I’M going to divert from the usual to share something I hope will be both instructive and encouraging, something that was both as I recall it to mind.
THERE’s an old TV commercial that ran many years ago of a guy who wakes up rather sleepy, splashes on a strong aftershave that literally knocks him down, from which he springs up shouting “Thanks, I needed that!” Well, what I’m about to share came from one of those, “Thanks, I needed that” moments that occurred to me some time ago.
I RECENTLY encountered an old coworker that brought to mind a particularly difficult and exhausting incident when we were similarly employed. I had been working on a particularly difficult project. There were a sequence of events both on and off the job that caused me to be fairly exhausted when at one point I was confronted by someone of importance at work with what I considered to be a somewhat tactless, tasteless, and demeaning personal comment. I was successful in keeping my composure in the moment, but it caught me completely off guard, caused me much distress and internal anger. I couldn’t shake the anger even into the next day, try as I may to apply all the Scriptures I knew that fit the situation, full well knowing what Christ would have me to do. I could rationalize and chalk it up to just being overly tired, but the truth is, I had past a mental tipping point in my inability to handle this barb properly, and was certainly in an unsanctified, very down cast mood.
IN the course of things, I took a break from my normal routine to do something that needed doing — prepare for the next installment of my Catechism lessons and posting. The weekly catechism lessons that I draft and post are a compilation of previous years of study that I review, rethink, and refresh with new comments for another cycle of publishing. I always read what I wrote before to sort of prime the pump, to get my thoughts going in determining what to edit, rewrite, or expand upon. What I found that particular day, written two years previous, is below. …. This is what I want to share with you today, …what I needed to hear that day, which caused me to pray after making the appropriate confession, “Thank you Lord, I needed that!”
THERE are many Scriptures that can go with what is written below. But, I’ll leave you to think about what scriptures might apply here as I pull what I wrote from its context and paste below for your musing. But I know you are all well versed in what might be appropriate references to fit what is there.
In the wondrous blessings of Christ,
Joe
Neh. 8:10, Isa. 30:15 & Job 2:10
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“In every circumstance and relationship in life, we are usually faced with making a choice. How are we going to respond to it? Are we going to move toward God in the making of that choice or away from him? Satan wants every situation to be a temptation to doubt God and turn away from him. But God wants it to be something that refines our faith and causes us to move toward God and to trust him”.
I ran across that statement above in one of my studies, and it caused a moment of pause. It seemed like something that ought to be put on one of those little pocket cards to memorize or pulled out as a quick reference reminder whenever faced with a difficult decision, situation, or relationship. In every situation we do indeed have a choice to either pull away or to move toward our God, in so doing to be either further removed from our sin or embrace it, to conform to or sin against the law of God and his purpose for our life. In every choice we make, our life can become more refined in faith, practice, and meaning — or corrupt in willful self-service.
In the same journal from which I obtained the above quotation, I also extracted another simple thought and question that could be coupled with the above –“What is your purpose for living?” I’ll leave you to chew on both of these thoughts in the context of those things you already know to be true of each of God’s children, and in the light of this weeks Catechism question. But one final consideration; for the follower of Christ, sanctification is both a moving towards that which refines, at the same time moving away from that which pollutes. Our purpose for living is defined and revealed in the choices we make with the opportunities given to us each and every day.
