Trapped and Depressed

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Steve Foster

1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 5:1-5)

“While we are in this tent [our present physical bodies], we groan and are burdened.”

“Groan” (Greek, stenazo) has the idea of being confined in a tight place. It is the groaning that comes from feeling trapped and unable to move freely.

“Burdened” (Greek, bareo) has the idea of carrying a large, heavy weight. It is being loaded down or feeling depressed.

Paul says that in this life, in our present physical bodies, we struggle with frustration and depression, with feeling trapped and feeling overwhelmed. Ever feel like that? If so, then, you are human. You are normal. You are struggling with life on this sin-impacted earth with a body riddled with sin and with death. Welcome to life on earth.

What are we longing for? We are longing for real life, for a new body, for freedom from sin. Our search for peace, our desire for good health, our sorrow over death, our hunger for satisfaction, our sense that there must be something more in this life, are all evidence that we were created for paradise, for perfect relationship with God and with others, for abundant life in Christ.

C.S. Lewis once said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

We were made for Eden. We live in the wasteland.

Yes, there is evidence of God’s beauty all around us. There is much that we can enjoy on this earth. And His image abides in us still. But like a jewel lying in a landfill, the glory is there but it is surrounded by the refuse and corruption of sin.

So where is our joy? Where is our hope? It is not in this world. It is not in politics, or in our health, or in our possessions, or in our job, or even in in our family. It must ultimately be in God. We look to Him alone. He is our light, our song, our salvation. He has promised us “an eternal house in heaven,” a new body, a resurrected body fashioned after the resurrection body of Jesus Christ, unaffected by sin, fatigue, disease, or death. This is our hope.

And He has given us His Holy Spirit, a taste of heaven on earth. The Spirit is our strength, comfort, counselor while we walk this earth. He is our deposit from God. He is our source of joy.

So in the midst of our frustration and depression, we look forward with hope and we move forward with joy. Because we know that this tent is not our home. We are camping out until we reach Paradise.

Lord, thank You for Your promise. Thank You for Your Spirit. Fill me now so that I can live in love, peace, and joy today.

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Fear and Joy

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Steve Foster

1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

The apostle Paul says that the resurrection is the foundation and validation of our faith. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then the apostles are liars, our preaching is worthless, church is a waste of time, death is final, and we as Christians are of all people the most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). We don’t follow Jesus because it is a nice thing to do or a good philosophy on which to base our lives. We follow Jesus because He is Lord. He has conquered death. He alone has power over sin and Satan. He alone is our hope and our salvation. Apart from Jesus, we have nothing.

As I read this passage today, I am drawn to verse 9. Jesus meets the women as they are running to tell the disciples the news and He says one word to them. “Rejoice!” In Greek, it is the one word chairo. It can be a word of greeting which is how the NIV and NAS translate it. But the word overwhelmingly is translated as “rejoice” in the NT (62x out of 74x). And personally I don’t think Jesus met them and said, “Hello.” I think He met them and said, “REJOICE!”

Can you imagine? The women go to the tomb in sorrow, grief, and confusion. Death has claimed another victim. All their hopes have been buried with Jesus. But instead of arriving at the tomb and finding a quiet grave site, they find two angels sitting on the stone telling them that Jesus is alive. They run from the tomb with a mixture of “fear and great joy” (v.8). They are bursting with an unspeakable, unbelievable joy but mixed with it is a feeling of doubt, a sense that this is too good to be true. They believe, but they also struggle with unbelief, with fear, with the threat of overwhelming disappointment if this is all just an illusion.

Then Jesus Himself meets them. He stops them in their tracks. Their eyes are as large as saucers and He says, “REJOICE!” In other words, it is true. What you have seen is reality. I am alive. And then, as they fall at His feet in worship, He says to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see Me.”

Do not be afraid. The women have a mixture of fear and great joy. Jesus tells them to let go of the fear and fully embrace the joy.

I think that is the message for us too. As we follow Christ, as we believe His death and resurrection, as we live this life and seek to share Jesus’ love with others, we have that same mixture of fear and joy. We believe, but we also struggle with unbelief. We have joy…but also a sense that maybe this isn’t all true. We worship and we worry. We shout and we doubt. Faith isn’t easy. It is a journey between fear and joy. Seeing the waves around us and trying to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. We want to experience joy but fear keeps popping its ugly head up.

What’s the solution? REJOICE! Focus on the resurrection. Believe. Trust Jesus’ words. And do not be afraid. Jesus is alive. Death has been conquered. Sin has been paid for. Satan is a defeated enemy. And your life is in His hands.

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Activity and Intimacy

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Steve Foster

38As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

As I think through chapter 10 in Luke, I notice a balance between activity for the Lord and intimacy with the Lord. The two go together.

  • Activity (10:1-20). The seventy missionaries go out in obedience to Jesus and experience the joy of seeing His power work through them.
  • Intimacy (10:21-24). Jesus’ prayer centers on those who are like “little children”–not proud in their own knowledge but trusting of their Father.
  • Activity (10:25-37). Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan graphically illustrates our need to move out in love and compassion toward those in need.
  • Intimacy (10:38-42). The story of Mary and Martha reminds us that our love must first be directed toward Christ if it is to be properly manifested toward others.

Martha is a good reminder to us that activity for Christ without intimacy with Christ is burdensome, distracting, and joyless.

As Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem, He goes through the village of Bethany. When Martha hears that Jesus and His disciples are in the area, she immediately opens up her home to them. Notice that it is Martha that invites them all in. Martha is the active one, the one always on the move.

With Jesus, and presumably His disciples, in the house, Martha cannot stop working. She is cleaning, preparing food, setting the table, getting drinks, organizing, dusting, decorating–all the things that seem important to her in the realm of hospitality. Meanwhile, her sister, Mary, is sitting in the living room listening to Jesus, soaking in the moment, enjoying His presence, hearing the words of the Lord of the universe.

This is too much for Martha to bear. I imagine that Martha clanged a few pots here and there and cleaned a few things around Mary in hopes that Mary would notice all the work she was doing and get up and help. But Mary didn’t budge.

Finally, totally exasperated and frustrated, Martha takes her complaint to Jesus. “Lord, can You do something here? As you can see, I am running around trying to get things ready for you and my sister, Mary, is sitting here doing absolutely nothing. Can you tell her to get up and help me out?”

Jesus responds differently than Martha expected. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Whoa. I think of Psalm 46:10. Be still, and know that I am God.

It is so easy for us to get caught up doing things for the Lord. Running around in a swirl of activity. Such things are good. The Lord wants us to redeem the time. We are to go out on mission for him (vs. 1-20). We are to see the needs around us and respond in action (vs. 25-37). We are to serve Him, obey Him, work for Him. The Christian life is not a passive life. But, at the same time, our activity can easily be a substitute for our intimacy with Christ. We run around on our own agenda not His. We say it is for the Lord but it is really to soothe our own conscience or impress others or feel significant or gain approval. Why did Martha worry so much about the house being in order and the food being ready at a certain time? Was it for the Lord or for herself? She would have said, “I am doing this for the Lord!” But Jesus saw things differently.

If our activity is filled with worry and anxiety and frustration with others, then we are doing it for ourselves and not for Christ.

Now at some point that night, Jesus and the disciples ate dinner. At some point, Mary got up from Jesus’ feet and helped serve. Food was prepared. The table was set. Meals were served. Plates, cups, and utensils were cleaned. In real life, there are practical human needs that have to be attended to. We can’t just sit at Jesus’ feet all day. Life is not a perpetual spiritual retreat.

But activity for Christ and intimacy with Christ cannot be separated. I am still and silent before Him so that I can be active and effective for Him. I listen to Him so that I can obey Him. I learn in order to live. I love Him passionately in order to love others practically. I sit at His feet in order to learn how to wash feet. And in doing so, I experience His joy.

Lord, calm my spirit, remove my distractions, be my vision today. And after hearing Your voice and being filled with Your Spirit, move me out to love and serve others for Your glory.

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Humility and Simplicity

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Steve Foster

21At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

22“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

23Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

The seventy missionaries return from their assignment full of joy and excitement. God had used them. They were not academically elite or spiritual superstars. They simply obeyed Jesus and were amazed at the fact that God worked through them in powerful ways.

Jesus rejoices too because in the seventy missionaries, He sees the beauty of God’s plan.

God reveals His nature and His power to those who are receptive and humble. To know God, one cannot approach Him as a subject to be mastered or a power to be harnessed or a tool to be used for one’s own purposes. God is “Lord of heaven and earth.” To know Him, one must approach Him with humility, like a child coming to His Father in trust and dependence. Those demanding that God reveal Himself to them on their terms have already missed the boat. God reveals Himself to those kneeling in humility not those standing in defiance.

This is basically what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1.

26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)

God reveals Himself through the person of Jesus Christ. To know God, we have to know Jesus. Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus is the One who has revealed the nature of God to us in a way that we could see and understand. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. (John 1:18)

Those who come to know God through Jesus are blessed. Jesus’ disciples were eyewitnesses to all that Jesus said and did. We are “earwitnesses,” hearing and believing the message through them. Either way, knowing God through Jesus by faith is the ultimate blessing and joy of life.

As I contemplated this passage this morning, I was reminded of how easily I complicate things. Sometimes I get too bogged down in details of theology and forget that I am seeking to know God. The true God. The Lord of the universe. It is not about academics. It is about relationship. And whenever I try to fit God into my own little box, I have already lost Him. God reveals His truth to those with the heart attitude of a child. I am learning about my Father not about some mystical being or some philosophical concept.

Lord, deliver me from myself. Simplify my heart. May I not reduce You to manageable terms. May I come to experience Your power and Your love in real ways as I humbly trust You and seek to obey You.

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Facing Our Weakness

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Steve Foster

36Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”

37Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.”

38Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! (John 13:36-38)

You gotta love Peter. He is always the one to speak what everyone else is thinking. Bold, brash, self-confident but yet also sincere and authentic. I can’t wait to interact with him in heaven!

Jesus gives the disciples His new great command. Love one another as I have loved you. By this all men will know that you are My disciples by your love for one another. One of the centerpiece statements in the Lord’s final instructions to His disciples. The clarion call to love. The beacon of light to the world. And what is Peter thinking?

“That’s nice, Lord. But let’s go back to that little statement You made before that. The part about not being able to go where You are going” (13:33).

The word “can’t” is not a word in Peter’s vocabulary. If Jesus is going somewhere, Peter is bound and determined to go there with Him….especially if Jesus is fighting a battle, facing opposition, or setting up His kingdom. Peter wants to be there in the action.

But Peter is not as strong as he thinks he is. Jesus knows it. Peter doesn’t know it…yet.

It is interesting that all four gospels mention Peter’s denial. It is obviously an event that every disciple remembers. And it is perhaps the one most crucial event in the life, transformation, and growth of Peter. Peter had to be broken of his self-confidence (rooted in pride) in order to be given a God confidence (rooted in humility). Peter had to be made weak in order to be truly strong.

It is a process that is not fun but it is usually necessary.

Here is what Jesus says in Luke’s account (Luke 22):

31“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

33But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

34Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”

Satan was about to take Peter through the ringer. And Jesus was going to allow it. Why? Because Jesus knew that Peter needed to know that he was not as strong as he thought he was. Peter was not in control. And the battles that he would face in life were much bigger than him. Peter needed to get a full taste of his spiritual adversary so that he would recognize his absolute need to depend on the power of Christ.

Peter also needed to develop true compassion, the ability to suffer (passion) with (com) another person. Peter could not truly “strengthen his brothers” as long as he was convinced that he had it all together in life and they were all a bunch of spiritual wimps. Remember in Matthew and Mark’s accounts, Peter made it clear: “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.” (Matthew 26:33, Mark 14:29)

So why does God often allow us to go through difficult times? To break our pride. To draw us to His side. To help us learn to rely on His power. And to give us a heart of humility, love, and compassion for others.

Lord, my pride so easily sprouts its head. I rely on myself. I struggle to let go. I criticize others. I become independent. I live a prayerless life. Help me to trust You even when the medicine is strong, even when the knife cuts deep. And may I truly love and strengthen my brothers with the love and strength that I receive from You.

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