You Learn Something New Every Day
Today, I am exhausted. I've been fighting (and winning, thankfully) a battle with Mr. Sinus Infection. Not bad enough to go to the doc, it's lingering, though lessening as the days go by.
Today also, we had our February fellowship meal at church. It went smoothly, but in my state of body, I didn't really enjoy it all that much. However, I'm coming to understand that my enjoyment had less to do with my illness than it did my attitude.
Today, this morning, in fact, I heard D. James Kennedy ending a radio program he had just done on Psalm 32. Not catching enough to know what his topic was, I decided to go read the psalm for myself out of curiosity. While the whole psalm is greatly encouraging and comforting, verse 7 jumped out at me: "You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance."
Ordinarily, this would give me a "good feeling", and I'd move on. But not this time. Just the other day, I finished reading, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. She was involved in the Dutch underground during WWII, a Christian helping Jews escape the Nazis. Because of this, she was imprisoned in a concentration camp, lost her father, her sister and many friends. Psalm 32:7 was her battle cry, learned from her father. They trusted in the Lord who would hide them in Himself, preserve them from trouble and surround them with songs of deliverance. It was what sustained them in the abysmally dark world of a Nazi-controlled Holland, and a brutal concentration camp.
Encouraging as this is, I wouldn't have tied it to anything else without a couple more pieces to the puzzle.
Piece #1: Last night, as I was driving home rather late, it was hard to find anything decent on the radio. But, I came across a speaker whose name I never fully caught. He was talking about how our attitudes, and the actions that come from those attitudes, are under our control. He said that if we determine to be happy, then we will be happy, even in spite of things not going our way. Now, this was not another self-help guru. This man was telling his listeners that in order to do this (to determine to be happy), one must be redeemed by the blood of Christ, with the power of His kingdom living within. That real happiness is not possible any other way.
This gentlemen kept pointing back to Christ. Encouraging everyone to run to Christ when we feel we cannot handle the negative emotions, and let Him help us to control them. To run to Christ for His perspective on the situation, so that we transform and renew our minds by His Word (Romans 12:1-2). To run to Him for comfort when we feel badly, but to accept His strength and power to go on and live for Him anyway. Something he said struck me...that we can't help the instant bad feeling when something we don't like happens. But, that we don't have to stay on that feeling - we can run to Christ in His Word and seize upon His promises, and learn to THINK like Christ. This will, in turn, change our feelings when those same things happen again. That when we begin to think like Christ, we will begin to have a Christ-like attitude no matter what happens, and our actions will begin to be pleasing to God.
During the time I was listening to this man, he mentioned Dr. Viktor Frankl, a Jewish doctor who was imprisoned at Auschwitz during WWII. He wrote a book (available on Amazon, I checked), called, Man's Search for Meaning. While I didn't really catch enough to know why exactly he was talking about Dr. Frankl, it was enough that it made me think of Corrie ten Boom.
Piece #2: During the last several church meetings, the elders have exhorted us in various ways, using various Scriptures, to "flee to Christ". We are to flee for comfort, for encouragement, for wisdom and knowledge, for help in hard circumstances, for that escape from temptation that 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises believers.
It's this last point where I'm sticking.
Piece #3: During my private Bible reading the last couple days, I've hit on the theme of temptation repeatedly. And repeatedly, I've been told in Scripture to flee to Christ, and to hide in Him when I am tempted. I've even recently counseled others to remember that "No temptation has overtaken [us] except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow [us] to be tempted beyond what [we] are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that [we] may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13). I've exhorted that the way of escape from temptation is Christ Himself - the intimate, daily knowledge of Christ found in the Holy Scriptures.
It's apparently my turn to receive the same exhortation. God has gone through a lot of trouble to make me see that I am to watch out for temptation, and when it comes (for it will come), to escape to Him for comfort, for strength, for the renewing of my mind in His Word, that I may resist the temptation and glorify Him. What is the temptation I'm to look out for? It could be one of many: to overeat, to be idle, to gossip, to backbite, to have a pity party, to wallow in depression, to attribute evil motives to someone else's behavior, to trust myself over God and the counsel He's provided me, to want my way, to make my comfort the goal of my actions... I could go on ad naseum, but I won't.
This seems like a lot to keep on the lookout for, doesn't it? But, honestly, it all boils down to one thing: the sin of pride.
Pride, and the resultant belief that everything, everywhere should be about ME, will lead to all of the above sins that tempt me. This also leads to a great deal of unhappiness and dissatisfaction with my life. Discontentment sets in, because I'm not getting everything I want to make me feel like I'm the center of the universe.
But, Scripture says that everything, everywhere is all about, from, to, for and existing in Christ. Only by daily renewing my mind in the Scriptures can I accept this truth and adjust my thoughts and attitudes to live by it.
It's all about Him, not about me. It's all for Him, not for me. Everything comes from Him, not from me. All glory and honor goes to Him, not to me. He is my contentment. He is my happiness. He is my satisfaction. He is All. And All is all there is.
So, maybe I did enjoy that fellowship meal today, after all!
Today also, we had our February fellowship meal at church. It went smoothly, but in my state of body, I didn't really enjoy it all that much. However, I'm coming to understand that my enjoyment had less to do with my illness than it did my attitude.
Today, this morning, in fact, I heard D. James Kennedy ending a radio program he had just done on Psalm 32. Not catching enough to know what his topic was, I decided to go read the psalm for myself out of curiosity. While the whole psalm is greatly encouraging and comforting, verse 7 jumped out at me: "You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance."
Ordinarily, this would give me a "good feeling", and I'd move on. But not this time. Just the other day, I finished reading, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. She was involved in the Dutch underground during WWII, a Christian helping Jews escape the Nazis. Because of this, she was imprisoned in a concentration camp, lost her father, her sister and many friends. Psalm 32:7 was her battle cry, learned from her father. They trusted in the Lord who would hide them in Himself, preserve them from trouble and surround them with songs of deliverance. It was what sustained them in the abysmally dark world of a Nazi-controlled Holland, and a brutal concentration camp.
Encouraging as this is, I wouldn't have tied it to anything else without a couple more pieces to the puzzle.
Piece #1: Last night, as I was driving home rather late, it was hard to find anything decent on the radio. But, I came across a speaker whose name I never fully caught. He was talking about how our attitudes, and the actions that come from those attitudes, are under our control. He said that if we determine to be happy, then we will be happy, even in spite of things not going our way. Now, this was not another self-help guru. This man was telling his listeners that in order to do this (to determine to be happy), one must be redeemed by the blood of Christ, with the power of His kingdom living within. That real happiness is not possible any other way.
This gentlemen kept pointing back to Christ. Encouraging everyone to run to Christ when we feel we cannot handle the negative emotions, and let Him help us to control them. To run to Christ for His perspective on the situation, so that we transform and renew our minds by His Word (Romans 12:1-2). To run to Him for comfort when we feel badly, but to accept His strength and power to go on and live for Him anyway. Something he said struck me...that we can't help the instant bad feeling when something we don't like happens. But, that we don't have to stay on that feeling - we can run to Christ in His Word and seize upon His promises, and learn to THINK like Christ. This will, in turn, change our feelings when those same things happen again. That when we begin to think like Christ, we will begin to have a Christ-like attitude no matter what happens, and our actions will begin to be pleasing to God.
During the time I was listening to this man, he mentioned Dr. Viktor Frankl, a Jewish doctor who was imprisoned at Auschwitz during WWII. He wrote a book (available on Amazon, I checked), called, Man's Search for Meaning. While I didn't really catch enough to know why exactly he was talking about Dr. Frankl, it was enough that it made me think of Corrie ten Boom.
Piece #2: During the last several church meetings, the elders have exhorted us in various ways, using various Scriptures, to "flee to Christ". We are to flee for comfort, for encouragement, for wisdom and knowledge, for help in hard circumstances, for that escape from temptation that 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises believers.
It's this last point where I'm sticking.
Piece #3: During my private Bible reading the last couple days, I've hit on the theme of temptation repeatedly. And repeatedly, I've been told in Scripture to flee to Christ, and to hide in Him when I am tempted. I've even recently counseled others to remember that "No temptation has overtaken [us] except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow [us] to be tempted beyond what [we] are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that [we] may be able to bear it." (1 Corinthians 10:13). I've exhorted that the way of escape from temptation is Christ Himself - the intimate, daily knowledge of Christ found in the Holy Scriptures.
It's apparently my turn to receive the same exhortation. God has gone through a lot of trouble to make me see that I am to watch out for temptation, and when it comes (for it will come), to escape to Him for comfort, for strength, for the renewing of my mind in His Word, that I may resist the temptation and glorify Him. What is the temptation I'm to look out for? It could be one of many: to overeat, to be idle, to gossip, to backbite, to have a pity party, to wallow in depression, to attribute evil motives to someone else's behavior, to trust myself over God and the counsel He's provided me, to want my way, to make my comfort the goal of my actions... I could go on ad naseum, but I won't.
This seems like a lot to keep on the lookout for, doesn't it? But, honestly, it all boils down to one thing: the sin of pride.
Pride, and the resultant belief that everything, everywhere should be about ME, will lead to all of the above sins that tempt me. This also leads to a great deal of unhappiness and dissatisfaction with my life. Discontentment sets in, because I'm not getting everything I want to make me feel like I'm the center of the universe.
But, Scripture says that everything, everywhere is all about, from, to, for and existing in Christ. Only by daily renewing my mind in the Scriptures can I accept this truth and adjust my thoughts and attitudes to live by it.
It's all about Him, not about me. It's all for Him, not for me. Everything comes from Him, not from me. All glory and honor goes to Him, not to me. He is my contentment. He is my happiness. He is my satisfaction. He is All. And All is all there is.
So, maybe I did enjoy that fellowship meal today, after all!
posted by Laura | 8:30 PM
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