Problems That I Want - Part II

“The Good Old Days”

We indulge the tendency to lament the passing of the “good old days.”  We fall for the fallacy of believing that the future cannot surpass the past.  We don’t want to try anything new or different.  At a previous job, I worked with people who chose to resign and retire rather than learn new technology.  They were so wedded to paper and their personal systems for handling their work that they refused to enter the information age and travel upon the information super highway.  They could not conceive that the dawning of the technological morn could exceed the old way of business.

We build an existential box in which we live.  Seeking security and stability, we imprison ourselves to outmoded paradigms.  We are so busy looking back that we cannot look forward.  If you were to drive that way, you would constantly be in accidents.  Such is the case with the societal challenges that the Church faces today;  and the entrenched insistence upon utilization continually and uncritically the methodology of a past generation.  Have we had great days in the past?   Yes, most definitely we have.  Those days cannot be taken away nor can they be washed away by the forgetfulness of the current generation.

Grace in the Text - Haggai 2:1-9

The Lord makes a bold promise to His people in the latter verses of this passage.  He promises that the future glory of the new house will exceed the former glory.  In a little while, God will once again shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.  He says that He will shake all nations.  “The desired of all nations will come.”  “I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty.”  “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house, says the Lord Almighty.”  “And in this place I will grant peace, declares the Lord Almighty.”  Practically speaking, God says, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”  “If you think that you once saw my glory, you ain’t seen nothing yet.”  Can you imagine what things will be like for our congregation if we take this promise seriously?  If we took it seriously enough to internalize it.  We have had great days.  Better days are coming.

Grace for Us - Scriptures to Use

Envision  the problems that you want.  Most assuredly, they will be the inverse of your current problems.     Active imagination is central to spiritual growth and personal development.  See yourself dealing with the exact opposite of your current problems.  Consider that your debt will be eliminated.  If you are not in love and alone, think of the many different things that you and your future beloved will do.  If you are not in good health, imagine the days in which you will be in good health.  Create the resolution of all the challenges that you face.  Consider that the solution allows you to honor and glorify Almighty God and serve humankind.  Rejoice over the freedom that will be yours!  In accordance with the teaching of Mark 11:24, lay a hold of the fulfillment of your heart’s deepest desire.

As you continue to imagine new vistas, affirm the foregoing promise.  The days to come will greatly exceed the past.  The apostle Paul captures this sentiment in his letter to the Ephesians.  In the third chapter, the twentieth verse, he says that God is able “to do exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or imagine, according to His power at work within us.”  The question of faith remains for us, “Can He do it through us?”  There is no question that He can do it.  Yet, we wonder whether He can do it through us?  This crisis leads to another one.  Do we believe that the future can surpass the pass?  That question leads to the realization that in order for the days to come to surpass the past we have to make a fundamental commitment to partnering with God to ensure success.  Are we willing to do it?