Red Sea Rules #2

I was thinking about "Red Sea Rules" this morning and reflecting on how our culture trains us to deal with difficulties. Or not deal with them. We assume that difficulties are exceptions - life gone wrong, temporarily off the rails, out of homeostasis. Our culture tells us that if we are living life correctly, it should be a bed of roses.

We are so spoiled, aren't we? In so many other countries, being alive is a constant struggle, and things we take for granted here are fleeting privileges or complete pipe dreams.

Our comparative riches cripple us because we are not prepared to accept difficulties. When things get tough, our reaction is to make it better - to get out as quickly as possible. Many addictions start because we haven't learned how to handle negative feelings, so we seek escape from our troubles.

I wish that, as a culture, we were better equipped to live through the tough stuff. Which is one of the reasons I love this book - and putting my hope in a loving God - so much.

Red Sea Rule #2: Be more concerned for God's glory than for your relief.

At face value, does that sound unrealistic? Honestly, it's a little scary for me to type and share with all of you, because I wonder if I'll lose you right off the bat.

Hang in there with me, OK?

Here's one thing I discovered during cancer treatment: serving others is good medicine. My worst days were the ones when I sat at home, thinking about how I was feeling. Am I nauseous? Where does my body ache? Do I have the strength to do that?

But when I had something to do - clinicals for nursing school, work, plans with friends - I felt better. Distraction is powerful medicine, and when the distraction involves serving others, it's empowering. I wasn't thinking about my troubles, but about relieving someone else's. I was thinking about achieving goals and investing in the happiness of others. I found that I DID have the strength to do what I needed to do - although on many occasions it was clearly God giving me the strength because I was weak. In an often unintentional way, my service was a way of glorifying God by focusing on others rather than myself.

For rule #2, Red Sea Rules talks about the questions we are asking, and suggests that we're asking the wrong questions. Instead of trying to find the fastest way out of our difficulty, maybe we should be looking for how God can be glorified through our challenge.

This reminds me of the one thing I know about the Westminster Catechism. Right now, I couldn't tell you much about the Westminster Catechism, other than it being a collection of teachings about the Christian faith that kids long ago had to memorize. (I even had to look up how to spell catechism.) If you want to know all about it, go to the source of all truth, Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_Shorter_Catechism).

Anyway, somewhere along the way, I heard this tidbit from the WC:

"The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."

God created us to glorify Him AND enjoy Him forever. If I change my perspective on my suffering from finding a quick way out to relying on God to show me the way through, I come out on the other side changed for the better. Better character. Stronger faith. More compassion. Wider perspective. When I look for ways God can use my suffering for good, for His glory, I find purpose in my suffering and the way is easier.

I live in the Pacific Northwest, and people here love to hike in the mountains. They will trudge uphill for hours to reach amazing views of valleys and waterfalls and mountain lakes. What if we view our difficulties like that? Hard work, but offering great reward at the end, especially when we are working through the challenge with God right beside us.

I'll finish with two great quotes from this section of the book:

"God doesn't waste suffering." What a comfort!!! This cancer of mine - and whatever you're going through - isn't a waste! "If He leads us into impossible spots, He will deliver us in His own time, in His own way, and for His name's sake."

"He gives beauty for ashes and an attitude of worship for the spirit of heaviness... He will leave behind such blessings as make the burdens melt away like wax in the sunshine."

My hope for you today: patience and perspective, and the guts to look beyond the pain of your suffering for God's greater purpose. Or even that you'll find a few silver linings in the dark cloud that's hanging over you.