Jesus – Page 2 – Broken Believers

Rainy Day People

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Galatians 6:2

“Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs.”

1 Thessalonians 5:14, Message

“A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples in silver settings.”

Proverbs 25:11

Proverbs tells us that giving good counsel is more valuable than gold or silver. I have met many people who have an opinion about my problems, but few really know how to listen. Discernment is pretty much crucial, and maybe 1 of every 40 will really understand me.

Sometimes I must unload my issues and be understood by someone.

Personally, I need someone who has been profoundly depressed and finally stumbled out into the light. It’s not that I don’t love certain believers, but they haven’t been “checked out” on this particular problem.

It’s like flying a plane or operating heavy equipment, skills that are learned by experience.

It seems to me that it’s not only a gift, but a skill or capability that can be developed over time. Handling God’s Word intelligently and carefully under the direction of the Holy Spirit is a mark of a rainy day believer.

I’m also convinced that good counsel invariably comes from a good person.

At one time I thought any mature Christian believer had a right to give guidance, but that really wasn’t always the case. Now I believe God can use anyone He chooses, but He also employs those who He has given specific gifts to. I’m glad He’s done it this way.

I don’t diminish relationships, but I do know that certain people are not tested on certain problems. This may be simplistic, or a little harsh, but when I had my brain tumor, I did not want my car mechanic to fix me, I wanted a neurosurgeon. Someone who knew and discerned what was really happening.

“The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.”

Isaiah 50:4, ESV

Choose your rainy day people carefully. Build a connection. Mark them out before things get out of hand.

If you’re reading this, and you have an issue that’s starting to escalate, you need to reach out. The enemy wants you to withdraw. Ask the Holy Spirit for His help in this. He is the Comforter and the Wonderful Counselor. He’ll direct you, and help you. That is what He does. That is His job.

“Rainy day people always seem to know when it’s time to call,

Rainy day people don’t talk, they just listen till they’ve heard it all. Rainy day lovers don’t lie when they tell ‘ya they’ve been down like you.

Rainy day people don’t mind if you’re crying a tear or two.”

— Gordon Lightfoot, 1975

My newest blog can be found at alaskabibleteacher.com.

Running Together

“And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Hebrews 12:1

^“For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

Matthew 18:20

It is easier to run alone, rather than run in a group. Running with others means keeping pace with those around you. Not so fast that you outpace the slower ones, and not so slow that you slow down the group. There are many who simply prefer running without the ‘constraints’ of others. Consider these:

Timing, learning the right stride so you won’t collide
Hydration, staying healthy
Muscle cramps, managing the pain
Encouragement, for those who are weary or limp
Finish line, keep everyone’s eyes on the final outcome

Perhaps this all seems difficult. To be consistent in this kind of running is far too restrictive. It seems more difficult than running alone; there are far too many issues. And yet, I have determined that running with others has its own rewards.

We were never meant to be alone— solitary persons. We were created to engage the personalities of others. We must either slow down or speed up to keep the cohesion of everyone. We may want to speed up the pace a little bit. But if we do, it would mean the separation of the slower runners. But we are meant to run with others.

We will make these decisions on the spur of the ‘racing’ moment. Yet they determine everything. Will I curtail my desire to win, without you? Can I stand at the ‘winners line’ confidently after leaving you far behind?

We belong together. We simply can’t run solo anymore. Mental illness (as well as a physical illness) has a strong tendency to isolate. We find ourselves alone, far more than what is healthy. We make excuses, far more than is appropriate. We determine to advance, or to just ‘give up’ without affecting the other runners.

At times we must ‘gear down’ if we are to run with others. We must stop thinking ‘me’ and start thinking ‘you’. This so militates against our personal preferences. We don’t want to give up our own quest for glory. We still ascribe to the virtue of the ‘first gets the best.’ But at other times an inner voice insists we must speed up to keep the pace.

Yet there is nothing in the scriptures about ‘going it alone.’ There is nothing that would suggest this. Yes, there are individuals, and yes they stand out. But the glacial mass is toward a corporate understanding of the truth– that we will arrive together (carrying one another into Church.)

I would simply suggest that we become aware of our brother and sister who are trying to run next to us. They are working so hard to keep pace. Some even limp trying to keep up. We can’t ‘blow them off.’ We realize that we’re linked with them. We can’t turn away from that. When we do cross the finish line, it will be together.

“All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.”

1 Corinthians 12:27

Meet My Friend, Pain

I’ve gone through many awful things—stuff that should have destroyed me. Things so bitter and hard it’s a wonder that I’ve even survived. I’m not overstating and not melodramatic. I know that I’m still standing because of grace and mercy that God has given.

The other day I stepped into a gym where a Church potluck was happening. Now I’ve been in constant pain for several months and it’s been terribly hard. Standing and waiting on the line to get shorter, I distinctly heard something that seemed to come out of the blue.

“Pain is now your friend.”

That thought definitely did NOT originate from me. Initially, it was absurd. Bizarre. I stood in that crowd, rocked by that idea, “pain is now your friend.” I can’t explain it, nor can I diminish it. Obviously, the idea was not conjured up or produced by my conjecture or reasoning. It is exactly what it is.

A day later I came across this thought.

“I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the rock of ages.”

C.H. Spurgeon

Can I kiss that wave? Can I discount all the difficulties that pain has caused in my life? Now I admit I had been praying quite earnestly for God to take me. That may be a shock to some, I know. But I’ve had enough of this misery. Enough! Bring me home. I’m so tired of this.

What crushed me did not crush God’s purposes for me.

Much could be said about this, but what could not destroy me needs to make me aware. I have been given a “hard” gift. I have endured much hurt. And even now, as I typed out this post, I still am in pain. Why?

There is a definite purpose why. That pain is my friend, my companion. For how long, I do not know. But I do know that I will kiss that wave, for it presses me to my Savior. I cannot explain it, because it’s foolish and counterintuitive. I’m not trying to ignore its presence, nor am I trying to paint “a happy face” on it.

“During this time now, we have troubles and pain. But I am sure that these troubles are not really very great. One day God will show us all the great things he has prepared for us. That will make the troubles that we have now seem very small.”

Romans 8:18, RB

Yes, dear one, pain is one of my best friends. Nothing else could have reached me, I needed some hard “medicine” because I could not understand this any other way.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴who 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.”

2 Corinthians 1:4, ESV

I think I now know why.

Some will not understand, that’s ok. I’m glad they don’t.

“Suffering is unbearable if you aren’t certain that God is for you and with you.”

Tim Keller

Study Links for the Berean

[The Bereans] “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

Acts 17:11

I put together a list of Bible study Links that should bless anyone who really wants to go deeper into the Word of God. Some will bless, others maybe not. I really hope that these will really bless you.

25 Links for the Christian