A piano teacher, knowing that his students would have a hard time understanding the necessity of practicing tedious scales and drills on the piano over and over again, was known to tell his students that it was important for them to "appreciate the process" if they were going to become a good piano player. I think this sums up well what I've been trying to say in regards to embracing the darkness. The process of entering into and living in the light of God and His truth begins by recognizing the darkness for what it is. Did you know that in the Hebrew worldview the 24 hour period that we call a "day" begins at sundown, at night, not in the morning? In Genesis 1, at the end of each day of creation, it says "And there was evening, and there was morning." The darkness was the starting point. To finish well we must start well. In the dark.
How did Saul of Tarsus begin his conversion experience? In the dark. In order for God to get him to see, he first had to strike him blind. Up until then he probably thought of himself as a pretty righteous guy, someone who had a clear grasp on God's truth. Over the course of his training and preparation for ministry he experienced many apocalypses - revelations - which one would think would have made him feel like he was filled with light, like he had finally "arrived". But when you examine Paul's writings you discover something that's hard to believe. Early in his writings he describes himself as equal to the other apostles. Later, he calls himself the least of the apostles. And in one of his last letters he refers to himself as "the chief of sinners"! The genius of Paul was that he didn't allow his supernatural gifts and revelations to feed his pride, but rather used the light he was given to actually highlight the darkness that was still in him. He never shied away from it but embraced it because it was a continual reminder to him that God's power is made perfect in his weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).
So, let's not fear the darkness. Rather, we should beware of false lights that give us a false sense of security rather than increasing our dependency and connection to the Lord ("the simplicity that is in Christ" KJV, 1 Cor. 11:3c). Note the contrast in this passage from Isaiah between those who "walk in the dark" and those who "walk in the light of your fires":
"Let him who walks in the dark,
who has no light,
trust in the name of the LORD
and rely on his God.
But now, all you who light fires
and provide yourselves with flaming torches;
go, walk in the light of your fires
and of the torches you have set ablaze.
This is what you shall receive from my hand:
You will lie down in torment."
- Isaiah 50:10,11
Embrace the present torments of life, for they can save you from much worse ones in the future.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
piercing the darkness
I don't know about you but I am in desperate need of a breakthrough! The darkness within me and all around me can feel overwhelming at times. But what gives me hope is the word that is used for the last book of the Bible - apocalypse. This word is translated by the more modern term, revelation, and it literally means, "to break through." Paul uses this word in Romans 1:17 when speaking of how "a righteousness from God is revealed (apocalypsus - "broken through") in the gospel, the good news concerning Jesus Christ. And this word also points to the most critical aspect of Jesus' response to Peter right after Peter made his famous confession of faith: "You are the Christ (messiah, anointed one), the Son of the living God." Jesus made it clear to Peter that he had just experienced an apocalypse, a revelation. The rock on which Jesus would build his church would, yes, include the need for Peter and his successors to pass on his teachings, and yes, the need for properly confessing Jesus as the Christ. But the most important point that we must not miss, is that all this can only happen with an apocalypse, a revelation, that originates from the Father (Mt. 16::17).
Even though I have confidence in my salvation, because my faith and trust are in Jesus to save me from sin and death, I feel the need to be "born again", again. When Jesus first spoke of another birth it was a dynamic, new, living word and reality. But now it has become status quo and it has lost so much of its original power. There is still so much within me that needs saving! Many would try to console me by saying that in this life we will never receive our full salvation, that I need to be patient and just wait until I go to heaven or Jesus comes back. That's fine, and I do find comfort in that. But I've also become convinced that there is so much more of God's salvation that He intends for us to experience now. The promise of future rewards in heaven is dependent on how well we are overcomers in this life. I can't bear to continue in the Laodicean condition of lukewarmness any longer. I don't want to be the proverbial frog that is slowly being boiled to death because it is continually acclimating itself to the rising temperatures!
My prayers these days run something like this: "Daddy, I am a fool and will always be a fool apart from You. But I don't want to be apart from You! Draw me close. I don't know how to draw closer to you. Pierce my darkness!"
Even though I have confidence in my salvation, because my faith and trust are in Jesus to save me from sin and death, I feel the need to be "born again", again. When Jesus first spoke of another birth it was a dynamic, new, living word and reality. But now it has become status quo and it has lost so much of its original power. There is still so much within me that needs saving! Many would try to console me by saying that in this life we will never receive our full salvation, that I need to be patient and just wait until I go to heaven or Jesus comes back. That's fine, and I do find comfort in that. But I've also become convinced that there is so much more of God's salvation that He intends for us to experience now. The promise of future rewards in heaven is dependent on how well we are overcomers in this life. I can't bear to continue in the Laodicean condition of lukewarmness any longer. I don't want to be the proverbial frog that is slowly being boiled to death because it is continually acclimating itself to the rising temperatures!
My prayers these days run something like this: "Daddy, I am a fool and will always be a fool apart from You. But I don't want to be apart from You! Draw me close. I don't know how to draw closer to you. Pierce my darkness!"
embracing the darkness
So this is where I'm at in my relationship with God. Learning to pray. I actually prefer to think of it in James' words, "draw(ing) near to God." But how does one "draw near" to One who is described in Hebrews 12:29 as "a consuming fire!" As believers we are taught that we should be "conformed to the image of Christ", but we aren't prepared to be turned into a pile of ashes in the process, are we?! Like the rich young ruler we are eager to learn all we can about how to "inherit eternal life". But when faced with the darkness within our own souls it's hard to fully accept it for what it truly is - to embrace it - and thereby keep moving forward, drawing nearer to God.
Here's a thought that has just been clarified for me: to draw near to God means we have to leave the light that we have been comfortable walking in, and plunge into the darkness that still exists in those hidden, scary parts of our soul. Psalm 23 takes on a whole new meaning: "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." All those wonderful things we find comfort in, reading and meditating on concerning the Lord as our shepherd, will only happen as we are willing to walk, with Him, through the dark valleys of our soul.
At first I wondered if it was too strong a terminology to say, "embrace the darkness" within one's self. But I think that is exactly what we must do. Isn't that the whole point of Jesus' sermon on the mount (the beatitudes)? "Blessed are the poor . . . the hungry . . . the persecuted." Or James' preposterous exhortation to "count it all joy" when we face whatever difficulties come our way? We embrace the darkness because it is the only way to get from the illusion of light (our comfort zones that are well lit by our own lighting system) to the purity of God's light where no darkness can exist.
Jesus embraced the darkness when he took on a human form, when he hung out with sinners. He did the ultimate embracing of darkness when he took the penalty for our sins on his own body and went to hell so we wouldn't have to. Only God could embrace hell itself, and overcome it. But if we are to be his disciples He does ask us to embrace the darkness - to identify with Jesus' death, the darkest of all human experiences. How that happens and what that will look like in every believer's life is as different and unique as we are. But it must happen if we are to "draw near".
Here's a thought that has just been clarified for me: to draw near to God means we have to leave the light that we have been comfortable walking in, and plunge into the darkness that still exists in those hidden, scary parts of our soul. Psalm 23 takes on a whole new meaning: "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." All those wonderful things we find comfort in, reading and meditating on concerning the Lord as our shepherd, will only happen as we are willing to walk, with Him, through the dark valleys of our soul.
At first I wondered if it was too strong a terminology to say, "embrace the darkness" within one's self. But I think that is exactly what we must do. Isn't that the whole point of Jesus' sermon on the mount (the beatitudes)? "Blessed are the poor . . . the hungry . . . the persecuted." Or James' preposterous exhortation to "count it all joy" when we face whatever difficulties come our way? We embrace the darkness because it is the only way to get from the illusion of light (our comfort zones that are well lit by our own lighting system) to the purity of God's light where no darkness can exist.
Jesus embraced the darkness when he took on a human form, when he hung out with sinners. He did the ultimate embracing of darkness when he took the penalty for our sins on his own body and went to hell so we wouldn't have to. Only God could embrace hell itself, and overcome it. But if we are to be his disciples He does ask us to embrace the darkness - to identify with Jesus' death, the darkest of all human experiences. How that happens and what that will look like in every believer's life is as different and unique as we are. But it must happen if we are to "draw near".
recognizing our darkness
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be stripped of everything . . . except God? I read once of a Chinese pastor who was thrown in jail and was not allowed to see anyone or read anything. He was not allowed to have or read his most treasured possession, the Bible. But that became the most transformative time of his life. He discovered that his relationship to God grew in new ways that had never occurred before. In a sense, the Bible itself had become a barrier between himself and God. Once that was taken away he was left with nothing else - just him and God. Scary at first. Downright terrifying, in fact, to be so alone, in blackness. In your head you know there's a God, and that He's with you. But how do you relate to someone you can't see or touch or relate to as you would another human?
Growing up in a Christian home I was taught the importance of having a "daily quiet time", a time set apart for Bible study and prayer every day. Throughout my early years in life I was quite faithful at doing this. But by the time I was in college I started losing interest because I recognized that this had become too much of an empty ritual. At times I would gain some refreshment from it, but that seemed to be happening less and less. Something was wrong. So I quit, and I haven't practiced a "daily quiet time" ever since (gasp!).
What was wrong? I've pondered this quite a bit over the years. One conclusion I've come to is that I wish prayer would have been emphasized over Bible study. I think the reason that Bible study becomes so much of an emphasis is because it is something tangible that we can hang on to with our minds. The problem with this is that our relationship with God becomes a mental exercise instead of a truly spiritual one (I'm generalizing, of course). I would never advocate getting rid of our Bibles or our study of it. But I do think that it's a good idea to emphasize prayer ahead of study. When I did this I discovered how underdeveloped this part of me was, and still is. To let go of a purely intellectual relationship with God (which is what Bible study tends to promote) and seek a more spirit-to-spirit relationship has been the hardest thing I've ever done. It is definitely leaving one's comfort zone (a well-lit place) and entering into a kind of darkness (unknown and undefined). Does this seem strange? If "God is light", why should it seem dark to move in his direction?
I think the answer has to do with the difference between God's light and the light of our own making. And the two may not be easy to distinguish. There are times when we know without a question that God's light has pierced our darkness. We experience his joy, his love, etc. But instead of cultivating the relationship we tend to want to hang on to that wonderful experience and keep duplicating it. A subtle shift happens whereby the focus changes from actually loving Him to loving those things that were instrumental in bringing us to Him. Before we know it He has taken a turn in another direction and we are still going down the road we assume He is still on (like the time it took Jesus' parents three days to notice that he was no longer with them on their journey home from Jerusalem!)
"You diligently study the Scriptures." Jesus said to the Pharisees, "because you think that by them you possess eternal life. . . yet you refuse to come to me to have life" (Jn. 5:39-40).
Growing up in a Christian home I was taught the importance of having a "daily quiet time", a time set apart for Bible study and prayer every day. Throughout my early years in life I was quite faithful at doing this. But by the time I was in college I started losing interest because I recognized that this had become too much of an empty ritual. At times I would gain some refreshment from it, but that seemed to be happening less and less. Something was wrong. So I quit, and I haven't practiced a "daily quiet time" ever since (gasp!).
What was wrong? I've pondered this quite a bit over the years. One conclusion I've come to is that I wish prayer would have been emphasized over Bible study. I think the reason that Bible study becomes so much of an emphasis is because it is something tangible that we can hang on to with our minds. The problem with this is that our relationship with God becomes a mental exercise instead of a truly spiritual one (I'm generalizing, of course). I would never advocate getting rid of our Bibles or our study of it. But I do think that it's a good idea to emphasize prayer ahead of study. When I did this I discovered how underdeveloped this part of me was, and still is. To let go of a purely intellectual relationship with God (which is what Bible study tends to promote) and seek a more spirit-to-spirit relationship has been the hardest thing I've ever done. It is definitely leaving one's comfort zone (a well-lit place) and entering into a kind of darkness (unknown and undefined). Does this seem strange? If "God is light", why should it seem dark to move in his direction?
I think the answer has to do with the difference between God's light and the light of our own making. And the two may not be easy to distinguish. There are times when we know without a question that God's light has pierced our darkness. We experience his joy, his love, etc. But instead of cultivating the relationship we tend to want to hang on to that wonderful experience and keep duplicating it. A subtle shift happens whereby the focus changes from actually loving Him to loving those things that were instrumental in bringing us to Him. Before we know it He has taken a turn in another direction and we are still going down the road we assume He is still on (like the time it took Jesus' parents three days to notice that he was no longer with them on their journey home from Jerusalem!)
"You diligently study the Scriptures." Jesus said to the Pharisees, "because you think that by them you possess eternal life. . . yet you refuse to come to me to have life" (Jn. 5:39-40).
Sunday, June 28, 2015
"uniquely"
The best wedding gift my wife and I received were two prophetic words from two different individuals, one from a lady the Sunday before we were married, and the other from our pastor during the wedding itself. Scripture says that it takes two witnesses to confirm something as true. What a wonderful confirmation from God that His hand was directly involved in our marriage, that He would give, not just one, but two words! The fact that one came through a woman and the other through a man also, I believe, carries significance.
I want to focus on just one word that Sue Nelson spoke (wrote, actually) to us, but here is the entire sentence: "As I have drawn you together in Me, I will be faithful to hold you and care for you and love you uniquely unto Myself." Wow! What an encouragement! That's why I love the prophetic so much. One might be able to glean that truth from reading Scripture, but to have God speak it directly to you is something quite special.
What I love about the word "uniquely" is that it speaks of God's wonderful, amazing and infinite creativity. The One who never makes two snowflakes (or people) alike loves to mix it up, to do things differently, to catch us off guard by the new things that's He up to. Do you know why the two on the road to Emmaus failed to recognize Jesus when he appeared to them after his resurrection? Luke says that "they were kept from recognizing him", but Mark tells us how: "Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them . . ." (Mk.16:12). The whole story of God's dealings and relationship with his people is filled with this kind of thing. Over and over again He's having to break apart the boxes that the religious status quo has tried to build around Him, trying to define the Infinite One. What folly! Yet we keep doing it, don't we? I think we do it because we think it will give us a sense of security if we can make Him more predictable, more conformable to our expectations. But the opposite is what is true and real. His infinite creativity should add to our sense of security, knowing that anything is possible! God is never "challenged" by the problems and issues that threaten to overwhelm us. He specializes in turning negatives into positives, creating order out of chaos. That's when He is at His creative best!
When I read what Sue wrote to us, that God has promised to love us "uniquely" unto Himself. I think, "the sky is the limit!" What He's doing in us is not going to look like what He's doing in others, and we shouldn't expect it to. That's the limitation of professional counseling. A counselor is limited by his/her concept of what should be happening, by what they think is the right and best way to help someone. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just not the whole picture. Only God sees the whole picture and He can do it any way He wants - "God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases (Ps.115:3)!"
"Our little systems have their day,
They have their day and cease to be;
They are but broken lights of Thee,
And Thou, oh Lord, art more than they!"
- Alfred Lord Tennyson
"Truth is stranger than fiction, for fiction is limited to what we can imagine and truth isn't."
- Mark Twain
I want to focus on just one word that Sue Nelson spoke (wrote, actually) to us, but here is the entire sentence: "As I have drawn you together in Me, I will be faithful to hold you and care for you and love you uniquely unto Myself." Wow! What an encouragement! That's why I love the prophetic so much. One might be able to glean that truth from reading Scripture, but to have God speak it directly to you is something quite special.
What I love about the word "uniquely" is that it speaks of God's wonderful, amazing and infinite creativity. The One who never makes two snowflakes (or people) alike loves to mix it up, to do things differently, to catch us off guard by the new things that's He up to. Do you know why the two on the road to Emmaus failed to recognize Jesus when he appeared to them after his resurrection? Luke says that "they were kept from recognizing him", but Mark tells us how: "Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them . . ." (Mk.16:12). The whole story of God's dealings and relationship with his people is filled with this kind of thing. Over and over again He's having to break apart the boxes that the religious status quo has tried to build around Him, trying to define the Infinite One. What folly! Yet we keep doing it, don't we? I think we do it because we think it will give us a sense of security if we can make Him more predictable, more conformable to our expectations. But the opposite is what is true and real. His infinite creativity should add to our sense of security, knowing that anything is possible! God is never "challenged" by the problems and issues that threaten to overwhelm us. He specializes in turning negatives into positives, creating order out of chaos. That's when He is at His creative best!
When I read what Sue wrote to us, that God has promised to love us "uniquely" unto Himself. I think, "the sky is the limit!" What He's doing in us is not going to look like what He's doing in others, and we shouldn't expect it to. That's the limitation of professional counseling. A counselor is limited by his/her concept of what should be happening, by what they think is the right and best way to help someone. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just not the whole picture. Only God sees the whole picture and He can do it any way He wants - "God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases (Ps.115:3)!"
"Our little systems have their day,
They have their day and cease to be;
They are but broken lights of Thee,
And Thou, oh Lord, art more than they!"
- Alfred Lord Tennyson
"Truth is stranger than fiction, for fiction is limited to what we can imagine and truth isn't."
- Mark Twain
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
passion
This past week I saw the movie, RAY, for the second time (story of the famous blind, black musician, Ray Charles). There were a number of very moving scenes in the film, and when the movie was over I came away with the general thought, "I, too, am a person of passion." Ray Charles had a number of passions in his life, one of which was heroin (which nearly ended his career prematurely). The passion he had for keeping a promise he had made to his mother (that he would never allow himself to act like a cripple) is what pulled him out of his addiction and kept him on track to keep fulfilling his number one passion in life - making music.
Most of my life I never would have thought of myself as a passionate person. Bruce Jones was always the cool, calm, rarely ruffled guy. I thought that was a good way to be until a bout with depression temporarily knocked me out of college and my therapist informed me that I was suppressing emotions and thus bringing on depression. Fast forward 10 years and I'm marrying someone who is hoping to have an emotionally satisfying marriage and . . . after 30 years of marriage I'm having to face head-on the reality that I'm broken and non-functional in this very important part of life! BUT, over the years I've been aware that passion has slowly been awakening in me (unfortunately it's not the romantic kind, yet). Slowly, ever so slowly, from time to time, I'll find strong emotion beginning to surface - my throat will tighten, and though tears may not actually materialize I know the first phase of crying is beginning to manifest itself. I actually did have an all-out, tears flowing, weeping session when I met with a Christian healing minister a year and a half ago. What triggered that outburst was my recounting to her the time I had to quickly and unexpectedly leave Honduras, my childhood home, due to my older sister's mental breakdown. I had no clue that this experience had such a strong, deep well of emotion that had never been able to be expressed before. How sad that I had been unable to connect fully with those feelings at the time they were occurring!
I believe there's something in our Western, Christian culture that seriously impedes and hampers the proper expression and full range of our emotions. Passion is viewed more as a negative than a positive, something to be suspicious of and kept under tight control. But I've come to the conclusion that passion is one of God's wonderful gifts to humans, to be fully appreciated and welcomed. "Be angry!" the apostle exhorts us, "but don't sin, and don't let the sun go down on your anger." The problem is not with our passions, but rather with the uncleaness in our hearts that twists our passions in a wrong direction. I know Jesus didn't say it this way, but I think he would agree with this statement: "Blessed are the passionate with pure hearts, for they shall see God."
Most of my life I never would have thought of myself as a passionate person. Bruce Jones was always the cool, calm, rarely ruffled guy. I thought that was a good way to be until a bout with depression temporarily knocked me out of college and my therapist informed me that I was suppressing emotions and thus bringing on depression. Fast forward 10 years and I'm marrying someone who is hoping to have an emotionally satisfying marriage and . . . after 30 years of marriage I'm having to face head-on the reality that I'm broken and non-functional in this very important part of life! BUT, over the years I've been aware that passion has slowly been awakening in me (unfortunately it's not the romantic kind, yet). Slowly, ever so slowly, from time to time, I'll find strong emotion beginning to surface - my throat will tighten, and though tears may not actually materialize I know the first phase of crying is beginning to manifest itself. I actually did have an all-out, tears flowing, weeping session when I met with a Christian healing minister a year and a half ago. What triggered that outburst was my recounting to her the time I had to quickly and unexpectedly leave Honduras, my childhood home, due to my older sister's mental breakdown. I had no clue that this experience had such a strong, deep well of emotion that had never been able to be expressed before. How sad that I had been unable to connect fully with those feelings at the time they were occurring!
I believe there's something in our Western, Christian culture that seriously impedes and hampers the proper expression and full range of our emotions. Passion is viewed more as a negative than a positive, something to be suspicious of and kept under tight control. But I've come to the conclusion that passion is one of God's wonderful gifts to humans, to be fully appreciated and welcomed. "Be angry!" the apostle exhorts us, "but don't sin, and don't let the sun go down on your anger." The problem is not with our passions, but rather with the uncleaness in our hearts that twists our passions in a wrong direction. I know Jesus didn't say it this way, but I think he would agree with this statement: "Blessed are the passionate with pure hearts, for they shall see God."
Sunday, June 21, 2015
hope deferred
As long as I can remember I was familiar with the proverb out of the Bible, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick." The funny thing is I never knew that there was more to that proverb until I looked it up. The entire proverb goes, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a promise fulfilled is a tree of life" (Prov. 13:12). Most people would not choose this (especially the first part) as their "life verse", but this really does summarize quite concisely what my life has been both before and after marriage. When I decided to drop out of post graduate studies because I wanted to devote my life to "knowing God and making Him known", I started down a path of becoming more and more aware of the sickness within my own heart. Instead of finding a God who welcomed me with open arms I found myself continually stumbling forward, trying to grasp those hands that I knew were outstretched towards me but which seemed to be continually retreating. Getting married only intensified this process, for now there were two of us with sick hearts, trying to draw closer to God but having a hard time of it.
My wife, who is very down-to-earth, can say very clearly what her deferred hopes are: a romantically satisfying marriage, daughter healed of Downs Syndrome, and restored relationships with two sons who have been taken from her. My deferred hope is much more metaphysical and less tangible, but to me just as down-to-earth: drawing near to God, walking with Him, loving Him with my entire being, together with loving my wife (which I've come to realize cannot and must never be separated from loving God).
I haven't told too many people that Proverbs 13:12 is my wife's and my life verse, but the few we've told don't give us positive feedback. The response is a pained expression on the face or some kind of comment like, "No, no, don't identify with that kind of negative statement!" But what they don't realize, which is what is slowly starting to sink in, deeply, is that the only way to get to the second half of that verse is to go through the first half. Or to put it another way, the only way to see miracles happen (for yourself) is to really need one. Both my wife and I have been given the grace to believe that miracles should be a normal part of a believer's life. It's as simple or straightforward as hearing what God is saying and believing it (Gal. 3:5). But what do you do when you not only feel that God has told you that He is going to heal your daughter; others have also encouraged you to believe for this; and Scripture itself tells us that "nothing is impossible to them that believe" (Mt. 17:20); yet year after year goes by with nothing happening. That's what hope deferred has been for us.
Of course, one simple solution is to stop believing for such impossible things. But I don't want a God who's salvation is only in the abstract (saving me from hell and getting me to heaven after I die). I want a God whose salvation is just as evident in this present physical realm as it is in the non-physical, spiritual realm. The God that the Bible speaks of, that Jesus represented. The walk of faith is not for wimps, is it (check out Hebrews 11)? We can imitate the heroes of faith, but only to a point. I've heard it said that for faith to be genuine one must walk a path that has never been walked before. That can be scary. One can feel very vulnerable . . . and subject to heartsickness.
My wife, who is very down-to-earth, can say very clearly what her deferred hopes are: a romantically satisfying marriage, daughter healed of Downs Syndrome, and restored relationships with two sons who have been taken from her. My deferred hope is much more metaphysical and less tangible, but to me just as down-to-earth: drawing near to God, walking with Him, loving Him with my entire being, together with loving my wife (which I've come to realize cannot and must never be separated from loving God).
I haven't told too many people that Proverbs 13:12 is my wife's and my life verse, but the few we've told don't give us positive feedback. The response is a pained expression on the face or some kind of comment like, "No, no, don't identify with that kind of negative statement!" But what they don't realize, which is what is slowly starting to sink in, deeply, is that the only way to get to the second half of that verse is to go through the first half. Or to put it another way, the only way to see miracles happen (for yourself) is to really need one. Both my wife and I have been given the grace to believe that miracles should be a normal part of a believer's life. It's as simple or straightforward as hearing what God is saying and believing it (Gal. 3:5). But what do you do when you not only feel that God has told you that He is going to heal your daughter; others have also encouraged you to believe for this; and Scripture itself tells us that "nothing is impossible to them that believe" (Mt. 17:20); yet year after year goes by with nothing happening. That's what hope deferred has been for us.
Of course, one simple solution is to stop believing for such impossible things. But I don't want a God who's salvation is only in the abstract (saving me from hell and getting me to heaven after I die). I want a God whose salvation is just as evident in this present physical realm as it is in the non-physical, spiritual realm. The God that the Bible speaks of, that Jesus represented. The walk of faith is not for wimps, is it (check out Hebrews 11)? We can imitate the heroes of faith, but only to a point. I've heard it said that for faith to be genuine one must walk a path that has never been walked before. That can be scary. One can feel very vulnerable . . . and subject to heartsickness.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)