Seeing to Grace - Part 1: The Role of Sympathy (Sympathy - Part 1)

"See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God..."

~Hebrews 12:15 (ESV)

"...weep with those who weep."

~Romans 12:15 (ESV)

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Off to an Odd Start

Umm....sympathy? What kind of topic to start a set of writings is sympathy? Perhaps it seems odd to start here, and perhaps it is. But let me tell you why I begin a series on seeing that grace is present in your life and conduct with a focus on sympathizing: Because it may be difficult to grasp other areas of extending and receiving grace in our lives if we are not sympathetic to the reality of struggle and the reality of grace for struggle. My intention is to knock away hesitation to accept the reality of these things from the outset and say, "let's get down to earth together and do life alongside each other."

Where We're Going

When we hear the word, "sympathy," we often might think of experiencing sorrow alongside someone that has just experienced pain--making the pain of someone else your pain. And that is a form of sympathy.

Our focus is on a wide-spread, but intentionally specific sympathy to any situation outside of us (situations experienced by other people).

Why We Need This

Why do we "need" a general sympathy toward others? Well, there's a very real lesson that can be learned (if we are attentive) from life as we progress through life and that lesson is:

Human Hardship and Struggle is Real.

It is real and should not be denied! If we go through life denying and dismissing that the complaint of another person just might have a true struggle behind it, we will be high (in our own eyes), self-righteous, cold, hard Christians lacking aptitude to understanding others. Resultantly, people will naturally be drawn away from an unfeeling person when they need help--a sure hindrance to personal evangelism and contribution to God's work in the church.

Coming to the Reality of Other Peoples' Pain

It's my turn to testify to what the Lord has pried at my own heart and taught me in terms of my own pride.

I can recall specific types of weaknesses that, in the past, I assumed others had in different areas and thereby judged them internally as "weak." A big part of my problems was that...

1. I had forgotten that I have the same weakness by default and have lived in it,
2. I had failed to remember that any transformation in my life is purely the grace of God and I would still be dwelling in that weakness were it not for the grace of God,
3. I dismissed that you've got to start somewhere and there is a time to learn everything
4. I had not experienced that person's hardship myself and therefore would have a harder time relating,
5. I had dismissed the power of God's transforming grace and the fact that it is available to all, believer for sanctification and unbeliever for saving salvation and then sanctification,
6. I had forgotten my own struggles and the grace shown me.

So what does God often use to break down this kind of pride in our lives? Well, He gives us hardships of our own. He gives us struggles that put our faith to practice and that reveal to us that it really is hard to be a Christian in this life and world--that...

we humans really do lose sight of God, that

we really do need restoration for drifting, that

we really do get honestly frustrated with prayer, that

we really do tend toward attempting to earn grace and focus on performance rather than God working and reigning down daily, already-paid-for grace on us, that

we really can become angry at God for lack of change in our lives--whether that be circumstances or sin--and that that is a very real, dangerous struggle, that

people are lusting creatures and it is not abnormal to find things that you hate in your heart--dark desires for forbidden things--and that that also is a very real and dangerous and fight-able battle, that

people really do struggle at times to worship God--whether it be due to condemnation for wrong, dryness of spirit, a learning season simply ordained by God (as all seasons are), or spiritual starvation.

And of course, there is a myriad of other real struggles of people. Why deny these struggles exist? Let us instead put them on the table and live the fight together and alongside each other.

A Confession

Let me give a couple revealing examples from my own life:

I have judged countless people for not engaging in musical worship on Sunday mornings when I've stood among the congregation. Sure, my passion was genuine and my excitement for what we were singing about was real, but there was a disconnect in my thinking between the grace I was excited to sing about and extending it to those immediately around me as we sang! Sheesh. The way God has worked on this was by giving me plenty of hardships and dry seasons that made it evident--this is a human issue, not a "them" issue. I haven't always felt like worshiping on Sunday mornings, neither have I worshiped enthusiastically every Sunday. I've come with burdens, condemnation, dryness, and starvation. I need help like anyone else.

Plus, I remember a teen retreat I attended in my teen years (duh) back in 2002. The worship so affected a quiet, fearful, sinful young man (me) that it was a breakthrough moment in my life. I moved from being fearful that anyone would even see my mouth move in worship to leading worship with passion. It took a miraculous work of God to get me that willingness--and it will for others too. That's the wonderful reality.

I have seen relational difficulties--relationships ended or consumed by conflict. I assumed there was something characteristically wrong or weak with a guy or girl if a courtship didn't work out for them--until I experienced the most excruciating relational difficulty myself. When a close friend abruptly and ungraciously ended a friendship with me despite my efforts of reconciliation (and I had failed to lead in that friendship too), I felt wronged (and of course we need to monitor our hearts against claims that we were wronged when in reality it is "simply" or mostly a hard time handling someone else's well-meaning action). I was hurt. I was crushed. It was real. It was excruciating. I was now in the place of the people I judged.

Previous beliefs of mine would have led me to believe, "boy, if I ever had a relationship cut off from me like that, I would just say, 'it's all for my good and I'll learn from it and move on.'" Not so. There are people apparently more able to do that, but for me there was a lot of work to do. I need God's grace to this day for it and always will.

So it WAS Meant for Good?

There are more examples I could give, but I want to make a point: I have an honest sympathy and passion to encourage others in those and other situations because God called me through the same heat of trial. It was through those tests that God stripped me from my arrogant pedestal and brought me to fellowship and sympathy and encouragement of other struggling pilgrims on the same path. Yes, it was meant for good. Yes, I still struggle with the outcome of my life. Yes, there is more yet to be revealed as to why this happened.

Helpful vs. Non-Helpful Counsel

I can tell you one thing, the least helpful counsel I received in those times (by perhaps well-meaning individuals) was this:

"Just get over it!" Not helpful.

The most-helpful counsel I have received in any circumstance was when the individual attempting to help me did the hard work of coming down to my level and truly tried to understand what it might be like to be in my position and have experienced my struggle. Anyone I've in turn feebly attempted to help was more affected by understanding than anything else. That's not a pointing to myself, it's only a testimony to what God does through hardship and how sympathy really does make fellowship more valuable.

Small Cautions

Now, there are small cautions to this. It is possible to be only sympathetic to the point one is not even helped and their issues are never addressed. It is critical to any true friendship to contain the aspect of input, correction, and feedback. But let us not forget to pave the way there by following our Lord's example. Read the Gospels and you will quickly see a Savior of compassion and sympathy for the lost, broken, sinful, hurting, and those experiencing loss. Next time, we'll look at some examples from the life of Christ that I trust will minister to our souls in learning to see to grace in our lives and the lives of others.

"See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God..."
~Hebrews 12:15 (ESV)

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Challenge and Application Questions

• What were you convicted by while examining your own heart?
• Could you relate with my mistakes?
• Can you relate with lessons born from humbling hardships?
• To whom specifically can you extend sympathy, grace, companionship, and pilgrim-like friendship?
• What about your outlook on other peoples' hardships do you have faith God will work in?

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Satisfied in God: A Burning Heart

"They said to each other, 'Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?'"
~Luke 24:32 (ESV)

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Introduction

    This post was inspired by a song from Loui Giglio's Passion Conferences website. You can hear it by clicking here and then clicking the play button at the bottom and going to the song, "Bravery."

    Oh the strange satisfaction that Christ brings to a soul! "Strange" meaning a passionate burning that is foreign to this world. The disciples in Luke 24:32 were unaware that they were talking to the Savior face to face. Yet, their hearts burned within them. Do you find satisfaction in Christ? As the Lord opens His Word to you in your quiet times, are you affected that Christ Himself is opening the Scriptures to you? Does this bring you to a place of burning satisfaction?

    This burning is not a mere feeling. This burning is a burning passion of satisfaction, speechlessness, and crying out of our very being for more of God and more of God to be known!

    Christian, be not caught up in chasing what the world from which we have been rescued seeks for satisfaction. Passion is spilled by the second by the world on worthless things! Yes, we once lived for worthlessness too, and still would be were it not for God's great mercy on our pitiful souls! But now, O now my fellow Christ follower, our passion is for our King! Our King!

He is breathtaking.
He is lovely.
He is the only Awesome One.
He is the only worthy One of all creation's praise.

Do you hear me now? Oh how He satisfies like no other!

He is the flame of our everlasting passion.
He is the reason we live.
He is the One Who carries us through this life.
He is the light on our circumstances.
He is the SOURCE of our HOPE!

Does your heart not burn within you?

Complaining to Contentment: Part 3 - Now What?

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
~I Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV)

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Introduction

The Lord has done work to show us our complaining hearts and how easily we can give in to the temptation to complain, rather than to realize what we as sinners really deserve (God’s wrath and Hell), how blessed we as Christians truly are (to have received His grace and mercy), and to use true Biblical strength to practice gratefulness and cultivate contentment.

Ask the Why Questions

Now that we have looked at these things, what are we to do now? How are we to apply? How do we become a more grateful people on a daily basis? Well, I am no expert, but here are a few things that I need to practice and that indeed help put my focus and pull my practice in the right direction. But before getting to these few thoughts on how to cultivate Godly contentment, we need, as in everything, to ask the why questions. Why desire contentment in God and His ways? Why desire to live life in gratefulness? Because we have been created to glorify God by delighting in Him! He, and only He, is worthy of all glory, honor, praise, and to be delighted in! Only He has lived as a man, died, rose, and ascended to bring us salvation for justification and once-for-all forgiveness and the Holy Spirit by Whose work alone are we able to do our work in this sanctification process to cultivate any Godly characteristic, including Godly contentment.

So, be intentional to think upon, ask, and answer the why questions in pursuit of any fruit of the Spirit and all growth. Now we can move on to a few of endless ways to cultivate contentment, but a ways that prove essential:

1. Begin With the Gospel



Always! The Gospel is indispensable and we cannot do without it. Do only unbelievers need to hear the Gospel? Absolutely not. We as Christians need it as much as we always have! Why do we complain? Is it not because we easily forget the Gospel? I am not saying that we literally declare the Gospel is untrue with our mouths, but do we not do this with our thoughts and in our complaining? How easily we do forget the Gospel and how much we have received. We have received God’s Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. He paid the debt we could never pay! Praise God, we are free! How much harder, then, if we make a practice of preaching the Gospel to ourselves every day, will it be to complain? How can we complain in light of God’s mysterious mercy on our souls?

2. Practice the Spiritual Disciplines



I cannot emphasize this enough! The absolute best place to begin your day is in stillness before God in prayer, and in reading, studying, and meditating on His Word. This is one of the best places to apply point one above. Begin your day with the Gospel in God’s Word! Pray for the strength to cultivate Godly contentment in the day you are about to live. Remeber, you are not earning anything from God in doing this, but committing yourself to, in faith, acknowledge your complete dependence on God to even think about growing. Jesus has paid the way in full for you to now live as a Christian in grace.

3. Commit to a Local Church



I cannot emphasize this enough! How can any Christian expect to grow apart from God’s divinely ordained church, the body of sinners and believers for which He died? Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “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.” Hebrews 13 is full of ways to cultivate the gifts of the Spirit to other believers. It is in the context of constant feeding from the proclamation of God’s Word, worship to God, and serving others that we truly learn to be a thankful and content people.

4. Be Accountable



“And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Find two or three other people or persons (of the same sex!) that you trust and with whom you can share each other’s struggles—someone whom you can challenge and someone you know will challenge you with Biblical truth. If someone is regularly asking you the difficult and challenging questions about life and your struggles, you’re headed for growth. Don’t try and do it all on your own. Put down your pride and grow with one another!

These are just a few ideas for how to apply thankfulness and cultivate contentment. But really: These things apply to any area of needed growth! Isn’t that great? Be free to be holy, and may you grow as “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3).

God bless you, my friends!

Franz Schneider

P.S. In fact, let's hear from you! Why and how do you cultivate Godly contentment?

This article was expanded on February 5, 2007.

Complaining to Contentment: Part 2 - On the Playing Field

“[G]ive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

~I Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)

Click here to read part 1 of this series.

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On the Playing Field

It is almost humorous how the Lord teaches us. We learn a bit about a subject, experience conviction, and then the Lord strengthens us with opportunities to apply all that we’ve learned. But that’s not always an easy thing. One of the primary ways the Lord strengthens our faith is through trial and difficulty. Our sin is no joking matter to God, and He delights to teach us to put it to death.

Running Off-Sides

It was a peaceful school morning and I left early to catch my bus (for once). “I will be waiting for the bus today instead of running after it,” I literally said in my mind. Arriving to the bus stop in plenty of time, I circled the parking lot to seek the spot reserved for me. However, I found none. So, I quickened my speed, only to find that the lot was completely packed! Just a few days after writing about complaining, I said to myself, “This is ridiculous! This isn’t right!” I drove two lots over to the nearby restaurant parking lot as the Lord reminded me of what I had written just days before. With a partial heart I said, “Okay…I’m supposed to do this without complaining.” I parked and ran the two lots back and reached the station just as the bus pulled away. The driver didn’t stop. I ran back and drove ahead of the bus to its next stop, only to miss it again.

What was I left with standing at that empty bus stop? A lesson worth learning. The Lord wanted to teach me something, and He made that clear with a couple more similar lessons later that day. It was so easy for me to complain that morning! Just as stated in part 1, there is no work needed to complain; the true strength lies in the guarding of our hearts and being thankful in all circumstances (I Thes. 5:18).

Paradise

What a good life the Lord has given! As Christians, our trials have a purpose. Our goal is to glorify God and He makes that possible by always providing a way out from the temptation to complain (I Cor. 10:13). Our circumstances are no different than that which everyone else can, has, or is experiencing. But will we display the light of Christ by refusing to take hold of Satan’s temptation to vent our anger, bitterness, and rage? Will you daily ask for the Lord’s provision of strength to “give thanks in all circumstances?”

Too many a conversation over a cup of coffee is wasted in complaint! Let us not be confirmed to this cultural custom, but make conscious effort to come together with our Lord to give thanks, with our brothers and sisters to give thanks, and with our souls to give thanks to the Lord. He has died and risen to pay for our sins! Shall we not give thanks for this life of constant learning and sanctification? When you come across your next trial, or as you face your current difficulties, take them as another opportunity to “give thanks to the Lord, for He is good” (I Chron 16:34). Our worst day would be paradise compared to a split second in the Hell that we all deserve. Let us be grateful that we have been rescued by His blood. And dear unbeliever, do not hesitate to respond to the Lord’s dealing with your doubt of Him. His Son’s sacrifice is all that you need for eternal life and peace with Him.

In Jesus Christ alone,

Franz Schneider

Complaining to Contentment: Part 1 - Reversing Our Efforts

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful."

~Colossians 3:15 (ESV)

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Thinking in Terms of Opposites

Complaining is easy! Is that not why we do it so much? Little effort is needed to express our negative thoughts as humans, whether it be about our job, toward a person, about our life or destiny, how much money we don't make--or whatever! There is a powerful antidote to the sin of complaining, and it is thankfulness. That may not be what you thought I would say, but it is so true! If we were to attempt to describe what the antidote to discontent and complaining is, our immediate guess might be that it is some outward expression of strength. Or perhaps we would say it is an inward bracing of one's self that shouts, "I will never complain about this again!" However, God in His Word calls for a much higher goal that a self-confident "commitment."

Where the True Strength Lies

True, Godly strength and power is evidenced not in a strong complaint or by a forceful rebuke in reaction to an offense or disappointment. True, Godly strength is not found in an empty announcement of our "concerns" about the world around us our our circumstances that we despise. No, it is found in the opposite. The opposite of complaining is thankfulness. Contemplate this for a moment: Does it not take much greater work, strength, and trust in God to remain grateful and refuse to complain than it does to just "let it out?" Yes, it does. Gratefulness is harder work, and it is worth the joy God will give to you, even in the midst of trial.

So, how do we reverse complaining and defeat this sin in our lives? Do the opposite; be thankful! Now, before a commitment to thankfulness becomes a self-confident venture, let us realize together how thankfulness is cultivated Biblically. The strength to do so comes only by God's amazing grace! He has saved us by His blood--we have every reason to be thankful and no right to be discontent. We have life pretty good compared to what we deserve.

Blessings, my friends!

In Jesus Christ alone,

Franz Schneider

Click here to read part 2 of this series.