So You Had a Bad Day?

A few weeks ago I preached a sermon on how to discern the root cause of, for lack of better words, "bad days." We have a few options to choose from. For this post I'll cover the primary ones. First, there is the crystal clear teaching from the Bible that all Christians will suffer. It is a part of maturing in Christ. The Bible says that because of this, we can rejoice in our suffering (Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4).

The second option is spiritual warfare. Now I realize that some readers of this blog may get a little concerned when they see this term. There are two extremes when it comes to spiritual warfare. The first is to give Satan way too much credit. Those who fall in that extreme see Satan behind everything bad that happens to them. The other extreme often comes about as a result of the first extreme, but I am learning that it is equally dangerous. That extreme is to not give Satan enough credit. The Bible says that Satan is like a roaring lion, roaming around and seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8-9). I don't know about you, but I find that to be a very powerful image. We have an enemy, and his ultimate desire is to destroy us.

So now, a little application...

I've made it a habit to get away for prayer and study several times a year. My place of choice is now St. Columba's Episcopal Retreat Center. Yesterday afternoon I left my house around 4:00. The plan was to get there around 5:00 and leave today around noon. I stopped at Wal-Mart in Raleigh to get some food for my time there, and when I got back out to my car to leave, it wouldn't start. I was pretty sure it was the battery. It ended up turning into quite an ordeal, of which the specifics I'll spare you. But three hours later, I decided that going home would be the best bet.

Over a Frosty and burgers at Wendy's (and I might add that I do believe in Wendy's tagline that a Frosty will always make a frown go away), Mandy and I talked about this topic. Why did this happen? Is there a reason? Was it a time of testing, in which I was supposed to press through and still go? Was it the work of our enemy? I was, after all, carving out a day for prayer and study? I guess it would make sense that he wouldn't like it? Or is that giving him too much credit? Was it just a matter of my battery going dead? Was it simply coincidence?

As you can see, times like these yield lots of questions. It seems that over the last two months I have had lots of times like these. Again, I won't go into all the details, but it has been a trying time. Now, of course, it could be worse. I am a very blessed man, and I never want to take these blessings for granted. But I also want to be honest and say that yesterday was very frustrating. More importantly, I want to respond appropriately to these ordeals. After all, I'm called to embrace suffering, but I'm not called to embrace the enemy's work. I'm called to resist him. That's a big difference.

So here's what I'm learning. In the moment, my job is to cling to truth. What do I know about God? What do I know about myself? That is so key, no matter the root cause. If it's suffering, I remind myself that God is sovereign and that I'm his beloved child. I remind myself that I can rejoice in the ordeal, knowing that God is going to use it to make me more like Jesus. And if it's spiritual warfare, I remind myself that God is bigger, that Satan is ultimately defeated, and that I don't have to fear. I can resist. I remind myself that if this is the work of my enemy, then I can rejoice in the fact that he is in some sense threatened by what God is doing in my life.

It all comes back to truth.

But here's where I need to grow. It's one thing to know how to respond in the moment. It's another thing to know how to prepare beforehand. This is what Mandy and I talked about over the yummy Frosty. We need to ask our key leaders at Neighborhood Church to pray for me when I'm getting ready to take this type of retreat. Sounds so simple, yet it is something that I neglect all the time.

The bottom line is this. I ultimately can't control what happens to me. My battery went dead and I had to replace it. Otherwise, I would still be sitting in the parking lot at Wal-Mart. But my God is faithful. I'm in my office instead of a cabin in the woods, but regardless, I want to seek Him today. That I can control. And I pray that God would use my weakness and dependence as an opportunity to do what only He can do in my life, and I also pray that He might use this as an encouragement to you.

Does Satan Exist?

Last week ABC News Nightline featured a four-person "Face-Off" debate on the topic of Satan. The guests were Bishop Carlton Pearson, Deepak Chopra, Annie Lobert, and Mark Driscoll. You can watch it in its entirety here. I was very impressed with Driscoll's responses. I also think Pearson hit the nail on the head when he began talking about Scripture. It all boils down to what you believe about Scripture. If you don't believe that Scripture is authoritative, then nothing that Driscoll and Lobert makes sense.

Proverbs 1-2

Scripture
...then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. Proverbs 2:5-10

Observation
Statements with the word "then" in them usually begin with the word "if." Solomon says that it is possible to understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God, but only if we do certain things:

• Receive my words
• Treasure up my commandments
• Make your ear attentive to wisdom
  
• Incline your heart to understanding
• Call out for insight;raise your voice for understanding
• Seek it as if you were seeking for silver or hidden treasures
  

Application
It's one thing to ask for wisdom. It's something entirely different to want it this bad. Do I desire wisdom, knowledge and understanding this bad? In Proverbs 1:20-21 we see that Wisdom wants to be found. She's not playing hard to get. But there are still things that I must do in order to receive her.

Receive my word/Treasure up my commandments (Am I coming to God every day, asking Him to speak to me?/Am I meditating on the word of God?)

Make your ear attentive to wisdom/Incline your heart to understanding (Am I in a place to receive from God? Is my heart pure? Have I confessed my sins to Him?

Call out for insight;raise your voice for understanding (Am I asking? James said that we do not have because we have not asked)

Seek it as if you were seeking for silver or hidden treasures (Am I willing to do whatever it takes to receive what God wants for my life? Sometimes God wants me to simply sit and receive. Other times, though, God wants me to seek after it with everything that I've got.)

Prayer
Father, thank you for speaking to me this morning through your holy Scriptures. It is so good to hear from You. I pray that these words would go with me throughout my day. Amen.