Tag Archives: Grace

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Just…

The Proper Estimation of Man and God

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“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  Hebrews 4:16

Just.  It’s a very small but significant word.   On the one hand it can be used to defend actions as reasonable, proper, righteous, deserved and lawful.  On the other, it can be used to express a lack of certainty, low expectation, or a lesser degree than desired.  As Christians we often use “just” inappropriately in our discussions with others and in our prayers.  The problem is that we often use the stronger version of the word in relationship to ourselves and the weaker version in reference to God.  When we do this, we think of ourselves “more highly than we ought to think” and underestimate God.

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The Art of Sacrifice

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“But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.  For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,  who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”   1 Peter 2:20-25

This past weekend I served at a Christian event.  I knew that I would need to give up some of the normal comforts of life, that I would need to push my body beyond what I would consider a wise pace for my health concerns and  that my diet would also be compromised.  However, I was not prepared for what I would consider unnecessary risks for myself and others due to disregard and lack of effort.  I’m not talking about malicious acts by evil people, but rather inadvertent decisions and actions by genuine godly people whom I have come to appreciate over the last few days.  The perceived lack of safety put me in a mode of questioning my decision to serve, counting down the hours until I could leave and started a running discussion in my head regarding what is “reasonable sacrifice”.  Thankfully, God quickly took me to the example of Christ which caused my issues to pale in comparison and allowed me to serve to the best of my ability and develop new friendships.

With respect to sacrifice, consider the following elements: preparation, opportunity, people, sacrifice, and reward.

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Mourning to Dancing

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“Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me; O Lord, be my helper.”  You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;  You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,  that my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever. Psalm 30:10-12

Twenty-five years ago, my life was turned upside down by chronic illness. I couldn’t eat, pain was intense and there seemed to be no answers. As the list of things that I couldn’t eat grew and my weight diminished to the point that co-workers were commenting with concern, my hope also waned. Without hope, I became frustrated and short tempered. Normal kept changing and for two years there were no answers. When a diagnosis finally came, it didn’t really answer the questions. My disease is rare and there are no real treatment plans. I could not bear the thought of living with the pain. Nor could I bear the thought of how my illness and inability to cope was affecting my wife and young children. To say that I was in mourning would be an understatement.
I struggled to reconcile my current circumstances with what I had been taught about God and His love for us. Where was all of the goodness promised to those who love God? How could God expect me to endure this pain indefinitely? While sympathetic to my condition, the Christians in my life provided no spiritual counsel. All of the attention was on my physical symptoms, but my soul did not appear to be on anyone’s radar.
For 12 years I wallowed. A change in churches helped. While not directly related to illness, a lot of truth was being poured into my life and my soul began to stir. Finally, I was forced to end my career as a CPA. It was then that I began facilitating a support group for the chronically ill. Truth related to my illness began to flood in. God had not abandoned me, but had been patiently laying the ground work to revive me…to move me from religion and legalism to a relationship with Him. He gave me a different perspective and began to restore my hope. He was, in fact, turning my mourning to dancing.
There were different aspects of change. One aspect was the redefining terms. For example good was no longer what made me happy, but what drew me closer to God and blessing became more related to my soul than physical comfort…not that the two can’t come together. There was also the redefining of my purpose in life. It wasn’t until my career was out of the way that I began to grasp the concept that the real goal in life is to “glorify God and enjoy Him”. It wasn’t about my objectives, but God’s plan…how He would use me as His vessel. Roman 8:28 and Romans 5:1-5 became real and vivid. Finally, there is a change in perspective. Call it a choice, call it spin or use whatever term you prefer, but in the end we either live for the moment or we live for eternity. I’m giving it my best to live with an eternal perspective.
My sorrow has truly been turned to dancing. It does not mean that I have been perfected, that I have all of the answers or that I am happy all of the time. What it does mean is that I face the difficulties of my disease and life with a hope that I did not previously enjoy. Tough circumstances are still a challenge and life is not always comfortable, but for those of us that trust in our Lord, it is always blessed…whether or not we see it. That is our hope and that is what carries us through the dark days.
Clearly this is an introductory post. Hopefully, for those of you with chronic illness, it provides a point of comradery and mutual understanding. Our pain may be different, but the lessons to be learned and the means of coping are similar. For all, it is a basis and context for future posts. In the end, we are called to be the best we that can be within our circumstances and view all of the events of our lives as an opportunity to glorify God and see how He is working them for good in our lives.
The metaphor I’ve chosen is meaningful in that it is both literal and figurative. My wife and I began taking dance lessons in spite of my illness. It is one thing that still brings joy and a sense of normalcy. The concentration that it takes to lead and move around the dance floor without collision while attempting to properly execute various steps take so much concentration, that I rarely feel the pain in my body while I’m dancing. We aren’t always graceful. We tire, have missteps and stumble, but we keep moving and trying to perfect our form. Similarly, dealing with chronic illness takes effort. Our response to illness is a choice and there are several options. We can sit on the perimeter and wallow. Whether bitter or afraid, the affect is still the same, we merely exist. Another option is to stomp through the dance out of obligation. While we may be moving, there is no grace and there certainly is no joy. It is purely obligatory and nothing glorious about it. Finally, we can accept our circumstances and fix our focus on God’s eternal plan rather than our immediate circumstances. In so doing, we move with hope, with joy and with grace and are a witness to those who watch us. Not only is our spirit lifted, but we encourage others as well.
For those of you who understand this concept and allow it to guide you, let us encourages each other. For those who are raw, hurting and confused, I offer that God has moved me from begging for my life to end to being hopeful and understanding the value of the struggle. If He can do that for me, He can do that for you as well.