![]() He promises he will be with us, and save us. He doesn’t even promise to take away the suicidal thoughts or change the abusive husband, or stop the redundancy. Save us – not make all the bad things disappear, not take away the anxiety or depression or the trauma. And he promises save us when we are crushed in spiri t. He doesn’t promise to un-break our hearts. This is a promise we can hold in our brokenness. ![]() In Psalm 34:18 it says God stays close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Even when we resolve to (weakly and brokenly) rely on God, there is healing, there is loneliness, there is fear, there is even trauma to overcome. But we cannot forget before he got to that, he despaired of life itself. And yes, he relied on God, which makes it sound easy, like a self-help moment. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. In 2 Corinthians 1:8 Paul says “ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. Here is something that is true – People bend. ![]() We shouldn’t be in the jagged pieces that we are. We believe that God is trying to help us but we just aren’t doing things right. We believe that our faith is not big enough. We begin to believe these things about ourselves. So then here is the last thing I hate about this meme. There must be something wrong with them.Īnd that’s how we end up in little huddles in church talking in hushed tones about people. If we believe God doesn’t give people anything they can’t handle, and then people aren’t coping, surely it must be their fault. We cannot be a people who thinks they just aren’t coping like it’s some kind of weakness. Because if our faith is informed by these memes, and yet we see people breaking, we must believe less of those people – because we cannot think less of God! People around us are dying inside. This then leads to the third thing I hate. Our faith needs to be in the right thing. What does that do to our confidence in him? If our faith is informed by these memes, then our faith is also eroded by these memes. If on one hand we are telling each other that God will never give us things we can’t handle and then see people breaking, what does that say about God? Does it say he wasn’t there? Does it say people’s weakness is stronger than God’s power? Does it say God left them? ![]() Things happen to people that they cannot handle. This article by Ed Stetzer is beautiful and well worth a read. Recently, American church pastor and mental health advocate Jar rid Wilson took his own life. So this leads to the second reason I hate this meme. It implies God will raise us out of our problems. It implies God will make everything alright. Throwing this meme around is well-meaning, but it promises things God didn’t promise. If this is something God didn’t say, we can’t extrapolate (poorly) from things he did say. God our Father is all-loving and all-merciful. It’s certainly the kind of thing that God might say. So this is the first reason I hate this meme – because it says something that the Bible doesn’t say. This i s not a passage about God generally making life OK. The context of the passage is warnings from the Israelites history and their fall into idolatry, sexual immorality and revelry (ie drunken partying). What it does say is that God is present in our temptation. What this doesn’t say is that God will not give us anything that we cannot handle. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.“ And God is faithful he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. “ So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. This is a paraphrase of 1 Corinthians 10:12-14: When we are desperate to know that things are going to get better.Įxcept God didn’t say this. When we need to believe we’re going to be OK. It sounds great doesn’t it? So comforting. You may even have seen it like this, as though God himself were speaking to you. One of the inspirational memes I hate is this one: Some memes sound helpful, but are most definitely not. Memes can be helpful – quick bites and pick me ups as we scroll through social media, reminders of biblical truths particularly can point us to where our attention should be as we rush though the day.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |