Romans 5 "...because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."This is one of my favorite scripture passages and one that I come back to frequently. It's hard to admit, but my faith in God is, seemingly, cyclical. Sometimes it feels like riding a Ferris wheel; One day, or week, or month I am so inspired, so filled with spirit and love, but before I realize it I'm lost again. Not without faith, but without enough conviction or energy to live my faith. It's sad to reflect on this, it brings me shame, but at the same time, I know I am not the first person to feel this way.
I have to admit that lately I've been stuck somewhere near the bottom of the Ferris wheel. This is incredibly hard to admit. After all, it's Advent, the season of hope. After all, I work FOR A CHURCH! Who has more opportunity to feel and see the love of God, the grace of Jesus Christ than me? How many Bible studies could I attend if I had the time, made the time to attend them?
Sometimes life gets in the way. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the daily grind; to dive headlong into the "work" aspect, or the "planning" aspect of ministry. It's easy to find excuses. It's easy to not read the Bible, not pray, not pay attention to the needs of those around me. After all, I've got meetings, I've got to figure out what the Youth are going to do next week, what the choir is going to sing next month, where are we going to stand and who will I offend if I make the wrong choice and on and on!
To be faithful is hard. Sometimes I think it gets harder by the day. We have so many distractions: technology, busy schedules, responsibilities pulling us in a thousand directions at once. If this is "suffering," I know it in the most "first-world" kind of way, it's something we've brought upon ourselves.
But...
If we read the first part of Romans 5:
Christ has given me peace. Enough peace to sit and reflect long enough to write this little rant. Enough courage to push that scary little orange "publish" button at the top of this page and post it. (assuming you're reading this) The Ferris wheel is moving again! I am reminded by Romans that I will persevere.
Gracious God,
Give me peace
Give me hope
Help me to know that grace is mine,
even though I did nothing to earn it.
Give me suffering so that I might know perseverance
and give me courage to push that button.
Amen
-Rob-
"5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[c] also glory in our sufferings,..."We "glory in our sufferings," as terrible as they may seem or as small as they may be, and "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Alleluia! We glory in our work, because God has given us a purpose. We glory in taking out the trash or changing a diaper because our family is a gift from God that we are charged with keeping. We even glory when a friend or loved one dies, because it reminds us that we live through grace and we pass to life eternal though Jesus Christ.
Christ has given me peace. Enough peace to sit and reflect long enough to write this little rant. Enough courage to push that scary little orange "publish" button at the top of this page and post it. (assuming you're reading this) The Ferris wheel is moving again! I am reminded by Romans that I will persevere.
Gracious God,
Give me peace
Give me hope
Help me to know that grace is mine,
even though I did nothing to earn it.
Give me suffering so that I might know perseverance
and give me courage to push that button.
Amen
-Rob-
