Tag: anxiety

After the World Changed (Part Two)

John 21:1-14

After this, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (called “Twin”), Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples were together. “I’m going fishing,” Simon Peter said to them. “We’re coming with you,” they told him. They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When daybreak came, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not know it was Jesus. “Friends,” Jesus called to them, “you don’t have any fish, do you?” “No,” they answered. “Cast the net on the right side of the boat,” he told them, “and you’ll find some.” So they did, and they were unable to haul it in because of the large number of fish. The disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” (21:1-7a CSB)

Sometime after Thomas’ confession of faith, we have this post-resurrection appearance that is recorded only by the apostle John. Because they had experienced that Jesus their Lord and Teacher was risen from the dead, they now had two major items on their immediate agenda: to meet Jesus in Galilee and then to return to Jerusalem, where the Holy Spirit would be poured out on them. However, they did not know the details of either meeting. They had to wait in obedient faith for both. Waiting in faith is always difficult, even to people who have demonstrated great faith in the Lord. Plenty of examples are available from the lives of people like George Mueller and Hudson Taylor, both of whom daily depended on the Lord to meet their needs. We live in tension between confidence in the living God to supply our needs and anxiety about when or how or even if God will act for our good this time. If you are finding it difficult to wait for God’s answer to your prayers, know that you have many brothers and sisters in Christ that are in the same situation. I hope that does not sound like “misery loves company”; instead, I hope it sounds like this is a normal experience of the life of faith.

While they were in Galilee, apparently waiting to meet the Risen Messiah, Peter and some of his friends decided to go fishing. We are not told why he wanted to go fishing. Nor are we told the reason the others agreed to go with him. They are not blamed for this action. Men have things they like to do, just as women do. It is really okay to the Lord that we act like humans because he made us to be humans. There might have been any number of reasons for their choice, from the simple “they needed food to eat” to “they wanted to lend a hand to the family fishing business” (this is often overlooked by the critical) to “they wanted to relax out on the lake.” This is only to suggest three possibilities. The last is quite human, considering all the turmoil they had been through. If God gives me grace to get through this pandemic safely, I might either want to go for a hike in the nearby mountains (Mt. Joy and Mt. Misery) or go fishing myself. After a time of instability and upheaval, people need time to recover, to return to a normal routine of life, to rekindle relationships. Let us not give those early disciples a hard time, when the Holy Spirit does not in the written word.

When Peter and the others went fishing, I am sure they expected a successful night catching fish. But even the best fisherman does not always catch fish. I have never been a skilled fisherman, although my dad’s nickname was “Fishhook”. How he loved to fresh water fish! Anytime anyone would go with him, he was ready! (Ah, the memories! Excuse me while my eyes tear up for a moment.) He usually caught some fish, even if they were not keepers. My brother and I went fishing one day up in New York. We rented a boat for sixty dollars. We caught one fish. I assure you we had that fish for supper that evening. It was the most expensive fish dinner I have ever had. Anyway, the disciples, some of whom were professional fisherman, caught nothing that night.

But a man stood on the shore of the lake. He had been a carpenter by trade. From the shore he called out to the unsuccessful fisherman. Most English translations are rather formal and say something like “Friends”, as the way the man addressed them. To be more colloquial, we could translate, “Hey guys, you haven’t caught any fish, have you?” A line like this never makes any fisherman happy, but they politely answered, “No.”

The man then gave them some advice that was about to resonate in their hearts. For the same man had said similar words to them a couple years previously (cf. Luke 5:4-7). They did what he said, and immediately their nets were full of fish! Immediately, the disciple that Jesus loved (John) knew it was the Lord. What exciting news! The Lord over all creation had come to be with “his guys”!

After the world changed, Jesus kept his word. The same Lord Jesus they had known and loved for years had come to meet them in Galilee. And he meet them where they were, doing something that they loved to do, and providing for their needs and wants. Hey guys, Jesus loves his people, even after the world changed. He still loves us today.

Grace and peace,
David

The Struggles of the Believer (Part Nine)

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:12-17 NIV)

Think with me about a couple of situations that followers of Christ fall into. Just to make it sound more personal, I’ll use first names, but I assure you that these names refer to no specific individuals.

Tim led a very wild life. He was notorious for swearing and drunkenness. He used to mock Christians. He first heard the gospel from someone at work when about thirty-five years old. After two years of friendship and faithful witness from this friend, by grace he believed in the Lord Jesus and was saved. For the first couple months after his salvation, he rejoiced. But recently he has begun to struggle with doubts about whether he is really saved. He is glad that his drunken behavior is behind him and feels good about being forgiven for that. However, he often asks himself, “How could God forgive someone who as swore I did? The way I used to misuse the Lord’s name makes tremble! I try to take part in the Lord’s Supper but I remember those horrible words I said. God could never love someone who said those things about him.”

Melinda was brought up in a “good Christian home”. She trusted in Christ when she was nine during Sunday School. During her teen years, she had a vibrant testimony. She attended a Christian college and became romantically involved with a young man she later married. But prior to marriage, their relationship became sexual. She asked God to forgive her, but now ten years later, she still feels guilty. Her guilt feelings hinder her present physical relationship with her husband. To make matters worse, she often finds herself fantasizing about another man at the office where she works. She wonders, “Can I be a Christian? Will God forgive my sin? How can a person like me serve the Lord. I want to live for the Lord, but there is the problem I have with ‘this one sin’.”

Both of these people have a problem with regret—the regret about “that one sin”. There are many sins that could be mentioned, perhaps some if mentioned would make some feel rather disgusted. You might wonder if such a person has ever believed in the Lord. But when you ask them to explain the gospel, they give all the right answers!  They will testify that they have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. But they are never really happy, though they try to appear that way. They always analyze, scrutinize and then condemn themselves because of “that one sin”. Regardless of how much some may want to think that Christians can’t have problems like this and should just “be happy because they made a decision” and “praise God anyhow”, it is a serious spiritual problem. Examining the struggles of the true believer with regret about sin will help all of us understand the gospel better, and hopefully, help anyone who “just might” be struggling in this area.

What is the real trouble of those who struggle about “that one sin”? Though every sin is serious, their problem is not simply caused by “that one sin”. Let us examine five causes, and in doing so, arrive at a remedy for those who struggle in this way.

Grace and peace, David

Encouragement to Approach God

img_4338Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved (ESV).

All people everywhere have some sort of affliction, concern, or pressure bearing on them. These burdens weigh us down and cause us to seek relief. We all know the feeling, though the form of our burdens and their severity vary from person to person. It is a rare person indeed who does not feel that his or her burdens are harder or more painful to bear than those of other people. Imagine a group of people discussing their concerns, and you can almost see everyone waving their arms and crying out, “Listen to me! Look at my problems!” As our self-focus increases, our attention to the Second Great Command diminishes. Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). It is far too easy to complain, “I need to be loved most! Let me talk! Help me!” We need to face the reality that though we out to carry each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:2 NIV), our own trials, limited natures, and weaknesses combine to leave many suffering under their burdens.

The Lord steps into this situation with an invitation that provides hope.

Today, let’s identify our burdens. What is your burden, or probably more accurately, what are some of your major burdens? It is easy to hear people answer in the following ways.

  • My burden is my anxiety about some coming event, a change I know is coming. These are sources of many burdens, such as job or even career changes, an impending move to another community, or having one’s closest friends about to move away. Our anxiety can be about making the best choice or filling the empty spots in our lives after the change occurs.
  • My burden comes from the slander and malice of others. Many times, this burden arises in the workplace, where some people suppose that the way to the top is to walk upon the heads of others. There are others that seem to gain some special delight in making others suffer, and their attacks can come in subtle but painful ways. Gossip might be the weapon of choice, or they simply do petty things that can make life miserable. We know that our Lord faced such aggravations in his earthly ministry, and we ought not to be surprised when we have to endure the same.
  • My burden is outward troubles, like disappointment in plans and financial losses that lead to more embarrassing pressures. Christ’s people want to honor their commitments to make timely payments, but who hasn’t wondered how they are going to pay that stack of bills on their desk? Jesus warned us against imitating the concerns of worldly people. We should often meditate on Matthew 6:25-34.
  • My burden is grief. Part of life involves morning over the loss of parents, spouse, siblings, children, and friends. Not all face all of these because of their own early demise, but we might endure bereavement even in our early years. The burden might come from the missing place at the holiday table, or when you think of how you always called someone on Sunday evenings, and they are no longer able to answer your call. Sorrow fills the room and crowds out joy. This is a burden.
  • My burden is my disease or disability. These might be physical or emotional. Most of us can accept when we can no longer do a particular activity, like play full-court basketball. We console ourselves with thoughts that it is our turn to watch. But think of those whose normal activity is cut short by an accident or the onset of an illness. Their days can be filled with loneliness and sadness, to say nothing of pain and frustration.
  • My age causes my labor and sorrow. I can’t bend down to get items in the grocery store, and I can’t open the lids of jars when I do get them. Buying groceries, carrying them into my home or apartment, and putting them away leaves me exhausted. Everything seems to take twice as long to do it as it used to. And when it’s done, I must rest twice as long before I can do anything. And I ache. I have pains in places that I didn’t think it was possible to have pains.
  • My burden is my struggle with sin. Temptation is swirling around me, and I don’t seem to make progress. How long will God tolerate my spiritual failures? Is his friendship strong enough to care about somebody like me?
  • My burden is lack of hope. If I could know that the Lord will receive me and give me much more than I can ask or imagine, I might feel unburdened. But I daily wrestle with nagging doubts about my election, calling, salvation, and acceptance in God’s family. I fear that my course might end in eternal misery.

You might have another kind of burden that I have not listed. Regardless of your burden, our text is good news! The eternal, unchangeable, sovereign God invites us all to cast our burdens on him. Lay hold of that invitation now, and cast your burdens on him! In our next study on this verse, we will look at the Lord’s promise.

Grace and peace, David