anxious woman having phone conversation in office
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Worry and the Spiritual Law of Suffering

Anxiety and worry are often future dread of mental & emotional suffering.

We imagine worst case scenario and assume if suffering happens then God is absent regarding that suffering is either us being alone and or Satan is having his way in our lives.

Or the worrying Christians sometimes assumes that God is negligently punishing us for sin or some other reason we don’t fully understand. And give up on trying to understand.

However, I think there is a gospel of the Kingdom-reason that Christians worry. The gospel of the kingdom of Jesus Christ should be presented in a way that shows the glorious importance that our Lord has always purposed for us in the spiritual law of suffering. Embracing this gospel and understanding this law breaks the power of dread of suffering for us. Even while we suffer it It gives present and future suffering a glorious purpose. Suffering can actually be transformed for us by the Lord into a strong reason to rejoice and find joy. No less painful, no less unpleasant but able to be faced with joy and connection to Jesus Christ. We can suffer with Jesus Christ in an inward and spiritual way.

If we’ve not had that shown to us in our discipleship process, in our years of sermons. Shown to us in a spiritual teaching (which is the truth) and not with mere logic or even condemnation about not worrying. Then we continue to needlessly worry in an unhealthy and anxious way for most of our lives.

25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more that food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lillies of the field, how they grow they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What will we eat? or 'What will we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Jesus Christ in Matthew 6

Notice Jesus went out of his way to let us know that he does not want us anxious and worrying. He does not want us acting like the gentiles who are known for this constant material worry about basic provisions. Jesus takes care of his own like he takes care of the lillies and the birds. Even better than the lillies and the birds. It is important to him that we know that and that we not be tormented with anxiety. 

But on the other hand he warned us of trouble coming our way many different times. 'Sufficient for the day is its own trouble', he said 'in this world you will have trouble.' He also told his followers they will be hunted and killed and persecuted. And that they were to consider that to be reason for joy! Joy at the prospect of unfair persecution, trouble and persecution (Matthew 5:10-12) A painful experiences of life flipped on their head and now to be understood as something good. 

We are to have peace and calm with joyful acceptance of suffering in whatever way it may come even persecution and death, which of course does include the loss of all material things. 

How can we think like this? well its not natural to think like this and I think only one thing can help us to think like this. That one thing is the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, somoen able to comprehend the gospel of the kingdom, someone who as seen teh glory of God and can help others to see it in a spiritual way. To display the glory of God, and when we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ we can then count it all joy when we are faced with trouble and persecutions and temptations. We can face our particular cross with joy like Jesus did who 'for the joy set before him endured the cross.' It is the joy of seeing him, seeing his glory, that enables us to think like Jesus Christ is teaching us to think at the prospect of trouble and joy and anxiety and seeking.

The Spiritual Law of Suffering

The truth of the matter is that all suffering humanity is experiencing is actually the suffering of Jesus Christ. Even wicked people who appear to bring it upon themselves. Even non-Christians who suffer, even children born into godless and hopeless situations who suffer. Jesus Christ extending more time to fallen humanity in order to increase the number of those born into the new creation. Jesus being the firstborn among many brethren. Time is extended so that more brethren might become a part of the family of God, the body of Christ and the kingdom of heaven. Jesus might have just ended things when he resurrected, taken the few thousand Christians and been done. But he wanted more, perhaps there is a number that he is waiting on. Perhaps that number is 100 million, or a 100 billion or 5 trillion, who knows but him.

But because he is harvesting people from the fallen family from Adam and Eve. He extends time and that requires much suffering and much resurrection. A continuation of the cycles and laws that Jesus instituted in order to bring many sons and daughters to glory.

So when we fear of the bad things that may happen. When we in fact do experience the bad things that do happen to us and to others around us. We are experiencing that suffering with Christ for a specific purpose. So that more might join the kingdom of heaven. So that Jesus and the father might have their family in its fullest. Time prolonged results in suffering and delay. They want more people and we are left here to experience that suffering and death with him, for him, by him and through him. And at the same time the particular sufferings we experience mold us, shape us, and conform us into him in ways that nothing else can. Scripture says to not fret or worry about anything. And it also says that Jesus endured because of the joy that he saw (spiritually) on teh other side of the torture, loss and death.

So we can not only not fret and worry but we are called to be happy at your sufferings. Whether we think they are self-inflicted or not. Whether someone is persecuting us unfairly or we are reaping what we’ve sown. Both reasons are wrapped up, gathered into Christ and handed to us for our good and for our formation. So just experience them head on, don’t let them torture or torment. We can say with confidence and with humble prayer “thank you Lord may I have another.” We can just experience what he has for us to experience. Experience them like he wants us to and let them make us into what he wants them to make us into,

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My Experience Getting Covid-ed (job loss)

I heard a new word today, in a zoom meeting with a coach and 15 other laid off professionals. A woman told her job loss story and referred to it as being Covid-ed. Covid is now being used as a verb.

In the third week of May 2020 my position at my company was eliminated. It was very surprising and unsettling.

But I have to say I was ready for it. It made little sense to me and several of my colleagues but it happened.

I still have not yet found a job as of the end of June 2020, and even worse I now have a shoulder injury. Which is preventing me from tackling repair projects at my home and the home of friends and family. The shoulder problem has been more upsetting than the job loss to be perfectly honest.

The hardest part of my job loss is the loss of seeing my friends at work. My supervisor and colleagues over the past 10 years I consider friends. And suddenly not seeing them anymore, not being able to talk with them has been very difficult. I set out to write a goodbye email but couldn’t finish it and didn’t send it. It is not goodbye, its just see you later…I hope.

Directly after the job loss I went through a lot of questions internally like “why did they pick me for lay off?, things were going great”…so I thought. I was told repeatedly it was not for performance reasons and was given a generous severance. Afriend told me the cuts were very deep but its still not comforting to be one of the chosen 10%. I do know that I was giving my all to that job and to those people, my conscience is clear and I am satisfied with what I accomplished with my time there.

I will likely never get a satisfying answer to the question of why I and not someone else was Covid-ed in 2020.

But that is not the reason for this post, the intent for this post begins now.

Jesus has a reason for our problems.

When difficult and painful things happen to Christians it is important to look to Jesus Christ for answers. Whatever reason my employer had for the layoff, good or bad, secretive or open. There is a higher reason, a Jesus reason is there for the child of God. This Jesus reason is all that really matters in the long term. For those who are serious followers of Christ, this is assured. Jesus is specifically and intentionally involved with our circumstances.

Jesus had a reason for my job loss, and that is all I need to know.

I’ve not always believed that way, I used to think that Jesus was high and separate but Satan had good control of specifics going on down here and its up to us to bring Jesus in on our situations and to not get pushed around by Satan. But after understanding the gospel of the kingdom of Jesus more completely, I know that Jesus is much more involved and powerful than that. He uses trouble, and difficulty, and problems to accomplish his purposes in our lives.

So this job loss is not so terrible. Demotions, if they come from Jesus Christ are not really demotions. For example, Jesus losing his life in a horrible satanic way was his fathers plan, not Satan’s. Satan and his followers absolutely became caught up in the fathers purpose and even did his bidding without understanding it.

Be it a minor tweak in my specific job, a major shift in my career, or a time of great difficulty that I dread. Jesus has a reason for my job loss and that gives me great comfort. Come what may, promotion, demotion, or great turmoil, I am with Jesus Christ and where he leads me I am eager to follow.

Whether he leads me beside green pastures with abundance and ease or into a vipers den, I am with him, I am following him. So the sting of this job loss is not so bad, he makes it easier and almost comforting.

So if you are facing pain and suffering or even just anxiety about the prospects of pain and suffering. Be comforted by Jesus Christ, he knows what he is doing, he is doing specific things for specific reasons, just flow with him, cooperate, anticipate eagerly whatever he has for you, it may hurt, it may not hurt, either way its him and its VERY good.

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The Ability to Respond

The ability to respond appropriately to Jesus Christ, and to wisdom is a spiritual ability. It is not a natural one. Religious tradition more than anything else hinders our ability to see reality, but much worse it hinders our ability to respond to reality and to Jesus Christ. It keeps us imprisoned even beyond a lifetime but for generations.

Stubbornness, only listening to approved people (regardless of what they say), and rejecting wisdom because we don’t like a person communicating (he doesn’t speak well, he’s not from my denomination) is really a curse.

The ability to clearly see reality, and to respond appropriately, comes from above.

Also the ability to clearly share and communicate reality so that others can respond appropriately is also from above.

The tendency to be stubborn is natural and is the default state of fallen humanity.

The tendency to communicate poorly, or inappropriately, or not at all is also our default state.

Learning, accepting new insights, and cooperating with the Lord are themselves miracles.

And if miracles, then we cannot control them with tools of persuasion or dominance. Wish I could, and to the extent that I can dominate to persuade is the extent it ceases to be a spiritual thing from the Lord,.

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