Friday Quotable

I stumbled across this gem today on the Stuff Christians Like blog, quoted from The Pressure's Off by Larry Crabb. I confess I don't know too much about Crabb or his book, so this is not intended to be an endorsement per se. But this quote captures so much of what we need to hear as Christians today:

“We taste so little of the mouth-stopping, complaint-ending, desire-deepening awe that His presence creates when we think more about our problems and how to solve them than about meeting Him. We experience so little of the joy that sustains us in suffering and the hope that anchors us amid shattered dreams when we come to Him looking for the pathway out of hardships instead of the pathway into His presence.”


Christianity Lite, as some are wont to call much of American evangelicalism, tends to preach Jesus as someone who can help you out of your troubles, bring peace and happiness, and provide health, wealth, and unceasing prosperity. It's all about your best life now, or at least bringing temporal, emotional contentment and relief from your hardships. His yoke is easy, right?

But I think we do miss the real meaning of the light yoke and the peace that passes understanding. These do not come apart from communion with and true desire for the Jesus who carried our burden once for all, and the God of true shalom. The way that we find relief from the hardships of today is to transcend time by entering into the presence of Yahweh. We find our needs met on a much deeper level when we receive the blessed eternal provision of Jehovah-Jireh.

And all of this only through Christ. Solus Christus.

If you do not know Him and are wading through the muck of this life, one step from becoming stuck fast in the miry clay, call upon His name and ask Him to revive your heart. Only through the Holy Spirit's quickening can you receive the gospel of Christ - but then, beloved, you are assured of your salvation for all eternity. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33, emphasis mine).

The fruit of the Spirit (including joy and peace) are not things we accomplish, but things that are added to us as we spend time in God's presence, feasting upon His Word. The Psalmist says "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me" (Psalm 23:4, emphasis mine). He does not expect to find a shortcut out of the valley, but because of the Lord's goodness and promises, His guiding staff and chastening rod, the writer walks steadily on without fear of evil. He expects to come out of the valley eventually and dwell in the Lord's house forever - what a marvelous promise!

You who know Him share in this promise. Endure for a little while, cling to His goodness, and experience His peace and joy by seeking earnestly after Him rather than seeking a way out of your valley. Beloved, you will be rewarded with an inheritance of the glorious riches that are found in Christ Jesus!

This is true contentment: to acknowledge that I am a sinner, deserving of naught but God's wrath; to see any blessing as overflowing my cup and any ill as nothing compared with the amazing grace by which I'm saved; to be so completely nourished by His Word and presence that the trials of this life hold no sway over my thoughts and feelings. Amen and amen.