Much like Claire in the popular STARZ series, Outlander, we are strangers in a foreign land. If you are a fan, you already know that Claire is a British woman who travels through time from the post World War II era in Scotland to the late 1700’a on the Scottish Highlands. Despite many challenges, she finds happiness in her new life. While she travels between two continents in two different eras, most of us as Christians are firmly planted with one foot in this world and the other in the heavenly realm, our true home. Like Claire, our loyalties are divided. Unlike her fictional woes, ours are very real as we waver between the desires God places on our hearts and the things of this world.
For me personally and I believe for all Christians, the challenge is to discern the differences between the two worlds in which we live. Sometimes the lines get very fuzzy and it is easy to get confused. It’s especially difficult because so many really great teachings of the world today are simply twisted versions of Biblical truth. They sound reasonable and are vaguely familiar, so they must be true. Right?
This problem is compounded by the fact that we have access to so much information. We can literally Google anything and get the answer in seconds. Knowledge is virtually unlimited, but without discernment, true wisdom is scarce.
You see, wisdom is so much more than knowing. It is an attitude that affects every aspect of our lives. In Proverbs, Solomon tells us that fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The footnote in my New Living Translation Bible says we are to honor and respect God, to live in awe of His power, and to obey His Word. Faith in God should be the controlling principle for our understanding of the world, our attitudes, and our actions.
But that is hard to live out, isn’t it? I mean, the world wants us to believe the only way we can be happy is to control our destiny, to schedule and plan every minute of our day so that we can maximize our time and our effectiveness. If we do, not only will we supposedly be more competent, but we’ll be more successful.
And it is so enticing to live that way. To feel that we can manipulate and control everything in our day. And we love the accolades when we get things done and we can be known as that superhero who has it all. I mean, all it takes is to just work a little harder or put in a few more hours, right?
But is that really true? The world is geared to have us think that way, but in reality, the Kingdom of Heaven is calling us to let go of control. To let go and let God. To stop acting like we are the only player in our lives.
But what if we were to let go of that philosophy and really looked at our situation a bit? I’ll bet every one of us could see scenarios where God stepped in and helped us out whether we were aware of it or not.
In one of my recent devotionals, the writer pointed out examples of some of the things that kept people away from the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001. They included a missed taxi, a foot blister requiring a bandage, a car that wouldn’t start, and a spill requiring a change of clothing. I’m sure the list of things could go on for a very long time. I personally know several people who have their own stories of why they weren’t there when they normally would have been.
At the time, these inconveniences were probably considered to be major annoyances to the people that experienced them. But I’m sure once they realized the outcome of those delays, each one of them was on their knees giving thanks for God for that inconvenience that saved their life. For some, it may have been the first conversation with God they’ve ever had. But I’ve always believed that is why we have troubles in our lives; to remind us that we are not in control and we need the One who is in control to be a part of our lives to help us navigate our path.
I remember taking the adult course to become a member of my church years ago. The pastor gave the example of us pushing a wheelbarrow. In his example he explained that to truly live out the faith we, as Christians, are called to live, we need to not only let God push the wheelbarrow, we need to put both feet firmly in the bucket. That has been a powerful image for me all these years because, much like the image of us standing with one foot in the earthly realm and one in the heavenly realm, I can see me often standing at that wheelbarrow with one foot in the bucket and one foot on the ground because I wasn’t sure I wanted to fully trust God with my problems. But what if we stepped into the heavenly realm (or the wheelbarrow) and truly lived our lives in obedience to God in all things instead of the times when it was easy to do so?
In Philippians 4 beginning at verse 4, Paul says to always be joyful in the Lord and let everyone see that you are considerate in all that you do. In verse 6 he says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Even when we think we are fully on board, it sometimes can be hard to be thankful when bad things happen. Especially when we’ve worked so hard for it to work out exactly the way we planned or maybe even exactly the way we thought God asked us to.
In reality, we don’t know what God is working out behind the scenes. But if we live in the right attitude, we can trust that He loves us and that He is faithful. We can believe that He wants the absolute best for us.
If we train ourselves to believe that. If we create new habits and begin to believe with all our heart that God’s peace is different than the world’s peace, we will begin to see that we won’t find our happiness in positive thinking, or in having things go our way, or even in simply feeling good about ourselves and our situation. Instead, it comes from knowing that God is in control. All the time. And it comes from knowing that our citizenship in Christ’s kingdom is sure. That our place in eternity is set and that we have the assurance that all of our sins have already been forgiven.
When we believe that, what can hold us back from responding to any call He has laid on our hearts? What prevents us from having the confidence not in ourselves and our abilities, but in God and His abilities? Why do we hold back in fear when we are assured that the God that created the heavens and the earth will protect us from all harm?
Why? Because the ruler of this world has planted the seed of doubt in our mind. He has twisted the truth just enough for us to wonder if God really meant every word He has ever spoken. It makes me sad that Satan has taken away our ability to have an impact on the heavenly kingdom by convincing us that we aren’t good enough while at the same time, he emboldens us to take actions that are contrary to God’s Word without hesitation at all.
Friends, the dilemma is real. We truly are straddling two separate worlds in our walk every day and it is frightening to me how many people I talk to that are believing the lies of this world. Someone has told them a half-truth either about themselves or about the sin in their lives and because it aligns with what they’ve been told before or with what they want to hear, they believe it as truth.
God wants you to live in His wisdom. He wants you to accept the forgiveness that is yours in Christ. And although it won’t be possible to fully live in the heavenly world until you leave this earth, He wants you to spend more time thinking about and preparing for heaven than you do about your earthly life. By doing so that you will enjoy the fruits of the spirit which are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Paul concludes with this thought, “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about the things that are pure and lovely and honorable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing and the God of peace will be with you.”
I know it can sound daunting and scary. But the really awesome thing about stepping out in God’s will is that He takes over when we’ve done what we can and will open doors in exactly with the right time with exactly the right people. He calls, equips, and enables us to fulfill His plan for our lives. As such, we can stop trying so hard to make things happen and start praying for His favor to take over when we’ve done what we can. And that, my friend, is living in the wisdom I spoke of earlier.
Going back to my original analogy, I don’t want to mislead you to think that Outlander is a biblically-based show; it is not. But the similarities of Claire longing for a time and place that she does not live in has so many parallels to our longing for the life God created us for. The difference is, we have a choice. We can choose how we live out our days here on earth and can make each one count.
God laid the longings and desires on our souls and He is asking us to have faith and step out in courage to go for the life He wants us to live. He is calling each and every one of us to stop holding back and to begin to live the life we were created for. To live our More.
Unfortunately, the confusion created by the conflict between our two worlds makes it hard to know which direction to take. The answers are all spelled out for you in your heart and in the Word of God. They are just waiting for you to access them. Of course, the distractions and the beliefs we’ve accepted can cause us to get stuck, so sometimes we need some help to decipher our path.
As we mentioned in last week’s episode, Following God’s Plan When it Doesn’t Make Sense, it is important to find someone who speaks biblical truth and who resonates with you if you are going to ask someone to guide you through your journey. Trust me, I know. I’ve hired coaches who have caused me to be more confused than I was before I started working with them. The good news is, that in God’s economy, nothing is wasted. So even though I may not have gotten the answer I thought I needed or wanted in that experience, I got something I could learn from and grow through.
And that is a beautiful lesson to learn, that there really is no wrong path because God will teach us as we wander through life. It may take longer than we wanted, but He always follows through with the promises He has given us. And with the proper wisdom and perspective, we can endure almost anything.
As you may have gathered, the perils we encounter as strangers in a foreign land are much different than the challenges experienced by the characters of the Outlander series. But they are real and they have a lasting impact on our peace in this life and may have an impact on where we spend eternity.
I hope you enjoyed this episode of the show and that you will subscribe to iTunes, Apple Podcast, Stitcher, or one of the many podcast platforms so that you can listen each week for more insights on how to Live Your More. If you have a friend who you think would benefit from listening, I hope you will share this with them.
Thank you for listening today. I know your time is very valuable and it means a lot to me you stopped by. Go, be blessed, and live your more!
