challenges – Lamp and Light

By Jason Smith

Perseverance is a powerful thing. It can make or break an individual. And it can make or break your trust in God. As someone has quipped, “By perseverance the snail made it to the ark.” And perseverance is something we all desperately need right now.

In the movie Chariots of Fire, the champion sprinter Harold Abrahams suffers his first ever defeat. The Olympic athlete is utterly devastated by the loss, and he begins pouting on the bleachers. When his girlfriend comes alongside to encourage him, Abrahams says, “If I can’t win, I won’t run!” His girlfriend wisely responds, “If you don’t run, you can’t win.” Abrahams went on to win the gold medal in the 100-meter dash of the 1924 Olympics. Hers was the voice of perseverance, urging him to go on, despite difficult setbacks.

When facing a trial, we have to gain perspective if we are going to persevere well in life.

The Eternal Perspective

When we are able to see our current pain or trial in light of eternity, it really does change everything. The things that will last begin to stand out, and you begin to give everything the attention it deserves. You’ll major on the majors, and let a lot of the minor issues go. They won’t seem as big in light of eternity.

The Apostle Paul knew what it meant to suffer. And yet, his confident hope in the face of trials is astonishing.

He writes, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

If you were to lift a 200-pound anvil on to one side of a massive scale, it’s going to feel enormous. No question. You’re going to experience incredible strain on your muscles, and your back might give out under the weight. But if you were to drive an 80,000-pound 18-wheeler on to the other side of the scale, that same anvil will appear as light as a feather as it’s lifted up in the air.

In the same way, our present suffering may feel enormous right now, but on the scale of eternity, the infinite joy and relief that awaits the child of God in Heaven and on the New Earth will make what we have endured seem as light as a feather and as brief as the blink of an eye.

A pastor friend of mine has said that whenever he and his wife are in the midst of adversity, they always try to ask the question: “Will this matter in eternity?” That’s a good question to ask. “Will this really matter in eternity?” Seen through the lens of eternity, everything we deal with in life is brought into right focus.

Pure Joy

James, Jesus’ half-brother, counsels fellow sufferers in this way: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2-3, NIV).

That’s a pretty radical message. “Consider it pure joy,” James says, “whenever you face trials.” Joy in trials? Joy in a pandemic? Joy in suffering? Joy when mistreated by others? What a strange perspective. That’s what you call counterintuitive Christianity. And this is so important.

A lot of times our gut reaction to any kind of challenge or pain is to grow impatient or embittered about what’s going on. We ask, “Why me?” because we can’t see a good reason that God would allow this suffering.

And a lot of times we can even grow angry with God. And the way this usually manifests itself is in getting angry or impatient at other people, particularly those closest to us. We can be angry at the situation, then angry with God, and pretty soon we are angry at the next person who is under our shadow.

But James says, “Look, the reason you’re so upset is because all your focus is on this struggle in the here and now. You’re consumed with all that’s going wrong. That’s why you’re angry.” But the short-range perspective won’t help us. We need an eternal perspective on the temporary challenge.

And look when James says, “Consider it pure joy,” he’s not living in a fantasy world. He knows that the pain in the moment is real. He knows how much grief hurts. In fact, James, who was the half-brother of Jesus, was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem, which was constantly facing trials and suffering. He knew how painful life can be all too well.

But he says, “Consider it pure joy,” because he doesn’t want us to miss the forest for the trees. When we are in a major trial, our tendency is to put all our focus into what’s troubling us. But James says, we have to actively consider it pure joy first, because in the moment it sure doesn’t feel like pure joy. We need to see, with the eyes of faith, that God has good plans for us through this trial. “Take the long view,” James says, “Imagine ways God could use this for your ultimate good and His everlasting glory.”

In the Middle of It All

Remember Romans 8:28? If you don’t know it already, mark this verse down as one to commit to memory: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” That’s a powerful promise we need to bank on every day.

Do you love God? Do you have a relationship with Him through Jesus Christ? If you don’t, I encourage you to entrust your eternity to Christ today. He died and rose again so that you could be granted eternal life with Him.

If you do, here’s the promise: God is working all things together for your good. Now, seriously, what could possibly be a better promise than this? The God who knows the end from the beginning is working for your good in the middle of it all. Everything you face in life, every challenge, every struggle has a purpose. We make mistakes. Trust me, I’ve made my fair share. But God never makes a mistake. He never slips up. He’s working for your eternal good in every situation you face.

So that’s why we need to first get the long-term view on every challenge we face. Because in the moment, we just want to shout, “No!” Don’t we? “No, God! Don’t let this happen.” “No, God! Make this go away.” But we need to see this challenge as a test, as an opportunity to grow.

No matter what trial you are facing right now, you will be able to persevere when you first get an eternal perspective on the temporary challenge.

Feel free to comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

By Jason Smith

Sometimes people assume that the stories found in the Bible are always otherworldly, with every page being filled with outlandish miracles, ethereal heavenly visions, and glorious angelic appearances. They imagine that the Bible might cater well to “dreamers” who enjoy predictable stories but not so well to those who live in the grit and grime of reality. But what really struck me when I began to actually read through the Bible is how incredibly real to life all the narratives truly are.

I learned that it was very much a book written for humans and by humans, even though – I’m convinced – it is ultimately given from God.[1] Some open their Bibles and expect to read about God’s people always succeeding and conquering “the bad guys” in dramatic fashion – all for the glory of God, of course! To be sure, there are “success stories” in the Bible. With God’s help, Joshua soundly defeated Jericho, and David took down Goliath with a single smooth stone.

But on the whole, you don’t find God’s people riding one big wave of victory after the other. Very often, the so-called “good guys” are deeply flawed and have mixed motives. They often struggle with doubt. Sometimes they even get angry at God. And perhaps the thing that makes people in the Bible seem most real is that they suffer.

Take Jeremiah, for example. His nickname is “the weeping prophet.” It’s a pretty unfair moniker, really, considering all that the guy was up against. Pretty much every time God gave Jeremiah a speaking assignment, the prophet obeyed but then was mocked and rejected by his audience. You could sum up Jeremiah’s message to Israel like this: “1) You guys sinned, 2) God will judge you, and 3) But there is still the hope of restoration, if you repent!”

For some reason, the people didn’t really like that message – particularly points 1 and 2. Nearly the whole nation made it clear that they would rather Jeremiah just bug off. They preferred listening to all the false prophets, whose constant message was essentially: “Everything is awesome!” (see Jeremiah 23:16-22). They promised success and victory, but avoided the messy subjects of sin and accountability to God. Due to the city’s unspeakable evil, God determined that the Babylonian army would utterly crush Jerusalem.

Rather than a small band of rebels rising up at the very last moment to defeat the mighty evil empire – as we might expect in a Hollywood script – God’s people don’t win this battle. Jerusalem is decimated by the Babylonians. The book of Jeremiah ends with total defeat, rather than: “And they lived happily ever after.”

In addition to writing the biblical book that bears his name, many scholars believe that Jeremiah may have written the book of Lamentations (see 2 Chronicles 35:25). Given his historical position as an eyewitness of all that took place when Jerusalem fell, this makes sense, but we really don’t know.

In Lamentations, we get a sense for what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22). God is always good and kind, but He also refuses to leave evil and rebellion unchecked forever.

As he watches the city of Jerusalem fall through tear-filled eyes, the author of Lamentations cries out:

“The Lord determined to tear down
    the wall around Daughter Zion.
He stretched out a measuring line
    and did not withhold his hand from destroying.
He made ramparts and walls lament;
    together they wasted away.” (Lamentations 2:8, NIV)

Imagine for a moment that the beloved city in which you live was being burned to the ground. How would that make you feel? It gets worse for this grieving man. In raw emotion, he accuses God of ignoring him:

“He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
he has weighed me down with chains.
Even when I call out or cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer.” (Lamentations 3:7-8, NIV)

This is in the Bible! The author continues pouring out his heart with bitter invectives against God – even likening God to a ferocious bear that mauled him and left him for dead (vv. 10-11)!

Maybe you can relate. Perhaps there have been times when you too felt like God was shutting out your prayers. Maybe this even led to a root of bitterness growing within. It’s possible you even accused God of failing to do His job… failing to be the God you need. That’s where this man’s heart was as he wrote this.

But then, something changes… drastically. It’s as though a ray of hope suddenly breaks through the thick clouds overhead and shines upon his wounded soul.

“Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:21-24)

The author has wrestled intensely with how God’s goodness and sovereignty fit with the way his world is crumbling to a heap, and now he has broken through that struggle to the truth of God’s loving character on the other side. He has gone through what many have called “the dark night of the soul” and emerged with a clearer perspective on how desperately he needs God. He remembers that “his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (vv. 22-23).

What strikes me about Lamentations is how relatable it is. There’s nothing superficial or hunky dory about it. The author is deeply distressed throughout the entire book. But I also note how the author would have never been able to see the depths of God’s great mercy were it not for his agonizing experience.

Throughout this coronavirus crisis, many have wished they could find a time warp that takes them to the end of this pandemic. Such wishful thinking reminds me of Adam Sandler’s character on the movie Click. (Yes, I really am referencing an Adam Sandler movie in this devotional). In that film, Sandler’s character, Michael, discovers a universal remote control that allows him to pause time or fast-forward through difficult circumstances. In the end, Michael ends up fast-forwarding through his entire life. The lesson to be learned is that you cannot skip or avoid challenges in life, because life is filled with them – even as it is also filled with so much beauty and goodness.

In the same way, God does not intend for us to fast-forward through the challenging times of life. Instead, we are to be fully engaged with every moment He gives us. He calls us to walk through the valleys, not merely to fly from one mountaintop to the next. If it weren’t for the valleys, we would never grow. We’d become self-satisfied and spiritually anemic. Though unpleasant in the moment, trials in life are for our ultimate good.

Having gone through the valley of suffering, the author of Lamentations can now see God’s glory with greater clarity. Although pain and grief are here for a season, God’s love never ceases. “His mercies never come to an end” (v. 22). Every morning brings a fresh supply, and this reservoir of mercy will never run dry. “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5). This is a powerful reminder to any who have suffered greatly and felt like God was ignoring them in their pain. When you seem all alone, God is still with you each step of the way. Even in the pain, God will bring new mercies. When all seems silent, God hasn’t forgotten about you. Know that everything your Father allows into your life is designed to ultimately draw you closer to Him.

[1] See my article “What Did Jesus Think of the Bible,” https://lampandlightdevotionals.wordpress.com/2020/04/24/what-did-jesus-think-of-the-bible/

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Lamp and Light

Tag: challenges

Through the Lens of Eternity

New Mercies Every Morning