Undiscouragement

This post is kind of personal. What I am writing about is something that God has been working in my own heart. My prayer is that this is encouraging to you, although it applies specifically to me. Thanks to a great friend for encouraging me to write this out :).

Discouragement. It sinks in from time to time. Regardless of the cause (there could be any number of culprits)--the feeling is the same. You feel sad, weak—possibly even useless or unappreciated. This last week discouragement sunk in with me in a worse way than it had for some time. But God never leaves me to drown. He is far too good for that. And His purposes are good—good enough that I wouldn't want to escape the trials He lets into my life. Not even if I could.

Through a godly believer, God gave me a spark of encouragement. I believe this spark has not only caught on, but is slowly burning away the discouragement I've been feeling. The spark came from a man I don't personally know, but admire quite a bit. On page 124 of my copy of John Piper's Don't Waste Your Life I read these words:

“For your tomorrow, I gave my today. Not just for your tomorrow on earth,
but for the countless tomorrows of your ever increasing gladness in God.”

These two sentences express what Piper believes should be every believer's attitude towards the other people on earth. I agree with him. Why would I want to spend a single “today” or even a “this minute” on feeling sorry for myself when all around me are people whose “tomorrows” are in question? While I am feeling discontent, and wishing for things I want and don't have, there are people all around me who will never, ever get the happiness they truly want because they will never hear about Jesus. And it isn't wrong to feel sad sometimes. But what about the awesome joy of being glad in God, and watching as through your influence others find that gladness for themselves?

Oh magnify the LORD with me,

and let us exalt His Name together!

These words from Psalm 34 speak the desire of my heart. And in this I find escape from discouragement and sadness. The only thing more exciting than magnifying the Lord is magnifying Him to and with others so that they see Him bigger than they ever have—and then they magnify Him on their own and with more people in turn.

This is big. It's something that will take a lifetime. And it's something I've neglected before out of laziness, apathy, or feelings of insufficiency. It's also something that I'll never quite perfect.

But what better time than now to try? I have free time, energy, youth, singleness, Christian friends, non-Christian friends, a church, a school, a workplace, a car I can drive, and some spending money. I have a Bible and a God who hears me when I pray. Astoundingly, I have the Holy Spirit inside of me who directed me to this truth and who through Christ strengthens me to do all things.

So long discouragement. I think I'm due for a few exciting, useful, encouraging todays.

A Kingdom Not of this World

So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to Him,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"

Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did  others say it to you about Me?"

"Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You over to me.  What have You done?"

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.  But my kingdom is not from the world."

Pilate (just like every person who is alive today) had a fundamental problem with believing in Jesus.  Because of his mind's compulsive acceptance of the way the world was (and is), he was irreconcilable to Jesus' awesome power.  People are just like that today.

Pilate heard "king" and thought "Caesar."  He thought of power, and the accolades of men--himself included in the worshipers.  He thought of the military might that was able to subject an entire people group to Roman control.

And what he thought of didn't match up with what he saw.  A man in plain clothing--supposedly possessed of great healing power, yet now helpless to His captors' every whim.  A man who had been bound up, led away, and struck in the face.  No armies of loyal followers fighting for his release.  Just an ordinary, weak, normal man.  This could be no king.

Then the King spoke: "My kingdom is not of this world.  If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews.  But my kingdom is not from the world."

This where Pilate and a whole lot of us get lost.  Because we as people are fighters.  Nobody has anything worth having who didn't have to fight for it.  We have these desires and urges that control us, and so we fight. Desperately, madly, we will fight to get our way.

But we serve a God who doesn't need to struggle.  God speaks, and it is done.  He forms substance out of nothing.  He can open up canyons from flat ground to swallow His enemies.  He can bring the entire sea down on armies that rage against Him.  When Jesus said His servants would be fighting, He is assuming the kind of power that Pilate thinks of as power.  The people kind of power; the struggle and get what you can kind.  The true power that our God possessed was far greater than some servants with swords.

Yet on this night, our King did not open up a chasm to swallow the soldiers.  He didn't rain down fire from heaven to consume the wicked.  Tonight, the power Jesus showed was the awesome, terrible power of submission.  Because He did not fight back.  He didn't struggle.  He let the weak and helpless fighters of this earth whip Him, hit Him, drive nails through His hands and feet.

And power was displayed.  The King and His kingdom shone in radiant glory that night like they had on no other.  Because our King showed that in His otherworldly strength He was mighty to die.  Mighty to sacrifice. Mighty to save.

This is our King.  And our kingdom is not of this world.

Magnify the Lord With Me

I want to praise the Lord, all the time.  I want to be that person who can't stop talking about Him.
I want Him to be the only thing I boast in.  Then I will be truly humble, and encourage others in humility.
I want to make God seem huge and present, not vague and distant, to the world.  And I want to influence those who are not of the world to exalt Him with me.

Because every time I've called ought to Him, He answered me.  Every time I've been afraid and have sought Him, He's given me confidence.
Any person who looks to God will never be ashamed.
God hears, saves, delivers, protects.
Taste and see that He is good.

Psalm 34:1-8

God's Delight

His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
Nor His pleasure in the legs of a man,
But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His steadfast love.
--Psalm 147:10-11

I am so thankful that I don't follow a God who is as easily awed as I am.  A strong person, a famous person, an able or talented person can easily turn my head.  In contrast, God does not delight in human strength.  Instead, He takes pleasure in people who revere His strength.  The humble, fearful servant is God's delight.  The one who hopes fully in Him is a pleasure for Him to know.

I want to be a humble, hopeful, God-fearing human being--a person who God is happy to know.