Positioned for a Miracle

Do you ever feel that where you are right now is not compatible with where you are going?

Like a lame man looking up a sheer cliff face at his mountaintop destination?

It is curious to notice, though, that this is the place God puts His children in at least once in life. All of His best heroes have spent time in this spot.

And why?

Because this is the spot where we learn what faith is.  This is where we either give discouraged, throw in the towel, and never reach our potential...OR we lift our chin and ask, "I wonder what miracle God is planning here?"

You see, there's always a miracle.  In the exact right time, there is always the perfect miracle.

Look at Joseph. Years in prison - forgotten in prison - but one day the Pharaoh happened to have a dream, and his servant happened to hear of that dream, and that servant had happened to previously been in jail with Joseph, and he had happened to have a dream in prison, that Joseph had happened to interpret, and so the servant happened to tell the king of Joseph, and Joseph happened to be able to interpret Pharaoh's dream, so Pharaoh happened to make him second in command of all of Egypt, happening to fulfill a dream God had given Joseph years before.

Coincidence?

Or was God orchestrating every detail to perfection in Joseph's life so that at the peak time everything slipped effortlessly into place?

Maybe, right here in this uncomfortable place that seems so far from where you're going God is crafting a miracle.

And just maybe that miracle will change your life.

And it won't be coincidence.

But don't get impatient...the delay just means you haven't reached the perfect time yet.

Yet.

And you know what that means...

...it's means your miracle is still coming.

Butterfly

Are you torn, little friend?
Torn between two realities.
Torn between who you were and who you've been declared. One clutching at you from the drudgery you called life, and one beckoning you from ahead.
How do you make it?
How do you stick it out?
How do you handle the transformation process?
Are there days when the end result seems so near you can almost taste it, then days when you're not sure if you have the courage to wait out the pain?

Was before so bad?
Open fields and springtime skies. Colorful blossoms and companions to share it with. Sure, there were hard times...you were fair game for the bigger and stronger. Sure you were worms, eking out a living on the ground. Sure you knew you were made to become something better.

Do you know what's coming?
Did you know the promise? The promise for all your ugliness to be turned to beauty. Do you remember trying to find fulfillment and satisfaction, to be full, only to find that everything was tough and tasteless just like always? Did you ever look longingly at one who had been transformed and realizing that they could soar, while...you only crawled.  They were able to draw the sweetness from life and soak in every beautiful moment. Is that hope what gives you patience now?

And now this.
This dark, cramped prison. No sunlight, no hope except the promise. No companions. No freedom to do what you want when you want. This pain, this  longing, this impatience, this struggle with your own self to just  stay put until the right time.

This prison is a chrysalis.

This prisoner: a caterpillar.

This impatient one: destined to be a butterfly.

This example: set here for me to learn from.

So I can learn that my waiting is not useless.

I, too, am in a cocoon of becoming. My present is not my future any more than a chrysalis is a butterfly. But the chrysalis is vital in the making of a butterfly. Like the little caterpillar, if I break out of my confinement too soon, all will be lost.  Like the caterpillar I will, in the end, realize just how worth it the waiting is.

In light of all this, there is courage to wait it out a little longer. There is the realization that this chrysalis time is not my prison, it is my launching pad. And this pain that transforms me is my best friend.

Soon everything will be different. I will be who I was proclaimed to be from the beginning of time.

Soon, like my friend the caterpillar, I will be able to soar

More than a Conqueror!

“More than a conqueror…”

I’m pondering that phrase this morning and wondering what this looks like.

It means that I can quit living on starvation rations and start feasting.  It means satisfied instead of craving. It looks like flying on wings of eagles instead of laboring through the sloughs of struggling. It means throwing off the rags of poverty and inhabiting a mansion of promise. It means inheritance. Why feed pigs when a robe and ring await?

“More than a conqueror…”

It does not mean that life is easy. It does not imply that the fight is over, but it means that there is a promise of victory in the middle of the battle. It means I will not have to give up, give in, or surrender. It also means that going home would be stupid and running away is not an option. It means I can stick out the fight, standing strong, my banner waving clearly.

“More than a conqueror”
...means that mountains are removable and giants start looking like grasshoppers. 

“More than a conqueror!”

It gives faith. Faith to take one more breath, one more step, one more leap, climb one more wall, cross one more river, swim one more stroke, run one more stride. It enables me to keep my eyes fixed on the finish line, ignoring distraction and discouragement, throwing of the weights that would cling to me and proclaim, “Is there not a cause?!”

“MORE than a conqueror!”
...means that I do not fight alone. It means that I have hosts of warriors that come at my cry. No, I do not command an army, but the One who commands all the hosts of Heaven also commands me, and He will never forget one of His own. He allows me to see battle, but He never leaves a man behind.

“More than a CONQUEROR!”

It means, get on the winning team, stay on the winning team, and be willing to die for the winning team…because in the end, we WIN!

The Violent Take It By Force

Matthew 11:12 "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force."

The picture here is of a great multitude storming a city to lay hold of it's riches.

I firmly believe that Heaven will be populated by those we may not have expected.  Not the average, normal, nominal American Christian who are popular and soft and self-satisfied. I think we will see slews of the desperate, the tenacious, the determined, the zealous, the single-minded, and the steadfast.

Matthew Henry expounds on this verse in his commentary, stating, "They who would enter into the kingdom of heaven must strive to enter; that kingdom suffers a holy violence; self must be denied, the bent and bias, the frame and temper, of the mind must be altered; there are hard sufferings to be undergone, a force to be put upon the corrupt nature; we must run, and wrestle, and fight, and be in an agony, and all little enough to win such a prize, and to get over such opposition from without and from within."

Those who are good enough to suit themselves, those who are self-satisfied and full of their own righteousness will never see the inside of Heaven's gates. Neither will those who just don't care enough, or are unmotivated to put forth the effort to see the Kingdom of God advance. It is not those who sit back and watch from the sidelines that will lay hold of the Kingdom. It is those who fight day and night against their own self-will. It is those who wrestle with God for the treasures of the Kingdom like Jacob wrestling with the Angel all night for a blessing. These will lay hold of what they so earnestly desire.

Look at those in Christ's day who laid hold of the Kingdom:
The woman with the issue of blood, pushing through an anxious crowd to touch the hem of the Man she was forbidden by tradition from speaking to. The three ingenious men who lowered their sick friend through the roof to lay him at Jesus' feet because the crowd on the ground was too thick. The woman who braved scorn and ridicule to wash the Savior's feet with perfume and tears. Zaccheus, willing to lay down pride and public image to seize an opportunity to observe Christ closely.  The 120 in the Upper Room waiting and laboring in prayer for the promised Holy Spirit.
And who did not lay hold of the Kingdom: Those who felt like they didn't need it. Like the Pharisees, puffed with pride and self-righteousness, attempting to re-route the path to Heaven so only those as lofty as themselves could enter. Or those unwilling to make the sacrifice to gain it. Like the Rich Young Ruler, walking away from Jesus with his fortune intact, but forsaking what would have made his faith complete. Also, those who attempted to gain it the soft, easy way. Like Simon the Sorceror who would try to buy the treasures of the Kingdom rather than live the holy lifestyle that would allow him to access them for free.

We are used to soft American life. We love our ease and our comfort here in our pleasure-seeking and instant gratification lifestyles. Americans will go to church on Sundays...sometimes...but only the late service. We read the Bible if life gets rough, or say a prayer on a bad day. If asked, we'll admit to being Christian, but really, we prefer to keep that quite in case it could embarrass us.  But there is something in this comfort we are used to that is out of place in the life of a whole-hearted Christian. We have a hard time admitting that real Christianity requires effort and discipline. We forget that Paul admonished Timothy to "endure hardship as a good soldier."

I think we all face a point in our Christian walk where the rubber hits the road or we hit the road. We have to determine whether we will stand up or shut up, be a fence-walker or a fire-starter, live it up or live out loud, sleep in or press in, be a fop or a fighter. It is hard to do anything halfway...we tend to get burned out. In the life of a Christian you can be a name-only saint for so long. Pretty soon you either decide to live every moment for the cause of Christ, leaving every other venture and love behind, or decide it's not worth the sacrifice and leave true Christianity to someone a little more tenacious. Christianity is not something you put on - like a pair of shoes - it is something you become. It requires an over-haul and transformation in every part of your life.

The Kingdom of Heaven is forcefully advancing, and those who are forceful in spirit will lay hold of it!

The Beauty of Hard Times

Hardships.         We dread them. And yet, we cannot hope to become anything without them.  I think the Lord takes His beloved through hard times so that our message is always fresh...

You know what it is to be the one going through hard times and to see someone who is delighting in all the successes life can offer. Their sympathy can only feel like pity, their words tend to be hollow and empty of real comfort, and the contrast of their happiness makes our sorrow hard to bear. It is difficult for those in the valley to accept comfort from those on the mountaintop. It is hard for those on the mountaintop to remember what it was like to be in the valley, or to stop and ponder those still there. We are finite beings, so prone to become desensitized to the lessons of the past. So, the Lord, for the sake of our ability to minister to each other, allows us to reenter the valley every so often, lest we forget.  It is not punishment, it is a part of the maturing process. It is His mercy keeping us sharp and useful for His work.


You see, it is quite different for a sufferer to see one with them in the valley who, though suffering, overflows with joy and wisdom. Here is a counselor they can rely on. Here is a true friend in time of need. Here is one who can give a "word in season to the weary".  


In our affliction our comfort is softer and more merciful than if we never faced wounding, trial, or temptation. Our words are clearer. Our message rings truer. Our example is easily followed. Our humility in realizing our own weakness draws and will not repel. In our own dependence on God we tap into a power source that flows through us to all who come for help.


In my times of trial I have looked to other people who have faced and learned to rejoice through trials. People like Joseph and David in the Bible, or more modern heroes like Amy Carmichael and Elisabeth Elliot have become my own "mentors". Their stories, written in their suffering for my encouragement, have given me courage to endure. And they, in the middle of their trials, realized their purpose.


There is nothing more beautiful than watching one who, in their own suffering, overlooks their circumstance to reach a hand to another in need. This is the love of Christ. This will change the world.

Song in the Storm

When all my life is tossed and shaken; when all I trusted turns to dust. When life itself become uncertain, You alone stand firm.
When waves of doubt buffet at my soul and winds of change threaten all I am, I fear I cannot stay this course but You alone stay sure.
In darkest day, in night of need, in hours of confusing pain. Though arguments build up in piles, You alone are true.

And precious Master, when I would doubt remind me whose slave I am. Remind me of the purchase price, remind me You care for Your own.
Dearest Jesus, hold me close. "Prone to wander", so, Savior, keep me near. When I would stray, when I'd run, bind fast my heart to Yours.
Treasured Friend, take charge of my heart. Keep coldness far and hardness banished. And if lean I do, as lean I will, keep my leaning bent toward You.

Oh soul of mine, how quickly you doubt. You tend so much toward despair. Remember, I charge you, the Father's protection and your Shepherd's constant care.
Mind and will, you too, must yield to trust and not to sorrow. Despair can have no place in here, I am my Father's daughter.
And finally, joy, bubble up and over, delight in this season too. Spring from thankfulness for the lessons you learn, and hope in the dreams of tomorrow.

Hupomone Courage

Hebrews 12:1. "...run with endurance the race set before you..."

The word "endurance" is an interesting one...

hupomone:  (noun) lit., "an abiding under" (hupo, "under," meno, "to abide"), is almost invariably rendered "patience"; cheerful endurance.

When God allows trial in life, my response is often to put on my game face, grit my teeth, and bear it. But here, God challenges me to another level. Not just enduring, but enduring with cheerfulness. Not suffering through trials, but rejoicing in the middle of trials. This isn't a passive feeling of happiness--that does not occur naturally in trials--this is an active engaging of my will to rejoice in my God until the feelings change to match the attitude.


God challenges His children to put their hope of eternal reward into active use in the middle of the current situation. I am called to not just have a victim's hope that things may get better, but to have a victor's understanding that with God all things are good right now.  In this moment, life is beautiful!


There's more to this, though...

hupomeno (verb) akin to hupomone, a) "to tarry behind, still abide," (Luke 2:43; Acts 17:14);  b) "to wait for" (Rom 8:24)

There is action involved in this endurance.  Imagine a person so committed to the will of God that they are willing to stay and endure even if a way out is presented. A person of real endurance--victorious, over-comer endurance--doesn't have to be forced to stay. They remain (tarry) in the fiery, testing will of God until they have reached the end...until the desired result is acheived.


A hupomone Christian will gladly stay long after everyone else has given up and gone home. They will wait it out with joy until the race has been run, the war has been won, and the testing is done.