A Response to the Election; or, Hypocrisy, Thy Name is You, The Church

Barack Obama has been elected the 44th President of the United States. And in a stunning turn of events, Christians nationwide have thrown out their belief in God’s sovereignty, their holding to the scriptures as completely inherent, and their PRAY acronym, leaving out PRAISE and jumping straight to ASK! Don’t believe me? Take a look at Facebook statuses saying that God is now judging America or that Obama is the uninformed decision. Take a look at Facebook groups: Smell the BO? Movin’ to Mexico.

We selfish, me-centered people. My goodness! Has God been thrown a curveball? Has God conveyed to us in ANY divinely inspired venue that His plans for 2009 – 2012 are an adamant and wrath-filled judgment of the States? NO! God is still in control! Romans 13: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”

Obama has not (and will not) take away our right to free worship. Praise God for that! God is still on the throne and knew that the senator would get the election before He even named Adam! Praise God for that! God not only knew about it, but according to the Romans passage, He instituted it! Praise God for that? YES!

You of little faith! You ignorant people! Why in the world would God judge America and leave places like N. Korea, Liberia, etc. untouched? What basis do we have to think that America ever was a “Christian Nation” and is now being judged for falling away from that foundation? We have none! Sure, the first legislation and most current laws are based on biblical teachings, but that in no way makes America a Christian Nation. We are a nation run by humans. A free nation, yes. But a human-ran nation nonetheless.

Christians, we have a responsibility to act maturely as a response to this election. I don’t care if “your guy” lost. Acknowledge that hard work that Senator Obama put in to overcoming something that got another African-American assassinated not 50 years ago. Respect and praise our country for overcoming our tolerance. And pray for God’s will and God’s guidance. And c’mon! Stop this nonsense about running away! My God’s bigger than the boogeyman. I’m so sorry that He isn’t for you folks who think that Obama is an unstoppable terrorist.

1 Thessalonians 5: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Get a hold of yourselves!

Yes, I voted for Obama. I am not saying to not be sad that the man you supported did not win. Be sad. But fall on God.

The Spirituality of “Wait and See”

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

A while back, I wrote a short post entitled “Give Up, Give In.” In this post, I wrote of giving God the reigns of life. In a similar post, I wrote concerning the necessity of giving of our sense of lordship over our own lives to God, for it is rightfully His. I feel burdened to continue on that discussion (or, reword what has already been written…twice now, as some might say).

I worry too much. That statement alone proves such a thing because worry itself is too much; there is no measurement of “worry.” The reason I have struggled with worry is because I have battled it poorly (or, incorrectly). You see, I can recite verse after verse that talk about God’s authority, Christ’s sovereignty, and the promise of good for those who love Providence. Each of those verses, however, require something more than memorization. They require a discipline that is foreign to the human will.

Trusting in God is not pragmatic. So many times, though, we champion our “trust in God” after the ordeal is over and the blessings have arrived. Have we really trusted in God? Are the blessings really “good and perfect gifts…from the Father of lights” or are they simply “treasures on earth” that do nothing more than make us feel good for a short while, erode away, and once again create in us the desire to chase those ever-elusive happiness triggers? It depresses me to recall how often my discourse post-storm had been sprinkled with “…only by God…” or “God knew what He was doing,” when my prayers during-storm had been “What are you doing God… and why?!”

As is evident by the latter statement, so often in my life I have been anxious to get the storm over with and learn the lesson that waited for me on the blue horizon. That, that is why worry has been a struggle for me. You see, I have come to the belief that part of trusting God is a simple waiting on Him. Psalm 46.10: “Be still and know that I am God.” Isaiah 40.31: “But those who wait upon the Lord…” Psalm 62.1: “Truly my soul silently waits for God.”

I, if you will, defined this belief while reading Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot. In that book she quotes Addison Leitch:

When the will of God crosses the will of man, somebody has to die.

As much as I know that that is a reference to the crucifixion first and foremost, and following it is a reference to the casting off of the old self Paul writes about, I believe it has another implication as well. Maybe (and I’m still working through this but am confident enough to assert this), maybe the waiting part of trusting God is the death–or crucifixion–of my own biased desires. I do not believe it to be an untruth to view the “waiting” as the death of my will and the triumph (or granted Lordship) of His.

Giving God the reigns means not only do I seek His will, I also must conform how I seek His will. This is why waiting and trusting is so hard! I can blame it on the fact that I am a guy and, as a genetic rule, guys view problems in terms of solutions. Therefore, I view storms in terms of lessons I can learn from them. I can pass the buck to the fact that I am a perfectionist, and if I’m not involved in doing it, it won’t be done properly. But the bottom line is, I am to blame because I fear when my Savior cries out, “Fear not.”

Resting on that command requires a life change. I must realize that the best I can do when I am in control is mess everything up. For as Thomas a Kempis wrote:

What hindereth thee more than thine affections not fully mortified to the will of God?

The Folly of Backseat Driving

There are some things that I just don’t understand. What’s crazy-ironic is that most of the things I don’t understand…I’m afraid of the explanation behind them. I can’t really give a “for instance,” but think of the last time you asked yourself: “Why is this happening?” and the response to your discovery was: “I shouldn’t have asked.” I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. But my life is full of these types of paradoxes.

This was the essence of my previous post. I don’t want an answer as to why certain things in my life just don’t make sense, so I don’t ask “WHY?” out loud. But at the exact same time, I’m dying to figure things out. I want to ask “WHY?”, and I want an answer to that. I just don’t want to hear the answer. I don’t know if I even understand what I’m saying, but I know that this is basically how I feel inside.

I feel this way because I want to be in control of my life.
But the more control I seem to have, the more out-of-control I feel.

I feel this way because I want everything and everyone in my life to be happy, to be good.
Welcome to Humanity. Our motto: “nothing is every perfect.”

I feel this way because I’m scared of not being needed. I love being needed. I thrive on being the ear and the shoulder to others when they just need to talk to someone or have a person to lean on.
Sometimes, the best way to help someone is to let them be.

What’s crazy-ironic is that everything I want to be is exactly Who God should be in my life. It doesn’t matter how messed up everything is. He wants it. He wants everything. The Sick Puppies, secular they may be, sing two lines in their song “All the Same” that absolutely nail Who God is and what He wants:

And I’ll take you for who you are
If you take Me for everything

Things don’t have to make sense to me. I don’t need the answer all the time. I just need to trust Him. I need to believe that my life won’t be any better than when it’s in God’s hands. David Crowder puts it this way:

Letting go gives a better grip
I’m finding everything I’ll ever need
By giving up gaining everything
Falling for You for eternity
Right here at Your feet
Where I wanna be

So in the end, their is an answer to “WHY?”. It goes something like this: “Because right now, this is what is best for you. Believe Me. I’ve seen what comes next. This is what’s best for you.”

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. –Jesus, in John 14.1

Give Up, Give In

“I’m so tired of it being of it being about me.” This is a line from Bebo Norman’s song “Disappear.” If there is anything that more accurately depicts the consequence of man controlling his own life, I would love to hear about it. When we take control from God, we fail and eventually burn out (no pun intended). Now, it may not happen the second we take things into our own hands, but it will happen. If I could summarize Ecclesiastes, it would be these lyrics.

This short post is simply saying this: “Give up and give in.” God has this crazy idea that He wants to be the leader of our lives. He wants to guide and direct us to where He wants. Why not let Him? He created you. He died for you. He loves you–probably more than you love yourself. Give Him the wheel (I despise that song; I don’t care if it is a “metaphor,” it’s still not a good song) and you won’t be “tired” anymore, because, as the Bible says, there is something about giving Him my life that has produces a peace that makes no sense.

Are you tired? Give up. God knows what He’s doing.

An Extension on “Strike Three?”

The Mets lost their chance to go to the World Series when one of their players struck out…looking. The Tigers lost the World Series when one of their players struck out…looking. I am beginning to believe that we should swing for the fences, because missing the opportunity to do something is worse than actually attempting it but failing. You see, I have been struggling with living a life that isn’t afraid of consequence, but consequence that isn’t necessarily bad or sinful.

I am a creature of habit. I tend not to wander outside my norms very often. I don’t go rock climbing because I have an intense fear of falling. I don’t do things on a whim. I don’t attempt much unless it is planned and unless I can control the outcome. But, ever since the lecture we had in Old Testament Literature on Ecclesiastes, I have been wondering how much I really am missing out on—not attempting much, not trying, not swinging for the fences. And it hit me: even if I miss the ball when I swing, at least I don’t have to live with the, “What if I would’ve swung?”. And that has made all the difference in the world.

God, in His rich grace and mercy, love us so much that, although we are living under/in a curse, He still wants us to enjoy the mortal life we have been given. He wants us to swing for the fences, He wants us to glorify Him by enjoying life, by living life. It is one thing to not want to do something because it is morally or biblically wrong, and those consequences should be taken to heart. But doing other things that aren’t biblically, morally, or culturally unacceptable…WHY NOT? What do you have to lose?

Ever since that lecture, my mind has been running a million miles a second. There are things that may hurt us emotionally or physically if we attempt, but with every chance bad, there is an equal chance of the outcome being “good.” And the question I have wrestled with is, “Does the opportunity for the good (let’s call it a homerun) outweigh the negative consequence that has an equal chance of occurring (let’s call it striking out)?”. I have to come to the conclusion that I will strike out every once-in-a-while—everybody does—but unless I chance it, I will not ever see a homerun.

God, I believe, wants us to swing for the fences. Abide by His Word and walk in the Spirit, but live life. Obey His commands, but enjoy life. Ecclesiastes 9.7 says, “Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favors what you do.” Its time I start living that command.

I’ll close with my favorite line from one of my favorite songs: “I’m gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have and cannonball into the water.” Swing for the fences, because missing the opportunity is far worse than trying and failing.

A Lyrical Musing

Below is how I feel right now. I apologize for the lyrics, but I have to expose myself. Now, here is No One Else Knows by Building 429:

My world is closing in
On the inside
But I’m not showing it
When all I am is crying out
I hold it in and fake a smile
Still I’m broken
I’m broken
Only one can understand
And only one can hold the hand
Of the broken
Of the broken

When no one else knows how I feel
Your love for me is proven real
When no one else cares where I’ve been
You run to me with outstretched hands
And You hold me in your arms
Again

I need no explanation of why me
I just need confirmation
Only You could understand the emptiness inside my head
I am falling
I am falling
I’m falling down upon my knees
To find the one who gives me peace
I am flying
Lord I am flying

When no one else knows how I feel
Your love for me is proven real
When no one else cares where I’ve been
You run to me with outstretched hands
And You hold me in Your arms
Again

I have come to you in search of faith
Cause I can’t see beyond this place
Oh You are God and I am man
So I’ll leave it in Your hands