Encouraging one another, all the more
Have you ever tried to sit in silence for even 2 minutes? Try it…don’t think about anything. Not what you want to accomplish today, what you’ll make for dinner, that conversation you had with your mom last night, work, or what you’ll wear today…see how long you last….
“God is good.” This is a phrase we say and hear regularly, and it’s true, but usually only used when things are going well in a person’s life. However, when we say, “God is being so good to me right now” “God has been good to me” “In this season of my life, God is good” …there’s an emphasis on the situation that God is good at certain times, not always.
What am I doing here? What is my life? Am I really who I say I am? I feel like I’m wearing a mask. I feel like a shell. I’m a fraud.
Silence. It is one of the most counter-cultural subjects of our time. If you do not know what I mean, I wish for one day, your ears could hear what mine do from start to finish. Sometimes silence is interrupted not just by actual noise, but also by the mundane.
“How was your fellowship with the Lord this last week?” [Disappointedly] “Well, I only spent about 10 minutes of quiet time…”
No one’s ever said it to me like that before; that it’s a good thing I can’t be like God in every way. But how could I be called to be Christlike (1 Corinthians 1:11) in every way, and yet in some ways never be like Him?
When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” He answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.” Jesus asked a second time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd My sheep.” Jesus asked a third time, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was deeply hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love Me?” “Lord, You know all things;” he replied, “You know I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.” (John 21:15-17, emphasis added)
I read an article recently that told me I should always feel encouraged by Scripture. That sounds like a great plan, except for the fact that the Word of God is not a book of feel-good stories. In the Old Testament, we see a history of people – real, human people – clumsily, messily working their way through life until the coming of their promised Savior. They took one step forward and two steps back, if they were lucky enough to take a step forward at all. By the time I make it to the New Testament, I’m desperate for Jesus to come fix this mess! My heart gets heavy with each parallel I see between sin in the cultures of the Bible and sin in our world today. “Have we learned nothing?” is my most common thought. Often I walk away from Scripture feeling the weight of human depravity; […]
7:09 AM: “Dad is having jaw and chest pains. He says they went away now. I wanted to take him to ER.” I was receiving report on patients when I got this message from my mom. My heart sank. I called her immediately. She told me some more scary details: numbness in his left arm, sharp pains, sweating. She told me they were on their way to the emergency room.
A hymn that has been on repeat over and over again in my head/heart for the past few months has been, “Just As I Am” by Charlotte Elliott.