My husband took me climbing at an indoor gym last night. It was my first time and I was definitely nervous (pretty sure I would complete any climbs and would fail miserably). But as I scaled my first one (which wasn't even graded, so that lets you know how easy it was), I felt like I was Westley in The Princess Bride. I was climbing the Cliffs of Insanity and I was going to reach the top! Sadly, there was no Inigo Montoya waiting for me when I touched the ceiling :)
I completed some climbs (these were graded--a 5.2 and a 5.4). Don't worry if the grading doesn't make sense to you. All I can tell you is that they were easy ones. I was stopped by a 5.5 and a 5.6 but have spent my day brainstorming how to tackle them again when we go climbing next.
And today? Today I hurt. As I went for my morning run I couldn't figure out why my arms were so sore. Then I realized it was because they had done something they have never done before. Anyone who knows me knows I have never climbed and was always too afraid to do so (thanks to a summer of working with electricians and scaling ladders and working on roofs, I have definitely worked towards combatting a fear of heights). But today my runs were not quite as good as they were yesterday. But my body definitely feels well worked-out :)
I heard back from yet another school this week. So I'm now on supply lists for four different schools. And I'm booked for one full day next week and part of another. Here's hoping that I get more call-ins! It definitely feels good to know I have places that will use me though. I talked with one teacher who said he knows people who graduated from Teacher's College a few years ago and still haven't managed to get on supply lists. So I am feeling very blessed.
On today's run I was listening to another Tim Keller podcast. This one was entitled "A Christian's Happiness." It was based on Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." This is perhaps the number one Scripture that makes everything within me tense up when people quote it.
Why would such a popular verse cause me to want to rip my clothes, weep, and gnash my teeth (how's that for imagery)? Because people tend to have strange ideas about what it means for God to work things for good. This is the verse that I have heard twisted to support the Prosperity Gospel. "If you just serve God and follow Him and make sure you love Him, everything will be great. You will be healthy, wealthy, and wise."
*insert gag reaction*
So apparently I still have some issues to work through when it comes to this topic :)
When I realized Keller was going to address this passage, I started to get excited. I couldn't wait to hear what my favourite pastor had to say about the verse that sometimes makes me want to hurl. I didn't get a chance to listen to the whole podcast, but I will definitely fill you in when I am done it. Here is what he did have to say.
He started off by addressing the fact that the Bible is clear that a Christian's joy is not supposed to be subject to circumstances. He says that no matter what the circumstances, our joy should make us at least quietly happy. That if we nurture and grow our joy, it will be able to co-exist with, and even overtake, the deepest grief.
He says there are three things, and that knowing and grasping these will help us to strengthen our joy. Here they are:
1. Our bad things turn out for good (Romans 8:28)
2. Our good things can never be lost (Romans 8:29)
3. The best things are yet to come (Romans 8:30)
Now this was my shorter run of the day, so I only got to listen to what he had to say about the first point, though this is the one I have always struggled with the most because of how I have heard it used. He gives us three implications of this first point and the first one is the one that really struck me. Keller says that the first thing we need to realize is that ALL THINGS happen to Christians. This verse doesn't say that God will take away the bad things and make our lives sunshine and rainbows. Our circumstances as Christians are no better than anyone else's. As he puts it, "The first thing this tells us is that terrible things happen to people who love God."
We don't like to hear that. We don't like to believe that. But it is still true. How many of us have gone through pain or suffering? The year I found out my Mom had cancer just about broke me. It didn't make sense. Where was God in that? Wasn't He supposed to take away all the bad stuff? Wasn't life supposed to be easier because I was following Him? I was on the worship team, I was leading youth and young adults at my church, I even led a Wednesday night prayer group. How could He let my Mom get sick?
Because terrible things still happen to people who love and serve God.
Keller then goes on to say that another implication of his first point is that when things work together for good, we know it is because of God. He comments how Paul doesn't say "things work together for good." Things can't work together for good on their own. This chapter in Romans tells us that things fall apart. We live in a world that is fallen, and because of this it is broken. Everything falls apart, it decays, and so they don't come together on their own. As Keller puts it, "If anything goes good that's a miracle of grace."
That year with my Mom was one of the hardest of my life. My faith was stretched to the point where it felt like butter spread over too much bread (thank you, Bilbo Baggins). But it didn't break. God grew it. Later that same year the doctors could find no more tumors. Six years later my Mom is still cancer free. Four years after this time, though, one of the most incredible women I know was diagnosed with breast cancer. And it shook me up again. I had the pleasure to teach this woman's son and coach her daughters. They are an incredible family. And again, it didn't make sense how God could let this happen.
The summer I found this out I started meeting with one of the woman's daughters. We would go for tea dates about once a week. And for the first time I saw "the good" that came from what I went through when my Mom had cancer. I realized that because of what I experienced and felt and went through, I was able to help someone who was going through the same thing. I could be a sounding board, I could hear the hurt and the anger towards God, and I could help. God took something horrible, something that still brings tears to my eyes, but He used it for good. He worked it for good.
Stay tuned for more from this sermon.
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