Month: April 2017

I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. – Michelangelo

There is something in us that wishes for a nice, safe, successful life. There’s nothing wrong with that! But Nice, Safe and Successful are not tools that develop character. Michelangelo wouldn’t have gotten far carving David if he hadn’t used some rough tools, delivered some hard blows, used an abrasive chisel to smooth an edge. Similarly, we can expect our Creator God may use some tough tools as He fashions and shapes our hearts and character, as He crafts His masterpiece.

We want a health and wealth Gospel. Come to Jesus and you’ll never have another problem. That sounds great. But if we look honestly at the Bible, we see that following Christ is an invitation to suffering. That’s not going to win a lot of followers. That’s not going to get a lot of people lining up at the door. I think that’s why Jesus saw so many people turn away. In the end, they loved their comfort-filled lives, their illusion of control, more than Christ.

Jesus didn’t disguise the cost of discipleship. In fact, His radical statements often made His disciples scratch their heads. After Jesus told the rich young man to sell all he had and follow Him, Peter was quick to point out he and the others had given up everything. Jesus assured him all they had given up would be restored with interest – and with persecution (Mark 10:17-31).

That’s not all. Jesus also predicted wars, famine and earthquakes. And that was just the warm up. “All this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come… You will be handed over to the courts and beaten in the synagogues.” (Mark 13:8-9).

At the same time that Judas was fetching the Roman soldiers and Temple guards, Jesus promised the remaining disciples, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows” (John 16:33). As His modern disciples, we too will have trials and sorrows – that’s a fact. But there’s a bigger promise that follows: “Take heart, because I have overcome the world!” (John 16:33)

The trouble and persecution we’re promised become opportunities for God’s power to shape and transform us (Mark 13:9-11). They are our “But God” moments. This happened to me, and this is what should have happened next. But God…

The Bible is full of “But God” stories – Isaac was tied to the altar. Joseph was sold into slavery, thrown into prison, falsely accused and forgotten. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace, and Daniel into the lion’s den. Paul was shipwrecked, beaten, jailed. Almost all of the apostles were martyred. It should have been the end of their stories, but God.  

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, Your Majesty can be sure that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.       Daniel 3:17-18

Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, we must be willing to say “even if”. Even if our circumstances never look any better than they do right now. Even if it hurts. Even if it costs our very lives.  Regardless of the cost, we choose to remain true to our faithful God because we know that He is transforming our stony hearts into His living masterpiece. 

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.             Habakkuk 3:17-18

There are things about your life that are true, even though you wish they were not. Things that cause you sorrow and pain. Things you never asked for and definitely never wanted. And they happened anyway.

What does it mean when you’ve given your life to God and you still end up hurting? You’ve been a faithful follower and you still get cancer. You still lose your job, your house, your family. What do you do when God’s plans make you weep?

You are not alone in your tears.  Look to Christ. See Jesus weeping before the grave of His friend, Lazarus (John 11:35), over all the pain, sorrow, and loss that death has unleashed since it entered the world. See Jesus weeping as He enters Jerusalem on a donkey (Luke 19:41), knowing judgment and destruction were coming. See Jesus in anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:44) in anticipation of what was to come – His betrayal, arrest, abandonment, persecution, and execution.

This is Jesus. He followed the will of the Father perfectly and it led him to the cross.

How do we keep following God when He leads us to places that break our hearts?

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward.    Hebrews 12:2

Joy?  Are we supposed to believe that Jesus looked forward to, even welcomed, the cross? No! We clearly see Jesus’ agony in the face of the suffering He knew He was about to endure. But He surrendered His will to God, saying “Yet I want your will, not mine” (Luke 22:42). Then He was able to get up and face what came next. To endure through to the joy.

Were His circumstances changed? Not one bit. If anything, they got worse. So what was different? His thoughts. He looked past the pain to the joy of knowing that He was fulfilling God’s plan to rescue what was lost, to redeem what had been stolen. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus stood the test that Adam and Eve failed in the Garden of Eden. What Eve brought into the world by her distrust and disobedience, Christ defeated by His trust and obedience.

For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want.         John 6:38

My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.               John 4:34

Jesus shouts from a cross that God’s plans are good, even when they make us weep. Not because every moment feels good, but because God is good. Certainly the cross wasn’t the source of Jesus’ joy. And whatever painful circumstances you face aren’t intended to be the source of your joy either. They are an invitation to stand the test, to declare that God is fundamentally, at His very essence, good and therefore His plans for us are better than any we could make for ourselves.

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.      2 Corinthians 4:18