THE CHAIR IS MINE
IN NINTY-NINE!
New Year's Eve. New Year's Day. New year dreams. Clean. Fresh. Renewed. Redo. Resolve. A second chance. That's what it's all about, right? The old calendar is ripped down and the new one's slapped up. In this annual ritual comes a pause in the rhythm of life - a chance to reflect on the past and resolve for the future. And that's good - real good. Life's just too fast to take stock. So, instead we lock and block issues, trends, and directions from our daily survey. And that's bad - real bad!
But, you know what? I don't put a whole lot of hope in the New Year magic. Oh, I like the "clean slate, let's start a new page feeling", but I also realize that resolutions, intentions, goals, disciplines, or whatever else you care to name it, doesn't wear well. A few days, a couple of weeks, a month, perhaps two, and the "disc" in "pline" is preceded by that pesky "un".
Why do our well-intentioned clean slate beginnings always fizzle out? Ah, an easy question! The problem with resolutions, intentions or discipline is that they require effort. More to the point, they require effort plus change and who likes that? No one likes change, even if it's passive. So, to actively attempt to change is a losing proposition most times.
Change. Different. Unfamiliar. These words won't top the list of anyone's "must use" vocabulary. Let me illustrate the extent to which I myself have avoided change. For at least the last six, perhaps eight months, my office chair has been broken. The welds that hold the back on the chair let go. What have I done about it, you ask? Well, I found a piece of rod iron and if you kind of thread it through the arms of the chair and behind the back, you can keep the back in a close approximation to its intended location. Thing is, the rod falls down and the back comes off, and you lose your balance, or sometimes catch your pants on the rod and scrape your leg. It certainly isn't the ideal solution to my problem. But it's the solution that took the least amount of time, effort and change (not to mention money).
To add insult to injury, a friend of mine has an arc welder and he could fix the chair - no problem. To be honest, I've tried a few times to get the chair over there, but the timing hasn't been right. I've even carried the chair downstairs a few times. But, the plain old fact is, a broken chair, no matter how uncomfortable, or frustrating it may be, is something I've gotten used to. I can live with it, and, on occasion, for the briefest of moments, I almost forget that my chair is broken. Thus my chair is a standing stone, a monument to the fact that I would rather fight than switch. I would rather struggle than make that supreme effort to fix the problem permanently.
Let me ask you a few questions. What is there in your life with which you repeatedly struggle? Why is it that you have never been able to permanently fix the problem? What have you gotten used to in your life, your conduct, and your walk with God that just shouldn't be a part of you? Is there unresolved anger? Is there unconfessed sin? Have you been treading spiritual water for way too long? If any of these question hit a nerve, let me make a few suggestions:
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Realize that God doesn't expect you to do anything without His help. It could very well be that you've been in a spiritual holding pattern, or struggling with the same problem because you've been working on it in your own strength alone, instead of giving it to God as well. The Bible speaks of a balance between the two. "Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."(Phil 2:12b-13)
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Sometimes we get used to a problem because we really don't believe there is a solution. Satan has a way of tricking us into thinking that there is no victory, no hope, no solutions. God's Word, and God's Character say differently! "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." (Rom 6:6)
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Part of overcoming any problem is finding others who have made that same journey. Just look at AA or any of it's other incarnations to see how effective, how important support from others really is! Maybe you need to invite someone into your confidence and seek their prayers and support to finally deal with the issue. "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness."(Heb.3:13)
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Most people tend to treat the symptoms and not the problem. You don't just decide to be more patient, or more loving, then grunt and groan until you work up a sweat. Jesus tells us that we must first abide in Him before we can bear fruit. (John 15:5) Spiritual victory and spiritual growth are the outcome of a life connected in vital relationship with Jesus, so don't focus on just the problem. Instead focus on Jesus and He will give you the power to deal with the problem.
These are just a few suggestions. May 1999 be a year of great victory and blessing for all of us as we seek to live for, live in, live by, and live through the power of a focused, vital relationship with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, the very perfecter of our souls! Happy New Year!
