Beware the drudge!

Drudge, even the word sounds ominous. Here's how the dictionary defines it: A person who works in a routine, unimaginative way. I admit that I am a very dutiful guy, who takes responsibility seriously, and who has trouble just letting go and playing. Last Fall, I bought a little Miata convertible - one of the more frivolous things I have done in my adult life. On a sunny day, I enjoy dropping the top, turning up the tunes, and hitting the road. Right in the middle of my fun, a stab of guilt will insert itself: "Shouldn't you be doing _________?" and I struggle with the urge to go back to do some job yet undone. Or I think, "How could you 'waste' this kind of money when there are so many needs around you?" Yep, I can be a real drudge!

In my prayertime today, the Spirit reminded me that His gift to me is joy and that if I allow myself to become a drudge, it's not His fault! The second aspect of the evidence of the Spirit's life in a Believer, the one that follows immediately after love, is joy. Jesus told the teaching story of the vine and branches, illustrating how those who become His disciples are connected to Him and draw life from Him. The principle is clear: No connection, no life! Remain intimately connected with Me, He said, and "you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!" (John 15:11, NLT) A joyless Christian, one who is long-faced, miserable, and overwhelmed with his duties, is missing the point somewhere and failing to honor the Lord!

Could it be that we have allowed a caricature of Christianity to define the reality? Yes, the Scripture tells us that Jesus was "a man acquainted with grief, a man of sorrows." He did weep with those who were broken by disappointment, death, and disease. But that is only half of the story. He also earned harsh criticism from the religious leaders for being a man who ate dinner with those they considered low-lifes and sinners. He attracted people to Him everywhere He went. It is not a stretch of imagination to think that He did so by knowing how to laugh and lift them up. Don't forget, His first public miracle was supplying wine for a wedding! Somehow, for most of us, the only picture of the face of Jesus is the tear-stained one He wore on the night of Gethsemane's agony. We forget that kids loved Him, that crowds were drawn to Him, and that He spent a lot of time with so-called 'street people,' - a clue that He had to be a joyful man, too.

So, how do we live in His joy?

Worship! "You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psalm 16:11, NIV) If we live life, with our face to the ground, focusing only on the needs, the duties, the pressing responsibilities - we will be overcome with fatigue, if not outright depressed. Worship, offering up the sacrifice of praise, lifts our face to Heaven and allows us to regain a view of God's glorious works. No wonder the Scripture urges us to "Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." (Psalm 95:1-2, NIV)

Serve! Stop, Jerry, didn't you just say we need to step away from duty? Yes, I did, but if we give ourselves to vanity, to endless chasing of 'fun,' we will lose the joy of God's approval! Jesus told a story about men who were entrusted with responsibility. Two of the three were diligent and obedient in their service. Note their commendation: "Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful . . . Enter into the joy of your lord." (Matthew 25:23, NKJV)

Submit! Accepting God's grace for the road you will walk today is important. Nothing that happens to you today surprises Him. Those who are His beloved children can turn to Him and find help, strength, and resources. Sometimes He leads us through dark valleys, along ways we would not choose for ourselves. And, He gives grace for the journey. If we submit to His leadership, we can find joy even in the trials of life.

We must not confuse happiness, a transitory emotion that is largely based on pleasant circumstances, with genuine joy. Joy is a constant work of God's Spirit in us, not something we drum up, create, or paste into place. So, I repent of the sin of drudgery! And I pray for the joy of the Lord to fill my heart and mind so that I will honor Him even with my contentment and smile. I think I'll put in a worship CD when I take my Miata for a drive today- and let a song of praise fill the air, just for joy's sake!
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Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n and nature sing,
And heav'n and heav'n and nature sing.

Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;
Let men their songs employ.
While fields and floods,Rocks, hills and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy,Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove.
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love,And wonders of His love,
And wonders, and wonders of His love.

Joy to the World
Isaac Watts© Public Domain

AA and my church

The man's words stopped my thoughts when he said, "I get more out of my AA meetings than I do from my church." He went on to explain that at AA he received the benefit of being with people who had hit rock bottom just as he had, who shared the same shame, who had a keen interest in helping him maintain his sobriety. He is onto something that all churches need to think about seriously! Are we offering acceptance to those who need to be loved to wholeness? When someone full of shame and/or guilt makes their way into our meeting, do they find hope and forgiveness or stares of disapproval and not so subtle suggestions that they get their mess cleaned up?

Finding the right mix of genuine love and challenge to change is not a simple thing. AA does not say to the alcoholic, "You have two weeks to get it right. If you get drunk again more than three times, you're outta here!" Yet, the goal of sobriety is never compromised and anniversaries of sobriety are celebrated with noisy affirmation. Medallions are given out for the recovering alcoholic to carry in his pocket as a reminder of past victories and as a motivation for making right choices today. The success of AA is based on loving acceptance and real encouragement, not on punishment or shame! The 'friends of Bill W.' (AA's nickname) have a lot to teach those who claim to be friends of Jesus Christ.

The Bible says that God wants His people to a "glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. . . . holy and without fault." (Ephesians 5:27, NLT) And how does He accomplish this? With love, drawing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. A high priority in our fellowship must be to "see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24-25, The Message)

How do you relate to other Believers?
Are you quick to criticize?
Are you willing to be authentic and transparent in your own struggles with faith and obedience? Do you celebrate successes - yours and others?
Are you letting others encourage you and offering the same to someone in need?

Make the love of Christ practical. If you know a person who is struggling to make it, whose walk with Jesus is faltering, pick up the phone and reach out. No, don't start out the conversation by saying, "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in church for months." Tell them you miss them. Ask them if you can help them today or if there is something you can pray for with them, and then do it, right then. Instead of rushing into church right at 10 and leaving at the closing prayer, come and talk with your brothers and sisters. Listen and learn. Be a friend and create bonds around the shared passion for Christ and His church.

I don't want AA to be better at 'being the Church' than we are! I am glad for AA and deeply appreciate their mission, but the Church has something even better to offer. We are the redeemed, the transformed, the family of God. Jesus Christ announced His mission with these words. Prayerfully consider them and ask the Lord to make them true of your life and your church. What a mission statement!

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come." (Luke 4:18-19, NLT)

A Priest Who Understands

When I wrote of the silence of God yesterday, I included this, "It's not an intellectual explanation I seek. I long for the touch of the Savior." As I pondered and prayed, I began to realize that the Savior does understand exactly what I am experiencing, for He experienced it, too. At the Crucifixion, even as He was put through physical suffering that is almost beyond my comprehension at the hands of cruel soldiers, He dealt with another kind of pain that was less visible, but more intense! He felt forsaken by God! "About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'"Matthew 27:46, NIV)

Jesus is God. From the foundation of Creation, He knew the plan of salvation. When He left Heaven to become the Incarnate God-Man, he clearly understood His mission. When He taught His disciples, He told them of what must happen to Him. He knew, yet when He went through the terrible experience that brought us forgiveness and reconciliation, He still felt alone and abandoned by His Father. So I conclude that even if we know what is happening to us, even if we can logically explain our situation, we may still feel alone!

Here's what I did with this. I thanked the Lord Jesus for standing alongside of me. He has promised to pray for me. "Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." (Hebrews 7:24-26, NIV) I give up my desire to press for explanations, release my demands for an easy or simple conclusion. I will just stand by Him, thankful that He knows my heart and that He will be my Priest in Heaven!

If we are willing to just trust God without demanding answers, we will become better comforters to those who suffer, too. Yesterday, I had the privilege of sitting with Andre D., a man from the congregation who has fought cancer's ravages for a long time. His cancer is now advanced, his body and spirit weakened. Instead of trying to offer explanations or even to 'make him feel better' I just listened while he talked and shared his tears. Our fellowship was sweet for a short time as I allowed myself to become "Jesus with skin on" for him. When we prayed, together we just stood alongside of Jesus Christ, by faith, and were comforted that He knew our sense of loneliness and that He was praying for us at the right hand of the God of Glory.

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Jesus, what a Friend for sinners,
Jesus, Lover of my soul.
Friends may fail me,
Foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Hallelujah, what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving;
He is with me to the end!

Chapman, public domain

When God is Silent

For six months since his cancer diagnosis, I have visited my Dad almost weekly. Seeing the way that his strength is sapped, his body weakened, breaks my heart. I awaken at the dawn, lifting him to the Father in Heaven. Seldom do I go to sleep without asking the Lord to be with him and with my mother. And, God appears to be silent! I pray to understand this trial and hear only more silence. I ask for some sense of serenity and feel as though He has ignored my cry! Well-meaning friends assure me that "God has a plan," but right now, even though I know the words are true, they irritate me much more than comfort. Others offer up that "the rain falls on the just and the unjust," a phrase that by this time offers little solace. I long for a word from Heaven, the Spirit's comfort. It is not an intellectual explanation I seek. I long for the touch of the Savior. My faith in God is not in jeopardy. I know Him well and trust Him. It is His silence that is hard to bear.

Ever been there, dear Believer? Seasons like this are named many ways by others. St. John of the Cross called such a time the "dark night of the soul." I have heard others refer to the "dry desert journeying" when the soul is thirsty for God's love. The tempter attempts to turn our focus to ourselves, to make us feel as though we have caused God's silence, and when he succeeds a sense of false guilt is added to our sorrow! In fact, we cannot always know why God is silent and we have only to hold onto His promises while we wait.

David sings of God's silence and his words are a source of comfort for me in the Word. In the Psalms, he writes: "I will praise you with songs. I will be careful to live a blameless life— when will you come to help me?" (Psalm 101:1-2, NLT) In a much more desperate tone, he cries: "Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers. My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food." (Psalm 102:1-4, NIV)

What then can I do during this dark night?

First is to continue in what He has said to me in the past and in His Word. His present silence does not mean that I should forget to love Him or to love others, the two commands that are the foundation of all the will of God.

Second is to keep my eyes looking to heaven. Should I look to the things of this earth to heal the wound of my soul that can only be healed by His touch? Many is the person who has gone onto the rocks and wrecked their life when they sought some temporary comfort for the distress of their soul.

Third is to go "Steady on, to endure!" This is the directive of the Word for such times. "Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong." (Hebrews 12:13, NLT)

Fourth is to weep, but not allow bitterness to take hold. To question God's seeming absence is no sin. To wonder why we are not able to hear His voice or sense the comfort of the Spirit is quite acceptable. To rail on Him, to accuse Him of being uncaring, unloving, or unjust only creates a place for doubt to flourish and bitterness to take root. The Word warns that from that root of bitterness comes great and troubling discontent!

If you, too, are bearing the silence of God, join me in an earnest prayer for faithfulness! This was what I asked of Him today that He would see my weakness and make it an opportunity to display His power, that He would defend me against the Destroyer and keep me faithful. Ask Him the same. He will do it, for His glory and His own Name's sake. Amen.
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"Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken."
O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

To you, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:
"What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help."

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and
clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever."

(Psalm 30:4-12, NIV)