Not Back, Beyond!
/By Elizabeth Stalcup, founder and executive director of Healing Center International
At the writing of this newsletter we have been under stay at home orders in Virginia for five weeks. I hear people expressing a desire to go back to “normal.” But what is normal? And do we really want to go back to it?
Last fall I spent about four months writing a study guide for a movie about sex trafficking in the U.S. I remember feeling submerged into a problem that I did not want to acknowledge. It was exceedingly painful to hear the survivors’ stories and come face to face with the realization that trafficking is rapidly becoming the number one crime in America. At many points I found myself crying out to God, so distressed at the thought of parents in the US trafficking their daughters, some of them only 8-10 years old, for money! How could money have become so important? In my distress, I heard God say that a major shift was coming. He said, “A year from now everything will be different.”
I believe God is calling us to pray into this shift. Not only to pray but to examine our hearts and let him refine us so we can shift in harmony with him.
When God spoke to me about the shift, I could not imagine what would happen that would change everything. It was hard to believe.
And yet and yet. And yet here it is.
In the Gospels Jesus talked a great deal about the kingdom of God. It’s a bit mysterious, but simply put the kingdom of God is the place where God rules and reigns. It’s the place on earth, in our hearts where God’s will is done just as it is in heaven. I believe God is expanding his kingdom and that this is a unique kairos (the right, critical, or opportune) moment for his dominion to spread—in us—and from us to the world.
I fear overwhelming you, but I want you to take a peak with me at some of the problems we face as a nation.
Sex trafficking[i]
Increasing suicide rates[ii]
Divorce (third highest rate in the world, highest rate in the first world)
Addictions of all sorts
Drug overdoses[iii]
High rates of obesity and diabetes[iv]
Increasing rates of child mental illness[v]
High rates of depression, anxiety and schizophrenia (third after China and India)[vi]
Racial injustice/discrimination[vii]
In addition, we produce media that goes all over the world—destructive media that tears people down rather than lift them up.[viii]
Tragically, this is our world. Although many of us, myself included, are insulated from these problems to some degree, none of us are immune. I believe the toxicity of our culture affects us all. It is like a mighty river flowing in the wrong direction. Some of us are knee-deep in the water, some ankle deep and some of us are in water over our heads and are being rapidly swept downstream. We all feel the pull.
The solution is not political. The answer is not to blame others—especially not to blame unbelievers. Indeed, I do not know the answer to our problems, but I do know his name. His name is Jesus, and he is the only one who can save us. Do we want to go back? Or do we want to let him have his way, cleanse us and take us forward?
At our Daily Connect we recently started asking each other, “What do you see God doing?” And the answer is so much! God is at work. He is redeeming us, taking what the enemy meant for evil and turning it for good. We are being transformed. Cleansed. Forgiven. Forgiving. This is a process, not an instant prayer that makes it all go away. We can resist God, or we can embrace what he is doing even though it is intensely uncomfortable, even painful.
How can we embrace what God is doing?
I suggest we start where we are and go from there. Today I want to encourage you to go before the Lord and ask him five questions. Write down the answers. Don’t be in a hurry. Let yourself feel and acknowledge what you are experiencing. Here are the questions:
What have I lost?
What have I gained?
What idols do I need to forsake? What do I need to surrender? Confess? Release?
Lord, what do I need to embrace?
Lord, where are you at work, and how can I join you?
Those questions may be all you need. If so, have at it. If you would like more instructions, read on.
What have I lost? Pay attention to your losses and grieve them. Losses might be: We are stressed. Our capacity is low. We are easily triggered. Some of us have lost loved ones or are afraid we will before this is over. Some of us have lost jobs or a sense of safety. Many of us have lost retirement funds or financial stability. We have increased conflict with the ones we love. Write down what you have lost, even if the loss is temporary. Consider writing a psalm of lament, laying out your complaint before the Lord.
What have I gained? Write down what you have gained. Ask yourself, what is better now? How am I spending my time? Who am I spending my time with? Examples might be: A fresh appreciation for the people you used to take for granted. Less stress on the road. Time to slow down. Getting more rest. A deeper sense of God’s presence. Fewer distractions. Tackling pesky jobs. Stronger connections with friends and family. Seasons like these are fertile ground for change.
What idols do I need to forsake? What do I need to surrender? Confess? Release? What comes between you and God? Where do you turn for comfort or distraction? Quiet and listen. God is often working in us at the subconscious level. Let him speak. Sports? TV watching? Busyness? Sin? What gets the lion’s share of your time and focus? Surrender what needs to be surrendered, confess any sin that is hindering you, and release any pain—sadness, fear, anger—to God and let him have it all. Don’t forget to release what burdens you. Name them all and give them to God. If this all sounds like Greek to you, I would encourage you to read the book I wrote last year, Whispers in the Storm, which contains my fearful and faith-filled conversations with God and how God uncovered deep wounds in me to bring healing. Ask him about the origin of your idols. Where did it start? Pay attention to unhealed wounds. When all is going well, we are very adept at holding it all underground. Now it is seeping up. Yes, painful. Yes, an opportunity for healing. Let God expose you. Pay attention to your pain and his invitation to heal and cleanse you.
Lord, what do I need to embrace? What new practices or habits have I adopted in this season that I enjoy or find life-giving? Examples might be: Walking, eating healthier foods, spending more time with my family. Spending more time with God. Working on long ignored tasks at home. Sleeping more. Hurrying less. Valuing life. Caring for my neighbor. Contacting someone who is alone.
Lord, where are you at work, and how can I join you? God is at work, removing our idols, drawing the whole world to himself. Ask and listen to what he says to you specifically. He is at work and may be calling you in a new direction. Take time to engage with him about his work and your call. Pay attention to any resistance you feel about his call.
When we turn towards God and let him heal, cleanse and forgive us, we partner with him in establishing his kingdom on earth. Imagine his will being done on earth as it is in heaven. When it is done in us it will be done on earth. We’ve lived with compromise for too long. We can’t blame the world for acting the way they do, but we can let God do in us what he is longing to do. Sometimes seasons of suffering—seasons of transition—go on and on much longer than we would like. We cry out for release, but honestly, if release comes too soon, we would just go back to our old ways.
Let’s listen to God’s vision for our future. Let’s receive the blessing he is bringing us. Is it possible that God is allowing this virus to set us free from things that are far worse?
Imagine what could happen if everyone in our community was changed and became more Christ-like. The kingdom of God would be more deeply established in us. Like a small dollop of yeast in a hard lump of dough we would be instruments of God to bring love and good deeds to the world. We would bring life to the dough.
It is not too late.
Need an example? You can read Betsy’s example here.
[i] The State Department estimates that between 15,000 and 50,000 women and girls are trafficked each year into the United States. Two-thirds of trafficking victims are U.S. citizens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_trafficking_in_the_United_States
[ii] According to the National Center for Health Statistics death by suicide has increased 30% between 2000 and 2016. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/01/numbers
[iii] Almost 21 million Americans have at least one addiction, yet only 10% of them receive treatment. Drug overdose deaths have more than tripled since 1990. From 1999 to 2017, more than 700,000 Americans died from overdosing on a drug. Alcohol and drug addiction cost the U.S. economy over $600 billion every year. Dec 5, 2019
[iv] The U.S. is 17th, but the other countries in the top 20 are mostly islands in the Caribbean or Pacific. See https://moneyinc.com/most-obese-countries-in-the-world/
[v] Child mental illness up 30.5% from 2011-2017. https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payer/childhood-mental-illness-diagnosis-up-31 I covered this topic in an earlier blog post: https://www.godhealstoday.org/blog/2019/7/1/boys-at-risk
[vi] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2016-09-14/the-10-most-depressed-countries
[vii] Pew Research Center. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2019/04/09/race-in-america-2019/
[viii] Here I quote Erick Avari who plays Nicodemus in The Chosen. He says that at one point he realized that the movies he was acting in were doing more harm than good. He stopped acting. Then he was given a script for The Chosen and was profoundly moved by the opportunity to act in a movie that would do good. One has only to travel overseas to find Africans who watch the worst Hollywood can produce. We are polluting our world. More than half of box office income comes from the international market. https://stephenfollows.com/important-international-box-office-hollywood/