On Saturday I challenged my 15 year old daughter to consider an alternate way of thinking. I suggested she tell me what life would look like in a 24 hour period if she were to have no problems, no pain, no conflicts, no difficulties and no stress. She was taken aback but after some time began to reflect. She said, "I'm not taught to think that way." Telling statement. None of us are. More than likely we are taught that this is the way it is and we need to just deal with it. Because we are insensitive we tell one another to "buck it up" and "take it in stride" and other insane things. Maybe all we need to tell each other is "You are okay." Maybe that's "pie in the sky" as well. So what do we do with the challenges that come our way? Do we just roll over and play dead? Do we adjust to a "less than" way of living? Do we use our situation (temporary) as an excuse to not be more than? Challenges are real. People don't usually make things up just to be miserable. Well, I do know a few people like that. But that's not the norm.
As my daughter began to describe her day I watched and listened (without interruption which is sometimes hard for me). I saw realization in her eyes of a life she hasn't engaged. I saw in her eyes that look of the "ah-ha" moment we have sometimes. I heard in her voice a change from resignation to hopefulness. Don't get me wrong. My daughter isn't in all that bad of a space (if you ask me). She's intelligent, has good friends, has a pretty good balance of emotions (especially for 15!). What are the challenges? The challenges for her (like the rest of us) is being able to grasp her identity as God created it to be. Grasping that vision sets us free from the image and identity the world assigns to us. So, the challenges then may begin to fall away as we look at ourselves and our world from how God sees us and the world we live in.
As my daughter brought her "new" day to an end there was a sense of relaxation and contentment I hadn't seen in her for a while. There is a lot of power in our positive thinking. Understanding that there are challenges in the Christian life is essential to survival and administering the Gospel to others. It's called empathy. When we can feel for people in their situation we are doing what Jesus did. It's called empathy. We, unlike Christ, seem to stay fixated on what the challenge is rather than to the outcome of a challenge overcome. I once kept a prayer journal as I guided a senior mid-week Bible study. When we came together I wrote down their prayer requests. The following and subsequent weeks I wrote down the answers and checked off the prayer requests. From time to time I would let the group know how many prayers had been answered, how they had been answered and when they had been answered. Here's what really happened. The group was challenged in their thinking about whether God actually and really was interested enough in their lives to actually do something for them. Faith. That was the key issue. The result was people who began to pray with faith that God was already answering the prayers of their hearts before the words passed over their lips. Well, at least that's what the Bible says. Who am I to argue.
Most challenges (if not all) in my life are of my own making. They are there for good or bad and that's just the way it is. Some can be changed and others are for the rest of my life here on earth. NONE are permanent. If they are not resolved or at least addressed here on earth; they will be of no consequence to me in heaven. Why can't we and why don't we live with that thought today? This very minute? Why is it we cling to the challenge as if we get our identity out of those challenges? Because that's what the world wants us to believe. That's not what God wants us to believe. Like all things in this life challenges are temporary. They are neither permanent nor are they defining of who we are. They are temporary situations that want to control and direct our lives. God has made a permanent solution to the challenges in our lives. He tells us to face them. He tells us to understand them. Then, he tells us to give them to him. Once they are no longer ours, we can relax and be more like Jesus. Once placed on the altar, don't remove the challenges. Let God work through them by his power and wisdom. All I now is that when I try to resolve my challenges the only thing I accomplish is pushing Jesus out of the picture. Yet, it's always my choice...and yours.
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