Hard Things

Frodo: “I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Tomorrow marks two years since I graduated from seminary. That’s crazy to think about. A lot has happened since that time, and it doesn’t seem like I am that much closer to going overseas. There have been a lot of delays, and disappointments, and bad news. In short, there have been a lot of hard things. And while this year has been better than the last, this continues to be the general theme. But even the hard things are from God.

“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil [or disaster]?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job 2:10

This truth is very comforting and gives me hope because no matter what happens in my life, I know that it has first passed through the sovereign and always loving hands of my Savior. It means that there is a purpose for the hard things. Namely, a deeper and more intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ, and conformity to His likeness – things that I desire and things that God is more than pleased to give me.

It’s sometimes very easy, though, to lose sight of this hope; to get stuck in the muck and the mire of present circumstances. Honestly, these past few weeks have been rather rough. My dad and my uncle were both diagnosed with cancer in the same week. One of my very best friends and one of the leading families in my church (with whom I’m close) are both moving away in less than a month. Then there are the daily burdens of ministry, the delays to getting overseas, and fighting sin that add to the weight. It has been in the midst of these things that the Lord has been pleased to expose the rebellion and pride and selfishness in my own heart. I am daily reminded of how limited I am in strength and wisdom, and how much I need God’s sustaining grace.

When the cares of my heart are many,
        your consolations cheer my soul. Psalm 94:19

And His grace is more than sufficient for these things. He has not left me alone in these struggles. Instead, He is persistently pursuing me and beckoning me to fight for joy. Of the latter, I admit, I have not been doing a very good job. I have found it quite easy to overlook the many evidences of God’s grace as I focus on the painful circumstances that have been flooding my way. But Christ never lets me stray to far before he resets my focus and attention back to Him. He did so this week through a number of friends and teachers in the faith. The Lord showed me during a Bible study that I have not been taking thoughts captive. And when I say this, I mean thoughts toward myself (what some people like to call “self-talk”). I have been listening to myself a lot more than I should be. And when I was confronted with this through a book our group is studying, I could clearly see the lies for what they were and how they were further adding to these burdens. In this book, the author talked about how we need to remember that even though things may not be going well with us, things are well with our souls. In fact, things will always be well with the soul of a believer because he/she is forever right with God and can now choose to say “no” to sin and do what’s right. There are many times when my soul doesn’t “feel” well, so I have to believe it is well by faith. So, basically, I need to be preaching the gospel to myself instead of listening to myself…which is a full-time job.

The Lord graciously reminded me of His glorious gospel through the preaching of His word this morning at Rolling Fields. Because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, my victory and deliverance is secured. There will be a Day when there will be no more tears or heartache or brokenness or disappointments or delays or bad news (Revelation 21:1-8). There will be no more hard things. But even now there is victory and deliverance. For those in Christ, we are secure and safe. We have a new song right now to sing. The hard things are still very much present and real, but Jesus Christ has secured for us indescribable joy in Him. He has freed us to be who He created us to be. He has destroyed the power of sin, so that we no longer carry the burden, guilt, and penalty for sin. Even when the odds are stacked against us, Christ is for us, so we ultimately win. So that we can say in faith and with confidence, "Even so, it is well with my soul."