God of our life, there are days when the burdens we carry chafe our shoulders and weigh us down; when the road seems dreary and endless, the skies grey and threatening; when our lives have no music in them, and our hearts are lonely, and our souls have lost their courage. Flood the path with light, we beseech thee; turn our eyes to where the skies are full of promise; tune our hearts to brave music; give us the sense of comradeship with heroes and saints of every age; and so quicken our spirits that we may be able to encourage the souls of all who journey with us on the road of life, to thy honor and glory.
~Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”… Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” … “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My name.”
~ Jesus, King of the Universe, in Acts 9
Oh beloved, it is true. There is a moment (or many) for each of us when we come to the end of our own plans, and are confronted with a reality that compels us to make a choice that will change our lives and, perhaps, the lives of many others. These moments generally occur apart from our expecting them – and are definitely outside of our control.
We, in moments like these, are jolted from our complacency and thrust into a very good, but very uncomfortable space. It is the place where the linkage between what we say we believe and what we really do, becomes very clear.
At first, we are often tempted to bail out and try to avoid the problem we now face. But the glory of inflection points like these, is that they are unavoidable. And further, what is joyous about this for a believer is that these are the times where G_d tends to simply show up and show off in our lives.
Good theology becomes rightly-motivated action.
Belief becomes conviction and follow-through.
Policies become actual practices.
Paradigms become frameworks for solutions.
Positions become pathways to resolution.
Even so, all these things also reveal the failures of our theology and beliefs and policies and paradigms and formerly held positions. So, as our incorrect opinions are blown away, what also happens is that greater amounts of truth rightfully take deeper hold in our lives.
And Truth brings freedom.
The father of lies hates that suffering brings truth, and that truth brings freedom. It is always his hope that the suffering we endure would sour us to the great commission and the impossible walk of our faith in Christ. But G_d, being both infinitely wise and good, knows that these heavy moments in our lives will not crush us completely, they will only press out the things in us that cannot withstand the pressure. And with enough suffering, the only thing in us that will be left is that which He has made pure and whole and eternally strong. We become set apart from the old and become more and more (and only) the new creation we already are.
Can we see it? All things really do work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He is not working to make our tiny squalid existence here more comfortable, He is working to make us like Himself, and He will not fail in the endeavor. He is, through the crushing moments of life, showing us that we are being made ready for some cosmically big stuff. We are being made into people who will both inhabit and inherit the authority of the very Kingdom of Heaven.
So beloved, are you being confronted by a moment you cannot escape and that might change history? You are in just the right place. Truth and freedom and joy and strength are to be yours in increasing measure through this time.
Enjoy.
