My radiation/chemo treatments have begun, and will continue for six weeks. Like an uphill climb, I can hardly wait until “after this is over.” Of
course looking forward to the “other” side of a trying circumstance is natural. But
with no guarantee there won’t be another one right “after,” we
need more than an “after-this-is-over” mindset.
Paul tells of
a host of saints who endured their trials without ever seeing the other side of it: “Having obtained a good testimony through faith, [they] did not
receive the promise. For God had something better in mind..., so that they
would not reach perfection without us” (Heb. 11:39-40). The “perfection” of their faith waited until after all of us together would find our faith fully perfected in the suffering and resurrection of Christ.
And
therein lies the secret to enduring hard times—by keeping our eyes on Jesus..., who perfects our faith; and who, for the joy awaiting him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame, [knowing that afterward], He would sit at God’s throne (Heb. 12:2, edited). Now if we can just remember this
“beforehand.”
I struggled to find a message to convey at this special time of year. An event I read about in USA Today gave rise to this post. Last Friday the UN declared the first ever International Day of Happiness. Isn’t that too coincidental that within a week of the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (the most sober time of our year) the UN focuses on the pursuit of happiness?
I’ve always thought it was rather odd wishing someone a “happy” Easter. It appears an unsuitable word to use for such a holy occasion. The “pursuit of happiness” is quite contrary to the message of Easter—happiness being defined by our culture in a self-oriented way: I am happy when things go well for me.
Do you know that the promise of happiness was Satan’s lie? “Eat the fruit; and you will live happily ever after.” (People are still eating the fruit of self-attained fulfillment.) There is a clear example of this in the Gospels. When Jesus gave the 5,000 a free lunch, they were happy. But shortly thereafter, when Jesus explained that His feeding had been an illustration of the greater truth, “you shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God…and unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life,” many stopped following Him.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying God doesn’t want us to be happy; or that we should not wish people well on Easter. I’m saying we must be careful not to trivialize this Holy Day commemorating Christ’s death and resurrection with the world’s idea of happiness. The hard truth is Christ didn’t die to make us happy. In fact, He promised that if we follow Him, we will experience persecution and suffering. And in this we would find ‘happiness’ (blessedness)—not exactly in sync with the world’s notion of bliss. “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!” (Ps 144:15). So, now that we've defined biblical happiness, dare I say "Happy Easter"?
Author/psychologist Larry Crabb says, “A flaw in our view of Christian marriage (and all Christian life) is the appealing emphasis on becoming happy. Our peppy songs about joyful Christianity neglect the need to develop a holy, obedient walk with God no matter what personal suffering may be involved.”
In “If God Is Good,” Randy Alcorn writes “If we come to see the purpose of the universe as God’s long-term glory rather than our short-term happiness, then we will undergo a critical paradigm shift in tackling the problem suffering.” Likewise, Greg Laurie writes, “The purpose of the universe is God’s glory, not our happiness. We tend to think of the world as revolving around us. We are the main characters of our own novels. And when something bad happens, we want to know why this is happening to me.”
It seems to me if we are in the throes of apocalyptic events, we can expect more suffering—none of us will escape. Are we ready? Randy Alcorn answers: “We shouldn’t wait until suffering comes, to start learning how to face it, any more than we should wait to fall into the water before we start learning how to scuba dive.” How do you learn? When trials come, choose joy.
Joel Osteen was on the Piers Morgan show last week, plugging his most recent book, “Every Day a Friday, How to Be Happier 7 Days a Week.” Once again, Joel Osteen is offering his own brand of highly therapeutic prosperity theology, with its focus on individual happiness and self-fulfillment.
In the gospel according to Joel, God wants His children to experience every day as if it were a Friday, meaning, every day should feel like the day before a good weekend. (Evidently, there are no ‘weekend warriors’ in Joel’s paradigm.) But Paul tells us (2 Tim 2) that a Christian is like a soldier, a farmer, or an athlete—denoting a “no-day-off” lifestyle, disavowing Joel’s “Have a nice weekend” gospel!
Every false teaching displaces sound doctrine for human experience. While I won’t say Joel Osteen is a false teacher, I will say that his message mirrors the therapeutic and psychological “feel good” philosophy that has invaded Evangelicalism in recent years. Self-development & self-improvement themes permeate evangelical teaching, justified by such words as ‘contemporary’ and ‘relevant.’ Whatever happened to “deny your self and pick up your cross?"
“Since Christ suffered, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer too... Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus… for if we endure hardship, we will reign with him.” (2 Tim. 2:3, 12; 1 Peter 4:1) Can you imagine Paul saying, “Thank God it’s Friday!?”
Whoever said “there are two things in life you can count on: death and taxes,” forgot about another sure thing: trials! This side of Heaven, each of us will go through trials. But there is a purpose to our trials: they are for TESTING our faith. And though tests are a normal part of life, still we are surprised and disturbed when they show up, intrusively and unannounced! And while in the middle of one, we imagine it will last forever, but it will not; there is always an AFTER!
“…no one should be disturbed by these trials; you know quite well that we were destined for them …For it has been granted to us, on behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for Him…so don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you…knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance…you need endurance so that AFTER you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise…of course, we know that no trial is enjoyable while it is happening—it is painful, but AFTERWARD there will be a harvest of peace and righteousness for those who have been trained by it… therefore, AFTER you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.”
(Paraphrased from 1 Thess. 3:3: Phil. 1:29; 1 Peter 4:12; James 1:3; Heb. 12:11; 1 Peter 5:10; Heb. 10:36)
Let us pray for God’s strength to endure until He brings us into our AFTER. (Maybe we really can live happily ever after!!)
