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We live in a day of instant relief. In fact, there is an entire aisle at the pharmacy dedicated to ‘pain relief.’ It’s estimated that some 300 billion pain relief tablets are produced annually- for no other purpose, but to numb, dull, and quickly ease our pain. This is, of course, no surprise because the minute pain comes knocking on our door, we begin our search to stop the presence of pain in our lives. We may head to the medicine cabinet. We may call a doctor, or consult Alexa- all in an effort to stop this problem of pain. While no one likes pain, the truth is that Biblically, pain does serve a purpose in our lives. Yet like the pain relievers in our medicine cabinet, so often we go to God looking for quick relief. We attempt to pray away the pain. We may read a little more scripture, hoping He will put an end to our suffering. We may give up this or that, out of a desire to persuade Him to intervene in our pain. But...what if God actually wants us to feel the the pain? What if, instead of taking away the hurt, God intended to give us what we need to go through the hurt? What if struggles were meant to reveal a greater need for God, not a quick relief from God? The book ‘Bearing Burdens Biblically’ takes an up close and personal look at just how God intended His saints to endure struggles. Within The Bible, we can find a purpose for the pain, the reason for the ridicule, and the meaning behind the misery. God has given us all that we need to suffer well, to rejoice through tribulation, and to find gladness in the most difficult circumstances.
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Imagine, you’re handed a set of blue prints, a hammer, a chisel, and a trowel (look it up). You’re then walked to a plot of land where a cinder block foundation has been poured. With the ground work finished, with tools and instructions in hand, you’re told to begin building. For a day or maybe a week, you give all you’ve got to laying some bricks, and continuing in construction. However, the days are long, the heat is unhelpful, and eventually you get tired. With a few bricks put into place, you decide it’s time to take a break, as you go spend some time in relaxation, doing what you love to do. Eventually, your short break extends longer and longer, until eventually you forget all about the building project. One day, while having fun, without a care in the world, you receive a call…it’s the building inspector. He is now standing on your foundation, at your property, looking at the bity building of bricks you have built.
Your heart begins to race, your palms become sweaty, as you realize that you have wasted the time you’ve been given. Your extracurricular has overtaken the expectations of your building. The resources and responsibility entrusted to your care have been a bust. The foundation was laid in waste, and now you must give an account for the building you never built.
To be a Christian is to be a construction sight. Every day is an opportunity to build our lives into something spectacular. Each of us is given a starter package upon Salvation which includes a solid, stable, and steadfast foundation; named Jesus Christ. However, it is up to us what we will build upon this foundation. Will we endure costly construction using gold, silver, and precious stones? Or will we cut corners in construction using hay, wood, and stubble? Will our Holy Homes look like a makeshift shack or decadent dwelling place? As the storms and struggles of life beat against our lives- our foundation may be sure, but our what we have chosen to build with will be tested. What sustains the storms, and is forged by fire will reap a reward. Yet, what is burned up will equate a waste of a life. God desires for each of us to be built into the Believer His Word calls for us to be, brick by brick.
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Over and over Jesus continually could be heard telling man what the kingdom of heaven is like, and yet never once do we find Christ coming out and saying that ‘this is what It IS.’ The reason is that the Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of Light.
Try for a second to describe what light is…you can’t. You may be able to describe what it’s like, maybe even what it’s making- but it’s nearly impossible to come out and say WHAT light is. For this reason, mankind has always had the propensity to attempt to define God’s Kingdom. We give a shape, an image, a touchable tangible reality to an invisible Kingdom of undefinable Light. We are serving an image that we claim to be God- that is certainly and absolutely NOT God.
God’s Word tells us that men love darkness rather than light (John 3:19). In John 1 we find that in Jesus Himself dwelt the ‘life which is the light that shines among man,’ however, John continues, though the light shines in darkness, the darkness comprehended it not. Enter; the Shadow Kingdom.
Christianity has become a system that mixes both light and darkness. We devote our lives to a form of God, a shadow of His likeness, an imagination of His image. Yet, in doing so we rob our lives of the very light and the very power and the very life that The Kingdom of God came to offer. As Christians we life our lives in the shadows, under a shadow savior of a shadow kingdom- and it robs us of the very point of our Salvation, the Lighted life of Christ.
What would it look like to live lives that turn towards Jesus for pure light? What if we were to throw out every bushel hindering the brightness and ask Christ to shine the hot, gleaming spot light of His life upon the shadows that we live in. What if, instead of lurking in the dark, we lived lives exposed and revealed- yet forgiven- in the light? What if the shadows were no more, and instead we lived transparently- where all that could be seen of our lives was pure light.
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Faith is an unwavering trust that God’s got this. Faith tells us that we can’t but He has. Faith reminds us that we are safe, sheltered, protected and provided for from within the safety of our Savior. Faith denies all odds, refutes all reality, and strong-arms circumstances. Faith is a steadfast conviction and belief that Jesus will ultimately come through.
Yet, as a people of faith…have we become faithless? It is our faith in Jesus Christ that sets us a part from any and all other people on the planet- as we operate in a trust of what He has said. As Christians we trust Jesus to save us from our sins, yet we fail to trust His ability to save us from our situation. As believers we believe every word of the world around us, yet neglect The Living Word which our belief is built upon. As followers of Christ we allow every trial to make us tremble and every struggle makes us stumble. We are called to have the mind of Christ yet our minds are made up that this is it, this time we’re done for.
What if we returned to the relentless and rigid reliance on God that raises hands to Red Seas. What if we had a steadfast spunk that stood up to imposing giants and sad you will fall. What if we had a conviction in Christ that was concrete enough to crush the head of our enemies.
What if we had faith that shouts we will not be shaken -for We are unmovable!
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The irony of the Christian faith is that in order to be victorious, we must first admit defeat. As a Jesus follower, each of us must commit to surrendering our lives to Him when we ask for salvation. But beyond that- every day of our lives we each face the decision whether to hold on to our way of life, or surrender to His will for our lives. This is what white flag faith is all about- coming to the place where every day you are willing and desire to wave the white flag in faith.
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“Shattered: for when I am weak, I am strong” takes an in depth look at the different ways and reasons we become broken in life. Even though breaking is inevitable, the truth remains that each shattering that takes place is a part of God’s plan for our lives. Each shattering is intended to draw us closer to Him and to ultimately to bring Him Glory. Through “Shattered” we look at the lives of Biblical greats who became broken for different reasons such as Adam, Kind David, and Job. By realizing there is meaning, a master plan, and a purpose to the breaking process we can be intentional in making sure not to waste the opportunity. God breaks us in many ways and for many reasons- but each break is meant to draw us nearer to Him.
