The Missing Link

A few weeks ago I came across this saying: "To know the problems, spend time with people; to know the solution, spend time with God." I liked this saying so I wrote it down on my calendar and began to meditate upon it.

And the longer I meditated upon it, I began to think that there was a missing link to its truth.

I mean, of course we all know that people have problems. I'm one of them and I have my sure share of them. And if I were to ask you about it, you would admit that you have them too.

And as born again Christian women, we all know that God's Word is FILLED with the solutions to our problems. I don't think any one of us would contend with this fact.

But here is the missing link . . . how does the person with the problem LEARN HOW to apply and benefit from the solutions that are found with God and His Word? They do it by spending time with people who have found solutions to their problems through the applying of God's Word!

And where do we find these kinds of people? Sometimes in the pews of our local church . . . but most often in the pages of biographies of great Christian women and men.

When I was a young Christian, I was always reading a biography of some great Christian person. This is how my faith gained its courage and how my focus stayed heavenward. I remember so vividly being encouraged by the prayer life of George Mueller, the tenacity of Hudson Taylor, the perseverance of Susanna Wesley, the hopefulness of Darlene Diebler Rose, the courage of Brother Andrew and the great faith of Susanna Spurgeon and Ann Judson. It was as if God used the godly testimonies of these folks to "connect the dots" between the problems that I was facing in my every day life and wisdom of the Word of God that I was reading every day.

I'm ashamed to say, that over the past many years, I have replaced my reading repertoire with "How to Do the Christian Life" kind of books and it has been so long since I have walked with a "How They Made it With Christ" kind of saint.

And you know what? I'm weaker spiritually because of it. Oh, sure I KNOW a lot about this and that, and yes, I still DO what I am supposed to do when I need to do something . . . but I am starting to notice that my passion for doing it is starting to flicker and fade . . . and this is something that I am not satisfied with.

I have always wanted to live an abundant life with Christ. It has been my goal to keep the fires of my faith hot for God and to keep a bounce in my step as I serve Him. I never wanted to become one of those casual Christian women that hid behind the "well, God is sovereign" kind of excuse.

And yet, in the midst of dealing with so much pain and being out of my regular servant routine for so long lately ~ this is exactly where I see myself heading, and the time has come for a directional change.

I'm putting down the next "how to live the Christian life book" that I was about to read, and I'm reaching for a book ("Evidence Not Seen") about a woman named Darlene Diebler Rose that suffered in a Japanese prison camp. I need to be reminded how to put this pain aside and keep my focus on learning how to give praise and glory to God during this time.

I'm so thankful for the great Christian men and women that have lived before us. They are the missing link that we need to show us how to apply the solutions from God's Word to the problems that are robbing us of our Christian joy and spiritual strength.