No Question About It, The Struggle Is Real!

Sometimes the power of sin in our lives can seem overwhelming.

When I was a boy, we had a large pine tree in our front yard right next to the street. We had thick hedges growing on both sides of our yard, so when friends were coming to see me or going to another house, they’d walk between the tree and the hedges. Over time, their frequent passage killed the grass that had been growing there and created a well-worn path.

This is essentially how habits – and sins – work. They may start with a single action, but if repeated often enough they can become behaviors. This can be good or bad, depending upon what you’re doing. Sinful behavior, when it happens over and over, can turn into a besetting sin, something extremely difficult to overcome. It becomes a familiar path that’s taken almost without thinking. 

 

Even as followers of Jesus Christ, we’re not exempt from this type of problem. Yes, the Bible says we become “born again” (John 3:3) and “new creations” (2 Corinthians 5:17) when we commit our lives to Him, but old sinful patterns can die hard – in fact, some never die at all.

 

Years ago, I had a friend who had gotten deeply involved with online pornography before committing his life to Christ. Whenever he faced a lot of stress in his life, whether at work or at home, he’d resort to pornography for relief. To use a computer term, it became his ‘default setting.’ After becoming a believer, his familiar sinful “path” unfortunately didn’t disappear. One day he’d succeed at warding off the temptation but would succumb to it the next, filling him with guilt. His struggle was real.

 

This, to one extent or another, is true for every believer, whether new to the faith or a follower of Jesus for many years. The type (or types) of sins we struggle with differ from one person to the next, but they continue to entice us. Even the apostle Paul, a leader of the early Church and author of more than a dozen books of the New Testament, understood this struggle all too well. 

 

He candidly admitted, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep doing” (Romans 6:15-19). Does this sound at all familiar to you?

 

Some have suggested Paul was reflecting on his life before his dramatic encounter with Christ while traveling the road to Damascus. However, based on the context of his writing as well as his use of present tense verbs, it’s reasonable to conclude that this “super-Christian,” like all of us, continued to struggle with sinful thoughts and behavior.

 

We don’t know specifically what those things were, but that doesn’t matter. The point is, we all have what the Scriptures call our “sinful nature” (Romans 8:5) or “the flesh,” as other translations put it, and God doesn’t eradicate it when we become followers of Jesus.

 

Does that mean we simply shrug our shoulders in resignation, reasoning, “Well, I’m only human. Nobody’s perfect”? Not if we believe the Scriptures. Because God clearly tells us that while sin will never be dead to us, poised to take us off course and back to our old, familiar sinful paths, we are dead to sin. No longer under its domination. And because of that, we need not wallow in guilt.

 

After admitting his own struggles with sin, Paul offered the following assurance:  “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2).

 

He’s saying that victory over sin – regardless of how long it’s been with us – is promised through the power of Christ and His Spirit: “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering…in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4).

 

What the Bible teaches is if we’re true followers of Jesus, we don’t need to continue following the same sinful path. God graciously offers an exit so we can start following a new path. Something for us that, to borrow a phrase from poet Robert Frost, might be called, “the road less traveled”

 

There’s an old hymn called “Victory in Jesus.” That’s exactly what we have and can experience as we learn not to strive in our own strength and determination to overcome sinful impulses, but to be victorious over them – in the power of Christ and His Spirit living in us every day: 

“I heard an old, old story how a Savior came from glory,

How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me;

I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood’s atoning,

Then I repented of my sins and won the victory….

 

O victory in Jesus, my Savior, forever!...

He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.” 

Raising the Dead, Physically and Spiritually

We’ve recently celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the singular most important event in all of Christianity – and if we believe the Bible, the most important event in the history of all mankind. Jesus being raised from the dead stands alone in eternal magnitude and significance, beyond comparison. However, it’s not the only example in the Scriptures of people coming back from death. 

For instance, in the Old Testament we read compelling stories about two prophets, Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-24) and his protégé, Elisha (2 Kings 4:6-37). In different circumstances, both prayed and pleaded with the Lord to bring back to life sons of two women who had extended kindnesses to them. And their prayers were answered.

Many of us are familiar with the New Testament story of Lazarus (John 11:1-44), a friend of Jesus and brother of Mary and Martha, who lived in the village of Bethany, a small town in Judea not far from Jerusalem. When Jesus learned Lazarus was very ill and his sisters had sent for Him to come and heal him, He informed His disciples, “This sickness will not end in death.” 

 

After waiting two more days, Jesus said, “Let us go back to Judea.” He gathered up His disciples and announced, “‘Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him’….” 

 

When they heard Jesus was approaching, Lazarus’s sisters Martha and Mary went to Him separately and said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha added, revealing her faith, “But I know that even now God will give You whatever You ask….” By that time, Lazarus had been in his tomb for four days. Nevertheless, Jesus replied, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).

 

He proceeded to the tomb, ordered the stone to be removed, prayed to the Father, and then “called out in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go’” (John 11:43-44). Understandably, this caught the attention of many people – including the religious opposition.

 

Other examples of Jesus raising the dead included: the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue ruler (Mark 5:22-43); the servant of a God-fearing Roman centurion, recounted in Luke 7:1-10; and the son of a widow in a town called Nain (Luke 7:11-17). Even though each of these accounts is stirring, the greater narrative in the Scriptures is not God’s power to resurrect people from physical death, but His desire to raise up those who are dead spiritually.

 

The Old Testament provides the intriguing example of the prophet Ezekiel, who received a vision by God of a valley filled with dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14). The Lord asked him, “Son of man, can these bones live?” to which Ezekiel responded, “O Sovereign Lord, You alone know.” Then as instructed, the prophet spoke to the bones, which came together, along with tendons, flesh and skin, and finally became alive: “…I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army.” 

 

The boneyard that came to life, God said, represented backslidden and rebellious Israel. Ezekiel had been given the challenging commission to call the Israelites to repentance – along with proclaiming God’s promise to Israel that He would “put My Spirit in you and you will live….” 

 

We find a powerful description of the spiritually dead in Ephesians 2:14, where the apostle Paul writes to believers in the city of Ephesus, “As for you, you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world…gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts… But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive in Christ…it is by grace you have been saved.”

 

Even though these words were penned nearly 2,000 years ago, they have a familiar ring for today.

 

During His earthly ministry, Jesus uttered many profound teachings and performed countless miracles, but most important was the message of repentance, forgiveness, redemption, and the assurance of eternal life. At the conclusion of what is commonly known as the parable of the prodigal son, the Lord described the joy of a father whose estranged son had returned home. Speaking to his other son, the father declares, “But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32).

 

All around us we see people who look perfectly fine physically but spiritually belong in a morgue. Kind of reminiscent of the little boy in the movie, “The Sixth Sense,” who hauntingly stated, “I see dead people.” Our Lord’s primary concern is not how we appear outwardly, but the condition of our hearts. 

 

As Jesus told religious leaders who had confronted Him after He had healed an invalid on the Sabbath, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believe Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; He has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live” (John 5:24-25).

 

Regardless of the quality of our earthly life, Jesus’ desire for us is to experience every day the assurance of having eternal life, as well as the peace and joy that come with that, regardless of our temporal circumstances.

Overcoming the Fear of Aloneness

There’s a small minority of folks who are true “loners,” who prefer life totally apart from other people. But most of us, to one extent or another, need to be with people. Being alone can be a troubling, even fearful place. 

 

That’s understandable, because from the start we were designed for relationships. “The Lord said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable helper for him’” (Genesis 2:18).

 

No matter how young or old we are,
we all have need for relationships,
to not be alone.

So, when times of aloneness come, regardless of their cause, we can feel desperately isolated. We might have thousands of “friends” on social media, but that’s not what genuine relationships are about. There’s nothing like someone nearby “with skin on.” What can we do at times like that, when no one’s around? 

We might try repeating the mantra, “if it’s to be, it’s up to me,” but in most cases it’s better to be in tandem with someone else, whether it’s in marriage, parenting, playing sports, at work, traveling, or any other meaningful pursuit. As Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 reminds us, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!... A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

 

We’re tempted to venerate the central characters in the Bible, as if they were super men and women who could take on any challenge without flinching. But not a single one of them was a ‘lone ranger.’ They had their anxious, fearful moments just as we all have. Especially when they felt alone.

 

After 40 years of leading the often rebellious, stiff-necked Israelites around the wilderness, the time had come for Moses to step aside. He would be permitted to view the Promised Land from afar, but because of earlier disobedience was prohibited by God from actually entering it. Joshua had been chosen as his successor. 

 

Can you imagine how Joshua must have felt, having to replace ‘the man, the myth, the legend’ who had always guided the people of Israel? After walking side by side with Moses for so many years, he would be alone. He might not have coined the phrase, but Joshua probably found himself often reciting, “It’s lonely at the top.”

 

Moses recognized this. Before passing the metaphorical baton, he told Joshua, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them…. The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged” (Deuteronomy 31:7-8).

 

To reinforce this admonition, God later spoke to Joshua Himself: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them…. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:2-5).

 

Then, having assured Joshua of His constant presence, the Lord exhorted him several times to “be strong and courageous.” The third time He elaborated, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:6,7,9).

 

In our everyday walk of faith, there are times for all of us when we too must be “strong and courageous.” Whether it’s opposition from people who believe differently from us, circumstances testing our convictions and values, conflict with family members and friends, or warding off temptations, we’re called to be strong and courageous in standing up for what we know is right.

 

The good news is we’re not alone. As God promised Moses, then Joshua, and many others throughout the Scriptures, we have the assurance that “the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 

 

This was one reason, moments before His ascension to heaven, Jesus told His disciples, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). After the confusion of His trial, His scourging and crucifixion, and then the euphoria of seeing Jesus resurrected from the dead, the disciples weren’t thrilled with the prospect of seeing Him leave them again. As God had promised the Old Testament patriarchs, Jesus was assuring His followers of being with them always, through His Spirit.

 

How else could they – and others who later would become stalwart followers of Christ and leaders of the early Church – have dealt with strong opposition, ridicule, beatings and stoning, and even death, unless the Lord had been with them, providing strength, comfort and hope in the midst of tribulation?

 

The apostle Paul acknowledged this in a very personal and honest letter to his protégé, Timothy: “At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me….” Can you imagine how alone and isolated he must have felt? However, Paul then added, “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it” (2 Timothy 4:16-17).

 

What does this have to say for us today? It should give us the assurance and confidence that no matter what circumstances we face, whatever trials and obstacles we might confront, the Lord is with us. We can take heart in the words repeated in Hebrews 13:5 and other places in the Bible, “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” Even in our lowest, most feeling-alone moments, the Lord has promised that He is with us.

It’s Important to ‘Be Where Your Feet Are’

Have you ever found yourself daydreaming about the future – what could be, or where you’d like to be? Or yearning to be somewhere else, anywhere other than where you are in life presently?

 

We’ve probably all been there at least occasionally in our lives. This can be especially true in the workplace. The excitement of the job has worn off. Or you’ve realized it’s not at all what you had hoped it would be. You might be thinking, ‘If I were somewhere else, I could really show what I could do.’ Maybe you’ve even explored other opportunities, but no doors have opened. That can be frustrating.

 

What should we do, just muddle through each day? Sneer and bear it? Sulk because the higher-ups don’t appreciate what we have to offer? Maybe even get mad at God because He hasn’t extricated us from our dismal situation?

 

I read a quote recently that applies to those kinds of circumstances. Jim Tressel is a legendary former football coach, including 10 years with the Ohio State Buckeyes, leading them to a national championship in 2002. He also served as president of Youngstown State University for 10 years, and now serves as lieutenant governor of Ohio.

 

Speaking to a former player who had solicited his advice, Tressel recommended, “Be where your feet are.” In other words, choose to focus on the present – what’s right in front of you – rather than daydreaming or longing for what may lie ahead in the uncertain future.

 

I’ve heard of people eager to go to the foreign mission field, convinced that God could use them in wonderful ways to take the Gospel message to people groups that need to hear it. And yet, they’ve had absolutely no success in telling people about Jesus where they work and live. In some cases, they haven’t even tried. Why? Because they haven’t learned the wisdom of ‘being where your feet are.’

 

The Bible has much to say about the importance of being faithful to stand up for Christ right where we are. As 2 Corinthians 5:20 states, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

 

This verse speaks in the present tense, not referring to some future assignment. We ARE therefore Christ’s ambassadors. This is true whether we are high-ranking corporate executives, professional people, laborers, department managers, salespeople, grocery store cashiers, schoolteachers, carpenters, physicians, nurses, maintenance workers, or any other vocation we can imagine.

 

As Ecclesiastes 9:10 exhorts, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might….” Why? Another passage elaborates: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17). 

 

Ultimately, we are wherever the Lord has placed us to serve Him, to use our gifts, talents, experience – and opportunities – to be, as Jesus said, “the salt of the earth…the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-14).

 

However, work can be boring, aggravating, uninspiring. It may be unfulfilling, and we wonder if we’re doing any good at all. The apostle Paul apparently understood that, because he frequently wrote words of encouragement to Christ followers in other cities hoping they would ‘hang in there.’ Writing to believers in Galatia, he urged, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

 

Ancient Corinth with its rampant pagan practices certainly wasn’t a utopia for living out the Christian faith and biblical values. Men and women committed to Christ must have often wondered why they were there, whether their efforts to obey Jesus in serving as His “salt and light” were accomplishing anything. Paul admonished, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

 

That’s a key point: Wherever we are, even if we can’t imagine why God has us there, we can trust that “our labor in the Lord is not in vain.” As someone has said, “if you can’t serve the Lord where you are, you certainly can’t serve Him where you are not.”

 

We can take heart in knowing the place where God has us at the present moment doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a permanent assignment. I’ve learned that a number of times myself. Sometimes the Lord had more for me to do before moving me elsewhere; other times He was preparing me for another role, but I had more to learn first. Often, it’s like a line of dominos – the first one has to fall before the remainder start tumbling in succession.

 

What matters is what we do and how we conduct ourselves, no matter how undesirable current circumstances might be. Perhaps God has us where we are so we can learn faithfulness, perseverance and trust. As Jesus taught in His parable of the shrewd manager, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” (Luke 16:10). This applies not only to wealth and material resources, but also to where the Lord has placed us.

 

The question is, are we being faithful to work hard, pursue excellence and display godly character where we are now, even if it seems to be of little value? We might discover it’s just a proving ground for demonstrating our readiness for greater things. ‘Be where your feet are,’ even if you’d prefer to be elsewhere. When God’s ready, He’ll take you to another place where you can serve Him just as faithfully. 

What's the Greatest Evidence for the Resurrection?

We’re entering the pivotal weekend for Christianity. Annually, Christmas receives more attention, but if it were not for Good Friday and Easter, there would be no reason for Christmas. And if it were not for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there’d be no need to commemorate Good Friday and His crucifixion.

However, skeptics often pose the question: How do we know the resurrection was real? How do we know it wasn’t some elaborate hoax or a myth that’s been perpetuated through the centuries? We could cite much verifiable evidence for the resurrection, along with conclusions of both Christian and secular historians. But perhaps the greatest proof of the resurrection is changed lives.

 

Jesus’ closest disciples, who had become fearful after Jesus was arrested, and doubtful after witnessing His crucifixion, suddenly became courageous after seeing the resurrected Christ firsthand on numerous occasions. These formerly timid followers of Jesus never wavered again, suffering torture and death as they continued until their final breaths to boldly proclaim the Gospel of salvation through Christ to anyone and everyone who would listen.

 

Would they have risked their lives to defend a lie they had made up? Definitely not. If the disciples had all conspired to falsely claim Jesus had risen from the dead, don’t you think when their lives were at stake, they would have admitted their false claim?

 

For a contemporary parallel, consider the infamous Watergate scandal that occurred in 1972, culminating in President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974. Also implicated were his closest advisors. When confronted, they were quick to confess their roles in the notorious cover up to minimize their punishment.  

 

Among them was Charles Colson, who as special counsel to Nixon had become known as his "hatchet man." Colson was the first member of the administration to serve time in prison on Watergate-related charges. However, in the midst of the sordid affair, he gave his life to Christ as become a transformed person. To the point where he devoted the rest of his life to prison ministry, apologetics, and writing a number of acclaimed books on the Christian faith. One of the factors that influenced his conversion was the resurrection.

Years later Colson explained, "I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it for me. How? Because 12 men [Jesus' disciples] testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one of them was beaten, tortured, stoned and put into prison. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world - and they couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible." 

For another example, consider Saul, the highly regarded Pharisee who had zealously persecuted Christians – until he encountered Jesus personally on the road to Damascus. To say that moment was life-changing is the understatement of understatements. He not only became a fervent follower of Jesus but also turned into a fearless preacher of the Gospel, seeking to tell Jews and Gentiles alike about the Lord. He too, like most of the other apostles, was martyred for being unrelenting in proclaiming the truth of Jesus’ resurrection.

 

The founders of the world’s great religions are all dead – Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and others. Only Christianity can boldly claim that its founder, Jesus Christ, rose from the dead. And through His Spirit, He lives in each of us who trust in Him as Savior and Lord.

 

As we’re assured in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” In addition, 2 Corinthians 5:17 promises that when we receive Christ as Savior and Lord, our lives too are changed: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

 

If the resurrection of Jesus Christ were not a reality, those verses would make absolutely no sense. Some faith traditions revere the crucifix, which depicts Jesus hanging from the cross. However, today that cross is empty – as is the tomb in which He was buried after His death.

 

When Jesus first appeared to His frightened and confused disciples He said, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you have seen I have” (Luke 24:38-39).

 

Over the next 40 days, Jesus appeared to His disciples on several other occasions before ascending to Heaven. “After His suffering, He showed Himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3). 

 

Words from an old hymn point to the resurrection, expressing the hope we have as followers of Jesus: “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future, and life is worth the living just because He lives.”

 

We know the resurrection is real, and the changed lives of countless men, women and young people around the world are all the proof we need. As Romans 6:4 asserts, “…just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” He has risen! Christ has risen, indeed!

No So Fast There, My Friends!

With the arrival of spring, many of us are emerging from our wintry ‘hibernation’ and venturing out for travel, favorite warm-weather pastimes, gardening, following our children’s or grandchildren’s sports, or just enjoying a walk in the sun. After months of relative inactivity, we’re ready to hit the fast-forward button for a frenzy of activity.

That’s great, and for the outdoorsy types, it’s about time, right? Hiking, boating, swimming, golf, tennis, pickleball, ATV riding, paddleboarding, or whatever your favorite pursuit may be – you’ve got the green light! But first, a word or two of caution.

 

In our haste to ‘grab all the gusto’ (to recall an old TV commercial), we can race right past the important in our pursuit for the interesting and entertaining. Charles Hummel wrote about this in his little book, The Tyranny of the Urgent. In it he talked about our many unfinished tasks, unanswered letters, unvisited friends, unwritten articles, and other things not done. Wouldn’t a 30-hour day be nice?

 

In actuality, adding more hours to the day probably wouldn’t make much difference. Without proper priorities to help us manage the clamor that surrounds us, the urgent ‘urgencies’ of the moment always tend to squeeze out the truly important. We’d just find more things to try to get done, more interruptions, no matter how many additional hours we could add to the span of a single day.

 

Recognizing this problem, decades ago a fellow named Wilferd Arlan Peterson wrote a poem called “Slow Me Down, Lord.” Here are excerpts from it:

“Slow me down, Lord.

Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.

Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time…

 

Teach me the art of taking minute vacations – of slowing down to look at a flower,

To chat with a friend, 

To pat a dog, 

To read a few lines from a good book.

 

Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise, 

That I may know that the race is not always to the swift – 

That there is more to life than increasing its speed….”

 

What a thought: “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” No one was more aware of this than the Lord Jesus Christ, whose “to-do” list eclipsed any that we could ever compile. He healed the sick and crippled, gave sight to the blind, cast out demons, raised the dead, calmed storms, fed the hungry, ministered to the poor, and most important, preached God’s message of redemption and reconciliation to small crowds and multitudes. All within the brief span of three years.

 

Despite the incessant demands on His time, Jesus always found the necessary time to rest, whether in a storm-tossed boat (Mark 4:37-38), a quiet place with His disciples (John 6:31), or the wilderness by Himself (Matthew 14:13). Even God incarnate became weary as a man. His earthly ministry was relatively short, but Jesus did not ignore the need for rest.

 

Psalm 23, well-known as ‘the shepherd’s psalm,’ pictures a flock of sheep under the protective care of their shepherd, helping us to recognize God as our own Shepherd. It says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me besides quiet waters, He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:2-3). Sheep, a skittish, nervous lot, do poorly under stress, so their shepherd must ensure they find places for sufficient rest. We’re not as different from wooly sheep as we might believe.

 

This is why rest is emphasized throughout the Scriptures. Isaiah 40:31 assures us, “Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not become faint.” No matter what season we’re in, the demands and pressures surrounding us can quickly wear us down if we’re not careful. Hence our need, as the poem suggests, to pray, “Slow me down, Lord.”

 

Wherever He went, Jesus found throngs of troubled, weighed-down people. In giving His message of hope, both for the present and for eternity, the Lord offered this promise: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).

 

So, as you embark on your race for fun and frolic, don’t forget to take a rest. Rest in the Lord.

Giving Faith the Benefit of the Doubt

The Victorian Era in the 19^th century is often referred to as “the age of doubt.” During that time important scientific discoveries were challenging prevalent religious thinking, and some of that has carried over to the present day. It seems we’ve turned into ‘the doubtful society,’ as we cast skeptical eyes on politicians, the media, education, and especially every dimension of spirituality. In the 1960s, demonstrators shouted, “Question authority!” Since then, we’ve come to question virtually everything. 

Doubt, in the opinion of some, is the enemy of faith. They regard questioning or expressing anything about biblical teachings as evidence of disbelief. Some might contend we’re to operate on the basis of ‘blind faith,’ refusing to allow doubts to invade our thinking. 

 

There are dangers to this, however. The Barna Group, a research organization that studies how cultural trends and religious belief intersect, released a report that nearly 60 percent of young adults leave the church after leaving home – with doubt being a central cause. Of those surveyed, 36 percent said they rejected their faith because of unanswered questions they had; 23 percent left their church roots because of doubts about their faith.

In my experience, however, doubt need not function as an adversary of faith. Instead, it can serve as an asset for strengthening it, much as the challenge of lifting weights serves to strengthen muscles. Rather than discouraging expressions of doubt and uncertainty, maybe they should be embraced as avenues for deepening one’s convictions and drawing closer to the Lord. Because if God isn’t big enough and strong enough to handle our questions and doubts, He certainly isn’t worthy of our trust.

 

We find this perspective affirmed throughout the Scriptures. In Genesis, Abram and Sarai were advanced in years, yet she’d not been able to give him a son through whom God would fulfill His promise to “make [him] into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2). As years passed, their doubts grew until Sarai decided to have her maidservant Hagar serve as a surrogate. 

 

Hagar conceived and gave Abram a son, Ishmael, but God in effect told him, “That’s not what I planned.” Later the Lord restated His promise, declaring, “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations…. As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her” (Genesis17:5-16).

 

Did Abraham respond with, ‘Okay, great!’? Nope. He “fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?’” (Genesis 17:17). Doesn’t this sound like a man who had more than a few doubts?

 

Laughter must have been a big part of the Abraham-Sarah household, because when a divine visitor later tells Abraham, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son,” eavesdropping Sarah “laughed to herself as she thought, ‘After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?’” (Genesis 18:10,14).

 

Could you blame them? Decades beyond their physical prime, Abraham and Sarah surely thought their window of opportunity for parenting had slammed shut. Even if God had promised to the contrary. The key is how the Lord responded. He didn’t get huffy and say, “Well, if you don’t believe Me, forget it!” One year later the aged couple did have a son, Isaac, and over the centuries since, Abraham indeed has become the spiritual patriarch to many nations.

 

This is hardly an isolated example. The Psalms show King David, described as “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), often expressing his doubts and fears. In Psalm 42:3 he wrote, “My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me, ‘Where is your God?’”, and in Psalm 43:2 he complains, “For you are the God of my refuge. Why have you rejected me?” But time after time, God proved His faithfulness to David.

 

Jesus Christ repeatedly warned His disciples of events that were to come, even that they would betray Him, but when He was arrested by Roman and religious authorities, “all the disciples deserted Him and fled” (Matthew 26:56). Despite having spent three years with Jesus, the disciples turned into a doubting, fearful lot.

 

Consider the disciple Thomas, perhaps the poster guy for doubt. He’s often called “doubting Thomas.” When Jesus first appeared to the disciples following His resurrection, John 20:24-29 reports that for some reason Thomas wasn’t there. When he heard the other disciples declaring, “We have seen the Lord!”, Thomas reacted with indifference, as if to say, “Yeah, right.” 

 

He needed proof. “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe it.” Soon Thomas got his proof. Jesus didn't chastise him to being skeptical; instead, He showed His nail-scarred hands to the disciple and asked him to place in his hand into His side. Thomas had no option but to cast his doubts aside and respond, “My Lord and my God!”

 

What Jesus said next is something we all should take to heart: “Because you [Thomas] have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

 

Hebrews 11:1 says, “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Of necessity, genuine belief and trust in Jesus Christ requires our faith to overcome our doubts. But doubt can serve as a great teaching aid. 

Confessing our questions and doubts can inspire us to pray, consult with others, and most importantly, dig into the Scriptures for answers. That doesn’t mean we will know all the answers to our questions – but in the process we can get to know God in a much deeper way.