And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

I was recently included in an invitation to participate in an activity.  For various reasons I declined; any one of them had sufficient merit to opt out, but together, the choice was self-directing.  A few days after the initial invitation, a second was received.  It came on a rather busy day and not wanting to forget to respond, I sent a brief message indicating my choice.  Rather quickly, I received a reply questioning my decision which was followed by a volley of emails that indicated offense for both my choice and my means of communicating it.  The end result was yet another hurt and a broken relationship that increased my desire to withdraw from most people and especially pull away from the Christian community.

One of the difficulties for those dealing with life’s trials and/or the ongoing challenges of chronic illness is the focus.  We all face various circumstances that disappoint and frustrate us giving rise to the need of confidantes to whom we share our thoughts and occasionally vent.  However, when our thoughts become self-absorbed, we lose our perspective and cause damage in our vital relationships. Whether or not we recognize it, we first do significant damage to ourselves; second we breakdown our relationships within and without the body of Christ; and finally we hinder our relationship with God.

When I consider all of the people that I’ve known who struggle with significant trials, chronic illness or both, the two extremes that I see are those that choose to focus on the challenges and those who choose to focus on God.  Certainly there are many variations and gradations in between, but that’s the scale.  The former tend to be self-focused, demanding and negative.  In short, their view is limited and directed primarily toward their own earthly matters.  While their choice to become myopic may be a passive choice, it is a choice nonetheless.  The damage done is to themselves in the form of fear, worry and doubt which closes the door to the grace of God and man.  In contrast, the latter actively choose to look upward to God, to His character and His promises.  I say actively because they have the same sorts of challenges, fears, limitations, and disappointments, but they make an offensive move to rely on God to help them work through frustrations.  When they share their concerns, they share them from a biblical perspective with the hope of faith in God.  They trust that God will indeed supply all of their needs and rely on His grace to provide peace in the midst of the storm.  While their circumstances may not improve, they can look beyond them to the spiritual matters at hand…it may take some effort and much sustaining grace from our Lord, but they still make that choice.

One of the hurdles caused by the upheaval of life’s plans is social interaction.  For some, like those losing a loved one, it can be awkward as they adjust to a new normal and they may have a tendency to withdraw; for others their circumstances may limit or prevent interaction.  As if the trials aren’t enough, the isolation provides ample opportunity to obsess over the challenges.  Left unchecked, the result is that when they do interact, conversation is often focused on themselves, their needs and their complaints.  There is little concern with the needs of others and as a result there is little love and little grace.  There is also the tendency to become demanding of others to prove that they truly care for us.  Sadly, this often drives people away and further limits interaction thereby breaking down relationships and the body of Christ.  In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul tells us to follow the example of Christ to:  “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”  God created us to live in the context of community.  When we allow His grace to be sufficient for us, we become conduits of His grace to others; selfishness is replaced with concern for others; demands are preplaced with generosity, expectations are replaced with gratitude, and dissention is replaced with loving relationships…and frustration is supplanted by peace.  Ultimately, the community of Christians is strengthened.

There is no shortage of people who have turned away from God when problems arise.  Sometimes it is an act of anger while others are more passive as they merely allow the worries of life to pull them away from God…or as Christ put it:  choke out their faith.  Whether active or passive, it is the ultimate selfish act.  When we focus on ourselves and our problems rather than trusting God’s plan for us, not only do we harm ourselves and push others away, but we also elevate ourselves above God and our desires become more important than what God desires for us and for others.  God has loved us with an everlasting love, He has chosen us before the world was created, He has planned our lives before there was even one day, He has sacrificed His Son for us, He has provided a Comforter to help us and direct our way, and He has invited us to a close relationship with Him.  Should we allow our temporary trials and selfishness to inhibit the best possible existence in this life and deprive us of absolute joy in the next?  Of course we shouldn’t, but it does take a fair amount of decisive action to draw near to God.  If we are to strengthen our relationship with Him, we need to constantly hope, trust and believe in the only One who can faithfully provide, guide, protect and redeem.  When we do, He most certainly draws near to us and our bond with Him is fortified.  That union gives us the courage to face whatever befalls us in this life.  It is His grace that gives us the ability to pen words such as those in the “It Is Well With My Soul” and “Amazing Grace”; write books such “When God Weeps” and “Shattered Dreams”; or produce videos such as “Suffering and the Sovereignty of God”.  These have been created by godly people who chose to draw near to God and allow Him to work through them to encourage the body of Christ in spite of their pain.  It is evidence that God is faithful when we seek His will above our own and trust that He is enough.

As for me I’m still struggling, but am doing my best to keep an eternal perspective for myself as well as others. I am intelligent enough to know that I cannot be obedient to God and withdraw from the body of Christ.  By definition it is a community filled with broken people in need of redemption and at various stages in the process of renewal and sanctification.  As such, there are struggles even there.  Fortunately, I am surrounded by a few that will point me to the truth.  In fact some of us are currently going through “The Truth Project”.  In the first session a question is posed:  “Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?”  Stop and let that sink in.  We say that we believe in God and that His word is true.  Do we merely know it intellectually or do we believe it enough to live by it?  Is God enough for us?  It is a daily challenge for me to look beyond my earthly circumstances…to look upward and trust that God is enough but it is a choice I need to keep making. Psalm 73:26 is dear to me.  It says: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”  As long as I have breath, I pray that this is my confession and my testimony.

May God’s grace be sufficient for you and may His power be made perfect in your weakness.

Will