In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16:33
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isa. 26:3 (I failed to conclude yesterday’s post with this verse.)
The typical view of the Christian life is that it means being delivered from all adversity. But it actually means being delivered in adversity, which is something very different. “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling…” (Psalm 91:1,10)— the place where you are at one with God.
If you are a child of God, you will certainly encounter adversities, but Jesus says you should not be surprised when they come. “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He is saying, “There is nothing for you to fear.” The same people who refused to talk about their adversities before they were saved often complain and worry after being born again because they have the wrong idea of what it means to live the life of a saint.
God does not give us overcoming life— He gives us life as we overcome. The strain of life is what builds our strength. If there is no strain, there will be no strength. Are you asking God to give you life, liberty, and joy? He cannot, unless you are willing to accept the strain. And once you face the strain, you will immediately get the strength. Overcome your own timidity and take the first step. Then God will give you nourishment— “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life…” (Revelation 2:7 ). If you completely give of yourself physically, you become exhausted. But when you give of yourself spiritually, you get more strength. God never gives us strength for tomorrow, or for the next hour, but only for the strain of the moment. Our temptation is to face adversities from the standpoint of our own common sense. But a saint can “be of good cheer” even when seemingly defeated by adversities, because victory is absurdly impossible to everyone, except God.
BOTTOM LINE WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS:
Beware of isolation; beware of the idea that you have to develop a holy life alone (I’m believing this is hugely relevant today – perhaps in the future we’ll tackle it). It is impossible to develop a holy life alone; you will develop into an oddity and a peculiarism, into something utterly unlike what God wants you to be. The only way to develop spiritually is to go into the society of God’s own children, and you will soon find how God alters your perceptions. God does not contradict our social instincts; He alters them.
FOR FURTHER REFLECTION with merlin:
This reading is loaded with pertinent practical provisions. Here is my spin on that last sentence; “God does not contradict our social instincts; He alters them.” Actually at this moment, Tuesday 2:57 pm August 6, I’m finally in a Republic, after 75 years in the USA, Loretta and I both possess a Panamanian permanent visa and driver’s license. We are here seeking God’s direction for our remaining retirement years. We have flights to return Saturday Aug 13.
Of course, I am here without access to my physical library, not that I use it that often as you can tell. MCC Connections in Kidron is a joy to scour thru for past literary treasures! The past 4-5 years I’ve been increasingly switching from digital to hard copy used! Someday these used dusty specimens reflecting the thoughts, dreams, victories and failures of this civilization, may be returned to the Connection shelves for recycling no doubt, until that eventful day when all is consumed by fire. So today, I’m shooting this post from the hips, though its been simmering since the 2nd. Let’s see what happens!
For example, I personally now realize from my own life experiences, that God can take His gifts to me of communication & relationship, similar to the skills my out of the box pastor and farmer Grandpa was known and appreciated for, that He evidently endowed me with genetically at conception, because I was seldom if ever, in Grandpa Joseph C Gingerich’s presence to have caught, been taught or even copied him, such that I began expressing my inherited gifts of communication and relationship even before attending my one room school, and eventually becoming my lifelong experience of daily meeting and greeting and making new friends at every opportunity. In fact, for many years, I was becoming aware it was a self-serving addiction, and a huge hindrance preventing me from concentrating first and foremost on my responsibilities of honoring my wife and family, much I’m sure to Satan’s absolute delight. Be aware everyone, how Satan can literally focus on any one of your un-surrendered gifts, talents, and abilities, ultimately corrupting, and consuming your entire life, and especially so, when it’s anything sexual, and even discreetly and tragically utterly pervert you, for Satan’s glory and your ruin, possibly eternal destruction.
In the two years since I first devoured Jamie Winship’s book “Living Fearless: Exchanging the Lies of the World for the Liberating Truth of God” wherein he reveals after five years as a rookie Washington DC cop fresh out of college, he was “picked” to become an underground Christian college prof in Muslim universities in the Middle East and Asia for 27 years, such that his revealed and accepted identity in Christ is “militant peacemaker.” Really now? But that specific identity is so well named for him.
Now in my case however, all that has been revealed to me thus far since I read Jamie is an “encouraging faith facilitator.” Yeah I know, out of all the billions of possibilities out there in His Kingdom, I’m saddled with that. If you read my prior post from Aug 5, you will recall my faith struggles in my reflections. I’m just being honest. Jamie explains in his book that we are only as valuable to God, or anyone for that matter, as we are honest with Him, or whomever. Read that again! Really quite profound. And so contrary to the way I (we) live. So you’re getting it here as it is, mostly was.
Hopefully, for you, a constructive and productive transparency, similar to what I heard weekly nearly seven decades ago, from Chicago’s Pacific Gardens Skid Row Mission ( which my eldest son & I toured during a Moody Founders Week, thanks to Dick and Sharon) Unshackled radio broadcasts on Fargo ND’s Christian radio station, KFNW. Never in my wildest imaginations would I ever thought this revealing moment would occur years later, but God wastes nothing, being the original recycler, not merely of trash and even precious natural resources, but of the lives and souls of men and women being trashed in their addictions, visible or not.
And we’re not speaking merely of a woke “sin-thetic green either, but rather of an out of the ground sprouting of a once dead seed, that is now bursting forth alive in a real living green because of the crimson red sacrifice on that historic Golgotha cross that though once we were dead in our sins, we are now eternally alive in His Spirit being transformed today, this very day, into the future joys of heaven, even before our final transition. Come on folks, this planet and saving our skins are all so very temporary, but our souls ARE ETERNAL. Perspective Matters!
And before I forget, I must remind you Jamie is speaking at The Well this coming Saturday-Sunday, August 10 & 11, 6:30 pm Sat and again Sun morning, time uncertain. The Well is located just below Winesburg on the road to Mt. Eaton. If I were home, I would drive hours or across states to be there.
So anyway, back to interpreting these social instincts. God endowed me with gifts, that I clearly was not fully aware of when my first cousin Donna taught my 5th grade Bible School class of us three boys. It was after those two weeks of conviction, I sought God’s forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus with the help of my parents one hot summer evening and began my walk of faith. It soon degenerated into a “works” walk, more or less in my mind, a check-off list of good things such as tithing, Bible reading, prayer, supporting a foreign Christian orphanage, etc,. all of which back in my faith tradition were usual & customary.
Back then in our dairy barn, we had a radio, so I was a free choice grazer of Christian radio programming, being quite familiar with many of their offerings throughout the day, such as Songs in the Night from historic Moody Church, Stories of Early Christians ( I believe that’s what it was called, and those M-F evening 15 minutes of such inspiring radio drama historical clips making the lives and time come alive by radio drama of the founders of our faith such as Jonathan Edwards, DL Moody, etc., I still vividly recall today; whereas my 11:05 – 12 noon childhood Sunday sermons, not at all. What does that tell us about our culture & our being engaged today?) Back to the Bible, Unshackled, Billy Graham’s Hour of Decision followed by The Mennonite Hour, so I was well taught.
Moving on, I do believe I was the beneficiary from the intercessory prayers of many others family, friends and acquaintances since a child on through my whole life, or else I’d not be here. Though now I must tell you, that it was predominately only though my wife Loretta’s vows that she never broke, always honoring me, the prayers she offered up for me and our three sons, and the example she always was regardless of who I was being at the moment, who for nearly 50 years (much as I’m sure my guardian angel did) following me everywhere in my self-imposed desert wanderings existing on mere bland manna, before my “for real deal faith walk” finally began. Folks, you really have no idea how dysfunctional I was even though I appeared to be an acceptable husband and father. And you really don’t need to know anymore. That’s neither helpful or productive.
But women, invite your husbands, fiancees, significant male friends to respect the clearly established scriptural boundaries always ensuring your respect and admiration. If unheeded, practice tough love just as with your children, or brothers. Seek relentlessly the help you need. Read Dr. Henry Clouds books and for dessert, read Jamie Winship perhaps, instead of doing ice cream.
OK, perhaps you sensed that last paragraph was just written off the cuff. I awoke before 3 AM this Wednesday, burdened to re-write portions of this post to better communicate my heart and the urgency of the message. I was inspired to be honest, transparent, whatever, for evidently, someone reading this today needed to be given hope to endure another day, or set a boundary, or ask forgiveness, reconcile, whatever. But you do. Perhaps this was for you. If so, please seek help and His safety, from those you trust and are praying for you.. Do nor merely sit, soak, sour and suffer, before you finally give up hope, and split the bond.
Back to the script. You see, early on in my journey, I learned to use my gifts to my advantage, and for Him, only when it was to my advantage. Somewhere during college, with its numerous hot and cold spiritual adventures, with many as intriguing as Christian’s journey’s to the Celestial City, I got disastrously sidetracked by using my skills selfishly for my own amusement and gain, being both entertained and delighted. But, eventually I learned (actually was convicted), that I was not able to un-tether (or disconnect) myself from all those specific intercessory prayers offered for me over those prior decades.
So think about it, who is best able to spot counterfeit $100 bills? I understand it’s those who are specifically trained to handle only real $100. bills! I’m told, certainly without any experience, that those tellers with such training can spot the phony money much more accurately, because they have the feel for the real deal bills.
So what? You might say. Succinctly this, I believe by having lived a life of deception for so many years, that I am on occasion given knowledge about the deception in a particular man, or couple, solely I believe, so that I can be an intercessor for him/them, though really, how would you ever confirm such revealings?
And you know what’s really crazy, I am not at all satisfied yet with my own maturity performance in my own marriage. I desire for so much more healing in our relationship. But even so, my stretching to grasp for the higher rungs of His blessings, doesn’t stop God from having me intercede now for my similarly challenged brothers! And any positive effects of this interceding I’m offering is seldom ever revealed to me or them, though perhaps sometime in heaven, I’ll hopefully learn of the victories won, or significant maturity gained, and men, women, families, churches, communities, and nations, were vibrantly changed to fulfill their divine destinies. Why oh why, was I (we) so content to “settle for so little, for so long, when we know it’s all fake! God’s invitational ideas & offerings of forgiveness and transformation, once accepted and implemented, make all the difference. Man’s ideas? Not so much!
Remember Saturday’s quote: God created man to be master of the life in the earth and sea and sky, and the reason he is not, is because he took the law into his own hands, and became master of himself, but of nothing else… (Indeed, we are now experiencing the nothing else) Oswald Chambers-The Shadow of an Agony, 1163 L.
OK, so do you remember from whence these reflections began? God does not contradict our social instincts; He alters them. That one liner provides me such unusually profound strength and peace; doesn’t contradict but alters! Doesn’t that just personify the heart of our invitational God who by sacrificing His Son Jesus is inviting us to accept His forgiveness, therefore not condemning or throwing me (we) out on the dung heap, even though that’s what I deserved after using my gifts so selfishly for decades, for once I finally accepted His forgiveness, and turned from my wicked ways, God has altered me now to become an intercessor for a few, finally fulfilling the very desires of my heart, to be His encouraging faith facilitator, knowing them even by name and/or email while sparring me even of one detail of their struggle or derailment; for all those on the mailing list. And as I’ve been reminded so frequently from my pastor, it’s all “for our good, and His Glory! Amen!
Scriptures from Aug 7 dailylightdevotional.org
If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. John 4:10
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. John 16:23, 24
Ye have not, because ye ask not. James 4:2