Isaiah 21:8-10
8 And the lookout shouted, “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post. 9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’” 10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord Almighty, from the God of Israel.”
Today I was talking with someone and they were saying, “I just wish the Lord made my life easier.” It’s a common enough occurrence that many of us wish for things to be easier, but nobody said that accepting Christ would make your life easier. In fact, even Jesus warns that the way is narrow not wide.
In further thinking about this today, I ran across something that I think is rather genius. John Maxwell was talking about his latest book on Personal Growth. Now, I’m not a huge Maxwell fan, but I’ve read his books and he says, “This is his first book on personal growth.” If you’re like me, it threw me for a second, but he then qualified that by stating that most of his other books are about leadership. But Maxwell made a point when he said that while we desire things to be easier, God often gives us the tools to make things easier. We also have to realize that troubled times can be useful to God. To illustrate this, he talked about a rubber band. A rubber band is only useful when it’s stretched. When you put something slim in it and don’t use the tension in the rubber band, it won’t hold and it is then not very useful.
Giving this some more thought, there are places where we want to see life easier for ourselves. God has given us the tools to make it easier, but we still have to work at it. I would also suggest that it’s not a do-it-yourself project in which we work, but we should be working alongside the Master Craftsman, who is God, to bring grace into what we do with Him.
Now, I think that it’s important to note that God is doing this for a reason. It’s not necessarily for His own good, because we know that He is a good and just God. If anyone needs sanctifying, it’s us. We are the ones who need growth and development. That’s why the stretching is a challenge and, if given a choice, we wouldn’t choose it. But, in that case, we would not be useful for God’s purposes, would we?
I also think there are places where we find ourselves crushed, and sometimes it’s easier to play the victim and cry about what’s wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to devalue the pain that you may feel, but there is little room in the Kingdom of God for victims and greater room for victors. This means that when we feel crushed, we need to know that it’s in those moments that Jesus is trying to console us and encourage us to pray. It’s then that we find victory in Christ when we give our troubles and trials to Him.
I don’t know where you are today or what you are facing. As you may be thinking about having it easier, I want to encourage you that God is constantly giving you the tools and resources to reach for what you are trying to achieve. In fact, He may be stretching you like a rubber band, because the tension and its resolution is what gives Him glory and grows us in our faith.
So I challenge you to think about what you wished was easier and to prayerfully consider what God has put in your past to train you for what you face. Consider where He wants you to be or who you need to call to help you or pray with you. We are all rubber bands in this scenario, but when you include Him in the midst of your life, you will find that the tension is an opportunity to be obedient, not only for His good, but ours too.
Blessings,
Pastor Dwight
Senior Pastor
8 And the lookout shouted, “Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower; every night I stay at my post. 9 Look, here comes a man in a chariot with a team of horses. And he gives back the answer: ‘Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!’” 10 My people who are crushed on the threshing floor, I tell you what I have heard from the Lord Almighty, from the God of Israel.”
Today I was talking with someone and they were saying, “I just wish the Lord made my life easier.” It’s a common enough occurrence that many of us wish for things to be easier, but nobody said that accepting Christ would make your life easier. In fact, even Jesus warns that the way is narrow not wide.
In further thinking about this today, I ran across something that I think is rather genius. John Maxwell was talking about his latest book on Personal Growth. Now, I’m not a huge Maxwell fan, but I’ve read his books and he says, “This is his first book on personal growth.” If you’re like me, it threw me for a second, but he then qualified that by stating that most of his other books are about leadership. But Maxwell made a point when he said that while we desire things to be easier, God often gives us the tools to make things easier. We also have to realize that troubled times can be useful to God. To illustrate this, he talked about a rubber band. A rubber band is only useful when it’s stretched. When you put something slim in it and don’t use the tension in the rubber band, it won’t hold and it is then not very useful.
Giving this some more thought, there are places where we want to see life easier for ourselves. God has given us the tools to make it easier, but we still have to work at it. I would also suggest that it’s not a do-it-yourself project in which we work, but we should be working alongside the Master Craftsman, who is God, to bring grace into what we do with Him.
Now, I think that it’s important to note that God is doing this for a reason. It’s not necessarily for His own good, because we know that He is a good and just God. If anyone needs sanctifying, it’s us. We are the ones who need growth and development. That’s why the stretching is a challenge and, if given a choice, we wouldn’t choose it. But, in that case, we would not be useful for God’s purposes, would we?
I also think there are places where we find ourselves crushed, and sometimes it’s easier to play the victim and cry about what’s wrong. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to devalue the pain that you may feel, but there is little room in the Kingdom of God for victims and greater room for victors. This means that when we feel crushed, we need to know that it’s in those moments that Jesus is trying to console us and encourage us to pray. It’s then that we find victory in Christ when we give our troubles and trials to Him.
I don’t know where you are today or what you are facing. As you may be thinking about having it easier, I want to encourage you that God is constantly giving you the tools and resources to reach for what you are trying to achieve. In fact, He may be stretching you like a rubber band, because the tension and its resolution is what gives Him glory and grows us in our faith.
So I challenge you to think about what you wished was easier and to prayerfully consider what God has put in your past to train you for what you face. Consider where He wants you to be or who you need to call to help you or pray with you. We are all rubber bands in this scenario, but when you include Him in the midst of your life, you will find that the tension is an opportunity to be obedient, not only for His good, but ours too.
Blessings,
Pastor Dwight
Senior Pastor
