Christmas – just mentioning the word can cause intense images to fill our imaginations. It’s a season laden with memories. For some the mental pictures are rich and sweet. For some, Christmas is a painful time of remembering, and the memories hurt.
There may be those in our midst who are mourning the loss of a loved one taken by death, or divorce. People around us may be experiencing the loss of love or attention from a friend or family member. Individuals may be lonely, suffering from rejection, feeling the heartache of a child going astray, or reeling from the revelation of bad news about their health, finances or marriage. Christmas can fan the flame of a memory one would rather forget.
How can we offer the hope and healing of Christ during this season that for some heightens painful emotions? Here are three things to consider:
1. Help resolve the immediate pain. Perhaps there is some practical help we can offer to someone around us experiencing the holiday hurts. Whether it’s an extra visit or offering assistance in an area of physical need, or being a sensitive listener, timely attention can help take the sharp edge off the loss.
2. Encourage growth. A natural response to pain is to withdraw. We can encourage a friend to stay strong in church by offering a personal invitation. This kind gesture helps him or her to stay connected to other people and to the Lord.
3. Help increase the coping mechanisms. The thought of normal traditions may be painful. It’s okay to start a new tradition or do something new and creative during the holidays. Offering our friends a fresh perspective or a shoulder to cry on helps him or her process the heightened emotions. ’We can help our friends discover the ways that God shows His goodness by helping us each step of the way on our journey of hope and healing.
Most of all we need to remember that God is the God of hope. His Word is the book of hope. Through the pages of the Bible we find help for our deepest needs, especially when we’re hurting. Jim Cymbala, in his book, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, says “ I discovered an astonishing truth: God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him”.
“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
Thursday, December 15, 2011
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Sunday, December 11, 2011
Positive and Optimistic and (gulp) Troubles
Uhggg...troubles again. Seems like some troubles are like what they used to call a broken record that plays over and over. Now, they may be likened to that skip on a CD that messes up the song every time it is played, never goes away and is very annoying. That's what trouble is like.
Along come this guy named James. He grew up with a perfect brother, and even though Jame's brother never did anything wrong, a lot of trouble came his way. And to James, the whole thing was annoying - at least for a long while.
Later in life after he had been through a whole lot of things, James tells us that is the exact opposite of our normal experiences. He ways, "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy". Huh? What's good about trouble. The first thing we do when trouble comes normally is to pray or at least wish it would just go away and leave us alone. James goes on to say, "for you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing (James 1:2-4 NLT).
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to stay put and endure something that is indeed troublesome. This Scripture passage acknowledges that troubles come our way and not for the purpose of teaching us to dodge them or be in denial about their existence. Then again we don't want to be so focused on our troubles that they tend to define us...so what is James talking about? Just hanging on until our troubles go away seems senseless. So what is "joyful" about all of this?
The joy isn't due to the bad things that have happened. The joy is in what is happening to our faith as we are being tested. Endurance, patience and maturity are beautiful things and they do not happen unless we are put through hard and difficult things. That's just the way it works. The people whom we love and admire for having great characters probably became that way because they have suffered in some way. If we can find even that small seed of faith to offer to God some trust when something bad happens, then He grows our faith and we become stronger - and more positive and optimistic. This stronger faith allows us to see the hand of God working in even the strangest of circumstances. The blossoming of our faith is precious to Him, and He delights in our growing trust of Him. And when we have found that the next time trouble comes and we are not shaken we realize our faith is stronger, we are more confident that God is going to faithfully take care of us no matter what, and that is reason for joy.
And, by the way, did you know that the "perfect brother" of James was Jesus? Yes, James learned these words from his life experiences. James saw great and fearsome trouble turn into joy because of the outcome of Jesus' life.
Along come this guy named James. He grew up with a perfect brother, and even though Jame's brother never did anything wrong, a lot of trouble came his way. And to James, the whole thing was annoying - at least for a long while.
Later in life after he had been through a whole lot of things, James tells us that is the exact opposite of our normal experiences. He ways, "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy". Huh? What's good about trouble. The first thing we do when trouble comes normally is to pray or at least wish it would just go away and leave us alone. James goes on to say, "for you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing (James 1:2-4 NLT).
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to stay put and endure something that is indeed troublesome. This Scripture passage acknowledges that troubles come our way and not for the purpose of teaching us to dodge them or be in denial about their existence. Then again we don't want to be so focused on our troubles that they tend to define us...so what is James talking about? Just hanging on until our troubles go away seems senseless. So what is "joyful" about all of this?
The joy isn't due to the bad things that have happened. The joy is in what is happening to our faith as we are being tested. Endurance, patience and maturity are beautiful things and they do not happen unless we are put through hard and difficult things. That's just the way it works. The people whom we love and admire for having great characters probably became that way because they have suffered in some way. If we can find even that small seed of faith to offer to God some trust when something bad happens, then He grows our faith and we become stronger - and more positive and optimistic. This stronger faith allows us to see the hand of God working in even the strangest of circumstances. The blossoming of our faith is precious to Him, and He delights in our growing trust of Him. And when we have found that the next time trouble comes and we are not shaken we realize our faith is stronger, we are more confident that God is going to faithfully take care of us no matter what, and that is reason for joy.
And, by the way, did you know that the "perfect brother" of James was Jesus? Yes, James learned these words from his life experiences. James saw great and fearsome trouble turn into joy because of the outcome of Jesus' life.
Go Home and Tell Everybody
He was the picture of torment. "Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones." From a slice of history, this man is not unlike some anguished people today. It may be mental illness, it may be something amiss in the spiritual nature, or perhaps it is the effects of years of drug or alcohol abuse and the tragic choices that tend to accompany the lifestyle. Insomnia was his constant companion. He was indeed miserable and without a sense of hope, and people were afraid of him. Even those with a touch of compassion didn't know how to deal with him, so alone he stayed. Cut off from the warmth of social contact, finding strange familiarity among the tombs, and injuring himself. Some say cutting eases the pain. But more pain comes as a result. In every conceivable sense, he was a mess.
And then it happened. Jesus found him and dealt with his issues. Jesus was not afraid of his condition or appalled at his choices. Jesus showed tremendous compassion, dealt with the man's heart and healed that which was terrible injured, physically, mentally and spiritually. And that's how Jesus works. By the time the bystanders encountered the man they found him described as "fully clothed and perfectly sane." In fact the change was so dramatic that the bystanders became afraid, because they knew this was beyond human. It was miraculous.
Jesus then had to leave, for He had much to accomplish. The man who had just been through a remarkable transformation begged to go along with Jesus, but Jesus gave the man something of his own to accomplish. "Go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful He has been (from Mark 5, NLT)."
Even when we make bad choices...God is the compassionate Heavenly Father ever searching for His wayward children. Be saved, be healed, be transformed. Go home and tell everybody.
And then it happened. Jesus found him and dealt with his issues. Jesus was not afraid of his condition or appalled at his choices. Jesus showed tremendous compassion, dealt with the man's heart and healed that which was terrible injured, physically, mentally and spiritually. And that's how Jesus works. By the time the bystanders encountered the man they found him described as "fully clothed and perfectly sane." In fact the change was so dramatic that the bystanders became afraid, because they knew this was beyond human. It was miraculous.
Jesus then had to leave, for He had much to accomplish. The man who had just been through a remarkable transformation begged to go along with Jesus, but Jesus gave the man something of his own to accomplish. "Go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful He has been (from Mark 5, NLT)."
Even when we make bad choices...God is the compassionate Heavenly Father ever searching for His wayward children. Be saved, be healed, be transformed. Go home and tell everybody.
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