A Different Type of Suffering

Lately I have been reflecting on bringing Glory to the Lord in my every day job and life.  Sometimes I feel like what I do doesn’t really matter in the Kingdom, but that is the result of a task mind-set rather than a Kingdom mind-set.  I ran across some interesting verses that are somewhat related to this idea, and led me down a reflection path I had not expected.  Here are the verses for today - 1 Peter 4:1-4,7-11 NIV:

[1] “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. [2] As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. [3] For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. [4] They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 

[7] The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 

[8] Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. [9] Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. [10] Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 

[11] If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

The word that caught my eye is in verse 1, and it is used twice, once to describe Jesus’ passion and death, and secondly to describe our suffering in following Christ.  It is interesting that our suffering has more to do with the things we no longer do, at least that is what I think Peter is meaning in the following verses, than actual physical suffering like Christ Jesus.  

One could say that our suffering is related to our FOMO (fear of missing out), and denying ourselves and our appetites for such sinful and human desires.  This suffering is primarily internal, and while it might have some outward component (as described in verse 7) it is primarily an internal struggle and “suffering”. 

When I think about this in comparison to what Jesus suffered it is as nothing, and yet Peter, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, connects these two.  Could we say that Holy Spirit is essentially identifying a type of suffering that Jesus went through in His earthly life that we seldom consider?  Imagine living your life in such perfect awareness of what the Heavenly Father wanted you to do, yet also having the opportunity every day all day long to choose differently and yet never once choosing wrongly! It is one thing to be programmed to never do wrong, but for Jesus to enter fully into humanness, He needed to experience exactly what we experience. 

The Author Hebrews, stated it this way - Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV:

[14] “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. [16] Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Clearly Jesus endured temptation just like we encounter, yet He chose the right path every time.  He didn’t have some divine power to resist, that would have made Him not fully man (human).  He embraced this human life, took on everything we encounter and was victorious, a pure and spotless sacrifice.

Using my imagination I thought I would try to put this in more human perspective.  Jesus grew up in a family, had brothers and sisters, friends as well, and He couldn’t just go along with the crowd in any circumstance. He never once sinned towards one of His brothers or sisters.  He never once was disobedient to His parents!  He never once spoke an angry word, but He had every opportunity to do so.  He knew what He had to do, and did it correctly every time.  

When His brothers were doing something slightly wrong, He couldn’t “join the fun”.  Even when He wanted to talk back to His mom when she interrupted His personal time to ask Him to take out the trash, or whatever menial task, He didn’t utter a wrong word. He never cheated in a game, never cheated in school, never took something that wasn’t His, but He had the opportunity to do so, and was tempted to!  He didn’t have a terrible twos, or rebellious teen years.  He was always slightly different, slightly better and we know how those kids are treated, almost universally.

Now let me expand this imagination into His teens and twenties.  Jesus dealt with adolescence, raging hormones, emotions, and attractions.  He had family and friends, saw people marrying having kids, embracing life together, and yet He knew He must take a different path, and remain perfectly obedient to His heavenly Father. 

On top of all this, he knew who He was, what He was called to do, understood the Father’s heart for the people, and yet was restrained by the Father for 30 years.  He didn’t do any miracles, no healing, nothing out of the ordinary, except not sin.  He couldn’t say why He was different, couldn’t let it slip that He was the Messiah in their midst!  He probably couldn’t and wouldn’t defend Himself or His actions, He just did what the Father told Him to do.

I have thought much on related subjects but one thing is clear, Jesus' life was not easy.  He had to suffer all of the above, all of His life, never once taking a day off!  Never once just doing what He wanted to do!  I am sure He endured much, for human nature is mostly unchanged. 

The point of this all is that He showed us it could be done, and invites us to embrace a similar suffering in our following of Him.  Peter writes this invitation, calls us to live our lives for God.  Encourages us to love one another, to offer hospitality, to use what we have been given to bless those in our lives, those around us! He encourages us in all things to give glory to God, even in our suffering.  Finally the author of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is absolutely approachable, for He endured the same temptations, the same suffering, and has compassion on us!  He knows He is the only sinless one!  He will extend mercy and grace!

Amen and Amen!

When God Intercedes For Us!

This morning I opened my Bible to where I left off reading in Romans 8, and rather than focusing on the verses I am most familiar with in that Chapter, my eyes were drawn to a few earlier verses, which are also quite well known, and often quoted.  Here are the verses I will be reflecting on today - Romans 8:26-28 NIV:

[26] “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. [27] And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” 

[28] “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

As often happens, it was the last verse that first caught my attention and then I read a bit before for context. In this case, verses 26 and 27 are important to understanding verse 28, for they speak of the unseen reality that is the foundation for verse 28, at least that is how I read it.

In verse 26 Paul is writing about our common situation, not really knowing what God’s will is for us, not knowing His full plans, His purpose, even at times His next steps.  We are unaware, but if we turn to Him for help, He does so, and He does so in Heavenly ways.  

I believe that Paul is writing about speaking in tongues in verse 26, but it could include other prayer expressions where no words are spoken, only the cries of our hearts and mind.  Regardless of how we define it, the point that the Holy Spirit helps us when we don’t know what to pray is the important point.  He knows what we should be praying and so He helps us.  Whether that is new words or new language, the point is that the Holy Spirit is helping us pray, even praying for us.

In my life, when I am stuck, or don’t have clarity I will seek the Lord!  I will pray, and wait, and pray and wait, oftentimes using my prayer language, other times just silently crying for help!  I believe that the Lord hears my prayers and responds, and that often times that response is being conducted in Heavenly places, which is what I think Paul is describing in verse 26 & 27.  

We don’t know what to pray but the Holy Spirit helps us, He knows the perfect will and intercedes (Prays for us) for us in accordance with that will.  He looks to the Father and the Son, and reads over us the next page of His perfect purpose and plan for us, and they all agree!  

At least that is how I see it playing out in my mind… 

That is a very reassuring image to me, for I know that God loves me, has paid the price to redeem me, has justified me, has given me His righteousness, and now He is praying for me His very will for me!  He is all in, for me!  He is for me!  He is in agreement that His will, purpose and plan are perfect, and when I don’t know what to pray, He takes over for me and helps me to pray.  

Now, to be clear, He doesn’t just do this for me, He does this for everyone who turns to Him, who is in relationship with Him, as Paul writes, all who love Him.

As Paul writes, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him!”  He is working for our good, working to make His plan and purpose perfect, even to the point of praying and interceding for  us!  He is not some passive God just watching and waiting, He is actively encouraging, helping, even praying for us!

Lord, I thank You for this encouragement this morning, for clearly I am in a place where I need guidance, direction and help from Heaven!  I thank You for interceding for me, for praying Your very will into my life!  

Thank You Lord! 

Seed, Soil and Seasons

This morning I was reminded of a theme that has come up 3 times in the last week or so, the parable of the seed and sower (See Matt 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8 for the different versions of the parable).  I have been reflecting on my life and the present season, and had been comparing my present life to years previous, and seeing a bit less fruit in my life these days.  

As I woke up the following thought went through my head,  “You need to have grace for different seasons in your life. There are seasons of planting, seasons of harvesting and not all seed produces fruit at the same time, or in the same way. You will not always bear the same type and amount of fruit, so give yourself grace.”

Those types of thoughts, while they are thoughts in my head, seem to originate outside of me.  In my many years of following the Lord, I believe He often speaks exactly this way, placing thoughts in my mind, especially at times that I am not distracted.  He doesn’t just do this in the early morning, but will speak to me this way throughout the day as I turn my attention to Him and listen.  

I believe the Lord wants a relationship with me, and for us to have a relationship we must be able to communicate.  Most of the time the Lord speaks to me through His scriptures, but quite often it will be through a still quiet voice speaking thoughts into my mind.

Enough of that - back to the theme of seeds, soil and fruitfulness.  I have reflected and written many times of these themes, and it is always good to revisit my previous writings.  This morning, the overall theme seemed related to seasons of less fruit, and helping me to be ok with that in my life. 

Any farmer or gardener will tell you that every seed takes time to grow into a plant, and takes time to produce its fruit.  Some produce fruit quickly, some take a whole season.  Some, like fruit trees, take multiple years to reach full fruitfulness. There is always a period of time between planting and harvesting, and that time is a season of growth, without fruit, or maybe immature fruit, like the tiny green grapes on the grape vine in my back yard.  I can see them, but they are not harvestable.

Sometimes we can look at our life, and compare our life to others, and see them bearing fruit, and think we are somehow not doing our part, or that we should be bearing more fruit. We can try to force ourselves to bear more fruit, we can work, and serve and read and everything else, and end up feeling frustrated and even discouraged.  We can try to harvest fruit before it is ripe and that usually results in sour fruit, or minimal nourishment.

In my own life, I have been working more hours than almost ever in my life, and my time and energy seem less than other seasons.  I have been reflecting on earlier periods where I was engaged in many things, and thinking I need to do more (which is always possible) and wondering about whether I am doing enough in the arena of my faith and my representation of the Lord.  I am so busy most days, I am able to pray in the morning, but then the rest of the day is work related, sometimes 12-14 hours.  

This morning the message seems to be, “that’s ok, I know the season you are in and I don’t expect you to be bearing much fruit!  You are doing what I asked You to do, in a job that I provided, and with a passion and effort that I would expect.”  

I need to give myself grace, not compare myself to others, not keep score in my head of my fruitfulness!  I need to trust the Lord, His process and His plans!  I need to give myself grace to do the best I can and know that He sees and understands!

One thing I know, the Lord is not a task-master.  He is relational, not task oriented.  He doesn’t keep score, He doesn’t compare us to others.  He treats each of us uniquely and individually!  He is perfect in His perspective of our life, better than us for sure!  

This morning, I am encouraged that the Lord sees us and understands us perfectly.  He knows His plans (we might have a faint glimmer of an idea of His plans) and He knows what type of seeds He is planting our lives and how long those seeds take to mature and bear fruit. He invites us to be good soil, to welcome what He is doing, and provide the life environment needed to produce good fruit, and that means regular water, sun, fertilizer, etc.  For me that means regular times of prayer, reflection, reading other Christian authors, talking with Christian friends, and regular repentance (recognizing where I need to change the way I think and act to be more like Him).

In the same way that He sees me, He sees everyone!  His message is always grace!  Grace is the gift of life from Him!  It is also coupled with compassion!  He knows us, knows our struggles, our thoughts, our weaknesses, and abilities and His perspective gives Him a perfect view of our life and His expectations are always perfectly in line with His perspective.  

We need to ask the Lord for this same perspective for our lives, as well as for other's lives. He doesn’t compare, neither should we.  He doesn’t have favorites (we are all His favorite).  He doesn’t expect us to produce the same abundance of fruit every day of our life, He understands seasons, planting, growing, soil and harvesting.

I reshared something earlier this week that  I wrote 10 years ago.  The basic theme was that  God doesn’t have a negative thought about us!  Oh that we would see and believe that!

In closing a few verses from Paul that are worth reflecting on - with the encouragement of this morning - Romans 8:28-29,31-34 NIV:

[28] “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. [29] For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” 

[31] “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? [32] He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? [33] Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. [34] Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”

Amen and Amen!