Fighting Until The Finish

Everybody wants to be happy, right?

Nobody becomes a Christian out of a desire to face hardships and difficulties. At least, most of us don't. We seek after peace and the love of the Lord, eternal life, salvation for our brothers and sisters; and joy to fill our days.

Yet often, we are faced with trials and tribulations of many sorts. Seems like that is where the biggest struggle comes along. Whether it is financial difficulty, sickness, relationship problems, conflicts at work, you name it- we all struggle sooner or later. The longer that the trial drags on, the more disheartened and drained we become. So what is the solution?

PRAY.

But one prayer is not the answer. One prayer is not the end.

I hear sooo many people tell me, "But I prayed to God and asked Him for [insert need or request] and He didn't answer me. What am I supposed to do now? I guess He didn't hear me if nothing happened. What if I'm in this situation forever?

Somehow we have limited God to some sort of magician. He's not Harry Houdini. There is an implicit expecation that as soon as we pray once, BAM. An angel flies down from heaven with confirmation, or the answer manifests itself immediately. But if there is anything I have learned about the Lord is that He honors perseverance. If you are willing to put in the work and persistently seek after Him, He will always answer you and bless you. Hebrews 11:6 says that He is a rewarder of those who DILIGENTLY seek Him, not just those who pray a couple of times when the going gets tough. Establish a routine and a relationship with Him, and you will surely see His hand. Why else would Jesus teach His disciples to pray and never give up? (Luke 18:1-8) From verses 7-8: "And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly..."

Whatever situation you are facing or trial you are going through, I would encourage you not to give up hope, but to continue diligently pressing on in praise and in prayer. Keep fighting until you win the victory. Isaiah 62:7 admonishes us to "Give the Lord no rest until He completes His work, until He makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth." Stand firm and continue to contend for your deliverance. Then, when you receive it, God will be given the glory for pulling you out of the situation. Let your circumstance be an inspiration for others to press into THEIR faith and receive the promise that God has for them. But they will never know what to do unless they see the example in God's elect. Keep fighting so that God's name might be glorified in your life.

Psalm 55:16-18 "As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me."

Confronting The Lie: God Will Never Give You More Than You Can Bear

People always say "GOD will NEVER give you more than you can bear." If I hear that foolish cliche one more time, I will SCREAM. It absolutely is NOT Biblical. Somebody please refer me to the Scripture verse that states this. And PLEASE don't give me 1 Corinthians 10:13. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man" is certainly not the same thing. Temptation and trials are not one and the same... 

I've spent years of my life frustrated over this adage that some people live by. I do believe that God will give the more difficult battles to those who have a higher calling, but it has nothing to do with your own strength to bear the cross you have been given. If God didn't give us more than we can bear, WE WOULDN'T NEED HIM. I wouldn't need to pray, because I can bear my trials. I wouldn't need to ask God for intervention, because I can meet my own needs. I wouldn't need divine healing, because I can deal with my sickness on my own. Clearly there's something wrong here. 

We spend time trying to convince people that they can bear every trial that comes their way... so then if you're having trouble bearing your trial, it's YOUR fault. If depression comes along, it's a character flaw. When you get fed up or tired or agitated, it's YOUR lack of strength. After all, God wouldn't give you more than you can bear. You should be able to handle this, right?  

Let's see what Paul, unquestionably one of the greatest leaders of the early church, has to say on the topic: 

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 NIV
"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,"

Nowhere does Paul say, "We were overcome with our trial, but we knew that God would never give us more than we can bear, so we took heart and were encouraged." No! He and his fellow missionaries were so distraught by their situation that they wanted to DIE. They despaired of life and the cross they were given to bear at that moment. But this was so that they would learn not to rely on their own strength, but on GOD. 

God gives us more than we can bear so that we learn to trust in Him. We can't live this life on our own- and we don't have to. Lean on the everlasting arms... That's what they're there for. He wants to bear some of that burden for you. 

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

A Necessary Death

In elementary school grammar, they teach us that personification is when we give an inanimate object, or a concept, human-like characteristics. I could say, “The sun smiled down on me as I walked in the park.” Most of us would agree that the sun doesn’t have a face. I wonder if it does, though. I bet he would be hot ;) But, I suppose that’s besides the point. We have always been taught that we are the ones that have the power to give things life. And that got me thinking… why isn’t there an opposite to personification? Why don’t we ever consider the fact that there are some things in our lives that are unfruitful, that need to be killed?

Or, at the very least, stripped of their power?

A thought crossed my mind today that I’m almost afraid to share, but I’ll give it to you all anyways. When people ask me why I walk with the cane, or why I took the semester off, or even why I’m so tired, my response is that “the fibromyalgia has been kicking my butt lately.” With walking as a challenge, I’m almost always asking one of my best friends for a ride somewhere… and anyone who knows me well knows that I am not a big fan of asking for help. So I told myself this evening that, “this disease has robbed me of my independence, and self-sufficiency.”

I guess the second thought struck a cord with my spirit, and I realized that I’m unintentionally personifying this disease. I have given it legs to kick me with. I have given it arms, and power, and strength to rob me with. Essentially, I have given it life to kill me with.

Shouldn't I be the one to kill it? Why does the disease have a hold on me?

And here I thought that I was the one with the power...

In Genesis 1:28, after God created Adam and Eve, He spoke this word to them:

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

Now, if God has given us dominion over every living thing upon the face of the earth, what sense does it make to allow an inanimate object (like money) or an emotion (like feelings of depression or inadequacy) or in my case, a physical ailment (like fibromyalgia) to have a hold on us? Why do we let these things consume us? Why do they dictate the way we think, talk, and perceive the world? Why do they have dominion and power over us?

The year is fast spent. We are already in the second month of 2013. Each of us walked into the year with new hope, new expectations, and new desires. However, we will never have the abundant life that we so desire this year if we continue to give life to issues from previous years, and allow them to consume us.

Thanks be to God, I’ve never had to have wisdom teeth removed, but I believe I have a basic understanding of why others (like my brother) needed to have them taken out. You see, nobody is born  with wisdom teeth. But as we grow, they grow with us. In some people, they cause severe pain. In others, they take up a space that doesn’t belong to them. And in some people, they don’t really seem to be causing a problem, but there is a HUGE chance that they will in the future. So what do we do with wisdom teeth?

Remove them.

I pray that God would reveal to you whatever things need to be killed, removed, or stripped of power in your life. I pray that the removal of this dead weight would free us up to achieve our full potential this year and beyond. In the mighty name of Jesus, I commit the reader to Your hands. Amen.

Proverbs 18:21- Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.