Yes I know it has been a while since I updated my blog / pastor’s note. Truth be told, I haven’t felt like writing a lot in the past few months. I know it is easy for some to believe I am this “super spiritual” man, but some days / weeks I just don’t have the strength to do much. No, I do not have a disease or illness that I am hiding from anyone; I am just telling you that sometimes I get discouraged. Not with anyone in particular and it is not always just one thing, but discouragement does happen and no one is exempt from it.
When this does happen we usually are told to “look on the bright side of things”, or “every cloud has a silver lining” and while yes those are easy to say, may I tell all of you that they are not easy to see. You see this is when we expect everyone to “kick in” the “SUPER SAINT” inside of them and step into the phone booth as Clark Kent and come out as Superman. Reality time; that doesn’t always happen, nor should it; I / we are not “Super Saints”. I / we are flawed humans who go through many areas on our lives that challenge us on a daily basis. Yes we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” by God Himself; yes God loves us all, and yes He will never leave us nor forsake us. But that does not mean we will not face times of discouragement and even loneliness.
I am not about to give you something else to do to try ad make yourself better or to guilt you into trying harder, I just want you to reflect on what Jesus did. Not WWJD (What Would Jesus Do), but instead WDJD (What Did Jesus Do). This is not some new epiphany God gave me, it will not “knock your socks off” (at least I don’t think it will), but I do believe it will free you up to give yourself permission to relax in the moment and hear from God and know it is okay when you do feel this way. I / we really beat ourselves up sometimes for feeling alone and discouraged in a world of over 7 billion people. But we do and Jesus says “I understand”.
So WDJD? He simply talks to the Father. There you have it the Son of God talked to God the Father. But Jesus didn’t just do this when He felt discouraged; He did this all the time. Jesus was in a constant “state” of prayer, if not we would not have the scripture to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This does not mean we walk around with our heads bowed and eyes closed all the time, it simply means we are consciously aware that God the Father is always there with us and we can talk to Him wherever we are.
Did Jesus get discouraged? You bet! How did He handle it? He went to the Father and brought glory to Him. Study the life of Jesus and you will understand even more why He can say “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:15–16)
Be encouraged my friends when discouragement comes and do what Jesus did!
Pastor's Notes 