Crabby or Holy?

We landed in Barbados yesterday afternoon, picked up our rental car and drove to a well-worn but clean resort that my hubby had purchased for a generous discount in a silent auction. After unpacking, we found a restaurant then came back to our room prepared for some decent sleep. We’d flown all night and were exhausted. 

My hubby jumped in the shower and realized he was not alone. Up on the shower wall was a cockroach almost as large as a mouse. Neither one of us panic over bugs, but we wanted this one dead and gone. The roach had other ideas. He took a leap and scrambled under the bed. At that, we decided we didn’t want even the threat of it crawling around while we were asleep. The management came with spray and no guarantees, and a key to another room. They suggested we at least sleep in that new room, which we did, then moved our belongings here this morning. 

How can faith be practical in a situation like this? Today’s devotional verses say this…

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13–16)

Being sober-minded yet prepared for action does not happen as easily when I miss a night of sleep. This is why “grace” is included in these verses. Only the grace of God can keep anyone thinking soberly during the unexpected events of life, even little things like bugs and total exhaustion. 

Yet these verses talk also of a future grace, that grace that will be mine when I see Jesus. Sitting here in a smaller room than the one with the bug, and not as nice as the one with the bug, just the thought of seeing Jesus lifts my spirits. Instead of grumbling and annoyance at the events of the past twelve hours, which are “passions of my former ignorance” I am starting to feel that joy that only the Holy Spirit can give.

These verses also say to be holy in all my conduct. That word means pure and blameless, but it also means “other than” as it describes God who is far beyond what we are. He is so pure and blameless that we can scarcely imagine His holiness. For me, that means that when irritations happen, I’m not to react to them as I would have before God changed my life. Instead, I’m to be like God, who I cannot imagine getting in a flap over either a big bug or having to move down the hall so He could sleep without the presence of a big bug.

Faith is practical. Instead of feeling out of joint over this little bump in our vacation, the grace of God is giving me a different attitude. We are where He wants us. The day will be brighter because He is our God and we are under His care. 

Bugs or no bugs, holiness is about what goes on in my heart. Because Jesus lives there, I am lifted above my former passions and self-centered attitudes. Holiness is not only my calling, but entirely possible because of the grace of God.

Tests of a different kind . . .

August 31, 2008

Today could hardly be called a day of suffering. We are on Vancouver Island in a Bed & Breakfast where the owner could be a chef in any fancy restaurant in the world. Fabulous food. Our room is about 14 x 18 with comfortable furniture and pleasing decor. Luxurious yet not expensive. This home is on the beach where we can look across the bay to a range of mountains on the other side. Their large sunroom has a telescope. Eagles and water birds fly over head. The sun is shining in a deep blue sky. In about an hour we will attend a church, a solid one that we have been to before and have friends. Life could not be much better.

But suffering happens. My devotional verse for today says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us”(Romans 8:18).

God uses tough times to shape His people into the image of Christ. That suffering has no comparison with the good that comes out of it. God is wise; He knows exactly what I need to bring His glory into my life. He has taught me that trouble is not my enemy. While I don’t like it, He can and does use it for my good.

So what about the opposite? Do the almost perfect conditions of today also fit into His plans? Verse 28 of Romans 8 says yes. Good things are also part of the “all things” that He can “work together for good” in my life, the good being that constant work of transforming me into the likeness of His Son.

I’ve a responsibility here. I could permit this idyllic vacation to indulge my old nature. I could resent any interruptions to the ease, like clouds in the sky, or rain, or something like my husband driving by a place where I really wanted to stop. Grouchy can come easy when Eden is invaded.

I’m noticing though that even on holidays the Holy Spirit is still nudging me, still making me aware of temptation and His conviction. He says, Don’t go there, or Confess that right now, and as I do, the sense of ‘almost heaven’ returns and I am deeply aware of Him and His power.

My experience with God is that He does use the tough times to produce a different attitude, but this vacation shows me that He also uses the best of times to test those changes and ensure that what He has taught me is still here, in place, and not at all shaken by all this pampering.

With God — 24/7

God has a sense of humor. This morning we are jumping on a plane for a bit of a lark and I feel as if we are escaping the ordinary. All busyness goes on hold, no more heavy thinking, and just a small sense of putting our hands in the forbidden cookie jar. Then I open my devotional reading for today and am taken to 1 Peter 1:13-16. It says:

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

I almost laughed, then stopped myself. The commands of God are not to be taken lightly. We prayed about this little trip we are taking, and God has His purposes in permitting it. We may not know what lies in store, but we cannot put our accountability to Him on hold. Nor can we think that our enemy will pull back and let us take a vacation without throwing something at us to entice us away from the Lord.

For one thing, he is already pushing that sense of the forbidden cookie jar, which I now see as a temptation to drop back into my old way of thinking. I used to make short holidays like this all about satisfying me, but this one is not to be like that.

Instead, I must prepare my mind to do what God wants every day, even while on a holiday. I am to be self-controlled, not running around doing my own thing. I am also to remember the grace of God that has brought me this far in my life. I need to listen to the Lord no matter what I am doing. I can escape the daily pressures of home and work on a short retreat, but life itself is short. One day I will meet Jesus and I don’t want to have egg on my face when that happens.

Holiness means “set apart” and being holy signifies that I belong to God. Simply put, this passage says that I am to act like it, not just in church, not just in my daily routine, but also in this venture. Instead of obliviously doing my own thing without concern for Him, this is one more opportunity to seek the face of God and find out what He is up to in a new setting and in a different place than I have been before.