A Deep Question

"But aren't Christians always supposed to be happy?"

I was honestly asked this question a few weeks ago, and it has had my mind reeling. This was from an unbeliever and I didn't even have an answer at the time until I recovered from my shock. But you know, this mindset rings true even amongst believers sometimes.

Is that even Biblical?

The answer is no. Scripture is filled with messy people doing messy things saved by a great and merciful God. The men and woman penned throughout the Word fail: they get scared (Elijah, 1 Kings 19), they lie to get out of situations (Abraham, Genesis 12 and 20), they complain to God (Moses, all of Exodus), and they weep when God doesn't answer their prayers the way they wanted Him to (Martha, John 11). That's just a small selection there of real men and women that were complete messes.

Is that even useful in ministry?

Again, the answer is no. It's easy to save face and look like you've got it all together -- believe me, I wear the mask as well. It's even easier to want to have that demeanor about yourself when you see someone else that wears the mask better than yourself. But it's in the vulnerability that God is magnified and glorified. It's when we're real with each other about our sin, our struggles, our hurts and pains that we begin to see that we're really not all that different after all.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." -- 2 Corinthians 12:9

Because honestly, I'm not always happy. But I can always rejoice, because joy is not determined by circumstance. And I can rejoice in my shortcomings -- my struggles, fears, hurts -- because then my God is glorified. When my joy does not come from my strength, the only thing I can do is point to Jesus.

From the book Grace For the Good Girl, "We believe that any amount of broken mess disqualifies us from useful activity for God, so we determine to stay decidedly unbroken" (Freeman, 51).

But it's when we put down the masks and lay bare before each other, before the world, that we will begin to see the transformation. We come before the Lord in our sin and shame and lay that there for Him to nail to the cross and He graciously forgives. What would happen if we were real with each other about our struggles in order to declare what God is doing in our lives?

This is food for thought for the day. Let me know what you think.