Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Challenge: Unashamed

For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day. 2 Tim 1:12

Every time I have read or heard one of Paul’s verses about not being ashamed, I have approached it with a single preconception: I must not be ashamed to share the gospel of Christ.

That concept is definitely not false. I must be a bold witness. But, I think being tied to that preconception has caused me to previously miss another truth.

In this particular passage, Paul is not talking about being unashamed to preach the gospel. He’s talking about not being ashamed to suffer. In our day and age, it seems as if we are embarrassed of and for God if circumstances don’t work out. If our prayers aren’t answered exactly as we hoped, we begin to dig for ways to justify God’s actions, or lack thereof.

This morning I realized that has been my perspective on the situation with our house in Mississippi. It didn’t sell immediately. It hasn’t sold miraculously. And now we are looking at the possibility of it selling in a way that actually seems rather negative. As much as I hate to confess this, I now know that I have been ashamed of the fact that God has not come to our rescue. How can He be glorified if He doesn’t do it all in a way that is glorious in human eyes?

I am challenged to not be ashamed. First of all, my sufferings are nothing compared to the real sufferings of Paul and of many modern-day persecuted believers throughout the world.  Secondly, my God will be glorified. Period. If it doesn’t look like it to me, it’s because I am not trusting in Him and in that truth.

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