Written: July 17, 2016
Yesterday, I had a new experience in life — I participated in escaping from a room with a group of ten people. I did this because it was my sister’s birthday, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to damper her birthday — and I had fun, I must admit. However, as I reflected on the experience this morning, I tried to relate it to what’s happening in our world. I have lived in some very tough places, and seen evil at work and been through some extremely trying times, but in general, I felt that they were isolated and related to our work in sharing the Gospel.
Of late, however, I feel that the incidents in France, Belgium, Turkey, and here in the USA, along with the sense of increased violence on a day-to-day basis in our own city, reveal a new move of Satan to wreck havoc and destruction on a new level in the world at large. I’ve been reading the prophets lately and see how the Lord used other nations and strife to serve as His instruments of wrath on a rebelling nation. When it hits everywhere at once, what are we to think, to feel, to do?
Being in that closed room, I realized that we had in our hands the clues to escape — some were obvious, others hidden, and some were actually just meant to distract us. One person in the group had a special gift — a button on a string around their neck that they could push when we got stuck and needed a clue. While we worked hard to do it ourselves, there came times when we “yelled” at our team member and said: “Push the button!” She always complied, thankfully, and a clue would pop up on the TV screen to help us make our way.
What if she had refused? She was really the only one who could get us moving, and she could have used that against us. So, what does this tell me about my world and life as a follower of Christ?
- We serve a God of clarity, not of confusion. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 2:3ff). As a good father, he gives us what we need to follow Him. When the world seems confusing, look to Him and His Word.
- In Christ, we all have the “special button” — “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubles and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
- We need each other as the Body of Christ. Just as our team had to rely on each other for help in getting our clues answered, so the Lord uses each part of the His Body to work for the good of the whole. “But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.” (1Cor. 13:24-25)
- The Lord will provide a way of escape. In our room, we could put “911” into the keypad and immediately get out. While the Lord may not give us “instant” escape from trials, he never gives us more than we can bear. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Cor. 10:13)
Life is not a game, and I do not mean to imply that it is. Life is serious business and souls are at stake. For this reason, my heart is extra heavy in these days of trials, as I know that we are losing many on a daily basis who did not have the Hope of which I speak. I do think that in reflecting on this game, God was reminding me that I need to be as aware in my daily life of the “clues” given to me by His Spirit that say, “this is the way, walk ye in it” or “speak to that person, their heart is softened to hear” or “pray for that friend, they are hurting.” Being under pressure for an hour to escape, heightened my senses. My prayer now is that I will be as sensitive to His Spirit “while it is still day” for I do not know when my time is up. Stand Firm in Him.
Grace and Peace