Good Thursday morning! The snow and cold have arrived with the start of December. Right on schedule! I see one of those headlines today that makes me wonder. Often we can see the end of a political candidacy when the candidate suddenly spouts a statement or two that just makes a person pause to ask: "Did he really say that?" Some statements stand out so much and insult so many people, i.e. voters, that no amount of damage control or public apology can salvage the election. Yes, there may indeed be someone in America who can be labeled as stupid, but guess what? He gets to vote!
In a pressure-filled situation, you or I might do the same thing at some point. The pressure may become so burdensome that prayer even seems to provide no relief. In such a situation one of us may simply attempt to pull the plug. We might say something insulting to the boss, a career-killer kind of statement. We might write a note or e-mail that can only have one outcome - the termination of the situation. The words might not be in anger, insulting, or sinful, but the end has been spoken. At first, we might be ashamed of our action, but could there be a plan involved, perhaps even a plan of God's own doing? In the first century, God used persecution to scatter the Good News of Christ around the world.
The first century Christians were centered in Jerusalem, but the pressure of persecution became so great that the people had to scatter. At first the action may have seemed cowardly or shameful, but it may also have been the only way that God could get the people to move where he wanted them to go. Paul wrote some great words from prison. Probably not his ideal situation. I'm sure he would much rather have written from a nice balcony at an estate overlooking the Aegean Sea. Of course, we might have today some epistles that read like travel brochures to a nice resort, not quite pictures of the Christian suffering we face. God may have a plan for the pressure in our lives, a plan that will turn to our good.
The plan may be that we stand against the pressure and endure, or the plan may be that we move out from under the situation. You and I are not called to hold up the planet; Jesus takes care of that with his command. We are to follow where Jesus leads, but sometimes our Lord may give us a push from the backside to get us moving in a new direction. We tend to cling to what we know, no matter how difficult the situation has become. A new life may await just over the side of that rut a Christian is holding onto right now. I have experienced a couple of those pushes in my life, and I think most of you will be able to recall similar times in your own life. A push up and over the side of a rut may hurt a bit at first, but God has our good in mind and will never leave us.
Have a wonderful cold day! Bucky
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