He talked about Paul writing Corinthians, and how it broke his heart writing the first letter because he was having to confront those he loved about the way that they're living. Each time either of them had to confront someone they cared about, they were deeply distressed. Neither Paul nor Jesus liked to be confrontational. there is only one record in the bible of Jesus being angry and that was in the temple. i know personally when i get hurt, my response is to get angry and i stay angry and bitter for a long time. all the while i should remember that God loves the people who hurt us just as much as he loves us. Very rarely do i even stop to consider this. now when it's friends that i'm upset with that's another story. most of the time, i'm willing to think about how they have alot going on in their life too, but most of the time I'm so overwhelmed with how much i need them that i forget how much they need me and how much we need each other.
If you know the story of Paul, then you know that after he wrote the first letter, he was greatly distressed and regretted sending it, but only for a short period because the people had repented, but they were angry with Paul and so when he heard that they'd strayed away from the path again, he sent is friend Titus to speak with them, since they weren't happy with Paul at the time. Paul and Titus had decided to meet in Troas but when Paul went to meet him, Titus wasn't there. Even though the ministry was great in Troas and Paul was able to minister to many people. he was heartbroken over the church, because it wasn't just a church, it was people that he loved. and he was lonely because Titus wasn't there and he had no idea if something had happened to him. He left Troas in search of his friend. his body had had no rest, he'd been harassed at every turn, he was having conflicts both on the inside and out, he was scared, and on top of that he was downcast (depressed.)
Paul felt the same emotions that we all feel today, and yet God used him to do do so many great and miraculous things for the Glory of God. Paul was said to be lonely twice in the bible, and he knew all too well the feelings of love that wasn't returned and criticism. But although this story seems as if it would have a sad ending, it ends in Joy. God helped Paul by sending some one to bring him out of the pit he was in. two points from the lesson tonight were that God specializes in comforting the downcast and He sometimes uses other people to "pull us out of our funk." when people-including myself- get depressed, they tend to try to get away from people, when in fact that's the last thing that they should do.
But back to the story of Paul, he finally met Titus on the road who told him that the people he'd been praying for had repented and were looking forward to seeing him. Even in Paul's most distressful moment, God had already worked it out.
"But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us
about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that
my joy was greater than ever" --2nd Corinthians 7:6-7
To whom are we Titus? we can never know how much a simple hello or smile or a little corny joke can mean to someone who is having a bad day.
The thing said tonight that hit me the hardest tonight was "Relationships and People are worth fighting for!" and that we can make it through anything if we stick together. God has made a promise to us that he would never leave us. Nothing that we go through is bigger than He is and as long as we lean on Him, we will make it through every time. God will use any thing, person, and/or circumstance to get our attention. I heard a quote in my worship class on Tuesday that said "God rarely uses someone greatly, that he does not wound deeply." We've also learned in that class that God is in the business of using broken people, because when we're broken we realize that God is all that we have left and once we learn to trust him, we see that he is all that we ever really need, and he soon will become all that we will ever want. One of the main things that we need to remember when we are broken is that whatever has caused us to become so broken was God's way of bringing us back to him.
Another thing I have learned in my worship class is that you cannot fail a test given to you by God. You can't fail it because he's going to keep giving it to you until you pass it. Of all the things that people have told me, that was the first thing that made sense to me. For the past 7 years or so, i have had nothing but problems holding on to friends. i become attached to people so easily and then in the end i always get hurt. who ever said that those you love are the ones who hurt you the most hit the nail right on the head. just in the last couple of days, i have come to think that God has been trying to tell me to stop clinging so tightly to people and lean on Him. I constantly find myself looking for someone to confide in and for a short period of time, things will go well. and then once i start to depend on them, something happens and that "safety net" so to speak is ripped out from underneath me and i plunge back down into utter depression, and it always takes something like that for me to go back to God, i say that and yet, every time that it happened i sunk down into a place so deep that i couldn't bear for anyone to even look at me, and the idea that God was there with me through it all was both comforting and terrifying.
God took pity on me every time and when i would lose someone, he'd send me another christian friend and the cycle started again. this has been going on since the 7th grade and i am now a freshman in college. Here at Liberty University, kind and compassionate people are everywhere, so it's easy to find someone to confide in if your looking and you're willing to put yourself out there. So as you can probably guess, i did the same thing again. but this time, when i got back to that low place, God didn't just send me a Christian friend to pull me out of my slump. He sent me SEVERAL mature christians who aren't willing to tell me that I need to stop relying so hard on other people and just get alone with God and talk it out with Him. Before I got to this school, that would have just made me mad. but being in this environment has been amazing for me. The people he has put in my life are the most amazing people and they mean the world to me. but I know that it's only God who is going to be able to heal all of my wounds and transform me into the person that he has made me to be. these people encourage me both spiritually and emotionally and I thank God for them every day.
I'm not really sure to end this so i'll just end it with a passage from Revelation that gives me great joy.
"Immediately I saw Four Angels standing at the four corners of earth, standing steady with a firm grip on the four winds so no wind would blow on earth or sea, not even rustle a tree. Then I saw another Angel rising from where the sun rose, carrying the seal of the Living God. He thundered to the Four Angels assigned the task of hurting earth and sea, "Don't hurt the earth! Don't hurt the sea! Don't so much as hurt a tree until I've sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads!" I heard the count of those who were sealed: 144,000! They were sealed out of every Tribe of Israel: 12,000 sealed from Judah, 12,000 from Reuben, 12,000 from Gad, 12,000 from Asher, 12,000 from Naphtali, 12,000 from Manasseh, 12,000 from Simeon, 12,000 from Levi, 12,000 from Issachar, 12,000 from Zebulun, 12,000 from Joseph, 12,000 sealed from Benjamin. I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb and heartily singing: Salvation to our God on his Throne! Salvation to the Lamb! All who were standing around the Throne—Angels, Elders, Animals— fell on their faces before the Throne and worshiped God, singing: Oh, Yes! The blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving, The honor and power and strength, To our God forever and ever and ever! Oh, Yes! Just then one of the Elders addressed me: "Who are these dressed in white robes, and where did they come from?" Taken aback, I said, "O Sir, I have no idea—but you must know." Then he told me, "These are those who come from the great tribulation, and they've washed their robes, scrubbed them clean in the blood of the Lamb. That's why they're standing before God's Throne. They serve him day and night in his Temple. The One on the Throne will pitch his tent there for them: no more hunger, no more thirst, more scorching heat. The Lamb on the Throne will shepherd them, will lead them to spring waters of Life. And God will wipe every last tear from their eyes." --Revelation 7, The Message
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