Shadow vs. Reality

"16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Cor. 4:16-18

Light and momentary, or "trials of many kinds... testing... your faith," Shari and I have been going through them. Oh, we try hard to keep things in perspective. We're not being martyred or persecuted for our faith. We have a roof over our heads (a nice one), and food on the table. Still, emotionally, spiritually, and physically we have felt attacked in many ways, and have struggled to understand why we've been struggling with so many negative emotions and happenings. Through it all (I'll speak for me for now), I've had this nagging voice in the back of my head, reminding me of posts I've done in the past (that I don't want to find and link to at this moment ;o) that say that there's more to what's happening than just life. There's a battle going on. Honestly, I've often felt like I'm struggling to enter into that battle. For those who have seen Top Gun, you may remember, towards the end of the movie, the scene where Maverick struggles to re-enter the dog fight, leaving Ice Man hanging with four Migs on his tail. That's how I've been feeling, starting to engage, then pulling away for one reason or another.

Well, I haven't got it all figured out, and I'm not as engaged as I know I need to be, and want to be, but God's raising something up inside me of importance. I'm rereading John Eldredge's book, "Waking the Dead," as well as going through Neil Anderson's book, "Stomping Out the Darkness" with a couple students. These books are re-awakening my heart to the battle going on, and the fact that, no matter what I feel like, my role in this battle, especially right here in Lolo, MT, is imperative. It's imperative, not because I'm irreplaceable, but because God's called Shari and I specifically to be here to do what He's created only for us to do. The reality isn't the stuff we're struggling with, but the spiritual battle going on that we can't see. John talks about the many stories that we as a culture embrace - "The Matrix," "Star Wars," "The Lord of the Rings," etc. - that talk about a character who is thrust into a fight - a battle - that he didn't even know existed. The character isn't particularly equipped to do what he's called to, but he's called none-the-less. Shari and I aren't particularly equipped to do what we're called to. That's the point - our dependence must be on God, and God alone, but we must do what He's equipping us for. We must pray, we must pursue Him, and we must proclaim His truth as He leads. Above all, we can't let our hope be dashed because somebody doesn't agree with me, or because a particular student moves away from God, or even because life is difficult at home. Our hope is in Christ alone, and the eternal glory we're building even now. These activities are just a shadow of the battle going on in the spiritual realm, and of what God is doing in the realm.

So, for those also struggling with life, please remember that God is at work. When Job's life crashed and burned around him, it wasn't because of anything he had done, or even people had done around him. It was a cosmic poker match between God and Satan - a battle to show that God's man was able to do what God called him to do because he depended on God, and it was to bring God glory. It was all about the battle Job couldn't see. Hang on. Engage in the battle through prayer, reading the Word, and being obedient to what you do know. Cling to the hope we have - that God is not only trustworthy, but loves us unconditionally and fantastically more than we can ask or imagine. Han Solo said, "I can imagine an awful lot." And Luke said, "You'll get it!"