Rhodes Rainbows: The Struggle is Real

The time: let’s just say the 90s. The place: Mrs. Rhodes 2nd grade classroom. Mrs. Rhodes had an awesome way of tracking her students’ good behavior in the classroom — by the envelopes on the wall assigned to each student. If you were bad, you got a raincloud. But if you were good, you got a beautiful, sunny rainbow in the envelope by your name

I don’t remember everything about second grade, but I somehow still remember those rainbows. Something about the desire to do good and the desire for approval and affirmation from my teacher was so real that I still can recall the feeling of yearning for that token of good behavior to this day. Oh how proud and accepted you felt when that sunny rainbow was put right into your envelope.

We are a works-based society and culture, and that has taught us a lot of works-based habits and ideals. This in turn spreads over into our relationships, our self-image, and our communication with God.

We desire so badly to get the rainbow. We work so hard to achieve it and set our self-esteem, our self-worth, and our self-respect upon the shoulders of its achievement. We are so quickly validated by the attainment of it, and our spirits even swifter to be demolished when it falls through our grasp.

One of the latest trendy sayings is the phrase “the struggle is real” — if I’ve heard it once lately, I’ve heard it 1,000 times among the teens I’m around every week. It is a satirical statement that you can put at the end of any comment about something that is difficult, or ironically, something that is not difficult. It’s hilarious to use when you’re being sarcastic or making fun of yourself for having first-world-problems. For example, a pretty joking usage of it would be: “I ran out of milk for my Cocoa Puffs today. The struggle is real.” [I may or may not have actually said this lately…] 

There are plenty of struggles that aren’t real and funny to make jokes about, but there’s a struggle that IS real, and that is the conflict of accepting ourselves and believing God accepts us through our works.  This is a true battle fought in hearts and minds the world over, as we struggle between the patterns of thought we’ve learned through our culture, and the deeper truths of love and grace that the Word ministers to our parched souls.

Ephesians 2:8-9 reads “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

The Message paraphrase of this verse says “Saving [you and me] is all his idea, and all His work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.”

You did good, so you feel good about yourself. You did bad, you feel bad about yourself.  You fluctuate up and down, down and up, your relationships with others, self-image, and communication with God all resting on the perilous frailty of your works. This is not how we are to live, this is not how we are to view love. Isaiah 64:6 says “all our righteousness are as filthy rags.” They do not reflect your worth or your acceptance by God. Romans 5:8 says “God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God’s love is unconditional, strong, and valiant — the opposite of the weak, imperfect, and failing love of the world. Our lives should reflect GOD’S way of looking at our works and not the world’s. They should reflect GOD’S way of loving ourselves and others than the world’s way. We can accept ourselves and others not based on what we DO, but on the value God placed on us just because He loves us and we are His children.

Don’t get me wrong. Works are very important. Matthew 5:16 says “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” Good works are a calling card to the unsaved, they are a witness and testimony of the faith we have on the inside. I do not want to diminish the weight of their meaning in any way — they are very important. They are just not the most important. They are vital to our Christian walk, just not vital to your worth and great price.

Sometimes we don’t do all the good works we should do as Christians living for the Lord. Sometimes we don’t spend all the time with God we should spend. Sometimes we don’t always obey the Word the way we know we need to obey it. Sometimes we don’t…..[you fill in the blank]…!!!

The condemnation that can come on you when you give in to feelings of inadequacy about the things you don’t do right can be absolutely demoralizing to your faith–because they take your focus away from one very important thing — God’s mercy. This whole life as a Christian is not about you, it’s about God. It’s not about your mistakes, it’s about God’s grace. It’s not about what you can do when you’re good, or what you didn’t or can’t do when you’re bad. It’s about what God is and can do through you regardless of if you’re the best at something or the worst.

Let me tell you something right now. God accepts you. Not only that, He approves of you. He loves you. Sometimes, we can become so works-oriented solely based on the desire to be accepted and approved, thinking that it’s good works that can accomplish unconditional love for us. But that’s the thing about unconditional love — there are no conditions.

When Luke told the story of Mary and Martha, and wrote that beautiful exchange between Jesus and these sisters, he penned a line of truth that can stand with us in all our battles against works. “ONE THING is needful,” and it wasn’t the many works that make us feel good and accomplished. It is the relationship with God where we are seated at His feet receiving from His heart. It is knowing True Love and receiving based on nothing we have done. It is seeing ourselves through the Blood of Jesus.

Trusting in your works brings fear. But as 1 John 4:18 teaches us, there is no fear in love. Perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment [aka condemnation]. The condemnation that tries to come when you fail in your “works” can take you back to the feelings of getting the raincloud by your name in second grade, because the tendencies of human nature are still the same. We desire to be validated, celebrated.

The struggle is real, but fight every tendency the world has taught you to justify or condemn yourself based on what you have done, whether you got the rainbow or not. Allow me, if you will, to encourage you with this thought, that you ARE validated and celebrated by your Father God today. But it will never be because you are good enough or pretty enough or perfect enough. It will always be based solely on HIS perfect, unconditional, and fully-approving love based on the blood of Jesus.

 

Home is where your heart is

Scriptures for your home

God cares about everything that is important to you. E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Even the things you might think are trivial, or inconsequential — if it is important to you, it’s important to God.

One thing that is important to a lot of people is their home. God must have already known that it would be important to you, because the Bible has a lot to say about it! For the person that fears the Lord, God has even given many promises on the subject.

It is good to read these scriptures, and think on them. It is good to talk to God about them, and use them as a basis for your faith. Anything that God promises to you in His word, not only can you bring it back up to Him — He wants you to do so. He wants us all to believe His word, and trust Him to bring it to pass.

There are desires I have for my home, and, on the basis of these scriptures, I am believing God for them all to come to pass. Proverbs 14:1 says “a wise woman builds her house”, so I am building. What better foundation to build it on than the rock of the Word!

Here’s a list of several scriptures in the Word about house and home; it is by no means an exhaustive list! There are many others in the Bible. Check them out for yourself, and use these as a starting point. Many of the following references I received from Gloria Copeland’s message on believing God for a home. (It is a fabulous message, by the way. You can read an excerpt from it here.)

For many of the scriptures, I have included a few different versions, to give even greater understanding of what each is saying. Keep these scriptures close; remember them for yourself, and share them with a friend who may need the encouragement of God’s promises. I want to hear your testimonies!

• Proverbs 24:3-4

“Through skillful and Godly wisdom is a house, a life, a home, and a family built, and by understanding it is established on a sound and good foundation, and by knowledge shall its chambers of every area be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” AMP

v 3 “A house…becomes strong through good sense…” NLT

v 4 “By knowledge the rooms are filled…” ESV

v 4 “It takes knowledge to furnish its rooms with fine furniture and beautiful draperies.” MSG

v 4 “…its rooms are filled with every kind riches…” GWT

v 4 “…valuable, beautiful things…” GNT

• 2 Corinthians 9:8

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” ESV

“And God is able to make all grace–every favor and earthly blessing–come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need, be self-sufficient (possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation.)” AMP

• Isaiah 54:2-3

“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; spare not; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes, for you will spread abroad to the right hand and to the left; and your offspring will possess the nations and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.” AMP

“Make the tent you live in larger; lengthen its ropes and strengthen the pegs! You will extend your boundaries on all sides…GNT

v 3 “You’re going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family…” MSG

• Proverbs 14:1

“Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.” AMP

“Homes are made by the wisdom of women…” GNT

“The wisest of women builds up her home, but a stupid one tears it down with her own hands.” GWT

• Psalm 68:6

“He gives the lonely a home to live in…” GNT

“…and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell; He leads the prisoners out to prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.” AMP

“God settles the solitary in a home…” ESV

• Psalm 112:1-3

“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments. His offspring shall be mighty upon the earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Prosperity and welfare are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.” AMP

“Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God, who cherish and relish His commandments, their children will be robust on the earth, and the homes of the upright — how blessed! Their houses brim with wealth and a generosity that never runs dry.” MSG

v 3 “Wealth and riches are in his house…” ESV

• Proverbs 14:11

“The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.” ESV

“…Holy living builds soaring cathedrals.” MSG

These scriptures, while not mentioning house and home directly, also certainly give ground to any desires you may have on the subject:

• Philippians 4:19

“This same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” NLT

“My God will liberally supply, fill to the full, your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” AMP

“You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need; His generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus.” MSG

• Ephesians 3:20

“to Him who…is able to…do superabundantly far over and above all that we dare ask or think — infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes or dreams…” AMP

• Psalm 37:4

“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart.” AMP

There are many ways you can ‘build’ your house; there are even more ways you can tear it down. Let’s do the former, not the latter. Build up your house today, by believing the promises of God!