Life has been absolutely crazy lately. Constant go go go. Not may dull moments. Barely any time to sit and relax. The little bit that I do get to sit, I’m
still thinking about what went wrong that day, what all is going to happen the next
day, the bills that haven’t been paid yet, how long my to-do list is and what
is on it that didn’t get done.
When life is moving slower, and you’ve had time to relax and
process things, something going wrong can be easily dealt with. But when life is busy??? One thing messing up can have a domino
effect. You spend time trying to fix
that relationship or fix this problem at work, but spending time there has kept
you from getting to the ever-growing list of chores to do at home. Once you make it home to the chores, you
realize you missed such and such commitment because your schedule was so tight
that you had no time planned for errors.
That’s life. Doesn’t always
have to be that way, but sometimes it just is.
And if you’re anything like me, you take it on all at once, trying to
fix everything yourself, forgetting that you have a God that wants to help.
- Psalm 34:8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is
good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”
This verse was actually in my last blog, but it’s been on my mind
ever since. I feel like I didn’t study
into it hard enough, just kind of glazed over it.
I actually want to hit the last part of that verse first. There’s an action and a reaction. If a person “takes refuge in Him”, that
person will “be blessed”. So, what does
it look like to take refuge?
I work construction.
Construction site theology is wild.
Those that attend church regularly are usually quiet about it. Most attend church sometimes, but don’t think
it’s a big deal if they go or don’t go.
Some go just on major holidays. A
few believe it’s all a bunch of rubbish.
Then there’s the ones that preach the “take refuge in Him” message, but
they preach it all wrong.
Something I hear a lot is “when life gets hard, go to church. Church will fix your problems.” WRONG.
I’ve got two major issues with this type of belief…
First, Church isn’t only there for when you have problems. It’s there for a community of believers to
build each other up and hold each other accountable.
- Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
- Acts 2:42 “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Church is absolutely there to heal the hurt and mend the
broken. But it’s so much more! We are called to meet together, encourage one
another, and pray with each other.
My second qualm with the “When life gets hard, go to church. Church will fix your problems.” attitude is
this: going to church shouldn’t be our only way we spend time with God. Let’s get back to Psalm 34:8. What might “taking refuge” in God REALLY look
like, aside from going to church?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “refuge” is “shelter
or protection from danger or distress.”
How would we find “shelter or protection” in Him by merely observing
church every now and then? Even once a
week wouldn’t be enough!
Back to Acts 2:42, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’
teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Not “they went to church every now and then
and listened to the pastor tell them what they wanted to hear.”
How many of us are actually devoted to the apostles’ teaching,
fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer?
Truly devoted. I would venture to
say not a lot of people.
I think our view of how we “take refuge” overall is twisted. We shouldn’t rely on church attendance alone
to fix our problems. Attending church is
only part of the fix, but it shouldn’t just happen when you’re hurting and
looking for answers. True refuge
requires studying of the Word, sharing your problems and hurts with fellow
believers, eating some good food with friends and family, and praying. Real praying.
Talking to God, airing out all your issues and giving Him praise and
glory anyways, kind of praying. Honest,
from the heart, this is why I’m upset with you, but you are still a good God,
kind of praying.
Let’s take this one step further for the volunteers and staff
members.
Unless I put a lot of effort into it, it's really easy for me to
fall into this groove where I don't study any more than I have to in order to
teach that week. I don't worship any more than I have to in order to learn
to play whatever songs me and Chloe are going to lead on Wednesday night.
And it's easy to fall into the groove where I'm only praying when I need
something fixed, or to quickly bless some food. But God calls us to more
than that. As volunteers and staff members, we are doing more than
attending church; but are we going deeper than the bare minimum to complete our
commitments to the church? We should be DEVOTED to scripture, fellowship,
breaking of bread, and prayer.
These things shouldn't be part of our lives, they should be our
lifestyle.
If this is we are truly living, we'll already be in the place of refuge before we ever need it. And there, we will get to “taste and see
that the Lord is good.” I want that.
I want to taste and see just how good He really is.