Have you ever been so tired that fatigue robs you of sleep? So tired that you cannot walk one more step or lift one more thing? Loneliness is so bad that every genre of music has many songs about being so lonely that… Well you know, I hope. Loneliness sets in something like freezing to death. You enter into loneliness with hopes of reprieve and are rewarded with more loneliness. Often we are at our loneliest hour when we begin to feel abandoned, trapped or imprisoned. Sometimes the fatigue is because the struggle you are having with a spouse or other family member. The fatigue is both mental and physical. Exhausted you retreat to your room and there…right there, the loneliness sets in with another person in another room just feet from you. In a state of fatigue those imaginings we talked about begin to set in. Will I get out of this? Will I be alone for the rest of my life? Do I have to give up me? What will it cost this time to have peace? God doesn’t even feel close to you though he is. Embarrassment keeps you from calling or emailing a good friend who has already given you their support. You could get in the car and go somewhere but the fatigue is so great you don’t think you can get up off the bed you have fallen on top of. Fatigue and loneliness open the door to what we usually don’t think about. The "what if’s" begin to roll around in your mind. They have often in my mind. Fear begins as liquid jello just put in the fridge. Slowly the cold begins to harden the elements and before long the liquid has been immobilized. You have ignored the advice of professionals to not be in this place of danger any longer. As you recount their advice your room begins to close in on you. Fears born have won. You no longer care and wonder if you believe. Fear gives fuel to the fire that destroys self-esteem. You begin to despise and hate yourself and your life.
All the above I have heard from people who passed through my counseling practice. That and much more. We are not alone. Vast numbers of people have been cornered in their prison for so long. Some have been in this position for so long they no longer believe there is a way out. There is a way out. There is always a way out. When people finally crawl out of their hole with the help of God they still need help long term to keep the demons at bay. This is not just an emotional or physical problem. This is also a spiritual problem. There is a war waged against the Christian that non-Christians don’t know about. Many who claim to be Christian don’t know about this war nor do they believe that it’s part of the battle against us. It’s a classical war over right and wrong. On the one side, right and purity reigns. On the other side the vilest of garbage dumps exist.
I’ve spent most of my life fighting those battles in my life. Sometimes with help but more often without anyone to help. I had convinced myself that no one cared or could help. I’ve had the deep hole to drop into when I came too close. Suicide was almost an option to get out of the fatigue and loneliness. God’s healing seemed so far off or someone else needed it more. Have you ever felt that way? The last thing you wanted to hear was that God was in control and has a plan. Yet, well intentioned people spoke those words anyway. They didn’t feel God had abandoned them. How could they know what you were feeling? This war that is being continually fought needs to be exposed to the truth. However, we are a people who don’t forget the past. Good or bad, its presence is almost always there in front of us. People don’t forget, harbor grudges, complain and pass on the gossip that causes so much pain. These are Christian and non-Christian alike. The Christian church has been called the only army where the members shoot their wounded. We are so far from the loving intentions of Jesus that we’ve lost our ability to live his life with others.
The Bible relates to us that Jesus felt every temptation that we have felt. Since I believe the Bible to be the Word of God, I know this to be true. Notice that statement. My belief is based on reading and faith that the Bible is true. I also have experienced the grace of God’s pure love and know that to be true. Now the statement is incorporating my experiences as a Christian. Not only have I read the Word and believed; I have also experienced the pure love of Christ. I’ve also ministered to others who were hurting, trapped and afraid. I’ve seen the love of Christ transform the hurt and wounded. With great confidence I can say that it was never my wisdom, never my grace and never my ministering. It was His wisdom, His grace and His ministering. Being an instrument of his wisdom, grace and ministering is a blessing to me. I pray that it’s a blessing to Him. I can not only believe that the pure love of Jesus is more powerful than any other force in our lives; I can attest that it can work in the lives of you who are reading and those who need to hear the words from you. Wisdom from God exudes love in purity and the fears born of fatigue and loneliness are beaten back and in some cases destroyed.
When we encounter the fears coming in, it’s imperative that we immediately give it over to God. Here comes another acronym! FEAR: false evidence appearing real. Have you or someone you know feared that God didn’t forgive them their sins? Do doubts fueled by bad teaching cause anxiety and panic? The only source of anxiety and panic for the believer is Satan. It’s his tricks and ploys (he is the father of lies) he uses to undermine Christians and non-Christian alike. Okay, since you asked there is one more: FROG: fully rely on God. If we are not prepared then we will be beaten down and beaten up. To fully rely on God is to believe that he is who he says he is. He does what he says he will do. He means what he says. The Bible tells us that we should exercise faith believing what is not seen. Sometimes we need to be reminded of all that God has done for us in order to believe He will take care of this problem as well. If we exercise wisdom based on truth found in the Word we are way ahead of the game. So, how do we come about the wisdom? The Bible tells us that we need to ask for wisdom. Wait; it’s that easy? Yes it is. Believing is another boundary we need to cross. Not just believing that there is a God but that there is also evidence that will remind us that God is already victorious through Christ’s work on the cross. God has loved us and will continue to love us. His perfect love can be trusted to dispel fears brought about by fatigue and loneliness. All we are asked to do is fully rely on God.
We all know that actions speak louder than words. What actions have we to take in order that we believe and leave our fears behind? I would suggest that trust is a really big issue. For instance, the couple where one of them requests a prenuptial agreement already have it somewhere in their mind that they will divorce. If it’s not guarding against their losses than what is it? People who carry and use radar detectors are determined to break the law and sin. Their minds are already there. What have these people not given over to God? Why do these two actions stay imbedded in their minds and hearts? They have not given all of their life to God. They have retained the "right to sin" and don’t care that it breaks the heart of God. They want to "get away with it" and have life on their terms. Their witness is compromised and their faith (if they ever had it) is questioned. We hedge our bets because we do not FULLY rely on God. There are many other areas as well. I won’t take the time to list each one. Why do we have unpleasant thoughts, words and actions that are offensive to God (another word for sin)? Are we really so dense that we don’t think God will care? I do that. Don’t be surprised, you probably do the same thing. So, if we all sin, what can we do to combat the sin in our lives? We can ask for forgiveness and repent. Giving up the fight to keep up a sin in our lives relinquish the fatigue and loneliness out of which fears are born. Likewise, repentance will lead to our living a more pure life which is pleasing to God. His Word says he will take care of all of our needs and that he knows those needs even before we ask him. Do you believe and trust that God can take care of you and those you love?
If we do trust God there should be little to no anxiety in our lives. The fatigue and loneliness should be minimal at best. And we should be feeling closer to God than we ever have. If you can’t say amen, perhaps we can take a run at this from another direction. When we recount the story of Abraham and his being told to sacrifice his son, we cringe. You can be sure that Abraham and his son had a lot going on inside their heads at that moment. Yet, God allowed the lesson to go as far as Abraham beginning the downward stroke of the knife to kill his son as God had ordered. It would be difficult for me to carry through as far as Abraham did. We have taken experiences in history and labelled them insane. Should I tell my son that God had ordered me to sacrifice him there would be quite the argument. It wasn’t about carrying through with the task. It wasn’t about being able to take another person’s life. It was about faith. Do you and I really believe that God has a plan? Do we really believe that God can be all knowing, all powerful and all loving? Our faith takes a sharp right and off the trail of Plan A we go. We begin to be fatigued and alone. These give birth to the fears we have. They are turned on one at a time. When we finally fall exhausted by the road God is still there…still listening…still willing to save…and still with a Plan A for you and for me.
When we think about someone who is wise; who comes to mind? Perhaps it was Abraham Lincoln? Perhaps King David? Perhaps it’s someone in your church or at your place of work. Maybe a grandparent or even a parent is your source of wisdom. Maybe you turn to God for wisdom (the best option). Wisdom is seen in direct relation to the degree of the situation. Something like changing spark plugs would gather a friend’s wisdom. Maybe a fellow student for a paper you have to write. We don’t have King David or Abraham Lincoln so we would probably turn to a trusted grandparent or even a teacher. Finally, with the problem that has the biggest draw for wisdom we turn to the Word and God…or at least we should. Too often we’ve seen God’s wisdom but refuse to put that wisdom to work for fear that people would think you were crazy. Maybe we all need a bit of crazy. Sometimes we even talk with our spouse for advice (men don’t argue with me here) and then don’t do what they suggest. Wisdom comes from hearing the voice of God, seeing the actions of God and doing the requests of God. We are able to seek God in this manner for all situations in our lives. He is able and has the time. It is because we do seek the will and wisdom of God that purity can enter into and take ahold of our lives. Without the wisdom of God life does go on but not like it should.
There are so many distractions in our lives today. We cannot go anywhere, watch anything on TV or in a movie and not be hit by distraction after distraction. Where we aren’t bombarded with distraction we make them up. Anything to avoid being still long enough to hear the will of God. We by and large do not like to be bothered with something we feel someone else can do. We live in the best country in the world with our freedoms. We can exercise our freedom most everywhere we go. Yet, sadly enough we don’t exercise our faith. Instead of standing up for our faith we hide it. Instead of being known as wise we let people think whatever they want. We hide our wisdom. Instead of taking the time to correct a wrong we glaze over it as everyone before you has done. Taking time for sports is a priority but time for family is optional in America. Going to the bar after work is a priority but time for church events largely go unattended. We are to blame. This action in our lives is a sin. James was the step brother of Jesus. He wrote the book of James in the New Testament. He said that if we fail to do that which we know we should do, we sin. We’re pretty good at doing what we shouldn’t do. I have that area mastered. Yet having lived that way for so many years it’s very difficult to redirect myself back to God’s plan. The priorities in our life should reflect the lordship of Jesus Christ our Savior.
For example, do you pray before you go to work? Do you pray for you wife, kids, pastor, and others who need our prayer? Do you live your life so that people ask you what drives you to be who you are? Do you do your job diligently because you are supposed to? What do you do to prepare yourself to talk about your faith? Do you read the Bible, go to church for sermons and attend groups that could minister to you? What is your mind full of? When you see someone who is attractive to you do you wonder if they know Jesus or do you wonder…? Does your mind wander to the point of sin? When you think of your house, cars, possessions, and such do they all belong to Jesus? Who is the owner? Who is the master of your life? Jesus or yourself? If any of this touched an area of your life then it’s time to repent and turn your life fully to Jesus. That results in purity of the mind and soul. There is no time like the present to begin. Remember you will fail and you will have the chance to get back on track again. God does not leave us or forsake us. He doesn’t consider any one of his creation as unworthy of his love. He wants to know if we look at our neighbors, friends and family the same way. Do we know if those we have in our circle love Jesus or not? Do we want to be left wondering whether or not they will be in heaven or hell eternally? We can close our eyes but we still see.
The big idea is to have Christ not just in your life but possessing your life. Mine too. When we come face to face with our lives and ask ourselves the hard questions what do we say? Are we willing to be seen as a fool in order to bring some soul to where they can ask Jesus into their hearts? The burden in our lives tire us out. The burden causes some to forsake relationships because we don’t want to see them saved. Who controls your life? I don’t mean the part where you go to church one or two hours a week. I mean 24 hours a day. Who controls your life? When we consider our lives do we look at that which we can control and that which we allow God to control? If you do then your life doesn’t belong to God. When we look at life this way, we are the god of our life. Even that which we say we’ve relinquished to God is still really is under the control of you and I. I know that I’m stepping on a few toes here but I do believe God is telling me to write this. What has happened that we live this way?
For beginners, we have a watered down concept of what Christianity is and is not. If you believe you can be a Christian and do nothing then I question your salvation. If you believe you are a Christian and do not live life according to the Word, again, I doubt your salvation. If we are sold out to Jesus we have given him full reign on our life. Because He loves us as he does, he leads us in the path of life best suited for us. We may not always recognize the road as the right one but we have faith that the road will be unveiled as we go along. With our focus on Jesus we have no energy, time or interest in engaging those things which are clearly identified as sin by the Word.
Before you lose all hope you need to know that Christianity is a lifelong decision lived day by day. The Christian church is nothing more than a 12 step group where the members show one another where to find food. No one in the Christian church is perfect or will ever be perfect. Don’t think that we can beg off with the reason we are not perfect. You and I are called to be and do our best in Christ Jesus who is Lord and Savior to them who need to believe. Living the Christian life should not be fatiguing or lonely. Christ put us together with different talents so that we could together be the one church bringing people to Jesus. In the Christian life there is no room for pride or vanity. There is no room for lies and hypocrisy. There is room for all. There is room for growth. There is room to celebrate victory. There is room to feel the loss our family feels. The Christian church is you and I. We are a volunteer church who have signed up to serve the Lord Jesus for the rest of our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment