In Praise of God

Elijah has been very excited for snow.  He thinks that because snow comes down out of heaven, and so will Jesus when He comes, that when it snows for the first time (that he can remember) Jesus will be coming back!

It snowed for the first time the other day.  Sadly, Jesus did not come that day.

But Elijah said to me in the car yesterday, “I’m ready for Jesus to come back,” (in a very excited tone).  We talked about what “being ready” means, and I was reminded by this conversation with my 4-year-old that Jesus is ON HIS WAY!!

My heart is desperate for the return of Christ, BUT even more desperate for more to be called to serve Christ, especially (for me) our children, some of our dear friends who are hearing the gospel and getting Bibles for the first time in their life these past few weeks, and family members who we have prayed would repent and believe the Gospel.

May our hearts be drawn to plead even more fervently for hearts to bow in submission to the God who made us and believe in His Son, Jesus Christ who came in humility to save our souls!

Jesus is returning!  Father, make us eager, make us ready!

Recently, a couple of people have mentioned that I seem pretty content in my current life situation. (I am, among other things, single.) I think that contentment is something that all people struggle with, and I’m not sure why it seems more often to be considered a single person’s struggle. Either way, I’ve been thinking about contentment and ways, by God’s grace, to pursue contentment. The following idiosyncratic list is not at all comprehensive, but I hope it suggests some good places to start thinking about contentment. I’ve provided a few Scripture references, too—again, not comprehensive, but some good places to start thinking.

I’m going to divide this up into concepts and applications. The concepts can be applied in any situation, but my applications will relate specifically to my life and to contentment as a single student (since that’s what I know!). I hope the specifics may be helpful, though, as you think about contentment in your own circumstances.

Concept 1: Vocation
Vocation, in the original sense of “calling,” is one of the sweetest and most contentment-generating concepts that I know. The idea that God has specifically called me not only to live as a believer, but also to live in a specific place, and do specific things, is so comforting. It means that wherever I am, I can live to honor God and fulfill His purpose for me. Even if things aren’t going the way I would choose, I know that God is in control, and as long as I am seeking Him, He will order my life according to His plans (Psalm 37:4-5, Prov. 16:9, Col. 3:18-24).

Application 1:
Some aspects of God’s calling for me may change, while some do not. God has called me to be, among other things, a Christian and (for now) a student.  As a Christian, He calls me to hear His word, pray, meet with other believers, and participate in a local church body. As a student, He calls me to do my homework, participate to the best of my ability in classes, and pursue my work with diligence.
He also calls me to use my time at school to serve others, demonstrating love and humility to fellow Christians and to those at school as a reflection of what Christ did for me (Phil. 2). In His graciousness, He has given me a real love both for the church and for academics, so that He has not only equipped me for these vocations, but actually has given me a true enjoyment of them. However, even at times when I don’t feel that love or enjoyment, I am comforted to know that God has put me here and will use my obedience and diligence to produce lasting results for His kingdom (Eph. 4:1, 2 Tim. 1:8-14, Eph. 5:15-16, Phil. 1:6).

Concept 2: Fallenness and Depravity
“What?” you say, “I thought this was a list of good things!”
Stay with me: The Bible teaches that all have sinned, and that the world and all people are subject to the curse that followed Adam’s sin. (God also calls all people to turn from their sins, trust Christ, and find redemption and salvation in Him by faith, Rom. 1-6.)
Knowing what I do about fallenness and depravity DOES help me to be content, because I understand that when my life situation is not what I would desire…guess what…no one else’s is either!!! Until Christ returns, pain, sadness, longing and suffering are not just part of my own experience. They are part of everyone’s experience.

Application 2:
Thanks in large part to my mom’s ministry teaching and counseling women in our churches, I grew up with an understanding that…to be frank once again…people have lots of problems. Women have lots of problems. Married women who wear cute clothes and have nice houses and adorable children have problems. Sometimes, they have life-alteringly difficult problems. It took a number of years of thinking this through, but I have, I believe, truly accepted the fact that wearing cute clothes, getting married, living in a nice house, or having adorable children will NOT alleviate my problems. In fact, these tend to cause their own problems.
Jesus said that each day has enough trouble of its own (Matt. 6:34). If, by His grace, I can deal with the problems inherent to a single student who has a roommate and an apartment, then I am thankful. If, at some point, He chooses to let me deal with another set of problems, I will work to handle those in a way that pleases Him.

Concept 3: Blessings
The Bible teaches that God gives us many good things to enjoy (Matt. 7:11, Jas. 1:17). Because life changes so quickly, the things I am able to enjoy now are not necessarily going to be available for me to enjoy throughout life. So…I seek to make the most of my time by really trying to see the best in my situation and to love being in this stage of life (Ecc. 2:24, 3:13, 5:18, 1 Tim. 6:17).

Application 3:
Just a few of the blessings that I truly enjoy as a single student are:

• A flexible schedule: This means that I can meet people for fun or for ministry at varied hours, often shifting my study schedule in order to make time for other things.
• Food: Within reason, I can pretty much eat what I want, when I want. Pancakes at midnight? Cereal for three meals in a row? I work to be healthy, but I love the flexibility to eat in or eat out, cook or have leftovers, as it fits my life.
• Travel: I can pick up and leave for a weekend with very few problems. This allows me to have relaxing car time, to visit friends, and to see new parts of God’s world.
• Convenience: I can arrange my room (and much of my house—being thoughtful about my roommate of course) in ways that make sense for me but might not if I had a family. I keep notebooks in my pantry for easy access, have stacks of library books on the floor, and keep craft projects out in my room. It’s a little thing, but it’s nice.
• Sound sleep: It is rare that anything wakes me up in the middle of the night. Right now I do not have children who need me or a husband who snores. I am totally appreciating this while it lasts!!!
• Being in a learning environment: People at a university are generally open to ideas. I love learning new things on a daily—hourly—basis. I also love the opportunities that this allows for me to share with others about my own faith in an open setting.

Concept 4: Specific provision of God
God provides for His people, and in each situation, I see how He has specifically given me everything I need in order to serve Him (Matt. 6:25-34, Phil. 4:18-20).

Application 4:
I think that, as a single person, I see this in particular when God fulfills for me the roles that I generally think of a husband as fulfilling: financial provision, protection, etc. It is a blessing to see God work out my life in a way that allows me a safe place to live, money to use, and others to care for me when I’m sick or need help. God cares and provides, and I am thankful (1 Pet. 5:6-7).

Concept 5: An eternal perspective
This life is just the beginning, and the trials here are temporary. I am working for the Kingdom. The work I do here matters and will have lasting results. I am part of something so much bigger than myself, and by God’s amazing plan and amazing grace, I will enjoy not only the fruit of my labor, but the whole of His Kingdom (Hebrews 10:36-12:3).

Application 5:
Whatever I do as a Christian, single student MATTERS. It really does. I need to write my papers, do my reading, meet with friends over coffee, cook my dinners, go to church, encourage my roommate, call my mom on the phone…all not just because they are part of my life, but because they are for the greater purpose of pursuing God—knowing Him and enjoying Him forever!

Ultimately, contentment is a blessing of God, but we are also responsible to do things that foster contentment. Then, as we seek Him, become more impressed with His glory, and learn to trust His wisdom, we will be increasingly able to say with Paul that we have learned to be content (Phil. 4).

Over the last few weeks I have been surrounded by grief.  This weekend I have listened in shock to a woman who escaped very recently from Iraq, after having suffered through the unjust imprisonment of her husband, the looting of her home, threat of death, loss of family with no hope of returning to be reunited with many of her family members.  She describes the scene to me of hearing the screams of families being killed around her in her apartment complex in Baghdad. . .her neighbors on both sides, killed by terrorists.  Though she is now in America, I grieve for her soul, loyal to a false god, her eyes yet unopened to the truth of the gospel.

A friend, who is younger than me, has been told that she will live the rest of her earthly life in chronic pain (at best), one friend has a terminal illness that could end her life before most would expect, and she grieves that she will most likely bear no more children, and I have wept with a woman who was confronted with the sin of homosexuality.

Last year I grieved through a separation from my husband due to a military deployment.  Trusting God to make good out of what I saw as evil has been a hard work of obedience: even after he has returned, I still struggle.  This weekend, as Jeremy and I were given the opportunity to meet and begin building a relationship with a refugee family from Iraq, in a matter of twenty minutes or so, the eight months our family was separated began to make sense.  I step back, and suddenly 2008 looks so different to me!

So what is the difference between someone who struggles in agony under suffering and one who is still in agony but endures it with grace?

An understanding of redemption.  When God rules a heart, he rules a life and asks us to hold comfort with open hands.  Sometimes He gives the gift of comfort, but sometimes He does not.  This is for our good and His glory, of course.  So, when I take my comfort so seriously that I chase it at the expense of God’s priorities, God’s will and God’s glory, often the result will look like an adult temper tantrum.  Just like a toddler, we ask “why,” sometimes we even punish those around us with our bad attitudes, ungodly and unkind treatment of them, some of us even throw a physical fit, shouting and demanding our way.  Though we frown on this behavior in children, we excuse and justify it in ourselves as we shake our fists at the Holy God who gave us life in the first place!

Am I trusting in the grace of the One who saved me, the One who is sanctifying me, and the One who will call me home to Heaven…or am I trusting my heart, myself, my plans, my, my, my?  If I step back and gaze at my circumstances with eyes and heart that hope ultimately only for heaven and in the glory of God who is carrying me there, suddenly, everything is different.  When I back up from my daily pursuits and ask God how HE sees the things I have been spending the most time on, often, they are revealed as worthless.  The life-altering concept of the heart is that of obedience: are we willing to trade our priorities for God’s, our desires for His delights, our glory (ouch!) for His glory, and ultimately, our end (which is death, if we are without Christ - and this is proved by how we spend our earthly lives, 1 John says) for His end, which is heaven for those are given eyes to see their sin, and who place their faith, by God’s grace, in the blood Christ poured out for them on the cross.

What am I willing to trade for the glory of God?  My plans, my ideas, my comfort, my money, my very life?  Do I realize that the trade is actually unfair?  What God has in store (here on earth AND in heaven) for those who trust Him far outweighs whatever I throw away!

This I  know: better is one day in your (God’s) courts than a thousand elsewhere (Psalm 84:10). . .God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. . .God’s ways are not ours (Isaiah 55:8), no ear has heard, no eye has seen the things God has planned for those who love him (1 Chronicles 2:9).  Though we suffer for a while, these things produce growth and maturity in us now, and an eternal weight of glory (1 Peter 1:6-9).  What will I do today to walk in submission to the glory of God?  What comfort will I lay down today for the joys of willful obedience to the One who obediently laid His very life down for my own soul?

Crossbearing.  Truthfully, it’s not something which comes often to mind . . . but I know it should.

Matthew 16:24  Then Jesus told his disciples, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

 

Mark 8:34  And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 

 

Luke 9:23  And He said to all, If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Recently, I have been powerfully reminded of Christ’s call to crossbearing as I have been reading Walking as He Walked by Joel Beeke.  While this book has been greatly encouraging, it has also been exceptionally convicting.  Beeke’s thoughts on crossbearing have huge implications for marriage, parenting, discipleship, hardships…and all of life!  For instance, he says:

“We want to be smooth and sanitized Christians–not cross-carriers.  The cross is an offense to us.  The cross gets in our way.  To take up Jesus’ shame, Jesus’ cross, and to follow Him is against our nature.  It spoils our plans.  It breaks our selfish utopias.  If forces us to set priorities in our lives.  It brings us face to face with our selves and with God.  The cross exposes us to who and what we are.”  (page 11)

“Crossbearing is for your benefit; it is your Father’s gift to you.”  (page 19)

“…remember, He [Christ] has measured out your every cross.”  (page 22)

“Your future is not here, your life is not here, your joy is not in this world.  You were redeemed for a better world, and this life is but the preparation by which God prepares you to be with Him.”  (page 22)

“When you murmur and chafe and rebel against your cross, you are not following your Master.  You are denying your discipleship.”  (page 25)

In the midst of the busyness and uncertainties of life today, I am thankful to Dr. Beeke for prompting some much needed self-examination.  My fervent prayer is that I would not murmur or chafe against my Lord, but willingly, and gratefully, let Him prepare me to live with Him for eternity. . . in whatever way He determines is best!