Upside Down

Things really aren’t as they seem. Not for those who see through the lens of faith. What looks hopeless to some may be the most hopeful thing ever to someone else. If we could only flip the view. But we’re going to need a lot of faith to do it.

Faith is everywhere, every day. Each time you sit down in a chair, expecting it to hold you, you exercise faith. That exercise usually works out for most of us, but for the tough stuff that tries our grit, we need Jesus. We need His vision that sees that the weak can be strong, the poor can be rich and the last will be first. What the world calls empty, can be really quite full, and the not enough becomes abundance.

In Acts 17, Luke tells about three locations where Paul preaches the gospel, in verses 5-7, envy caused those who refused to believe to do an evil deed. They brought a man named Jason to the rulers of the city and said:

“These that have turned the world upside down are come here also.”

That was his great offence. Paul and his guys taught that there was another king, “one Jesus.” Jason was a friend of Jesus and Paul as well and knew that the view from that position was the right one. Now this guy I’m looking forward to meeting in heaven. He stuck His neck out for the cause of Christ and it cost him. He took the trouble and turned to see the world upside down.

May I suggest you and I try to do this today? Where there is a weakness that we know we have, can we just pray for His strength to come into that? How many, “I can’ts” can we turn into:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

And if we are having a bit of financial difficulty, can we say:

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

And if we are experiencing the sting of rejection, can we just say together:

“But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him (her) who is godly; the LORD will hear when I call unto Him.” (Psalm 4:3)

It is upside down from the world’s view, but that’s okay. Because this world is really not our home. We are only passing through it to fulfill the will of God, who created us, in His image, and according to His good pleasure. (See Ephesians 1) When we can’t seem to see the point, remember, Jesus is the point. Anything at all that causes us to draw closer to Him is a blessing. There are no pointless struggles, when they point us to Him.

(Photo by Melanie Lamb)