A Message for These Times
"Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I WILL STRENGTHEN and HARDEN YOU to DIFFICULTIES, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand of rightness and justice." --Isaiah 41:10
This has been my life-verse (literally) since the day I was born. Ironically, however, it was not until the last couple years that I noticed the part in which God says, "I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties..." Apparently a lot of translations leave that bit out, but you can read it in the Amplified Version. I'll be honest with you--the first time I read that I got cold feet. Why? Because it didn't fit with my notion that God would rush in and save me out of my trials. No, instead, it was promising that God would lead me right through the thick of it--and my weak will found itself quivering at the thought of fighting my way through battles. But as time when on (and difficulties continued to present themselves in various forms), I found myself doing more introspection. Did I really want to remain frightened over the unknowns, or to become a Warrior--to be, as God promises, "MORE than a Conqueror"? I was in the throes of anxiety one day, when I found myself praying, "God I want that--I'm tired of being overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty. I'm tired of my own faithlessness. I'm ready for you to harden me to difficulties, and to make me into a fearless Warrior. Please do in me what You have promised to do."
From that day on, I saw God begin to work a change. Things that had daunted me and that I had shied away from out of personal insecurity, I now ran towards with fearless anticipation. I'm not saying that I don't still wrestle with doubts and anxieties. But what I am saying is that I've seen God working in me to overcome, despite these.
For many Christians here in America, we have grown fat and lazy due to our affluence. Even our "impoverished" areas are nothing in comparison to the truly destitute and impoverished in 3rd World Countries elsewhere. I know, because I've seen with my own eyes. Here, we cry about our misery because the government doesn't pay us a living for no greater reason than by virtue of our very existence. Talk about weak and apathetic! Amidst all of our whining and self-pitying and demands, we truly have no idea how good we have it in this great and wonderful Country of ours. Previous American generations understood this concept, and they fought, bled, and died to preserve the safety and freedoms we so absent-mindedly take for-granted. Today's generation, by contrast, is frivolous, mocks our military and police force, demands that the government provide free narcotics and contraceptives, and expects to be spoon-fed while spending their days lounging on the couch in front of the X-Box. Their idea of "heroism" is living a virtual reality by playing video games such as Guitar Hero, or else screaming their right to murder and exterminate their unborn children.
So here's where all of this brings me: as much as I would like to see life return to normal (in the sense that I'd again like to enjoy better financial security, mingle socially with friends and peers, go to that restaurant, or take a day trip somewhere), I'm honestly not praying for God to speed up the process for America to "get back to normal". Why? Because America's "normal" has become extremely self-indulgent and pathetic. Instead, I'm praying for God to do the work which He originally intended through all this chaos: to turn our eyes and our hearts back to Him, and to take us from being weaklings to becoming Warriors again.
So buckle up, America! Because God's plan through all of this is not to remove your problems and make life cushy for you again. Instead, He's about to toughen you up by helping you shed pettiness and narcissism, and instead learn how to become a Fighter--along with what things are truly worth fighting for.
(*Side-note: things worth fighting for do NOT include toilet paper, or 60-inch flat screens on Black Friday. Just saying.)
This has been my life-verse (literally) since the day I was born. Ironically, however, it was not until the last couple years that I noticed the part in which God says, "I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties..." Apparently a lot of translations leave that bit out, but you can read it in the Amplified Version. I'll be honest with you--the first time I read that I got cold feet. Why? Because it didn't fit with my notion that God would rush in and save me out of my trials. No, instead, it was promising that God would lead me right through the thick of it--and my weak will found itself quivering at the thought of fighting my way through battles. But as time when on (and difficulties continued to present themselves in various forms), I found myself doing more introspection. Did I really want to remain frightened over the unknowns, or to become a Warrior--to be, as God promises, "MORE than a Conqueror"? I was in the throes of anxiety one day, when I found myself praying, "God I want that--I'm tired of being overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty. I'm tired of my own faithlessness. I'm ready for you to harden me to difficulties, and to make me into a fearless Warrior. Please do in me what You have promised to do."
From that day on, I saw God begin to work a change. Things that had daunted me and that I had shied away from out of personal insecurity, I now ran towards with fearless anticipation. I'm not saying that I don't still wrestle with doubts and anxieties. But what I am saying is that I've seen God working in me to overcome, despite these.
For many Christians here in America, we have grown fat and lazy due to our affluence. Even our "impoverished" areas are nothing in comparison to the truly destitute and impoverished in 3rd World Countries elsewhere. I know, because I've seen with my own eyes. Here, we cry about our misery because the government doesn't pay us a living for no greater reason than by virtue of our very existence. Talk about weak and apathetic! Amidst all of our whining and self-pitying and demands, we truly have no idea how good we have it in this great and wonderful Country of ours. Previous American generations understood this concept, and they fought, bled, and died to preserve the safety and freedoms we so absent-mindedly take for-granted. Today's generation, by contrast, is frivolous, mocks our military and police force, demands that the government provide free narcotics and contraceptives, and expects to be spoon-fed while spending their days lounging on the couch in front of the X-Box. Their idea of "heroism" is living a virtual reality by playing video games such as Guitar Hero, or else screaming their right to murder and exterminate their unborn children.
So here's where all of this brings me: as much as I would like to see life return to normal (in the sense that I'd again like to enjoy better financial security, mingle socially with friends and peers, go to that restaurant, or take a day trip somewhere), I'm honestly not praying for God to speed up the process for America to "get back to normal". Why? Because America's "normal" has become extremely self-indulgent and pathetic. Instead, I'm praying for God to do the work which He originally intended through all this chaos: to turn our eyes and our hearts back to Him, and to take us from being weaklings to becoming Warriors again.
So buckle up, America! Because God's plan through all of this is not to remove your problems and make life cushy for you again. Instead, He's about to toughen you up by helping you shed pettiness and narcissism, and instead learn how to become a Fighter--along with what things are truly worth fighting for.
(*Side-note: things worth fighting for do NOT include toilet paper, or 60-inch flat screens on Black Friday. Just saying.)
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