Encouragement in Christ's Work

God who created us and provides for all our needs is able to bring encouragement when we need it too.  There may be some people whose constitution resembles iron, impervious to pretty much everything other than rust.  I have grown in my appreciation of the encouragement God brings that unexpectedly reveals how much I needed it.  The best encouragement comes from God, and He is able to use countless means and ways to apply it to our hearts and minds.  Even when our hearts are wearied by troubles, the LORD knows how to minister to and through us.

I took encouragement today from the benediction at the end of the book of Hebrews.  Hebrews 13:20-21 reads, "Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, ²¹ make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."  Our God is the "God of peace," the almighty LORD who brings healing and wholeness by His grace.  We who were once strangers and far off from God have been brought near by the Gospel, united with the risen Christ.  As Jesus died and rose again, so we were once dead in sins and now have been raised to new life through the covenant in His blood shed for us.

Unlike those whose gods are crafted by the design of men from stone or wood that cannot speak, see, hear, know or do, the LORD Jesus is our Good Shepherd.  He protects and provides for us continually, and makes us complete in every good work to do His will.  God is working in us what is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, and this requires trust and submission to Him.  Perhaps we thought we could be merely passive observers or beneficiaries of this work without personal investment, yet we are called to work out our own freely received salvation.  It may surprise you it is to those who labour and are burdened Jesus tells to take His yoke upon us and learn from Him in Matthew 11:28-30:  "Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Our labours and burdens are too much for us alone, and thus Jesus calls us to come to Him and find rest--not a rest from labour or a promise of a trouble-free existence--but a new life sustained and encouraged by Him.

What is "well pleasing" in God's sight is often very different from what is pleasing to our view.  We want to see people or trying circumstances to change, whilst God is using those things to change us, make us complete in every good work to do His will and works in us what is well pleasing in His sight.  The God of peace that united the resurrected Son of God with a glorified body is able to finish the work in us He has begun by His grace.  We are often weak, forgetful, foolish, lazy and clueless about God's work, yet He is faithful.  God speaks to us and teaches us through His word, and the indwelling Holy Spirit continues to guide and leads us even when we are reluctant and contrary.  Today Jesus is making us complete in every good work to do His will, working in us what is well pleasing in His sight.  Knowing this, even when things are tiring, painful and hard there is always encouragement found in Jesus. 

The Aroma of Life

It is easy to read the Bible and imagine believers in scripture were a heartier stock than the modern-day believer, that we share little in common with them because they were vastly more faithful or fruitful.  Christians like Paul were used by the LORD to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles, faced fierce persecution from all sides, and he remained steadfast in faith.  We can also look at missionaries, worship leaders, pastors and teachers who seem unfazed by life's problems.  Our fellow Christians who have suffered many major things beyond our experience seem to fare better than we do with our struggles over minor things.

The problem is, this isn't true.  It may be true we do wilt easily under the pressure others have discovered strength in God to overcome through faith, but know human frailty since the fall into sin has been constant.  Even Paul was transparent about struggles most people can identify with, and we might assume such troubles were beneath him.  Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2:12-13, "Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, ¹³ I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia."  Though Paul preached Christ though Whom we find rest for our souls, it did not follow Paul always experienced it.  He had an open door to preach by the LORD, yet he had no rest in his spirit.  Initially the trip to Macedonia was not pleasant either.

He explained in 2 Corinthians 7:5-6:  "For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. ⁶ Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus..."  Paul's spirit was not at rest in Troas, and in Macedonia the body had not rest either:  there were troubles, conflicts outside and fear inside.  While Paul was in a downcast and depressed state, Titus brought with him a comforting message from the church in Corinth.  He reported how well they received his corrective and instructive letter and took appropriate action to honour God in the church.  Paul rejoiced to hear this good report.  God placed the apostle Paul in the body of Christ the church, not only to bring forth the truth of God's word, but to receive the consolation by Christ's love and encouragement through His people.

Have you ever lacked rest in your spirit since coming to Christ?  Have you ever faced trouble and conflicts without and fears within?  Have you ever felt lonely or downcast?  If so, you have more in common with Paul than you may have thought.  And if you know Jesus Christ, having been born again, you are connected with the same Saviour who gives rest and comfort for our souls.  2 Corinthians 2:14-16 can be a source of encouragement for all Christians as we praise Him despite pain:  "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ¹⁵ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?"  The fragrance of frankincense is released when it is crushed, and when our souls are crushed by difficulties the fragrance of Jesus Christ is dispensed to the world to lead people to salvation by faith in Him.

Paul being downcast and crushed by circumstances can be an encouragement to us who also struggle.  Paul was not sufficient for the troubles common to life and people, and neither are we:  only Jesus Christ is sufficient for these things, and He is infinitely so.  Paul's attitude and flesh led him to be downcast, yet Jesus always leads us in triumph.  Thanks be to God who comforts the downcast and through us diffuses the aroma of Life leading to life.  The crushing circumstances of life have a way of leading us and others to Jesus.

Sober and Steadfast in Faith

Commonly quoted verses of the Bible sometimes stop short of important information and personal application, and I was reminded of this during a recent Bible study.  The speaker described how predators seek out easy prey that are isolated from the protection of the herd, ones that are young, old or injured.  He likened the one isolated from the pack as the Christian who is too self-conscious or embarrassed to confess their sin, isolated by their own pride.  Such a one may gather with believers on a Sunday or lead a Bible study and have many friends, yet they can foolishly go it alone in their struggle in sin.  "The devil is in the grey areas," he said.

I took the liberty of looking up the verse that describes Satan as a lion prowling about looking for prey in 1 Peter 5:8:  "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."  This is the passage many Christians are familiar with.  In the King James Version of the Bible, however, this verse does not end with a period but a colon.  Our proper response to this revelation is outlined in the following verse in 1 Peter 5:9:  "Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world."  Verse 8 is not intended to strike fear into your heart that Satan is like a lion because verse 9 says we are not called to flee from him but stand steadfast in the faith of Jesus.  Fleeing is a prey response that triggers the predatory instinct to pounce and pursue.  We cannot outrun temptation; we cannot overpower the devil in our flesh.

Having been born again by faith in Jesus Christ, we are given strength and wisdom to resist Satan as we remain steadfast in the faith as Jesus keeps us.  We can take comfort that we are not alone in our struggles, whether it is being overtaken in a trespass, temptation to sin or trials that result in suffering.  Peter explained believers are a brotherhood in the world, the flock of Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd Who protects, guides, corrects and comforts us.  The only time we are on our own is when we stray from the Good Shepherd and fellowship with believers, ignoring the conviction of our conscience and choosing to isolate ourselves in our pride and self-reliance.  This is when we are most vulnerable and open to attack.  But God be praised:  though we do have an adversary who seeks to devour, we have a Saviour who seeks to save and deliver.  Like Daniel in the lion's den, God has the power to shut the mouths of lions so we are unhurt, our lives a testimony of God's presence and protection.

Conflict Creates Opportunity

Conflict is a part of life and especially in our closest relationships.  Instead of seeing conflict as a bad thing to avoid at all costs. Myron Rush wrote this:  "One of the key ingredients to maintaining a cooperative relationship is the attitude that conflict is healthy and not something to be avoided.  Conflict creates an opportunity for us to know each other better and to serve each other more." (Rush, Myron, and Stanley C. Baldwin. Richer Relationships: Leader's Guide. Victor Books, 1983. page 121)  One of the reasons why we might want to avoid facing conflict head on is to avoid offending people we love and care about.  However, if we truly do love others and care for their needs, dealing with conflict directly in a loving manner demonstrates that fact.  My avoidance of conflict can be self-centered rather than loving others at all.

Jesus did not shy away from conflict when He spoke the truth in love.  He did not pander to His listeners by telling them what they wanted or expected to hear.  Even the disciples of Jesus did not understand or agree with what He said, like when Peter responded to Jesus with, "Not so, LORD!"  When Jesus conversed with the self-righteous Pharisees He exposed their hypocrisy--not to humiliate or embarrass them or make Himself look good--but to lovingly rebuke them so they might consider their sinful ways, repent and be forgiven.  As it was they blindly were headed to destruction and compelled others to follow them.  The conflict arose when they did not believe the claims of Jesus He was the Christ and were envious of His attraction to the people they desperately wanted to influence themselves.  Jesus came to save them from sin and death, yet they were determined to kill Him.  Conflict between them was inevitable.

After Jesus identified the Pharisees as those who drew near to God with their lips, whose hearts were far from God and thus worshipped Him in vain, they were incensed.  Matthew 15:12-14 states, "Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" ¹³ But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."  It is likely the disciples came to Jesus to inform Him of the Pharisee's offence because He did not give any impression it concerned Him.  The Pharisees avoided confronting Jesus publicly out of fear of losing face before the people.  Jesus, being God in the flesh, knew perfectly why the Pharisees were angry and offended over His remarks.  In His response to Peter Jesus was not apologetic or sorry, having spoken the truth of God's word with a heart of love and sincere care for others.

The reason for the offence of the Pharisees was because they were not planted by His Father, even as the tares were sown among the good seed by an enemy in the parable.  They were not to be preoccupied with trying to make peace with people with whom their could be no peace or unity, for they were of a different kind.  The Pharisee's offence of Jesus was not to be the concern of His disciples, for unbelief in Jesus had blinded them.  As blind leaders of the blind they would fall into a ditch shrouded in darkness, for they refused to acknowledge the Light of the World Who shone upon them.  The response of Jesus was not a callous, "Sorry, not sorry!" but pointed out the reason behind their offence and how their vain worship of God would lead to ruin.  Their offence and anger at Jesus made plain the hidden reality of hearts distant from God.

Because Christians are not Jesus, it is easy for us when facing conflict to fall into the snares of pride, selfishness, fear of man and frustration He expertly avoided at every turn.  Nothing Jesus ever said or did was regrettable or should He have apologised for, but there are countless times we should have repented when we justified ourselves.  We have been offensive and rude, not because we spoke the truth, but because we said it in a haughty, mocking manner or to make others look foolish.  We have avoided saying the truth because we knew it would be offensive and did not love others enough to meet their hypocrisy head-on, calling it what it is.  Thus we played the hypocrite despite knowing better!  The love of God and commitment to loving others means we can view conflict as an good opportunity to explore rather than something to selfishly avoid.  Because our eyes have been opened to see Jesus and receive His word, let us follow His leading to deal with conflict directly rather than sweeping it aside.  If others will stumble at Christ or fall into a ditch of offence, let it not be due to our lack of love or our sin.