Who Am I In Christ?

I have lived in my current home for just over 10 years. That may seem insignificant to you, but for me it’s a pretty big milestone. Until I was 9 years old I lived in 4 states and at least 10 different towns/cities, that I know about. When I was old enough to go to school each new school year brought a different, new school and halfway through the year brought more change along with yet another new school. When I was almost 9 my family relocated yet again to a small town in Southern Oregon. There the moving slowed down to just 4 moves over 9 years when I graduated from high school. Thankfully there were no more school changes at least. Even as a young adult I hopped all around, in and out of my parents home several times. After I married my husband we seemed to even make the move 3 times in the first 5 years of our marriage before we landed where we are today.

But what’s the big deal? Well, with each new move came new people and as you get to know people the question always comes up: “Where are you from?” That question seemed to echo like a gong in my head each time I heard it and prepared to answer. ‘Do I go with the short version?’ I’d ask myself. That’s what I would usually do, but then, as our conversation drew out I would find myself needing to explain in detail what my background was actually like. If I went with the long version I seemed to overwhelm people who were just trying to be friendly, having a casual exchange. I remember as a small child asking my mom what should I tell them when they asked. She guided me well enough, but it never seemed to satisfy the question. I guess what I was asking was deeper than the simple question of “Where are you from?” It was more of a need for an identity, a suredness of where I came from, something more than simple geography. I think in my perpetual state of moving, all the comings and goings, packing and unpacking, closing old doors and anticipating new opportunities it was rather difficult to grasp the concept of “who I am”, let alone pinpoint that that was even the question.

Fast forward to my late 20’s/early 30’s, finally, I had been still long enough to recognize the question. I had the time and drive to seek the answer and I believe this moment in time was quite critical and significant in my life. If I hadn’t asked the question I’m certain that I’d be a very different person today. As one who had been a committed follower of Jesus for many years I understood that I was created by Him to walk with Him for a purpose that could only be found by asking Him. As I studied scripture I learned what it meant when God said: “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26. I learned that God is sovereign over every detail of life from the time I was created- Psalm 139:13-16: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
 your works are wonderful, 
I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place, 
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; 
all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be”, to the time, place and family which I was given to- Acts 17:26-28 "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.” All of this may sound a bit overthought, maybe even picked apart, but until one establishes where and who they came from how does one know where to go next? Without asking the question and seeking the answer how do you know who you are, or where you stand in this world. In America today we are pulled in so many different directions. How can you stay true to who you are if you don’t really know yourself? I was, for much of my life, like a chameleon, blending into the crowd de jour. Ever compromising, ever pleasing, hoping to feel a part of the group, really just wanting an identity. But it wasn’t until I found out who I was in Christ that I felt able to be me.

I have found that when I approach God in prayer, depending on what I am asking, He either responds with a flood of love and increased knowledge, or He is very, very quiet…like not answering at all quiet. 1 John 5:14,15 says “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” I can say, from experience, that it is not God’s will when we ask Him to fix our lives and problems. God is not in the “making life easy for the sake of my happiness/comfort/enjoyment” business. But it IS His will for us to know who we are and who He created us to be. Out of that knowledge God can and will do many wonderful things to bring fruit to our lives, to bring us closer to Him and to expand His kingdom by bringing more people into a relationship with Him. And when we stop long enough to earnestly ask Him to reveal who He created us to be then He opens up a world of clarity to the person we are and what His desire for us is. If you have never stopped to ask Him do it today! Grab a pen and paper because God is about to open a floodgate of scripture, imagery and characteristics that not only point to the special, unique individual that you are, but, like He did with me, He may reveal to you who you are not, releasing you from things that unnecessarily take your time, energy and resources.

As it stands today, when that pesky, seemingly innocent question comes up I have a new peace inside. Not because I always know how to answer, but because I know that the God of this universe, creator of Heaven and Earth, also created me for a plan and a purpose. So it doesn’t matter what town I grew up in or the fact that I can’t count or even remember all of my childhood homes. What matters is that my identity is in Christ. He is my rock, my foundation, where I came from and where I’ll be.

Dear Heavenly Father- Thank You for being my firm foundation, for being my forever home base. I am truly blessed in You. ~Beth

The Ministry Of Repaying Hardship With Love

2 Corinthians 4- I’ve decide that this chapter is the ultimate encouragement chapter. Paul writes to the church at Corinth and in this chapter he reminds them that this world is temporary and encourages them to focus on the eternal.

Have you ever just been annoyed? Do you know someone who is easily annoyed? If you know me then you know at least one! I don’t like a lot of noise (hello...boys!). I don’t like a big mess. I don’t like chaos or confusion. I get easily rattled if there are too many things going on at once. These are all normal daily occurrences for everyone, I realize that. But, I’m not talking about the everyday, I’m talking about seasons of life. There are seasons of life that are full of joy and bliss, like being engaged to your future husband or wife. But, there are other seasons that are automatically more stressful and anxiety ridden, like the terrible two’s. So what do we do when we find ourselves in that difficult season when annoyances abound and there’s nowhere to run. In 2 Corinthians 4 God has laid out the perfect plan and as always there’s a lesson in it for us, too!

In verse 1, right off the bat, God gives us purpose in our struggle “we have a ministry”. In our frustration people are watching, “How does the Christian handle it?” they ask. What do you tell them with your response? Are you set apart the way God has called you to be? In verses 2 & 5 is the answer “we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God...For what we preach is not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” God is telling us here that how we handle ourselves matters because we represent Christ in our actions and relationships. In my annoyance do I snap, lashing out to the people God has placed in my life? Or do I respond in love as God would want me to? Only if I have stored my “treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God” (vs 7) am I able to respond with love. It is because we live in a fallen world that we will have trouble, but God has given us His strength to draw on. Are you hard pressed on every side? Are you perplexed when situations arise? Are you persecuted? Are you struck down? If you answered “yes” then you must be living in this momentary world! God knows and His promise is this (vs 8,9): you are not crushed, you are not in despair, you are not abandoned, you are not destroyed. Why? Because I rely on my stored up treasure in my jar of clay that only comes from God, and through that we testify to others of God’s love.

Next, Paul likens this ministry to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Take a look at verses 11 and 12, “For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may also be revealed in our mortal bodies. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” This is the gospel of Christ. Because Christ died in our place we live. As we endure hardship and repay with good we literally die with Christ and raise to life His resurrection power. Think about that for a minute. Christ died for our sins. Christ rose victoriously defeating death forever. So, when I show goodness, even though I have received hardship, I pass on the ministry of Christ. Amazing. I can’t even fully wrap my brain around the idea that God would make a way for us to share in Christ’s sacrifice, yet that’s exactly what He does!

And it doesn’t stop there, we have a ministry plus we are blessed from the experience, look at verse 15: “This is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people” (the love you spread in your response to frustration) “may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” We share in God’s glory, what pure joy! Paul wraps up this chapter nicely encouraging the Corinthians to not lose heart, to remember the eternal glory and to focus on the unseen spiritual world that God has for us in heaven (verses 16-18).

This brings me to a new level of thankfulness. Not for the stuff I have, but for the ministry that God has given me. Even though it may be frustrating at times it is from God and to have that purpose, that blessing from Him is humbling and exciting.

Dear Heavenly Father- Thank you for the opportunity to share in the ministry of Christ, to die with Him in persecution and to rise with Him in victory. I ask that You would continue to give me Your strength in this ministry that I may abound in grace to those you have brought to my life. ~Beth

Compassion Not Criticism

1 Kings 19:9-18: The great prophet Elijah is discouraged. God comes to him to encourage and rejuvenate him for his next task.

In the previous chapter Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal and is in fear of his life. He ran to the desert, found a tree to sit under and prayed to God to take his life and then went to sleep. Two times an angel woke him and fed him, he then traveled 40 days to Mt. Horeb (Mt. Sanai where God appeared to Moses), found a cave and went inside. At this point Elijah is seriously spent and I love how God lifts him up. This passage makes me think about my relationship to my children and how that affects my view of God, specifically my relationship with God as His child. There are many parallels in these 2 relationships. In my humanity I sometimes forget the differences, but this difference really matters!

In the beginning of this passage, 1 Kings 19:9, God speaks to Elijah and says “what are you doing here?” Elijah’s response is so broken, he expresses that the work he’s been doing is out of his passion for God, but no one listens and in fact he is hated. He says to God “I am the only one left & now they’re trying to kill me, too.” He is so raw, so vulnerable, so relatable. And God responds to this. He tells Elijah to go out to the mountain because He is about to pass by. God’s desire is to be close to Elijah during his vulnerable state. What happens next is so amazing! A great wind comes and rips through the mountains, but God is not there. Next an earthquake shakes the land, but God is not there. After that there is a fire, but God is not there either. While God has appeared in the bible many times in one of these powerful ways, His character cannot be solely defined by His power, it’s just one aspect of His entirety. Read verse 12- “after the fire came a gentle whisper”. I think a greater indicator of God’s character is His desire to have a relationship with people, an intimate knowing of the heart. God saw the fragile state that Elijah was in and in His love for His child He came to Elijah and restrained His power into a gentle whisper. I know for myself that it can be hard to cry out to God when I’m vulnerable. I have a fear that in my weakened state God will heap on judgement and condemnation. I’m certain that He’ll run with the criticism that has already begun in my own thoughts and reflections about the previous events. I place God on the same human level as myself, as my “parent self”, expecting His reaction to be the same as mine if my child had come to me. But God is not human in His thinking or in His parenting logic. My human-ness is -at best- a stab in the dark level of understanding what my child is truly feeling. After which comes a dialogue (let’s face it- a monologue) of how he could’ve better handled the situation. My expectation is that God would then remove me from His work, from His purposes, because He gave me too much responsibility, after all, this is how I would handle a similar situation with my child. As you know if you’re a parent, there’s a constant give and take with the responsibilities and privileges with your children. But God doesn’t do life according to Beth- thankfully! God fully knows what He is doing all the time! In His infinite wisdom He sees all the moving parts and puts us in His ultimate plan not because He thinks we know what we’re doing, or are fully prepared for the work, but simply because He wants that working relationship with us. Afterword- like Elijah- we (feel like we) messed things up and are (feeling) washed up, but God doesn’t see it that way at all. He is tender with us, He rejuvenates us, preparing us for the next task. Take a look at verse 15, God begins instructing Elijah about where to go next, who to find and what to do. God is far from done with Elijah at this point, much like He is far from done with you and me, too! To top it off, in verse 18 God encourages Elijah by telling him there are 7,000 others in Israel who have not worshipped Baal. What an encouragement to Elijah that he is NOT the only one left and that God is not finished with him yet.

This story is an encouragement to me to know that God’s view of me is not harsh or critical. That when I seemingly make a mess of things He doesn’t see it that way. That when I feel used up is just when He’s feeding me, preparing me for the next task.

Dear Heavenly Father- I am in awe that you use such brokenness for Your purpose and ultimately for Your Glory. Thank You for Your continuing love and compassionate power in my life. ~Beth