22 Jun 2009 |
|
|
A couple months ago I commented on a post about Philippians on friend’s blog. Here’s the passage that was up for discussion... Paul writes in Philippians 1:12-14: I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I'm in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they've learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah.I won’t copy what I wrote but I have been thinking more and more about this lately. Take a look at the part that stood out to me... “...my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect.”Intended effect. The intended effect of Paul’s trials was to take him out of the game... to shut him up. But instead of the intended effect, the opposite actually occured. There’s some great hope in this little passage. All throughout life, we’ll run into things that have an intended effect. Things meant to harm and hurt. Things meant to take us out of the game. There are storms in life and then there are Hurricane Katrinas... 9-11s in our lives that are more than just a blip on the radar. The kinds of things and situations that require more than just a little pause, a pat on the behind, and a “get back in there” fist pump. I’ll be honest here. There’s great hope in that passage and yet I find myself wondering if the Katrinas in my life actually are having the intended effect. I wonder if this is it. Will I ever recover? Will I ever not hurt? Will I ever be whole again? I never want things to go back to the way they were before. That would be unhealthy and dysfunctional on multiple levels. Running around, trying to be everyone’s Superman because it’s required. That’s not reality. And, that’s not the answer either. To smile and act like Katrina never blew threw and wreaked devastation. I tried that. It doesn’t work. But I wonder... will the opposite of “intended effect” ever really come and be seen in my life. I mean, I see it in my marriage. I see it in my family. And honestly, that’s enough for me. At this point, I have much more hope for your life than I do for mine and maybe that’s ok too. So, if you find yourself facing your own personal 9-11, hang in there. Your “instead” just may be around the corner... or it may take years (like me... and still waiting). Either way, I have confidence it’ll come. For you... and for me. |
