Old Testament: 2 Chronicles 31-33
Poetry: Psalm 11
New Testament: 2 Timothy 1-2
It’s Friday. Have you stuck with me so far? We’ve tackled some challenging subjects this week. Most of the subjects have had to do with things that lead us away from God- from fear to pride to greed. So many things have the potential to turn our hearts away from God. It can be disheartening at times.
We talked earlier this week about the fastest growing religious group in America, the nones- those who say they have no religious affiliation or faith. Today, I want to address another group, the Dones. The Dones are people who have been highly committed believers, perhaps very active in Churches and ministries who have gotten to a place in their lives where they are just done. Maybe they are a pastor or Church leader who has poured out their life and energy into helping others and then experienced resistance or mistreatment, or other forms of suffering and they simply said “I’m done” and walked away from their ministry or their church.
I know. If you are a committed leader in the church and you get frustrated by people who treat you badly, it’s tempting to give up and say I’m done. These people aren’t necessarily abandoning their faith in God to pursue a sinful lifestyle of adultery, drunkenness or debauchery. They simply quit gathering with other believers in worship. They might pray and read their Bibles in the comfort of their living room or back porch, but they aren’t in the fray with their sleeves rolled up active in ministry any more. They are frustrated, depleted, disillusioned and disheartened and they are done with ministry or church or religion.
A couple of today’s texts address this. Psalm 11 addresses the challenge of disillusionment in the people of God. It asks the question: “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Some Christians have worked hard to help build the Church, make disciples and take a stand against sin and unrighteousness in the world, but as we look at what’s happening, the world seems to be winning and the Church is losing ground. We are seeing some of the foundations of basic morality crumble – basic issues of what is right and wrong, what it means to be a human person as a male or female created in the image of God, the meaning of the covenant or marriage and family – all of these basic elements of faith and life are being contested and undermined. The very foundations of society are being undermined right before our eyes. It’s easy to become disheartened and give up.
Psalm 11 says: “How then can you say to me, ‘Flee like a bird to your mountain.’” In other words, the temptation in the face of all of these attacks against the Church and God and morality and our ministry could be to simply fly away like a bird to the safety of the mountain, far from the battle. Go stick your head in the sand. Give up. Become apathetic about religion or God or the Church and ride the clock out. Or throw yourself headlong into achieving worldly pleasure or success (see yesterday’s devotion on money and happiness.)
Psalm 11 gives this following reminder when the temptation arises to fly away.
“In the Lord I take refuge.” Our refuge is in God, not in running away to safety away from the battle. Remember our reminder from earlier this week when God sent his prophet to Jehoshaphat- “The Battle belongs to the Lord” Let us take refuge in God, but let us not run away from the battle.
“The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne.” Trust that God is still there. God hasn’t gone anywhere. God hasn’t abandoned us and flown away, he’s there, he’s watching, he’s engaged and he’s working his plan through us, through the church, through the proclamation of the gospel. We can keep doing what we are called to do because we know that God is still on the throne.
“For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; the upright will see his face.” God cares about what is right and just and good and that day will come when we will be at rest and peace. In the mean time, we may experience our share of suffering while we serve God. But we trust that the day is coming when we will see God’s face and receive our full blessing.
And just a word from the reading in 2 Timothy. Paul uses the word suffering many times in this reading. Paul knew a thing or two about suffering. Much that he wrote came while he was sitting in a prison cell somewhere suffering because of his faith in Jesus Christ. For Paul, suffering was not something to be avoided at all costs but the price of doing business as a disciple of Jesus. Paul wore his suffering as a badge of honor. He considered it a privilege to be able to suffer while serving Jesus in ministry. I admit that I haven’t quite hit that level of faith yet. I’m not a fan of suffering and I don’t like it when my ministry efforts are met with resistance or failure. I don’t like seeing people that I tell about Jesus reject Jesus or see formally faithful FUEL attenders or church members join the ranks of Nones and Dones. But I do recognize that Jesus warned us that being his disciple in this sinful world has costs and challenges and can be painful. After nearly 40 years of ministry, I have a few scars of my own. But I’m not ready to fly away and join the ranks of the Nones and Dones. I share Paul’s faith: “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12) I hope that you know him too and are convinced. Keep yourself in the faith.
-Jeff Fletcher
Reflection Questions
- Do you know any Nones or Dones? Have you tried asking them to join you as part of an active faith community? If not, will you?
- Have you ever been tempted to join the ranks of the Dones? What has kept you from flying away?
- Are you in danger of becoming a Done? What steps do you need to take to stay fully committed and connected to a body of believers?
Seek Grow Love 