Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Lifted Out Of Sin's "Well Of Despair"

"Today's Devotion" For November 8, 2005

Read: Romans 5:1-8; Hebrews 10:32-39

LIFTED OUT OF SIN'S "WELL OF DESPAIR"

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." (Rom. 8:28)

One of my all time favorite stories of perseverance centers on a mule. Perhaps its appropriate that the "hero" of the story is a mule. After all, we human beings can be pretty mule-headed - read: stubborn - at times, especially when it comes to paying attention to spiritual things and listening to and obeying God. But I digress.

It seems that there was a mule, quite mule-headed he was, that had been doing what mule-headed mules do - being stubborn and recalcitrant. In the process of such mule-headed behavior the mule ended up falling into the farmer's old, dry well. Faced with this predicament, that old mule just went nuts. He raised quite a racket, braying and heehawing to beat the band. Of course this hubbub drew the farmer's attention and he came to see what was wrong. Finding his recalcitrant, mule-headed mule at the bottom of that old well, the farmer faced a burning question - "Do I save this mule-headed, stubborn, unreliable, recalcitrant creature or do I put him out of my misery?" After a careful assessment of the situation and his options the farmer decided he'd had quite enough of this particular critter so he decided not to bother saving it. Instead, since the old well was dried up and a danger to all who might wander by, he decided it would be best to fill it with dirt - burying the mule in the process – and, thus, "kill two birds with one stone."

Now this project would entail a whole lot of work, but the farmer decided it was worth it to rid himself of both of his problems. With nothing but a wheelbarrow, he began to haul in loads of dirt in order to fill the well. Therein lies the other part of the story.

Without the aid of a front-end loader or dump truck, or some other earth moving machinery that would have allowed for a massive amount of dirt to have been poured into the well at one time, the dirt to fill the well came in wheelbarrow loads. In the beginning, as the dirt began to fall into the well, the mule brayed and heehawed all the more urgently. With time, however, the mule settled down and began to shake the dirt off its back, climbing up onto the increasing pile of dirt, slowly but surely filling the well. As each wheelbarrow load of dirt was emptied into the well, the mule began to rise higher and higher and closer to the top. Finally, much to the farmer's surprise and the mule's great relief, the mule leaped out of the well and took off. In the end, while the mule was shaken and slightly the worse for wear, it was definitely still alive and obviously grateful for it.

Christians often act in the same "mule-headed" fashion as the mule in the story. Despite God's blessings to us and His forgiveness of all our sins in Jesus, we still want to have things our way. It's the nature of Sin in our lives. Too often we give into Sin and act as if God has no place or influence on our lives. In the process we often end up "down in the well" of despair and frustration, believing the whole world is against us and that God doesn't love us. Life seems too difficult to live. Obedience to God seems foolish because it only seems to put us at odds with the people around us who always seem to have an easier time of things than we do as God's people. As a result, it's not uncommon for us to act as "mules" in our relationship with God because we somehow think it will make life easier and better. In the end, we find ourselves at the bottom of the "well," suffering from our foolishness and disobedience, crying for God to hear us and save us.

This is where the story takes a different track. Instead of filling in the "well" with the intention of burying us alive in our sin and despair, our heavenly Father chose, instead, to fill in the well little by little with His grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness in Christ Jesus so that we might be lifted up out of the "well" of Sin that would destroy us and keep us separated from Him. With patient love and compassion our heavenly Father raised us up out of the depression and despair of Sin and unbelief and restored us to Himself in Jesus. Each and every day, no matter how far down the "well" we've fallen, with grace, mercy, and love, God reaches down and lifts us out of our despair with His forgiveness and hope in Jesus.

In Jesus Christ we are living a story of perseverance. What might have killed the mule instead saved its life. It's a reminder to us, as God's people in Christ, that we, too, have deliverance from the Sin that would bury us and the power of death which would keep us from God's love and forgiveness. Nothing can separate us from God's love, and trusting in Him, through faith in Christ, we persevere in the face of all trials and difficulties, knowing that nothing can bury us because we are forgiven and redeemed people of God. So shake off whatever seems to be weighing you down and getting in the way of a life of peace and joy, and, by faith in Christ, step out into a new day and a fulfilled life in Jesus. We are truly saved from Sin's "well of despair" as God's Spirit focuses our eyes on Jesus.

Prayer: Father, all too often I'm guilty of disobeying You and stubbornly disregarding Your Word of truth and life. I want things my way and get frustrated when they don't work right. Because of my disobedience and stubborn refusal to listen to You I often end up in the "dry well" of Sin, unable to save myself and certain that I'm lost and forgotten. Yet, in Your great mercy, grace, and love You have filled in that "dry well" of Sin with the blood of Jesus. In Him I am freed from the depths of despair that Sin brings into my life and am raised each day into Your loving presence by the power of Your Word and Spirit in my baptism. Thank You, Father, for having restored me to a new life in You through Christ my Savior and Lord. Give me the strength to live in that redemption each day, persevering by faith, and being a living witness to Your love and forgiveness for all humanity. Hear my prayer, gracious and merciful Father, for the sake of Jesus in Whose precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright ©2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.

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