Every once in a while a passage in the Bible grabs me.  Today, I almost bolted off the couch when I read Numbers 12.7.    It simply said this:

• I struggle with things I've struggled with for years, like my mood and the fact that I like things to be in order. Perfect order.  I wish I didn't struggle with these things, but I do.
• Some days it looks like creation is renewing itself, but the specific trend of human history doesn't look like its headed to better days.  We seem to keep creating new problems.
• The church still has enough hypocrisy and scandal on a big and little scale to keep the media engaged and non-Jesus followers away.

One of the verses that has haunted me for years comes from Ephesians.  Please read it and tell me if I am missing something, but it makes a claim so outrageous it still makes me gasp.

Paul says that the power that is at work in those of us who believe is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

Question: what kind of power would it take to make a dead person live?  Answer: a pretty big stinkin power.  Yep.  Pretty much the greatest power imaginable.

Now for the take-away.  That's the power that's in you and me who believe.

Which leads me to another question: why did I start this blog post with the observations/questions I used?  I mean if the power that raised Jesus from the dead is in me, then what the heck do I need to struggle with?

My conclusion would be – are you ready – that maybe I'm not tapping into that power nearly as much as I could be.  That we, collectively, as the church, are not leaning as heavily into God as we could be.

And Easter's almost here.  So I need to think about that, and pray about that, and lean into that, so hopefully I can write a different intro to a blog post a few months from now.

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in you, in me, in all who believe. 

How does that strike you?  How do you see that at work in your life?  In the church?

Unbelievably bleak – if you look at it from a human standpoint. We have some rather stark things planned to convey that message (ain't giving no secrets away).

But the bleak, starks be even depressing nature of Good Friday makes the story far more compelling. 

It makes hope real.

As I head toward Easter, I long to see the bleakness and hope of this holiday with fresh eyes. Rather than see a sanitary holiday with all the trimmings, I'd encourage you to explore the fierceness and raw story of the death and resurrection of Jesus as though you were reading it for the first time. 

The power of it might turn us upside down. The other thing it will do is show you and me that God speaks into the darkness of our lives with light far more powerfully than we might ever have suspected. In fact, he might be ready to breathe that hope into you right now.

Not a systematic treatment of anything, but a devotional of the soul.  A place to share questions, reflections and understanding. I've love the dialogue with you. So here goes.

I was reading Psalm 132 this morning and was caught by the opening verse: Lord, remember David and all that He suffered.

I always wonder whether we would have still believed and trusted if we were the the characters in the Bible.  The faith I often look for is so neat and tidy, so complete, predictable and unmessy that it probably bears little resemblance to the experience of people in the Bible at all.  David endured years as a king in waiting, dealt with multiple threats to this throne, discord in his own family, exile and enemies all around Him.  Who would have thought this was a "blessed" life (we throw that term around pretty casually).  At least it bears little resemblance to the life most of us yearn for.  Yet God was firmly in the middle of it.  

The question that haunts me is this:  would I have believed God was in the middle of it if I was David?

Sometimes the only thing that stands between what we see around us and our belief that there is a personal God is trust.  That's it.  Faith.  

And this is the hope that this gives me as we head toward Easter.  There are lots of 'unfinished' things inside me I wish I could change, and some things around me I wish God would change.  But just because what I see and what I believe sometimes seem like two different things doesn't mean God is absent in any way.  What fills in the gap is faith – trust.  Maybe that's what God is growing in me.

What do you think?  Does realizing that David suffered somehow encourage you?

P.S.  I am very aware I haven't blogged much in 2009.  I think God has been recalibrating my soul (plus I've been adjusting my workload.)  But you can come back for more steady posts from this point on.  Thanks for your patience and partnership!

He simply said this:  There cannot be greatness without suffering.

It was one of those moments when a bunch of things I kind of new and didn't know synced together in my mind and I realized he's right.

Can I think of anyone in scripture who was great who didn't suffer?  Abraham?  No.  Moses?  No. Ruth? Pretty much not.  David? No (read the Psalms).  The prophets?  Nuh uh.  Peter?  Nope.  Paul?  Never.  

In fact, the people we widely regard as the greatest leaders often suffer the most.  Jesus' life was a life of suffering.  The ultimate act of the redemption of humanity was supreme suffering?

Switch to world history: can you think of a single historical figure we admire who didn't suffer?  I can't. 

In fact, we vilify people who avoid suffering.  Dictators use power to make others suffer so they don't have to.  We hardly admire the rich who insulate themselves from suffering through money.  A hero is someone who embraces suffering and uses it for the good of others.

This rocked my world.  I spend far too much of my time trying to avoid suffering.  Guess I need to change. Here are some take aways I'm still processing:

• If you are suffering, this can be a portal into greatness if you will use the suffering for God's glory and for the benefit of others.  (Think of people who are ill who still give to others…) 

• If you are avoiding suffering like the plague, you will never be great.  

• God uses suffering to grow people. 

• All suffering can be redeemed (Romans 8:28)   

What do you think?  Do you agree?  Do you think the principle is true?  Why or why not?

Second, does it give you hope?