Goodness is possible—but just barely.
Motives are speckled with selfishness, entire lifetimes are given to greed, and conversations are glutted with gossip and judgment. Possessions demonstrate blessing, finders are keepers, vengeance is sweet, and power justifies policy. An alcoholic drinks away his pay check, a single mother stuffs her kids with cheap junk food, and a man asks churches for money under an alias in order to pay for his family's hotel room.
Wake up from the American Dream.
Look at the shattered hopes and possibilities strewn on highways, in offices, and on lonely bar stools. Mid-life, middle-manager, middle of the traffic jam, middle class, and middle of nowhere: this isn't what they had in mind. It crept up - a bad dream soon infecting every waking hour.
Escape becomes the only option. Run. Run from this painful, disappointing, and cruel world. Turn on the TV, click on the computer, watch a movie, or read a magazine.
Stay busy.
Do anything but think. Never reflect on circumstances, just keep going. March on to whatever is ahead. Thinking tempts good people to stop and reflect on their miserable lives.
Think about it and everything falls apart. The TV, sports, shopping, possessions, games, every material item, every diversion: vain, useless wastes.
Don't look at other people. They're just broken and deeply flawed individuals trying to get by - everyone is by the way. Everyone hates, lusts, cheats, steals, and lies. Some are worse off. Some hide it better. But these vices are present in every person: a bubbling pool of lava prepared to burst at any moment.
It's not a wonderful life.
And still hope hangs on.
Embrace brokenness. Look it straight on. Don't miss a single shard of this mess we call life.
Now look to God; show it all to him. Don't hide anything, or it will remain as a haunting menace. Ask God for healing. Ask him to restore that broken life before him and for the freedom to look at it without fear, shame, or need of diversion. Let his love fill in the gaps, bring peace to unanswered questions, and build fresh hope for tomorrow.
Leave that brokenness with God and move forward by faith that he's healing broken lives and making new dreams and realities possible.
|
Ed, I know intimately the "middle" of which you speak. It's a hard place to be. It reminds me of Ecclesiastes, where Solomon writes of the vanity of everything we pursue... I'm a pastor and have pursued my share of vain things, even in the name of "ministry", especially the "success" we all seem to want so badly! I'm learning to repent and pursue Jesus instead; He then gives me a reason to say something to others... Something interesting about "motives"...when someone hurts us by what they say or do, they are wrong. When WE do or say something that hurts another person, we say our "motive" was right. Jesus said He knows us by "what we do"...(Matthew 25:40)... Be Blessed (Matthew 5:3-12)! Jim
Timely piece for this Lenten season. Thank you.
"Ask God for healing. Ask him to restore that broken life before him and for the freedom to look at it without fear, shame, or need of diversion."
And when he ignores you and doesn't heal you, what then?
Thanks for the comments!
Hippo, I don't know your situation. All I can say is keep knocking, keep asking, keep hoping. Our hope is in a God who suffered and was even ignored for a time.
I think it can be dangerous to equate an unanswered prayer with God's ambivalence toward you, but I'm not sure if you're saying that. Sometimes God doesn't heal us. That's the gist of Hebrews 11. All that we can do is press in by faith and keep watch for God's reply.
I hope these two thoughts do not minimize your situation or blow it off. The scriptures do anticipate such struggles, but that does not make them any easier to bear.
Blessings. Ed
In response to Hippo, something my dad said as he was preparing for prostate cancer surgery made a lot of sense to me, and I keep going back to it: - God is more interested in your character than He is in your comfort. -
but He is aware, and He loves you. Press on.
Wouldn't it be great if we lived in a church that embraced brokenness? I visited this church the other day and the pastor said, and I quote; "We (the pastoral staff) are not poor, we are not sick, we are not depressed and we wouldn't trade our marriages for anything." I was floored, I literally started to laugh out loud. The thing is, leadership within the Christian community rarely owns up to its own brokenness. Whether it is something as honest as the pastor I heard or as subtle as a pastor who preaches at a congregation every Sunday without owning up to his own issues, one way or another Christian leadership is saying "we are good enough and why aren't you?" But whats the truth? The truth is they are as broken as the rest of us. And not just in anger, or letting a curse word slip, or whatever safe "sin" they have mustered up the courage to confess. Of course it isn't just their fault, we "lay" people don't give them room for sin. Somehow we expect them to be perfect if they are going to teach us. What a load of crap. Lets all be adults about this and start admitting that we all live in the same flesh, we all fight the same enemy, and we are all swimming in this perverted world. I need you and you need me and we all need Jesus. (That could be a great chorus for a cheesy Christian song) Ok lots of love, I'm going to bed now. Thanks for article. And Hippo...I don't know what to tell you...sometimes God is a real jerk, but where else are you going to go?
"When He ignores you and doesn't heal you" and even allows you to be crucified... we still have the choice to trust Him or not. Sometimes three days can make a big difference... It isn't easy, but what's left that won't fail us even more miserably in the end? We still ask, and we still hope, and we still pray, and then we trust Him no matter what. I guess that's the bottom line, isn't it?
"Sometimes God doesn't heal us."
Then why follow him? Why worship him?
"Embrace brokenness. Look it straight on."
What does that mean? It sounds quite morbid to me. Thinking about how broken and messed you are is not a good idea, it only makes you more depressed and more resentful. So i have to disagree with your advice here. Asking God to help is also not a good idea, because when he chooses to help, the result is only more resentment towards God.
Sorry in the above comment i meant to say when he chooses NOT to help
"Hippo, I don't know your situation. All I can say is keep knocking, keep asking, keep hoping"
i hate God, he has ignored me, and I have moved on to hating him. i would like to hurt him, and hurt his people and his church.
So to sum up, your article is basically saying "if at first you don't succeed, try try again."
(2)
Ed, I know intimately the "middle" of which you speak. It's a hard place to be. It reminds me of Ecclesiastes, where Solomon writes of the vanity of everything we pursue... I'm a pastor and have pursued my share of vain things, even in the name of "ministry", especially the "success" we all seem to want so badly! I'm learning to repent and pursue Jesus instead; He then gives me a reason to say something to others... Something interesting about "motives"...when someone hurts us by what they say or do, they are wrong. When WE do or say something that hurts another person, we say our "motive" was right. Jesus said He knows us by "what we do"...(Matthew 25:40)... Be Blessed (Matthew 5:3-12)! Jim Posted by Jim Black | Posted at 03/08/2007 6:51 AM
Timely piece for this Lenten season. Thank you. Posted by julia bloom | Posted at 03/08/2007 9:24 AM
"Ask God for healing. Ask him to restore that broken life before him and for the freedom to look at it without fear, shame, or need of diversion."
And when he ignores you and doesn't heal you, what then?
Posted by Hippo | Posted at 03/08/2007 10:47 AMThanks for the comments!
Hippo, I don't know your situation. All I can say is keep knocking, keep asking, keep hoping. Our hope is in a God who suffered and was even ignored for a time.
I think it can be dangerous to equate an unanswered prayer with God's ambivalence toward you, but I'm not sure if you're saying that. Sometimes God doesn't heal us. That's the gist of Hebrews 11. All that we can do is press in by faith and keep watch for God's reply.
I hope these two thoughts do not minimize your situation or blow it off. The scriptures do anticipate such struggles, but that does not make them any easier to bear.
Blessings. Ed
Posted by Ed Cyzewski | Posted at 03/08/2007 12:04 PMIn response to Hippo, something my dad said as he was preparing for prostate cancer surgery made a lot of sense to me, and I keep going back to it: - God is more interested in your character than He is in your comfort. -
but He is aware, and He loves you. Press on.
Posted by Heather Pleier | Posted at 03/09/2007 1:54 AMWouldn't it be great if we lived in a church that embraced brokenness? I visited this church the other day and the pastor said, and I quote; "We (the pastoral staff) are not poor, we are not sick, we are not depressed and we wouldn't trade our marriages for anything." I was floored, I literally started to laugh out loud. The thing is, leadership within the Christian community rarely owns up to its own brokenness. Whether it is something as honest as the pastor I heard or as subtle as a pastor who preaches at a congregation every Sunday without owning up to his own issues, one way or another Christian leadership is saying "we are good enough and why aren't you?" But whats the truth? The truth is they are as broken as the rest of us. And not just in anger, or letting a curse word slip, or whatever safe "sin" they have mustered up the courage to confess. Of course it isn't just their fault, we "lay" people don't give them room for sin. Somehow we expect them to be perfect if they are going to teach us. What a load of crap. Lets all be adults about this and start admitting that we all live in the same flesh, we all fight the same enemy, and we are all swimming in this perverted world. I need you and you need me and we all need Jesus. (That could be a great chorus for a cheesy Christian song) Ok lots of love, I'm going to bed now. Thanks for article. And Hippo...I don't know what to tell you...sometimes God is a real jerk, but where else are you going to go? Posted by Nick | Posted at 03/09/2007 9:46 PM
"When He ignores you and doesn't heal you" and even allows you to be crucified... we still have the choice to trust Him or not. Sometimes three days can make a big difference... It isn't easy, but what's left that won't fail us even more miserably in the end? We still ask, and we still hope, and we still pray, and then we trust Him no matter what. I guess that's the bottom line, isn't it? Posted by phil | Posted at 03/10/2007 2:29 PM
"Sometimes God doesn't heal us."
Then why follow him? Why worship him?
Posted by Hippo | Posted at 03/11/2007 12:28 PM"Embrace brokenness. Look it straight on."
What does that mean? It sounds quite morbid to me. Thinking about how broken and messed you are is not a good idea, it only makes you more depressed and more resentful. So i have to disagree with your advice here. Asking God to help is also not a good idea, because when he chooses to help, the result is only more resentment towards God.
Posted by Hippo | Posted at 03/11/2007 12:32 PMSorry in the above comment i meant to say when he chooses NOT to help Posted by Hippo | Posted at 03/11/2007 12:33 PM
"Hippo, I don't know your situation. All I can say is keep knocking, keep asking, keep hoping"
i hate God, he has ignored me, and I have moved on to hating him. i would like to hurt him, and hurt his people and his church.
Posted by Hippo | Posted at 03/11/2007 12:34 PMSo to sum up, your article is basically saying "if at first you don't succeed, try try again." Posted by Hippo | Posted at 03/11/2007 12:37 PM