I love God. I can’t imagine my life without a purpose that is in or for Him.
But what happens when things get tough? What happens when I don’t feel like pursuing Him?
As Christians, and would I dare say as western Christians, we have replaced the idea and challenge to rejoice with tolerate. Instead of “rejoicing in our sufferings” (Rom. 5:3), we tolerate the crap in our lives. Instead of “rejoicing because our reward is in heaven” (Matt. 5:11-12), we painfully and pridefully tolerate the wait.
Maybe you aren’t hearing from the Lord. Rejoice! He isn’t just ignoring you. He’s making a choice to not answer you right now in the way you are expecting. Sometimes God makes a conscious decision to not speak to you. In these moments, rejoice, because He isn’t ignoring you, He is choosing to speak to you through silence. God told Amos that there was a famine coming. Not a famine of food or water, but a famine of God’s Word. He would get the attention of His people by His silence. The people then began to wonder why God was not speaking to them, and started examining their lives and how they treated the Lord.
One thing that every World Racer can tell you, is that the World Race catapults you into an ever evolving awareness of your personality. An essential aspect of this is how you handle yourself in groups of people. All the time. Raw community. I see time and time again (even from myself) people who become irritated and frustrated with the deluge of personalities, thoughts, and presence. Since when does exhaustion from being surrounded by people become an excuse to separate yourself from those that the Lord has brought into your life to encourage, admonish, love, and live life with you? The disciples, who went everywhere with Jesus, were always surrounded by people who wanted to get a glimpse of the famed Jesus. Don’t you think that they were exhausted? Sure, they messed up, and Jesus would sometimes refute them, but the disciples didn’t just tolerate Jesus and His mission to the people. They rejoiced in Him and the things that He was doing, and didn’t want to not be a part of it. We’re mistaking the areas of our life where we should rejoice and we’re replacing it with forbearance.
Christ is to be cherished, not just chosen. Not just tolerated. We need to embrace the cost of following Christ. It means rejoicing in the good times. Rejoicing in the bad times. Rejoicing in the exhausting, confusing, and draining times.
We aren’t different from the rest of the world by simply making a choice to ‘follow’ the Lord. We are different from the rest of the world by our devotion to Him; our procurement of His promises; adoption of His principles; the cognizance of His glory. We are different from the rest of the world because we rejoice in everything that He has done, everything that He has given us, and everything that He is.
There should NEVER be a time in our life where we are not rejoicing in the Lord.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil 4:4).
I ask that you don’t just read this blog, and agree or disagree. Really take time to approach the Lord today. Ask Him for help in discerning what is healthy and not healthy in your relationship with Him. Just spend time with God. His will to have a personal relationship with you is stronger than your desire to connect with Him, making for a receptive God that receives us when we come to Him. Be open to the things that He is calling you to do, and to be. Embrace them, and rejoice!
