Health, Happiness, and Holiness

I’ve been so challenged lately by not defining success by the world’s terms. Every place I turn seems to tell me that I’m chasing the wrong thing. When I look at all of these people around me, I feel like I’m not as successful as them and don’t have much to show for myself. I’ve been bombarded with this lie constantly, but God was and is faithful in reminding me of why I was created.

 Here it is: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37

When I have this mindset of “not feeling like I have much to show for myself”, do my intentions show that I am loving the Lord or loving Christina?  The truth behind this lie is that when I’m feeling this way, it’s a result of me trying to promote myself instead of God. I want people to see me and all of my accomplishments, when in reality, I have nothing good to stand on.  If I were to live like I believe the gospel, I would live in such a way that only wants to glorify God because He is good and I am sinful, and because being aware of my sin I know that it is far better that He be praised for His Holiness than I for my failures.

The second important truth that I’ve learned has to do with what we deserve. Here’s a little example to illustrate what I’m talking about. The other day, I woke up sick the morning of my final. I was very confused because I just could not understand why I was sick when God was supposed to keep me healthy, especially for my test. I actually couldn’t have been more wrong. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God wants us to be healthy or happy. He wants us to be Holy. (See 1 Peter 1:16; 1 Peter 2:9). God does not want us to be more comfortable, He wants us to be more like Him. I think the trap that I (and maybe more people than I realize) fall into is that comfort and holiness do not go hand in hand. If we base our existence as a Christ-follower off of “God’s plan of comfort for us”, we will be severely disappointed when we look at our lives compared to those around us. But if we are looking towards holiness, we will understand that we are indeed blessed.

   To sum up this past week, I was disappointed time and time again when I felt like I didn’t get the things that I deserved. But here’s the thing… God never promises any of those things that we feel we deserve. Instead, he gives us the one thing we do not deserve, Jesus.  

“Every morning I am up before the sun. Three times a day I walk two miles to fetch water for my sister, my grandmother, and me. While I walk, I dream of going to school.”

Today God is being faithful by reminding me that I am ungrateful.  I have been reminded, not once, but twice today about how people in Africa walk miles to retrieve water. As I read stories like the one above, my first reaction is to pity them or get sad. But the following scripture kept coming to mind:

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

It seems insensitive to say that walking miles just to get clean water is light or momentary. What could I possibly know about this when I live on a college campus where clean drinking water is available 20 ft. from me. But these “light and momentary troubles” are not compared with other hardships; they are examined next to “eternal glory.” This changes things. As people in Africa experience the weight and exhaustion of seeking clean water, we also encounter the difficulty in seeking living water in the midst of everyday circumstances.

As I’ve gone throughout my day, I have been bombarded with decisions, assignments, commitments, and the like. I sound so foolish thinking back to a point today when I conversed with a friend about how I was unsure if I wanted to get a 4 year or master’s degree. Do I not understand that people dream about just setting foot into a school, degree or not! In all of the decision and expectation placed on us, we lose sight of Christ. Sometimes I feel as if I quite literally have to walk miles to experience living water. Sometimes, I need to get as far as I can away from the computer and cell phone that seem to beckon me, and instead walk to my Savior who beckons me.

With all of that being said, the question that emerges is “What can we do to experience more Jesus in our everyday lives?” The answer: Less doing. We can stop busying ourselves and just rest. We can stop busying ourselves and look for Christ who reveals Himself in all aspects of our lives.

And as we face our daily discomforts and calamities, we too experience an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. For we know that we are found in Christ, and what a joy it is to be found in Him!

In the Waiting

In the Waiting

I feel like I am always waiting; waiting to hear back from bosses and teachers, waiting for the meeting to start, waiting to see if I’ve gotten the job, waiting for a ride somewhere, waiting between classes…. Just waiting.

But in the waiting God comes to me. In the waiting, God speaks.

Although I feel like I am always waiting, I feel like God sees it as a divine appointment.  Because when I’m waiting, God gets the time. I’m not where I was or where I’m going, I’m resting and available for God.

Like an athlete resting between plays and his coach giving him a quick pep talk before he continues, this is my God in the waiting. He pulls me aside, coaches me up, and sends me on.

“Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” Psalm 27:14

I often thought I was waiting for an earthly affair, but all the while, I was actually waiting for the Lord.