Have you noticed the amazing things that people are doing for others these days? People working long hours, putting themselves and their families at risk to help others through these trying times. People are checking in on neighbors, delivering groceries, and doing really creative things to help brighten others’ lives. 

Of course, we aren’t surprised. Every time there is a crisis, we are blessed by the courage and generosity people display. Although it seems counterintuitive in the world we live in today, the concept is described in the first chapter in the book of James.  It says, ‘Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.”

All of the workers and volunteers who continue to serve during this devastating time truly are heroes and bring countless opportunities for joy to the people who benefit from their labors. They truly are the face of Christ for many who are alone and afraid.  

It’s ironic that despite the fact that churches across the world have taken all their services to an electronic platform to allow people to remain safe in their homes, people are returning to their faith in record numbers. But that’s how we operate, I’m afraid. We don’t really seek God out until we hit a crisis. But this one is different, isn’t it? The whole world is in turmoil and many people are anxious and fearful of their health and wellbeing. 

In today’s episode, I want to explore this amazing gift of joy and the one of peace that is available to us all. I know it is difficult to look at this time from the perspective of it being a gift, but I believe similar to other times of great strife, God has a beautiful plan.  Through our suffering, He will bring us together and bless us through this time of uncertainty and pain.

What is it about our nature that causes us to only turn to God in times of crisis? Why is it that when things are going our way, we figure we’ve got control of life and forget to check in with God?  Or maybe it’s too much of an inconvenience to do what he asks us to do so we go our own way. We do our thing, make our decisions and only turn to him when things seem to go off the rails. I’ve done it over and over again in my life.  In fact, in my early life I allowed myself to drift so far away from God and attending church, it took a significant personal crisis to bring me back to him. In reflection, it’s only been during my own personal low seasons in life that has helped to create a deep longing in my heart to be closer to God. 

It reminds me of Ezekiel where he was led through the valley scattered full of old, dry bones. They were everywhere across the ground. Whenever I’ve read that passage in the past I could only see how disturbing it seemed. I didn’t ever get past that part to realize how beautiful it is that God had put flesh and muscles on those bones that he had rejoined and brought them back to life. Just like God did for me when he carried me through my time of need and just as God is bringing life back so many his spiritually dead people today.

You may not be thinking of yourself as spiritually dead, but I believe many of us, even those who feel close to our church or faith actually are. Could it be that the actions we are taking aren’t what God is asking of us at all? That checking the box by attending church or reading the Bible isn’t exactly what he is seeking from us? 

So maybe we’re not quite dead, but also not fully alive. We believe, but we don’t really trust him either, do we?

But like the people of Israel, we, too, can be renewed by reading God’s Word and taking action when he speaks to us through it. And just like every time in my past I would walk away and God would reach out and bring me back to him, he calls each and every person who has walked away from him or who has never known him back to his mercy and grace. 

If you are worried about the outcome of this terrible time we are in, I want you to know that he will restore you, too.  He wants nothing more than to fill us with hope and restore our faith.  He wants each and every one of hearts to be full of his love and to turn this time of tragedy into pure joy. 

But to do that, we need to open our hearts up to him.  No matter how far away he seems right now, he is right there with you. You simply need to open your eyes and see him in the actions of the people around you. In the kindness of the clerk at the store. In the smile of the person you saw while out for your walk today. In the concern in the voice on the other end of the line. 

I believe that God is using this situation to bring our spiritually dead world back to life. Even though it seems like a heap of dry bones right now, he can and will bring it back to life. And even though our church doors may not be open right now, our churches are already becoming more alive than they’ve been in decades.

Because it is only in our troubles that we realize that we need Jesus’ strength to get through the day. In John 14 verse 27 Jesus says, “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift to the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

But we are troubled and afraid now.  It’s is hard not to be.  Especially in these times where the future is so uncertain.  We, as people, want to know the future. We are creatures of habit so that we can be certain that things will turn out the way we want them to. It gives us a semblance of control. In His infinite wisdom, however, God has chosen not to allow us to see what is coming our way. 

He only gives us enough of a glimpse that all we can do is prepare as best we can with what we know. Once we make a plan and do the work to prepare, He wants us to let go of the outcome and trust in him to take care of us. He knows what is going to happen and will stay by our side every step of the way.  If we really believe in him the way we say we do, we have no reason to fear.

I am certain that many of us have this gift that Jesus has given us, but we’ve put it on the shelf and have never really opened it. It’s a beautiful gift, and we are happy to point to it and tell our friends how special we feel because we received this gift from God. But we’ve never gotten the full benefit of it because we haven’t opened the package and put the gift to good use. We continue to do things the way we’ve always done things and then wonder why we don’t have the peace and joy that he provides for us. 

I think there are a variety of reasons we haven’t fully experienced the gift. The devil is very clever and will create an out for us that looks exactly like the out we need at whatever season in life we are in. It takes effort and honestly, sometimes it isn’t convenient to do the things he asks us to do. Some examples of why we haven’t fully experienced the gift are:  

• We either insist on doing things our way and never really get to know Jesus because we’ve never actually read his Word, which by the way, truly is the only instruction book for life we need. 
• We went all-in on the scripture and the religion that man created around it and, as a result, have neglected to develop a true relationship with Jesus. 
• We’ve allowed a bad experience somewhere along the way take us away from Jesus or the community that he has called us to be a part of. 

I’m sure there are many many variations, but the point of it is that I believe we are called to love and know Jesus intimately and the only way to do that is to immerse ourselves in his Word, to pray to him consistently, and to surround ourselves with others who love and worship him. 

I’ve been thinking a lot about this since I had a really great conversation with another podcaster, Tim Winders, the other day. 

In our visit, we talked about relationships and religion.  I’ll post that conversation later this week, but for now, I just want to share that although I agree with a lot of what he says, I personally believe that it isn’t relationship over religion, but rather, relationship and religion.  Again, I’ll share that conversation so you can come to your own conclusion.

As I shared in the conversation with Tim, I had grown up in the church.  I drifted away for about ten years between my teenage years and getting married. But had gone “all in” when I joined my congregation just before getting married back in 1987. I also shared that although attended church regularly, I was keeping the different parts of my life segregated from my faith. Only in the last few years have I realized that there was so much more to the gift I’d been given. So much more. 

Please don’t misunderstand. There was nothing inherently wrong with my life or the relationship I had with Jesus during the intervening years between finally being baptized at 23 and diving headlong in love with Jesus at 53, my life just wasn’t as peaceful and fulfilling as I now know it can be.  

I’m just telling you until you get to the point where you feel held in the embrace of Jesus, you are missing out on the best gift of life. 

And I believe that is what our souls are longing for. That relationship that we love and experience to the very core of our being. And until we have that with Jesus, we won’t be able to truly have it with anyone else. And when we do have that, we will want to show our gratitude to him for what he has done for us by how we treat the people in our lives.

When we do that, we will find rest in him.  We’ll be able to slow down, listen to him, be present with him, talk to him, share our feelings with him, and be authentically real with him.  

Yes, there will be times when we will be anxious and afraid, but when we are, we will be even more gentle with one another than ever. Just like Jesus was in his time of trial as he prepared to die on the cross for us. Just like he calls us to be during our times of trial. 

And until we have that with Jesus, I think much of the work he calls us to do will feel like an inconvenience. And we won’t really want to do it because it will be done out of obligation and not out of love. 

But maybe that is why we’ve been given this huge opportunity to strengthen our faith and learn to fully trust God.  I strongly encourage you to pick up the Bible and see what God will speak to you. I have to admit, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me until I found one that had study notes with life applications to help me understand how it could impact my life. But once I started the habit of being in scripture daily, my life changed drastically and I guarantee your’s will too.

You see, if we accept Christ as Lord, we also must accept his testimony to the Bible as God’s Word. In John 10:35 of the English Standard Version, he says that scripture cannot be broken.  By saying so, he is saying that every single word in scripture is completely true and reliable. If we aren’t in His Word, how can we possibly know if we are living in true faith?  

I for one truly believe that Jesus created the church so we can love and support one another through life. Not out of obligation, but out of love. Because it is hard to love our neighbors as ourselves until we feel the unconditional love that Jesus gives to us to the very core of our being.

It is during times like these when we need hope.  We need to trust in God to provide everything we truly need because we cannot see the future. We need a place that we can feel safe and secure and know that even if the worst happens, we will be safe and we will be protected until Christ returns. We need Faith. That trust in God and the promises he made through Jesus Christ and the Scriptures.

Oh, we can do it alone, but when we do, we lack the complete joy He offers to us. Yes, Jesus promised that when we accept him into our heart he will provide the Holy Spirit to guide us. And I am grateful for that guidance. But I am also grateful for my church family where I can share my joys and my sorrows. My successes and my fears. I can’t imagine doing all this alone. Especially now. 

If you’re feeling that tug to find a church or return to your old church, now is the perfect time to do that.  In fact, my call to you is to invite everyone you love to join in the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection this Sunday and every Sunday until there are no more. 

So go, fill yourself with Jesus’ love and His Word, and then go share that love everywhere you see the opportunity to do so.  There are so many hurting in the world today and Jesus needs each and every one of us to shine His light into the darkness and devastation.

The question is, what is it for you? A test of faith or an opportunity for joy?

If you know someone who needs this encouragement, please share it with them. Be sure to subscribe so you will catch part two of this episode and hear the conversation about relationship and religion with Tim Winders. 

Thank you for stopping by today.  I know you have so many options and am blessed to share this time with you.

Please go, be safe, and live your More!

In this the second of a two series episode, I visit with Tim Winders coach and host of the SeekGoCreate Podcast. He shares his perspective on how having a relationship is more important than religion. Regardless of how you land on this topic, I hope you will listen to both episodes so you can find ways to accept the gift of peace that is ours in Christ.

 

 

You can find Tim at TimWinders.com and his podcast at SeekGoCreate.

Listen to both parts of this conversation on episode 99 of the Podcast, Longing for More.