“WHEN YOUR DREAMS TURNS AGAINST YOU”

(From Dungeon, HM 2005)

 

            This is amazing that every popular servant of God in the world, whose personal stories were written in the Bible, has reached a “dead-end-road” one day or another during his or her life time: a “dead-end-road” where human planning has failed or hit its end-wall. Abraham, Joseph, David, Job, Paul, and many had come a crossed their “dead-end-road” where their human imagination hit the wall and had no more way to get out of the circumstance by their own. But that was the turning point where and when those God’s servants realized their complete submission to God’s plan and purpose in their lives.

   

            Many of our contemporaries do not believe in the existence of supernatural Being and its intervention in human life journey. In stead, many have gone far opposite to what the Bible says who controls the universe system and directs human life steps. But we, Christians believe in the existence and intervention of the supernatural being, God. And that is real and experimental for those who experienced and in whom the Spirit of God dwells, evidently approved by the empowerment of the Spirit of God in our lives and the constant opposition against the Spirit of God by the evil forces. This is the point where non-Christians could not comprehend the reality of Christianity and the existence of two opposing spiritual forces within our universe. At the same time, this is also true that due to lack of deep understanding about the spiritual confrontation between the two competing forces, many Christians live under confusion and outcry to God.

 

Abraham was called to go to the place where he never knew about. Think about a man aged above 40, what would be his plan for his family and people and for the world around him. If he was a great he might have had a great life mission of his own. If he was no big man, he might not have a courage to go to the place where he never knew about. However, he was called to go and he did go. He had to leave all his mid age life mission and whole life aspiration. He had to walk a blind walk. He reached a “dead-end-road” when his human planning and inclination were no use, a time when his friends and families’ advice were no use at all. It was a time, when he was tested if he truly believes in what he claimed to believe. What would be his friends and families’ respond? Some might have been crying for not allowing their loved ones to go away to the place where no body knew if human life would be secured. Others might have been laughing for their stubborn man was going to the place where no one knew about. His rivals in the society might have been very happy, saying, “we say so, this man is a dumb and stubborn, let him go to proof his fool” and so on.

 

One day or the other, every mature follower of Christ has to come across the intersection where human plan and God’s plan intersected. After leaving all his own human plan for the most precious life he had, Abraham was humanly naked minded, where many worldly treasures, glory, fame, pleasures, etc. took place was completely empty. However, believing in God, he walked a blind walk with a human naked mind but with the empowerment of the Spirit of God. From his human perception, he might have thought as he were going to visit a death village from where no one ever come back. IS there anyone among the readers, who knows nothing about his or her future, whether about a nearest future, tomorrow or a long future, life after death where from no one ever come back. This is what Abraham had to say you, “Do you want to cross the life intersection I have crossed.”

 

Some may say Abraham’s story in the Bible is a myth or fiction. But those who say that have no evident to prove what they say or no alternative truth to comfort and guide those have hit the “dead-end-road”  just like Abraham in their life time and have been comforted and guided by the truth in the Abraham’s story.  

 

Lets look again Joseph’s life. Joseph was a young boy when his father sent to his brother to the jungle where his brothers were shepherding. He had a good heart and intention with intimacy toward his brothers. He could never imagine what his brothers would do to him. He might have been proud of having such big families with a lot of male siblings. But contrary to what he had in mind toward his brothers, he was thrown down into a (Gen. 37:24) wheel. He might have had his own failures and shortcomings against his family as a young boy in the way he acts, reacts, speaks verbally or non-verbally. But, apparently, he had not committed such crime that he would face such judgment from any legal ground.  However, he was thrown down and was sold by his own brothers. A young boy’s love for his land, people and family cost him to become a slave in a strange country. Not because he lost in the war but his love for his own brothers cost him to become a slave.  

 

 

When modern political rivals accused, killed or insult their opponent for power that’s understandable. But when your love cost you the object of your love, it may be difficult to comprehend. When your pride cost you the object of your pride that may be difficult to digest.  And when your sacrifice cost you the object of your sacrifice, your heart may feel loss and vanity. Likewise, when your labor cost you the value of your labor that is of course a loss. That is what Joseph had undergone.  On the other hand, the truth in the story of Joseph is that the force of the darkness never overcomes the holy force of Christian God in his people. Among the readers, is there anyone whose life is surrounded by things of the opposite far corner of his own will and love? Is there anytime when your dream turns against you? In your lifetime, is there anytime the most you value turns against your life? Is there anytime, the people you think your serve or willing to serve turns against you? Have you ever felt having no means to overcome your burdensome life problem? Have you ever felt that the people who stood against you are more than the people who stood by you? Have you ever felt that your life mission is greater than your capacity to handle it? Is there anytime when your dream is unreachable? Have you ever felt that you have gone the way contrary to your dream? Joseph has not only undergone all, but also experienced his dream come true. If you want to believe in the God Joseph’s life story, you will experience the same as Joseph did.

 

 

Again, at Pontipher (Gen.39) house, his master’s wife attempted him to sleep with her. But he refused and said, “How can I do such thing against God.” Therefore, his master’s wife accused him and sent him to jail. Joseph had no legal or political means to defend himself but to go to jail and endure it. The story continues to tell us one significant thing that “God was with Joseph inside jail.”  At that time, no one would believe that Joseph would one day become the prime minister of Egypt. No one would see God in Joseph’s life. But the Bible says, “God was with Joseph inside Jail house.” That is also true in today’s’ Christian lives that many people complaint about Christian behaviors and reject the God of Christians. We have no means to convince them unless they are willing to believe what they see and hear with their own eyes and ears. However, let drop a few words for my fellow Christians, if you ever been accused falsely, or if you ever been hated by the people who share nothing with you, if you ever been disown by your own associates or friend or family, remember Joseph’s story that God may be with you where you are cornered. Your life will not be determined by how people talked about you. If you believe in the God of Joseph and not do things against God, whatever people do to you change nothing but hey will be turned down as means to reach your final destination. But remember always to check yourself if you ever commited things against God. The story continues to tell us that Joseph was one day called by the Egyptian king to rule the nation. This was a story how the two opposite forces-evil and good- battled in a person’s life.

 

 

Let’s keep going to David’s life story. David was a young shepherd when God called through Prophet Samuel. Although his physical structure appeared to be small and smart, his heart was humble and tough and God fearing. As soon as God’s gift in him was obvious, the opposite force started working through King Saul. King Saul tired to kill David and hunted several times. David was a man who fear God and did not put his hand on God’s anointed man even when his life endangered. When Saul was hunting for David, David was hiding inside a cave. And when Saul went inside the cave where David was hiding, David did not kill him, in stead he cut off a small piece from Saul’s garment. A God fearing man fears God even when his life is endangered and did not lift his finger to attack God’s anointed man. Have you been doing the same thing? If you believe in creation that God created man in his own image, I hope, you never lifted up your finger against any of God’s image around you. If that has been your life, you do not need a sword or gun to defend yourself. That is extremely powerful when you restrain yourself from putting your hands/words to attack God’s anointed ones, created in his own image. That is the spiritual strategy to battle with the evil force not to fall over the evil force inducement. There may always two sides of inducement, one by endangering your life, your dignity, your family, your people, your society, and on the other hand by stimulating your emotion, desire, want, and will. But to restrain one’s self from such inducements is the power of God and the way we Christians gain victory.

 

Nevertheless, although you may be able to restrain yourself from the above evil inducement, on the other side of life path, you may also fall someday by the inducement of your own fleshly impulse. One day, David was walking on the roof of the king’s palace and saw a woman taking shower. It approves that in human nature, the restraining power in self defense was stronger than the power to resist evil desire, or the power of desire for pleasure is stronger then the power of fear when a man acts voluntarily. Whatever the reason, David committed double sins by killing his own army and by committing adultery. Hence, no sin is without consequence, just like what a scientist might say that “no force is without resistance.” However, the different between the sins of Christians and the sins of godless people is this; those sins committed by Christians are always spiritually made known to the sinners and those non Christians have no such moral or spiritual re-visitation for what they have done. That is also true when John says, “Everyone has fallen one way or the other. ..If we say we have no sin, we are telling lie.” If then, let’s see how Christian sins are made known to the sinners on earth.

 

Not only David was told that he had committed high crime before God, while he thought he survived by the sins he committed, but also his sins was made known to him by letting him do thru the consequences of his own sins. David’s son, Absalom seized David’s power and kingdom. Absalom also slept with David’s wife. While David was on his run, a street man threw stone at David and cursed him. All theses things happened, because, a man who fears God even at the point of his own life, now committed sins against God. Everything what he once owned and considered now turned to his pain and shame. A man who once was not worthy to wash David’s feet now cursed and mocked him. The point what I would like to highlight here Is not how severe was the consequence of his own sins. But have your own sins been made known to you? If yes, how? If not, you are doomed. The question here is not you have sins or not but “Have your sins ever been made known to you?”

 

And if your sins were made known to you, you might have been covered by the darkness of your own sins and you may not able to see the light of God on the way you daily walk. You may feel like everything turns against you. You may sometimes feel like you are alone on this planet. Sometimes, your tongue may loss her tastes and your mouth without word. You may loss a sense of humanness. You may see good things in others’ but nothing in yours. You may feel like your soul has departed you and your body like a soulless animal. You may feel like everything what you once owned and considered the best may have been turned into your pain or shame or both. You may feel like people who you once considered your closest may laugh at your back. You may also feel like you loss all the object of your love and scarifies. But remember this, David had undergone all and was survived by all of these. The question is here is not “Have your sins been made known to you? But “Have you been survived by all? If you have undergone all of these, your heart will be full of prayer for those who might have misunderstood you and placed their mouths or fingers against you because of your own sins. For, as you have been made in his own image, even though you have suffered for the consequences of your own sins, God doesn’t allow others to put their words or hands on you while you have been undergoing your severe life trials. This is another example of a man who has come across life intersection twice during his short life, escaping from the “dead-end-road” twice.

 

Let’s see another set of example from the Bible. A man, job was morally and spiritually upright. But the reason for his suffering in the Bible is still controversial as much as it was among Job’s friends. He lost everything, his children, his property, his own physical beauty, and even his own wife despised him to curse his God. Here is to be always vigilant for all Christians, although you may be morally and spiritually upright, you may have to undergo circumstances when and where all things seems turning against your desire, aspiration, inclination and will. One day, you might have spoken the truth or the word of God to someone or you might have told the truth about God to anyone near by you. And another day, you may have to face the test by the standard of the truth you have spoken or you claim to believe. Job lost everything, everything whatever precious to him was lost. Even his physical body was worthless; his skins just cling on his bones. His mouth simply bubbled words like a baby, but no one was listening. Even his own friends despised him and condemned him. He poured his head with dusts from the ground. There was no human word to console him. There was no wisdom to explain why he did suffer. There was no spiritual or moral ground from where his suffering might have been justified. He was deeply and sourly sorrow.  He sat at the corner of his “dead-end-road”.  Knowing no where to go and having no means to lift his fingers, all his hope and love turned into pain and shame.  Is there anyone who ever experienced like this, there is the God of Job who knows where to go, who has means to help, and who has power to lift you morally and spiritually up again. Even if you may not be in such situation, one day or the other, we all will face the day when we will know we are going enter the darkness of life after death, and then you might interest to remember the God of Job. You will realize that it is much better to die with hope than to die painfully without hope. If you think you interest to know about the God of Job at the point of your “dead-end-road”, Job is to consider his suffering worth for to let you have a hope the hope he had against hope. Or even if you do not interest or you already have been following the God of Job, you may one day see a person around you sitting at his or her “dead-end-road” then, you may want to extend your altruistic action to let him read this story about Job’s God.

 

Lastly, but not the least, let’s see the life of Paul, a Jewish legal expert, whose life sets another example of a “dead-end-road” life intersection. Paul was  a legal expert and religious leader. He was evidently a public figure. His love and zeal for the people of Israel was very strong as he was a committed leader. He persecuted the church and tortured Christians. However, there was a time when he reached his “dead-end-road” where he was stricken down, unable to see any thing, knowing nowhere to go, having no word to say. After he was enlightened, he came to see the truth and served God for the rest of his life time. When he came to know about his own nature, he said, “Who can rescue me from this body of death?”  When he was enlightened by the light of the holiness of God, he could truly see his own image in the light of the holiness of God. He came to learn the reason for what purpose he was created and his life begun to have a different meaning. On the other hand, there was another force working against Paul’s new way. He was rejected by his own Jewish people: he was, imprisoned, beaten and thrown out to the outskirt of the city as though he was dead. He once felt he was along in the world, saying “All have left.” However, he saw the greatness of his life mission. He realized what the worst thing the other force can do to him was death which was also a gain for him. How could death be a gain? He said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Not only to be rejected, beaten, imprisonment, but also even death was a gain for him. He fears nothing, because he knows that the worst thing the evil force can do to him was physical death which was a gain for him.

 

Today, among the readers of this brief note, is there anyone who fears death, rejection, imprisonment, sickness, illness, poverty, whatever you think the worst thing you think could happen in your life time, there is the God of Paul who knows how turn them down for your gain, even what you consider the worst thing, may be death. Is there anyone who feel losing your own best in life, whose mind can not find way to settle down the problem, whose life mission reached a ‘dead-end-road’, there is Paul’s God who knows how to turn them for your gain.