Skip to main content

Trust doesn't always come easily

But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. (Romans 3:23-24)

I like to revisit familiar passages from time to time because God is always so faithful to bring something to mind within these familiar words. I don't know about you but it seems like people are always looking for the next 'new thing' in this world. Apple puts out the latest version of their device and people line up, sometimes even camping out for days just to get the first of the shiny device. Why? There is an enticement to have the 'new' and 'shiny' because media has hyped it for months prior to the arrival of the device. Our appetites have been whetted and there you are 'lusting' after the new. I guess God didn't great this desire to obtain 'more' as a 'bad' thing, but as a way of driving us to 'want more' of the right stuff. The problem is that we sometimes don't want what he wants us to have - we want what we want to have.

If someone came along and told you there would be something new added to your life today, what would be your first inclination? Would you have that sudden burst of excitement? Would you fear not knowing exactly what it would be or how it would affect your life? If God spoke a few words into your heart today, telling you there would be something new added, would your level of excitement and anticipation change? I honestly have to admit to being occasionally just a little bit 'afraid' what he might add would drastically change my life. Why did this create angst in my life? I didn't want something to disturb my comfort - I had become very comfortable with what I know right now - I wasn't sure I wanted anything new to disturb that comfort. God knew there might be temporary 'discomfort' from the 'new' he was about to add into my life, but he also knew the 'permanent' blessing that would come with the 'new'.

We only see the discomfort - he sees where that discomfort will lead us. He knows how much deeper it will make us dig in, what will change within our hearts, and how much more secure our foundation will be as a result. God knows 'where' we are headed - we only know we are about to get moving. God knows 'what' will come - we only know what will be left behind. God knows 'when' we are going to be challenged - we just know a challenge might require something from us. God knows 'why' we need to get movement in a certain direction - we only know that movement may cause us some discomfort. I guess one of the hardest things we are called upon to do sometimes is just trust God with the where, when, why, and what. The 'new' is indeed something we want and need - we just don't 'know' like he knows, so we dread it.

God doesn't set out to create chaos, but sometimes our present has to be disturbed a little in order to bring order in an even greater way than it existed before. God has gone before us, so nothing can stand against his power in our lives. The moment we realize he is 'setting things right', the less we stop worrying so much about how he will do what needs to be done in us. Just sayin!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What did obedience cost Mary and Joseph?

As we have looked at the birth of Christ, we have considered the fact he was born of a virgin, with an earthly father so willing to honor God with his life that he married a woman who was already pregnant.  In that day and time, a very taboo thing.  We also saw how the mother of Christ was chosen by God and given the dramatic news that she would carry the Son of God.  Imagine her awe, but also see her tremendous amount of fear as she would have received this announcement, knowing all she knew about the time in which she lived about how a woman out of wedlock showing up pregnant would be treated.  We also explored the lowly birth of Jesus in a stable of sorts, surrounded by animals, visited by shepherds, and then honored by magi from afar.  The announcement of his birth was by angels - start to finish.  Mary heard from an angel (a messenger from God), while Joseph was set at ease by a messenger from God on another occasion - assuring him the thing he was about to do in marrying Mary wa

A brilliant display indeed

Love from the center of who you are ; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply ; practice playing second fiddle. Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. (Romans 12:9-12) Integrity and Intensity don't seem to fit together all that well, but they are uniquely interwoven traits which actually complement each other. "Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it." God asks for us to have some intensity (fervor) in how we love (from the center of who we are), but he also expects us to have integrity in our love as he asks us to be real in our love (don't fake it). They are indeed integral to each other. At first, we may only think of integrity as honesty - some adherence to a moral code within. I believe there is a little more to integrity than meets the eye. In the most literal sense,

Do me a favor

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (Philippians 2:1-4) Has God's love made ANY difference in your life? What is that difference? Most of us will likely say that our lives were changed for the good, while others will say there was a dramatic change. Some left behind lifestyles marked by all manner of outward sin - like drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, or even thievery. There are many that will admit the things they left behind were just a bit subtler - what we can call inward sin - things like jealousy,