GOING THRU VERSUS
GOING TO
It happened again.
I heard the word of the Lord at lunch on Tuesday.
Most Tuesdays, I meet with a few other pastors to share,
encourage and hold each other accountable. We
normally share what we preached on Sunday in order to force us
listen to someone else’s sermon and to sharpen our preaching skills.
This particular Tuesday, I was struck by the title of the
message, DON’T LET WHAT YOU ARE GOING
THROUGH, KEEP YOU FROM WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO.
It
struck me hard, because I felt like I was going through something.
I was trying to hold some people more accountable and this
was not going well. I understand that it is
very uncomfortable to be held accountable. It may
be as uncomfortable to hold people accountable. I
had two or three relationships where anger or frustration was still
hanging in air. And I was concerned for them and
for our relationship. I am sure that some people
did not have warm feelings towards me and I felt so low, I felt like
I could walk under a pregnant ant carrying an umbrella.
(Old joke, but it is how I felt.)
One
of the key things to remember when you feel like you are “going
through” something is that you are going “through.”
This is not permanent. It may be a detour
or a necessary route to where God wants you, but
this is not your destination. If God allows you
to go through something, then he is developing you for where you are
going. This is not your destiny.
However, If you focus on what you are “going through” rather than
where or what you are “going to” your energy, enthusiasm and power
is diminished, if not evaporated entirely.
If you focus on the present relationship with all it’s struggles
rather than on the relationship you are trying to develop you will
give up easily. You are not really “going
through.” You are “STUCK.”
Do you feel stuck?
If
you are stuck, you not only have to decide to get unstuck, but you
have to rediscover where it was you were heading or seek God for a
new destination.
And
you do have a destination. You have a destiny for
this life and eternity. And as Paul said to the
Philippians, I say to you, And I am
certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue
his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus
returns. Philippians 1:6
You
have some where to go and you have some one to be.
God has a plan for you as a person to be more like Christ.
Jesus wants to live in you and through you.
Who you have been and what you are does not determine who you
will be. Jesus sets us free form the power
of the past. Jesus empowers us to overcome the
past and present. Jesus restores what was lost in
the past.
If you are focused
on what you are going through then you are stuck.
If
you are focused on a goal or destination, whether it be spiritual,
physical, financial, relational, or professional, then you are not
stuck but moving through. You are GOING THROUGH.
IN
the book of Hebrews, we see the example and goal of Jesus.
And let us run
with endurance the race God has set before us. 2We
do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and
perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he
endured the cross, disregarding its
shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne
Hebrews 12:1,2
We
can be champions like Jesus if we keep our eyes on the goal.
And like him we can endure what we are going
through. We can disregard all the
hassles and problems as hindrances rather than permanent problems.
We do so by keeping our eyes on Jesus and the
joy awaiting us in this life and the next.
Don’t
let what you are going through keep you from where you are going to.
Shalom,
Pastor Keith and Kathy