The Pastor’s Pen (The Very Rev. Dr. Curtis Crenshaw, Th.D.) Back to Normal?
We often say that we would like for things to get back to normal, but what is “normal”? We usually mean by “normal” that we want things going our way, with no bumps in the road, no health problems, no financial difficulties, no mean people intruding, just smooth sailing through life with the wind to our backs. Then when something happens, we get very upset, and then make the statement: “I want things back to normal.” But our definition of normal and God’s definition of normal are not the same. He is interested in our spiritual health, but we are concerned for our financial health, our bodily health, and so on. Of course, our Triune God is concerned for those things also, but He does not make them the highest priority. Instead, they are somewhere down the list of priorities. In fact, He often uses problems in those areas to make our lives “normal,” which means learning to live by faith. If things were normal our way, there would be little need for faith. In other words, financial prosperity brings self-sufficiency and spiritual stagnation. No people problems tend to make us arrogant with others. If our health is always great, there is a tendency to get fat and lazy. In all three scenarios, we do not take sin seriously. Listen to what the Apostle Paul thought of as normal: • For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do (Romans 7:15). Paul struggled with sin. What sin he hated, he did; and the good he loved, he did not do. Does not that sound like us? Paul had all kinds of problems, such as beatings, nights in the ocean on ships with storms, going without food at times, and even had a physical malady that Satan had brought on him, but let us see why God allowed that to happen: • And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure (2 Corinthians 12:7). Paul was privileged, so he had to undergo some suffering to keep his pride in check; that’s why he had the malady. If God did that with the Apostle to the Gentiles, will He not also do that to us? We may not be as privileged as Paul, but we are certainly more sinful. He prayed three times for this thing to go away, but Christ said No, that His grace was sufficient for him. That malady became normal for Paul, so he accepted it: • Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me (2 Corinthians 12:9). Do you have something like this in your life, something that is very unpleasant, something that will not go away that is very frustrating? That is the normal Christian life. The Lord had trials during His incarnation on the earth. Even the Lord “learned obedience by the things that He suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). That was normal. We are temped to think when things go “wrong” that we must have done something wrong, but the Lord lived His whole life with sufferings; yet He never sinned. We must learn obedience, trust, and submission. How else can we learn those things? If something goes extremely well for someone, have you heard people say, “You must be living right”? But our so-called good works do not merit anything from God. In fact, none of us has ever done a good work, not really, for that involves a perfect motive, done solely for the glory of God without any desire to be seen by people, perfect faith perfect love, and so on. Only the Lord Jesus did works that way—but still normal for Him was trials. So what is abnormal? It is abnormal when there is nothing wrong, especially for long periods of time. It is abnormal when we have lots of money without problems. It is abnormal when everyone loves us. It is abnormal—indeed, impossible—when we do not struggle with internal sin. But I’m not saying that we should expect the Christian life to be without joy, to be miserable, to be drab and full of misery. I’m not saying that if we have joy that that is abnormal, for joy is independent of circumstances and comes internally from the Holy Spirit; that is normal for the Christian. We can have joy in the face of great calamity, knowing that the Triune God is in control; that is normal. Our Lord was full of joy, for He said just before His crucifixion to His disciples: • These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11). That is normal. Amen. ?
