Peace in politically charged times

In many places in the Bible it talks about a peace that is available to us who believe in him. We are living in polarized and divided times in our country right now, so how do we attain that peace and avoid falling into the religion of political fanaticism? It's a very real temptation, and I feel it pulling at me everyday, sometimes it's very hard to resist. We receive messaging from all around us all day long from social media, whatever we're listening to, and whoever we're around, it's everywhere. So how do we get this peace that the Bible talks about? Well in Philippians 4, it gives us a pretty good picture. I would say it comes down to the choices we make about what we put into our minds. It comes down to prayer, how often are we actually praying and going to the Lord and opening our hearts to him? What are we filling our heads with, are we immersing ourselves in scripture and actively thinking about him and what he has done for us? It's a discipline, and it's certainly not easy to do. The peace of God is truly available to us, but the choice is ours as to whether we actually want to grab a hold of it. It comes as a result of our choices to pursue him above all other things this world offers.

Trusting Jesus in the storm

Good morning everyone. As I sit here this morning, drinking my morning tea and collecting my thoughts for the day, I am reminded by a bible verse of God's incredible power and goodness. One challenge I have faced over the years as a Christian is to maintain a positive outlook when times in life are difficult. What this reveals is a question of trust, specifically, who or what, is our trust in? As someone who professes belief in God and Jesus Christ, what are my thoughts towards him when life has felt more like a burden, full of pain and difficulties? Is my belief in him dependent on the circumstances of my earthly life, so that when a storm comes, I say to Him, "how could you do this to me Lord?!" I'll admit, I've never been one to "blame" God when the going gets tough, but I have been one to question why he would allow me to go through something. I find this so interesting because truly, when we just take a look at the life of Christ himself as shown in the gospels, the last thing we should see is a life of carefree living and countless blessings for those who choose to follow him. No, in fact we see just the opposite. In John 16:33, right after Jesus tells his disciples about the upcoming hardship they will all endure (pointing to his upcoming arrest and eventual crucifixion) he tells them, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

I think it takes constant work to maintain the right focus in the Christian life. We live in a world of distractions, of voices that compete for our attention and devotion, and of a literal enemy who wants to destroy us and our faith in God. It has been a popular view for ages to associate the idea of a "good life" with the level of faith in God that we possess, but nothing could be further from the truth. The bible is full of examples of this, the book of Job being one of the most powerful examples that shows us that even the most devout and faithful servants of God have to endure hardships sometimes. I think one of the hardest things for us is that we have such a limited understanding of God and of life, of trying to understand he who is infinite, with our finite bodies and minds. This is where faith comes in. Our faith in God is not blind, no not at all, we should use our intellect to analyze facts and data when we initially come to him, wondering who he is and if he is real. The facts and data can speak for itself, and I believe it strongly points to the God of the bible. There are times where our trust is tested, and although we will probably never fully know the reasons that God allows pain and suffering in this world, when it intersects with our lives, the question for us really is, do we trust him?

I remember just a few years ago when I was going through a really difficult season in life, right after my mother-in-law had passed away, and I felt like I hit rock bottom. I will never forget a time that I just felt so completely broken, and I was praying and I asked God, "Why do I have to go through this Lord?" I'll never forget the answer that I heard him give me in my spirit, he said "Because you can." It was a prayer that I really didn't expect an answer to, but in my raw honesty with God, he met me there and gave me an answer that I didn't understand at the time. I can only say after several years later, I believe the Lord was telling me that I was stronger than I thought I was, and because of that storm I went through, I saw a tremendous amount of growth in my life spiritually. There was probably nothing I have experienced to date in my life that has produced so much growth and maturity than that incredibly difficult period of life. It was something that I needed to go through to get where I am today, and all of that growth had a direct impact in all areas of my life: my family, my job, my friendships, and my faith in Jesus Christ. He used something incredibly painful to reveal many weaknesses in me that needed to be refined. The way I responded to the event though, that was up to me.

So as we go through life, we should not wonder if we will go through hard times, rather we should know with certainty that in time, we most definitely will. When a storm comes, or as Paul referenced in 2 Corinthians 12:7, "a thorn in the flesh," we should instead ask God what is it that we should be learning through this experience. Is this easy to do? Not usually, but I think in time, as we mature spiritually and have our faith reinforced as we continue to see God work in our lives, it does get easier, but the fact is that life is hard, and God never said it was supposed to be easy. The bible paints a very different picture than what any prosperity gospel will ever promise, since sin entered the world back in Genesis, life became very hard. But God is still in control, and he loves us enough to continue shaping us into the creatures he has created us to be. We can know with full confidence that when we experience pain and suffering in this world, it is NOT proof that he doesn't love us, in fact it is the complete opposite. How can we know this? John 3:16 says it best, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Jesus didn't just beam himself down here and coast through life unscathed, he experienced all that we do as a "man of sorrows" (Isaiah 53:3). He did it because he loves us. He did it because he loves you. That is the true message of the gospel.