FROM EXPERIENCE = LIVING AND COPING WITH INJUSTICE AND HURT - (FOURTH and LAST PART) – GUIDELINES AND CONCLUSION – (THE RETRIBUTION OF GOD – PART 9 IN THE SERIES)
[10]. WATCH YOUR SELF ESTEEM
The bible warns us not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to, but we must not allow ourselves to degenerate to the other extreme. You must not think of yourself cheaply or badly, or vex yourself with guilt complexes because of some terrible incident that might have come upon you. Your self esteem is important but only think of yourself as God thinks of you. The bible does teach about putting other believers first and esteeming your fellow Christian as more important than you. The concept is, “more important than you”, not yourself as of “no importance”.
Today’s approach to self esteem is that the most important person in the world is “you”, and you are the centre of your universe. That selfish position and condition is not Christian and has developed through the accumulated writings of humanist psychologists and rationalists. Why, we even have the “ME” generation today. It is all about ME. I am the ONE who counts. All the rest is subservient. There is nothing more selfish than that but the education system these days, based on socialism and humanism, promotes individuality at the expense of the needs of others. I always default to the fact that God will have a day of judgement at the great white throne, and when the lost stand there to get their rewards, that reward will be sorrow eternally, and just one thing! It will be individual. Those who lived individually for themselves will have eternity to indulge in that individuality but it will not be pleasant one little bit. If only those Christ-rejecters would turn from their sin and be saved.
As a Christian you do count in God’s sight as one very precious to Him, and your value in His eyes is, in a sense, the value of the Son of God, for you are in Christ and now possess His righteousness. When under attack, or you have become the victim of injustice or suffering because of wrong done against you, you need to be positive in Christ, and not allow the evil one to bring about depression or make you doubt your own self worth. The matters of depression, and understanding self worth from the Christian viewpoint, are big areas, and it is not my purpose to open up the subject much more at this stage. Many beneficial books have been written by competent Christian men to cover these areas.
I would suggest one approach that could be helpful though. When you feel down because of the way the world has treated you, or has wrongly misjudged you or because of the terrible wrongs levelled against you wherein you could not defend yourself, trying this may help.
Open at a book of the New Testament, perhaps Ephesians or Philippians and carefully read it verse by verse. As you discover them, write down all the blessings that pertain to the child of God. Make a list of them, things such as, “I am redeemed through Christ,” or “I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places,” etc. Compile the list then set your mind to absorb the truth of each blessing. Progressively thank God for what He has made you, for what you mean to Him, because it is what you are before Christ which counts, not how the unredeemed world evaluates you. That exercise is similar to meditating on the word of God.
{{Psalm 119:23 “Even though princes sit and talk against me, YOUR SERVANT MEDITATES ON YOUR STATUTES.” Psalm 119:27-28 “Make me understand the way of Your precepts so I WILL MEDITATE ON YOUR WONDERS. My soul weeps because of grief. Strengthen me according to Your word.”}}
And remember again, develop and strengthen your Christian fellowship, for the encouragement and consolation of other Christians is YOUR strength in times of deep crisis.
Because so many emotions are brought into play in times of severe crisis or when injustice has touched you, you may be aware of strong mood fluctuations. This is common and results partly from the stress you are under. Hurt, tiredness, apprehension, certain physical ailments, grief, and many others all play a part in your disposition. Remember that those things may affect you. Pray for the Lord’s grace to overcome in all adversity. How much we need to apprehend the presence of God with us at those times. Temptations will come and at times the mind takes over and you may find yourself working out some fantasy of revenge. It is then that you must commit the matter to the Lord and keep recalling in your mind constantly, “Vengeance is Mine....” Know that the Lord will repay. Not you!
[11]. YOU MUST KEEP YOURSELF BUSY
You must keep your body occupied. That is essential. Your body is a temple given by God to house the real “you”. When adversity hits, it is a scourge that affects the whole person. In this last section of this examination of injustice we have been looking at ways to help you in the spiritual arena and in the mind, but now we look at the body.
Bodily activity is just so important. It is sad when quite a number of people under stress are giving up in their minds and that will mean surrendering to a full shut down. They may resort to a doctor or psychologist and start taking tablets and pills. I am not knocking that approach but I am looking at the neglect of what is practical. To think pills are the solution, and then sleep in bed a lot of the time or go no further than the front gate, is actually very counterproductive.
There is a verse in the AV translation that gives the wrong impression. This is what the AV says – {{1Timothy 4:8 AV (KJV) “For BODILY EXERCISE PROFITETH LITTLE: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”}}
That is altogether wrong. It does not mean that exercise is of little value and not worth doing. What Paul is saying here is that bodily exercise is profitable only for a short time but in comparison, godliness is profitable for eternity. It is the contrast that is important to see.
The NASB sets it out correctly – {{1Timothy 4:8 “for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”}} The idea is that exercising the body is profitable for a little time. The NIV says “For physical training is of some value.”
Keep active physically when you are in stress and adversity. Not to do so weakens the body and that only compounds the problem you face. I know you may not feel like doing anything but it is wrong to entertain that attitude. You need to keep positive. When I was in a time of very deep injustice over a period of a few years, I built two large bird aviaries.
What did that do for me? Well, apart from the obvious of keeping me busy, it also gave a sense of ACHIEVEMENT and that is vital. Additionally, IT HELPED KEEP MY MIND OFF THE HURT I was going through. There is nothing worse than moping around and allowing the negative thoughts all the time to fill your mind and attitude.
You might say, “I can’t build anything,” and that is true, but you can apply yourself to some task or become active in a man’s or woman’s group, or be a volunteer in a charity or a community venture or a church ministry. You can even take up writing or walking, some pastime or hobby – fishing, painting, collecting, visiting, etc. The activity is not quite as important as the engagement of it. If you are younger, then I believe running is good and so is a hard workout at a gymnasium.
I am not a doctor but when a body is working hard it produces Endorphins. I looked up endorphins and got this from Harvard Health. If you don’t understand too well, don’t worry; I don’t either fully.
[[ “Endorphins are the body’s natural painkillers. Endorphins are released by the hypothalamus and pituitary gland in response to pain or stress, this group of peptide hormones both relieves pain and creates a general feeling of well-being.
The name of these hormones comes from the term "endogenous morphine." "Endogenous" because they’re produced in our bodies. Morphine refers to the opioid painkiller whose actions they mimic.
About 20 different types of endorphins exist. The best studied of these is beta-endorphin, which is the one associated with the runner’s high. We also release endorphins when we laugh, fall in love, have sex, and even eat a delicious meal.” ]]
I reject anything to do with the power of positive thinking. That is humanism, a contrivance of man where God has been dismissed. Keeping your body busy and active is not any power of positive thinking. That is enough for this coping strategy and we now come to the last one.
[12]. GUARD THE MIND
This is the last of these suggestions and probably the most important of them. Many of the areas already considered will find the key to their success in this section.
The mind is a battle field. Whatever you allow it to absorb, that will affect your personality and behaviour. When it is allowed to absorb injustice and dwell on it, the person’s outlook becomes negative and critical. Feed the mind with the positive aspects of the Christian faith. Extend your reading of the word of God for there your mind will find its occupation.
Some of the scriptures relevant to this area will be presented here. Peter has given this instruction, a verse to heed when visited by injustice. {{1Peter 1:13 “Therefore, GIRD YOUR MINDS for action, KEEP SOBER in spirit, FIX YOUR HOPE completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”}} Thus Peter says - gird your minds, keep sober, and fix your hope. All these are positive injunctions, which, if followed, will help us overcome when suffering. The end of the verse focuses on the coming of Christ for His beautiful Bride, the Church. That is the “revelation of Jesus Christ.” Expectant Christians who eagerly await the rapture have their minds set correctly.
Paul addresses the same idea in Colossians 3:2 but the first two verses of the chapter are among the most pertinent to our subject. Let us carefully consider them. {{Colossians 3:1-2 “If then you have been raised up with Christ, KEEP SEEKING the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. SET YOUR MIND ON THE THINGS ABOVE, not on the things that are on earth.”}} Paul’s injunctions are to keep seeking the things above, and to set your mind on the things above. Our occupation should be with heavenly things and we can take our example from Christ when He was tempted in the wilderness. He fasted there, the purpose to give Himself totally over to the presence of His Father. Be occupied with the person of Christ. Set your mind on Him. As the devotee of a sporting final earnestly seeks the front seats in the grandstand, so likewise earnestly seek the front seats of the Lord’s presence.
In Philippians 2:5-9, Paul desires a Christlike attitude in his readers, one of humility, but in due time God will exalt that faithful one as the Lord was exalted. Throughout any deep ordeal you have, seek humility from God.
Another aspect Paul raises in 2Corinthians 10:5 is that of taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Does not that require keeping rein on your thoughts, and setting your mind to be filled with heavenly things? Let your mind be saturated with the food of the word of God!
CONCLUSION
We belong to a wonderful, loving God who allowed His own Son to suffer in our place. His purposes for us are always perfect and we are constantly surrounded in His love even though the consciousness of that love is sometimes very dim. His will is carefully being worked out.
We have seen the great divide which separates those in Christ from those outside of Him. God has His hand on His own, and the few years of this earthly sojourn will not even be as a wink, when we are with the Lord in His very presence for all eternity. They may seem hard for us now and the pressure may be difficult to bear at times.
We have seen how God cares for His very own and His hand is highly protective of them, often raised in vindication of the righteous. We considered the awful consequences awaiting those who oppose the saints of all ages. Injustices were examined and ways were suggested of dealing with the problem.
Many years upon earth may lie ahead for some of us during which we will very conceivably face persecution, heartache and injustices. We may not see our justification in some matters. That is not important, rather, the fact that our Lord is able to sustain us until the heavenly light of His presence one day will be manifested for us, and bathe us when we are forever with the Lord. Then we will not remember the hardships and trials and mistakes of this life.
Then will be operating the conditions described in some of the most delightful verses in the entire bible, ones of blessed assurance. Think of the joy these two verses provide. They specifically describe the eternal state but are true for all believers who have passed from the body to be present with the Lord. {{Revelation 21:3-4 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and HE SHALL DWELL AMONG THEM, and they shall be His people, AND GOD HIMSELF SHALL BE AMONG THEM, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; for the first things have passed away.”}}
The Lord is Faithful and True. He sustains His own in every terrible and hurtful situation. The God of Retribution is our loving Father who holds us in His hand from where no one is able to pluck us. Praise Him. Praise our loving and caring Father.
I’LL HIDE MYSELF IN JESUS
When trials come, and storms arise;
When tempests darken earth and skies,
And everything my spirit tries,
I’ll hide myself in Jesus.
When friends turn cold, and scorn to own
That I, as friend, was ever known,
And I am left to go alone,
I’ll hide myself in Jesus.
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Should fortune fail, and sorrows come,
And I am left without a home,
I know in Christ there’s always room
To hide myself in Jesus.
Should that dear one on whom I lean
No longer by my side be seen,
Should death’s dark veil e’er come between,
I’ll hide myself in Jesus.
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As one by one my ties are riven;
As one by one the dear ones given,
Are torn from earth to live in heaven,
I’ll hide myself in Jesus.
While here below on storm-tossed sea,
Where dangers ever threaten me,
It ever shall my purpose be
To hide myself in Jesus.
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There is no other safe retreat
Where I may hide when tempests beat,
Here I have found a rest complete
While hiding now in Jesus.
O let me always here abide,
Safe sheltered in His wounded side,
Till I, the storms of earth outride,
Till then I’ll hide in Jesus.
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(From the Herald of Holiness)
I trust this whole series has been of help for some of you. It came out of my own experiences and so is very meaningful to me.
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
