Are Your Britches Getting Tight?

"Never get too big for your britches!"

That word of warning from our 33rd president, Harry Truman, was not intended to be diet or fashion advice.

He meant, "Don't get too full of yourself, too prideful or arrogant."

In Ezekiel 36, the God of Israel, Yahweh, wanted His people to learn that same lesson.

It was their pride and arrogance that had set up the Israelites for their acts of idolatry.

They had reasoned, "We are Yahweh's chosen people. We can get away with anything because He won't call us on it."

And so they worshipped false gods.

Which led to their punishment at the hands of the Babylonians.

In 597 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took the best and brightest of ancient Israel into captivity, leaving those left behind without leadership and without hope.

Eleven years later, the capital city of Jerusalem and its Temple were destroyed by fire.

With Israel's punishment completed, the time for promises had come.

Yahweh promised to restore the nation of ancient Israel, but He had this to say about it.

"It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of My holy name, which you have profaned (i.e., made common) among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them" (Ezekiel 36:22-23).

I'm not delivering you for your sake, but for Mine -- that's Yahweh's message to ancient Israel. It's also His message to us.

Quite frankly it seems a little rude, maybe even a little harsh. "You're saying, Yahweh, that we don't deserve deliverance, that we should simply be grateful that you deign to save us?"

And the answer to that question is "Yes!"

Yahweh's words to ancient Israel and to us are really the voice of His grace.

The voice of grace says, "You don't deserve it, but I'm delivering you anyway. And by the way, all the glory goes to the Lord, none to you."

It's only our sinful sense of pride that chafes at those words.

Our new nature as a follower of Jesus rejoices to sing:

By grace! None dare lay claim to merit;
Our works and conduct have no worth.
God in His love sent our Redeemer,
Christ Jesus, to this sinful earth;
His death did for our sins atone,
And we are saved by grace alone. Amen.
(Lutheran Service Book, 566. Public domain)

Are you suffering? Make it a virtue!

Hurricane Florence. Childlessness. Santa Fe High School. Hunger. California wildfires. Cancer. Terrorism. Death.

All of these are causes of a malady that afflicts all of creation, the malady of suffering.

I've begun to read "Don't Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart: How to relate to those who are suffering," by Ken Haugk.

As he lists numerous biblical characters who faced various forms of affliction, trauma, and sorrow, I reflected on how we in 21st century America regard suffering as foreign to our human experience. It is to be avoided however possible.

That's why we numb with alcohol, drugs, food, sex, and whatever else we can grab to mask our pains.
As counter-intuitive as it sounds, we need to embrace suffering as an inevitable reality of life. Rather than numb and avoid, we can choose to endure and even thrive in suffering.

That's the biblical perspective that we hear from the apostle Paul. He writes to the Romans, "We also rejoice in our sufferings, for we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3, 4)

It's not enough for us to say in resignation, "This too shall pass." Because sometimes suffering is chronic, not passing. It's better to say, "Let's look for the good that God will bring through the suffering."

That's the key. Suffering is not just a physical or emotional experience. It is also profoundly spiritual.

My suffering is connected to my faith. It even has the ability to challenge that faith.

But it need not destroy that faith. Although God may seem remote during our times of pain, anguish, or grief, He is not.

God is present to bring good out of ill, and blessing from suffering.

He is present with us in His Son who suffered for us.

That's how we can redeem our suffering, how we can make it a virtue.

Trust that God, who is bigger than your suffering, is up to something good.