagine in times of fear. God has a plan to redeem this student's life as he did mine, God has a plan to grow us in maturity and character so that we wont be lacking anything as his followers.

The point is that God has a plan. There is hope, no matter what we are up against, there is hope.

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm & secure." - Hebrews 6:19




Thursday, January 10, 2013

Community

Sometimes I think back to my earliest years as a teenager and the perspective I had of the world then.

You see, I wasnt exactly "popular" by any stretch of the imagination, quite the opposite really. I spent most weeks at home watching tv or playing video games. I didnt really leave the house except for school, and just didnt seem to have much interaction with people at all.

I can remember lying in bed most nights thinking to myself "What on earth would it take to get people to like me or to even want to be around me?"

I felt hated, neglected, insecure, lonely, and unwanted.

This continued for many years until I started getting into the youth group at the church down the street from me. I went for 2 reasons: Food and Girls.

But there was a third reason that I couldnt express at the time. I wanted to be there because it seemed like in spite of myself, the people actually wanted me to be there, wanted to be my friend.

I felt like I belonged somewhere, even if I didnt know how I felt about what they believed in.

This post is inspired by the last 2 days. My birthday was on Tuesday of this week, and even though I'm 24 and birthdays arent supposed to be cool anymore, I have had friends and family go out of their way to celebrate my birthday over the last 2 days. I never, ever, not even in my wildest dreams would have thought I would have such a wonderful community of people around me.

Many people are like 13 year old Corey. They dont do anything, they dont hang out with anybody, life is stressful and overwhelming, and its a struggle to get out of bed each day. After all, why get out of bed when nobody really cares?

It's not a hard concept. We as humans want to be fully known, to be loved for all that we are. That is what the gospel offers, and subsequently should be displayed through us as followers of Christ. To be the church is be good community for people who have none. It's to be strong where another is weak, to share in brokenness, and to fight for each other.

"Now you are the body, and each one of you is a part of it." - 1 Corinthians 12:27

That verse is a part of a larger dialogue by Paul on the church community and how it should function as a whole. That simple verse illustrates the point that the church is the community that represents the love of Christ, and if we are in Christ we are a part of it.

Christianity isnt played on the sidelines, we dont get to just watch. It is an active thing, we are all vital to redeeming this world.

Dont let fear or pride stop you from playing the role you were meant to play. Lives are at stake, people need healthy community to love and support them. People are walking life out alone, when we as the body should be right alongside them.

You want to see the kingdom come? To see lives changed and people come to know the love of God? Then we must work together, take action, and make sure that no one in our context goes to bed at night feeling uncared for.

"We weren't called to join a church, we were called to be the church." - Goodnight Wednesday

Know you are loved, know you have a place of belonging in the Father. Then show someone else they belong.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Fight or Flight?


It's easy to disengage with the world around us.

You know how it goes. Sleep until 12pm, put on a fake smile around loved ones & strangers, self medicate through sports or TV. We all have our defenses against pain and fear. It's fight or flight mode. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

 Some of us fight. Some of us fight tooth and nail until we have our way and see the outcome we hoped for in the first place. We put on the virtue of stubbornness and surround ourselves with people that tell us what our itching ears want to ear. We combat when instead we should take a step back.

I learned about fight or flight modes in freshman year Psychology at Malone University, where I attended college. It's the way we respond when the adrenaline gets going and we are faced with an unexpected predator.

A few weeks ago a gunman opened fire in a Las Vegas hotel that I was in. My response? Run for my life. Which was the common response shared by most everyone around me. It's completely understandable, after all I had no way of knowing at the time that his target was 1 woman and then himself. To make matters worse it was the same day as the shooting in Newtown, CT, which greatly heightened the situation.

In the back of my mind I thought, "This is it. He has gun and I dont. There is no reason he cant walk to where I'm huddled with other strangers and shoot me."

We are in the midst of a great spiritual battle all around us. It is fought everyday, and like it or not, we play a significant role. Consider this passage from Ephesians 6:10-12.

" Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Everyday we wake up, we have a choice. Fight or flight. Engage or disengage. Instead of picking the wrong battles and fighting with everything we have for things that dont matter, or completely running away and hiding altogether, we must daily be attentive to the Holy Spirit and what he is doing in this world so that we may have the appropriate response to whatever we are up against.

God has done the work necessary on the cross. He has already made a way for our deliverance. We arent starting something new. He did it. Our job is to stand.


"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

(Ephesians 6:13-18 emphasis mine)

As I walked out of the hotel, I saw a man lying face down on the ground with a pool of blood around his head. I come to later find out that this is the gunman, and his gunshot wound is self inflicted. 2 people died that night.

Friends, there are people dying spiritual deaths all around us everyday, and I'm not making light of physical death, because there are a lot of people up against that too.

The point is, we can do something about it. We can engage with the world around us. We can stand firm in the battle we are in. We can fight for each other. We can fight for our own hearts.

Stand firm in Christ. When you have done everything else, continue to stand. God is our deliverer, refuge, strength, and an ever present help in trouble.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Following Jesus is Not Easy

I have to be honest, following Jesus is not easy. Especially if you follow the Jesus who is committed to our growth and maturity as human beings made in the image of God.  A lot of us (including myself) are prone to avoidance and staying in the same place. We avoid the places in our lives that need healing, current circumstances that are difficult to handle, and decisions about the future.

However, God is committed to engaging those places where we have weakness and are scared to tread, and he desires for us to do the same. His goal is our sanctification. Consider this passage from Hebrews:

"And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

                     “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
                       and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,  
                      because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
                       and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

(Hebrews 12: 5-11 emphasis mine)


I have avoided maturity in my own life like the plague. When faced with a choice I have chosen to not carry my cross more times than I would care to admit. I instead choose anxiety & fear over death to myself so that I may experience the resurrection of Jesus. 

This cannot be the way of a follower of Jesus. We cannot so easily succumb to fear and the desire to see our kingdom come, our will be done. I recently heard a pastor say that anxiety and fear are the direct fruit of pride, the result of our way being correct and the worry that God wont get it right.

As you have followed Christ, think back to where you were and to where you are now. Have you grown? Do you look more like Jesus today than you did yesterday? a week ago? a year ago?

That's the measuring stick. Not our accomplishments, not our public image, not our popularity. We can feel frustrated or even hurt by God when things dont turn out the way we thought in our lives. Next time those feelings of hurt or frustration towards God come up, allow yourself to see a bigger picture, outside of current circumstances.

"For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known."

(1 Corinthians 13:12 emphasis mine)

God is big, very big. He is committed to our development and growth. He is committed to loving us fully and doing whats best. He is committed to our restoration in Him so that we can be that for everyone we encounter.

We are called to be a light in dark places, and you cant give what you dont have. 

We are called to make disciples and lead people towards Christ, and you cant lead where you haven't been.