Rethinking Wrong Theology

Sometimes when my personal theology bumps up against the real world, I realize the faultiness of my own thinking and it gives me an opportunity to rethink and re-examine my beliefs.

That happened yesterday on my run…  

The sun was shining and it was in the 70s.  I excitedly laced up my shoes and stepped out onto my porch right into a big gust of wind.  For a moment, I felt a little discouraged, but then I realized the wind would be at my back this first leg of my run.  I started up the hill and then down the next before turning on to the long straight stretch. 

On my way out, the wind stayed mostly at my back and was a welcome companion.  However, when I reached my turn around point it had picked up a little and was now beating against me at every step.  Determinedly, I looked down the straight stretch and saw that after this little incline, I’d be closer to the tree line and I’d be shielded from the wind.

I use my run as a time to think, praise, pray, and reflect and because I knew I’d be writing this week’s devo on prayer when I got back, prayer is what I had been pondering.

“Hmmm.  The tree line reminds me of prayer time with God.  When we’re running up hill and the winds of life are beating against us causing us to get weary, feel discouraged, and wonder if we’re making any progress at all, prayer is like that safe haven where we’re tucked away and safe.  We get a reprieve from the beating wind and we find rest, protection, and ease.”

And as I kept pounding out step after step against the barrage of the wind, I kept thinking.

“I will get to that tree line and just like in prayer, I will be sheltered, safe, and refreshed.”

And I ran triumphantly, and a little wearily, to the tree line.  BUT THE WIND STILL BLEW.  I wasn’t shielded or protected from it at all.  Things were not instantly easier.  There was no rest or refreshment, just more of the same wind.  

And that’s when my personal theology collided with the real world.

My analogy didn’t translate like I thought it would.  And it got me thinking…

“Wait a minute.  God never promises us a life of ease.  In fact, he tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18  ‘Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’”

I needed to re-evaluate and rethink some wrong personal theology that had crept into my life.  Our personal theology is our own beliefs about God.  And somehow some prosperity gospel had niggled its way into my thinking.

Prayer is powerful and God is good.  Both of these things are true and are good personal theology.  But just because I get alone with God in prayer does not mean that my situation or circumstances change.  Thinking that prayer changes everything and that I will only experience good things because God is good is a personal theology that needs some examination.  

And yes, prayer is a sanctuary, a shelter, a place of spiritual peace and rest, and a space to release our burdens.  That is all true.  And yes, prayer does change things.  It changes me.  It changes my heart.  It shifts my Spirit.  It changes my perspective and turns my eyes toward Jesus.  

And I do believe prayer changes things in the spiritual world, even if we don’t see change in the physical world.  And yes, I do also believe prayer can change things in the physical world, too.

I believe God is good even when things aren’t.  Yes, He is our shelter, our strength, our defense, our shield, and our fortress.  Faith in Him gives us hope, help, deliverance, salvation, and assurance.  But, that does not mean that He will always change our situation and circumstances.

 As I kept putting one foot in front of the other, fighting the wind each step of my run, I realized that I know these things to be true.  Still, sometimes I find myself surprised, confused, and honestly… maybe even a little frustrated when I encounter hardship and pray and God doesn’t immediately fix everything.

But the truth is, sometimes I need a reminder that a personal theology that believes in a faith that always feels good and makes me comfortable needs to be re-evaluated.  That isn’t right thinking.  God never promised that.

I felt convicted and repented of that untrue way of thinking about prayer and about God.  And as I ran into the wind, I thought about how our relationship with Jesus isn’t about comfort.  And although it is about salvation, it is about so much more than that.  It’s about our transformation into disciples and our invitation to go and tell the good news of the gospel.  It’s about our adoption into a kingdom family who live on purpose and for a purpose.  

Prayer builds that relationship and while prayer may not completely change our situation, it does change us.  It takes our eyes off our temporary circumstances and puts them where they belong, on Jesus and his eternal kingdom work.