Lift Him High When You Are Low

It is easy to find yourself feeling down and out.

The other day I had the opportunity to have a meal with two of my daughters and asked where they wanted to go.

The typical "this" or "that" was discussed before we settled on a place.

Apparently, it was not where one of them wanted to go which I became privy to when a hungry girl had a face filled with tears.

She was not angry or pouting, she was just feeling overwhelmed and sad about a lunch decision.

It struck me how easy it is for her, me, or anyone to find themselves feeling low.

This week, I read Psalm 57 which we assume David wrote while hiding from king Saul. His daily life is filled with legitimate concerns relationally and circumstantially. His issue is not being bummed about a lunch decision but wondering if he will have lunch that day. His issue is not spending time with those who loved him but carefully avoiding those who did not.

He speaks of his life as calamitous, having terror as if he were being pursued by lions, having people pine for his downfall, even his death.

While he cries out to God and pleads for His merciful intervention, he gives us an atypical example of what we can and should do when facing undesired circumstances and hardships.

In his grief and anguish, he asks for God to be exalted above the heavens. It is somewhat of an ironic request as God is exalted...period. David knew that but was expressing his longing for God, even amid this injustice, to be elevated in his mind and life as a follower.

He was asking for the name and nature of God to be exalted among those who were witnessing this awful time in his life. He wanted God's glory to be on full display in what He (outside of space and time) was allowing to take place upon the earth (fixed in space and measured in time).

David was going to bring that about by fixing his attention to God's goodness and declaring that to others.

Ultimately, David would utilize singing, instruments, and other followers to declare God's goodness (particularly through this dark, desperate series of life events).

What a beautiful, but difficult example to follow. At the risk of sounding condescending or woefully ignorant, let us consider a few helpful principles to help us lift Him high when we are feeling low.

A good God allows bad times- we are creatures of comfort and desire life to meet our expectations. Followers of God have relinquished such a simple (even selfish) outlook in favor of His rule to accomplish His glory. This means that our frail minds will interrupt different occasions, moments, and stints in our life as "bad"; some may quantifiably be bad, while others are just not as enjoyable. Remember that your God is always good, and He is always right.

Pour out your heart to a good God who cares- David did not hold back from speaking plainly to God about what he felt was taking place in his life under the all-seeing eyes of God. He was transparent, visceral, and raw. His anguish found description through times of prayer. Even though it did not readily change his situation, he was changed by it. Friends, go to God even when you do not have "the feels"; He cares, knows, hears, and is at work.

We need our focus reframed- David did not dismiss the reality he was experiencing, and he could not eliminate it; he elected to reprioritize what mattered most while sitting in the cave (possibly waiting to die at the hand of Saul). God's magnificence is what David yearned to see be seen. Do I?

Testify to others when has passed- David's struggle and growth throughout that time became the platform by which he exalted God through song and instrument both personally and corporately. The time he experienced was not wasteful; later it found completion in praise. David was merely demonstrating what Paul spoke about to the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 1 where he outlined the resources we have during a trial and the ultimate reason behind our trials.

The day came when David was able to leave the cave. Down the road, he was even able to sing of that day while sitting as the king of Israel. He had many such times of struggle and "being low" but none that were accidental in God's economy.

Let us embrace this reality- the "lows" of life regularly teach us more about the splendor of our God and help forge in us the ability to lift Him high.

Sincerely,

Pastor Paul Norton

The God Who Cares

When do you sin? When do you struggle? In what situations do you find yourself acting in the wrong way? What makes you depressed, angry, bitter, irritated, or frustrated? When are you prone to temptation? What winds you up? What makes you depressed, angry, or frustrated? Is there a pattern?

Life is tough sometimes. Difficult family relationships, financial challenges, singleness, marriage. Physical sickness, Godless professors, or even people may be irritating you at your job. You may even have peer pressure that pushes you toward sin. We are messed up people living in a messed up world! Ultimately, sin happens when we believe lies about God instead of God’s Word and when we worship idols instead of worshipping God. Yet, amid our brokenness, we have a God who cares. God did not just see our struggle and allow us to continue to suffer from a distance. He "rolled up his sleeves," came down, got involved, and experienced our struggles firsthand. Ultimately God entered our world when the Son of God became human. Jesus knows what it is to be hungry, assaulted, rejected, tired, lonely, tempted, needy, opposed, and busy. He faced poverty, injustice, temptation, and betrayal. More than all that, on the cross he was forsaken by his Father (Mark 15:34). Jesus shared our struggles. Jesus shared in our humanity. Therefore, as he personally suffered when tempted, he can sympathize with our struggles. (Heb 2:14–18, 4:14–16)

So let’s talk about struggles and the God who cares.

Firstly, He uses our struggles. Evil is evil. It’s painful, confusing, and real. Often, behind it is the defiant and deviant mind of Satan. But God uses it for his bigger purposes (Genesis 50:20; Acts 4:27–28). Our past, present, and future experiences of evil will enhance our eternal experience of glory. Additionally, the pain of sin allows God’s grace to shape us presently in marvelous ways.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Rom. 8:28–29

Romans 8 gives us a glimpse of many passages relating to sanctification that we see in the New Testament. God calls us to rejoice during turmoil.

Secondly, God promises to bring them to an end. He has taken our sufferings on himself to end our sufferings. On the cross Jesus took God’s wrath on himself in our place, freeing us from God’s curse. He promises a new world without sin or pain. His resurrection is the beginning of a new creation, which will come to completion at the end of history—a new creation in which God himself will “wipe away every tear” and in which death shall be no more, neither mourning, crying, nor pain anymore. (Rev. 21:3–4). This is why Peter would encourage the brothers and sisters of the first century by stating: “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.” (1 Pet. 1:6)

Be encouraged brothers and sisters! While today might feel hard, devoid of goodness, or vain…God is merciful and gracious. He certainly is THE God who cares!

Sincerely,

Pastor Jordan Kosinski

Create the Church you would want to find as a guest...

Being in a military, collegiate, and medical community, we experience a fair amount of "move-ins" to the area. Whether it is a guest at our church or someone I meet throughout the course of my week, I regularly talk with people who have moved here and are looking for a church.

Often, the answer to my question, "How is it going?" surprises me.

"It is so tough."

"It is discouraging."

"It is not as easy as I thought it would be."

"it makes me want to never do it again."

These are a few of the responses I regularly have heard over the past six years.

Why?

It isn't due to a lack of churches in our area...that's for sure!

It isn't due to a lack of churches that are orthodox in their belief and somewhat varied in practice.

It isn't due to churches that have very particular preferences and practices in their congregational autonomy.

It isn't due to a lack of preaching or pastoral ability.

It often comes down to...the members.

The tone they set in being proactively hospitable to guests. The vibrancy they demonstrate during praise. The engagement they have in the sermon. The Christian love and concern expressed in the hallways. The invitations extended to guests after the church services ended.

With that in mind, I want to give us a few common issues that arise for people who are guests at churches and how we can create the type of church that a guest would like to attend.

1. "I must have been a ghost because no one talked to me." I hear this commonly (at the risk of sounding patronizing or egotistical, I do not hear this about FBC). At FBC, we have tried (as most churches do) to alleviate this issue initially by having those who serve in the hospitality ministry. They greet and direct people as they arrive at FBC. But what about beyond the doors? That is where each of us should take 30 seconds to scan the foyer and sanctuary area to identify anyone we do not recognize, then seek to introduce ourselves to them. Further, ask if they have any questions or if we can help them with anything.

2. "It was awkward being all alone." While being invisible is preferable for some people's personality type, it is worth risking the awkwardness of overbearance by offering to sit with someone and engage them in conversation. It doesn't mean you will be BFF's but it sure can make going somewhere new better.

3. "It just seemed dead." While each of these is so subjective, we again come across a matter we can directly change. Did you know where you sit generally says a lot about your disposition towards what you are attending? It is most commonly a reflection of our own comfort before considering the needs of others or our contribution to the overall environment. Do you want to change anything (particularly a church service) quickly? Sit with others, up closer to the front (if medically able), and fully engage. The "vibe" created is contagious and unavoidable. Where will you sit tomorrow? Who will you sit with? How will you praise?

4. "I just didn't connect well." We are all creatures of habit and lovers of "our tribe". Guests, without saying it, are often looking for someone that is like them in some capacity; it is sometimes ethnically, socio-economically, gender, or life-stage driven. This is, again, where it is worth being awkward and making people uncomfortable by being the proactively hospitable part of the equation. Why not ask if they mind you sitting with them rather than asking them to sit with you? Did you introduce them to one of the pastors? Did you introduce them to another person of a similar age/stage? Did you invite them to lunch after church (yes...scrap your casserole plans with your family member or friend)? While not everyone may relish this level of "intrusion" into their visit, it is worth the risk.

These are a few of the most common issues I hear about and easy solutions to create a climate that is both welcoming and engaging. Each of us can help create the type of church we would want to be a guest at, but it requires us to come to church with intentionality.

My encouragement for tomorrow is this: say "NO" to viewing church as a comfortable place that requires nothing from me, avoid familiarity blinding me from helping those around me, generate change by being intentional on where I sit and who I sit with, and connect (even if it is awkward) to those who are at church in the effort to steward their spiritual needs better.

Your Friend,

Pastor Paul Norton