Tim Turner

24 Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the LORD. (Psalms 31:24)

24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? (Romans 8:24)

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Coincidence isn’t something I put much faith in. So when a lot of the same thing seem to pop up in life I think its wise to considering paying closer attention. For a while now I’ve been noticing one thing in particular keep showing up in my life. A deep sense of impending suffering, and a deeper hope I should place in God to get me through it.

I’d feel a little arrogant thinking the coming storm was meant for me alone, so I have no doubt that its going to have an effect on others, but its also obvious to me now that God has something for me to learn. Life may get really hard all of the sudden. In this country in particular many of us are not used to life being very hard. So, what then do we do when life throws us to our knees till they’re bloody and torn? How do you believe when you can’t see five minutes ahead, much less see God? I heard a fantastic answer today in a song by Building 429(Lyrics)(Hear it)

The story behind the song is simple, but powerful. The first verse is about an event in which Jason Roy met a woman in an autograph line that had lost her child, and told them the story of how the child was killed by her ex-husband. The story weighed heavily on him, and he started to write the song as a cry, and as a question to God. The second verse is about his own experience as a child with his father leaving, and the pain caused by the event. The thing is, though, the answer to the question is found in the chorus:

But I believe always always
Our Savior never fails
Even when all hope is gone
God knows our pain and His promise remains
He will be with you always

God keeps His promises always. In Hebrews 13:5 it says we will not be left or forsaken. Considering we have no right to demand anything of God, its a pretty huge deal when the Creator of the universe tells you that He will always be there, no matter what. The thing I think we all forget about our life with Christ is that no where does the bible say Christianity includes an easy button. No where do we see our lives becoming magically perfect and never will another hardship fall on us.

The painting in the picture is a birthday present given to me by my amazing friend Lacey. On it is a quote that never ceases to ring a chord with me. The quote is from The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis and happens in a conversation between the children and the beavers. Mr. Beaver is telling the kids about Aslan the lion and they ask if he is “quite safe.” I think this is a perfect view of Christ. There is nothing safe about Christ, but Christ is good. Better than anything else in the world.

As a result of our walk with Christ we may find that we have to sacrifice much more then we are comfortable with, but He is good. The world will hate us for it, but He is good. Faith may cost us everything, but He is good.

No matter what the cost is for us, however, God fulfills His promises. We can have hope that even when we are beaten and bloodied God is with us, always.

I was reading through my devotional tonight, and happened across an interesting thought. The chapter was about the event where Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. In the book, Max said he tried to find a translation of the bible that said “Jesus did not wash Judas’ feet,” however could not find one. I’ve heard that story a million times, but the thought never occurred to me that Judas was apart of those who Jesus washed.

The very act of washing another’s feet in that culture was a job left for the lowest of the servants, so for Jesus it had a very significant meaning. Jesus laid down one of my favorite examples of leadership in this story, I’ve commonly heard it called “servant-leadership.” Where I work now this simply does not exist, and I think its very apparent. My management doesn’t even attempt to understand the employees or to get on their hands and knees and help. I wonder most days what it would be like if our management, or the management of most companies had a shift where the managers were willing to be servant leaders. My old youth pastor used to say often, “You can’t lead someone where you aren’t going.”

Back to my original point. So Jesus washed the feet of all His disciples, these very men would later abandon Him to hide, and one of them would be the cause of some of the worst pain and suffering a human can endure. Yet, Jesus still thought it fitting to get on the floor and wash the dirt off their feet. I’ve been sitting here asking myself if I really thought I could wash the feet of a “Judas” in my life, and to be quite honest, no I don’t think I could. I have a hard time letting go of anger, and thats why I think its such an amazing example Jesus lays for us here. Think about the people in your life who have betrayed and hurt you, could your humble yourself for their benefit? What about men like Osama Bin Laden, or Hitler, could you wash their feet? Jesus forgave the men who would abandon him before they even committed the act. Can we learn to forgive people regardless of who they are or what they’ve done to us? Can we pray for men like Hitler, and ask God to forgive them? I think the point is Jesus was showing us we can forgive no matter how hard it may be.