Overwhelmed: Ephesians 3:14-19, Part I

 

So true story, I was writing this sermon, typing away on my MacBook Air on a long flight. I had my Logos Bible Software open on Ephesians 3 reading what some of the commentaries said, looking at different translations, and just trying to immerse myself in what the Apostle Paul was saying. And then…splash! The flight attendant spilled an entire glass of water on me AND my laptop. The keyboard was soaked as well as my shirt and pants. The laptop immediately shut down. Frustrating right, when things don’t turn out the way we expect or a curve ball is thrown out of nowhere, like a glass of water falling on you. And I know for a fact I’m not  alone when it comes to being overwhelmed, stressed out, and stuck. Even among fellow Christians there is this sense of dissatisfaction,even fear; fear of the future, the unknown. There’s ISIS, the Zika Virus, politicians, racial strife, and the list goes on. Even if these  things didn’t exist I think there would still be an underlying sense of displeasure, of a stuckness. There’s this disconnect where we think that certain events in our lives cause us to feel or react a certain way. What I’m here to tell you is that this isn’t necessarily true.  I actually took a master resiliency course through the Army a few years back and the big takeaway was, “My thoughts drive consequences.”  It’s not the event that stresses us out, that is, breaking up a relationship, losing a job, getting coughed on in the subway, having the subway doors close just as your running up to them, people blocking the doors…can you tell I have a lot of subway stress? Anyway, it’s not the event per se, but how we  perceive or think about what’s happening to us. Has anyone gone  through the book “Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts,” for premarital counseling?  Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott basically say the same thing, “That our brains are programmed much like a computer. Just before we put any sound, sight, smell, taste, touch, or intuition into our mental computers, we stamp it as ‘positive’ or ‘negative.’ That’s why you can’t always remember someone’s name but can always remember how you felt about them.” So back to my story. Water is spilled all over me and my laptop, the flight attendant  goes up to the galley and at first  I just stare at my buddy sitting next  to me in utter disbelief thinking, “Did this just happen, you’ve got to be kidding.” I tip my laptop to allow excess water to pour off the keyboard and I dash to the  galley where  the flight attendant is. “You spilled a glass of water on me and my laptop.”  “I know I know I’m trying to get napkins, I’m so sorry.” I notice her trying to hold back tears and I say, “Really, it’s ok, it’s just a laptop, it was an accident.”   What do you think? The spilt water was the event, it was a fact. How would you have responded?  Anger? Outrage? A huge tantrum and scene? Or would you stop and collect yourself knowing that the laptop is just a thing, a tool to be used to make life a little easier? This is just a small example of how we can respond when we take a step back from the moment and look at God’s opportunities in the moment. To be honest I think it’s relatively easy to be a Christian when things are going well. Our actions are kind, courteous, thoughtful, and the like, but it’s our reactions that  truly determine  who we  are  in Christ  and how deep our relationship with him really is. And this I believe is how the greater world judges us, by our reactions. So, when we engage God’s  bigger picture  and not  get  stuck in the small things that eat at us, God’s purposes, prompts, and nudges often become clearer, so we can act upon them or react to them. In the “Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath,” Mark Buchanan writes about how to re-center our lives around God, which of course requires stillness or rest. In essence he says that it’s not about getting our lives exactly perfect, but that we reorient our lives toward God. “It’s to rest in him in the midst of our threats and our burdens. It’s discovering, as David did in seasons of distress, that God is our rock and refuge right in the thick of our situations.” You hear that? “It’s to rest in him in the midst of our threats and our burdens.” God is present in my everyday problems...