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Our God has said: “Encourage my people! Give them comfort. Isaiah 40:1 (CEV)
Where do you get comfort from? For the Christ-follower, the ‘Sunday School Answer’ is Jesus. Okay, we have that one out of the way. Easy enough, right? Not if you are stuck in a marriage that never seems to find the fulfillment you hoped for when you said your vows; not when you struggle with an addiction and find yourself once again suffering from its consequences; not when you are a mother sitting by the bedside of your child or spouse as they breath their last breath; not if you are loading the last boxes onto the moving truck because the bank has foreclosed on your dream home because you lost your job.
It’s at those times that all the ‘Sunday School Answers’ of your past may seem to pale in relation to the pain in your soul. Is God real? Yes, you believe it with all your heart. Does he love you? Certainly. Never a doubt in your mind. Does it take away the knot in your stomach? The knot that seems to be growing so large that it is making it hard to breathe? Not always.
During the darkest times of our lives we don’t need another sermon on God’s provision, we need comfort. We seek comfort in many ways. Some seek it with a new relationship, but new isn’t always better, in fact, second marriages are more likely to end in divorce than first marriages and the chances of success at marriage decrease with every attempt.
Other comfort foods for the soul can be food (leading to guilt and health issues), drugs, anger, withdrawal, depression, religion and a whole list of other attempts at quenching the pain in life.
When you’ve tried all the above remedies for the pain within you it turns out the ‘Sunday School Answer’ really is the best. Sometimes, when we are honest with ourselves, we realize the pain we are experiencing is the result of our own sin. Other times we’ve done ‘everything right’ but our spouse still leaves, our health fails and our bank account disappears.
After years of slavery and exile, Jehovah God tells Isaiah to comfort his people with these words. The trial is over. The penalty has been paid. His words point forward to the restoration of Jerusalem (physical restoration) and the sacrifice of Jesus (restoration of the soul).
If you are struggling with the pain of life let me point you to Jesus. Not the religion of Christianity, but the relationship with a loving Savior who understands your need and longs to comfort the pain in your soul.
If you have ridden out the battle and find yourself on top, remember that those who are struggling with life don’t need another sermon. They don’t need a reminder of their faults. They need the comfort and encouragement that only the grace of Jesus can give them. Please be an instrument of that encouragement. Their pain is great enough.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I thank you for the blessings you’ve given me. I ask that you empower me with your Holy Spirit to be an encouragment to those who need you so that they may experience the comfort only you can give. Amen.
I tell you for certain that you will cry and be sad, but the world will be happy. You will be sad, but later you will be happy. John 16:20 (CEV)
I’ve never had the opportunity to travel to a foreign country. The only ‘culture’ I’ve had to learn to adjust to is limited to regional differences on how we talk or ‘traditions’. I know several people who have been able to live for a short time in a different country however.
One of my friends spent a year overseas. She knew the language of this country from four years of high school, but never had the opportunity to learn to speak this language conversationally. Those of you who have been in this situation know what she told me. She was met with two challenges upon her arrival. One was that classroom language learning and conversational languages can be similar but also completely different.
Her second challenge was two-fold. Most people she approached her first few weeks could fit in one of two categories. Either they took the stance of ‘Learn my language’ and mocked her, or they saw an opportunity to learn her language and so spoke only in English. Neither position was very helpful to my friend. Her first few weeks in this foreign country were confusing, frustrating and humiliating.
When Jesus is preparing his disciples for his own departure from the world he warns them of the attitudes that they would find in their future. During those times of grief and mourning, the world would rejoice. During times of sadness, those around them would be happy.
Jesus words held an immediate meaning for the disciples and a future meaning for us. If we are followers of Jesus Christ and fully committed to the Word of God and his standards, then what we see in our world should have a profound effect on our attitudes. We don’t need to go far or listen long to hear people praise sinful lifestyles and actions. Many are rejoicing because their cause is finally being heard and fairness is on the way.
The problem is, they are rejoicing over the very things that make God sad; finding joy in the very things that anger God. We as disciples of Jesus Christ must find a middle ground in which we are deeply saddened to the point of mourning for the sin that surrounds us. We must begin with our own lives and allow God’s Spirit to work within us to cleanse us. Then we must learn to love those who we disagree with while taking a stand against what grieves God.
When my friend returned to her homeland she was glad to be home where everything was familiar, but she never regretted the time oversees in spite of the mourning and frustration. Jesus promises us that our mourning will turn to dancing. It may not be until heaven, but we will dance with joy for eternity then!
PRAYER: Father God. I look around me and see the travesty we have made of your word. We’ve sinned against you Lord. We’ve sinned by following ways we know are wrong. We’ve sinned by becoming stagnant. We look forward to the joy before us and ask for wisdom while we travel this foreign land. Amen.
The Lord said: Heaven is my throne; the earth is my footstool. What kind of house could you build for me? In what place will I rest? I have made everything; that’s how it all came to be. I, the Lord, have spoken. The people I treasure most are the humble— they depend only on me and tremble when I speak. Isaiah 66:1-2 (CEV)
The great preacher C. H. Spurgeon writes, “Till we are emptied of self we cannot be filled with God; stripping must be wrought upon us before we can be clothed with the righteousness which is from heaven.”
One of the things that have made the USA great has been our attitude of self-sufficiency. We covet the American Dream. We pride ourselves on the great accomplishments we’ve made as a nation. While there have been some significant atrocities in our history, for the most part this nation has been made great by ‘pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps’ and moving forward to become world leaders in many ways.
Ironically, the very thing that has made our nation great is an enemy of the body of Jesus Christ. When God spoke through his prophet Isaiah, he was speaking to a people who were intent on ‘doing things’ in order to reach God. Activity has never impressed God. He says to us, in a sense (My paraphrase): “Ok. Let me get this straight. I made the universe. The earth is nothing more than a place for me to rest my feet, a most unimportant piece of furniture. Now you are going to build me a house? In your miniscule power you’re going to provide a place where I can rest? Listen to me and listen carefully. I don’t care about your activities. I’m not interested in seeing what you can do for me. Here’s what I want. Emptiness. That’s right. Emptiness. Your respect for my words and adherence to my ways is far more important than all your fancy endeavors.”
Jesus says the same thing in a different way during the Sermon on the Mount when he says to his hearers, “Blessed is the one who is poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew 5:3) Poor in spirit means spiritually bankrupt. Discipleship demands that we be completely emptied of our own self-sufficiency and filled instead with his Spirit.
The question we must ask ourselves is this. Are we doing the things we do for our own glory or for God’s glory? Are we labeling our activities (church involvement; prayer; Bible Study; etc) as worship when we are really just entertaining ourselves?
We cannot be filled with God’s power and greatness until we are emptied of self. How many marbles need to be added to a jar before it is no longer empty? One. To be completely emptied for God’s use isn’t reserved for ministers or leaders. It’s the admonition for any of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ. Nor is it something that his possible in our own power. It can only come through daily seeking the Holy Spirit’s power in our lives. His power comes only when we acknowledge our weakness.
PRAYER: Holy Father. I confess to you that even though I love you and call you Lord, many of the things I do are done to try to impress you and/or others. I ask that you empty me of self-sufficiency so that I can be completely filled for your glory. Amen.
You claim to be rich and successful and to have everything you need. But you don’t know how bad off you are. You are pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. Revelation 3:17 (CEV)
One day Jesus told a story of a man named Lazarus. We know little about him except that he spent his life as a beggar earnestly hoping for a chance at the table scraps from a certain rich man’s table. What isn’t important in the story is how Lazarus became a beggar. We only know that he was apparently in some situation that made him completely dependent on other people for his existence.
Another thing we know about Lazarus is that even though his time on earth was destitute, he was apparently a man of faith. We know this because after Lazarus died he went to heaven. Ironically, it appears in Luke 16 that the rich man died around the same time. His earthly reward was great, but his eternal reward was painful to say the least.
One day the rich man looks across a great chasm and sees Lazarus sitting comfortably in the presence of God. While the rich man languished in pain and agony, Lazarus enjoyed something he’s never had in real life – comfort and fulfillment.
Jesus often told parables to those following him. These fictional stories taught great spiritual truths that required people to think about what he was really trying to teach them about life on earth and life in eternity. In this parable we are shown that physical wealth and comfort on earth don’t measure up to the comfort we will get when we get to heaven. Jesus says, store up your treasures in heaven. Don’t waste time on acquiring wealth on earth. It won’t last.
The Apostle John had a similar message in his letter to the church in Laodicea. This church was well known for their staunch religiosity. This group of believers could be described in one word: content. They minded their own business; didn’t make waves in society; lived their lives safely. Jesus refers to their complacency as so repulsive that they would be vomited out of his mouth.
The church in Laodicea suffered from the same disease that Lazarus had – self reliance. They may have started out believing in God and doing all the right things, but soon they were far more content to worship God’s blessings that to worship God; too content in their comfort to seek holiness.
When Jesus says, ‘Blessed are the poor in Spirit’, he’s really calling each of us to come to a place of spiritual bankruptcy in which we are so helpless we rely completely on him as our only hope and comfort.
Don’t allow the cares of this world to keep you from enjoying the peace only God can give. Don’t allow the comforts and blessings of this world keep you from realizing your only real hope is to rely on God for everything. Self-sufficiency is the enemy of total allegiance to Christ.
PRAYER: Father God. It is so easy to get trapped into thinking I can make it in life alone. You’ve blessed me beyond measure with gifts, talents and abilities. Protect me from relying on these more than you. Empower me to be completely dependent on you. In Jesus name, amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 