“Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11 NLT
It’s a mess! You and I live in a crazy, cacophonous world. We live with constant personal chaos because of choices or circumstances that wreak havoc in our personal worlds. We hear of continuous conflict in our own community, our nation and even to the remotest parts of the earth. Instant internet communication brings the troubles of distant corners into our own sphere. So much pain, so much anger, so much confusion, so much that tempts us to question, so much that distracts and detracts us.
There are times when our own cares and the cares of the world can be oppressive. Either you choose to shut off any feeling because it is so overwhelming or you can’t seem to shake the weight of it all. Whether you express it or not, the cry of your heart is most likely, “It isn’t supposed to be this way!” And it isn’t. The way things are is not the way God designed them to be. The way things are carries the mark of sin, the sin of our ancient parents and the sin of millions of people over the centruries in millions of choices. Simply, the world is broken. Your heart cries out for a perfection that doesn’t exist here because it was made to desire the perfection that only exists in heaven.
Okay, so maybe that isn’t comforting to you. You’re saying, “If heaven is the only place that my heart will truly be satisfied, what do I do in the meantime?! This life is hard! I want to know how to live now!” If that is what you want to know, I have good news for you. God gave you an example to follow of how to live in this messed up world with peace and purpose.
Follow Jesus, the ultimate example of a selfless, satisfying life. God made Jesus the ultimate example. Philippians says that Jesus emptied Himself, took the form of a servant and obeyed God, even to the point of death. (Phil. 2: 7-8) After Jesus completed the assignment given Him, absorbing the sin of all humanity through His death on the cross, God “elevated him tot he highest place of honor.” Why did God do that? To celebrate that Jesus had fulfilled the Father’s greatest desire. He stayed focused on God’s purpose, so God exalted Him and gave Him the place of highest honor.
His humility and sacrifice earned Him the place of highest honor. He gave up everything and did what God wanted. Without reservation, He laid aside the treasure of what was His to do something that required the loss of all things — all position, power and personal gain. Because He willingly left the glory of heaven for the dust of earth, God exalted Him.
The word “Therefore” in Philippians 2:9 shows that the honor was the result of what had been described in the previous verses, Jesus’ humble, obedient sacrifice. Because Jesus willingly did what was required, He demonstrated the supremacy of humility and obedience. For this, He was exalted.
Whatever it is that you are facing, whatever loss, whatever pain, whatever disappointment or pressure, Jesus showed you the way through. He emptied Himself of all that was His so that He could completely focus on serving God’s purpose, meeting the need of salvation for messed up humanity. Making it through meant staying connected to serving God rather than Himself and His own comfort.
Oh, Dear Friend, I don’t want to minimize your pain or your stress. It might seem overwhelming, even unbearable, at times. I just want to encourage you to follow Jesus’ example of selflessness. As you empty yourself of the need to ease your own pain and stress, and focus on serving the needs of those around you, I know that you will find a measure of peace and fulfillment that you didn’t know was possible. Don’t deny your feelings, but process them forward with God and focus on following Jesus’ example.
Like Jesus, stay focused on serving God’s purpose instead of your own. God exalted Jesus because He accomplished the purpose that God most desired. Jesus made fulfilling God’s desire His greatest goal. He obeyed, even to the point of death That enabled Him to stay focused and let everything else fall into a lesser place. His desire was God’s desire. That is what gave His life peace and purpose. He stayed focused on what mattered most and let everything else go. What did God want? The restoration of humanity. Jesus did what was necessary to accomplish the deepest desire of God’s heart, so He was exalted.
When I am in the middle of a difficult season, everything in me cries out for comfort. You know what I mean. I just want it to be over. I just want everything to either go back to the way it was or to resolve the way I think it should. I am confused and I don’t like it. I want to understand. I want to convince the person who may be hurting me with their choices to stop! If it’s a situation with no visible reason, not someone’s choices, it just is, then I try to figure out the why. Somehow, I feel like if I can understand what the cause of the whole thing is, then I might know how to fix it. Most often that is just a waste of mental energy. Sometimes, situations just are. They are the result of sin’s breaking God’s perfect design. But I still want to fix it. Maybe you do, too.
While my purpose is clearly comfort, God’s purpose is not always clear. However, God’s glory can always be a goal. When I can’t see exactly what I think God is trying to do, then I pray that my responses will bring Him glory, that He will guide my decisions and reactions so that He is glorified through me, that my character would reflect His character. I know that His character is good and that He is always working things together in love. (Romans 8: 28-39) I can persevere and overcome my desire for comfort with a focus on God’s glory.
Like Jesus, obey to please the Father’s heart, not for the payoff. At the core of so much of our pain and discontent is our own desire. We don't like how things are turning out. We don’t like the choices other people are making, from family members to the person ahead of us on the road or in the grocery store, or the government. We don’t like it and we want to change it, but find ourselves powerless to do so. That powerlessness can lead to anger, anxiety, depression, discontent.
I don’t want to minimize any of your pain, Dear One. I just want to shed some light on motivations that don’t help us to process the mess of mortal life. The characteristic of motrtality that we least like is that we are limited when it comes to most of what happens in the world. We only have power over ourselves. We only have the power to choose God’s way over our own. We have no power to adjust anyone else’s choices, no matter how much they hurt us.
Jesus showed us the way. Jesus did not obey and sacrifice and suffer because He knew that He would be honored. Did He know? Perhaps. But Hebrews says that He endured for the joy set before Him.(Heb. 12:2) What joy? The joy of knowing that the doorway to heaven had been opened for God’s restored relationship with humanity and the Father’s heart was pleased. His joy was His relationship with the Father and His relationship with us.
At the end of the day, the only thing that lasts is relationship. My relationship with God will sustain me in this life and be fully realized in the next. In those confusing, out-of-the-blue type challenges, my relationship with God in the midst of it is the only thing that can bring sense and understanding.
My relationship with people can bring me satisfaction in this life, but the goal of every earthly relationship is heaven. Not just a taste of heaven on earth, which the best earthly relationships can be, but an opportunity to bring others to heaven. That person who is making your life hell on earth, needs heaven. They need heaven in eternity, but they need the taste of heaven now that you can bring them through allowing the Holy Spirit to work through you in the way you respond to them. It is not easy, but it is worthwhile.
It really is a mess, Dear Friend! There is no denying that. But you CAN make it through your mess. Jesus showed you the way.
Key thought: Jesus is the ultimate example of how to live for what matters and let go of what doesn’t.
A Scripture to consider: “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11 NLT
A YES challenge: Take a few minutes to write down the challenges you are facing at this moment. As you pray over the list, release the outcomes to God. Determine to honor Him above all and ask Him to guide you in your responses.
Prayer: Lord, You know the challenges that I am facing at this moment. You understand how they take every bit of my emotion and effort. Sometimes, it is hard to see the way forward, but You gave me an example to follow. You gave me Jesus. Help me to follow His example of focusing on serving Your purpose, instead of trying to make things turn out the way I think they should. Help me obey You, not as a tactic to try to manipulate You into doing what I want, but for Your sake alone. Help me to make pleasing Your heart my highest motivation. Father, this whole thing is a mess I didn’t make, the result of choices that were not mine, but in the midst of this chaos, I want to honor You above all. Amen.