When life is going the way we expect, the way we planned, it is easy celebrate the goodness of God.  We sing songs under our breath.  We greet the world with a joyous smile.  It is, however, in the midst of a season of prosperity where we often begin to quietly congratulate ourselves on the order in our life, on the direction we are headed, and the goals we are achieving.  The longer the season of prosperity lasts the easier it becomes to OWN the victory.  For me, seasons of prosperity can easily become spiritual vacations.  Let’s face it, fighting lions is hard work and when all is at peace — it’s easy to offload that spiritual armor and put my feet up for a bit.   It’s not that I do anything to overtly sin, but I have on occasion “took a load off.”  And as you probably already guess, it does not take long before my “humanness” begins to show.

Now we are all humans made in the image of Almighty God, but there is a very real danger when we begin to focus on ourselves instead of our Creator.  When my focus becomes about the “good” I have done, the “goal” I have achieved, I take a small spiritual step from behind the shadow of the Almighty and into my own personal limelight.  It is a subtle step that unchecked contains big consequences.  Yes, my friends, the devil is in the details. 

HUMANISM is defined as an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.

Humanism is a school of religious thought that has plagued “the haves” since humans first walked the earth.  It was Adam and Eve who made the decision they needed full knowledge despite being told to leave the fruit alone.  They had EVERYTHING they needed but still felt “justified” in just a little more.  It is the reason, the Word of God speaks so many warnings to the “rich man.”

“Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

“Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Matthew 19:16-26 (NIV)

The rich man was not a bad person.  He had not overtly sinned, but his earthly circumstances allowed him to rely on himself instead of the Lord.  His humanism stood between him and being perfected in the Lord’s will. 

As much as I enjoy periods of peace (who doesn’t), it is very easy to become spiritually flabby.  Then when the lion inevitably arrives, I find myself praying the Lord reduce the problem.  Like an infant, when I find myself suddenly wet or cold or hungry, I start squawking. 

What would happen if the Lord answered each one of my plans designed to make me more comfortable?

C.S. Lewis said, “Someday we will be more grateful for our prayers that didn’t get answered than the ones that did.  Many times our prayers for immediate comfort, if answered, would short-circuit God’s bigger plan for growth and opportunity.”

The problem is our perspective.  We cannot see our lives through the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful eyes of the Lord.  We look at our life through a peephole, through a dark mirror.  Sometimes unanswered prayer is God sparing us the unintended consequences or sometimes it is God allowing us to grow through a difficult time.  In any case, we can be assured God will use the lessons learned in fighting lions in future opportunities.

The problem is — we like to be in charge.  We all secretly enjoy the human pleasure of a peaceful life. 

Our author reminds Without bad days, there are no good days.

• Sickness helps us appreciate health
• Failure helps us appreciate success
• Debt helps us appreciate wealth

I don’t believe the Lord asked us to daily put on the full armor of God, so we can enjoy a pain-free, stress-free, trouble-free life.  He knows that armor is protecting us from the threat of our own humanity-our innate desire to control, to lead our own life.

So how do we avoid the trap of our own humanity, our tendency to want to make it all about us.  We need to reframe our thinking to focus on following the Lord in all circumstances – the good and the bad.

WORSHIP IS THE WAY OUT

The book of Philippians was penned while Paul was in chains in Rome.  It is an uplifting letter to a church Paul loved dearly.  The Philippians were understandably concerned about their friend and mentor, and Paul updates them on his circumstances in chapter 1.  He tells them in 1:12-13, that his imprisonment has actually served to advance the gospel because the entire palace guard and everyone who served in the area he was kept were aware he was in chains for Christ. 

Let me pause here for a short history lesson.  The guards to whom Paul referred, were likely the elite Palace Guard, the emperor’s personal bodyguard unit.  They were well-trained, politically powerful men, and everyday Paul was tethered to a different soldier on a short chain stretching from his wrist to that of the duty officer. 

Rather than bemoan his captivity, Paul chose to celebrate the fact he was impacting Rome one Palace Guard at a time. 

He worshipped! And by worshipping, he refocused his mind onto what the Lord was doing as opposed to his own circumstances.

RESPONSE-ABILITY

Your circumstances are not nearly as important as your attitude.  The author cites a study about Olympic medalists.  Bronze medalists studied were significantly happier with their win than silver medalist counterparts.  Why?  Bronze medalists tended to focus on how close they came to not winning a medal at all while silver medalists focused on the disappointment of almost winning gold.

Our author feels there are two kinds of people in this world:  complainers and worshipers, and the difference has very little to do with their circumstances.

Paul continued his letter to the Philippians by saying:

“for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.  I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  Phil 4:19-21 (NIV)

We are responsible for our response to the circumstances in our life. 

“The outcome of  your life will be determined by your outlook on life.”

A few years ago, I asked the Lord to take back EVERYTHING the enemy had tried to steal from me.  No matter what the cost or what I had to do, I wanted the Lord’s best plan for my life.  It was one of the most significant prayers I have ever spoken.  I had no idea at the time how serious a prayer it was.  I thought I was praying about my marriage and my family, but the Lord apparently knew about a number of treasures I didn’t even know I had lost.

While I expected there to be many changes in the area of my marriage and my family, I had no idea there was full-scale, stripped-to-the-studs remodeling of my life on my horizon.  My career changed and is now in the process of changing again.  My ministries have changed and are now changing again.  Our lifestyle, our hobbies, our plans have changed repeatedly during the last six years.

For many years I was a general contractor specializing in home remodeling and renovation.  My   favorite projects were when we removed all of the old worn out materials-even those things hidden in the walls and made it a showplace.  When I would have my pre-construction meeting with the homeowner, they would tell me how excited they were about the coming changes and how much they looked forward to having us inside their home making it happen. 

I would just smile and let them know we would do our best to make it as painless as possible, but home remodeling is messy and noisy and involves moving and trashing things we don’t often look at and making new decisions and choices.  It typically only took a few days before the homeowner would be overwhelmed with the dust and the disruption, and the complaining would begin.  In the midst of the chaos, the homeowners often lost perspective on what we were trying to achieve.   I would remind them again, we are going somewhere — you are going to love it when we are done — trust me.

Needless to say, I have heard the Lord whisper countless times over the last few years.  “Trust me.  I have a plan for you, and it’s a good one.  There are things in your life you have relied on instead of me, and I am removing them one by one from your life.”

The Lord is forever faithful to keep me from falling victim to my own humanistic tendencies.  Each time I step out from behind his shadow, he allows a circumstance to enter my life that sends my scurrying back behind him anxiously putting on the armor he told me to wear.  Does this mean every bad thing that happens to us because we are disobedient? OF COURSE NOT!  But the Lord uses all of the tools of this broken world to draw close to those who seek him. 

Despite my longing for peace and prosperity, I am stronger, more faithful and most reliant on the Lord when I am fighting the biggest lions.  Without the Lord, I am not capable of maintaining a Christ-like witness. 

I am reminded again as I write this what Jesus said about the perfection of the rich man, 

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Matthew 19:26

As we close this chapter, take a look at your life.  Are there areas where you need to adjust your attitude about your circumstances?  Take some time and ask the Lord to reveal to you those treasures in you he is revealing as He remodels your life.