We did it! 10 rules, 10 days... if only application were so easy!
To review, here are all 10 Red Sea Rules for navigating life's challenges:
#1: Realize that God means for you to be where you are.
#2: Be more concerned for God's glory than for your relief.
#3: Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord.
#4: Pray!
#5: Stay calm and confident, and give God time to work.
#6: When unsure, just take the next logical step by faith.
#7: Envision God's enveloping presence.
#8: Trust God to deliver in His own unique way.
#9: View your current crisis as a faith builder for the future.
And... DRUMROLL, please...
#10: Don't forget to praise Him.
Sometimes, I think this is the hardest one. When we are delivered out of our situation, sometimes it's gradual and we don't realize the difficulty is resolved until it's been awhile and it dawns on us that we're not struggling with that issue any more.
Other times, the problem is solved, we heave a sigh of relief and move on to the next thing - whether it's a new challenge or another shiny distraction our world offers.
I'm certainly guilty of this. Even with my last CT scan. There was so much tension and prayer and talk about the scan, and when I got my results - which my doctor delivered very nonchalantly - I don't feel like I gave proper praise to God. It's pretty awesome to get a clean scan, and for me, chances of a cure are so small that a clean scan is undoubtedly due to God's grace. You'd think I'd be doing spiritual cartwheels. On the inside I am awe-fully rejoicing, but as I look back, I find my outward expression lacking. Maybe it's the reserved Minnesota Scandinavian in me, maybe it's a cautious let's-see-what-the-next-scan-says, but this was a big deal and probably merited a spiritual parade with confetti and a marching band. And fireworks. Definitely fireworks.
BUT I don't think this rule is just about praising God after we're delivered from a trial.
It's even more important to praise Him DURING the trial. Sound impossible? One of my favorite songs for facing difficulty is "Broken Hallelujah" by Mandisa. She says, "When all that I can sing is a broken hallelujah, when my only offering is shattered praise, still a song of adoration will rise up from these ruins, and I will worship You and give You praise." What I love most about this is the idea that, when we can't form a coherent phrase because we're so stunned or so scared about what's going on, shards of praise are still acceptable.
I do a lot of processing in my car. It's where I cry, where I lift my hands in praise, where I mentally wrestle through my problems. There have been times through this cancer journey when I couldn't even sing well-known song lyrics because I was too upset. Those are the times when I trust Mandisa's theology, and I open my hand as a symbol of giving the problem to God, even though I can't put any words together.
Most days, though, I can put a LOT of words together. (As you can tell!) And finding things to be thankful for has been a life-saver for me. It changes my perspective for the better and helps me cope. We can go through our difficulties focused on the problem and how awful and hard it is, or we can keep our eyes peeled for silver linings, and be thankful for those. It could be as simple as sunshine, or as big as a friend calling at exactly the right time, or something you need showing up in the mail or on your doorstep. It's a skill: the more you look, the easier it is to find the blessings. Truth.
2+ years of cancer treatment has changed my perspective on difficulties. While I don't want anyone to have a hard time, I also hesitate to pray a bed of roses and a path of rainbows for everyone. Because we grow better when things are tough. Our roots go deeper and we become more resilient and more beautiful. So now I pray that when trials come, we will meet them graciously and rely on God to bring us through.
Remember the lesson from the fiery furnace I mentioned a few days ago? One of the coolest things about the story is that the guys who survived the fire didn't even smell like smoke. And we all know how easily smoke from a campfire permeates our clothes and hair. These guys got tossed into a raging furnace and not only were they not burned, but they didn't even SMELL like smoke. WOW. AND the only thing that burned: the ropes that bound them.
May you use these rules to come through your own challenges unbound and not even smelling like smoke. xoxo
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