Immanuel and Christmas trials

Christmas is a wonderful time of year. Our church family just had a wonderful time of celebration both through our annual Christmas concert and our childrens’ Christmas musical. It is a wonderful season of hope, anticipation, and joy as we celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ.

But Christmas can also be difficult. There can be difficult family relationships. There can be pain and grief. It can be a reminder of financial hardship. It can be a time of uncertainty. It can be a time of mourning over what has been lost. Christmas, as well as other holiday seasons, can bring up a variety of trials and hardships in our lives, and a variety of emotions that come with that.

But the truth of Christmas itself speaks to us in the midst of those hardships and gives us hope: Isaiah prophecied, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) Immanuel means God with us. And the account in Matthew 1 is explicitly clear that this prophecy is fulfilled in Jesus.

Jesus Christ is Immanuel, God with us!

So what does that mean? Well, three things:

1. It means that God himself is near to us, he is not some far off and distant deity who has no interest in what you’re struggling with.

2. It means that God in Jesus Christ identifies with us, he identifies with our struggles and our temptations, and so closely identifies with us that he died for us on the cross for our sins.

3. And it means that now through the Holy Spirit when we trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation we experience an even deeper closeness with God, he dwells in each and every believer through the Holy Spirit. So God is truly with us in the most intimate way imaginable.

So this Christmas we can celebrate Jesus as Immanuel, God with us, who died for us, and brings us into a deep intimate relationship with God. My prayer for us this Christmas is that we would experience the depth of this closeness with God as we grow in our relationship with him.

But then how can this truth, that God is with us and close to us, comfort us in all of these trials and difficulties that we face? Well, this truth has any number of wonderful implications:

·         God is with us, so he is intimately aware of our struggles and our circumstances.
·         God is with us, so we are not alone in the struggles and trials that we face. We don’t need to ask, God, where are you in this mess? He is right here in the middle of it with us.
·         God is with us, so he gives us strength to face each and every day.
·         God is with us, so he can minister to us in our pain.
·         God is with us, so he can provide for our needs.
·         God is with us, so he gives us his peace.
·         God is with us, so we can pour our hearts out to him in prayer. And he is a God who hears and answers prayer!
·         God is with us, so he can encourage us through his Word.
·         God is with us, and there is no problem that is too big for him. And if your problems and issues and struggles are not too big for God, then think about it, if God is with you, then they’re not too big for you.
·         God is with us, and he knows what is unknown to us. You know those questions that we don’t know the answers to that cause us a lot of anxiety? God knows the answers, and he is with us, so we don’t need to be anxious.
·         God is with us, and he can move the unmoveable, fix what cannot be repaired, and fill what is seemingly a bottomless pit. So we don’t need to get frustrated if we can’t change a difficult situation, because God is with us, and he can change it.
·         God is with us, and he is in control of all things, even those things that seem like they are spiraling out of control. From God’s perspective, nothing is out of control. Nothing! And since God is with you, then nothing in your life is actually out of control! Let that sink in for a few minutes as you consider the circumstances surrounding you!

Jesus Christ is Immanuel. God is with us! This is such a beautiful, beautiful truth. And whatever circumstances you are facing this Christmas, remember this truth: that God is with you. And I hope that this deep and amazing truth is an endless source of encouragement, joy, strength, and perseverance for you as we celebrate the birth of our savior. Merry Christmas!

Discipleship Week 24: Don't give up...praise God by affirming others!

Philippians 4:17-19

“Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

A word of affirmation has a powerful effect. Thanking someone for their service, recognizing the hard work of an individual or a group, or praising someone for making a hard but Christ-like decision often fuels perseverance in the Christian life. Think about times you have been affirmed, or thanked, or praised for something you did. What was the result? Often the result is a deeper desire to continue in the same work or action. I know that for myself, when someone affirms me, it encourages me to continue in the work that God has called me to, having seen some of the fruit of that work.

But this leads us to somewhat of a dilemma. How do we affirm and praise people without elevating those people over God? It is great to be encouraging, but does our affirmation create a situation where we are focused more on people than on God? D.A. Carson notes that some churches can be so generous in the praise of others that they simply become what he calls “mutual admiration societies” that are no longer focused on God…they simply spend a lot of time patting each other on the back.  

However Carson notes that we can also err too far in the other direction…where our fear of not wanting to elevate anyone above God leads us to never affirm or praise anybody. We never tell the pastor we were blessed by the sermon that morning because we fear the praise will go to his head and make him prideful. Or we do not tell those under our ministry care when they have made a good decision for God, because we don’t want that to lead to self-centeredness and arrogance. So we can err with praise that ignores God, or we can err with not giving any praise out of fear of leading someone to pride and arrogance.

Thankfully Paul, in these closing verses of Philippians, gives us a model of how we can be affirming and encouraging and not make either of these errors. The Philippian church, while still very young in all senses, had supported Paul over and above all expectations as he had moved on to other cities in his gospel ministry. And Paul is thankful for them and expresses his praise of them for their generosity. But notice how he gives out his praise…he does so by including God in it. His praise of the Philippians is not just for their financial support, it is about how he is seeing God work in the Philippians through their support. Carson says it this way:

“But Paul has the matter right. In his letters, he does not simply thank people…he thanks God for God’s grace in them—but he utters his thanks to God in front of the people. In effect, he approaches these believers and says, ‘I greatly rejoice at the grace of God displayed in your life’ or ‘I thank God every time I remember you’ or ‘Your life is a fragrant sacrifice to God, a sacrifice with which God is well pleased.’ That is precisely what Paul does here.” –D.A. Carson, Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians

What does this God-centered affirmation mean for us practically? Well, if our praise of others is first and foremost directed at God, then we can be wildly affirming of each other, knowing that we are not elevating others above God. If the Lord blesses you through a Sunday sermon, tell the pastor that the Lord really blessed you and challenged you through the message. If the Holy Spirit used a certain song in worship to speak to your heart, tell the pastor or worship leader how God worked in you through that song. If you see someone making difficult decisions to honor God in their lives, praise them for how you see God at work in their hearts. If our praise is directed Godward, then there is absolutely no reason for us to be stingy with our praise and withhold our affirmation of each other. If God is receiving the glory (4:20), then our praise and thanksgiving towards God and others can and should overflow.

Finally, there is the benefit that such praise and affirmation has for the one giving the praise. Certainly there is a benefit to receiving God glorifying affirmation; it does drive us to see God glorified more in our lives, and strengthens us in our relationship with God. But the same benefit comes to the giver of such affirmation. Giving God glorifying praise to others directs us to focus on God. Affirming God’s work in others leads us to desire God to work in our lives in a similar manner. And praising God for who he is and what he has done in others gives us the strength to persevere in the Christian faith, even when times are difficult…especially when times are difficult. God-centered affirmation of our brothers and sisters in Christ really does help us persevere in the Christian life! Therefore, this is a fitting end to this section and to this letter as a whole: Don’t give up…praise God by affirming others. 

Discipleship Week 23: Don't give up...be content!

Philippians 4:10-13

^“I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

I am becoming convinced that one of the greatest weapons that Satan uses to derail the Christian life in our culture today is planting seeds of discontent in our hearts and minds. Discontentment runs rampant in our culture today, and it is seen in how people view their jobs, their cars, their studies, their relationship status, their socio-economic status, and so much more. And discontentment is not reserved for those who are poor or in difficult situations. Even those in seemingly wonderful positions are not content with what they have. John D. Rockefeller, certainly one of the richest men in history, was once asked how much money was “enough.” His famous answer: “Just a little bit more.” Regardless of our circumstances, discontentment with our circumstances leaves us wanting something more, something different, or something better. And nothing is ever enough.

Clearly the impact of this discontentment on the Christian life can be devastating. If we are constantly in a state of wanting something more, something different, or something better, then we will never be satisfied with what God has called us to and given us for today. And we will certainly not be ready or equipped to endure periods of hardship that God calls us to as we follow him. The result of discontentment is that we begin to look for satisfaction outside of God, we look for solutions on our own, and we often settle for something that is not in line with God’s will for us that causes us great harm down the road. The Israelites in their forty years of desert wanderings are an excellent example of where discontentment leads us. All because we want something more, something different, or something better.

Thankfully Paul gives us the secret to true contentment in these verses, and they hold a powerful key to persevering in the Christian life. And the secret is this: Contentment is found by trusting in God for strength to do anything he calls you to do, regardless of circumstances. And this secret is so wonderful, it deserves a little more reflection:

I. Trusting in God for strength

One of the keys to contentment is trusting in God for strength. Now it is important to remember that Paul is discussing this strength from God not to do anything he wants, but to be content in whatever circumstance God leads him to as he continues his gospel ministry. So we must add an important qualification that God will not give us strength to do things that are outside of his will for us. We cannot use this verse to think that we will have the strength to fly if we jump off a cliff, nor should we think that we will be content if we do jump off a cliff. The result of us jumping off a cliff will be that gravity will do its work, and we will not feel contentment as we fall!

So we cannot use verse 13 as a justification for doing whatever we want, or for convincing others to do whatever we want them to do. Nor can we look at verse 13 as a kind of Superman, self-sufficient kind of strength. No amount of personal self-will brings about contentment. But when we trust in God for strength, we can persevere through any situation that God calls us to, because it is God’s strength, and not our own. When we trust in our own strength, we end up only wanting something more, something different, or something better. But God’s strength enables us, just as it enabled Paul, to be content.

II. Regardless of circumstances

Another key to contentment is that contentment that comes through God’s strength has nothing to do with our circumstances. Paul is clear that he has experienced joys and trials, ease and hardship, riches and poverty. But none of that impacts his contentment as a Christ follower. I think it is easy to only focus on the need for contentment when our circumstances are difficult, or different than what we desire. But there are two problems with this approach. One, if we only work on contentment when our circumstances are not what we desire, then our efforts for contentment invariably gets focused on improving our circumstances, and not looking for God for strength regardless of the circumstances. And two, this approach usually results in us not seeking contentment when our circumstances are by most standards good or desirable. So instead of being content with the blessings God has given us, we still follow Rockefeller and want “a little bit more.” Something more, something different, or something better.

But when we look to God and trust God for strength regardless of our circumstances, then our contentment truly is not based on our circumstances, but based on trust in our sovereign God who sustains and governs all things. And that contentment can be sustained regardless of what circumstances we face in life. And one of the overall keys to standing firm in the Christian faith, this theme that Paul has been developing in these verses, is that we should not focus on our circumstances. We can rejoice in the Lord regardless of our circumstances. We can stop worrying, regardless of our circumstances. We can think holy thoughts, regardless of our circumstances. When we allow our circumstances to dictate our trust in God, then we will struggle in the Christian life, because our trust will change daily with our circumstances. But if all of our circumstances are simply opportunities to trust God more and more, then we will thrive in the Christian life, because we are trusting more and more in an unchanging God who loves and sustains us and is working all things together for good for us.

I confess that far too often my contentment rests on my circumstances, and not in trusting in God’s strength. Most of us have been taught that contentment is based on our circumstances, whether we know it or not. But when I am tempted to be content based on my circumstances, my mind comes back to a well known hymn:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
when sorrows like sea billows roll;
whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul. 

Refrain:

It is well with my soul,
it is well, it is well with my soul.

What are some circumstances where you are not content? Why are you not experiencing contentment? Are you focused too much on the circumstances, not looking to God for strength to go through those circumstances, not trusting in the strength God gives you, or all of the above? Don’t give up…be content! For when our contentment rests in God alone, trusting in his strength regardless of circumstances, we will never need anything more, anything different, or anything better. 

Discipleship Week 22: Don't give up...think holy thoughts!

Philippians 4:8-9

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

This is a beautiful exhortation to us to think holy thoughts. The mind is critical to the Christian life. If we do not think through life in light of what God desires for us, we will certainly not live life in light of what God desires for us. Actions always begin with thoughts. The things that we do are always connected to the things that we think. This may be for good or for bad. But actions are always tied to thoughts. This is why the following give and take between parent and child isn’t really accurate:

Parent: What were you thinking?

Child: I…I guess I wasn’t thinking.

Parent: That’s right! You weren’t thinking. Now go to your room and think about what you didn’t think about!

Whatever it was that got the child in trouble, he or she certainly did think of something that led to those actions. Maybe it was thinking about a selfish desire, or maybe it was thinking about rebelling against their parents. There is always a thought process which leads to actions. Which is why Paul calls us in this passage to think holy thoughts. As D.A. Carson notes, “If you think holy thoughts, you will be holy; if you think garbage, you will be garbage.” If we want to live holy lives, as God calls us to do, we have to begin by thinking holy thoughts. So perseverance in the Christian life really does begin first with our minds, then our actions.

Now this idea that actions always begin with thoughts is not a unique idea to Christianity, it is very widely accepted. And it is fairly widely accepted that changing your thinking will change your actions and your life. But the question then becomes, how? How do we change our thinking? How do we think these holy thoughts? Our culture will tell us that we have enough goodness to think these thoughts on our own, so they will look at this exhortation from Paul as a challenge to work hard to raise their thought level to this standard.

However the Scripture is clear that we are incapable on our own of raising our thoughts to holiness. The universal brokenness and sinfulness of humanity (Romans 3:23) impacts our entire being, which includes our minds. So our own efforts to improve our thought life will inevitably lead back to our sinful desires. To use Carson’s terminology, our own efforts to elevate our thoughts only lead to garbage. It is only through the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit that we can have a renewed mind (Romans 12:1-2) that can think about these wonderful, holy things. Holiness in our thought life must, first and foremost, be an act of God, graciously working in our lives.

And yet, we do play a role in our sanctification, we do play a role in this renewal. Part of our role of course is recognizing that the majority of the work of renewal is done by God, and not by us. And yet as we submit ourselves to God and to his sanctifying work in our lives, there are several ways that we can apply this passage into our lives.

1. Think God’s thoughts. Our own thoughts will lead to back to our sinful nature, and then to sinful actions. God is holy, and his thoughts lead to holiness. So instead of trying to elevate our thought life on our own, a far more fruitful work is to begin to understand what God’s thoughts are. One way we can do this is through prayer. A great question that we can pray to God in ANY situation that we face is this: “God, what do you think about this?” If our default thought process is our selfish and sinful desires, asking our Father what he thinks about something is a great way to cause us to slow down before we make a decision (because so many of our foolish actions come very quickly after foolish thoughts!). It is a great way to filter out voices and opinions of others that might be leading us away from God. And it is a great way to orient us away from ourselves and towards God and his will.

2. Saturate yourself in God’s Word. The best way to think God’s thoughts is to read what God has spoken. If our minds are saturated in God’s Word, then we will naturally move away from our sinful mindsets and move towards holy thoughts, because God is holy. The more we have God’s Word hidden in our hearts, the easier it becomes to recall God’s Word to mind when we face difficult decisions and temptations to sin. There are several ways we can take in God’s Word, but I think it important to note here that the task of memorizing Scripture, while daunting and challenging for many, bears great fruit in the Christian life. When we are tempted to sin we often do not have an hour to sit down and read God’s Word to saturate our minds. However the Scripture that we have memorized is already right there, and can be called to mind very quickly to help us think God’s holy thoughts in the face of temptation, which leads to holiness in us. So let us give ourselves to this task!

3. Learn how to think from your spiritual mentors. We often look at our mentors to see how they live, and Paul has made an excellent case earlier in Philippians that we should emulate the spiritual mentors who God has placed in our lives. Here Paul applies that same principle of following the example of strong spiritual role models to the task of thinking holy thoughts. So as you seek to follow the example of your role models, don’t just look at how they live their lives, but also look at how they think. Get inside their heads, and understand their thought processes. When faced with a difficult decision, how do they think through their options? When confronted with temptation, how do they look to God? When experiencing trials and suffering, what do they think about? When celebrating success (or processing failure), where are their minds focused? If holy thoughts lead to holy lives, then it is critical that our growth in the Christian life focuses just as much, if not more, on our minds than on our actions. And learning how our role models think holy thoughts can train us to do the same.

We can persevere in the Christian life by thinking holy thoughts. We can continue to grow in holiness as our minds are renewed more and more, day by day. And while recognizing that much of this is God’s work in us, we still have work to do ourselves. So how do you need to grow in thinking holy thoughts? What leads you away from thinking holy thoughts? Don’t give up in the Christian life, think holy thoughts, and persevere in holiness. 

Discipleship Week 21: Don't give up...stop worrying!

Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

If we knew and actually applied these two verses on a regular basis, our lives would be radically transformed. Far too many of us carry worry on top of worry…so much so that the weight of these worries almost crushes us. I recently asked the college students I work with to write down every single thing that they were worried about. The result was that they actually became…more worried. It was easy for them to suppress all of the vague worries that were floating around in their heads; it was terrifying to actually write them down, because then those worries became so much more real. And then with the reality of everything that they worried about written down in front of them, they saw these verses and worried about how much they were worrying.

But thankfully this passage gives us an incredible road map to a life lived for God that is free from the crushing burden of anxiety. In just two verses, Paul gives us a prohibition against worry, a prescription for not worrying, and a promise for when we do let go of our fears. And the prohibition, the prescription, and the promise hold a powerful key to persevering in the Christian life.

The Prohibition

The prohibition is simple. Do not be anxious about anything. Do not worry. There are no qualifications to this statement. The size of the problem we worry about is not a reason to justify worrying. The amount of money at stake is not a reason to justifying worrying. And the people involved, no matter how powerful they are or how messy and problematic they make a situation, are never reasons to justifying worrying. As Christians we should not be crippled by fear.

Now in affirming Paul’s prohibition without qualifications I do realize that people do struggle with such things as clinical anxiety and depression. These are very real medical issues, and it is sad that some in the church have written off anxiety and depression as simply people having a lack of faith. There are good treatments for anxiety and depression, both in terms of therapy and medicine, and we should encourage those treatments for those who need them. As a former pastor of mine once asked, “Is there any difference between medicine from the neck down and medicine from the neck up?” The answer is no, and Christians should not be shamed for their need to undergo such treatments. The benefit of such treatments is that they bring an individual to a place where they can take and apply this passage. Treatment does not do away with anxiety, it manages anxiety. It allows an individual to come to a place where he or she can completely focus on God’s Word, and apply this verse along with everyone else.

Therefore we can say that even clinical anxiety or depression, as difficult and debilitating as they can be, are not qualifications by which we can ignore this command to stop worrying. All of us face anxieties in life. All of us need to stop worrying. And whereas some of us need prescriptions from our doctors, all of us need the prescription from God’s Word to stop worrying.

The Prescription

The prescription is almost as simple as the prohibition: “…in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Instead of worrying, pray. As D. A. Carson notes, “I have yet to meet a chronic worrier who enjoys an excellent prayer life.” Now I have had people over the years tell me that they have been praying, and yet they still worry. In that situation, either something is wrong with the Scriptures, or something is wrong with an individual’s prayer life. And given our confidence in the Scriptures, let me suggest two areas where our prayer lives are often deficient:

First, pray about everything. Paul says “but in everything…” So we should be in prayer about everything that we face and encounter as we go through our day. Do we pray about everything throughout our day, or do we only pray in moments of crisis when our anxiety is skyrocketing? In seminary I received two incredible tips about having a thriving prayer life: 1) Ask God for everything. Everything. Big, small, important, seemingly trivial. Ask God for everything. And 2) turn all of your thoughts into a conversation with God. When you are talking with a friend, talk to God about your conversation. When you go into work, talk to God about that day and the work you have to do. When you’re spending time with friends and family and you’re thinking about the pile of unfinished homework you have, talk to God about that pile of homework and ask him for wisdom regarding time management. And when you get cut off on the freeway, talk to God about your frustrations. Praying about everything will orient us more towards God. Praying about everything will help us to better see difficult situations from God’s perspective (and God is not worried about the things we are worried about!). And praying about everything will help us to have God’s priorities, not our own. (and when you think about it, so much of our worry is because our priorities are not in line with God’s!). Pray about everything.

Second, pray with thanksgiving. As we are to pray about everything, Paul is equally clear that we are to pray with thanksgiving. This may seem counterintuitive, especially when there is seemingly nothing in a stressful situation to be thankful for. But there are always things we can be thankful for. We can be thankful that God is in control and that he is working in this stressful situation for our good (Romans 8:28). We can be thankful for how valuable we are to God (Psalm 139:14), which interestingly is the reason our Lord gave for not worrying (Matthew 6:25-34). We can be thankful that we have an opportunity to glorify God in the difficult situations that we face (Isaiah 26:8), and we can be thankful that even our suffering can be used by God to further the gospel (Philippians 1:12). And we can always be thankful that God loved us and sent his Son to die for us (1 John 4:10). It is possible to offer fearful prayers to God. It is much more difficult to offer ongoing, continual, thankful prayers to God and still be fearful. Praying about everything and praying with thanksgiving helps us to lay down our worry and instead obey Paul’s command in verse 4: “Rejoice in the Lord always.”

The Promise

What this leads us to is the promise of this passage, and that is when we pray about everything with thanksgiving, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Note that the promise is not the wiping away of the circumstances that caused us worry in the first place. The promise is peace. A deep, lasting, supernatural peace. The peace we so often look for (and indeed the only peace the world really knows) is a kind of peace that comes when a tension has been resolved, or a difficult situation that caused us to worry went away. And we should certainly be thankful for those times where that happens. But God’s peace that guards our hearts and minds allows us to not worry even when (and especially when) the tension is not resolved. The situation that caused us to worry before could remain the exact same, and yet we don’t have to worry because of God’s peace guarding us. It is always helpful to remember that Paul did not write these words from a beach in a care free tropical paradise, he wrote them from prison in Rome. Just like Paul, we don’t have to wait for our circumstances to improve to stop worrying, we can experience God’s supernatural peace now.

This all seems simple. It seems too good to be true. But God’s Word is either true or it isn’t. So what are you worrying about? How long is your list of worries that you have been suppressing? What is keeping you from having the deep, thriving prayer life that allows you to give all of you worries to God? And are you looking for circumstantial peace, or God’s peace? In order to persevere in the Christian life, stop worrying. Start praying. And receive God’s peace. 

Discipleship Week 20: Don't give up, be known for gentleness

Philippians 4:5

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”

As we consider Paul’s exhortations for how to persevere in the Christian life and not give up, this verse is tricky. One, it is difficult to see what gentleness has to do with perseverance. And two, it is hard to tell what is meant by this word translated in the NIV as gentleness. Some translations use forbearance, others use reasonableness, and on and on. So what does gentleness mean, and what does it have to do with persevering in the Christian faith?

What is meant here in this verse is intentional, self-effacing kindness. This word is used (among others) in James 3:17 to describe the kind of wisdom that comes from God, which is directly contrasted with earthly wisdom of this world that is rooted in bitter rivalry and selfish ambition. So the kind of gentleness that is in mind here is a selfless, others-focused kindness or service. It is not self-centered in any way. Rather, it follows the selfless, self-giving example of Christ laid out earlier in 2:5-8. So Paul is exhorting the Philippians to be selfless, to be known for not drawing attention to yourself. Be known for not being known.

Why is this importance for perseverance in the Christian life? Well if the focus is on ourselves, it is not on God, and it is not on the work of Christ that has saved us and brought us into relationship with God. It is very difficult to stay strong in the Christian life when our decisions, our actions, and yes, even our good works are focused inwards and away from God. And it is very difficult to proclaim the gospel and Christ’s sacrificial work on our behalf when the attention is on ourselves. We can’t point people to God when we are pointing at ourselves!

This focus on the self is a major problem in our churches today. How often do we help people out of purely selfless motives? Very rarely. We help someone because it helps us as well. We help because it makes us feel good. We help someone because of what they have promised to do for us in return. We help someone while keeping a mental note of the action so we can use it to get a favor done for us in the future. We help because it helps us. It is even easy to appeal to this selfishness when trying to get others to join you in an act of service... “If you come to the church work day this weekend I’ll take you out for dinner afterwards.” And the sin of self is an easy trap for pastors, who can easily be motivated more by praise instead of being motivated by faithfulness to the one who deserves all of the praise.

Part of this self-centered service is driven by our culture, which tells us more often than not that the ends justify the means. In other words, if good is the final result, it doesn’t matter what you have to do to get there. But the Scriptures repeatedly tell us that the ends don’t justify the means, and that God is just as concerned if not more concerned with how we do something as opposed to the result of what we do. The how matters. The heart matters. And we should be motivated to cultivate this selfless heart in ourselves, because this verse succinctly reminds us: The Lord is near. Whether this means his return is near or he is near to us in the presence of the Holy Spirit, we should be motivated by his presence to become like him, to serve him, and to repent of our self-centeredness.

How do we persevere in the Christian life? By not being known. We persevere by following the self-giving, self-sacrificial example of our Lord Jesus Christ, by having the same heart. So when people look at us and look at our service, they shouldn’t actually see us, they should see Christ. This is described so beautifully in the well known hymn:

May his beauty rest upon me

As I seek the lost to win,

And may they forget the channel,

Seeing only him.

-Kate Barclay Wilkinson,

May the Mind of Christ, My Savior

What are you known for? Selfishness or selfless kindness? When people look at the work and service that you do, do they see you and your accomplishments? Or do they see Christ? What needs to change in your life so that when others look at you they see Christ? Don’t give up, but be known for gentleness, for self-effacing kindness. 

Discipleship Week 19: Don't give up, but rejoice in the Lord always!

Philippians 4:4

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Remembering that Paul writes this letter from prison, we can quickly reject any idea that the basis for rejoicing in the Lord has anything to do with one’s circumstances. But if we’re honest with ourselves, the basis by which we rejoice most often actually is our circumstances, and understandably so. It is easy to rejoice when you have gotten a new job or received a wonderful gift. And it seems crazy to rejoice in the midst of suffering or pain.

And yet Paul calls us to rejoice in the Lord always. All the time. There is no qualification to always. Always means always. Therefore we can and should rejoice in the midst of wonderful circumstances, and we can and should rejoice in the midst of pain and suffering. But how is it even possible to rejoice in the midst of difficult circumstances?

The key lies in that Paul exhorts us to rejoice in the Lord, not in our circumstances. The basis for our constant rejoicing is God himself and what he has done for us. And God has done so much for us! He has taken us, wretched, miserable sinners, and saved us from the penalty of sin and death by sending his son Jesus to die for us and pay the penalty that we deserve. Christ has not only taken our sin on himself, but he has given us his righteousness, so that while we struggle with sin this side of heaven, God looks at us and sees Christ’s righteousness. Furthermore, when we received Christ as our Lord and Savior we were adopted into God’s family…we are sons and daughters of the most high God! And because of what God has done for us in Christ we have a glorious future ahead of us…eternal life with our heavenly Father!

Therefore when we look at what God has done for us, the natural response should be rejoicing! Even if we face the worst circumstances possible, what God has done for us far outweighs the worst situation we could face in this life. This is why Christians throughout history have been able to joyfully face persecution, suffering, and even martyrdom. Our joy is not found in our circumstances, it is found in what God has done for us.

And not only can we rejoice in what God has done for us, when we do face difficult circumstances in life we can rejoice because we know that God is in control. Romans 8:28 teaches us that God works all things together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Just as always means always, all things means all things, even the hard circumstances in life. So God is in control, and uses even our suffering for his glory and for our good. So we can truly rejoice in the Lord always.

It is liberating when we realize that we can rejoice in the Lord regardless of our circumstances. When we learn to rejoice even in extreme hardship, it makes the struggle so much easier to endure. But rejoicing in the Lord also gives dignity to the suffering that we do go through. So many of us consciously or unconsciously believe in a “put on a happy face” theology that tries to find the silver lining in everything, or puts a positive spin on a bad situation. But if our rejoicing is not based on our circumstances, then we can honestly acknowledge our pain and suffering, and we don’t have to cover it up with a fake smile. Sometimes there is no silver lining. Sometimes there is no positive spin possible. Sometimes we will never see the good, even if we know that God is working in that situation for good. And that’s OK.  We can rejoice in the Lord while in tears, grief, and pain. And that kind of rejoicing glorifies God, strengthens us, and gives dignity to our suffering.

So is your rejoicing based on your circumstances or in the Lord? Is your rejoicing occasional or continual? What do you think it looks like to authentically rejoice in the midst of a difficult circumstance? And what circumstances are you currently facing where you need to begin rejoicing? Don’t give up: Rejoice in the Lord always!