How are you doing this Lenten season? Maybe you're walking through some really hard stuff, experiencing intense anxiety, or battling a bit of spiritual disillusionment. Do you ever feel disconnected when you compare your life with certain passages in Scripture promising us joy, peace, and thriving life? Are you ever tempted to add disclaimers to Jesus' words or to take them like hyperbole? A better question, this Lenten season, is how can we more fully experience all Christ died to give us? I'm particularly thinking of his words in John 10:10, when he said,
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."
I'm also thinking of his words in John chapter 15:11, spoken on the night before his death, which was a situation that felt anything but joyous or peaceful. He said, "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." And then I'm also thinking of his words in John 16:33, also spoken on the night before his death, when he said, "I have told you these things so that in me, you may have peace."
How do those verses hit you? Do they ring true deep in your soul, or do they stir frustration, questions, and even longing? For a long time, I added disclaimers to Jesus' words because they didn't seem to line up with my typical and often chaotic and painful experience. I talked about how he came to give us increased life, peace, or joy. My confusion stemmed from a few significant errors.
First, I assumed my present struggle would remain indefinitely in part because of my longstanding relationship with anxiety, which never seemed to lessen no matter how often I prayed or how many verses I memorized and believed. Second, I failed to consider that each of Jesus' promises remained connected to his entire ministry and message. This means that his assurance of a thriving life in John chapter 10 is linked to his words in Matthew 11: 28-29, when he said,
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
We experience the thriving life he died to give us as we come to him, as we draw close to him and do our part to deepen our relationship with him. We take his yoke upon us, aligning ourselves with him and his will and remaining in step with him. I also noticed that he told us to learn from him, which implies a progressive journey involving unlearning how not to behave and view the world as much as learning how to live per God's glorious and deeply fulfilling design. A big part of my journey has also involved learning through experience, as I grow in my relationship with Christ, that he truly is gentle, which in the original Greek has the connotation of strength under control, and that he does have a humble heart, that he truly wants what's best for us, that he will lead us to his best as we progressively, as best as we're able, follow him. And here's what I've discovered. As I grow in my faith and my trust in Christ, my dependence upon him, as I learn to recognize his voice, as I gain the courage to follow however he leads, my anxiety steadily decreases. He heals my wounds. He uproots the lies that hold me in bondage to fear and insecurity and fills my soul with ever-increasing joy and peace.
He said that he came to give us abundant life, filled with joy and peace, and then he died on the cross to verify how long he longs for us to thrive. Moreover, his rising from the dead proved he has the power to make good on his every promise. Jesus didn't add disclaimers to his words, nor do they apply only to those who don't deal with chronic pain or sickness or financial difficulties or all the other hard things that come with living in our broken world. I believe he will continue to show us how to experience soul, deep peace, and joy in our present reality, and that his peace and joy can and often do coexist with grief and sorrow. It did for him on the night before his death. He said his soul was sorrowful to the point of death.
Less than 24 hours after he said that, he gave his disciples, and by extension us, his joy, which means he had to possess joy, right? You can't give someone what you don't have. And I get how confusing this might sound. I certainly don't have it all figured out. I've been growing in my relationship with Christ for over two decades. Here's what I wish I would have done when struggling with my confusion. I wish I would have said something like, Lord, I don't understand why this doesn't feel true right now. But I believe it is true regardless of what my circumstances tell me. Show me the steps you want me to take so that my life more closely aligns with all you've promised. I invite you to join me making that your prayer this Lenten season.
When you feel a disconnect, instead of getting stuck there, perhaps invite God in and say, Lord, show me how this can ring truer in my current existence. Show me the steps you want me to take today to more closely align my life with everything you've promised.
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Leohoho
