Rebranding Christ

I always believed the problem with Obamacare lies in how it was named and marketed. Calling it the Affordable Care Act set up expectations that healthcare would be affordable for all who qualify; however, the reality we now see is folks are mandated to have health insurance with premiums that are anything but affordable. There was no way to ensure prices would stay the same or decrease with such a high spike in demand. Economics says so. Even with the addition of new health insurance providers (supply), the low cost equilibrium only lasted for a season. With those providers folding left and right the classic economic formula manifested: low supply for an inelastic item demanded by more people led to an increase in the price thereby making the Affordable Care Act, no so much.

Likewise, I question whether I have been marketed a Christ that is not consistent with who He really is or how He really operates in the world. Not only has my current situation led me to reevaluate His role in my own life, I have heard the reasoning of others who have completely walked away from the faith because the Savior they were sold on failed to deliver on the sales pitch.

There have been times in my life when He did not supply what I needed, and there were times when I have had to beg for bread – two promises that are often quoted directly from the Bible. I used to explain away the disappointment by making excuses that put me in the fault seat, as if the Biblical promise would have manifested if I only (fill in the blank). That may be true, but after a while it hurt too much to beat myself up when I was already down. Then I said “Well, life without Him would be hard and leaving Christ would open myself up for an attack from the enemy.” Well life with Him is still hard and it feels like I have been offered up for the enemy to attack and have a field day. What's the point?

Part of the disappointment has to do with the expectation I had of who He is and would be in my life based on what I was told about His character. Will He make everything alright…after (a) while? I knew in this life I would have trouble, Jesus said that; however, the Lord will bring me out, right? Not necessarily and not always when you want. Argh!! The explaining away of why what we have been told of His character has not shown up in our lives gets to be exhausting. I find it hard to be a spokesperson/salesperson for a Savior that saved us from the most excruciating hurt (Sheol), but may not save us from the hurt that comes with the loss of a loved one for example. What gives?

The only answers I have heard from the faith community have been to not be anxious for anything, to not doubt Him but keep waiting on Him, to walk by faith and not by sight, to just keep waiting on the Lord, perhaps I am not ready to receive what I desire. I was hungry with no food to eat; am I not ready enough for food? Just how long do I have to wait for Him? In the meantime I am getting beat up at life and there is no relief in sight. While I’m looking to the hills, the notices continue to come in the mail and things are getting worse. Where I used to believe the report of the Lord and not the evil report, I am now bracing myself for the next attack because I don’t know if I have hit the bottom yet.

The next question becomes where is God in all of this? The next answer becomes, He is right there with you because He will never leave you or forsake you. Another answer is, “He chastens whom He loves.” Since that is the case, I cringe when I believe a hit is coming from Him not unlike a child takes a defensive stance raising their arms to protect themselves from what could be another blow from a “loving” parent. It is almost less satisfying to know that in the midst of all of this chaos, He is literally right there watching it all take place and seemingly doing nothing. You almost wish He were temporarily distracted and once called He will rush to my aid because He would never stand idly by while hurt is heaped upon me.

This is where my new perspective on who He is comes into play. The Comforter is not there to make the hurt go away, but to be in place and comfort me while the hurt takes place. As disappointing as that is, there is still value in it. Why does misery love company? Because we do not particularly like to go through hard times alone. The presence of someone else in our time of trouble is comforting. The three Hebrew boys had His presence while still in the fiery furnace no less. Stephen saw His presence while being stoned by an angry mob no less. Daniel saw His presence work for him while in the lion’s den. David was comforted by His presence while on the run from Saul who wanted to kill him no less. Likewise, His presence is Heaven to me.

This is what we should provoke in others. Not that He will swoop in and save the day, because sometimes He won’t; I am a living witness to that fact. Instead, since trouble is inevitable in this life you would do better to have the right One along with you to go through it all. The One who made the heavens and the earth, who calms the wind and waves, who walked on water, who defeated the enemy already, who overcame the world, the mighty Battle Axe, the Lion in the tribe of Judah, the King of all kings, and Lord of all lords, the great I AM that I AM, Jehovah, and the list goes on. In my hurt, I got to the point of just praising Him for being the answer, whether He decided to help or not - there is no one else who can make things right. He is the only one who can be present in trials and make you feel better by just being there. This is what is meant when they say the Lord is my hope. He Himself is hope. How can He, being all these things, not evoke hope by just being around?

Keep fighting, keep going even when the fire gets hotter and the lions are snapping. His presence may not make it less hot or soften the blow (I’m sorry you were told that), but His presence will give you the comfort to endure it all.

Mickey Noella

Oh, and another thing...Think of it like this: if the One who has done all of these great things and accomplished the impossible over and over again, if He is with you, then there ought to be a level of confidence we can have in facing the trial. Some of us were more than willing to talk smack to our enemies when our older, stronger sibling was around (even when the sibling was not present, we knew she was for us, which made us even more bold toward our adversary). Even when we got beat up by the bully after school, there was something reassuring to know you had reinforcements that were available once you survived that beat down. For others, in spite of being a reinforcement, the older sibling still made us fight our own battles. Nonetheless they were right there cheering us on, encouraging us to get stronger, which was helpful. See? This is what we can expect from our Savior. We will have trouble; we can boast in Him who is able to keep us from falling; when we fall, even seven times, rise again knowing that character traits are being strengthened in us the entire time. This is who the Comforter really is, a very PRESENT help in the time of trouble.