Trading Worry for Joy

As Christ-followers, because we have a relationship with Almighty God, there is a temptation to believe that our lives will be transformed into a bed of roses or a perpetual float on cloud nine. Roses have thorns. Jesus was betrayed and murdered by the very ones He came to redeem. Our challenge becomes how to maintain our confidence in God while purposing to wield His power in the midst of a world filled with sin.

We hear a lot of Christians ask, “Why does God allow such bad things to happen to His faithful ones?” While Satan is the author of such evil, God can choose to allow it or to intervene. He decides as He does because he loves us so very much, and He is perfect at perceiving where our faith lacks grist. While we may think that we have this belief in Christ thing all figured out, when tested, how often do we falter? 

We should not be shocked when life’s challenges come our way. Jesus tells us in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” The presenting question is, how do we live as Jesus when our hearts have been ripped out of our chests and the waves of pain just won’t stop? How does knowing our oneness with Christ restore our mode of confronting life’s challenges to God’s way?

Mankind’s default setting is to worry, fret, and stew, even though God promises us an abundant life in Him and a hopeful future. Worry is the devil’s form of meditation. It is imagining a future where Jesus is not present. We spend countless hours of thought energy trying to manage the people or circumstances around us so that life will turn out the way that we think it should. Worry is really about control and our fear of losing control. 

There are two major flaws with our worry and fears. First, we think that we have to resolve everything lest there be a solution thrust upon us that we cannot stomach. That sort of thinking limits the possible solutions to any problem to the extent of our own human reasoning and imagination. Were we to allow God to solve our problems, we would soon learn that He wrote the book on game plans and may well have a pathway that’s far superior to anything we might have tried to make real. God tells us, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:9).”

Second, when we’re preoccupied with cares, our gaze is fixed on the problem and not on Jesus. When we’re praying from a black hole of worry, our prayers become manipulative and controlling, asking God to do what we believe is best. It is only by keeping our eyes on Jesus that life in Christ works. What are the eyes of your heart staring at today?

If we are sincere about living in Christ, dedicated to being all-in for Him, then we have to be willing to walk through our pain, enduring it with and in Him, not because it’s fun, but because we get to learn deeper lessons about God’s nature and character. Oh, how He loves us!

Ultimately, we find the source of our abundant joy by living in constant fellowship with the Trinity. From our position in Christ, we come to realize that what matters most are things eternal, not our day-to-day earthly challenges. It is pure joy to have confidence that God is working His eternal perspective into us and others through tough circumstances, because we know His lovingkindness. We can be glad at heart, leaning back into the God who can always be trusted.

Oswald Chambers says it like this, “The surf that distresses the ordinary swimmer produces in the surf-rider the super-joy of going clean through it. Apply that to our own circumstances, these very things—tribulation, distress, persecution—produce in us the super-joy; they are not things to fight. We are more than conquerors through Him in all these things, not in spite of them, but in the midst of them. The saint never knows the joy of the Lord in spite of tribulation, but because of it. Undaunted radiance is not built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can alter. The experiences of life, terrible or monotonous, are powerless to touch the love of God (My Utmost for His Highest, March 7 entry).”

Unmasking Your Superhero

This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

—1 John 2:6

Superman is really Clark Kent. Spiderman is Peter Parker, and Batman is Bruce Wayne in disguise. Our superheroes have incredible superhuman powers for fighting against the forces of evil. But they keep their true identity hidden from the public so that the people they love don’t become targets of enemy retaliation.

When these powerful ones discovered they had special abilities, they had to train in the exercise of their gifts so that they could use them constructively. Without discipline, their powers have the potential for destructive harm. Because of their superpowers, they are perpetual targets for villains. If the bad guys can kill Superman with kryptonite, they remove his protective covering for mankind. However, episode after episode, crisis after crisis, because of his tremendous inner strength, Superman always manages to find a way to survive and thrive.

You and I are superheroes, too. God chose us out of the world (John 15:19) to wield His power against the forces of darkness in the spiritual battle. We can feel like targets for evil, but because our lives are hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3), we must trust that in Him, we will always discover the power needed for the victory. As we endeavor to wield His power—surrendered to His direction—we discover that there is no need to live behind a mask, hiding the power source that lives on the inside of us—Jesus! 

But most of us spend our days living a hidden identity, not living out of our God-given true self. For any number of reasons, we live afraid that we can’t possibly measure up to the world’s expectations, to our own, or to God’s. Those who live out of a false self are perpetually influenced by social pressure and the need to impress or be impressive. They are anxious, afraid that their real flaws and weaknesses will be discovered and as a result, their egos will suffer from disappointment and rejection. They are forever trying to become, to prove and to improve. Whether in business or ministry, individuals obsessed with attention and power have to work hard to keep up appearances. 

From a state of internal conflict, we fail to act like our true selves in Christ because our hearts become disconnected from God and others. Even though our superhero, Jesus, possesses all the attributes our hearts desperately long for—respect, patience, gentleness, goodness, courage, compassion, love, faith, temperance, longsuffering, curiosity, connection, creativity, calm, and clarity—we settle for living behind self-made walls and systems to guard against incoming floods of hurt, fear, anger, shame, disgust, and hopeless despair.  

The ultimate trap of living from our false selves is that it ignores the fact that Jesus is the most powerful being in the universe and He lives on the inside of us. In Christ, kryptonite has no power; the possibility of failure is a non-option; and we possess the most incredible, steadfast love in the universe. God will not reject us, gossip behind our backs if we mess up, or laugh at our fears. By remaining hidden in Christ, we open the door of hospitality for Him to live His life through each of us.

When we live as our true selves from our identity in Christ, the world gets to see and experience Jesus as he really is, and we discover deep, lasting joy. It’s exhausting keeping up appearances and attending to impression management. When we discover that we are 100% free to live as Jesus, we are compelled by love instead of driven by a thirst for personal success.

Led by God’s Spirit, we discover rest, peace, and contentment in each moment because we’ve come to understand that He does all the hard work as we yield to Him. As our true selves emerge, we become the most relevant, timeless versions of His image-bearers that we can possibly imagine.

By living unmasked, we allow the life of Christ to rise up on the inside of us. He teaches us how to interpret fear through the lens of His perfect love and to see our weaknesses perfected in His all-powerful strength. When we realize through experience that God has become for us the most trusted source of love and protection, our hearts are enlarged to risk even more with Him. Our part is to say “Yes!” to living as Christ and accept His invitation to take off the masks of hiding. As a result of living day after day in agreement with God about who we are in His Son, we build a history of trusting faith and a robust repository of testimonies about God’s great goodness.

I encourage you to rise up into your full identity in Christ, living unmasked, with unshakable confidence that you have what it takes. Toss your man-made masks in the trash and agree to live “as Jesus is,” without fear of man, hiding, or striving. It’s the best fun you’ll ever live!

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Love Finds its Purest Source in God

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, our thoughts turn to love. The dictionary defines love as “an intense feeling of deep affection.” We use the word “love” causally about movies, cars, and French fries. God’s definition is much more robust! He created us with a place deep inside that can only be satisfied with His tender longing. He loves us fiercely whether we realize that or not. His very essence is love, and the Scriptures tell us that anyone who does not love does not Know God (1 John 4:8).

In fact, Jesus said, “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you (John 15:10 & 12).” The foundation of our Christian faith is rooted and grounded in God’s powerful love and His command to love others.

The primary substance of the Kingdom of God is His eternal, unfailing love. More than an “ooey gooey” feeling, God’s love is the most powerful force in the universe. It is an action with many tangible expressions. It overcomes all fear (1 John 4:18), redeems humankind from certain death (John 3:16), and never fails (1 Corinthians 13:8). Love makes the impossible possible.

The Hebrew word from the Old Testament to describe God’s love is hesed. There is no direct translation of that word to Greek or English. Hesed has substance. It is a wrapping up in itself all the positive attributes of God: love, covenant faithfulness, mercy, grace, kindness, and loyalty. It portrays acts of devotion and loving-kindness that go beyond the requirements of duty. That is the purest form of love straight from the heart of our Father.

Therefore, love, by its very nature, must move from a concept to a felt experience. Out of desire to be in relationship with us, the God of the universe makes Himself vulnerable to our love by His own design. While we may be able to quote multiple Scriptures about His love, how well do we really know, love and trust Him out of a relational experience? Until we have known Christ’s others-centered, self-sacrificing love, the love we give away to others is but a cheap imitation of the genuine, incredible substance of God’s powerful love.

The rainbow that encircles the throne of Heaven shines like an emerald (Revelation 4:3). Emeralds are thought to represent “successful love.” Success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. God’s aim is to be in loving relationship with every person He created. By His grace and power, He woos us into Himself. And then He calls us to be conduits of His perfect love in the earth.

The synergy between our hearts and God’s is the place where love dwells. Yet, He knows that the bad attitudes we cling to about other people are robbing us of His greater good and impeding the flow of His love into the world around us. The most loving thing He can do for us is rescue us from our refusal to act lovingly towards others with our whole hearts. That feels more and more difficult. Why?

At the foundation of every good relationship is love’s important counterpart, trust. Our culture is operating in an atmosphere of a significant trust deficit because self has become the most important center of the universe. To build (or rebuild) trust, we must demonstrate that we have the other people’s best interests in mind with all that we say and do. Are we willing to invest the time needed to build trust through relationship, setting aside our personal discomforts and misgivings in order to build a relational bridge?

It’s the quality of a heart surrendered to the Father’s love that provokes outward expressions of others-centered love that is ours in Christ. The life of a surrendered saint is defined by his or her joyful obedience to the Father’s leading us into acts of loving-kindness. When we follow God’s plan, life just “works” because He always orders our steps for our greatest good and His greatest glory.

May 1 Corinthians 16:14 be our guidepost, “Let all that you do be done in love.”

Newness in Christ for the New Year

I grew up with constant reminders that I didn’t measure up to expectations. But I hoped that over time, if I was good enough, did enough good works, prayed often, and helped my fellow man, that one day I could accomplish a somewhat more sanctified status, like rungs on a ladder. The problem with such a performance-based view of being a Christ-follower is that it robs God’s people of knowing and understanding that they received everything that is God’s in Christ on the day they received Christ as Lord of their hearts. It also implies that I can personally add something to the perfect, powerful, finished work of Jesus on the cross—and I most certainly cannot. Nothing further is needed to improve upon God’s complete victory in my life and in yours!

Many contemporary discipleship models teach that by engaging in any number of Christian spiritual practices, we can ultimately become more Christlike. I propose that that we already are as He is (1 John 4:17) the moment we agree with God that Jesus is our Lord and Savior! 2 Corinthians 5:17 confirms my assertion, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here.” ‘Becoming’ Christlike implies that there is something I have to “do” to “improve” myself so that I can measure up, be more spiritual, more holy, or more sanctified. In reality, all that I am in Christ is His gift to me. My part is to want what He offers, to receive what He freely gives, and to appropriate His attributes for Kingdom living and being. I simply agree that the finished work of the cross allows me to live fully on the resurrection side of the Kingdom instead of kneeling at the foot of the cross, begging God for answers.

There are those who have reduced Christianity to a therapeutic form of self-help with a focus on “fixing the broken parts of me.” They expend much time an effort trying to manage the “old man” when He is, in fact, dead. I wonder if our lack of being “as Jesus is” stems from a lack of knowing, a lack of believing, or some of both. Perhaps we have failed to teach believers who they are in Christ and what it means to live out of that identity? Maybe it’s just easier to live a quiet life, hoping for God’s favor along the way and holding onto the hope of heaven. After all, who wants to be the radical Jesus-freak that everyone makes fun of? (Count me in. That sounds way more fun than being an armchair critic of the state of Christianity.)

For me, God has boiled this thing called “faith in Christ” down to three little words, “Agree with God!”  First, I had to agree that I needed Him as my Lord and Savior. Then, each day when I wake up, I ask the Holy Spirit to cause me to agree with Him in thought, word, deed, and prayer. The rest is a matter of giving my eager “Yes!” to His leading, then trusting Him for the means and the purpose to accomplish the good things He has planned. I cannot become any more like Christ tomorrow than I was the first day I agreed with Him. I simply grow in my awareness and understanding of who He is in me and who I am in Him. 

The world wants to tell you who you are based on your past failures, your social roles or any other number of expectations and measuring rods. It is my sincere hope to challenge and inspire you throughout the new year to live the fully empowered life that God gave you on this side of glory out of a place of knowing the fullness and newness of who you are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). God already knows. You will find your most incredible self, hidden in Him like a rich treasure waiting to be discovered! The best part is, when you live out of your new self in Christ, the world gets to see a stunning example of His love, peace, joy, and patient endurance in the flesh—your flesh. And He gets all the thanks, praise, and glory! Let’s live thankful for the perpetual newness that is ours in Christ!