Encouragement
I Thought You Were A Christian!
Yesterday I read an article here on FW written by a dear sister in Christ who is, well just having a bad day! I imagined many people might read this article and shake their heads wondering how a Christian could get to this point.
One of the things I have found is there are those (and a lot of the time seem to be in our inner circle) that are just waiting for the moment to pounce. What do I mean? I recall situations with my daughter, when she would be strung out on drugs and she would needle me and needle me and before you knew it I was needling her back (being honest here). I would always determine I was going to have the patience of Job and not allow myself to get pushed to this point of screaming something I should have kept to myself, but it was almost inevitable, and every time she’d push and push and push and then I would say something stupid! Of course this is where she would turn and say, “I thought you were a Christian.”
Have you ever heard this before?
Of course it was always at this point that the enemy himself would pounce! Here I was praying night and day for my daughter, and then ruining my testimony with anger! For years I dealt with this and prayed about this and searched for the answer!
See, it is expected that Christians can’t have bad days! We aren’t supposed to get down and we aren’t supposed to feel bad! Of course when you are having one of these moments you always seem to run into Sister I’m-Always-Blessed or Brother Look-At-Me-Ride-These-Waves, then there is the FW articles that you click on telling you to rejoice when things are bad, and you just want to scream BUT I DON’T FEEL LIKE IT!
It takes guts to stand up and say I don’t feel like it, when you are surrounded by articles and people telling you – BUT YOU HAVE TOO BECAUSE YOU’RE A CHRISTIAN!
So what is a Christian to do? Do we put on a façade of happiness when inside we are broken and just feel like quitting? Do we walk around forcing a smile letting everyone know we are blessed when all around us it seems our world is falling apart?
I’ve done this! What I’ve also done is pushed those away that would otherwise support me and pray for me during my time of need because I had too much pride to say, hey, I need some help here.
I believe God understood there would be moments when we would simply become weary with the journey! If He had thought it was going to be a cakewalk, then I suppose He wouldn’t have warned us about the storms and the rising waters! Perhaps the Bible would be written differently and there would be no need for instruction as to how to pray through troubles, or storm the gates of hell! He wouldn’t have needed to tell us about Moses who could no longer hold his arms up, and Aaron and Hur had to assist! Psalms would have been written completely different, if David had just been the Happy Christian He was suppose to be!
David was a prime example of living through bad days! Let’s look at one of my favorite passages:
Psalms 142
I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.
I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me.
I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul.
I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.
Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low: deliver me from my persecutors; for they are stronger than I.
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.
David was a man that understood grief! He also understood honesty!
If you are one of those going through a storm, and you don’t quite feel like praising God, find someone you can be honest with and let them know – pray together and if you just can’t find the wherewithal to pray, then ask them to pray for you! God has anointed people to be Aaron and Hurs! I have a few in my life! I can call on them and say, hey things aren’t going so well, and they start praying!
If you happen to be one of those Christians that find it difficult to understand why someone could possibly be down, then I would like to advise you to read through Psalms! King David, a man after God’s own heart had his moments! Who says we aren’t ever going to see those days! Take inventory of your life and turn on the honesty meter! Perhaps you have found the place in God where you are never down or feel like quitting, and if this is the case then we rejoice with you, but in the meantime, perhaps those around you haven’t arrived there yet!
I try to think about it this way! When I am encouraged and excited and feel like dancing, I may need to be holding someone up! I may need to hunch down, pull my sister up on my back and say, come on, I know you don’t have the strength to dance, so I’m gonna dance for us both!
I may need to be a shoulder to cry on! I may need to shut my mouth and open my ears and hear what someone is saying, they may need to vent to a sister that isn’t going to judge them, but pray with them!
If we are not careful, we will find ourselves standing back and saying, well, if you were a Christian you wouldn’t get to this point. With this we must be careful! It is our duty and responsibility to encourage and love and support our brothers and sisters when they are down, not judge them!
God knew there would be storms and there would be times when we run and hide in a cave and perhaps fall into the corner crying like a baby! He knew this!! So don’t give up! Don’t let the enemy wear you down! Today I feel like dancing, so come on over, climb on my back and I will dance for both of us….because someday you may have to dance for me!
God bless you!
© Jounda LaMance November 23, 2006
Written for my sister in Christ Beth Hale! Sister I know there are many who are holding you up in prayer, so hang on, pretty soon you will feel like dancing again!
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