Godly Lives

I’ve been thinking lately about godly womanhood. I don’t like the term “femininity” as that seems to be loaded with cultural bias. I’m not talking about whether women can be ordained (as my grandmother was), or what roles they should hold in the church and family. I just want to know what it means to be a woman in love with God.

With that thought in mind I read Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul, by John & Stasi Eldredge. I picked it up somewhat in protest. I had read the book jacket a few times in the past and was turned off by the book’s basic thesis. Sure enough, the first chapter frustrated me. (Have you ever yelled at a book?) They state that the three foundational desires of a woman’s heart are 1) to be romanced, 2) to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and 3) to unveil beauty (p. 8). I’m not sure I can identify with any of those “desires.” Perhaps it is just the terminology used. Romance? No thanks; but I do desire love. Adventure? Not really; though a sense of purpose is essential. Beauty? Nope; but acceptance is important.

It doesn’t help that many of the descriptions used in the book are things I haven’t experienced (or at least don’t remember from childhood) and don’t care to try. Games of “kidnapped and rescued,” playing dress up, twirling skirts, and later candlelight dinners and ballroom dancing... Not my cup of cocoa. I realize that all authors write from what they know and have experienced, and not all books will speak to me in the same way.

There were some good points in the book—that we have to find our identity and value in Christ and not from society; true beauty comes from within; and we each have a unique role to fill. Their interpretation of some of those roles was another point of frustration for me, but that’s a discussion for another day.

I was reminded of a movie we watched during Spanish class in high school. A blind man fell in love with the nurse who cared for him. After surgery enabled him to see, the first person he saw was a beautiful woman and he assumed it must be the caring nurse. (I don’t recall how they explained the difference in voices.) The whole class wondered how he knew what physical beauty was since he’d always been blind, and why did he equate physical beauty with relational caring?

It’s interesting to look at the references to beauty throughout Scripture. Many refer to God’s beauty, and many warn of the dangers of chasing physical beauty. “But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (1 Peter 3:4). What is a quiet spirit? I believe it is a spirit that trusts in God in all things. When things don’t make sense, when the world is asking “why”, when the enemy tempts us to worry and fear, the quiet spirit says “God, I trust Your will and rest in Your love.” This is a spirit that is not striving to make things happen or demanding explanations. “In returning [to God] and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).

This is the kind of trust exhibited by Mary when the angel told her she would bear the Messiah: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Mary was shown to be a godly woman both by her lifestyle up to this time and by her acceptance of God’s plan even when it didn’t make sense from a human viewpoint. The rest of her life would require great trust as she saw the persecution and pain that would follow Jesus even from the time of His birth.

When you look at the many women praised in Scripture, there are very few generalizations that can be made about them. Think not only of Mary but of Hannah, Esther, Ruth, Deborah, Mary Magdalene, Phoebe, Tryphena and Tryphosa, Lois and Eunice, and numerous others. They all lived very different lives and demonstrated their faith in different ways. The commonality is that they had faith in God and they trusted His plan through some difficult times. I’m not sure we can come up with any clearer definition of a godly woman. Even the description in Proverbs 31 is hard to translate into our modern times, except for verse 30: “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

In a society where more than half of women are currently single, it can be dangerous to describe womanhood in terms of marriage and family. And women now hold as many different job titles as men do. So the definition of a godly woman can’t be based on what we do for a living or how we relate to people. It has to be based on the one thing that never changes—God. He has called us to believe in Him and trust Him. He calls us His beloved children and His love will never fail. Our daily life should be a response to that love, no matter what the circumstances of our life may look like.

I realize that the same holds true for men, so perhaps there is no distinction between godly womanhood and godly manhood. Every person is unique and every life of faith will look different—male or female, married or single, parent or childless. When we start prescribing roles for men and women, we run the risk of alienating large groups of people. I’m not suggesting we ignore biblical mandates. However, there are a lot of grey areas that the Bible leaves to our judgment.

I once wrote an article for the Advent Christian Witness titled “Single and Satisfied.” One reader felt that I was just griping about being pigeonholed and that it should not have been published. My point then and now is that we don’t all have the same desires or the same calling. I thank God often that the Apostle Paul was led to include 1 Corinthians 7 in Scripture. That chapter is a reminder to us that we should be more concerned about doing God’s will than we are about finding a spouse. If marriage is in God’s will for an individual, He can make it happen in His own time and way. And whether it is or isn’t in God’s plans for us, we should find our contentment and fulfillment in who God has made us to be. Culture—even Christian culture—does not define who we are. Only God has that privilege.

Therefore, as godly women and godly men, let us “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10).

Theology of Emotions

After our Wednesday night discussion of emotions a couple things have come to mind. One question I had was whether the philosophy of Stoicism has had an impact on the Christian view of emotions. I found the following quote: “The emotions were viewed as irrational and intemperate and as a sign of weakness, dependence, and contingency. As a result, the Stoic ideal of apatheia became the ideal and this idea was imposed upon God… It is because of a Stoic bias, not Scripture, that some say God does not care about our emotions, but only our holiness…”
(http://biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/resources/toward-a-theology-of-emotion).

It appears then that in some areas the church has bought into the idea that emotions are dangerous and are to be suppressed. This particular site goes on to say, “contrary to the Stoical tendency to view emotion as a nuisance are many biblical commands to experience particular emotions. We are instructed to hate sin, rejoice always, delight and be glad in the Lord, weep with those who weep, grieve like those who have hope, and fear God… Serving God rightly requires right emotions.”

I’ve heard from multiple sources “Don’t trust your emotions!” While I agree that emotions can be more highly charged than a situation demands, and may indeed be inappropriate, they are also indicators of what’s going on inside. “As biblical counselors we often treat emotions as if, at best, they serve as a sort of flashing light on the dashboard of our lives warning us that something has gone wrong under the hood… There’s some truth to that. Emotions certainly aren’t ‘free agents’ operating independently of our beliefs. But relegating them to the category of ‘symptom’ doesn’t quite do justice to the functions the Bible assigns to emotions”
(http://www.ccef.org/do-biblical-counselors-give-emotions-bad-name).

What then are we to do with our emotions? There are probably a lot of possibilities, and I’ll name just a few.

1) Investigate the roots of emotions. They may reveal unmet desires and expectations, in which case we need to know whether those desires are legitimate and godly or not. Godly sorrow leads to repentance (2 Cor. 7:10). Ungodly anger leads to unrighteousness (Psalm 37:8). Godly grief looks forward with hope for eternity (1 Thess. 4:13). The roots of emotions may also reveal unconfessed sin, unresolved conflicts, and unhealed wounds. As those things come to light, there will probably be some steps to take to move forward.

2) Listen to your body. Our culture thrives on overwork, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, calorie overload, sugar and caffeine highs, alcohol lows, etc. It’s little wonder that we’re often emotional basket-cases. We could probably all use some time to “detox” from everything we’re doing to ourselves. Take some time to relax; eat better; sleep more; eliminate activities from the schedule; simplify. In short, take care of the body God gave you because it needs to last a lifetime.

3) Glorify God with your whole being. The Psalms are full of a wide range of emotions. It is evident that God never intended for us to ignore such a significant piece of ourselves. Jesus wept, rejoiced, and became angry. We too can respond to God emotionally in whatever way He leads. Some Christian traditions have taught that Christianity isn’t supposed to be fun, holiness requires an unemotional objectivity, or depression is just self-centeredness. I don’t see evidence for any of that in Scripture. I see Jesus enjoying a wedding reception (John 2:2). I see David dancing with reckless abandon before the Ark of the Covenant (1 Chron. 15:29). I see a despondent Elijah being sustained and encouraged by the Lord (1 Kings 19:4).

4) Encourage one another in love. One way we can glorify God is to support one another in the Body of Christ. “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another” (Romans 12:15-16). Don’t pass judgment on those who see life differently, but walk alongside them as a brother or sister in Christ.

Emotions aren’t wrong in and of themselves. Acknowledge them, feel them, and explore them. Suppressing emotions only seems to lead to trouble. Telling someone to “Get over it, just move on,” communicates that they are wrong (which adds guilt) and that you know better than them (which adds shame). I don’t think any of us are qualified to judge some else’s emotions if we haven’t lived inside their head their whole life.

No matter how dark the day may seem, “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:13-14).

Why Are You Still Carrying That?

The movie The Mission (1986) is a heartbreaking story of a Jesuit mission in Paraguay during the Treaty of Madrid in 1750. Mercenaries kidnapped natives to sell to plantations. Rodrigo is one of the men involved in this practice. After killing his half-brother, he becomes depressed and a priest recommends a suitable penance. Rodrigo is then seen carrying his armor and sword in a bundle as he climbs a steep waterfall, accompanying the Jesuits as they return to the mission. Some of the priests think he has carried his burden far enough and one cuts the rope, allowing the bundle to fall back down. Rather than letting it go, Rodrigo goes back to get it and continues his arduous climb. It isn’t until he reaches the top of the waterfall and one of the natives cuts the rope that Rodrigo finally feels he has been forgiven of his multitude of sins.

Do we all function this way—holding onto our penitent attitude long after God has forgiven us? I find it hard to move on when I know I’ve sinned, even though I’ve confessed and believe that I am forgiven. It’s as though I feel I have to prove my worthiness and reprove myself. Francine Rivers illustrates the feeling in Redeeming Love (a retelling of the biblical story of Hosea and his prostitute-wife Gomer): “Forgiveness was a foreign word. Grace inconceivable. Angel wanted to make up for what she had done, and she sought to do it by labor. Mama had never been forgiven, not even after a thousand Hail Marys and Our Fathers. So how could Angel be forgiven by a single word?” (211).

How often do we confess and then pick our burden back up to carry awhile longer? It seems that grace is not only inconceivable but unacceptable. Philip Yancey refers to someone who proclaimed that Bill Clinton “doesn’t deserve the grace of God.” None of us deserve grace, or it wouldn’t be grace! The question is whether or not we will accept it even though we don’t deserve it.

Max Lucado also remarks on the story of Hosea in his book 3:16 The Numbers of Hope. “God will not let you go. He has handcuffed himself to you in love. And he owns the only key. You need not win his love. You already have it. And since you can’t win it, you can’t lose it. As evidence, consider exhibit A: the stubborn love of Hosea for Gomer… God uses this story, indeed orchestrated this drama, to illustrate his steadfast love for his fickle people” (36).

In stories like The Mission and Redeeming Love, we as observers want to step in and tell the characters to let go of their burdens and accept the love and forgiveness that is offered to them. Just think how much more God wants us to let go and receive His love and forgiveness! But we persist in our penance, remembering our sin, and carrying a burden God never meant for us to carry.

We no longer live under the Old Testament sacrificial system, waiting for set times to bring our sin offerings before God. We don’t even have to abide by the Roman Catholic tradition of confessing our sins before a priest and doing whatever penance he prescribes. Instead, we have free access to the Father through the Son. We have forgiveness that was purchased by His blood two millennia ago. We are free from carrying that burden whether we realize it or not. Several authors have used the illustration of a man who picked up a hitchhiker, but the hitchhiker would not take off his heavy backpack because he didn’t want to impose on the driver’s generosity. If Jesus is carrying the sin of all believers, why are we still trying to do our part and carry our own weight?

It seems pretty ridiculous when you think about it. But the feelings of guilt, shame, and unworthiness can quickly convince us we need to do more, do better, and become more deserving. Perhaps, like little children, we can learn how to be thankful instead. I doubt any parents expect their preschoolers to cook their own dinner, but they do like to hear a word of thanks now and then. And it’s even better if it is offered willingly and gratefully. In the words of the familiar chorus: Give thanks with a grateful heart.

Peace in the Storm

I’ve often enjoyed reading Max Lucado. His books are entertaining as well as inspirational. I just finished reading Come Thirsty (borrowed from the church library if you’re interested). One of the illustrations he uses is that of the Arizona Biosphere project, an experiment in creating an entirely self-contained environment. He parallels this to the protective “dome” of God’s peace guarding our hearts and minds (Phil. 4:7).

This is a nice illustration as far as it goes. But a little research into the Biosphere reveals a few other illustrations as well. One of the problems they encountered in the project was plant etiolation—due to lack of light, plants grew pale, long stems in their search for light. (Picture daffodils trying to find their way up from the bottom of a flower pot.) Lack of chlorophyll in the plants may have contributed to insufficient oxygen levels in the dome. The parallel for Christians is that we need regular exposure to the Light of the World, Jesus. The light of Scripture and the Holy Spirit exposes sin and darkness, shows us the way, and helps us to bear fruit for Christ. Without the light we lose our way, burrowing deeper into sin instead of growing up and out.

Another problem in the Biosphere was that trees didn’t grow “stress wood” to keep them strong. Only when trees are exposed to wind do their trunks strengthen to support them. Without the adversity of wind the trees grow weak and are easily broken. Likewise, we need adversity in our lives to strengthen our faith. If we face no difficulties, we don’t really need to trust God. The stronger the wind, the more we realize we need His strengthening power. God never promised peace from the storm, but He does give peace in the midst of the storm.

When the disciples encountered the storm while on the sea, they feared for their lives. But Jesus was so much at peace that he could sleep, at least until they woke Him up. It was only then that they got a glimpse of His power and glory (Matt. 8:23-27). The disciples didn’t realize it at the time, but they were in the safest place in the world—in the boat with God incarnate. Though it’s natural to wish for relief and protection from the storms, our desire should be to see God at work in the midst of the storm. (As a side note, the popular teaching of guardian angels has always puzzled me. Why should I need a guardian angel when I’ve got God Himself watching over me?!)

The Biosphere suffered a host of other problems as well, most of which point to the fact that we don’t know as much about the world as we may think. No matter how hard we try, we can’t create life and we can’t sustain it through our own efforts. Only God has successfully done that. We can’t even control our own lives in most respects. We had no say over our birth, and only God knows the number of our days (Psalm 139:16). We can’t change our height (Matt. 6:27). We didn’t even control God’s choice of us as His children (Eph. 1:4)! So why do we keep worrying about things that are out of our control? Why do we keep trying to tell God what to do? The following prayer is an excerpt from A Cry for Mercy by Henri Nouwen:

“Do I keep doubting your love and care, your mercy and grace? Do I keep wondering, in the center of my being, whether you will give me all I need if I just keep my eyes on you? Please accept my distractions, my fatigue, my irritations, and my faithless wanderings. You know me more deeply and fully than I know myself. You love me with a greater love than I can love myself. You even offer me more than I can desire. Look at me, see me in all my misery and inner confusion, and let me sense your presence in the midst of my turmoil. All I can do is show myself to you. Yet, I am afraid to do so. I am afraid that you will reject me. But I know—with the knowledge of faith—that you desire to give me your love. The only thing you ask of me is not to hide from you, not to run away in despair, not to act as if you were a relentless despot.”

May we learn to live in the Light, look for Him in the storms, and trust that He is in control in all things!

Work Matters

I came across the following quote from Martin Luther’s treatise To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation:

“It is pure invention [fiction] that Pope, bishops, priests, and monks are called the ‘spiritual estate’ while princes, lords, artisans, and farmers are called the ‘temporal estate.’ This is indeed a piece of deceit and hypocrisy. Yet no one need be intimidated by it, and that for this reason: all Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except that of office… We are all consecrated priests by baptism, as St. Peter says: ‘You are a royal priesthood and a priestly realm’ (1 Pet. 2:9).”

I’ve been thinking quite a lot about the priesthood of all believers. We’ve fallen into the same trap that Luther observed in the 16^th century of treating some professions as more holy or more worthy than others. The work of the church is often assumed to be the work of the pastor and staff. And yet all believers are members of the Body of Christ and we all have a special role to play through our daily life and work. Tim Keller, in his book Every Good Endeavor, points out that especially in America we make distinctions between menial labor and skilled labor, and we tie our self-perception to our financial net worth rather than our kingdom worth. Even Christian parents push theirs kids into higher education in order to get the “better” jobs. Granted, we all want to be able to pay our bills, but is there something fundamentally wrong with being an auto mechanic or a farmer? Both are essential jobs that benefit a lot of people.

We need step back and look at our motivations for work in whatever our chosen field may be. Is it a means of funding a comfortable lifestyle? Is it a way of serving a particular group of people? Is it a “necessary evil”? Or is it a calling and a ministry? Paul writes, “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” (Col. 3:23-24). And he wasn’t just talking to the church leaders, but to all the believers. Elton Trueblood stated, “It is a gross error to suppose that the Christian cause goes forward solely or chiefly on weekends. What happens on the regular weekdays may be far more important, so far as the Christian faith is concerned, than what happens on Sunday” (Your Other Vocation).

Certainly some jobs are more overtly ministerial than others, but all jobs have worth. If nothing else, you can pray for your fellow workers and model godly love and integrity even if you aren’t free to discuss your beliefs. You can pray for the recipients of whatever service or product you provide. If the product is actually harmful, you have an ethical decision to make about whether you should be involved in that business or not. In fact, we all have ethical choices to make. Should we mark up prices in order to make a greater profit, or should we keep them as low as possible in order to serve more people? Are we using our profits to help others or to line our own pockets? Is it okay to lie for the boss? Is our lifestyle a witness to or a contradiction of our beliefs?

Regardless of what work we do, we need to remember that ultimately we will be held accountable by the King of kings, not just any individual, company, or government. Even in the so-called ministerial professions, though we may report directly or indirectly to a church board, conference, or denomination, the ultimate authority is God. In Your Work Matters to God, by Doug Sherman and William Hendricks, they write, “if you are a sales representative in computer software, then your job and how you do it is tied up with God’s work. If you are a naval officer on a ship, your command and how you perform it is tied up with God’s work. If you are a career homemaker, your work in the home with your husband and children and how you do it is tied up with God’s work… If I tell you that your daily work has no value to God, then I’m giving you no reason to honor Him in your work. Result: You might as well do as you please.”

In the midst of his lamentations on the vanity of work, Solomon states, “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from Him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?” (Eccl. 2:24-25). When work seems toilsome, pointless, and dreary, we can remember that it is God who gives all good things—the ability to work, a paying job, and provision for our needs. First Corinthians 15 includes this interesting verse following the teaching on death and resurrection, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (v. 58). If we believe that our work truly does matter to God, then this verse applies to all of us. We may not see all the fruits of our labor in this lifetime, but God sees and will reward us accordingly.

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord” (Eph. 6:5-8).

Marvelous or Ho-Hum?

After thinking about Sunday’s sermon on the “marvelous faith” of the centurion, I looked up some of the other “marvelous” thoughts in the Bible:

• Job 5:9- “[God] does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.”
• Psalm 98:1- “Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvelous things! His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.”
• Luke 4:22- “And all spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from His mouth. And they said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’”
• Matthew 8:27- “And the men marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and sea obey Him?’”

Nearly every reference in Scripture to something “marvelous” is about what God has done or is doing, and about half refer specifically to things Jesus did while on earth. That made me wonder—what marvelous things have I seen recently? All too often my observations of the world and events around me are either half-hearted or cynical. As one character on M*A*S*H asked, “What was the last thing you approved of, besides your birth?”

Looking at our sinful society, broken families, and wounded churches, it’s easy to become cynical and focus only on everything that is going wrong and to lose sight of what God is doing all around us. I’ve been rereading The Genesee Diary by Henri Nouwen, about the months that he spent living in a Trappist monastery in New York. One of the brothers there was alive with joy as he talked about the amazing rain, birds, trees, flowers, and everything he saw around him. He was enraptured by the glory of God revealed in everyday experiences. I have to say I’m not there yet. Most of us are probably too caught up in making it through another day and feel we don’t have time to stop and smell the roses or to thank God for life itself.

Besides the seemingly small things of nature (if you can call a sunrise small), and the bigger things of what God is doing in our churches and families, there are many marvelous claims in Scripture that should make us exclaim God’s greatness. One in particular has been on my mind lately: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Not only are we chosen by God, but we are also called into service, made holy in Christ, and we belong to God. And the reason for that is so that we can proclaim who God is, how great He is, and what He has done for us and made available to others. That’s a pretty staggering thought if you dwell on it awhile!

You would think we would be amazed on a daily basis, and yet we aren’t. There are probably several reasons for this, but I think the primary reason is that we take it all for granted. As a toddler, every dandelion was a new thrill. As a new Christian, every new idea in Scripture was an astounding discovery. But after awhile the thrill wears off. We’ve seen it before, heard it before, and maybe even preached it before. There’s nothing new or exciting to catch our attention. I suspect this is a cause for some preachers to spend more time speaking on current events than they do on Scripture.

As the Bible frequently repeats, we need to have “eyes that see and ears that hear.” We need to take a fresh look at the world in general and a fresh look at Scripture in particular. The God of the universe communicated His Word to men to be recorded for our benefit. He sent His own Son to be the Word incarnate and to make a way for us to know Him intimately. Creation speaks the glory of the Lord. As Paul said in Romans 1:20, we are without excuse if we don’t see what God has done.

May we lift up our heads, open our eyes, and marvel at the works of the Lord! And then “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!” (Psalm 96:3).

Have We Forgotten?

The movie The Lion King is an interesting allegory for life. As I’m sure you remember, Scar arranges for the death of Mufasa, and then convinces Simba that it is his fault and that he should run away rather than facing the penalty. We’ve been deceived by our own sin or the sins of others, and we run from God and hide because of shame and guilt (like Adam and Eve). We do our best to forget the past and move on with life. We may even be living the good life (like the prodigal son) at least for a time. But eventually God breaks through our defenses and finds us where we’re hiding (not that we can ever really hide from God).

One scene from the movie comes to my mind fairly often. Simba, out in the wilderness and far from home, has a vision of his father. King Mufasa says to him, “You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me.” How often does God say the same thing to us? We’re children of the King of kings, heirs of the kingdom, and yet we’re living in the wilderness like orphans. Forgetful wilderness living has several characteristics we could focus on. I’ll highlight just a few.

1) Lack of obedience. It was sin that caused Adam and Eve to hide from God in the garden, and sin begets sin. If you’re hiding from God out of fear, what is the likelihood that you’re seeking to do His will? How can you even seek His will if you don’t want to seek Him? The two go hand in hand. James writes, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like” (1:23-24). I suspect many churches are full of people who hear the Word regularly but are not inclined to seek the Lord. They may be doing the “basics” of the Christian life, but they don’t care to be in intimate relationship with the Father, perhaps out of fear of judgment, or fear that God will rock them out of their comfortable little boat.

2) Lack of growth. The Apostle Peter explains, “For whoever lacks these qualities [faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, affection, love] is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins” (2 Peter 1:5-9). Paul David Tripp writes, “They have lost sight of their identity in Christ, so they do not realize the resources that are theirs. Because of this, they fail to live with hope, faith, and courage” (Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands, 262). Though we have a Father who forgives us readily (1 John 1:9), it’s easy to forget that we are forgiven. Memories of the past bring up the same feelings of guilt and shame, and we get stuck in the mire all over again. When that happens, the opportunities for growth are limited. It’s kind of like the student who gets so torn up by the test he failed that he doesn’t pay attention to the new material being taught. We can’t live in the past, but some of us certainly try to.

3) Lack of joy. When Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, they lost the intimate communion they had with the Father. Work became toil. Life wasn’t the same joyful, carefree existence they’d had before. When the prodigal son left home, he may have had some fun times until the money ran out, but pretty soon he was yearning for what he’d left behind. Whether you’re consumed with shameful memories or yearning for the “good ol’ days” (or both), you aren’t enjoying the blessings that are available for today.

Having wandered through some wilderness experiences (hopefully not for 40 years like the Israelites), I’d share a few recommendations:

1) Remember who God is. As our Creator, Redeemer, and Father, He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He loves us anyway.

2) Remember who you are in Christ. We are forgiven, loved, chosen, adopted, heirs, and children of God. We can “approach the throne of grace with confidence” (Heb. 4:12) because of what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross.

3) Forget the past and move forward in obedience. As the writer of Hebrews put it, “Let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1-2). And in Paul’s words, “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). This kind of forgetfulness is the result of having the right focus. Only when we’re focused on God can the past fall away and stop tripping us up. Focusing on Christ also enables us to discern the truth and avoid future deception so that we may “be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil” (Romans 16:19). As soon as we take our eyes off of Christ and focus on self or others we’re likely to veer off the right path.

It would be nice if once you became a Christian the road was straight and smooth, with guardrails to keep you going the right direction. But instead we go over mountains, through deserts, and maybe even under oceans. Some of the obstacles are of our own making when we wander off the road. Some are created by the enemy to divert our attention. But all are allowed by the Father as means to bring us to greater reliance on Him. Lord, let us fix our eyes on You today and every day!