iRockYouth

Just this Saturday I was helping my dad put together a fan out on his back porch. Now, for those of you who have helped put any appliance or device together you know how detailed the process is. You have to put these certain screws through this certain whole at this particular stage of the assembly process or the whole device comes out inside out or upside down or sets your house on fire (ok, maybe not that last one). While we were walking through every detail of this fan we found there was a part that was extra. It was a cone shaped piece of metal that was colored like the rest of the fan, but there were no instructions as to where it went or what we were supposed to do with it. We tried for 10 minutes to figure out what the heck we were supposed to do with this random piece before giving up. When we don't know the purpose for something it can frustrate us, and, in my case, it can even make us question the intelligence of the people who put this fan together.

This last Sunday we talked about a very hard subject: divorce. And towards the end we spoke (probably too briefly) about God's desire to take the mess and suffering in our lives and turn it into something good. Romans 8:28 says:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

However, can we really believe that? Take a minute and look at 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Suffering can really get people on edge towards God because we don't know why God let's it happen. We don't understand it's purpose; therefore, we question God's wisdom. However, look at that last line again, "...with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." This assumes something: God is actively comforting His children when they are in need. In my life I have relentlessly backed myself into a corner where it's all about me. Where God is (as Jim Carrey says on Bruce Almighty) a kid with a magnifying glass, and I'm an ant, he could fix my problems in two seconds but he'd rather burn off my feelers and watch me squirm. Ok, maybe you haven't felt something this dramatic, but if you have endured suffering or any sort of grief thoughts like this aren't hard to come by.

What if God wasn't the kid with the magnifying glass. What if God allowed this pain to happen (we must know pain only happens when God allows it, read Psalms 88 and this will be made clear) to prepare us to be his instrument of comfort? What if God is allowing you to suffer now so you may take part in a life changing work?

I want you to watch the video about Steve below (just click on the link) and then think about the questions I wrote below that:

[WATCH VIDEO]

What pain and/or suffering have you experienced? How could this be used to comfort others? Are there people in your life whom God can use you to comfort because of those hard times you've endured?

Let me paint you a scenario. Let's say you are walking through a neighborhood and you see the perfect house! It has everything you have ever wanted in a house. There's a "Hawaiian Fruit Punch" fountain, secret passageways, and everything else you've ever wanted. As you walk by the realtor comes outside and offers it to you for free! All he asks is you endure through some work that needs to be done so the house will be in optimum shape, and after that you fix things that break and patiently work on different parts of the house that will continue to malfunction. Would you take it? I think so. Why do we then balk when God asks us to endure hard times so he can use us for great things? It is no different, and honestly, this tale pales in comparison to what God is offering to do through us.

Now some of you may be asking and thinking, "This doesn't explain why God lets children in Africa starve" or "What if the person suffering isn't a Christian, how does this apply to them?" Suffering is a mystery, it is something that there is no all inclusive answer to. All I am offering here is a very small and meager piece of the puzzle. However, in this is a truth we can cherish and find hope in when we are suffering: Paul is saying God will use the pain we encounter to give us the ability to comfort as he does. He will use the comfort he has given us, and he will use that to provide the same comfort to those who are hurting in similar ways. Deep down, everybody wants to help someone else. It is what we are created to do, and nothing really brings someone more joy than being a part of someone being healed. God is promising this to those of us who suffer. How amazing is our God, that he takes the horrible events and circumstances we live through and transforms them into opportunities for life to be offered. Through our suffering God offers hope. Through his Son's death, and his children's choice to die to themselves, he offers life. How glorious!

posted by Skylar # 12:45 PM 0 Comments

There is something hard about looking in a mirror some times (and for some of us all the time). However, it isn't hard to look at other people. It's not hard to gawk and stare at the celebrities in the magazine, especially those funny magazines with the distorted pictures of these stars' bodies. It's not difficult to even look at the people around us. Some of us will even travel to malls to watch other people (they call themselves people watchers, I call them creepers... just kidding ; ). I had an interesting thought as I started writing this, what if we spent as much time looking at ourselves as we did looking and breaking down other people? We'd probably become much more self absorbed, and maybe even more self-conscious. Neither of these seem like a good thing, and it's because they're not. However, there is something behind this idea that makes sense. Jesus says this:

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that it is in your own?

If you don't know what Jesus is talking about, then take a gander at Matthew 7:1-5. What he is addressing is the human condition called pride, and specifically how it manifests itself in our desire to judge others. In my experience and in conversations I have come to the understanding that one of the reasons we judge other people is because of our own insecurities.

So, what are you insecure about? Where do you think you don't measure up?

This Sunday we spoke about this attitude, and went into detail about our opinions of other people's relationship with and worship of God. Something I have come to realize is (just as I said earlier) we will judge and look down on someone else's interactions w/ God because our own relationship w/ Him is stagnant and pathetic in some or many ways.

Where do struggle in your relationship w/ God? What weaknesses are there?

In my opinion, it's time to stop spending so much time looking around, and it's time to start looking in the mirror. Jon Foreman wrote a song which inspired the title of this blog. It's called (surprise surprise) "A Mirror is Harder to Hold", and in it he writes this:

I could try and point the finger

But the glass points in my direction

Sure you've got your sharp edges

But my wounds are from my own reflection

This might seem like a bit much, but do you know the great thing about all of this? If we will turn to God, and ask for His help, if we will dare to humble ourselves, and seek the God of all of creation He will come to our rescue, deliver us from our pride, and turn us into a new creation:

...if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive heir sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

This restoration is waiting for you. It is yours, in Jesus Christ, if you will turn from what you know (your ego and judgment of others) and turn to our humble Savior (Philippians 2:6-8). May you do that, and because of it may you reap the consequences: a full life (John 10:10).

posted by Skylar # 1:03 PM 0 Comments

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