Today was a spiritual battle royal. Evil was doing everything in its power to keep me from hearing the Lords word preached today, they pulled out all the punches, but the Lord prevailed.
I used to think it was the person doing the speaking that was so brilliantly able to reach my soul. Now I know it is the Holy Ghost himself speaking through his vessels, us, to reach his beloved, also us. He can and does use anyone, even non-believers sometimes, to stir our hearts, encourage our spirit, or rebuke our sinfulness.
The thing that really hit home today that was missing from my church experience growing up is this simple fact. Christians suffer too. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ does not somehow absolve us from the effects of living in a sinful world, i.e suffering. In fact, just the opposite. God practically guarantees we will suffer, and sometimes suffer greatly during out time on earth. But God in his infinite goodness and grace, sent his son to suffer for us, so that our suffering might be limited to this time on earth. What the gospel also guarantees is an eternity of peace in heaven together with God, where this life won't even be remembered, where there will be no crying, no pain, nothing but full, unfathomable joy.
I never heard this growing up. Not saying it wasn't necessarily preached at some point, but I never heard it, grapsed it, understood it. The idea that I got from church in my youth is that Christians didn't suffer, struggle, or falter, unless they were doing something wrong. Any pain in life was a result of sin and a lack of right standing with God. It was to be dealt with alone in prayer, and once you had cleaned yourself up and fixed it with the Lord, you could come back and worship with the body in church. It was what I now know to be the lie of the prosperity gospel. The idea that God loves you and wants you to be happy 'in this life'. God does love us, so much that he sent his son to die a painful death on a cross to secure our eternal joy! But he saved us for a purpose, to be a light in the darkness of a sinful world. Something he guarantees will not be easy or readily accepted. But the reward of that work is immeasurably glorious....your soul together in heaven with Christ for an eternity, along with the souls of the lives you touched here on earth, as you suffered well for the cause of furthering the Kingdom of the Lord.
So suffer. Struggle! Be open about it! Don't hide it in the dark and pretend. What matters is not that you struggle, but how you struggle. How you handle suffering can be a beacon of hope to others who are also suffering, but without the benefit of a savior. You aren't doing anyone any favors by pretending you are Christian and therefore have no problems! You are a Christian and you have problems and Praise GOD for providing us with the ultimate solution to every worldly problem or pain.
So I will go first. I'm struggling. I struggle every day. I have to come before the Lord on my knees daily, several times a day to confess my sin, my fears, my hurts, and ask his forgiveness, comfort and healing...which he always, always provides abundantly. I'm not perfect and never will be as long as I'm living in this body, in this world. Sometimes that makes me want to leave this world. I want to hasten my return to Christs arms in a tangible way. I struggle with this in many ways. I think I've got it under control and it crops back up someplace else, disguised as something else. Pray for me, that I would find joy in this life in living my life for Christ every day. He has called me to something greater, he has a purpose for my life here, and it is not for me to decide when it ends. Pray that my faith would be stronger than the evil that surrounds me a provokes me to self destruction. Fellow believers, hold me accountable. Don't let me hide in plain sight. And Lord, I pray that I might be an encouragement to others who also struggle, that I would struggle well, in full view of my biblical community and in the light of the cross.
I used to think it was the person doing the speaking that was so brilliantly able to reach my soul. Now I know it is the Holy Ghost himself speaking through his vessels, us, to reach his beloved, also us. He can and does use anyone, even non-believers sometimes, to stir our hearts, encourage our spirit, or rebuke our sinfulness.
The thing that really hit home today that was missing from my church experience growing up is this simple fact. Christians suffer too. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ does not somehow absolve us from the effects of living in a sinful world, i.e suffering. In fact, just the opposite. God practically guarantees we will suffer, and sometimes suffer greatly during out time on earth. But God in his infinite goodness and grace, sent his son to suffer for us, so that our suffering might be limited to this time on earth. What the gospel also guarantees is an eternity of peace in heaven together with God, where this life won't even be remembered, where there will be no crying, no pain, nothing but full, unfathomable joy.
I never heard this growing up. Not saying it wasn't necessarily preached at some point, but I never heard it, grapsed it, understood it. The idea that I got from church in my youth is that Christians didn't suffer, struggle, or falter, unless they were doing something wrong. Any pain in life was a result of sin and a lack of right standing with God. It was to be dealt with alone in prayer, and once you had cleaned yourself up and fixed it with the Lord, you could come back and worship with the body in church. It was what I now know to be the lie of the prosperity gospel. The idea that God loves you and wants you to be happy 'in this life'. God does love us, so much that he sent his son to die a painful death on a cross to secure our eternal joy! But he saved us for a purpose, to be a light in the darkness of a sinful world. Something he guarantees will not be easy or readily accepted. But the reward of that work is immeasurably glorious....your soul together in heaven with Christ for an eternity, along with the souls of the lives you touched here on earth, as you suffered well for the cause of furthering the Kingdom of the Lord.
So suffer. Struggle! Be open about it! Don't hide it in the dark and pretend. What matters is not that you struggle, but how you struggle. How you handle suffering can be a beacon of hope to others who are also suffering, but without the benefit of a savior. You aren't doing anyone any favors by pretending you are Christian and therefore have no problems! You are a Christian and you have problems and Praise GOD for providing us with the ultimate solution to every worldly problem or pain.
So I will go first. I'm struggling. I struggle every day. I have to come before the Lord on my knees daily, several times a day to confess my sin, my fears, my hurts, and ask his forgiveness, comfort and healing...which he always, always provides abundantly. I'm not perfect and never will be as long as I'm living in this body, in this world. Sometimes that makes me want to leave this world. I want to hasten my return to Christs arms in a tangible way. I struggle with this in many ways. I think I've got it under control and it crops back up someplace else, disguised as something else. Pray for me, that I would find joy in this life in living my life for Christ every day. He has called me to something greater, he has a purpose for my life here, and it is not for me to decide when it ends. Pray that my faith would be stronger than the evil that surrounds me a provokes me to self destruction. Fellow believers, hold me accountable. Don't let me hide in plain sight. And Lord, I pray that I might be an encouragement to others who also struggle, that I would struggle well, in full view of my biblical community and in the light of the cross.
1 comment:
Rach I am praying for you! Thank you for your courageous honesty. This world is broken and wearisome and should make all of us long for home. But God is faithful to sustain us ieven in our darkest most dispairing hours. May the peace of Christ sustain you and may the joy of your salvation fill you with hope and purpose. Love you.
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