Spiritual BIMS
Here are some examples of spiritual break-in moments … moments where God breaks into our world and tries to get our attention.
Genesis 12:1 is a Break-in Moment for a man named Abraham. Genesis 12 [1] The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. [2] “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
In Exodus 3, there’s another Spiritual Break-in Moment. You may remember this story if you’ve seen The 10 Commandments, or The Prince of Egypt. It’s a great moment in movie history.
Exodus 3 [1] Meanwhile Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, [b] the mountain of God. [2] Then the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. [3] So Moses thought: I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up? [4] When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Here I am,” he answered.
This was a Break-in Moment for Moses. He was 80 years old, and he had never heard God speak to him personally before.
Narnia: Journey Back to Faith – Part 1 (Spiritual Break-in Moments)
Spiritual Break-in Moments are times in our lives where God tries to get our attention. Here’s the thing, when God brings Spiritual Break-in Moments into our lives, how we respond can mean the difference between living a fulfilled life – a life full of hope and vitality – and living a life that is without any real purpose, a life where we may just drift through it without any sense of significance and meaning. And, perhaps more than anything else – to take off the spiritual blinders that we all can face at times, we need to embrace spiritual BIM’s: Break-in Moments.
FAITH ON TRIAL: Part 4e – If God is so loving why do we experience so much suffering?
To deal with suffering and disappointments, we need God’s perspective on life.
What does all of this mean for me?
It’s not disappointments that hold us back. It’s the perception of the disappointments. It’s not necessarily the pain that holds us back. It’s how we feel about the pain. Even though we’re all going to face difficulties, God is there right beside us helping to rejoice and experience inner joy in the midst of the junk.
Pain will happen but we don’t have to wallow in misery. You can’t side-step pain but you can miss out on God’s perspective of suffering, pain or disappointments – even in the midst of pain and disappointment.
FAITH ON TRIAL: Part 4d – If God is so loving why do we experience so much suffering?
To deal with suffering and disappointments, we need God’s perspective on life.
3) Disappointment loosens our grip on unimportant things in life.
James 1 [2] Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, [3] because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. [4] Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Romans 5 [3] Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; [4] perseverance, character; and character, hope. [5] And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
When disappointment comes, the things that are of little value in life suddenly don’t matter anymore. We find ourselves clinging tightly to the things that really matter: our relationships with God and each other.
FAITH ON TRIAL: Part 4c – If God is so loving why do we experience so much suffering?
To deal with suffering and disappointments, we need God’s perspective on life.
2) Re-focus on the ultimate goal in life: Christlikeness.
Job 42 [5] I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. [6] I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.
Job gained deeper spiritual understanding. He had the eyes of a renewed faith. He had a deeper insight into God’s character. Comparing this new awareness of God with his previous experience is like comparing seeing with hearing. Christianity is meant to be a personal relationship with God in which we grow closer to Him. Being humbled through suffering is meant to draw us closer to Him. When you are flat on your back it’s easier to look up! What else can you do!
Romans 8 [28] And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans.
All things work together for good — not necessairly for pleasure, comfort, prosperity, health, or joy, but for good. It’s the perspective of the temporary vs. the eternal. How can Paul say that he would rather glory in his bad health? This is what kept him humble so that God could use him. He knew that his own pride would have kept him out of touch with God’s eternal purpose for him. We must look at suffering through the eyes of perspective
2 Corinthians 12 [10] Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite happy about the thorn, and about insults and hardships, persecutions and difficulties; for when I am weak, then I am strong – the less I have, the more I depend on Him.
So the good has to do with molding me into being more like Christ. It’s only then that I will understand the spiritual journey that I began more fully. All things work together for the one good purpose of being made more like Christ. It takes a variety of experiences to cause this to happen. Some of those experiences include suffering. A diamond has to be cut to bring out its beauty. Gold must be refined to bring out its purity. The vine must be pruned to bear more fruit. Clay needs to be molded before it becomes a magnificent work of art. In the same way the child of God must be cut, refined, pruned and molded to become more like Christ. God has not promised to make us totally comfortable, but He has determined to make us conformable.
Beware of falling into the trap of cut and dried theologies that reduce the ways of God to a manageable formula that keeps life safe and comfortable. That’s not always God’s plan for us! Look for God’s higher purpose in your life. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn’t going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
