About application...
I thought of something that maybe we should heed while thinking up ways to portray the struggle of trusting Jesus during hard times...or whatever times for that matter...
Last night there were several mentions of the fact that, when it comes down to it, our problem is that we don't choose to trust in God's sovereign designs for our sufferings and trials. Therefore, we reasoned that we must simply...well, choose. Indeed. However, I think there is something deeper than this. And I pull this from scripture, from Liz's testimony, and my own life: In conquering this distrust we have in God, there is something more than just the classic "make a decision" we hear from many who have a more formulaic way of going about things. But I find that one can "choose" arrogantly, or rather...try to make a decision by "will power" to trust God too hastily, without ever crumbling before God first in surrender before boasting in some great decision they made. I am not saying that making haste to trust Jesus is a bad thing, but it can be a bad thing when we gloss over pain just to will ourselves into a quick fix. I think it is clear in scripture that trials are sent to first make us crumble and stop for a while to weep and be broken. For instance, how long did Job - who was righteous in God's eyes (holy cow!) - mourn and lay prostrate before the Lord roused him back to trusting in God? Or how about in Mark 9:24 when the wavering man says, "I believe; help my unbelief!" The man was a believer, but there were still parts of his own heart that he could not merely "will" to believe. He had to ask for help first.
I also saw this in Liz's testimony when she said that she was in such despondency that she could not eat or get up off the couch. And it was in her complete brokenness that God planted within her a desire for Himself. And when we exult after a time of conquering despondency or trials, what do we boast in? Our decision we made? Or Jesus supernaturally awakening us to his love and glory?
Or how about this example: I heard Matt Chandler talking about how we go about things in this life such as loving others, serving in the church, loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, etc. And he tested his audience by saying, "Ok. I command you to love the person in front of you just as Jesus loves them! Ok. Now I command you to love your wife as Christ loves the church! Now...serve with glad hearts!" He went on and on, but the gist was that you can not will yourself to do such things. It just doesn't happen. There is something that must happen before this, and that is being humbled at your own depravity and pleading with Jesus to heal your broken self so that you can be empowerd to love and trust Jesus. Too many people are burnt out and have hard hearts from hastily trying to move on in the flesh during a trial.
Indeed, there are decisions to be made...Jesus demands that...but he demands we come to him first.
Thoughts??
Last night there were several mentions of the fact that, when it comes down to it, our problem is that we don't choose to trust in God's sovereign designs for our sufferings and trials. Therefore, we reasoned that we must simply...well, choose. Indeed. However, I think there is something deeper than this. And I pull this from scripture, from Liz's testimony, and my own life: In conquering this distrust we have in God, there is something more than just the classic "make a decision" we hear from many who have a more formulaic way of going about things. But I find that one can "choose" arrogantly, or rather...try to make a decision by "will power" to trust God too hastily, without ever crumbling before God first in surrender before boasting in some great decision they made. I am not saying that making haste to trust Jesus is a bad thing, but it can be a bad thing when we gloss over pain just to will ourselves into a quick fix. I think it is clear in scripture that trials are sent to first make us crumble and stop for a while to weep and be broken. For instance, how long did Job - who was righteous in God's eyes (holy cow!) - mourn and lay prostrate before the Lord roused him back to trusting in God? Or how about in Mark 9:24 when the wavering man says, "I believe; help my unbelief!" The man was a believer, but there were still parts of his own heart that he could not merely "will" to believe. He had to ask for help first.
I also saw this in Liz's testimony when she said that she was in such despondency that she could not eat or get up off the couch. And it was in her complete brokenness that God planted within her a desire for Himself. And when we exult after a time of conquering despondency or trials, what do we boast in? Our decision we made? Or Jesus supernaturally awakening us to his love and glory?
Or how about this example: I heard Matt Chandler talking about how we go about things in this life such as loving others, serving in the church, loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, etc. And he tested his audience by saying, "Ok. I command you to love the person in front of you just as Jesus loves them! Ok. Now I command you to love your wife as Christ loves the church! Now...serve with glad hearts!" He went on and on, but the gist was that you can not will yourself to do such things. It just doesn't happen. There is something that must happen before this, and that is being humbled at your own depravity and pleading with Jesus to heal your broken self so that you can be empowerd to love and trust Jesus. Too many people are burnt out and have hard hearts from hastily trying to move on in the flesh during a trial.
Indeed, there are decisions to be made...Jesus demands that...but he demands we come to him first.
Thoughts??
posted by Hope Grouper at 3:44 PM
7 Comments:
sorry...forgot to sign my name by it. I hate anonymous postings..
Brandon
Brandon,
I agree with some of what you're saying ...
True: Trials come to refine us, burn off the sin in our lives, perhaps even break us. We can't overlook that as one of the purposes of any trial. We can't forget that brokenness and cleansing are part of the desired outcome.
True: We can't do anything in our own strength. We can't get through any trial in the right way apart from God's grace and strength. And we can't "choose" to trust God apart from God. It is the same message that we've hammered the last several weeks. God saves us. God keeps us saved. God gives us the power to live saved. God gives us the power to choose to trust him. He must do all of it.
However, we can know that he will do his part. If he wants to break us, he will do it. By any means necessary. As with Liz's example, we don't have any problem being brought low. God will see to it that we are crushed if that's what the situation calls for. No one can withstand God breaking them.
And we can know that he will do his part in offering the strength to stand and trust him (1 Cor 10:13). We know that. God will do what he says he will do.
The problem is that we do not do our part. We "know" that God will do his part, but we don't live like we know it. We've read the verses. We've heard the sermons. But in the times of trial we too often choose to wallow in self-pity or choose to question God's goodness instead of remembering what we "know".
I believe that is the point where we fail most often. If we really know and believe that God is loving, good, and faithful, then we must choose to act on that knowledge.
Job knew and believed the right things. He said them over and over. God affirmed him for holding to those beliefs. But he didn't live like he believed them. And God chewed him out for it. God gets all over Job for questioning His justice. Even though Job was saying that God was just (he knew this to be true) he wasn't living like he knew it to be true. So he was, in essence, still discrediting (40:8) God's justice.
When Job began living like he believed what he said he believed (by praying for his friends instead of whining about his own trials) God blessed Job.
Don't get me wrong ... I'm not saying that I or anyone else could have handled Job's trial any better than he did. But the lesson still applies.
Which brings us back to the beginning and our choice to trust God as good. And trust him in the way that we live and endure trials ... not just with our mouths.
God will do his part.
He will break us.
He will make sure to get our attention - by whatever means necessary.
And he will give us the strength to trust him.
Then we have to take that strength and live like we believe that God is good. Regardless of our circumstances.
Them's my thoughts ...
Aaron
interesting...
i don't know if i stated what i wanted to the full extent. I feel you, and agree with you.
I think more simply put, is that we can choose in a boastful way without ever being honest with the Lord. I guess I see in my mind the old beligerent preacher who focuses on will-power rather than Jesus' strength lived through us. Thus, we come before God and never acknowledge weakness as we boastfully stand on our own power and claim, "I choose!" when there was no real honest surrender. I don't know...just thinking. What some call "our part" I still see as God's work. Just wanted to make sure we were not boasting in anything else. Thanks for your response.
I could have just done this from the beginning. The Bible articulates things way better than me, and I feel these verses capture the essence of how we should think:
"Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." - 1 Ptr 4:11
"....on the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." - 1 Cor. 15:10
"For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me." -Col. 1:29
Indeed we work, yet not us, but the grace of God in us. Sorry if there was any confusion.
We knew what you were saying.
We were baiting you.
It means we love you.
Thanks for letting us walk with you through your thought process. You've got a good brain, Brandon!!
Again, in my prayer time today, I was praying about how we should do this. Because of everything that is going on with Grady (therefore Liz) we are not using her testimony this weekend. So...I need to write something.
While I was thinking through this, I'm pretty sure I need to come up with a way that shows that God is for us. His plans are perfect. He wants to bring good out of everything in our lives (good to God equals godliness). HOWEVER...we forget that so easily. SO EASILY!! We are distracted by the tiniest things...or maybe it's just me.
If we really took "God is for us" and "We are more than conquerors" and "This world is temporary...our lives even more so" and held that up to every trial, every annoyance, every issue that comes up (big and little) I think we would be able to be satisfied and content in all situations.
So...what is something we could use where someone keeps going through all this junk...or reacting wrong...or thinking wrong all because they forgot some HUGE thing.
Like...
Starving, living on the streets all because you FORGOT you were a millionaire.
Drinking food out of a straw, staying in bed, taking chemo because you FORGOT you aren't sick anymore.
Help.
Heather
Ok, I don't know if this will be usable at all but I just wanted to share a good mental image Shannan Feldman gave me today from a book she had read.
There's a man walking along the road carrying on his back this massive pack full of stuff.
I guy with a horse and a wagon pulls up. The guy says "That looks really heavy. Let me take you into town with my wagon."
The other guys says "No. That's alright."
The guy with the wagon says "That's crazy. Just get in the wagon."
After much convincing, the guy finally agrees to take a ride.
So they start off down the road. The guy steering the wagon is perplexed when he looks back and sees that the guy is standing up in the wagon with his pack still on.
I don't know about you guys, but I can totally relate to this. This is so what we do all to often with God. We say ok, I'll let you help me, but we still feel like we need to be doing some of the work.
This guy wasn't accomplishing anything. He would still get to town in that wagon whether he held that pack or not. He wasn't doing himself any favor, even though he might have been throughly convinced he was. He was doing more harm than good.
I just think this relates to what this series is trying to get at. I don't know if you could use it for a skit idea on this one, but I just wanted to throw it out there for future uses.
ha! that is good stuff (heather and kaycee). no capital letters in this post for me. nope.
this creativity stuff is hard. I don't know how you guys do it week to week. I will put on my thinking cap.
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