We talk about “circumstances over which we have no control.” None of us have control over our circumstances, but we are responsible for the way we pilot ourselves in the midst of things as they are.
~Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of His own will he brought us forth by the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
~ from chapter 1 of James letter to his brethren
Oh beloved, it is true. We live in a world that proclaims itself to be the “real deal.”
And it is not.
We go to the mall and see the pictures calling out to us to partake in the curves and chemicals and activities that always promise the hope of finally making us feel OK about our situation. And He speaks to us and deep within and reminds us: We are free.
Suddenly, we look back at the billboard and notice the flatness of it all. It is flatter than the two dimensions of the photograph. It is dead. It has no Life in it. And we don’t want it. We want Him.
And then we move into our world, though, and we do begin to see its depth.
The depth of its beauty.
The depth of its pain.
The depth of its need.
The depth of its meaning as all creation screams its praise of Who He Is.
However, as we look past the flatlands of this cosmotic system we inhabit, we do indeed see some of the eternity we already inhabit.
In a wedding.
In a birth.
In a death.
In the gasp and sharp uptake of breath as a believer comes up out of the waters of baptism.
Can we see it? It is all about control. The world wants to tell us we can control and attenuate our happiness if we but tweak our circumstances and chemicals and clothing. And yet He tells us a completely different story. The happiness is already there. And it is Him. And He does not change.
He has laid before us a profoundly gorgeous creation and drenched it with His very Presence. And He has, further, made it a place we can inhabit absolutely without cost – for He has paid the entire price of entry. And we can have as much of it as we want, if we will simply believe and rest from our horrible propensity to fix our own problems.
And still we try to make our own selves happy. And this is the problem. For the attempt we are making is, quite simply, impossible. And we know it. But, our pride simply will not relent – so we keep hammering away at the blunted edges of our own lives trying to sharpen them in some perpetual regression from reality.
Beloved, may this fool of a writer preach for a moment? We do not have control. Can we simply stop and believe this for a moment? We can, however, become one with the One who does. And in yielding our person to the Person of Christ, we will indeed find everything we ever thought we wanted find for ourselves in the first place.
Let Him. You are free. Let Him make you free indeed.
