Peace In The Promise

As some of you may know, the Olympic Games is this year! I don’t know if it is because I’m getting older, or if it’s due to the current state of the world, but I feel like the hype surrounding the Olympic Games has significantly reduced. Nevertheless, I will certainly be switching our TV on for the most important events (Athletics & Basketball, of course 😜) and screaming at the screen, with my 2 babies in tow, this 2020 Games.

It is so inspiring and humbling to know that athletes have been preparing, training, sacrificing and working so hard behind the scenes in preparation for this one tournament that will be appreciated by so many across the globe. I believe we can relate, to some degree, with our faith walks here on this earth; in the sense that everything that we do now is preparatory for eternity. Most will scarcely see the hard work and sacrifices made behind the scenes, but we will surely reap our reward if we faithfully endure through this preparatory training process of life, and don’t give up.

Where you are right now, is a training ground for what is to come.

So often we want to jump right out of the training, and run straight out onto the field, not realising that there is so much training left to be done. Without the training, we do not have the appropriate tools, resources, strategy, experience, stamina and/or wisdom to perform effectively on the field.

Training can appear tedious at times, but it is necessary. Athletes can train a whole year for a single event, and almost their whole lives for only a few years of optimal performance, and it is this training that develops a tremendous amount of discipline, resilience, stamina, self control, motivation and confidence.

We can only begin to imagine what the potential outcome may have been had David immediately been given the throne the moment he was anointed as king. An overlooked “shepherd boy”, suddenly given the privileges, riches and glory of a king…It almost sounds like a disaster waiting to happen! Thankfully, God knew that David was not yet fully groomed for the responsibilities of the throne, so God conducted his own training, that may have looked quite unconventional to the human eye.

David spent time serving his father as a shepherd (1 Samuel 17:34), serving a king that grew to deeply envy him, so much so that he even tried to kill David on several occasions (1 Samuel 18:8-10; 19:9-10), and leading a community (turned army) of outlawed, rejected and otherwise troubled men (So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there. Then others began coming—men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented—until David was the captain of about 400 men. [1 Samuel 22:1‭-‬2 NLT]); all of this occurred before David had ever sat on the throne as King, despite having been anointed in his youth (1 Samuel 16:12). This was all a part of his training.

God knows what we can handle and when. He knows what our character can maintain, and what it cannot (for example, he knows that you have been asking him for more money, but he also knows that you have not proved to be faithful and wise with the finances that he has already given you to work with). Where you are, be it work, school, on the road, on the train, raising your kids, serving in the community, serving in church etc, is your training ground.

God is resourceful, and no opportunity is wasted – he can even make good use of the “ugly”. I came to this realization when I began reflecting on why I do what I do, and why I sometimes allow myself to react in a, ahem, questionable manner. In my reflection, the following scripture really summed up my thoughts:

I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
(Romans 7:15 NLT)

Upon further reflection I thought: What would an athlete do if they stuffed up a serve, or didn’t have the best training session? They would probably say something along the lines of “What went wrong? And what can I do differently next time so that it doesn’t happen again?” right? We can also do the same thing! Training is just that, training! It is an opportunity to exercise, develop in, and master the skills learnt in the classroom. David fought off wild animals during his shepherding days, and this training helped prepare him to defeat Goliath. David had also shepherded flocks, which in turn prepared him to shepherd/lead his army of 400 or so men, which ultimately prepared him to lead the nation of Israel as King.

So, if you have been studying about the fruits of the Holy Spirit, it looks like you will be given an opportunity to practice them today! And, if you’ve been reading a scripture about blessing those that curse you? Well…you know the rest 👀😂Our lives are a constant training ground, always preparing us for what is next. I would encourage you to not shy away from the training, as training further equips you for your next assignment. Shying away from training creates a Saul epidemic – one who was originally anointed, but was undisciplined and untrained. One that reacts impulsively under pressure and in response to their emotions.

Whether we make use of the training or not, the tests will come. So refusing to run laps in preparation for the compulsory marathon to come will only make it harder for you on the day of the marathon.

Beating ourselves up about our performance in a previous training session will not benefit the next one, however, reflecting on what caused the errors in our last session, can positively benefit the next one! Learning from our mistakes is vital for improvement, and King David practiced this often. He was far from a perfect man, but when he made an error, and was informed of the error in his ways, he would repent (Eg. David, Nabal & Abigail [1 Samuel 25], David & Nathan [2 Samuel 12]).

My encouragement to you is this: Your perfection is not required in order for you to begin training. You don’t have to be perfect to start, you just need to be committed to Christ. God’s perfection and grace is sufficient to guide you through.

Our weaknesses are often revealed during the training period. This can be quite uncomfortable for us, as it often reveals parts of ourselves that we would rather ignore (eg. Insecurity, jealousy, low self esteem, anger issues, addictive tendencies, unforgiveness, poor self image etc.). What we ought to remember is, Christ sees all of us, including the parts we would rather cover up/hide, and he still loves and died for you and I in the full knowledge of these things.

It is important for a sportsman to understand their weaknesses in order to work with their coach to identify a solution for them, and to then work on them with the hope that they may one day become a strength!We do not need to fear righteous correction or the gentle, righteous unveil of our weaknesses, as, if we allow it, their reveal will ultimately build us.

I’ll give you a personal example:

A few weeks ago, my husband made a comment that sparked a defensive reaction from me. The comment annoyed, frustrated, and wounded me more than I thought it would. A younger me would have suppressed it and pretended it was fine, but current me wanted to know what he had meant by it. In the midst of my frustration, I came to realized that this was much bigger than what my husband had actually said, and I soon realized that his comment had in fact triggered me to re-experience pain from the past that I had not fully dealt with – much like an athlete with an untreated, long term, injury that keeps flaring up when the affected body part is placed under pressure.

When my husband spoke, I not only heard his comment, but I also relived the comments of those before him, and I then projected my pain from the past comments onto the current situation! I felt the same pang of rejection I had felt in my mid teens when I had felt rejected by man, and his comment was like a blow that struck my already injured side, causing me to re-experience the pain from previous, unhealed, rib injuries.

I was at war within myself that morning, and, as a defense mechanism, I had the thought to rebel against everything, but how many of us know that rebelling still does not heal the wounds that cut us deeply inside? 🙋🏾‍♀️

As my Pastor was preaching that day (and I was wrestling inside), I received a revelation. I realized that God had allowed this offence to come to me in order to reveal to me that I was still wounded by the comments of man from over 7 years ago! Ummmm what do you mean Jesus!!? I am healthy and whole and have NO insecurities THANK YOU! 😂 Unforgiveness and bitterness were reigning in my heart, and I hadn’t even realized it!

When my injury was identified, I was able to identify not only when and where it was caused, but also why it had not been healed. I realised that from early experiences, as a very new Christian, I had developed the detrimental habit of conforming to what I felt man expected of me (i.e. changing my exterior according to what man wanted from me), instead of being all that God called me to be (i.e. allowing God to transform my heart and then allowing all that I am and all that I do to stem from a heart that is completely surrendered to God). Overtime I grew tired of that, and slowly began to swing to the other side of the spectrum, and wanted to then rebel against everything that man had said. It seems justified, right? It makes sense to the flesh that operating out of rebellion to man must indicate our freedom from man, but something that God revealed to me in my seat that Sunday was this: Doing something out of rebellion shows that you are not truly free.

Woah, what?

So often we believe that when we seek to rebel against people, or when we try to prove others wrong, that we are free – and yeah, we may have a brief sense of liberation when we act out of rebellion – but the thing is, whether you conform to or rebel against man, you are still being controlled by what they have said. In that moment I was reminded that Christ literally came to set me free, so of course he was going to let me know if something was seeking to imprison me! The freedom Christ has given to us is literally that. Freedom. He does not want us to be bound to the opinions of man, in any way, as that is not true freedom in Christ! He wants us to make decisions based upon his word alone, as his word is freedom.

Upon that revelation, the message that my Pastor was preaching suddenly began to make complete sense, and my takeaway from the message of that Sunday was this: Sometimes, God will allow offence to come your way, if he knows that it will ultimately build your character.

A hard pill to swallow, right?

But God I thought that, as your child, I would never be offended or hurt!? What do you mean you will allow offence to come my way!?

I will refer to one of my favourite stories in the bible concerning offence (and the importance of not retaliating in the heat of your emotions): The story of David, Nabal & Abigail (1 Samuel 25).

Long story short, David & his men showed kindness to Nabal’s shepherds whilst they were in their company, however, when David sent some men to politely ask Nabal for any provision he could afford to give, Nabal was arrogant and rude in his response to David. David was furious and set off to murder all the men of Nabal’s household, but thank God for the wisdom of Abigail, Nabal’s wife, who stopped David in his tracks, and after an encounter with her, David came to his senses. Later, God ended up avenging David and, ultimately, David saw before his eyes how vengeance truly is the Lord’s, and how it is right to leave our battles in God’s hands. David received this revelation through the offence.

Do you see now how God can use offence to build us? And do you see how the revealing of our weaknesses can actually work in our favour?

The initial response that I had to my husband’s simple comment, and David’s initial response to Nabal’s arrogance revealed a weakness (or, injury) within us, and it was through this offense (or, training), that it was able to be revealed.

Before sitting on the throne, David needed to be pruned in the area of making irrational decisions in the heat of his passion, and before I took the next step in my faith walk, I needed to be healed of past pain. The testing was indeed training that ultimately revealed what needed to be healed! Any athlete can attest to the fact that an adrenaline rush will only take you so far in pushing through an injury during a game. At some point, you will have to address your wounds and weaknesses, and allow them to be healed, so that you may come back stronger than ever!

So, be encouraged! Do not resist the training process, and do not shy away from the gentle reveal of your weaknesses. There is hope in the reveal, as God reveals what he wants to heal! I challenge you to trust in HIM to heal you.

Peace!