By: Erlinda Mejia Olson
EPHESIANS 2:8-9 ~ "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."
In His providence, God has used the tough things in my life to draw me closer to Him, to show me His great love, and to teach me many things. I have learned that I am not perfect, and I have the scars to prove it. Countless of them. They serve as a physical reminder of a spiritual reality that I can never be perfect on my own. I need a Savior.
Know the Gospel. The Gospel, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, means "good news," the good news that, in light of God's perfection and our imperfection, God has made a way for us to know Him, and that way is Jesus.
Paul, speaking in his letter to the church in Corinth says, "For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures," (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
What happened on the cross at Calvary was that every sin of every person was placed on Jesus, and God the Father poured out His wrath on His Son. God looked at Jesus, His Son, as if He had committed the sins of horrible men and women and was punished for it, not just the murderers and the child molesters, yes, them too. But my sins and your sins, all the pride, all the selfishness, all the lies, all the unkind thoughts and actions.
When you know the Gospel, when you know what has been done for you and you remind yourself of it every day, you don't get offended when someone criticizes you because you realize that you actually deserve much harsher criticism, but you've avoided it because of Jesus.
You forgive your loved ones or your friends when they slight you or treat you unkindly because you realize how much you have already been forgiven because of Jesus.
The Gospel is not just a ticket to heaven. It is a whole way of living. Some of you who know Jesus still struggle to understand how this applies to your daily life, and even if you do understand, my challenge to you is this: talk to yourself.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones says, "Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself rather than talking to yourself?" We do it to ourselves every day. Every morning, we wake up, and it begins.
On a daily basis, we are faced with two simple choices. We can either listen to ourselves and our constantly changing feelings about our circumstances, or we can talk to ourselves about the unchanging truth of who God is and what He's accomplished on the cross for us in His Son, Jesus.
I realized that I was spending more time listening to myself rather than talking to myself. But because I know God, I know myself, and I know the Gospel, I began to remind myself of these truths daily.
If you haven't already:
*Make and stick to a plan to read the Bible.
*Join a small group Bible study.
*Choose friends who want to know Jesus like you do. "Our friends paint themselves on our faces. "As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friends" (Proverbs 27:17). "The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray." (Proverbs 12:26)
*Choose a Bible believing church.
Because I have done these things, in the midst of conflict, I am able to remind myself of the Gospel. The final thing I have learned: know your purpose. The Westminster Catechism (a lot of you probably haven't heard that one before) states, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him." This seems at first blush a rather odd thing to have as our purpose. It goes against everything our culture tells us that we should want or live for. Don't just dismiss God or assume that you know who He is because you don't understand Him. He is knowable.
If you seek the truth, it will stand under the hard questions. As a brief answer, we start where we began. Know God. We know God is perfect, and so His desire for us to glorify Him is rooted in this perfection.
One author explains this when he says, "When a human glorifies himself, he robs others of joy, but when God displays and exhibits His glory, He shares joy with His creatures and wholeness with all creation." Put most directly, without the knowledge of God's glory, we would be robbed of true joy."
How do we glorify God? The answer is in the second part of the equation—by knowing God, by enjoying Him, by being like Jesus. What did Jesus do? He served. Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." He came to serve us, and He did it joyfully.
A few years ago, I was struggling with the daily grind of constantly doing something: for my family, for my career, for my value and reputation in the community, and so forth (which I detest)—trying to meet project deadlines, cooking meals, doing household chores, replying to work emails, trying to please my family, my in laws, my friends, my sphere of influence, only to turn around the next day or even the next moment to have to do it all over again. I thought, "Is this it? Is this all that I'm supposed to be doing?" It appeared as though, I was molding myself to become this "superwoman", that I am not. It felt awful!
Titus 2 says, older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the Word of God may not be reviled (verses 3-6).
*Choose a Bible believing church.
Because I have done these things, in the midst of conflict, I am able to remind myself of the Gospel. The final thing I have learned: know your purpose. The Westminster Catechism (a lot of you probably haven't heard that one before) states, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him." This seems at first blush a rather odd thing to have as our purpose. It goes against everything our culture tells us that we should want or live for. Don't just dismiss God or assume that you know who He is because you don't understand Him. He is knowable.
If you seek the truth, it will stand under the hard questions. As a brief answer, we start where we began. Know God. We know God is perfect, and so His desire for us to glorify Him is rooted in this perfection.
One author explains this when he says, "When a human glorifies himself, he robs others of joy, but when God displays and exhibits His glory, He shares joy with His creatures and wholeness with all creation." Put most directly, without the knowledge of God's glory, we would be robbed of true joy."
How do we glorify God? The answer is in the second part of the equation—by knowing God, by enjoying Him, by being like Jesus. What did Jesus do? He served. Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." He came to serve us, and He did it joyfully.
A few years ago, I was struggling with the daily grind of constantly doing something: for my family, for my career, for my value and reputation in the community, and so forth (which I detest)—trying to meet project deadlines, cooking meals, doing household chores, replying to work emails, trying to please my family, my in laws, my friends, my sphere of influence, only to turn around the next day or even the next moment to have to do it all over again. I thought, "Is this it? Is this all that I'm supposed to be doing?" It appeared as though, I was molding myself to become this "superwoman", that I am not. It felt awful!
Titus 2 says, older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the Word of God may not be reviled (verses 3-6).
I was serving—just like Jesus, but I wasn't doing it with joy. Big difference. Being able to journal is part of fulfilling my purpose to serve with joy because I know that one of my roles is to encourage and challenge other women whoever they are, wherever they may be.
Another role in which I serve with joy is to share my faith in Christ with those who are not Christians. First Peter 3:15 says, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. I have many roles, including others not mentioned here, most notably being a wife, but in all of these I have one purpose—To be more like the LORD Jesus. To serve with joy.
Many have asked why. I don't ask why because I know the answer, and here it is. We live in a sinful world. Bad things happen, but it was not supposed to be this way, and it will not always be this way. God has a plan. He has made a way for sinful people, you and me, to be with Him in a perfect world. The way is Jesus. This is the way to know God and someday be free from this world of disease and pain. Second Peter 3:9 says this, "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." So God is being patient, patient so that everyone has the opportunity to repent and to make things right with Him. That is why there is evil and suffering in the world, because when He does return to bring judgment, there will be no second chances.
*Acknowledge that you have sinned and that you have a serious problem before you in light of a God who is perfect and just.
*Recognize that there is nothing you can do to save yourself.
*Trust that Jesus, who died to pay the penalty for your sin, has risen from the dead and given you His righteousness.
I am dying, but so are you. Neither of us knows if he will even see tomorrow, and perhaps the reason that I am suffering now, the reason that God is waiting to bring judgment against all the evil in this world, is because He's waiting for you, for you to acknowledge your sin and to turn to Him for forgiveness. Maybe you are the one we are waiting for. Jesus suffered. God did not spare Him. Why would He spare me if my suffering would result in good for you? If my suffering is the means that God would use to bring even one person to Himself, it is an honor for me to suffer.
Does that seem strange? I suppose it does, but really, it is the only way that all of this makes any sense at all. A God who sees my suffering but is unable, or worse, unwilling to spare me? A God who sees my suffering but allows it with no greater purpose or hope? My God is able to save me, and He will; but save me from what? From a life without Him. There is a place where there is nothing good, not even a gentle rain or a child's laugh. It is a place where everything that we despise about this world, the evil, the injustice, is the rule with no exceptions.
Hell is a physical place where God is not. Instead, He will bring me to a perfect world where He is, Heaven, where life is full of wonder, adventure, and joy, everything good, for all eternity. My God is able to save me, and He will. This suffering is temporary, and the life I will live in eternity will make all this seem light and momentary.
As one speaker explained, "God allows in His wisdom that which He could easily prevent by His power."
Can that faith save? We all have faith in something, but not all faiths save. The faith I have saves, so when I say that death is not dying, the part of me that will die is only a shell. I have lived a seemingly picture-perfect life from the outside looking in. In truth, I have been very blessed, but in my life there have been many difficult things that the Lord has allowed.
I have made poor decisions in my life in the past, and have hurt others, and have been hurt as a result of them. I have known the searing pain of loss with the death of a loved one. I have learned that the greatest evidence of God's love is seen when I stand at the foot of the cross. He took my shame upon Himself and rescued me. I have learned that being a Christian is not just hope for the future, although it is most definitely that, but that it is the joy of knowing and trusting in a God who is loving and faithful no matter what the circumstances. So, when I say that death is not dying, death will not kill my soul. It is eternal just like yours. It is just this physical body that will die, but even it will be raised again just like Jesus. It will be better than the one I have now.
Like everything, it will be better because God is going to make everything new, and I know this, why? Because I know God. I know myself. I know the Gospel, and I know my purpose. I know I have a faith that saves because my faith is in the LORD Jesus alone.
Many have asked why. I don't ask why because I know the answer, and here it is. We live in a sinful world. Bad things happen, but it was not supposed to be this way, and it will not always be this way. God has a plan. He has made a way for sinful people, you and me, to be with Him in a perfect world. The way is Jesus. This is the way to know God and someday be free from this world of disease and pain. Second Peter 3:9 says this, "The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." So God is being patient, patient so that everyone has the opportunity to repent and to make things right with Him. That is why there is evil and suffering in the world, because when He does return to bring judgment, there will be no second chances.
*Acknowledge that you have sinned and that you have a serious problem before you in light of a God who is perfect and just.
*Recognize that there is nothing you can do to save yourself.
*Trust that Jesus, who died to pay the penalty for your sin, has risen from the dead and given you His righteousness.
I am dying, but so are you. Neither of us knows if he will even see tomorrow, and perhaps the reason that I am suffering now, the reason that God is waiting to bring judgment against all the evil in this world, is because He's waiting for you, for you to acknowledge your sin and to turn to Him for forgiveness. Maybe you are the one we are waiting for. Jesus suffered. God did not spare Him. Why would He spare me if my suffering would result in good for you? If my suffering is the means that God would use to bring even one person to Himself, it is an honor for me to suffer.
Does that seem strange? I suppose it does, but really, it is the only way that all of this makes any sense at all. A God who sees my suffering but is unable, or worse, unwilling to spare me? A God who sees my suffering but allows it with no greater purpose or hope? My God is able to save me, and He will; but save me from what? From a life without Him. There is a place where there is nothing good, not even a gentle rain or a child's laugh. It is a place where everything that we despise about this world, the evil, the injustice, is the rule with no exceptions.
Hell is a physical place where God is not. Instead, He will bring me to a perfect world where He is, Heaven, where life is full of wonder, adventure, and joy, everything good, for all eternity. My God is able to save me, and He will. This suffering is temporary, and the life I will live in eternity will make all this seem light and momentary.
As one speaker explained, "God allows in His wisdom that which He could easily prevent by His power."
Can that faith save? We all have faith in something, but not all faiths save. The faith I have saves, so when I say that death is not dying, the part of me that will die is only a shell. I have lived a seemingly picture-perfect life from the outside looking in. In truth, I have been very blessed, but in my life there have been many difficult things that the Lord has allowed.
I have made poor decisions in my life in the past, and have hurt others, and have been hurt as a result of them. I have known the searing pain of loss with the death of a loved one. I have learned that the greatest evidence of God's love is seen when I stand at the foot of the cross. He took my shame upon Himself and rescued me. I have learned that being a Christian is not just hope for the future, although it is most definitely that, but that it is the joy of knowing and trusting in a God who is loving and faithful no matter what the circumstances. So, when I say that death is not dying, death will not kill my soul. It is eternal just like yours. It is just this physical body that will die, but even it will be raised again just like Jesus. It will be better than the one I have now.
Like everything, it will be better because God is going to make everything new, and I know this, why? Because I know God. I know myself. I know the Gospel, and I know my purpose. I know I have a faith that saves because my faith is in the LORD Jesus alone.
"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
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LORD Jesus, though this physical body that You have blessed me will die, but I know that my soul will not die. Thank You for giving me the wisdom to know my purpose, and for giving me a willing heart to obey You and to be used by You. Above all, thank You for the gift of salvation which You freely purchased for me by Your precious blood. I am so thankful that my salvation is You and in You alone according to God's Word. I pray at this very moment that there will be souls out there who will come across this journal and will get save, to come to a personal relationship with You and be blessed. I pray in Your name, the Author and Finisher of our faith, Amen.
