Stonewall Jackson was one of the South's
greatest generals in the Civil War, and he died on the battlefield - shot
by mistake by his own men. He's possibly the most famous victim of one of
war's greatest tragedies. You know, "friendly fire," they call it. It's
bad enough that a fellow soldier is killed by enemy fire, but the
heartbreak is compounded when someone is shot by their own...
It happens in God's army; people, who are deeply wounded, shot by their
own. Hurt, betrayed, disappointed by church folks, by people who claim to
be Christians. You may be one of those. You know the disillusionment that
can cause, the cynicism about anything Christian, the desire to distance
yourself from Christian things like you'd keep away from a dog that had
bitten you. If you've been spiritually wounded by friendly fire, you're on
my heart today. More importantly, you're on God's heart; whether He's on
your heart or not.
When you're physically wounded, you find medical help so you can recover.
How do you recover from the spiritual and emotional wounds of friendly
fire? Let me suggest four steps to spiritual recovery. I don't think you
want to keep living with the negativity, and self-pity, and resentment,
and withdrawal of those who've been wounded; that stuff just eats you up
inside. I think you might be ready for some steps to recovery.
They focus on seven little words in Hebrews 12:1-2, our word for today
from the Word of God. These verses are about how to finish as a winner in
the spiritual race we run here during our time on earth. It cans us to "
... run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes
on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. 'f I wish you could say
these four words out loud a few times, "It's all about Jesus." Get your
eyes off Christians and churches, and remember who got you started
spiritually and who will be at the finish line. It's Jesus.
Recovery step number one is realize it wasn't Jesus who hurt you. Maybe
you've been withdrawing from Christians. Whatever you do, don't withdraw
from Jesus. You've never needed Him more. Recovery step number 2: Defy the
negative things that deny you God's best for you. The Bible says, "The
devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Resist him ... " (1 Peter 5:8-9). In Africa, lions try to catch a gazelle
that's away from the herd. If they're alone, well, the lion can have them.
If they're with the others, they're usually safe. God never designed for
us to try to live for Christ alone. If you're holding back from getting
close to some of your brothers and sisters in Christ, you're setting
yourself up to be a lion lunch.
So, the third recovery step is this: Realize that God's people are where
home is. That's why the Bible warns us not to "give up meeting together"
(Hebrews 1 0:25). There are many believers who don't shoot their own, who
are imperfect but genuinely loving people. You've got to risk finding a
church like that; you need them and they need you. One other recovery
step: Let go of the resentment instead of letting it grow. Ask the God who
has forgiven you so much to give you His grace to forgive those who've
hurt you. The feelings you harbor aren't hurting them at all, but they’re
killing you!
Above all, don't let Christians make you miss Jesus! Jesus never said,
"Follow My followers" or "Follow My leaders." He said, "Follow Me." It's
all about Jesus - the One who died for your sins so you wouldn't have to.
It's ultimately Christ you accept or reject not Christians. It's the cross
you have to decide about, not the church. And it's Jesus you'll meet when
you've taken your last breath. All that's going to matter then - all that
really matters now - is what have you done with Jesus? It's so very easy
to lose sight of the One who desperately wants to give what no other can
begin to share ... mostly because we have our vision fixed on the ones who
have wronged us instead of the One who 'rights' us. Been hurt? Been
disappointed? Been unfulfilled by the promises of the world? The 'friendly
fire' is nothing compared to the friendly flame God promises. Look to
that.
See you in Church
Chuck
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