We are known by our struggles

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God  has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  --Romans 5:3-5

Last night my daughter and I went to see comedian Michael Jr.  You may have heard of him.  If not, I would encourage you to do an internet search.  He is a Christian, and he does "clean" comedy that is really, really funny.  But then he gets serious about his purpose, what God has put him here to do, and how it is working out for him as he continues to be obedient to God's call on his life.

My daughter commented during the intermission last night that God has been speaking to her recently about purpose.  This comedy show that we attended and thoroughly enjoyed merely confirmed what God was speaking to her recently.

In fact, God has been working in my life recently about the very same thing. Purpose.  What, I often wonder aloud, is my reason for being here?  Why was I ever born?  God knows I have not lived up to my potential for His glory and purpose in my life.  Why was I allowed to live this long?  Some of you may know that I was involved in a bad car wreck when I was two years old--you may know my story, or may have read it in this blog a few years back.  Fast forward to the present day, and I wonder why God allowed me to survive.  With all of the mistakes, the willful misdeeds, the sins of omission and the sins of commission--why didn't God take my life some 53 years ago?

One of the points in the message Michael Jr. gave last evening was that God can use our past for His glory in the present if we allow Him to.  The art of comedy, Michael Jr. explains, is first the "set-up", which usually involves telling a story so that the audience is led in one direction, followed by the "punch line", in which the story takes an unexpected turn, suddenly moving the audience in a direction they did not expect.  I won't steal Michael Jr's material, but I saw a pun online this past week that serves as an example.  An expectant couple was seeing their obstetrician, who said that the baby should be delivered within a few weeks.  We can visualize the pregnant mother looking forward to having the baby, and the father anticipating the event--most of us have been there, or if we haven't, we have known someone who was in that position.  But in this pun, the husband tells the doctor, "Thanks, but we would rather our baby keep his liver."  The punch line goes against our expectations, and takes the narrative in an entirely different direction.  We don't usually think of delivering a baby in the same way that we terms like "detoxify" or "dehumidify".  Therefore we didn't expect that take on the term "de-liver".

This underscores something that God has been showing me for a few weeks now:  we are often defined by our struggles.  We are best known by our ability to overcome the struggle.  Let me tell you what I mean.

In the book of Daniel, the story begins with the exile of Israel into Babylon.  This exile was due to the unfaithfulness of the Jews.  Yet in the story, we see four young men who did remain faithful to God in the most trying circumstances.  I'm sure that these four young men did not wish to be forcibly taken from their homeland and re-settled into a pagan country.  There was enormous pressure to conform to their culture, and yet they remained faithful to their God.

Three of these young men were named Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  The name Hananiah means "God has favored."  The Babylonian captors, however, gave him a new nickname, Shadrach, meaning "little friend of the king."  The name Mishael means, "Who is like God?", or literally "Who is what God is?".  In captivity, his name was changed to Meshach, meaning "guest of the king."  The name Azariah means, "Jehovah has helped."  In exile, his name was changed to Abednego, meaning "a servant of Nebo" or perhaps "worshiper of Mercury".

In other words, the parents of these three friends had given them names that respected Jehovah God, but their Babylonian captors called them by names that reminded them

1. That they were in the land of the Chaldeans now, not in the Jewish heartland;
2. That they were selected by and given power, position and sustenance by the king of Persia;
3. That they could very easily lose favor with the Persian king, and all that they had been given could be taken away very suddenly.

Which is exactly what happened.  The king commissioned a statue, a large image of himself.  He commanded by royal decree that at a certain time all within view of this idol should bow down in an attitude of worship toward it.  The three friends declined, and were arrested.  When they were brought before the king, they were given another chance, which they again declined.  The anger of the king was so intense that he was not satisfied to throw them out of the royal program to which they had been selected.  He could have made them slave laborers like 99% of the Jewish captives had become.  Instead, he commanded their execution.  They were to be burned to death.

Did their faithfulness to God keep them from being thrown into the furnace?  No.  But their faithfulness did result in the physical presence of God being with them in the fire, resulting in their having no hair singed, and not even the smell of smoke on their garments.

When we remember these men, even remembering them by their Chaldean names given to them by their captors in exile, we remember their deliverance by Almighty God through their faithfulness.  We know them because of their trials.

Daniel, too, was given a new name.  The name Daniel means, "God is my judge."  The name given to him by Nebuchadnezzar was Belteshazzar.  The meaning of this name is a bit more complex.  "Bel" means lord or prince.  But when you add the "T", it feminizes the term, so literally it means "Lady".  "Zar" can mean gold (as in treasure), but can also mean old.  So the name could mean "The Prince's lady", or it could mean "Treasured by the prince" (but with a feminine root, such that Daniel's manhood was constantly in question).

Even so, Daniel is known by his struggles.  He was elevated to a position of power within the king's court.  His advice was sought by the king quite often, and the other advisers to the king (we might liken it to the Cabinet level officials under the American president) all became jealous.  They had him arrested for faithfully praying to God, and as a result he was thrown in the lion's den.  His faithfulness did not keep him out of danger--he was physically in the presence of lions--but Daniel was not harmed.

One more example.  This week my men's group was studying Hebrews 11, the Hall of Fame of Faith for Old Testament saints.  Verses 20, 21, and 22 are very similar: they all mention a Patriarch by name, and then give a short sentence summarizing their last tasks on this earth.  "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.  By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.  By faith, Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones."

All men of faith.  All mentioned in this chapter at the end of their lives.  Easy to gloss over and forget.  But don't.  Slow down and think about it for a minute. Why was Isaac concerned about things to come?  Because his father, Abraham, had spoken of a promise of God that his (Abraham's) descendants "would be many, like the sands of the seashore," yet Abraham only had one son (the son of promise), and that son, Isaac, only had two sons.

Why did Jacob (who had 12 sons, by the way) lean on his staff while blessing Joseph?  The significance of the staff speaks to Jacob's struggles.  He had wrestled with God (Genesis 32:22-32), and would not let Him go until He blessed Jacob.  God did two things in response:  He changed Jacob's name to Israel ("contends with God"), and He touched his hip socket, so that Jacob had a limp from that moment on.  From then on Jacob had a staff or a walking stick wherever he went, as a reminder of the struggle.

Back to Michael Jr, the Christian comedian.  One of the things he said last night really touched my heart.  Knowing the definition of a joke, the set-up and the punch line, he made the application to life in this way:  everybody has a story.  We have all had our share of struggles.  That is our set-up.  What God wants to do with that is to use us for His punch line.  When we take it in an unexpected direction, He is glorified.  When we go with the flow, we have no story, no punch line.  But when we go hard in the opposite direction, it is memorable, and God can use it to change lives.  "As for you," Joseph said in Genesis 50:20, "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive."

It's kind of like a sling shot, Michael Jr. said.  The more we get pulled back, the more pressure life puts on us, the greater the tension.  But when we are set free, when we are loosed from the grip of the world, we are shot in the opposite direction.  Our job, then, is to take aim where our lives can make the biggest impact