The past couple weeks have been not an easy time for me. Sometimes the world just is not an easy place to live. The world is full of sin and corruption and things that don't want you to be close to God. The world wants us to worship it, rather than who deserves our worship and praise and trust. The key is to notice when we are being tempted away from our God and fight against it. Be ready though. If you are going to pick a fight with the world, and really want to fight for your faith, get ready for a fight that will be rough. Living here is hard, but fighting against the evil and sin here in order to be with God and trust God and live as Christ did, is the hardest thing to do because it goes against everything in society and Satan is going to join the battle too.
I recently saw the movie, Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. C.S. Lewis really was a disciple of Christ and true servant of our Father. The message of the movie was pretty much, the more you try to be like Christ and follow God, the more the world is going to hate you and try to destroy you and fight you every step of the way. Everything you will come across is going to try to deter you away from accomplishing your goal and try to make your goal anything else apart from following God and becoming like Christ. Obviously, it wasn't so blatantly spelled out in the movie, it is written in Narnian, fantasy terms, but the message is definitely there.
How much I needed to hear this and see this! Recently I experienced some pretty rough heartbreak. Things were going really well in a relationship I had with someone who meant a lot to me, and still does. She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met and she really likes/liked me as well. For some reason, it didn't work out to the confusion of both of us. Both of us had been diligently praying about it and pleading for God to be a part of what was going on and our journey in getting to know each other. This might be the point where you think I am going to say something depressing. Sorry to disappoint. God WAS with us and working in us and our journey in getting to know each other. It may have come down to timing, or just fears about other aspects of our lives outside of our direct relationship with each other, but regardless, for now at least, it is over and we hope to one day resume a friendship.
At first I questioned why God would allow such heartbreak to happen so unexpectedly. Things had been going PERFECTLY between her and I. Then out of nowhere, things ended. It was devastating and to a certain degree, still is. I didnt understand why when I felt like I was pursuing God so hard and wanting Him so much to be a part of what was going on between me and this girl, and trusting him so much with it, why would he not bless it and allow it to work out. I was looking at it wrong though. COMPLETELY wrong.
It is when we are striving to be like Jesus with all our might that the world, and Satan, fight back. It is when all we want from life is God, that we face trials and temptations. It is in those times when evil says "No, I will not let God win easily." Friends, don't give in. Keep fighting. God is the winner. Jesus Christ has already won. Thus, we have won. You may not know it yet, but you have. We are the winners. Grace, peace, love, forgiveness, hope....all are victorious over greed, lust, rejection, despair, depression, and hate. We just can't give in to those temptations.
Don't get me wrong. I am still feeling the pain of the loss and it hurts like Hell. That is how I know though that I am on the right track. That I am going in the right direction towards our God. I am being assaulted by evil because I am not giving in. The more we fight back, the more it is going to hurt, but in the end, we will reach a day when pain, tears, sadness, and loneliness are all forgotten. Not only will they not exist, but we will forget what those things even were. How glorious a promise that is!
Friends, don't lose hope if you are facing crap in life. No where are we promised a life of ease and luxury in Christ. Quite the opposite. If our goal is to be Christ-like, why should we not have a life similar to his of rejection, scorn, and condemnation to death? Dont forget the last part though, he rose from the dead. As will we. I have been told many times by a great mentor of mine, "How can we be resurrected if we don't die?"
Going through all the crap and trials of life is something that is not immune for Christians. But we go through a process called sanctification. This is where God uses the crap we go through to refine us and make us new and improve us. To burn away the bad crap we have. Like refining metal. Metal has to be heated to extremely high levels in order to refine it and make it stronger and purer. Or even look at the classic example of pruning a plant. Snipping off the dead leaves and branches to keep the rest of the plant healthy. Sure, it hurts if your leg is dead to get it amputated, but it is going to make the rest of your body healthier. Same with plants and metals and our soul. Santification: painful, yet beautiful and graceful. C.S. Lewis says "We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be."
"It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God." Acts 14:22
“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 about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” 2 Cor. 12:9 – 10
18(A) "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19(B) If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because(C) you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20Remember the word that I said to you:(D) 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me,(E) they will also persecute you.(F) If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. (John 15:18-20)
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