Saturday, March 23, 2019

Swimming Upstream: Intervention, no. 2 -- Inspiration 41


Swimming Upstream without a Paddle

Finding God in the Daily

 But how can a man be in the right before God? 
Job 9:10. ESV

Your Christian experience is good but not great, but you really want it to be great and not just 'good enough.' Is the problem with you, with God, or with your spiritual life?

WHO ARE WE FOOLING? Life as a Christian isn’t all that easy, is it? We think we know how it should be. We parrot the lingo. The clichés abound. Just give it to God. Living the abundant life. God wants us to be happy. Trust the Lord and everything will be okay . I KNOW this is God’s will (this one is especially bothersome). But it doesn't seem to pan out that way. It is irksome when personal experience fails to match spiritual belief.

Christians often ignore the fact that for them spiritual living is empty. That would mean they'd have to admit there is a problem. This troublesome scenario indicates the problem is with them, or worse, there is a problem with their belief system. Aren’t Christians supposed to be happy and victorious? Hm. Yes, they should be. This is true.

This gets a little uncomfortable and hits too close to home. (I’ve been watching what's going on, and I’ve been on both sides of the equation. Something is going on.) More often than not, people's conversations express their true truth and thinking about the matter. Not all is well. It is easy to find fault with the way it is, and rightly so. 

 Christians are swimming upstream without a paddle. 

When it's not going as well as they expect, when the internal dialogue gives way to the negative, when struggles and conflicts slow them down or are at cross-purposes, discouragement or denial sets in. Such is common to human experience. But why does it have to be so hard? they ask. The real reason escapes them.

Could it be that something else is contributing to the mismatch of belief versus experience?

Could there be a reason for the hollow sound in the clichés, when the talk fails to match the walk? Something is amiss. The need for a change in perspective or for a Spirit led, soul-changing intervention suggests a roadblock is ahead and a choice is in front of them. Their spiritual path will come to a Y.  A choice is upon them that may well determine their spiritual destiny.

Good news! They are right where they need to be. God is ready to intervene. He has a plan, and He has the tools. May the soul-changing intervention begin. Now comes the uniting of  human self with the holy Triune God whereby forcing an end to mediocre spirituality. Let the journey commence. Straight ahead the adventure awaits. Hang on . . .

To God be the Glory

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