I’m sure for all of us, there are weeks where we feel fairly
positive and make it through relatively unscathed. We feel productive in our job and our family
came through the seven days without any major disasters. Our car didn’t break down and we weren’t
involved in any accidents. The week may
not have had any huge momentous occasions, but sometimes “normalcy” is enough
to check it off as a good week.
Unfortunately, not all weeks even make it to that “normalcy”
level. Wherever you turn, something is going
haywire. Everywhere you go at work,
there is someone who thrives on getting under your skin. One of your kids gets the flu and is gracious
enough to share it with the entire family.
Your car breaks down and to get it fixed is going to cost a small
fortune. Again, there isn’t one huge
momentous occasion to make the week be so stressful, but the culmination of
several frustrations is enough to make you really thankful to reach the
weekend.
That was my past week. It
started with me throwing my shoulder out of whack. Now if I had some amazing story to tell, like
I was skydiving and my shoulder was injured as I crashed to the ground, it
might have made it easier. But in my
case, I was barely bumped into, causing me to jerk slightly and as a result, I
suddenly knew things weren’t where they were supposed to be. The pain that followed was the kind that
makes you feel sick in the pit of your stomach.
Fortunately a trip to my chiropractor helped, but I still had pain the
rest of the week.
That event pretty much set the tone for my week and although
nothing else went majorly wrong, I really struggled to have the right
attitude. To be honest, by Saturday I
was tired mentally, physically and spiritually and usually when that happens I
start having a pity party. I was working
in my kitchen and asking the Lord why in the world He wired my body backwards,
causing me so much pain. Didn’t He
realize that I could serve Him so much better if my health improved? Now maybe you’ve never been there, feeling
the need to whine and complain to the Lord, but I’m not proud at all to admit that’s
where I allowed myself to be. I chose to
wallow in my negative feelings, allowing my circumstances to rob me of my joy.
Naturally, this doesn’t please my Jesus and so as usual, He had
to put something in front of me to wake me up, so to speak. Dan was working at our desk and he handed me
a card that he had found. I looked at it
and it was an old business card of mine and on it were these words, “Real faith
is not just receiving from God the things we want. Real faith is accepting from God the things
He gives us.” Yep, I was hit right
between the eyes. Anyone can have joy if
things are going exactly as they want it to, but a true, devoted follower of
Christ has joy even when they are given unexpected detours.
I couldn’t get what I had read out of my mind and I finally knew
I needed to ask the Lord to forgive me for my whining and lack of joy. I know that it says in Romans 5:3-5, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into
problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character,
and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to
disappointment. For we know how dearly
God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with
his love.” Nowhere in that scripture
does it say I can whine when I don’t get what I think I need. It doesn’t say that I have a right to feel
sorry for myself and throw a pity party.
No, it says I should rejoice, knowing that whatever the Lord brings my
way is designed to make me stronger and improve my character and as a result, I
will look more like Him.
Of course, I then went to church yesterday morning and soon
realized as our Pastor shared with us, that the Lord wasn’t done speaking to me
yet. Our Pastor shared a statement that
really spoke to me. He said,
“It’s time for us to move away from just agreeing
with what Jesus said, and start doing
what He said.”
Yep, once again I was hit
between the eyes. It’s just so easy for
me to wholeheartedly agree with what Jesus said, knowing full well that I am to
have joy and praise for Him in whatever circumstances I find myself. But actually living that…day in and day
out…isn’t what I always do. It’s so easy
to point my finger and think others
should be “Jesus with skin on” for those who need Him, but neglect to do it
myself.
As our service came to a close, I knew beyond a shadow of a
doubt that I needed to go to the altar and once again, ask the Lord for
forgiveness for losing my focus. I also
knew I needed to ask Him to give me a new sense of His love…not for me…but for
those with whom I come in contact.
Maybe your week wasn’t all that went haywire. Maybe it’s been the past month or even year
that has you in a funk. Hopefully you
are stronger than me, but if you aren’t and you also find yourself whining and
complaining because the Lord hasn’t given you what you think you need, look
up. Take your focus off of yourself and
begin rejoicing for the path on which He has led you. It all comes down to accepting what He is
giving you as His divine plan and allowing it to make you stronger for the
journey He sets before you.
Yes my dear friends, it’s time for you and me to move away from
just agreeing with what Jesus said, and start doing what He said. There is
a hurting, lost world all around us, and it’s high time they see us living out
His message… Every. Single. Day.
By the way, I recommend you take the time to watch and listen to
our service yesterday on our website at http://hopemissionarychurch.podbean.com.
The sermon title was “Better Together –
Growing Pains”. But I feel I better warn
you. There should be a disclaimer at the
beginning that says, “Warning…this sermon may cause pain between your eyes…and/or
very sore toes” J
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