July 19 - Powerless but not without resources
Scripture focus: So how do we fit what we know of Abraham, our first father in the faith, into this new way of looking at things? If Abraham, by what he did for God, got God to approve him, he could certainly have taken credit for it. But the story we're given is a God-story, not an Abraham-story. What we read in Scripture is, "Abraham entered into what God was doing for him, and that was the turning point. He trusted God to set him right instead of trying to be right on his own." If you're a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don't call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it's something only God can do, and you trust him to do it--you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked--well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift. Romans 4:1-5 (The Message)
I don't know how to recover life after severe crisis, trauma, betrayal and grief. Oh sure, I can study the stages of grief and memorize all the scripture verses that speak to me about how God comforts us, heals us, restores us and transforms us. I love the image in scripture of my youth being renewed. I enjoy good news. What I cannot do is take the good news out of my head and plant it into my heart.
Only God does that. It is a sheer gift.
For those of us who have been used to working hard and receiving our daily wage, it might come as quite a shock when we are faced with trials and tribulations that leave us powerless. It's times like this, when a job seems too big, that we are tempted to run from the reality that there are some things that only God can do. We employ all our coping strategies and go out in search of new, improved models for coping. For the smaller sufferings, perhaps this helps. But for the really big stuff -- only trusting God to do in and through and with us what we cannot do for ourselves will suffice. Those of us who prefer to pay our own way and refuse to trust God are forced to accommodate reality -- and deny the severity of the circumstance -- if we want to handle our burdens on our own.
For the next few days, we will explore some of the types of abuses that are occurring on a daily basis in homes across the country, situations that cannot be patched up with a few improved coping strategies and they will refuse to be denied or ignored.
I present these to you with a request. As you study, ask yourself if any of these situations apply to you or someone you love. Consider whether this might be one of those situations -- the kind that will require a sheer gift from God in order to restore peace.
Recommended reading: Ephesians 4-6
No comments:
Post a Comment