Momentum
I am sitting in a liminal place… Long, convoluted, and (likely) boring story, but I have been back and forth to O’Hare twice in two days, had to repurchase a Kenyan e-visa, had to repurchase airfare for the same flight I was supposed to be on, lost a buncha time, spent too much money for unnecessary stuff-n-things… ALL of that, just to get to Kenya to minister to those precious people and leaders.
Totally worth it.
So, I am writing you from Doha Qatar, at whatever time in the morning in whatever time zone. (I do not sleep on planes, so I could use a nap…) Reflecting on our joyous time together with Doc Ryan and our extended family peeps in worship… giving glory and praise to Jesus for this adventurous and non-boring life He has graciously granted me. Even with the liminal place… the loss of money… the loss of time… the loss of sleep… I am humbly overwhelmed at the thought of y’all, my calling, and how we are one day closer to seeing greater things in THE Great Awakening.
It is times like this that legitimately indicate the sincerity of one’s faith. You have heard me say before that you do not know what is really inside a Twinkie until you squeeze that sucker. In like fashion, you do not know what is in a person’s heart, belief system, or mindset until the pressures of life pile up on them in crashing waves like an angry sea. In the (currently… but the clock is still running) three days of travel and government woes mingled with hassles of nonsensical requirements, the opportunities and temptations for a runaway train of emotional yuck-ness have been real for me. As they say, “the struggle is real…”
James opens his epistle with this exhortation (verses 2-4 in New King James):
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Oh, boy. Easier read than done… in the flesh.
Some interesting things to highlight in how these verses contain immeasurable power of application through the journeys of life for us today as much as in James’ day. The word, “count,” here is: hēgéomai (“what goes before, in front”) refers to coming first in priority such as, “the leading thought,” in one’s mind. One of the reasons that our Father exhorts us to start our thoughts off FIRST by considering the joy when we are in a test or trial is because your first thoughts generally set the tone for the following thoughts. As egregious, inconvenient, and wasteful as my circumstances have been, the bad cannot even come close to the good in comparison. Hundreds of ministry leaders, in two different conferences, are desiring to hear from the ministry I have been granted to carry. That does not include the other places of ministry… a church, a prison, an orphanage, two schools, and all the precious folks in between. In other words, it brings me great joy (and humility) when thinking about why I am on this mission in the first place.
Next, it is clear by using the term, “fall,” that some situations in life are mostly unavoidable. None of us will ever live so holy and guided by the Spirit of Truth that we will completely avoid the attacks against us. One of the definitions of this word in Greek is, “happen upon a place.” If you are moving… you will eventually happen upon some places that were unplanned. Because most folks try their darndest to avoid ANY type of conflict or discomfort, they never create any momentum. When you start to gain momentum, it is more difficult to change orientation quickly. Because we aim for momentum in our Christian walk, it seems counterintuitive to establish this revelation. But, this is just another example of the tension or balance (or contranym, to quote Doc Ryan) in the authentic, Christian way. Momentum is good, we just need to learn the power of patience that can help us pivot better.
We see in the following verse that these necessary course corrections, trials, temptations, and tests have the positive effect of developing, maturing, or establishing our patience, which is the Bible’s word for perseverance. The definition of this word includes the idea of intense labor or purposeful work… not just lollygagging through life and when bad stuff happens… oh well, we just get a bit more patient… OR, we don’t! The idea that problems make patience is laughable because then the peeps with the most problems would have the most patience. I know that all of you agree that that is a no-go zone of thought. Also, it is imperative that we do not say something God does not say here also. Nowhere does it say that the problems are FROM God… it is just the opposite. Just because good can come out of a bad does not mean the bad is from a Good God. This is just one of those praise-worthy and loving attributes of the nature of God… His infinite ability to work negative, painful, and destruction intending scenarios into testimonies of divine worth.
When we mature our hearts in these areas, we can confidently charge into our destiny knowing that even if unwanted stuff-n-things show up, our God, our momentum, and our promises assure us that it will all work out in such a way that we will get to write about it… like this.
2 Peter 1:10-11 BSB
Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble, and you will receive a lavish reception into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Practice, practice, practice… how you practice is how you play. This promise tells us that we should be anticipating a, “lavish,” reception for playing the game of life well. When God calls something, “lavish,” you KNOW it is gonna be awesome!
Cannot wait to hug your neck and kiss your cheek soon!
Steve
