by Angela Sanders | Nov 10, 2016
I’m sad and concerned today, not because my candidate lost the election.
He didn’t.
No, I’m sad that so many people who didn’t vote for him are frightened, and I’m concerned by the insensitivity being displayed by SOME of those who claim to be Christians in response to their pain and confusion.
Please notice that I said ‘some,’ not ‘all.’ I think the first step both sides need to take toward reconciliation in the days ahead is to step away from polarizing assumptions, sweeping generalizations, stereotypes, and labels. But that’s another post…
Anyway, SOME who claim to be my brothers and sisters in Christ are witnessing ‘meltdowns’ of political opponents that, right or wrong, indicate despair, mocking them, then saying things like, “We’re taking our nation back” and “God answered our prayers.”
Well, maybe He did. Maybe He didn’t.
The Bible says that the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective (James 5:16), but it also says that what comes out of a person’s mouth reveals what’s in their heart (Luke 6:45).
IF you are one of the SOME who are praising God in one breath and then mocking, belittling, or wounding people in the next, odds are, you are not the person whose prayers were answered (James 3:10-12), even if you are happy with the outcome.
It could have been someone who cast their vote for Hillary whose prayers were answered, not those prayers asking for Hillary to win, perhaps, but those asking for God’s will to be done.
Doubt that could happen? I don’t.
I know passionate, devoted Christians who fell in every voting category possible this election, and I don’t believe for a second that every person who withheld their vote from Trump was godless with evil intent any more than I want people to think that I’m godless with evil intent because I voted for him.
So, what was ‘God’s will’ for this election?
Well, I don’t believe anyone can say with certainty that it was for Trump to win. There was too much in him and the way he handled himself for us to call him ‘God’s man.’ Likewise, I don’t think anyone can say with certainty that it was God’s will for Hillary to win. There is too much in her and the way she handles herself for us to call her ‘God’s woman.’ All of this being true, none of us will ever know for sure whether our own prayers to see a specific candidate in the White House were answered with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no,’ and none of us can claim righteousness using the election’s outcome as confirmation. To do so would be both arrogant and foolish.
Is Trump’s election a reward? Is Trump’s election a punishment?
I don’t know.
Maybe it’s both. Maybe it’s neither.
Whatever the case, I do know it’s an opportunity, an opportunity for those of us who claim to be Christians, regardless of political affiliation, to prove God good, the power of the Holy Spirit real, the Gospel of Jesus Christ true, and our faith genuine.
Of course, we won’t be able to rely on words anymore. In the ears of so many, Christian rings hollow, love stirs doubt, and Evangelical raises suspicion.
We’ll have to move beyond words, demonstrating grace by treating people better than even they think they deserve to be treated and extending mercy by showing kind, compassionate restraint even when we believe someone to be wrong or out of line.
We’ll have to serve as Jesus served. Humbly. Generously. Without showing favoritism.
Only then will God’s power be revealed. Only then will He be glorified, His character and will upheld, in our lives.
What’s God’s will for this election? I believe it’s exactly that.
by Angela Sanders | Oct 19, 2016
“Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds…”
“Consider it pure joy…”
“Consider it pure joy…”
I’m chewing on this phrase today because my heart hurts, and no amount of cajoling or mental trickery has managed to snap it out of its funk. It hurts for a reason, a real reason that’s not going away any time soon, and try as I might, I can’t seem to break these words down into something digestible. Instead, they swell, choking me, demanding my attention, a sure sign God has something to say to my heart.
“Consider it pure joy…”
Not “feel,” but “consider.” In other words, decide that it is and respond accordingly. A matter of choice rather than involuntary response. That’s good because my ‘want to’ and gumption are in short supply.
But why consider it pure joy?
“…Because the testing of your faith develops perseverance.”
Okay. Perseverance is good, but this hurts. I’d rather the hurt disappear.
“Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4).
Again, maturity is great, but I’d rather the hurt go away!
Until I remember what’s at stake.
A born-again child of God, I represent the Father. I show and tell others what He is like. As His ambassador, I have the distinct privilege of directing others’ attention to His divine perfection so they might be saved and so He might be worshipped for being the holy, sovereign, merciful, gracious and kind God He is, that He’s proven Himself to be in my life.
I do that best when I am most like Him, when I am mature and complete, lacking nothing, something this passage says comes through our trials.
So, there it is.
I want the hurt to go away, but I want to serve Him more.
Given the choice, I’d rather endure trial and pain knowing that God will use it for His glory than live a life free of it, knowing I could’ve served Him better if only I’d been willing to suffer.
My heart is far from happy this morning, but that’s okay. My happiness isn’t the ultimate goal.
Regardless of how I feel in this moment, I will obey the Father.
Heart burning, eyes stinging, stomach rolling, I will consider this trial a joy—a blessing, really, for the opportunity it affords—and respond accordingly, surrendering my will to His in prayer, accepting the peace He provides when I do so, and placing my faith in the only One able to work all things together for my good and His glory (Rom. 8:28, Eph. 1:11).
He’s worth it!
by Angela Sanders | Sep 29, 2016
Like so many Americans, I have an ache in my heart, a heavy one that’s sunk into my stomach where it churns and burns and refuses to be ignored.
Sleep can’t fix it. Food can’t fix it. Exercise can’t fix it. Shopping can’t fix it. Entertainment can’t fix it. Sex can’t fix it. A dose of the chemicals in my cabinet can’t fix it.
Only Jesus can.
As I sit here frozen, tears burning, begging Him to do just that, He assures me that He will.
Someday. In Heaven, if not here.
So, in the meantime, what?
Well, as a redeemed child of God, I have the comfort of knowing He’s with me, guiding me, growing me, and sustaining me in the midst of trouble, changing me through my suffering into the image of Jesus Christ for the good of His Kingdom. Of course, this promise only gives me comfort if I care more about God’s being glorified in my life than I care about my own well-being.
And that’s where the problem lies.
Right now, I just want to feel good. I want to feel safe. I want to feel happy.
Right now, I want so many things. For me. Oh, what a selfish child I am!
So what’s to be done?
I die to myself. Again.
With full confidence born of experience in God’s ability not only to save me through Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection, but transform and use me by the power of His Holy Spirit for the advancement of His Kingdom—one that will far outlast the one we now live in—I empty my pockets of the selfish desire and ambition I’ve been collecting and offer my whole self at His altar, a living sacrifice, nothing kept, so nothing risked.
Only in this genuflected state of worship does my heart’s ache, ever with me, begin to ease. No longer a crippling pain, it becomes instead a blessed, if not wholly welcome, reminder that this world is not my home and I’ve a Kingdom to advance.
My spirit lifts to the reality of my Father’s presence. My eyes open to His activity around me. My ears prick to the sound of His voice. My body yearns to do His bidding, and while I certainly don’t crave or enjoy trouble, I can appreciate it for the opportunity to glorify the Father and spread the Gospel it affords.
I am at peace.
Not calm, but at peace. Not free of pain, but at peace. Not safe, but at peace. Not happy, but at peace.
Bottom line? Jesus is my fix. Now and forever, He truly is enough.
by Angela Sanders | Sep 19, 2016
I’m angry!
Not miffed. Not peeved. Not ticked, but downright, foot-stomping, teeth-grinding mad!
We’re talking prickly-heat-crawling-up-my-neck, feel-my-pulse-in-my-temples, tears-burning-my-eyes, why-can’t-I-swallow, know-I’m-gonna-have-a-headache-from-this-later mad, and I’ve gotta tell ya, in moments like these, being a writer is more hindrance than it is help.
That inability to come up with what you want to say when you want to say it? Yeah, I don’t have that. Right now, my problem is coming up with something that is actually okay for me to say!
So, I’m biting my tongue.
Why? Because…
1. Letting those frothy words fly might release a little tension in the moment, but they’d create a mess for me to clean up later. And, yes, I would have to clean it up! The Bible says I can’t enjoy intimacy with God as long as someone else has something against me (Matt 5:23-24), so I have to apologize when I mess up, and, let’s be honest, keeping things right with others is way easier than making things right with others.
2. You can’t take words back. Like coats of white paint over graffiti, heart-felt, well-worded apologies may soften the glare of hurtful words, but they don’t erase the ragged outline. Say something you shouldn’t, and your victim will feel the shock of it anew every time their consciousness drives by the memory.
3. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov. 15:1). Now, I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a little part of me screaming, “Bring it!”—transformation is a process, y’all! —but that girl is a fool. The Bible says so (Prov. 20:3), so I’d best go with the rest of me, the part that really does want to be a peacemaker like Jesus.
4. “…Human anger doesn’t produce the righteousness that God desires” (Jas. 1:20). Does holy anger? Well, maybe, but trust me, there’s nothing holy about the way I’m feeling right now. If I let words out of my mouth right now, they wouldn’t be righteous; they’d be sinful because they’d go directly against the nature of the God I represent.
5. My sin grieves the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30). I’m a Christian, see, so Jesus’ Holy Spirit lives in my heart, and when I do something that goes against His nature, it affects Him in a negative way. I don’t understand how. I don’t understand why. I just know it’s true. I love Him, so I won’t put Him through that.
6. Their sin wasn’t against me. Oh, I felt it, alright! And what they did was wrong—really wrong, if there are degrees of wrong, which I think the Bible refutes (Jas 2:10)—but, in the end, their actions are really between them and God (Psalm 51:4). As I understand it, what makes sin sin is that it doesn’t match up with God’s holiness. As much as it shames me to admit it, if you were to match what this person did up against the kinds of things I’m capable of, you’d find a pretty close match. No incongruity, so no sin against me. Match it up against God, and the sin is obvious. Honestly? Even the apology I really hope to get from this person wouldn’t be mine by right, but by the grace of God alone, as their apologizing would only be a by-product of their trying to do what’s right, a concept that means absolutely nothing without standard of God’s holiness.
7. My silence gives God room to speak to their heart. It’s not my job to convince others that their actions are wrong. I’m not capable. It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, or convince, people of their sin (John 16:8). Yes, He sometimes uses people to deliver the message of truth that He then drives home, but as long as I’m under the influence of anger, I’m no good to Him for reasons given above. If I said what I want to say right now, I’d be planting myself firmly between this person and the God with whom they need to have a heart-to-heart. I’d be a distraction rather than an instrument of peace.
8. Hot coals are more effective than hot words (Prov. 25:21-22). Not actual hot coals, but the coals of grace and mercy that those of us who follow Christ are called to extend to others, even when they treat us badly. Treat meanies like they treat you, and they’ll feel justified. Treat them like Jesus treated His persecutors, and they might actually feel bad about it. Of course, if they do, don’t gloat, or God will quit disciplining them so you don’t get the self-righteous big-head (Prov. 24:17-18)!
9. I don’t want to burn any bridges of relationship that could someday bear the burden of truth. That’s every relationship, from strangers to soul mates. To me, there’s no greater joy than imparting the truth of Scripture to others or showing them how it applies to their lives so they can either come to know Him or get to know Him better. I’d hate to forfeit that privilege by identifying myself as someone who can’t be trusted to uphold and live by the truth that they proclaim.
10. In the end, God’s purposes are more important than my own, and, in this moment, keeping my thoughts to myself would serve those purposes best. God’s ultimate purpose is His glory (Eph. 1:10), or the display of His divine perfection, and my actions as a redeemed child of God who proclaims the power of God to save and transform either prove or call into question His ability to do those very things. I don’t desire for a split-second to dim His much-deserved spotlight.
That, in a nutshell, is why I won’t say what I want to say right now…well, what I wanted to say a few moments ago, anyway.
Hey! What do you know?! Counting to 10 really does help!
by Angela Sanders | Aug 29, 2016
One of my favorite parts of vacation is looking back through the pictures I took as we drive back home.
This year, I noticed that almost every picture I took was of my family. In fact, you can’t really tell where we went unless you look very closely, and I had to ask Todd to send me pics that showed our surroundings.
Thankfully, he had plenty, and that made me curious. What did everyone else’s camera roll look like?
After a little investigation, I discovered that Hunter’s had grown only slightly, so focused was he on taking in the experience and living in the moment. With few exceptions, only the unique, bizarre, or extraordinarily beautiful made it into his album. Considering the fact that he lives his life looking for and celebrating the novel and new, this came as no surprise.
Hope’s album was that of an artist, full of interesting shapes, patterns, textures, and color combinations found both in the common thoroughfare and in out of the way corners. Boasting many subjects none of the rest of us even noticed, her album is a testament to her ability to see and appreciate things other people don’t.
Todd took almost as many family pictures as I did, but his were mixed in with pictures of signage, venue superstructure, and images he created for work while waiting in line to board rides. This didn’t surprise me either, as Todd is always collecting that which inspires, whatever the form, and putting it to use as quickly as possible.
Watching Louisiana whiz by, I realized that although our family had been together all week long and participated in the same activities, we’d each taken away a different collection of memories, a slightly different experience. The albums on our phones told those stories and revealed much about what we value and focus on as individuals.
Like the way people live their lives.
All it takes is a quick scroll through Facebook or Twitter to see that these are troubling times for the human family. Bad things are happening in the world—some of them unspeakable—and the Enemy is alive and well, gaining footholds where people allow him to and destroying whom he may.
It’s easy to get caught up in it all and give way to fear, but look around!
God is alive and well, too, calling men to repentance and doing a fresh work in the hearts of those who surrender to His will. In the midst of conflict and tragedy—sometimes as a result—the Truth of God’s Word is being spoken boldly. The deeds of darkness are being exposed by the Light. Sinners are repenting, and Christians are being forced to examine not only what they believe, but why, as they defend their faith. Many are learning, for the first time, what it means to walk by that faith on a daily basis.
Exciting stuff! Let’s not miss it.
You see, when we choose to focus on ourselves and our own comfort and safety, the Enemy gains a foothold in our hearts and minds, twisting the way that we interpret the world and process our present circumstances, putting us on the defense. Anger, worry, and fear mark our words, our actions, our very countenances.
But when we choose to focus on God and make Him our priority, the Father, our Creator and Sustainer, opens our eyes to His activity in the world, reminding us that He is still in control and working all things together for our good, our ultimate good as His children being His glory. We gain confidence and perspective. Our lives are marked by peace, love, and joy.
Victory or defeat, my friends, which will it be? What story will your album tell?
