Category Archives: Pain

The Greatest Christian Myth Ever Told

Posted by pastorchrisjackson on

mythbusters“God will never give you more than you can carry.”

I’m not sure how this phrase became so widely popularized because it’s not even remotely true. God often gives us more than we can carry, and the weight of our daily burdens routinely threatens to crush us.

  • Moses said, “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.” (Numbers 11:14)
  • Solomon said, “I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties.” (1 Kings 3:7)
  • Even Jesus famously said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me…” (Luke 22:41)

You and I will most definitely receive burdens beyond our ability to bear, and we will need help. That’s why Paul exhorted us to “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). We need burden-bearing friends, and we need a God who stoops to lift us up. However, it is crucial to realize that sometimes we won’t recognize God’s sustaining power in our life until after the burden has been successfully borne.

The popular poem “Footprints” has long contributed to the idea of God carrying us through our tough times, but it’s worth noting that the author of the poem didn’t realize she was being carried at the time. As she reviewed her seasons of seeming abandonment from God, she declared, “This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints…why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”

The Lord replied, “It was then that I carried you.”

I wonder if today you’re being carried without even realizing it.

Where was God at the Boston Marathon?

Posted by pastorchrisjackson on

Participants in the 2010 Boston Marathon in We...

Where was Jesus when multiple bombs exploded along this year’s Boston Marathon route, shattering loved ones’ hearts and instilling fear into an already anxious culture?

Where was He ten days earlier when Pastor Rick Warren’s son took his life into his own hands?

Where was He during recent tsunamis, natural disasters, and cruel expressions of man’s inhumanity to man?

Where was He during your darkest hours?

Fortunately, the Bible is not silent on this desperate, all-important question. Two thousand years ago one of Jesus’ closest friends, Lazarus, died of an illness, and when Jesus arrived at the grave site Lazarus’ sister, Martha, greeted Him with the indictment: “If you had been here my brother would not have died.”

Martha’s bitter words were an ancient re-phrasing of our modern question: “where was God.” When Jesus responded to Martha He revealed how He might respond to us. When confronted with the question “where were you when we needed you most” Jesus responded in three ways.

First, He assured Martha that natural death and tragedy are not the ultimate trump cards. In John 11:23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

Second, He wept. He entered Martha’s pain and cried beside her at her brother’s tomb.

Third, He released God’s life-giving power, raising Lazarus from the dead and calling him out of the grave as a timeless picture of God’s final victory over death.

It’s impossible to adequately explain why God would allow so many senseless tragedies. However, through Jesus we know that God is neither indifferent nor inactive to our plight. He sees, He cares, and He offers an eternal life that is able to heal even the greatest of our earthly traumas. So while we ache, weep, question, and serve we also hold out hope for Jesus’ promised life.

What would your departed loved ones say?

Posted by pastorchrisjackson on

Winston Churchill in Downing Street giving his...

My grandmother died this weekend, and her passing has gotten me thinking again about the perspectives of people in heaven. Do you ever wonder what your departed loved ones would say to you now that they’ve spent some time there? Whether they’ve been there six months or several decades I’m sure their perspective on our natural lives has changed.

  • The grief that plagued them here is a distant memory there.
  • The tears that wouldn’t stop flowing here have long since dried up there.
  • The anxieties that robbed their peace have been exposed as the imposters they really are.

Things look very different from heaven’s vantage point, and I’m sure our loved ones’ counsel would reflect that changed perspective.

My first daughter, Alexis Grace, has been there for thirteen years now and I’m sure that if she could speak to me she would tell me:

  • Don’t lose heart…following Jesus is worth whatever price you’ll have to pay.
  • Don’t worry so much…earthly monsters are trivial compared to heaven’s glory.
  • Jesus is everything you hoped He would be…and yet infinitely more.
  • Worry less.
  • Worship more.
  • Keep loving your loved ones and investing in the things that last forever.
  • And since Winston Churchill is my favorite historical figure, she might even quote him to drive her point home. She might say: “Never give up. Never give up. Never, ever, ever give up.”

“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” (2 Corinthians 4:1)

Nothing good happens after midnight (unless it’s this)

Posted by pastorchrisjackson on

Deutsch: Straßenlaterne

A parenting coach once remarked about curfews: “Nothing good happens after midnight.”

It’s probably good advice since most deviant behavior occurs in the late night hours when shops are closed, streets are empty, and everything is cast in shadow. However, what do you do when it isn’t a curfew you’re discussing but your life? What do you do when you’re in a midnight season of life and no matter how much you look for it you can’t find any evidence of a sunrise?

That’s the state of many people in our country today. From economic woes to generational concerns to general feelings of instability, a bleak outlook on the future seems to be the norm.

It’s hard to see a lot of good after midnight…unless it’s something like this.

In Acts 16 Paul and Silas found themselves locked in the inner cell of a prison with their feet painfully chained up in the stocks, and in verse 25 it says: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.”

That’s a powerful sentence: “About midnight they were praying and singing to God.”

The safest, most powerful place to be at midnight is in the place of worship and prayer. It’s in this place that locked doors burst open, inhibiting chains fall apart, and the darkness of midnight gives way to the morning sun.

Midnight prayer and worship sessions always end with a sunrise.

Deliverance or dominance?

Posted by pastorchrisjackson on

View of Mt. McKinley of the Denali National Park.

What proverbial mountain is staring down at you right now?

How intimidatingly tall is it?

How much of your world has it cast in shadow?

What would it look like if God leveled it for you?

What would it look like if He helped you climb it?

Sometimes, like in Zerubbabel’s case, God displays His power by smashing our mountains down to flattened out plains before us. “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground.” (Zechariah 4:7)

At other times, like in Habakkuk’s case, He displays His power by teaching us how to climb. “The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to tread on the heights.” (Habakkuk 3:19)

I personally prefer the smashing option; however, I’ve learned by now that sometimes when I want deliverance He prefers to teach me dominance. I would rather have the mountain flatten out under my feet, but sometimes He wants me to trek to its peak.

The funny thing is that either way the mountain ends up under my feet.

Don’t lose heart today if your mountain looks like Pike’s Peak in the sun. Pray for deliverance, train for dominance, and get ready to set up camp on its snowy summit.