The UnVictorious Christian LIfe
The UnVictorious Christian Life
Failure. Rejection. Weakness. Pain. Troubles everyone seeks to control and avoid, especially Christians. Barbara Duguid in her book “Extravagant Grace” says Christianity today is terminally infected with a Disney like make-believe she calls the “Disney Delusion”:
“Every week I counsel young people from solid Christian homes who are undone by their sin. As parents, we are sometimes more invested in protecting our children from the sinful influences of this world than we are in preparing them for the deep sinfulness of their own hearts…No wonder college campuses are overflowing with young Christian men and women who know that they are sinners in some global and lofty way, but who fall apart and are shattered with anxiety and depression when they fall into specific sin. They are shocked by their own desires and behavior, and they find themselves turning to harmful addictions or to the manic pursuit of Christian disciplines in order to pacify their desperate feelings of failure and inadequacy.”
Moses was infected too. His first public attempt at the victorious Christian life is widely known, ending in the murder of an Egyptian and his exile from Egypt. His second attempt is more often missed.
Moses stands victoriously before the most powerful man in the world, a notorious villain deeply engaged in international slavery and the mass murder of babies, and triumphantly says, “You’re done. Game over. You lose. Let my people go!” The stuff of super-hero movies! But Pharaoh not only doesn’t flinch, he tells Moses to get out of his face while he barks out tyrannical orders to increase the affliction upon abused Israel. Moses slips out of the palace traumatized.
Upon closer inspection, however, the problem is spotted. Moses didn’t speak the words Yahweh gave him to communicate to Pharaoh, but rather spoke his own words. Moses was addicted to bringing his own effort. The old self-reliant Moses was back, or more Biblically, he never left.
How does God help Victorious Moses and those of us just like him? He sends conflict – internal conflict, external conflict, or both. God loves the wrong kind of people so much He brings real life to our lives in order to reveal our own hearts to us (our weakness, sinfulness, helplessness, brokenness, weirdness, lack of wisdom and power, great need for ongoing rescue and deliverance) and to reveal His own grace-filled heart for us. For Israel the real life sent their way was more bricks without government straw. For Moses it was more personal failure. For Egypt it was ten powerful signs of creation in reverse. For you and me it might be relational conflict, physical breakdown, overwhelming emotions, severe circumstances, and much more.
Through it all however, as our trust eventually transfers from ourselves to God, deep growth and change takes place in our lives. Not the kind of growth and change that embraces greater personal victory and triumph, but the kind that embraces Jesus’ finished victory and triumph. Biblical sanity in sanctification involves the kind of change that embraces your weakness and His strength at the same time! Real change embraces your failure and His success, your messiness and His righteousness, your poor performance and His perfect performance, your lack of wisdom and ability and His wisdom and power at the same time. This is living. This is living the unvictorious Christian life.
What about those of us who know we are not living the victorious Christian life? You blow it with your kids. You struggle to love and respect your husband. You can’t quit the porn. You can’t forgive Jack and Jill. You’re overwhelmed with life. Your dreams didn’t come true. God has let you down. He won’t fix you. He won’t fix your spouse or child. He won’t fix your circumstances.
Here’s what God is saying to you from Exodus 5.22: “Then Moses turned to the LORD.” The only difference between the defeated murdering Moses banished to Midian for 40 years, and the now deflated Moses standing before Pharaoh 40 years later is Exodus 5.22. This time Moses turns to the LORD in his weakness, failure, sin, helplessness, need, and pain. This time Moses turns to the power and life of God being for Him or His Redeemer/Rescuer at great cost to Himself (this is what Yahweh translated “LORD” means).
However, the rest of the Exodus story hardly reveals a rescue that rises to the great cost announced in Exodus. Some emotional energy on God’s part? Sure. Some signs and wonders? Sure. Some power and persuasion? Sure. But we have to keep turning the pages of the Bible to get to the rescue of great cost.
Eventually we arrive at the greater Exodus. Here we see the great cost. God’s own life. God’s own blood. God’s own Son, Jesus Christ. The rescue of weak, needy, helpless, sinners from the greater bondage and pain of sin, death, eternal justice, and alienation from God cost God everything on the cross. There is only one person in all human history who lived the victorious Christian life. And He did so for all those who know they don’t and can’t.
Failure. Rejection. Weakness. Pain. Troubles everyone seeks to control and avoid, especially Christians. Barbara Duguid in her book “Extravagant Grace” says Christianity today is terminally infected with a Disney like make-believe she calls the “Disney Delusion”:
“Every week I counsel young people from solid Christian homes who are undone by their sin. As parents, we are sometimes more invested in protecting our children from the sinful influences of this world than we are in preparing them for the deep sinfulness of their own hearts…No wonder college campuses are overflowing with young Christian men and women who know that they are sinners in some global and lofty way, but who fall apart and are shattered with anxiety and depression when they fall into specific sin. They are shocked by their own desires and behavior, and they find themselves turning to harmful addictions or to the manic pursuit of Christian disciplines in order to pacify their desperate feelings of failure and inadequacy.”
Moses was infected too. His first public attempt at the victorious Christian life is widely known, ending in the murder of an Egyptian and his exile from Egypt. His second attempt is more often missed.
Moses stands victoriously before the most powerful man in the world, a notorious villain deeply engaged in international slavery and the mass murder of babies, and triumphantly says, “You’re done. Game over. You lose. Let my people go!” The stuff of super-hero movies! But Pharaoh not only doesn’t flinch, he tells Moses to get out of his face while he barks out tyrannical orders to increase the affliction upon abused Israel. Moses slips out of the palace traumatized.
Upon closer inspection, however, the problem is spotted. Moses didn’t speak the words Yahweh gave him to communicate to Pharaoh, but rather spoke his own words. Moses was addicted to bringing his own effort. The old self-reliant Moses was back, or more Biblically, he never left.
How does God help Victorious Moses and those of us just like him? He sends conflict – internal conflict, external conflict, or both. God loves the wrong kind of people so much He brings real life to our lives in order to reveal our own hearts to us (our weakness, sinfulness, helplessness, brokenness, weirdness, lack of wisdom and power, great need for ongoing rescue and deliverance) and to reveal His own grace-filled heart for us. For Israel the real life sent their way was more bricks without government straw. For Moses it was more personal failure. For Egypt it was ten powerful signs of creation in reverse. For you and me it might be relational conflict, physical breakdown, overwhelming emotions, severe circumstances, and much more.
Through it all however, as our trust eventually transfers from ourselves to God, deep growth and change takes place in our lives. Not the kind of growth and change that embraces greater personal victory and triumph, but the kind that embraces Jesus’ finished victory and triumph. Biblical sanity in sanctification involves the kind of change that embraces your weakness and His strength at the same time! Real change embraces your failure and His success, your messiness and His righteousness, your poor performance and His perfect performance, your lack of wisdom and ability and His wisdom and power at the same time. This is living. This is living the unvictorious Christian life.
What about those of us who know we are not living the victorious Christian life? You blow it with your kids. You struggle to love and respect your husband. You can’t quit the porn. You can’t forgive Jack and Jill. You’re overwhelmed with life. Your dreams didn’t come true. God has let you down. He won’t fix you. He won’t fix your spouse or child. He won’t fix your circumstances.
Here’s what God is saying to you from Exodus 5.22: “Then Moses turned to the LORD.” The only difference between the defeated murdering Moses banished to Midian for 40 years, and the now deflated Moses standing before Pharaoh 40 years later is Exodus 5.22. This time Moses turns to the LORD in his weakness, failure, sin, helplessness, need, and pain. This time Moses turns to the power and life of God being for Him or His Redeemer/Rescuer at great cost to Himself (this is what Yahweh translated “LORD” means).
However, the rest of the Exodus story hardly reveals a rescue that rises to the great cost announced in Exodus. Some emotional energy on God’s part? Sure. Some signs and wonders? Sure. Some power and persuasion? Sure. But we have to keep turning the pages of the Bible to get to the rescue of great cost.
Eventually we arrive at the greater Exodus. Here we see the great cost. God’s own life. God’s own blood. God’s own Son, Jesus Christ. The rescue of weak, needy, helpless, sinners from the greater bondage and pain of sin, death, eternal justice, and alienation from God cost God everything on the cross. There is only one person in all human history who lived the victorious Christian life. And He did so for all those who know they don’t and can’t.
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