I like nice-and-neat. I like it in my relationships. I like it in my closets. But I’ve lived long enough to learn that life doesn’t color within the lines. In fact, nice-and-neat only exists on pretty magazine covers.
When you add people to those picture-perfect scenes, drinks spill and hearts get stepped on. Because in real life, people are messy. I’m messy. We as humans fail, fall, run away, misunderstand, misrepresent, miscommunicate, and flat-out lie. It’s what we do.
But God is patiently teaching me to find rest in the mess. He’s showing me that “fixing” everyone and everything won’t ultimately fill that inner craving. Instead, He has life for us to experience even in the middle of what feels like full-on opposition to nice-and-neat.
Hold that messy situation with open hands.
Allow Him to do as He wills. Intercede but then trust Him to work, in His perfect time. Nothing intimidates Him. He’s King. He’s reigning. He’s got this. (Matthew 10:29-31)
Thank Him for the messy.
It sounds strange but if we remember that God only allows the trials into His children’s lives that will bring our greatest good and His greatest glory, then we can’t help but thank Him. (1 Peter 1:6-7) To whine and complain — which I can easily do! — is to say that He’s clueless or powerless or loveless. And that would be ridiculous.
Bring your feelings about the messy straight to Him.
Feelings are real but they aren’t always reliable. (Jeremiah 17:9) I say it all the time but we have to remember to bring our feelings to Him in prayer and then “wash” those feelings with the Truth of His Word. He’s the truth-giver; the enemy’s the lie-slinger.
Jesus came to give us abundant life. And He came to give us life even when our world is far from nice-and-neat. Press into Him and find rest even in the midst of mess.
Fill me, Lord…
How do you find soul-rest even in the middle of messy life situations?
How are my fellow Sermon-on-the-Mount-Memorizers doing? I am SO thankful that you are walking this road with me. I am certain I would have given up by now if I didn’t have our accountability.
Know that wherever you are in the journey, you are always welcome here! So let’s keep memorizing.
{Week 25}
22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness.
Matthew 6:22-23
Linking up today with Raising Arrows. Click to read other Monday posts.
How timely! We’re in a “messy situation” right now (messier than before). My nature is to hold on tightly to what is around me, afraid I’ll lose it if I let go. I’m intentionally and purposefully striving to keep my hands open and my heart clean. It’s OK to “feel”, but I simply cannot live on my feelings.
Thank you, my friend!
Praying for you! “Intentional and purposeful” –two important choices. Trusting that He will guide you, friend.
Thank you, Lara!! Needed and appreciated.
I like this post, as I do all of your stuff 🙂 One thing I struggle with in number 2 comes from my working volunteering with human trafficking. I think a lot of times it is easy to apply this approach to “first world” problems. Or our “modern daily struggles”, but I often think….what if I was 12 and being held in a brothel in Thailand and sold to men 20 times a day…would I give thanks for that trial? Is that even what scripture would tell me to do?
Sorry to get heavy, but I struggle with this every time I read this kind of stuff. The advice certainly applies to me personally…and I have had trials….but nothing like what millions suffer with around our world daily. I just wonder sometimes how I would feel in those situations.
Ultimately I know it is about trust, and I do trust Him fully. I just wonder more about our approach to how we tell people to deal with trials….there are many, millions even, that this great advice applies to….I think we just often don’t think of the really severe issues being faced by people elsewhere. Or maybe we do, and this would still apply and I don’t know because I am not in that position.
Sorry for the ramble….
Hi friend. It might sound strange, but I’m encouraged that you want to bring such difficult issues to the table. It’s much easier to just turn the other way. After I first read your comment I started praying and thinking and praying and thinking. And a few things came to my (finite) mind.
First, I wouldn’t describe the situations you mentioned as “messy.” I would describe them as horrific evil. I know it’s just terminology, but I am aware that my blog audience is mostly made up of believers from the first world. And most of us have “messy” lives rather than horrifically evil lives — not to diminish the suffering we also go through. But if I were to stand face to face with someone in that kind of situation, I definitely wouldn’t call their situation “messy.”
Second, if I were to stand before someone in that kind of situation, the last thing I would want to throw at them is trite explanations as to the why of their suffering. When any of us are in the depths of despair, the last thing we want is someone to preach at us. There’s a time to simply weep with those who weep.
Third, all of that said, we have to begin somewhere. And as a believer I have to begin with what God says about Himself and what He says about suffering. If I begin with the horrific evil that I see in the world, then I will always end up with an erroneous view of God. Beginning with Him doesn’t mean I will understand everything, but it does mean that my foundation will be secure and that even the smallest glimmer of hope can rise.
So when I begin with Him I know that New Testament writers did seem to imply that there was joy to be experienced even in the midst of suffering. They were often writing to the persecuted church — people being tortured and killed for declaring their faith.
It doesn’t mean that they taught to blindly act like the trials were easy or even that the trial itself was joyful. Rather, *when a believer* falls into a trial we can trust that the Sovereign God did allow that with purpose. (God doesn’t follow behind the enemy trying to clean up his destruction.) The joy for the believer comes in that inner room of intimacy with God where deep faith is refined. And more often than not it comes with many tears and prolonged endurance.
Now we get to the specific situation you mentioned. If we begin with God and what He teaches us about suffering, then we have to also trust that He faithfully ministers with His immeasurable grace to His children — God help us, even the ones that might be in some horrifically evil situation.
I don’t get that. I can’t comprehend that. But I have to begin with Him and His truth. Otherwise I fall into the camp that says evil wins. And I can’t go there.
God does give people over to their evil desires. And he does release man to their fleshly passions. But He also faithfully hears the cries of His own. He moves hearts to be the feet and hands of His redeeming love. He sends angels to minister to the hurting. He doesn’t look away.
We will never be able to understand, but we have to start with Him. And once we start with Him and after seeing the horrific evil, we ask Him to use us as He wills to bring love to those in desperately wicked situations.
I’m not claiming a nice and neat explanation; I just know where I have to begin. You are a precious sister. And He has broken your heart on purpose. Praying you faithfully follow where He will faithfully lead. Much love.