Isaiah 40: If you're feeling weary, turn to God and He will give you peace

I thought we'd take a short break from Romans today.

I saw some pictures of the first good snow in Boston. I was instantly reminded of a good friend of mine who moved there, who hates the snow. All I heard was complaining and misery every time it snowed. So, seeing a picture of snow also instantly made me think of her misery.

Here's a secret: when you imagine someone else's misery, you begin to feel miserable. Even if it's someone else's misery and not your own...just my imagined perception of her feelings on seeing the snow made me begin to feel miserable (even though I'm nowhere near the snow and sitting in 70 degree weather).

I could write a very long article on thoughts, and how they impact both your energy levels and your feelings. That's an article for another day, but I'll sum it up here: if you start thinking of someone else and how they're stressed, or telling yourself you should feel stressed because the situation is just so hard or the worst or you'll never make it through (notice: all only thoughts up to this point), you will physiologically start to feel stressed yourself (a feeling). And if you let yourself do this, without stopping yourself in this pattern, you will not only find yourself in a spiraling cycle of negativity and bitter acidic thoughts, you will feel physically tired as if you've been fighting a battle all day, or reacting to real stress. Because you have. Your body can't tell the difference between imagined stress in your mind and real life stress around you.

It is exhausting to live in stress during most or all of the day, every day.

Scientific research is full of negative outcomes that result from stress. Not only do you feel physically tired, you probably don't have the energy to work as well towards your goals. At the same time, stress eats away at your self-esteem, so you're also probably less likely to think you can achieve them, leading to depression or a depressed outlook on life. Also, it's well known that stress breaks down your immune system, so you're more likely to get sick. You can look up the rest for yourself, but it's quite clear: stress sucks. It destroys your body and your mind.

I've been there. If you're struggling, I've been there.

A few years back, I was around a very negative person and got into such a negative spiral of thoughts every day just from adopting their judgments and opinions, or at least imagining what they would say in every situation, that I lived in constant stress. I went through my day in a mix of fear and harsh judgment. I got to the point where I was terrified to be home alone, and terrified of my thoughts. And all because I let my thoughts spiral out of control.

I've learned a lot since then and now have much better ways of thinking in place. It took time, years actually, and didn't happen overnight, but my point is if you start imagining others' emotions or negative thoughts, it will spark your body and psyche to think they are your thoughts, and you will wear yourself out.

If you are living in an emotional war zone or otherwise have a constant drain on you and you just feel weary, know that you are not alone. It does get better.

This is turning into a rather dark post, and I know there are lots of reasons people can feel weary. Especially around the holiday times. Maybe you're burned out emotionally or financially from Christmas. Maybe you're burned out from traveling and just want a rest.

Getting back to seeing the picture of snow, part of me yearned just a little to have snow for just an afternoon to be able to play in it. But as soon as I thought of my friend and my imagined dialogue of her stress and misery, guess what? I felt immediately weary and miserable


So it was a relief a few posts down when someone posted this part of Isaiah 40 (v. 31):

Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles;

They will run and not get tired;

They will walk and not become weary

 If you are weary...the Lord is like a breath of fresh air. A sip of cool water. A sweet moment of stillness. 

And just like that...I was immediately refreshed. Felt new and relaxed and at peace, as if I'd had a brief, much-needed drink of cool water.

 I urge you this holiday season to take just a breather every day. Find your stillness. Rest in the Lord. Whether it's a moment in quiet prayer or just appreciation, taking the time to eat right or stretch your body, take care of yourself. Your body and mind are worth it.

Here are some things I've found that have helped me this holiday season. And if you have fallen off the wagon up to this point (it's okay! I did too!), just try to work these in when you can. Be easy on yourself. After all, you don't need to beat yourself up - the rest of the world will do that for you. You need to take care of yourself, as if you were caring for an injured friend.

• Yoga (I love the mindset this puts me into. I do it more for stretching and meditation than a true workout, but I feel so peaceful and stretched, as if every muscle is happy. I also feel much more in control of my life, and it's a gentle reminder to take care of myself).
• Eating healthy. Hard to do over the holidays but when I begin eating crappy, it really does throw off the rest of my day. I feel sluggish and 'uggghhh'. So I make the choice to eat healthy because I know it will make me feel better.
• Exercising. Stretch your body when you can, and do something fun to work up a light sweat. Your body needs it to be operational, so take care of your body in this way as much as you can.
• Christian meditation. This is something I've decided to try after many of the other Christian techniques (praying, going to church a lot, reading the Bible) failed me. Just doing those other things doesn't bring me closer to God. But I love reading the Bible as if it has a message for my life right now.
• Get good sleep. If you're not giving the body the rest it needs, it won't feel well-rested the next day, and you won't be as likely to take care of yourself in other ways.
• Know that God is in charge. Let Him be. Give up, and let Him control things. He will work things out beyond what you could imagine.

The rest of Isaiah 40 is great too, and absolutely speaks on this theme of refreshment after feeling weary.

v. 1-2 - Be comforted! Your warfare (emotional battles; worries about finances; stress in general) has ended.

Wouldn't it be great if someone told you that? Your problems are over. Rest now, dearest. Your battles have vanished. You can rest in peace.

v. 2 - even if you battles are emotional, and you're burdened with things like guilt or shame, it has been removed! A weight has been lifted from your back! You are free! In fact, you'll receive double the blessings from the Lord as any emotional burden that was there!

So, not only the joy of freedom (which, if you've been emotionally bearing a hard burden, in itself is the prize), but will be receiving many blessings on top of that! It would make a person think, what did I do to deserve this goodness?

v. 3-4 used in reference to Christ often, through John the Baptist.

This really speaks though to the restitution Christ brings. Lift up your face, you with tears and Christ will wipe them and make you joyful again. If you're burdened, He will bring you peace. He fixes all the bad in the world (even while he was with the world, he did so many miracles of healing!) See passages in Revelation about the world being made right. The Lord takes places or hearts that are low (the valleys) and brings them back up to level. He takes all the inequality in the world and makes it level and right again.

And who is the one doing this? Not us (the flesh referred to in the passage), but God. And if you've been in those low, weary points, you know how thankful you are when God makes things right. How thankful we are when anyone makes things right, but the fact that God can correct all of it, all the injustice...that makes Him so amazingly good, beyond all understanding.

Think of someone who not just makes you feel better when you're down, and then goes to your best friend and does the same thing, and then goes to someone else who has so much trouble and burden that no one thinks they will ever get better. And that person makes that suffering person completely better and happy. Wouldn't that person who is making everyone better be amazing? Who helped not just one person, but people over and over?

And God does this over and over, and over. So far beyond our comprehension. Who can help not just people but right whole systems of corruption.

Isaiah 40: 10-11 paints just this picture of God's goodness, and the way He cares for us.

v. 17 All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

I wish I could instill this in people, and quote this at every "God Loves America" meme. God doesn't love America. He loves people, and people everywhere. God could care less about America as a country defined by boundaries.

The rest talks about how awesome God is. We admire earthly things but to God they are trite and meaningless. Instead, look up - God created the stars, much more amazing than anything on Earth (and as Star Wars lovers, we know just how awesome they are). Scientifically speaking, stars and star systems are very complex. God's handiwork is far beyond anything you or I could create, so we need to worship Him.

And yet, as numerous as the stars are, as easy it would be to get lost or feel like you don't matter...God knows each star by name. And as Star Wars lovers, we also know that each tiny or backwoods planet can be important, can be holding the fate of the galaxy. It's like that with people too. Each one of us is worth an infinite amount. Each one of us has the potential to have a great effect on the rest of the human race, much greater than we could ever know or guess.

The Lord God knows you. He loves you. You are not lost in the crowd to Him. He not only knows your name, He knows all your details. He cares about you. He will personally send His power and spirit to refresh you when you are down or weary, and you will ever after have a spring of guidance and peace within you. You will never be the same again.

Trust in Him today.

Romans 13: Obey the government, without badmouthing, unless it contradicts God

Dear Lord God, I seek you today.  I open my heart to you, God and father of all, on high on Your throne. I ask you to do with me as you will today, to use me, for I am willingly your servant. I am looking for you, God, trying to find you, searching for you. Trying to hear Your answers. Please rest heavily on me today, your hand across my shoulders, steering me with your wisdom, guiding me with your words. Whisper to me today, Oh Lord. Don't let me search in vain. You say you are like the northern light for those who search for you, that if I search, there you will be found. I pray you guide my study today. I pray you would turn me in the directions you want me to be turned.

Dear Lord God, I pray for [the gift of] your presence today. I'm seeking you and I pray that I would find you. I pray you guide my study today and turn me in directions according to your will. Renew my heart, Lord; refresh my heart and mind with the everlasting light and goodness and peace of your waters [spirit]. Conform me to your will. Help me to be a good person today, a servant and representative of you Lord. Along with your messiah and servant Jesus, I humbly ask this. Amen.

I finally moved on to Romans 13, after getting stuck on Romans 12 and reading it again and again...and again. You know what I'm talking about: you sit down at your computer intending to read the Bible, the last passage you read (Romans 12) is up so you decide to start with that to summarize and get your mind in the mood before moving on to the day's reading, and then someone interrupts you before you get to the end. This has been my life for the last several days.

So, on to Romans 13.

The summary: obey the governing authorities, because they are put in place by God.

I'm not sure what to think of this passage. This immediately brings to mind Divine Right, where kings used this passage and others to justify doing whatever they want (usually bad things). I think the message is quite clear from the rest of the Bible that you're supposed to follow your conscience over any rules, that you're supposed to stick to doing good, and not do evil, even if commanded to do it. In fact, this passage draws the distinction between good and evil also (see verses 3-5), with the idea that the rules that are not expressly evil are good.

So, this passage means we should follow rules, even rules we think are trivial or stupid, as long as they don't violate God.

One great example (and story I'm reminded of) is the story of Daniel. In it (see the Book of Daniel in the Bible), 4 Jewish youths are taken away to a foreign land (Babylon), to serve a foreign king (Nebuchadnezzar). The new land has lots of new laws, some of which contradict what they must do for God. How do they continue to worship God properly?

In this age, too many Christians seem to give the answer of "replace the government with one we like, and disrespect the one in power." Talk bad about the president and about how he's "ruining the country". Ignore or fight most laws, even laws that have nothing to do with them. However, this is not the example we see of Daniel and his friends (or of Joseph, another story of someone struggling to follow God in an environment of non-Godly (as in not following the Jewish God) ruler and laws.

In both cases, Daniel and Joseph, both humbly follow the laws of the land, unless it contradicts a direct decree of God. Instead of personally badmouthing or ignoring laws or rulers they don't like, by contrast, they are very quiet on the subject. When asked, they refuse to say anything bad, and in turn, they not only survive in a foreign culture that does not place their God at #1 (read: America, which is as it should be - in a land of freedom of religion, secular laws should not place the Jewish God at #1 even if I believe in him but instead should be focused on equality), they actually thrive. They both move up the governmental ranks until they reach pretty much the highest possible positions in their societies, second only to the king himself.

Now, some can argue it was only because God had a specific plan for His people in each case which required them to be in high positions, so that is why they survived and advanced. With only two examples, we'll never know for sure. However, the whole point of the Bible is not just to tell stories of how God interacted with His people in the past (which then makes it historically interesting but not relevant to our lives, a thing of the past only), but to be a living document, or relevant to us today. Usually this is taken to mean we should use the stories in the Bible as examples for us, a clear lesson to be learned.

If that is the case, then we should follow in Joseph and Daniel's example, and follow the rules set by our governments, with no complaining, as long as they do not violate one of God's directives. And when they do, we disobey them quietly, continuing to do as God commanded, but not stirring up trouble. After all, much of the New Testament condemns initiating strife, instead commending keeping peace.

Many Christian conservatives want to make the government of the U.S.A. a Christian government. This will never, and should never, happen. Mostly because when it comes down to it, churches can't even agree on the rules within themselves, which is why we have different denominations. So many Christians want the laws to be the Laws of the Bible/God, yet they can't agree on what they are (plus, this is an aside, but any time there are set laws, human tendency is to start to force people to rigidly follow them, such that the laws become important but the spirit behind the laws or the original intention is forgotten or even opposed! This is exactly what Jesus fought against - in His words, it's clear that the intention behind the law, and God, is much more important than the specifics of the law itself).

How do I apply this?

So, how does this fit in to Star Wars? How does this fit in to being a Jedi (or Jedi in training, even if I'm not one yet?) Theoretically, as a Jedi, I'm devoted to helping all people, to ensuring basic rights for people and protecting the innocent, regardless of if I agree with their views or not. A Jedi should also theoretically be humble, not bragging about their skills (see Romans 12: fits right in!), and I believe not stirring up strife. But how do you stay quiet if you disagree? Is it wrong to express your views? And if you express your views once and people ignore or brush them off, then what? I don't think staying silent is the answer, but I do think expressing your views in a polite way is required. But then if people ignore you again? At some point, continuing to express your views (even if polite) becomes a nuisance, or can stir up strife. What then? Some of the greatest changes were brought about through civil disobedience (politely but repeated efforts). I'm not sure how to reconcile the two.

In any case, I'm sure humility is key, along with politeness and respectfulness. You should try to see where the other party is coming from, but that doesn't mean you can't still have your own views. You should always express them politely.

I guess the answer is, even if you think something is ineffective and wasteful, don't oppose it unless it has the potential to hurt people down the line. And then, both as Jedi and as followers of God, we are supposed to stand for all our fellow men, especially the downtrodden and poor, so we must oppose it. Often, these directives will hurt someone down the line. Otherwise, even if we don't like it, we must calm ourselves and learn to accept it. In some sense, accepting things we don't like is part of entering adulthood. I guess that's what meditation is for.

Romans 10-12

My heart's desire and my prayer for you is for your salvation. You have a zeal for God, but are living in a fantasy, not the real world.  You sought to establish rules of righteousness, but they're your own, not God's, so you're not following God's rules of good. Christ is the answer, and completed the rules which lead to good -  He is the new good.

How do I apply this to my life? Is God speaking to my last post? Does this mean we shouldn't have rules we try to live our lives by?

But then, if we don't, it's easy to go off track. Hard and fast rules give you something to stick to, and help eliminate shades of grey.

The rest of Romans 10:
Believe in Jesus. Confess that he's the Lord and believe God raised him from the dead, and you will be saved, regardless of if you're Jewish or not.

Evangelism is important, because people can't be saved if they don't hear. And yet, there will be those who do hear who refuse to believe.

Romans 11:
As Christians, don't be arrogant towards Jewish people who don't accept Jesus, because God saves who he wants to (there is a remnant that will be saved). They were God's special people first. And if they then decide to believe, then they too will have eternal life with God.

-I don't feel like this message is directed at me, but I do like messages of unity.

Romans 12: all about the betterment of ourselves.
Live purely and holy, renew/open your mind. Build towards good. Be humble. Use what faith you're given.

God has made everyone to be different, so accept those differences, and use your own gifts to help. Some gifts are: the ability to speak God's mind/will, the ability to teach, to be generous, leadership, mercy.

Devote yourself to others, and be humble.

Be sure to have mindfulness of your own actions/perseverance, fervent towards the Lord, serving him, rejoicing, continuing in hard times, praying often, helping others in need especially other Christians, and generally being hospitable to everyone.

Do and speak good to those who cause you hardship instead of cursing them. Feel with others - celebrate with their joys and mourn with their losses. Bring peace. Don't take revenge (let things go). Pursue good, and you will overcome evil.

-Love this. Romans 12 is pretty much the Jedi passage of the Bible. It's all the good directives of the Jedi in one passage. Do good to others and don't meet evil with evil but instead with good. Be constantly transformed/renewed (and how else do you do that except by 1) continuing to learn and trying have an open mind, open to being changed by new experiences and knowledge, and 2) constantly staying in touch with God so He can fill you and enlighten you?)

The Code: What I Believe

I thought I'd lay this out in a straightforward manner, mostly for myself. These are the things I believe to be true.

To be honest, I'm terrified to write this. I know a lot of other Christians believe differently (though if they each made up a list, their lists would all look different from each other). I know Spouse believes differently, and might be aghast, and give me the "how could anyone believe that?" line I dread (with either "that's stupid" response or "I can't be married to you if you believe that, because only [insert your choice word here...awful, horrible, etc.] people believe that". I'm afraid this will inspire arguments and disagreement even from non-Christians.

But, in spite of that fear, I need to do this. I need to learn how to conquer criticism. In some sense, if everyone's list is different, even though everyone thinks they're right, and some people shout very loud and accuse others very loud, what gives them a leg to stand on? Who says their list is better? Of course, that promotes the idea of relativism, particularly moral relativism.

Which is one thing I've been told can't exist with Christianity. After all, there's only one morality: God's morality. He decides what's good and what's bad. And any other morality, or the idea of everyone having their own morality, is wrong, because then someone could have a completely evil morality and it would have to be considered fine (if all are equal). Because, if some are better than others, who is deciding the absolutes of which qualities are "better"...unless it's God (or some inbuilt morality within us). A relative morality system either says all are equal (which then makes it meaningless) or hints at a God. And if there is a relative morality system where all are equal, then there is no moral God (which goes against everything I think most spiritual and religious people feel about God - we know God is there and wants us to do Good. In some ways, God is a manifestation of a higher calling to be our better selves). But, we can have no "better selves" without God. Without God, there is no morality period, and who cares what we do with our lives because ultimately it doesn't matter.

In fact, Star Wars has an absolute (Black and White) morality. This is one thing I love about it. I just read an article about how the prequels could have been good, basically if they made both the Jedi and the Sith into extremes (the Jedi representing absolute control, and selfless devotion to the common good, and the Sith representing passion and individualism) as "the bad guys" and only the moderate middle path, the one Anakin tries to take, into "the right path". I didn't like this article, because Star Wars is built on Black and White morality. Good is good, and evil is evil. You can turn the story into one about the benefit of grey areas, and it could still be a good story, but it won't appeal to Star Wars fans because that's not Star Wars.

Anyway, all that's beside the point.

Here is the Code I Believe. I can even call it the Christian Code (because it makes me a Christian, and I will adhere to this in times of doubt, and even use this as a shield to weather criticism by other Christians!). If you are a Christian, please see above - you will have a different code than mine. If you are not a Christian, please note that not all Christians believe this things, and some add different elements to their lists. This is in no way representative of all Christians, only what I believe.

The Code: What I believe

• There is a God who interacts with people. I've seen this quite clearly in my own experiences. I've had very clear messages from God for my life. Every time I get really far off track, He sends me a reminder that He is there. (using the word "He" but really God could be a "She" too.)
• There is value to pursuing good. I feel this strongly, both from my background, and my perception of God. We all do, which is why as humans we construct stories the way we do, with good guys and bad guys, and having something to aspire to. If there is no value to pursuing good, then there is no morality, and what's the point? And if there is a morality system in place, then there is value to pursuing good.
• If God interacts with people, from the content of interactions, it's clear He's trying to help us, and has future knowledge and a desire for us to be better. He may give messages, or hope to help through a situation, or guidance towards personal growth. He may give dreams about the future. He may give a message for someone else, in order to save them. In other words, God's interactions with people show that He cares about you and I. He tries to make or mold peopleinto our best selves. (Is that any different from the Jedi?) He also has them care about each other. It's not just ourselves in isolation growing into our best selves, but connecting each of us to others and to the world around us (the Force, anyone?)
•  God loves us. How else could you explain listening to someone else's problems 24/7 night and day, being there at a moment's notice, and always trying to help them and care about them, and never once being impatient or snapping at them in anger? You would only do that for someone you love. So God loves us and cares for us individually, yet cares for us collectively. In other words, we are meant to be connected with other people, and with the world around us. I don't know if that's a mandate from God per se all the time though or just when He has us do it.
• God endows some people with special powers. Or speaks very clearly to some. Don't ask me how this works; I don't know. I don't know if those people are simply created better conduits for hearing God or not. These are the Prophets in the Bible.
• God promised the message of a Messiah and sent him.: Jesus. Yeshua. Jesus Christ. A conduit of His power, but an extra special one at that.
• We need to listen to Jesus, and follow him. If he truly is someone who has the greatest amount of God's power, then he has some knowledge or closeness with God that we don't. So we should listen to him. Read his words, and do what he says. Believe what he says about God, because he knows better than we do!
• Our number one goal should be listening to God and serving Him.

I think I will put this in a more numbered form, because it's clearer.

The Christian Code: the real Jedi Code

1. Our number one goal should be listening to God and serving Him. 
2. Do good to others and the world around you. 
3. Be connected to others.  Make connections. Star Wars also promotes strong friendships.
4. Always be making yourself into a better person. Even in ways in which you don't want to or think you need to change. God will give you instructions...Follow them and take them to heart. 
5. Keep an open mind, and accept that your feelings, thoughts, and views will change over your life. This is a good thing. Let your heart be changed, softened, broken. That's the only way you can reach new mental heights.
6. Accept God's messiah Yeshua (Jesus).
7. Work towards accepting all of God's morality. You don't accept all the words of the Bible...yet. Be teachable. Work to accept the hard parts of what God says as well as the easy parts.