He Said That?

I don't listen to the radio much, but a few weeks ago, I was without my iPod so resorted to the local stations.  Somewhere along the way, I landed on a Christian station and a song came on that made me frown.  I'd never heard it before, but the lyrics went something like this...

He said
I won't give you more,  more than you can take
I might like you bend, but I won't let you break
Oh, I'll never, ever let you go
Don't you forget what He said


Really?  He said that?  When and to whom?  Hold on to those questions for a moment and read this...

I hear religious-minded people say all the time with good intentions, "God will never place a burden on you so heavy that you cannot carry it."  Really?  My experience is that God will place a burden on you so heavy that you cannot possibly carry it alone.  He will break your back and your will.  He will buckle your legs until you fall flat beneath the crushing weight of your load.  All the while He will walk beside you waiting for you to come to the point where you must depend on Him.

This paragraph comes from Greg Lucas' book, Wrestling With An Angel.  The stories that tug your heart in this book are birthed from Greg's struggle as the father of a disabled child and its many parallels to the spiritual realm.  It is a deeply moving tale that forces its readers to wrestle with the nature of God and how He chooses to mold us and make Himself known.

Now, let's bring it all together.  My guess is that the authors of this song and those who offered comfort to Greg fell prey to a commonly misinterpreted verse.  I Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."    This verse is citing deliverance from temptation.  But temptation and hardship are two utterly different worlds.

You see, I've also had people tell me that God never gives us more than we can handle.  It's a comforting notion and I searched for the passage of Scripture that says so when I was diagnosed with cancer.  But I couldn't find it.  The fact that we have Christian artists claiming God said things that He actually didn't say  just makes the mess even more difficult for struggling believers.  It's true that He will never leave us, nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5, Deuteronomy 31:8).  But as far as giving us more than we can handle... well that's a different story.  Time and time again, we see stories in Scripture of people who face odds so unbearable that they cannot possibly do it without God.  Moses had to lead Yaweh's people out from one of the most dominant empires on the planet.  A young shepherd boy named David had to deliver the nation of Israel with a few smooth stones.  Job had to put his money where his mouth was as his entire world literally crumbled around him.  The apostle Paul encountered so many trials and tribulations that the Lord finally said to him, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."     

Those are His words.  That is the truth that you can cling to and even stake your life on.  This last year of my life has made me realize more than ever that God uses the events in our lives to keep us in a state of constant dependency.  I think Greg would agree (read his story to find out).  He will give us more than we feeble humans can take and it might even break us at times.  But in that brokenness, He is there walking right beside us.  He is ready to consume us with grace when we have realized that we cannot do it on our own.  It is then that we get a glimpse of His total sufficiency and power.  

That is what He said.

Dependent,

MH

Beside Still Waters

Lately, I have found myself in a constant state of stress about the future.  Like a nagging ache that won't go away, I haven't been able to shake it.  To keep this long story short, I'll just share the remedy.  If you are dealing with any amount of stress, anxiety, or worry (or even if you're not), I highly recommend this.  It is just a simple reminder from Scripture that will fix your eyes back on the truth. 

1.  Find a quiet place and rid yourself of all distractions (technology included).

2.  Take a few moments to confess life's current struggles and stresses to the Lord.

3.  Play this song while lying flat on your back with eyes closed.  Afterwards, don't get up right away.  Just rest in solitude beside the still waters...

There is no greater assurance in life's "shadow of death" than being saturated in the truth, spoken in His word.  Jon Foreman just so happens to offer a very soothing and accessible way to do it.    

Restored,

MH

Timeline Christianity

Facebook is a baffling phenomenon to me.  It's a wonderful way to re-connect with old friends or even make new ones.  It can be a great asset in developing relationships for a cause or promoting anything under the sun.  But it many respects, it has created a mask for its users, a false sense of who they really are by granting them the ability to control what they post and what others can see about them.  Among the many things that appear on my newsfeed, I frequently see pictures from the group "Jesus Is My Savior."  The group has over 80,000 likes and over 2,000 people "Talking About This."  The last picture that I saw from them made me cringe when it claimed "Jesus died on a cross for us, yet only 3% of us care about his enough to help spread his word- even though its their Christian duty!  So join the 3% that actually cares.  All you have to do is hit 'share' to help spread this message."  

As much as I enjoy Facebook, I think it has done Christianity a disservice and I need to catch myself sometimes.  While it can be a tremendous avenue for generating awareness, news, and relationships for the sake of the Gospel, I fear that it has tainted the meaning of the phrase "love Jesus."  It seems as if we have been lulled into thinking that updating our status' with Bible verses or sharing quotes from Charles Spurgeon or convicting pictures translates into social justice.  In a sense we have developed a "Timeline Christianity" that supposedly indicates our devotion to discipleship.  Even though it is commendable for us to wear our hearts on our Timelines, is this what Jesus has been calling His disciples to all along?  Recall his conversation with Peter in John 21: 15-17... 

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"  "Yes, Lord, " he said, "You know that I love you."  Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."  Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"  He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."  Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."  The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"  Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?"  He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."  Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."

I am in no position to judge anyone's heart because I have no way of knowing where their conviction spurns to action.  That forever remains between them and the Lord.  But my own heart tells me that clicking the "Like" button is far easier than putting food in the orphan's mouth.  It is more convenient to "Share" a picture than get in the trenches and suffer spiritual warfare with brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is just plain harder to give time to serve the widow or re-route a lifestyle on behalf of the oppressed.  Why?  Because there is a great cost involved, a sacrifice that is counter-intuitive to our nature.  If we really love Jesus Christ, if we truly want to serve Him, then we must feed His sheep.  There are many out there whose lives' reflect their posts and the world is a better place because of it.  This is not about bashing anyone for surface-level Christianity, but rather a challenge for reflection.  I'm going to continue using  Facebook to advance the Gospel and I hope you do too.  

But shame on us if our Christianity is confined to the internet.

If you do too, then feed His sheep.

Striving for real discipleship,

MH