12 Jul From Here (How to turn your Setback into a Comeback) part 31
Over the last number of months, we have shared with you our key verse for this series, I Thessalonians 5:16, “Rejoice evermore.” In this short but powerful verse, we discussed the Greek word translated “evermore” literally means “from this point on”. In everyday language it means “from here”.
Then we began to share “13 Facets to Live a Constructive Life”:
- Part from Pity (Phil. 2:14).
- Never let your tragedy become your identity (Mark 5:26).
- You can’t unscramble eggs (Eph. 5:16).
- What we know is always more important than how we feel (Eph. 6:13-14).
- Never let go of what you do know because of what you don’t know (Matt. 11:5-6).
- Never compound bad decisions with more bad decisions (Rom. 6:19).
- Life is not about “What ifs” but “What now?” (II Sam. 12:18-24).
- Learn to Fail Forward (Phil. 3:13-14).
- Get back into motion (Ps. 126:6).
- Clean up, cheer up and choose up (II Sam. 12:20).
- Understand life is seasonal (Eccl. 3:1)
This week let’s continue….
- Don’t isolate yourself (Prov. 18:1).
Here the Bible tells us in the NASB version, “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire.” Have you ever watched one of those National Geographic shows on the Wildebeest? I love those types of programs! In these, you see great herds of wildebeests and invariably one of the smaller, weaker animals is separated from the herd. You already know what happens to the isolated wildebeest…he gets devoured by a lion!
That is one of the devil’s greatest tricks. If he can get us isolated through tragedy or offense, or simply through busyness, we begin to seek our own desires.
Decades ago before I was in full-time ministry, I led a college and career Bible study for my local church. In this Bible study we had quite an interesting array of people. We had a young man who was a “punk rocker”. Do you remember this style from the 80’s? He had spiked jet black hair. The spike protruded like a rooster 24 inches from his head. He always came with his punk rocker girlfriend. They both loved Jesus and one another.
After a period of time the punk rock love must have worn thin because she broke up with him. Well, this devastated my punk rocker. For weeks he did not return to the Bible study and so I called him repeatedly to check on his emotional well-being. He never returned my calls so finally I went to his apartment to see if I could find him. I knocked on his apartment door and finally he opened it and what I saw I’ll never forget.
Before the break up he had a light in his eye and a spring in his step, and a genuine love for Jesus. However, what I saw now was completely different. His eyes were dark, his countenance was stoic and his entire apartment was a very dreary dark black. You see, he had walled himself off from me, his Christian friends, and his church and was holed up in his apartment praying eight to ten hours a day for his girlfriend to come back to him.
While prayer is obviously something I recommend, you can not override someone’s free will. God created us free will moral agents in His image and likeness (see Genesis 1:26). Even God will not override our wills. As much as He loves us, He will respect our ability to choose…all the way to hell. You see, this young man had isolated himself and was clearly seeking his own desires.
If you have been hurt or offended, or you have gone through some sort of tragedy or devastating experience in your life…get back into church! Don’t be like the prodigal son’s older brother (see Luke 15:11-32). At the end of the story he was the only one outside of his father’s house isolating himself with a lousy attitude! Force yourself to get back into church, knowing full well when you get there, you’re going to get those special “sideway head bobs” from well meaning Christians uttering the dreaded phrases, “How are you doing?” and “Are you ok?” Get back into church anyway!
You were not created for isolation…you were created for relation! Learn to go from here!
Join us next week as we continue our series.