This is not the post I had planned to write this week. That one will come later, but it was a post about dealing with old wounds and former pain. This week, I’m not in the place to do that, because I find myself too much in the middle of new problems and current pain.

Some of the week’s stresses are just my current job situation, exacerbated by the recent flood of my office and the decision to abate asbestos on that floor during repairs, meaning that I have to pack up the office and have a smaller temporary space somewhere for the rest of the semester. Not a huge deal, since I’m primarily working from home this semester, but a bit unsettling not to have my usual office space and things available at need. And, of course, not convenient to have to deal with packing things up in the midst of an already too busy semester.

Then one of my sons called. That is not my story to tell, but I will say that it was not good and it did involve him coming to stay with us while looking for a new place to live. There is good news. He has found a new place which looks like it will be a good fit for his circumstances. The other problems that led to the crisis, however, will be with us all for some time to come.

So I and my family find ourselves in the middle of turmoil, where it is sometimes easy to call out and cling to God, but also easy to cry out in frustration and blame.

I often turn to the Psalms at times like this. Many of them contain cries of protest and cries for help born out of struggles and pain, mingled with reminders and gratitude that God is in control and he does care.

This time, my son drew my attention to Micah 7. Micah describes a world of barrenness, struggle, and mistrust. Then he declares:

But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
    I will wait for the God of my salvation;
    my God will hear me.
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
    when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
    the Lord will be a light to me.
Micah 7:7-8 ESV

This is the response we need to have when we’re in the middle of the struggle, still dealing with the chaos of life. God will hear us. He will be our light when we look to him—when we wait for him.

I usually find it easy to stop and pray for a short time when the problem happens. That’s especially true when the problem is a big deal because those stop me in my tracks and force me to look up from the tasks of my day. I personally struggle with the waiting and continued prayer. I want to do things, to fix the situation, to exert control.

The answers, the salvation, are not in my control but are in God’s hands. My prayer for myself, my family in our current struggles, and all of you in the problems you find yourself in the middle of, is one of Paul’s: “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 ESV).

What we feel in the middle of our problems is not reality. God can and will provide hope and help to see us through to the other side.

One thing I love about being a university professor is that a significant part of my job is constantly renewed. The previous semester is gone. Some of it was good; some of it was less good; all of it is in the past and can’t be changed. Now I have a new semester ahead in which to give my students the best experience and instruction that I can manage. I have new students, sometimes new material, new approaches to try. While the new can bring challenges, it also brings excitement and an opportunity to do even better by this next group of students.

Newness is also one of the exciting things about a life spent following Jesus Christ. The Bible is very clear that when we accept Christ, when we make that choice to acknowledge and turn away from our sin and obey God instead of our own desires, we are made new. Paul’s expression of that concept may be the most familiar to us: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV). Elsewhere he emphasizes again that our old lives are dead and gone: “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4 ESV).

Many other verses emphasize that we were dead in our sin and that God has given us a new life and made everything new.

Unfortunately, we sometimes lose sight of God’s amazing regeneration of our souls and lives. We may look back and appreciate that one-time deal, but we don’t always live in our new life as we plod along on earth.

I think this is partly because we’ve missed the magnitude of the renewal that God offers us. The first great change is an amazing transformation, but God also calls us to a constant refreshing, a repeated renewing of hearts and minds. He calls us to sing new songs several times in the Psalms. We need new songs because they refresh us and renew our praise for God and our joy in him. In the midst of great sorrow, Jeremiah proclaims, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV).

We can see God’s willingness to renew and restore simply by reading the history of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. He repeatedly rescues the Israelites from the consequences of their bad actions and restores them as his people, until they stray again.

How do we take advantage of God’s offers of renewal? How do we live as the new and constantly renewed creatures that we should be as followers of Jesus Christ?

The key is in that last phrase. Jesus gave us the instructions we need to follow. “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23 ESV). We too often treat our choice to follow as a single event. Rather, we are called to make the conscious choice every day.When we do make that constant, conscious choice to submit to God and follow him, we will receive the renewal promised. We are told: “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 ESV).

Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash

It is a busy time of year for me, even more so than usual in 2020. Classes start in a week at my university, and I’m teaching in new ways, including switching from partially in person to 100% online for one of my courses in just the last week. I’ve also agreed to serve on far too many committees again. As I sit in front of my computer and look at the lengthy list of things that I had hoped to have already finished in order to make the semester go smoothly, I find myself looking for the motivation to keep going.

I know I have it easy compared to many. My work is not usually challenging physically, though it can be taxing in terms of time spent and the mental and emotional energy required. It’s also inherently deeply rewarding. I get to know with absolute certainty that I have changed people’s lives for the better.

Still, there are days when I just want to put all of it away and hide somewhere with a good book.

Where do we find the motivation to keep going and do our work well? There are many human answers to that. 

Food and shelter are important, and the Bible encourages us to work for that reason: “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living” (2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 ESV).

Those of us who are fortunate enough to have jobs that we love will put in the effort simply out of love of the task itself and concern for those who benefit from our efforts.

Some of us also do our work well out of a sense of obligation, loyalty, or honor.

All of these things help, but we may find there are days when they are not enough to keep our attitude positive and our focus where it should be.

The problem with all of these things is that they miss the real point.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:23-24 ESV)

I am serving the Lord Christ. Not my students. Not my department chair. Not my dean or even the university president. Not my profession. Certainly not my own reputation. The purpose behind everything I do is to serve Jesus.

The question is whether I really believe that and act that way. If I understand that I am serving Jesus, then the whole picture changes. What am I doing grumbling about work that honors my savior? Why does it matter that I have done this task a hundred times before if I am honoring God in the doing? If my project is completely changed, rendering all of my work useless, do I complain, or realize that all of the time spent was worthwhile because I did it all well with Christ in mind? If I do the work for Christ, these are opportunities for growth, not sources of frustration.

While this passage is valuable for all believers, the point is emphasized by the context. Paul is talking to slaves, people with few choices. They could not ask for a different role. They could not leave a job because it wasn’t a good fit. Paul calls on the powerless people to understand that their work is not for their owners, but for Jesus Christ.

In our current world, some of us have little choice in how we spend our time, while others have greater options. All of us have hard days, but we can make those days more rewarding by choosing to do all that we do for our Lord above all else.

Photo by Trent Erwin on Unsplash

I have a love-hate relationship with my CPAP. On the one hand, I know it helps. Once I get to sleep at night, I sleep much better, waking up less frequently. I’m not tired all the time. I’m no longer afraid to sleep because I might stop breathing. I don’t wake up into bad tachycardia episodes. Using the CPAP every night has changed my life and may have lengthened it. It’s great!

On the other hand, the CPAP is not terribly comfortable. If I’m having a rough time getting to sleep, the CPAP just makes it worse. If it’s not tight enough, there’s the noise and the bits of wind in my eyes. Since I fix it so that it is tight enough, there are lines on my cheeks every morning where the straps cross my face. Quite frankly, I don’t like the thing.

But I wear it–every night–because I know it’s essential for my physical health.

There are times when following Jesus can be like that; not always pleasant, sometimes really painful. Always, however, best for our spiritual health.

Paul tells the story of his “thorn in the flesh”:

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ESV)

We don’t know what Paul’s thorn was. We do know that it was unpleasant. Unpleasant enough that he “pleaded” three times for God to remove it. God doesn’t remove it. Instead, he tells Paul that his weakness is for the best, because God’s power can work perfectly in him because of his weakness. 

As Christians, we can be tempted to believe that we shouldn’t have to put up with the bad things, the hard things, in life. After all, we serve the Creator, the Healer, the Provider. He made us and the world, so he can make everything good. He can heal anything. He can provide every need and want we have. The Bible tells us that he “will wipe away every tear.”

We miss the context. Jesus will wipe our tears away in the new heaven and earth: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4 ESV). This comfort and freedom from sadness and pain are a promise for the next life, not for this one.

Jesus said that he has overcome the world, right after a warning about the hard times coming: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b ESV). We’re still in the world, and we’re still going to face the troubles of being here. Jesus promises to be with us and bring us peace in the troubles. He doesn’t promise to keep us comfortable. Even human parents will sacrifice their children’s happiness for the sake of their safety and education.N God is much more concerned with our spiritual growth.

All of the good things are coming. Right now, we’re living in a world filled with brokenness and sin, and God is using our circumstances to mold us into the image of Jesus, to perfect his power in us. It’s not always fun. It’s definitely not always easy. As the author of Hebrews points out: “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11 ESV).

When we focus on the things we want God to provide, especially the material things and comforts, we lose sight of what matters. We become weaker spiritually, and we miss out on the abundant life he offers us now. 

We need to understand that what is needed for our spiritual health can sometimes be hard and unpleasant. We must learn to accept what God allows into our lives and welcome his power at work within us. Then we will experience all the benefits of his life in us both now and in that place where pain and sorrow will be gone.

Photo by Aliyah Jamous on Unsplash