Made

 Ever wonder why some people are made great in their trials, and some are wholly unmade? It’s not as though the trials differed all that much from one person to the other. There are the exceptions, as there always are when someone gets diagnosed with Gaucher disease or Barth syndrome, but even then, though the disease might be rare, the emotions the individual goes through and the future they have to confront are similar.

The answer lies in how they react to the trial or hardship they’ve been confronted with. You can see a diagnosis as a death sentence or as a stopwatch. You can perceive it as having been granted a certain amount of time to do what you need to do or as a reason to wallow in self-pity and regret until your light fades and you are no more.

I have a friend who was given six months to live eight years ago. In his mind, he had six months to make sure that his wife and then two boys were taken care of when he was gone, and he spent the time he didn’t spend with them, building his business. Six months turned into a year, and a year turned into two. They had a baby girl and another baby boy two years later, and his business was still growing, as was his family, and he lived his life the best way he could.

He and his wife now have four children; he sold his business this past summer and plans to start another business come the new year.

If he would have just given up, thrown in the towel, and found a comfy bed in which to expire, he would have had nothing to show for the eight years of life he’d have wasted not doing anything but waiting to die.

The same logic can be applied to many things in life, including the timing of Christ’s return. Either we shift it in neutral and coast because someone on Facebook said Jesus was returning next week, and we feel as though there’s nothing we can do in such a short time, or we downshift and goose the gas because we want to go a bit faster since time is finite.

While the enemy and his minions are planning and executing the downfall of decency, we go from waiting for a date to waiting for another date, unwilling to engage the enemy or resist him in any way.

Last I checked, we’re all still here, except, perhaps, for that one guy who said he was getting raptured last week and is likely hiding in the woods behind his house until a search party finds him eating Spam out of the can and reading the left behind series by candlelight.

Have we ever stopped to consider that these constant delay tactics, this perpetual running out of the clock, are purposeful? Have we allowed for the possibility that keeping people on the sidelines, doing nothing but waiting on a date in the near distant future, is something the enemy is content with?

What were you supposed to be doing but failed to do because you were consumed with a date? The race is over when you cross the finish line. The battle is won when the enemy is defeated. Can something that keeps you from finishing, conquering, or vanquishing be of divine origin?

It’s not that I’m trying to ruffle any feathers, but it’s been a few days since the last rapture deadline, and with everything going on in the world, another is soon to follow.

Again, it all comes down to how you see this season the world has entered into and what you perceive your role in it to be. If you see it as an opportunity to further the kingdom of God, then you are not fearful but hopeful. You are not anxious but excited.

It’s not about validation or going on an I told you so tour; it’s about people being more open to the message of the cross because they realize that whatever this is down here, it’s so far from heaven it’s looking more like hell than anything.

The hope of Christ is all the more vivid amid hopelessness. People you would have never thought would respond positively to the message of the cross will do so as they begin to see the vanity of the life they’ve built for themselves start to shake and crumble.

Anyone who studies church history with any level of dedication can readily tell you that every time there was an increase in persecution, there was an increase in the growth of the church body. Hardships do not weaken a church; they strengthen it. It is a longstanding, provable fact going back to the primary church, which was scattered abroad, and went about preaching a risen Christ. The intent was to make the church weak, silent, and afraid. The outcome was the message of the cross spreading across the globe like wildfire.

What the enemy intends for evil, God will use for good. It’s happened before and will again because God is consistent. That singular truth should be enough to give us peace in this world of chaos. That one piece of knowledge should provide us with the boldness and courage to face tomorrow, knowing He is already there, making a way, fully aware of what is to come.

We are watching the world come apart at the seams in real time. We can react in one of two ways: either rejoice, seeing it as an opportunity to preach the good news to those who would otherwise not have heard it, or as a cumbersome burden we want to be rid of as soon as possible. I’m well aware of which the flesh would choose. The question is, which would God choose?

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.