Feeling Like Garbage for the Glory of God

 

Sometimes I leave church feeling like garbage. It’s not the church’s fault. It is mine. While I want to please my Lord in every way, my thoughts and feelings are leading me away to a place I don’t want to go. The Apostle Paul described this very thing:

·       Romans 7:19-20 NLT I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

Why is it that those who want to do the good cannot do it? Clearly, God allows our fleshly nature to remain in us, but why? To humble us and teach us indispensable lessons. They deprive us of pride and self-righteousness and force us to trust in God’s righteousness and mercy alone, as Paul had explained about his own experience:

·       2 Corinthians 1:8-9 …For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

The quicker we realize that we are morally inadequate, the quicker we will really on God’s adequacy, the very thing He wants us to do! Consequently, we will love Him all the more and rejoice in Him:

·       Psalm 94:18-19 When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”

·       Psalm 116:1-2I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.”

He is able to transform any of our failings into blessings, hope, and adoration for Him. Consequently, I cry, “I love You; I love You!” He is everything to me. There is no problem too great for Him. I can entrust all of my petty concerns to Him:

·       1 Peter 5:6–7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

But how amid our continual humbling? By seeing ourselves as God does. He is moved by our suffering. Our Lord refused to heal Paul from his satanically induced suffering explaining:

·       2 Corinthians 12:9 …“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Even amid our sins? Yep! Let’s return to: Romans 7:20:… “if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”

Are we issued a free ticket to sin? Not at all! This is not a ticket but the mercy and patience of God to those who have placed Christ first in their lives, (Matthew 6:33; 10:37-39), and these will always confess their sins and receive a fresh start. We are children who want to honor our Father but often fail, are humbled, and then are tenderly comforted. Consequently, we love our Father more and more.

When the Christian Life Doesn’t Make Sense

 

 

I derive great joy when the Bible teachings appear to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. However, when they do not, I go into meltdown and crumble. I had just viewed a video about George Muller who had achieved great things for the Lord by merely trusting in Him to provide.

Instead of glorying in the God who had enabled Muller, I grieved that I lacked his faith. Previously, I had derived great comfort from knowing that I simply needed the smallest measure of faith (Luke 17:6), but now I feared I lacked the necessary faith to please the Lord.

My confidence melted. I turned to my journal and laid out my anguish to my Savior. Here’s what He reminded me about:

1.    We are not always going to be able to find a satisfying understanding in this world; Nor should we expect it:

1 Corinthians 8:2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. (Romans 11:33)

If we could depend on our understanding alone, it would doubtless make us proud, and we’d neglect faith, thanksgiving, and trusting in God. Instead, we’d feel that were are in control instead of trusting in God:

2 Corinthians 1:8–9 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

In View of this, our struggles are a plus and not a minus, a blessing and not a curse, and a gift of God.

2.    While understanding is precious, it will often fail us. We do not even know for what to pray: Romans 8:26–28 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for word. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Perhaps I don’t I need the faith of a George Muller. The Holy Spirit is able to intercede and to guide us (Psalm 23) so that we will not miss out on God’s plan for our lives:

Psalm 138:7–8 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever…(Eph 2:10; 1 Corinthians 15:10)

3.    Even if our weaknesses and infirmities are overwhelming, we are not disqualified from living a victorious life for Christ but aided. Our Lord had even refused to heal Paul of a satanic “thorn in the flesh” lest he become proud:

2 Corinthians 12:9–10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

We too must be content with our weaknesses. Rather than disabling Paul, his infirmities ensured that the power of God would rest upon his ministry.

4.    Comparing myself to others is sinful: 2 Corinthians 10:12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

5.    We also have to be content even though we do not have all the answers. Instead, trust-in-God must lead the way: Proverbs 3:5–6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Our Lord gives us different gifts (Matthew 12:29-20) and works with us in distinctive ways according to His distinctive plan for our lives. We are not George Mullers, but nor is he us. Consequently, we have to be content with our calling. How? By knowing that He loves each one of His children beyond anything we can comprehend (Ephesians 3:19; Galatians 3:28).

THE KNOWLEDGE TRAP

 

 

The Bible cautions us about the danger of knowledge, even of correct knowledge:

·       1 Corinthians 8:1–3 (NASB) Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.

However, it’s not just the Bible sounding this alarm:

·       “In reality, people who are highly educated, intelligent, or rhetorically skilled are significantly less likely than most others to revise their beliefs or adjust their behaviors when confronted with evidence or arguments that contradict their preferred narratives or preexisting beliefs. Precisely in virtue of knowing more about the world or being better at arguing, we are better equipped to punch holes in data or narratives that undermine our priors, come up with excuses to “stick to our guns” irrespective of the facts, or else interpret threatening information in a way that flatters our existing worldview. And we typically do just that.”

https://musaalgharbi.substack.com/p/smart-people-are-especially-prone

We love to feel good about ourselves and to believe that we have all our cognitive pieces in place. This might contribute to high self-esteem, but it also contributes to pride and the rigidity that is often a by-product. Psychologist Roy Baumeister noted:

·       “For three decades, I and many other psychologists viewed self-esteem as our profession’s Holy Grail: a psychological trait that would soothe most of individuals’ and society’s woes. We thought that high self-esteem would impart not only success, health, happiness, and prosperity to the people who possessed it, but also stronger marriages, higher employment, and greater educational attainment in the communities that supported it. (http://imaginefirestone.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/RethinkingSelf-Esteem.pdf)

However, the problem isn’t with knowledge or education but the way it often  affects us, causing us look down on the “uneducated.” However, our Savior humbles us so that knowledge and wisdom does not “go to our head.” Even we hold humility in high regard as long as it isn’t we who are being humbled.

 

 

THE GIFT OF SUFFERING

 

We are being transformed through the way we think (Romans 12:2). Consequently, our mind needs to be Biblically reoriented. We need to regard suffering as one of God’s gifts, as something we should welcome. Instead it has become a source of shame and failure that needs to be eliminated. However, once we begin to regard suffering as needful gift, we can begin to rejoice and even boast about our weaknesses, failures, and infirmities—the basis of self-acceptance:

·       Romans 5:3–5 …we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

God allowed Satan to afflict Paul so that he wouldn’t grow proud because of the revelations he had been receiving. He even refused to heal him of his “thorn in the flesh.” God explained to Paul:

·       2 Corinthians 12:9–10 …“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul even claimed that his weaknesses and infirmities had become the gist for ministry and ultimately community:·       2 Corinthians 1:3–5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

Suffering Grows Us into Christ-likeness: 2 Corinthians 4:8–11 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

Suffering Teaches Us to Trust in God: 2 Corinthians 1:8–10 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Suffering for Others: Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church. The Martyrdom of the Apostles had proved that they truly believed what they had written. Even the Curse of the Fall was Intended to Serve God’s Loving Plan:

·       Romans 8:20–21 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Understanding suffering is needful in many other ways. It enables us to respond to the skeptic: “Your God is not love but of hate. Just look at babies dying of starvation.”

Often the death of babies is the cost of sin. Ultimately, the Christian trusts that, even if we do not have all the answers, God does.

Does this open us to the charge that we believe blindly? No! We don’t reject science even though it cannot answer the basic questions like, “What is matter, gravity, and light.” Why then reject our Biblical faith because it cannot answer every question!

The Bible even warns: Isaiah 55:8–9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”