I find it very useful to periodically look at Scripture that truly accentuates how awesome God is. Here is a little gem from Habakkuk (yes, it’s really a book in the Bible):

Habakkuk 3

1A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, according to Shigionoth.
2LORD, I have heard the report about You and I fear
O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years,
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy.
3God comes from Teman,
And the Holy One from Mount Paran Selah
His splendor covers the heavens,
And the earth is full of His praise.
4His radiance is like the sunlight;
He has rays flashing from His hand,
And there is the hiding of His power.
5Before Him goes pestilence,
And plague comes after Him.
6He stood and surveyed the earth;
He looked and startled the nations
Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered,
The ancient hills collapsed
His ways are everlasting.
7I saw the tents of Cushan under distress,
The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.
8Did the LORD rage against the rivers,
Or was Your anger against the rivers,
Or was Your wrath against the sea,
That You rode on Your horses,
On Your chariots of salvation?
9Your bow was made bare,
The rods of chastisement were sworn Selah
You cleaved the earth with rivers.
10The mountains saw You and quaked;
The downpour of waters swept by.
The deep uttered forth its voice,
It lifted high its hands.
11Sun and moon stood in their places;
They went away at the light of Your arrows,
At the radiance of Your gleaming spear.
12In indignation You marched through the earth;
In anger You trampled the nations.
13You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
For the salvation of Your anointed
You struck the head of the house of the evil
To lay him open from thigh to neck. Selah.
14You pierced with his own spears
The head of his throngs
They stormed in to scatter us;
Their exultation was like those
Who devour the oppressed in secret.
15You trampled on the sea with Your horses,
On the surge of many waters.
16I heard and my inward parts trembled,
At the sound my lips quivered
Decay enters my bones,
And in my place I tremble
Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress,
For the people to arise who will invade us.
17Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
18Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
19The Lord GOD is my strength,
And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,
And makes me walk on my high places.
For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.

And here is another great one from Daniel:

Daniel 7:9-10

I kept looking
Until thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days took His seat;
His vesture was like white snow
And the hair of His head like pure wool
His throne was ablaze with flames,
Its wheels were a burning fire.
A river of fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The court sat,
And the books were opened.

We don’t serve a God who is bent over with age and out of touch with the world. We serve a powerful, awesome King, who is full of splendor and majesty!

Last night at youth group Rob, the youth pastor, did something that absolutely, positively made me smile. We were starting to explore the Psalms, and he used some of the fairly standard “nice” Psalms. Then he moved into some of the Psalms that are far more gory.

For example, Psalms 139:8-9 says:

8 O Daughter of Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is he who repays you
for what you have done to us-

9 he who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.

That doesn’t sound very “Christian” to me, does it? In Psalms 3:7 the Psalmist writes:

7 Arise, O LORD!
Deliver me, O my God!
Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
break the teeth of the wicked.

The Psalms is full of honest prayers. In fact, I think many Christians today would look down on someone who prayed with that much honesty. Perhaps they only accept these Psalms because they are in the Bible. I’m not sure, and too often I find myself shying away from such honest prayers.

But let’s be honest. The Bible isn’t this nice, friendly book. Have you ever read Judges, for example? In fact, much of the Old Testament isn’t exactly what I would call kid friendly. And the Song of Songs? If that isn’t steamy, then I don’t know what is.

And if the Bible isn’t really all that nice and friendly, what does that say about the God behind it? He is real, He is powerful, and His wrath is terrible. He is just and mighty, and none can stand before Him.

That sounds rather bleak, doesn’t it? But on the flip side, the Bible is also beautiful, poetic, full of love, romance, compassion, forgiveness and mercy. And equally so, God is merciful, forgiving, kind and loving.

Too often we tend to focus on one side or the other, and forget that both are actually true. There is a beautiful tension in much of Christianity. While we may not understand it, it remains true and vital to a healthy relationship with our Creator.

Just remember, this ain’t your momma’s book. It’s for real men and real women who want a real life and real relationship with a real God. And that includes all of the ugliness that goes right along with reality.

As I’m continuing to read “Death by Suburb” I’m finding little bits of truth that leave me reeling from the impact of the statement. Most recently is the problem of suffering.

Now this isn’t going to exactly be the problem that most people think of. When we think of suffering, we tend to ask ourselves how a loving God could allow such suffering. That is often an argument people use to disprove that God exists. That, however, is a completely different tangent.

But back to the problem of suffering. Let us examine this in a new light, from a new angle. God suffers. Yes, the almighty Creator, Lord and Ruler of all, sovereign, eternal and powerful King … suffers.

Consider it. He constantly offers Himself to us, exposes Himself, and makes Himself completely vulnerable. The only being in the entirety of the universe that has any right to not make Himself vulnerable… makes Himself completely vulnerable. And we reject Him. Constantly. The only being that has done nothing to deserve rejection accepts the rejection. And He suffers.

So when we experience suffering, we are being like our Creator, like our Father. Perhaps it even means that suffering is a fundamental part of what it means to be a person.

So the problem becomes this - we seek to remove suffering from our lives. How can we really empathize with those who do suffer? How can we really wrestle with what it means to be a person without suffering?

I think that, perhaps, we as a church in the west have begun to subtly teach that if you suffer, you are not blessed. But the Bible is full of contradictions to that mentality. We must come to a place where we accept the fact that our suffering is allowed by God. He knew it would happen, and yet He still allowed it to happen. This does not mean that He isn’t a good God. Instead it means that He wishes for us to draw close to Him in our pain, to be more like Him, and to learn to be more human to one another.

My good friend Brandon recently posted some thoughts on career choices. He asked some very penetrating and challenging questions that really forced me to look at the how and why of my job selection. The answers are few and the questions are many.

Is it wrong to do something that doesn’t directly impact the world for God (i.e. work with the poor, be a pastor, be a missionary, etc.)? I think the answer is definitely no. I look at the occupation that many people had in the Old and New Testaments and am convinced that it is not wrong to do something that isn’t directly related to the spreading of the Gospel.

Now, on the flip side, I think that whatever job we are in and whatever we are doing with our lives we should be advancing the Kingdom, in at least small ways. God does not require us to win countless lives for Him. Just to live and walk humbly with Him and love Him with all of our heart, soul and mind (which also means our words and our actions!).

Yet I cannot shake the feeling, perhaps even a deep uneasiness, that what we do should be a part of our purpose. Or perhaps our passion. As I think about it, if I don’t do something that I enjoy, I begin to lose my energy. I feel myself losing energy.

So what then? Perhaps first we should find that which we are passionate about, that which we feel is our purpose. Often times a good way to do this is finding something we enjoy. Or finding what energizes us. Then pursue a career in that field. I know that sounds easy and I understand it is far more complicated than that. But it only takes faith to take one small step, and God will provide at each step of the way.

Personally, I’m finding more and more that I really, deeply enjoy working with youth. Especially high school age. I don’t know if this is a calling, or just a passion, or perhaps both. I am definitely toying around with the idea of doing something full time in this area, but I do not know what yet.

So how does purpose factor in to a career decision - should it? I think the answer is two-fold. I do not think it is wrong to do something professionally that is not your purpose (unless you feel a clear calling from God and you ignore that calling). Secondly, I think that you will be far less satisfied with life and your career if you do something that isn’t part of your purpose. Once again, it may not be wrong, but it isn’t the best that you could experience.

I won’t claim to have the answers here; I have far more questions than answers. But these are some of the thoughts stirred up in my head as a result of Brandon’s thoughts. Perhaps they will clear up thoughts for someone else - perhaps not.

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves. - Francois de La Rochefoucauld