"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." - John 16:33
I have started this blog half a hundred times and whether on paper or in my head they never quite turned out to be the way that I wanted them to. The heart of the matter was lost constantly in my own ramblings or perspective. Life is a difficult thing ladies and gentlemen. It is tough to swallow just how hard it is going to be at times. Life is never how we plan it. The world has this amazing way of changing without letting you know that it's going to. There is no preparation for it, no heads up, just a giant smack it in the face and suddenly the world is different. Nothing is the same and when you weren't ready for it, everything changed. In the last 6 months I have called 3 different countries home and been to nearly 10. Once conversation gets past my travels and ministry in Canada all the world seems to want the answer to one simple question: "What's next?". We are all waiting for the answer to that question.
In the past few months many of us have gone through change and are wrestling with the question of "What's next?" Some have come home, some have left home, lost jobs, watched people we love walk away from us, or pass on. We have seen people we looked up to fall from grace amidst rumors and police repots, others have watched leaders walk away without much explanation, and while many of these situations bring about an enormous amount of individual questions that are begging for answers they each lead to the simple question of "What's next?"
A bruised reed He will not break,
and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out.
In faithfulness He will bring forth justice;
Isaiah 42:3
In Isaiah 42 the prophet is describing the character of the Messiah that is to come. This verse speaks directly to the leadership and example that Christ would show us. Isaiah paints a beautiful picture of what Grace truly looks like. We are all bruised Whether it is from circumstance, happenstance, or our own foolishness not one of us is unscathed. We have come to points where our fire is almost out. Times when we were tiny smoldering wicks struggling to stay lit, sinking slowly, drowning in a pool of wax. It is encouraging to know that even in these times our Savior's character is not to break us or to snuff us out, but to bring forth justice. Yet we often do not think of justice the same way that God does. Justice does not always result in a prison sentence. More often than not, perfect justice results in redemption and restoration.
As I said I have started this blog several times and never quite been able to finish it. It always seemed to have a mind of its own. Reading back through old drafts I am glad that they were never published. They were written out of hurt, disappointment, and frustration. When someone that you really love walks away after you have poured yourself into them it can break your heart. When you see or hear something about someone that you looked up to or was put in a leadership position it can fill you with bitterness and contempt. You can allow yourself to become angry with those people and anyone who has any sort of commentary on the subject at hand. It's easy to lash out while wrapped up in emotion, and while any of the previous ideas for this post would have been entertaining, they would have missed the mark entirely. Our call is to emulate Christ and His character. In this instance it means simply to not break the bruised or snuff out those that are smoldering. This was the character of Christ. The very makeup and fiber of the being of the Messiah. The One in which God said He delighted and was well pleased. How I long to be described that way by God.
A great man once told me this: 'The Christian Army is the only army that shoots its own wounded."
We do. Plain and simple. Like a pack of hyenas we run to the scent of a fresh kill and tear to bits any piece we can sink our teeth into. We are called to a greater standard than this. Disappointment, frustration, and hurt are all pieces of our emotional structure. There is nothing wrong with any of these feelings. It is very normal to feel this way, but these emotions are not where our actions should stem from. J. Oswald Sanders wrote "Many who fail wear the tread marks of fellow pilgrims" As Christians we shouldn't be trampling on the weak and failing. We should be mending bruises and fanning the weak spirits into flames. This included those who have fallen from grace. We often seek out ministries that are more rewarding and or make better use of our talents than standing in the gap for the frail side of humanity. God has called us to reclaim the world's downtrodden. Peter, the rock on which Christ chose to build His church, once denied Christ 3 times in a single evening, and yet at the day of Pentecost he stood boldly and preached with a fire that raged.
The God we serve does not does not rejoice when a leader falls from grace or someone walks away from the church. He does not administer an "I told you so" or place blame or see it as an opportunity to gossip and speculate about what may or may not have been the cause of their downfall. Nor does He get excited at the thought of us doing any of those things. We were created in His image. What would make us think that He doesn't experience the same emotions we do? Yet as He watched some of His children fall and leave, He must also watch others celebrate the demise of those that have fallen or left.
None of us would be where we are today if it weren't for people willing to stand in the gap and hold the rope for us. I have had to have accountability in several areas of my life. If it weren't for godly men and women willing to pick me up when I fell I would not be the person that I am today. When I tripped in my spiritual journey I was blessed to have people around me to lean on and prop me back up and walk with me. I do recognize that not everything is this easily remedied. Christianity has been marred by leaders who have been given immense platforms and committed both very public and disgusting acts. Please don't misunderstand this as a post stating that we should condone or overlook that. I believe that some decisions we make should be met with extremely difficult consequences. 1 Peter 2:13-17 clearly states that we should obey the laws of the land and that the punishments should be left to those that govern. I am merely calling our attention back to the example that has been set before us. Not to condemn and cast judgement, but to desire redemption and restoration.
Sometimes the best way of figuring out what is going to happen a week, a month, a year from now is to decide what is going to happen in five minutes, you can waste hours stressing about what is going to happen in the future or you can begin to shape it by doing something.
Pray for the people God has put in leadership. They are not often given opportunities to make easy decisions. Realize that they are often closer to these situations than we are and that they may have been dealing with them long before we ever knew they existed. Despite the office or title they hold, they are not immune to the same emotions that we experience, in many cases their hurts are deeper than our own. Their jobs are generally thankless and difficult. Those in the church and outside of it, in the spotlight or behind the scenes, they need our prayers and support equally. Those who have been chosen to govern do not carry an easy burden.
Forgive those whom you feel have failed, disappointed, or wronged you and pray for them. Forgiveness can be a difficult process. You may find it beneficial to seek out someone to help walk with you through the process of forgiveness. I have had to do this a few times. Hurt, anger and disappointment are difficult to let go of, because they are very personal, but it is essential for your own personal healing and growth. Life is too short to hold grudges, trust me.
"What's Next?"
Christ put it this way in Matthew 6:25-34
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I till you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? So do not worry saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
The answer to the question of "What's Next?" sits firmly in the palms of your hands. I was looking over an old song book that I started a few years ago and came across this lyric.
Lord give me the strength just for today
And I'll ask you tomorrow for only the same
We were created to live passionately, to be daring and adventurous! Our call as Christians is to seek first the Kingdom, to mend those that are bruised and fan the smoldering flames, to love, to be kind, joyful, peaceful, patient, good, gentle, faithful and have self control. When we do this we are promised great things. Christ came and gave us a life that is meant to be lived to the fullest!(John 10:10).
Time is wasting.
