“You have to learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”
This is a saying in endurance sports. It seems that endurance sport is the rare place where suffering is exalted and even sought. We praise those athletes that dig deep, feel the burn, and deny themselves to achieve their goal.
Sadly, the endurance sports’ lesson of suffering’s value fails to make it into everyday life. Mostly, we want our everyday lives to be free from suffering. In fact, we not only want it free from suffering, but we also want it free from discomfort, frustrations, and general annoyance.
Not all pain is the same, but our reaction to pain, intense or minor, is the same. Our inclination is to flee pain, avoid it, minimize it, remove it. However, if everything that does not go our way is suffering in a degree, then it is pain on some scale.
Life is pain because life is a struggle with suffering. We struggle with all those disappointments that are not as we want; big and small; painful and annoying; consuming and distracting.
Perfection is the absence of suffering.
Those who pursue perfection to escape suffering are the ones who suffer the most. Humans are imperfect. Society is imperfect. Nature is imperfect. If you demand perfection, you will suffer the more than anyone else.
There is only one who is perfect.
Therefore, life is a management of suffering in all its degrees while we await the perfection to come.
We don’t want to suffer the consequences of an immoral life. Therefore, we suffer the lesser pain of self-denial.
We don’t want to suffer want and need. Therefore, we suffer the discomfort of self-discipline.
We don’t want to be crushed by the inevitabilities of life. Therefore, we serve others and humble ourselves.
We don’t want to suffer eternal punishment for a sinful life. Therefore, we lose our lives so that we might gain them.
Now, there is a paradox here for those who are in Christ. We are commanded to follow in obedience, to deny ourselves, to pick up our crosses and follow Christ. We are also told that it is God who is at work in us to will and to act in order to fulfill His purposes. This is the paradox that we all live. How does all that work? I am not entirely sure. However, I do know that within this paradox I have enough incentive and encouragement to endure. I have learned that when I embrace the denial of self, the power to preserve always comes through the Spirit, usually a while after I think I need Him, but in His time.
Suffering reveals our weaknesses. It reveals what we value most. Suffering is training. It reveals perfection if we dare to look. That is the knowledge that every “liver” of life needs to navigate through all the pain.
Suffering cannot be escaped, but we do have a choice in what we learn.
Pick your pain or your pain will pick you; learn its lessons or pain will be absent of purpose. So, dig deep, feel the burn, endure the race because perfection will have its day.
There is a degree of confidence that comes with knowledge. Assurance rises through the fullfillment of an agreeable plan. We rest comfortably while our lives unfold in accordance to the foreseeable circumstances of normal.
We rarely have difficulty when our thoughts are aligned with His and His ways correspond to ours. The course of life is comfortable while the heavens seem in line with the earth and God does not demand anything beyond our normal aspirations.
What happens when our ways diverge from His;
when His ways cause pain and His thoughts seem cruel?
The worlds of the created can fall apart in the of a span of a day. Within a week, I received the news that my Sister-in-Law and my cousin have limited time on this earth. It appears that God’s ways are truly not my ways. His thoughts assuredly are not my thoughts. The diagnosis of terminal shocks one out of the delusion of normal and into the confusion of a denied reality.
People die before the time that I had prescribed for them.
Families grieve losses cloaked in the darkness of the unknowable.
Minds are clouded in the defeat of impending death.
This world sucks.
The delusion of normal is a dangerous mindset. The delusion of the world as wonderful and a place of paradise cannot abide with the reality of suffering. We were never promised a world of delights. We were never promised a world unbroken. We were never promised a world without pain.
That is why this world had to be overcome.
We were told that this world contains suffering even as we thrash beneath its hand. We were told that evil rules even as we look away from the evidence. We were told that there are mysteries beyond our understanding even as we try to deduce them.
This is why our home is not here. This world had to be overcome in order for us to escape and enter into true rest. A terminal diagnosis is yet another reminder that we need a redeemer, a rescuer, who will take us to our rest. I do not love this world. I want to go home.
I am thankful that His ways are better than mine.
I am thankful that His thoughts are beyond mine.
I am thanful that He is good.
I am thankful that He has overcome this world.
I am thankful that His love flows.
When normal crumbles, faith must remain. When knowledge fades, hope must shine. When defeat abounds, love must abide.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:27
My wife and I recently were in a local appliance store. As we perused our freezer options, a cowboy sauntered in from the back of the store. I say sauntered because that is exactly how he walked. His boots making the familiar clack-tap with each step on the hardwood floor. It seemed like a slow, relaxed echo from a saloon of the old-west.
As I turned, I saw exactly what I expected to see. The epitome of a cowboy -worn cowboy boots with a little manure clinging to the heel, Wrangler jeans, large belt buckle of rodeo origin, leather vest over a western shirt, a handle-bar mustache, and a dirty black cowboy hat.
I watched him make his transaction and he sounded exactly as I expected. He talked with the cashier in a slow, western drawl, about the weather, hunting, work to be done, and the superiority of cash to credit cards as he pulled two hundred dollars of twenties from his leather wallet.
“Now, there is a unique individual”, I thought but then I immediately wondered “is he?” Could he really be my personified ideal of an individual if I knew exactly what he would look and sound like? He was the epitome of cowboy; that is not unique.
In a society that idealizes the concept of individualism, I see few examples of truly unique individuals.
The images associated with these labels that flash through our brains are probably very similar. There are stereotypes for even those who many consider the most unique of our society.
It seems that there are few truly distinct individuals and I wonder the extent to which any human lives uniquely. Even the most unique among us still end up in some stereotypical flock. We often confuse individualism with genius or exceptionalism or independence. For me, the truly unique individual is the one who lives outside the imposed influence of society in general and his own neighborhood in specific.
Yet, is that even possible? More importantly, is that a state that should be desired?
I was recently watching some videos on birds flocking.
The mesmerizing movement of these flocks make it seem like an orchestrated control over the mass. Yet, we know that the actions are the agglomeration of each animal’s individual decisions based upon a local perception of their surrounding.
Science does not know how birds flock without sheer chaos and crashes. Wayne Potts studied birds flocking in 1984. He found that the turning of flock can spread from bird to bird three times faster than any individual bird’s reaction time. This suggests that there is not much thinking occurring within each individual bird as they fly along. They are most likely responding unconsciously to the actions around them.
The most interesting explanation of this phenomenon has come through the attempts to simulate flocking in computer animation. Craig Reynolds developed three rules that are still the basis of flocking simulations:
Avoid collisions with nearby flockmates
Attempt to match the speed of nearby flockmates; collisions are unlikely if the velocity of the individuals are similar.
Attempt to stay close to the nearby flockmates; there is a stronger influence of nearby neighbors than distant members of the flock.
I wonder, if we could achieve a broader perspective, whether the activities of man would appear more like the random motion of a flock’s unconscious decisions rather than a choreographed pattern of deliberated reason.
How many times have you wondered, “how did I get here”?
Just as a bird may be baffled by how it came to alight in a field miles from its origin, I often feel swept away from principles and priorities to find myself in a cultural landscape far from my origin. We are all influenced by friends and family. We are inundated by beliefs and values through education and entertainment. It seems as if norms are cast aside without much thought or consideration.
I’m baffled by where we often find ourselves.
I wonder if we humans are more influenced by the Reynolds’ rules of flocking than we care to admit. Soren Kierkegaard referred to it as being lost to the finite, which is mindlessly following social conventions. It is accepting the current paradigm of expectations without consideration. Consider the bird in a flock; that bird probably thinks that it is acting as an individual but it is really at the mercy of those around it. That bird has lost its individuality to the finite influences of the flock.
The scary part is that the bird doesn’t even realize what it has lost
– its individuality.
Let’s use Reynolds’ rules of flocking to evaluate the individuality of our personal decision making:
Are you conflict adverse? Will you go along with ideas or activities that you don’t agree with simply because you don’t want to offend or be excluded? If your first tendency is to subjugate your actions to those of others, then you might be flocking.
Do you simply accept the ideas of experts? Do you match the actions of those you respect because surely they have thought it through? If your tendency is to receive thoughts rather than think them, then you might be flocking.
Is your identity associated with affiliations? Do you follow along with the group for fear of being left behind? If you tend to move with your community even when it is turning away from core beliefs, then you might be flocking.
Every person who has bucked these rules have found themselves outside the flock. I think that the reason we see so few true individuals is due to the fact that living outside the flock is hard. In fact, I don’t think that we were ever meant to live outside the flock.
The problem is that we often choose the wrong flock.
I believe that we created flock. We were created to flock to God. We were meant to instinctively know and follow God. The problem arises when we substitute the voice of God with the voice of man.
The truly unique individual is the one following the voice of the Shepherd because only He truly knows each person in the unique personhood. True self is only found in relationship with God.
Let’s use Reynolds’ rules of flocking to consider what flocking to God might look like:
You avoid collisions with God. You know that sin causes conflict with the Shepherd. Therefore, you strive toward obedience to the will of God in your life. If your first tendency is to subjugate your actions to God, then you’re probably flocking to your Shepherd.
You match everything to the Word of God. You don’t simply accept the ideas of others but you examine those ideas to the scriptures to see if they are true. When you match your beliefs with the Bible, collision with God are unlikely and you’re probably flocking to your Shepherd.
You strive to stay close to the leadings of the Spirit. The Shepherd takes each of us through life with many meandering turns. If your tendency is to follow even when you don’t understand, then you’re probably flocking to your Shepherd.
The Church should be a conglomeration of truly unique individuals. It should be a beautiful flow of individuals, each participating from their unique personhood revealed through their relation to the Good Shepherd.
There should be a stereotypes for those who are in Christ – the image of Christ and the Fruit of the Spirit. Unfortunately, that is often not the stereotype that Christians are known for. The problem rises from the fact that too many who profess Christ are still lost in the finite and flocking to the mentality of man.
We, as unique individuals in Christ, have the continuous task of keeping our flocking instinct focused on the correct initiator. The hardest of all tasks is to recognize when we are quietly losing our self to the influences of the world rather than influencing it.
Living as a unique individual in relation to God is rare because it is hard.
Obedience to God will result in conflict with people.
You may be hated for your refusal to follow the flow of man. “…but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15:19b But take heart, God has overcome the world!
We will always be secure.
Following the Bible as the inspired Word of God will result in being excluded.
You may be ridiculed for clinging to traditions or supposed doctrines of bygone days. “Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Proverbs 26:12 But take heart, we have a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, the hope of those who through faith and patience
will inherit the promise – eternal life.
Following the path God has laid before you will result in periods of isolation.
You may find yourself abandoned and alone as others drift after the ideas of man. “I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” Rev. 3:8 But take heart, we are never abandoned or forsaken. We are loved!
Living as a truly unique individual, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, will be hard but the promise of the joy set before us will be so worth all that we may have to patiently endure. Keep your eye on Jesus! He will never fail you.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to truly follow you and you alone. Help me to hear you voice. Show me where I am being influenced by the ideas and opinions of people. Enable me to resist my inclinations to go along with the flock. Give me strength to stand alone. Give me endurance to stay on course to the open door that you have laid before me. Help me to keep your word. Father, I want to imitate you. I want to be a reflection of your loving kindness. I want to embody the hope that you have given me. Lord, may all I do bring glory to your name. I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen
“The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss – an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. – is sure to be noticed.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory!” Psalm 72:18-19
I have struggled for motivation to climb upon my bicycle while it is clamped into the trainer. However, I have to do something because the digits on my scale are continuing to increase inversely to the outdoors temperatures. I’ve sought may aids to curb the monotony of a cycling trainer; music, cycling training videos, Tour de France videos, sermons, audiobooks, and even stand-up comics. None has been able to keep me contentedly pedaling beyond 30 minutes.
However, I finally found my tonic for trainer tedium – Dark Matter.
My tonic is not the invisible matter constituting the majority of the universe. Mine comes from the Syfy channel. I got hooked on this story of a spaceship crew who awakens from stasis with no memory of who they are, what they have done, or why they are on board a mercenary spaceship.
I love a good story and if it is set in space, then it’s even better.
I saved watching Dark Matter as the carrot before my motionless bike. I easily pedaled through each episode as subsequent adventures revealed mysteries of forgotten pasts. I was actually starting to look forward to my time on that accursed contraption when it all came to an end.
The final episode of Season 1 successfully left me spinning on the edge of my saddle, wanting to know what will happen next. I went to click on Season 2, to spin through another episode, but made a stark discovery.
There is no Season 2.
I was done. I climbed off my bike and felt that familiar disdain for my next date with the trainer. I searched the internet to discover whether there was another season with a growing concern. I learned more about Dark Matter than I had intended. I learned about the actors and the production. I read reviews, both positive and negative. I was delighted to find that there will be another season but annoyed to know that it is only in production.
I even discovered the WordPress blog of Joseph Mallozzi – Josephmallozzi’s Weblog. He is the co-writer and creator of Dark Matter. He has a lot of behind the scene photos of the current filming of Dark Matter on his blog. I flipped through each post in my developing sense of fandom.
I learned that Dark Matter was originally a comic book that Joseph Mallozzi co-wrote. So, I did what any newly minted fan would do. I got on Amazon to see if I could buy one. I’m a little embarrassed to admit that the compilation book of all four comics should arrive in two days. I haven’t bought myself a comic book in three decades.
Don’t judge me, I’m a fan.
I find it interesting that I wasn’t really a fan of Dark Matter while Netflix held a trove of unwatched episodes.
It wasn’t until the streaming dried up that I even thought about the writer.
It wasn’t until the entertainment stopped that I began searching.
It wasn’t until I was forced to wait that I became a fan.
My reaction to Dark Matter reminded me of this quote from A.W. Pink.
I can testify to these dry seasons of the soul.
Most Christians will experience these periods of drought
if they follow Christ any length of time.
It is part of sanctification.
Have you ever wondered why we experience these periods where the river of God’s presence feels like it has dried up?
Some may say that these seasons are periods of preparation or testing or due to sin. I agree in part.
However, I wonder if dry periods are simply a process to make us into fans.
When I enter a dry period, I tend to think more about God. I confess that my thoughts often sound like complaints, “why is God doing this to me”, but my eyes definitely get focused back on Him.
When I feel spiritually lethargic, I tend to search more earnestly in His word. I start digging into the mysteries of God and realize that I am usually not even asking the right questions.
When I am waiting on God, I inevitably begin to ask myself, who I am waiting for, which brings me back to the Gospel, the wonderful treasure of the good news of Jesus Christ and I become more of a fan.
A dry period will inevitably
bring me to the glory of God.
It will make me a fan.
When I am a fully glorifying fan:
I am prepared to follow Christ in whatever He has called me to do.
I am ready to persevere through the suffering and trials that are before me.
I am willing to turn my back on the temptations of this world for the surpassing worth of my loving Savior.
The lukewarm Christian is a lukewarm fan.
Christians should be more enthusiastic than any of the fans in a sports stadium.
Our demeanor should clothe us as followers of Christ more than any avid comic con attendees.
Our homes should proudly display our fandom of the One.
We were created to be fans; we were created to worship.
A true fan should be easy to spot.
God wants us to be easy to spot.
God wants us to be true fans.
He is willing to take us through those dry periods to teach us that our fandom rests only in Him.
PRAYER: Lord, I pray that you will make me into a fan. Help me to want to join my voice with that of the Psalmist and declare your wondrous deeds in unabashed fandom. Help me to accept the dry seasons. Help to see that you are taking me to greater happiness. Father, do your work in me even when I am not fully cooperating. I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5
I finally resolved to get on the trainer and spin.
For thirty minutes, I sat in the comfort of my couch, glancing into the adjoining room at the taunting image of my bike on the trainer. The passage of time persuaded me that if a workout was going to happen, I had to get started. So, I grumbled my way upstairs to change into some workout clothes thinking, “I just need to get this over with”.
Work clothes were quickly exchanged for cycling garb, a glass filled with water, and my new Surface Pro tablet tucked under my arm (I have taken to watching Netflix whileI spin; it helps to pass the time). I began my descent into my personnel pain cave, quickly shuffling down the stairs with my stocking feet.
About two-thirds down the carpeted stairs, my feet suddenly slipped from one stair run, skipped off the next, and in an instant my balance was emptied while my hands remained full. That would not last long. Water splashed in my face as my tablet was flung down the remaining steps. I crashed down on the steps, feet and arms in the air, without any time breaking my fall. A stair rung bearing deeply into my ribs under the brunt of my falling mass.
I must have rocked the foundation of the house because my wife and kids were at the bottom of the stairs by the time I slid to the landing, wondering what had happened.
I would not be going for a spin on that night.
My fall happened nine days ago. The carpet burns have healed nicely. However, my ribs are another matter. I had hoped that they were just bruised but as the days have passed, I have begun to accept that there might be more damage. A couple ribs may have been broken; not really broken but just cracked a little bit; probably just bruised deeply.
There are some things that no cyclist can resist, particularly those who live in areas that have real winters – a moderate day in December. We had just such a day, six days after my fall. It was perfect weather, no falling moisture, temperatures around forty degrees, winds moderate. Bruised ribs or not, I could not let this day slip by.
I left work early and soon had my tri-bike out on the rural roads near my home. I quickly discovered that my ribs were happy only in one position. Everything was pleasant, as long as I stayed down on my aero-bars. It was not nearly as pleasant entering and exiting the aero-position. As a result, I had one of my best rides since I stayed in the most aero-dynamic position for duration of the ride.
Sometimes not being able to assume our preferred position
forces us in the optimal position.
(That is me on a tri-bike, wet roads, taking a selfie with broken ribs.
I didn’t say it was a good idea, just an irresistible one.)
My ribs got me to thinking about suffering. I know how I fell down my stairs, but don’t know why. I don’t know why most bad things happen. However, the Bible consistently teaches that suffering is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, we are told that we should rejoice in our suffering. I am not very good at rejoicing in my suffering.
Yet, I wonder if suffering is similar to my cycling experience. Suffering forces us out of our preferences. Suffering forces out of our strengths. Suffering forces us out of our self-reliance.
Suffering forces us out of our preferred position and into the optimal position.
“Heartache forces us to embrace God out of desperate, urgent need.
God is never closer than when your heart is aching.”
~Joni Eareckson Tada
Anyone who has suffered, knows that it will force you down on your knees in reliance upon God and keep you there. What could be more optimal than that?
That optimal position will produce endurance, character, and hope. Those are all exceptional results – we just have to stay down to receive them.
“Suffering provides the gym equipment on which my faith can be exercised.”
~Joni Eareckson Tada
PRAYER: Lord, I pray that you will heal my ribs quickly. Help me to understand suffering. Help me to accept suffering in my own life and the lives of others. Father, do your work in us. Don’t leave us as we are. Create in us the hope that will not disappoint by the means that you choose. I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen
“Why did I not die at birth, come out from the womb and expire? Why did the knees receive me? Or why the breasts, that I should nurse? For then I would have lain down and been quiet; I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,…” Job 3:11-13
A sleepless mind fills with thoughts from visions of the night. The assault of daily troubles awaits the cover of darkness when conscious defenses teeter upon dreams. Thoughts are brought in stealth. Ears receive the whisper of a powerlessness to remedy what tomorrow holds. Trouble weighs the sleepless mind to suffocating depth in the same feathery pillow meant to comfort.
…man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. (Job 5:7)
Trapped by troubles, exhaustion breeds dread into a desperate groan for release. Thoughts are conjured in this state of malaise that no stalwart practitioner of manliness will ever confess.
“If only I had never been born…”
“If only I would never awake…”
“If only my heart would fail…”
“If only a vein in my head might burst…”
“If only for a quick act of random violence…”
“If only…then I would be free from all that troubles my soul.”
“If only…then I would have rest.”
I have never had the troubles of Job. I have never endured the trials that he bore. Yet, I heard the same whispers as he under the cover of darkness within the privacy of my own skull. Maybe, Job and I are alone in our confused search for rest but I doubt that. I have never admitted to these thoughts because I did not want my loved ones to think that I was suicidal and in need of counseling.
I am not suicidal and neither was Job.
The desire of Job’s lament was not for death. I believe that his thoughts meandered to the loss of existence as the release from the burden of his trial. It is a path that my own mind has meandered. Thoughts of death are a confused route to achieve an intrinsic desire that few ever identify accurately.
Our souls long for rest.
Rest is what every soul desires when the yoke of a fallen world weighs heavily upon us. Consider what we truly want when we bear the laden burden of troubles:
When we are in pain … we want rest from hurt.
When loves are gone…we want rest from heart break.
When abandoned …we want rest from loneliness.
When confronted with failure … we want rest from expectations.
When penniless…we want rest from need.
When addicted…we want rest from desire.
In times of great trials, our flesh cries out for this intrinsic desire – rest. We all come to the same desire as Job, whether it is due to great trials or insignificant annoyances. We all want rest. We want enduring, everlasting, rest.
This type of rest comes only to those who are in Christ. Death is only a source of rest to those who will enter into the loving arms of their heavenly Father when their time in this fallen world is over.
Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, for I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-29)
All of creation groans for the rest that Christ promises to those who come to him. As Children of God, we can know this rest in part, as we continue to walk in the Spirit along our individual paths of sanctification Christ has pioneered for us. We will not experience this perfect rest until we come to our eternal home.
It is in those dark nights, when my soul is laboring and heavily laden that the Spirit himself bears witness with my spirit. The Spirit bears witness with my spirit that I am a child of God and if a child then an heir – an heir of God and fellow heir with Christ. (Romans 8:16-17) The Spirit reminds me that I am His despite my confused thoughts for rest. I don’t want this life to end for a mere escape from trouble; a jump into the abyss.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)
My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. (Philippians 1:23b)
Like Paul, I just want to be with Christ, which will be far better than anything this world has to offer. My hope is what comes through in those dark nights of indecipherable groaning. It is the inward groaning of a Child of God eagerly awaiting his adoption as son and the redemption of his body. (Romans 8:23)
For in this hope we were saved. (Romans 8:24)
I believe that it is in those nights when my mind swirls with dark “If only…” thoughts that the Spirit, who is always with me, steps in and helps me in my weakness.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)
It is the Spirit who takes up my improper, inarticulate, longings to pray and intercedes on my behalf. Most of the time, I don’t know what I really need but on some occasions I am sure the Spirit’s intercession has included, “your beloved needs rest.” I imagine that in some cases my Father’s response to the Spirit was:
Refresh his hope.
Remind him that all things work together for good, for those who are called according to My purpose.
Remind him that no one can separate him from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
Open his mind to the reality that if God is for him, who can be against him.
Show him that he is a conqueror through Christ who loves him.
Ask him, who can bring a charge against him, God’s elect.
These thoughts and so many more have come to my mind in response to groaning, “if only…” thoughts. We truly have a great and awesome Helper, who knows what we need and when we need it. He has always been faithful to me and I know that He always will be, even when I get confused and don’t know what I really want – to rest in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER: Father, thank you for sending your Spirit. Thank you for giving me a hope beyond this world and all its troubles. Help me to keep my eyes on the Spirit and to walk faithful with you. Spirit, thank you for interceding for me. Thank you for giving meaning to my confused groanings. Thank you for sustaining my soul. I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5
Training has been done;
Miles have been logged;
Intervals accumulated;
Laps swum; and
Injuries avoided;
The sugar-plums of my dreams have been replaced by visions of the swim, bike, and run.
All that remains is to race.
The race for me is the Boise Ironman 70.3 that starts a mere 2 days from now. It would be a lie to pretend that I am not nervous. I have never raced this combination of distances. Therefore, the unknown of race day looms large in my mind.
I would like to have more time for a half-marathon run to be comfortable.
I would like to have done an open water swim this year.
I would like to have stacked a few more bricks.
Yet, all the things that I would like to have done, would not chase away the apprehension of race day unknowns I now feel. The challenge for a prepared racer is far less physical than it is mental. The body will perform how it has prepared. Muscles will pull and push to the levels they have been stretched. Lungs will exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide at their rate of capacity. Blood will carry all the essentials provided in order to accumulate miles at speed. An athlete’s body will perform in accordance to the training plan it has developed under.
The mind is the unknown.
What happens when you enter the pain locker?
What happens when the fun stops and adversity begins?
What happens when you feel like you have been punched in the mouth?
That is the test of the mind.
We all have a plan.
We all have visions of success.
Yet, the mind determines whether those plans will be abandoned in the face of adversity.
I think this may be why I am drawn to endurance events. I want to train my mind not to give up under adversity. I want the confidence that I will continue when the plan really matters. My race on Saturday does not really matter. There are no consequences for not finishing. I have no hope of winning. I won’t even be competitive.
The prize I seek from the Boise Ironman 70.3 is the realization that I can take a punch and still finish.
That is a prize that will reward throughout life. Life is full of adversity.
We will fail… be misunderstood… and ridiculed;
We will be disappointed… abandoned… and betrayed;
We will be attacked… face fear… and uncertainty;
We will make mistakes… experience loss…and know heartache;
We will be broken.
Any of these adversities can feel like a punch in the mouth. Suffering and trials can hit us so hard that we are willing to abandon our plan, even our first love, to gain relief. How can you be confident that you will endure all things when it really matters?
This is the prize of suffering.
It is why I will rejoice in the pain that comes from the Boise Ironman 70.3.
It is why I rejoice in all the suffering that I have endured.
I rejoice because I have learned that I can take a punch and won’t give up. Throughout my life, I believe that the Spirit of God has used those punches to produce in me a character of endurance. It is a character, grounded in faith, which gives me a confidence based in experience. It is that character that produces hope. I rejoice in that hope. It is this hope that will never put me to shame because God’s love has been poured into my heart through the Holy Spirit who has been given to me.
What about you?
Can you take a punch in the mouth?
Are you confident in your character?
What has your character produced?
I realize that endurance events are not for everyone. However, there are plenty of opportunities in life to train our minds not to give up. It is why sticking with the small things matter. They are all opportunities to train our mind – and that is a prize worth enduring for.
My hope for you is:
When it gets hard, you go deep;
When it hurts, you look beyond;
When it is inconvenient, you continue;
When others run away, you stand;
When you want to give you, you take another step.
My hope for you is that you will rejoice in all the adversities of your life…because they will produce hope.
That hope is a prize worth training for.
PRAYER: Father, thank you for what you have taught me in suffering. While I do not desire adversity, you have shown me the value it produces. Thank you for the character that you have developed in me. Thank you for the hope that will never disappoint. Lord, train me in those areas were I am prone to give up. Build within me a mental toughness to take a punch when it really matters and to continue to follow you. I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
I really wanted to go for a bike ride over the weekend.
I stepped outside and walked to the edge of the porch only to have a cold westerly wind change my mind. A few moments of gazing at the trees bending under an unseen load convinced me that I did not want to venture out into that kind of wind. So, I returned back to the serenity of indoors. I did this analysis three times before I rationalized my cycling kit on and grabbed my bike. I know that riding in the wind is not much fun, but I just wanted to get out of the house and get a work-out in.
The soundness of that logic was questioned throughout the first few miles of my ride as tree limbs bent into the roadway delivering a moaning question as to why I had ventured from my protective walls. I fought that wind for miles upon miles, grinding away in my smallest chainring, hoping to at least match my forward speed to that of the wind in my face. There was no escaping the relentless resistance of that wind since the route I had decided upon took me directly into it. I tried to stay low and ground away with each pedal stroke in anticipation of the turn.
The turn is when you pass the half-way mark and start to head home. Better yet, the turn would put my back to the wind on this day. I made my way with eagerness onto a road that would connect me to the turn. It also had the benefit of taking me out of the frontal assault of the wind. It was on this road that I felt the first few drops. In my battle with the wind, I had not noticed the dark clouds that now barred my return.
I summited the last climb before the turn with the full knowledge that I was going to get wet and this ride was going to get really miserable. The skies opened up on me as I descended to the turn. Water rolled off of my chin and down my back as my wheels spun a whisper of spray that appeared to double their size. I quickly lost all concern for wind as I made the turn, for my mind had shifted to the concerns of slick pavement and the hope of home. I dipped my head to keep the rain off of my glasses and grabbed a harder gear – I needed to get home. I focused on my cadence as I continued to work through my gear cassette until I could not shift anymore.
I was in my hardest gear and pedaling freely. I don’t know how fast I was going since my speedometer had quit, but I must have been tickling 30 mph. I rode like this for several miles, maintaining a speed on the flats that I could never hold by myself. The only reason I was being hurried home was because of the wind. That very same wind that I had fought all the way out, was now lifting me to a speed I could never do unaided.
That ride home was fun. The very same wind that had caused me such misery going out, provided great joy on the way home. In fact, wind transformed what normally is more miserable than a head wind, a cold ride in drenching rain, into an exhilarating experience that I will remember.
This love / hate experience with wind spurred my meditation of the workings of the Spirit of God in those who are His. I believe that there are times in our spiritual lives when we are walking directly into the resisting force of the Spirit that is intent upon changing our direction.
And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. (Acts 16:6-7)
I don’t know how the Spirit resisted Paul but it seems like Paul’s path became too difficult so he changed it. I believe that the Spirit still works that way. We just have to discern when to follow the guiding blow of the Spirit and turn out of the wind to the path of less resistance. That is not always easy to discern because the Spirit might have other purposes.
I believe that there are times when the Spirit blows in our face not to get us to change to direction but in order to strengthen us. The trials and temptations of our lives could simply be removed by the Lord, but often He does not. Frequently, He allows them because we need the work-out.
More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)
The Holy Spirit guiding us through suffering is evidence of God’s love for us. God loves us too much to leave us as spiritual couch potatoes. There are times when we feel resistance in our lives because the Spirit is blowing into our face in order to build endurance, which will produce character, and from that character will emerge God glorifying hope, and everyone needs hope to persevere to the end. In these instances, we should not turn from the path that we are on. We need to grind on. We need to get low and endure. We need to accept the love of God through our suffering.
We can accept our suffering as the love of God because we, by faith, know that the power of the Spirit is actually what is carrying us home. While the Spirit is allowing and guiding us through difficult times, it is also the Spirit who is powering us through those very same difficulties. It is because of the tail-wind of the Holy Spirit that we can endure longer than we could ever do unaided. It is because of the power of the Spirit that we can perform beyond our abilities.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. (Romans 15:13)
Therefore, we are driven to hope when we grind into the Spirit’s head-wind and when we experience the powerful effects of the Spirit pushing us home.
I often don’t know where or how the Spirit is blowing in my life.
I find it difficult to know when the Spirit is guiding me to turn in a new direction or to grind on.
I regularly fail to realize the power that is pushing me forward as I labor to follow Christ.
I am quick to grumble about trials rather relishing all the joy and peace in believing.
However, the mysterious winds of the Spirit, in all their forms, are a blessing for those who are in Christ. The Spirit is our gift to help us through this fallen world.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:5)
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world give do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:26-27)
We never have to be discouraged or afraid. We have been given the Holy Spirit – our Helper. He is the One who will do all that is necessary to get us home – guide us in the right direction, build hope in our hearts, and carry us when needed. Praise God that we have not been abandoned. We are loved and cared for by our Helper who will be with us forever. Now, let’s go live our lives relishing all the joy and peace in believing.
PRAYER: Father, thank you for sending us our Helper. Thank you for the work of the Spirit in my life – guiding, correcting, stengthening, and sustaining me. Lord, teach me to rely upon your Spirit in all conditions. Teach me to live in your joy and peace. I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” Romans 15:1-2
The other morning was an unpleasant flashback to my high school P.E. days where I was required to complete pull-ups in demonstration of my fitness. I was able to do one pull-up with the assistance of the “gimme hop” but then I would flop about, hanging from the pull-up bar like a fish proudly displayed on a stringer. I could not do a pull-up to save my life.
I completed the P90X program about two years ago. Mr. Tony Horton is a great proponent of pull-ups and their many variations. I did not have a pull-up bar at the time so I did my “chin-up equivalent” exercise on my Bowflex. I was feeling rather good about the fact that I was maxing out the “bows” with respectable sets of repetitions.
That was until I purchased P90X3. Horton is still a great proponent of pull-ups. He does pull-ups in the video with such ease that one has to question with him, “where’s gravity?”
Last weekend I installed an actual pull-up bar in our basement.
I was reminded that pull-ups are a lot harder than Mr. Horton makes them look.
I got my first “gimme hop” pull-up in but on the descent I knew I was in trouble. There I was, in all my past high school glory, doing the same fish flop at the end of extended arms. My delusion of “pull-up equivalent” strength was quickly crushed under my own weight. I was forced to complete the work-out with the assistance of having my legs propped up on a chair while my back struggled to heft my bulk.
The presence of gravity is not questioned when I do pull-ups.
My difficulties with pull-ups spurred me to contemplate the reality that Christians are not very good at granting grace to either those who are strong or weak in their faith.
I am amazed and encouraged by the faithfulness of Gladys Staines. I posted a quote from her QUOTE (Gladys Staines) – Jan 23. Often, we observe our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, such as Mrs. Staines, go through incredible difficulties with what appears to be ease. It may not appear that the cares of the world are weighing them down in the slightest. They appear to handle difficulties as easily as Tony Horton does a pull-up. However, the apparent ease and grace of their actions does not mean what they are enduring is easy.
Regarding the martyrdom of her husband and two sons, Mrs. Staines said the following:
I feel sad that I do not get to see my sons growing up. Christ has been my companion, but at times I miss the support of my husband. God gives me great support, and the prayers of people has been a source of great consolation…
I am reminded of all those people in my life whose faith appears so strong that I underestimate the difficulty of their trial. The reality is that I have never had to walk their path. God shows the strong amazing grace and gives them their strength to endure but that does not mean in the quiet of the night they don’t battle sadness and discouragement. The strong still need support and prayer.
I remember when my wife and I walked the difficult path through infertility. In retrospect, we did not handle that period as well as either of us would have liked. It was a time my wife and I were learning to do real spiritual pull-ups. It was plain to most who were watching that we were struggling. We were chastised by a few for our reservation in sharing in the excitement of others who were experiencing the joys that we deeply wanted.
While there was truth in the admonition, the demeaning tone was of a person who thought they were strong when they had never actually walked our road. Their opinions on our behavior were derived from “spiritual equivalents” that did not grant them an understanding of the difficulty that we felt. We could have used more grace and understanding as we were growing in our faith – even though we were not handling it very well.
Most of the time, I don’t know if I am the weaker or stronger brother. I don’t think it really matters.
It does not really matter that someone is doing the spiritual equivalent of the pull-up fish-flop in an area that I can endure with ease.
What matters is that they are still on the bar of faith.
It does not really matter that my strength may not be equivalent and I cannot relate to the strength needed to carry the cross that God has given to some of my sister or brother in Christ.
What matters is that they are still on the bar of faith.
Faith is not defined by how easy we make it look. Faith is not dependent upon us walking through life in a manner that makes it look like the cares of this world don’t weigh us down. Likewise, our faith is not less real if we are barely hanging on, desperately squirming under what feels to be too hard to bear.
Our eternal security rests in a faith that continues to cling to Christ, no matter if that appears powerfully glorious or pitifully weak. We hang on.
Christians, may we all learn to show more grace and understanding to our fellow heirs in Christ. May we learn what it means to show love to the strong and the weak alike. May we learn to encourage our fellow brothers and sisters to grow in our faith and above all – never let go of Christ.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to encourage those who are yours. Forgive me for being judgemental regarding temptations, trials and struggles that I just don’t understand. Forgive me for not praying for those who are enduring well. Forgive my actions that may have caused some to want to give up. Father, I want to encourage my brothers and sisters to hang on despite how their faith may currently look. Teach me how to do that. I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
“Why do you hide your face and count me as your enemy?” Job 13:-24
What is truth? What is divine truth?
Truth is a frustratingly illusive prey.
In one moment, truth is a lifelong possession.
It is infused into our very soul.
The divine is the source of every breath.
Our comfort and security are birthed from its kernel.
Steps of faith easily emanate from our very being.
Life without the sweet friend of truth is beyond imagination.
In an instance, our sweet friend can seem a theory.
The divine is as foreign as oil is to water.
Breath of the spiritual is a struggle of the drowning.
There is no security in words for the one being crushed.
A lonely numbness consumes all feeling of soles stepping in faith.
The dread of never knowing our sweet friend is terrifying.
Why is truth illusive? Why does it seem so real in the morning and so illusionary in the evening?
The difficulty with knowing truth is that its perception is filtered through our fickle mind. The divine truths of God never change. It is our lens to the truth in our own hearts that is flawed by our perception of self. As we vacillate in feelings, our lens on true reality is deformed and distorted.
Job had concluded in his pain and loss that God was his enemy. God was never Job’s enemy. Job’s feelings had distorted the Truth. He had viewed his circumstances in despair and erroneously concluded that he was hated when in fact he was dearly loved.
No man is immune to the distorting influence of his own mind rebelling against the desires of a redeemed soul. We can become convinced of untruths spawned by the twisting power of pain, hurt, disappointment, discouragement, and depression. These powers cannot touch the character of God. Our feelings can only effect how we perceive the world around us.
This is why we must know the promises of God. This is why we must not trust our feelings. This is why we must learn to preach the gospel to our trouble souls. It is when the reality of our Lord seems to have slipped from our grasp, that we fix our sight beyond what we actually see. We are not God’s enemy even when we feel unloved. We are not abandoned even when we feel utterly alone. We will feel again even though we are numb. The light is still burning even when we are groping in the darkness. Purpose is still in place even though all we feel is meaninglessness.
Cling to the Truth in days of sweetness and in those of bitter despair.
Know God’s promises as a song of praise in the light and a beacon of hope in the darkness.
The promises of our Lord safeguard us from believing the lies of our distorted perceptions.
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for not changing. Thank you for being a firm foundation that I know even when I don’t feel it. Thank you for giving me all of the promises of your Word. Lord, give me clear eyes. Help me to battle my own mind. Keep me from being driven by my emotions. Keep me from pursuing the lies of my feelings. Ground me in Truth. Bind me to you. Shackle me to your Word. Write it upon my heart. I pray this in the precious name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
My wife and I recently were in a local appliance store. As we perused our freezer options, a cowboy sauntered in from the back of the store. I say sauntered because that is exactly how he walked. His boots making the familiar clack-tap with each step on the hardwood floor. It seemed like a slow, relaxed echo from a saloon of the old-west.
I have never had the troubles of Job. I have never endured the trials that he bore. Yet, I heard the same whispers as he under the cover of darkness within the privacy of my own skull. Maybe, Job and I are alone in our confused search for rest but I doubt that. I have never admitted to these thoughts because I did not want my loved ones to think that I was suicidal and in need of counseling.
A DEVOTED LIFE 