The Lie I Believed

I have been unknowingly living a lie.Here's the lie: I've believed that if I did the right thing, things will work out in ways that make me happy and that vindicate the fact that I Did The Right Thing.If I confront a friend, he'll weep with brokenness, thank me for my candor, and tell me I'm the most courageous person he knows.If I decide to leave that job that is killing my heart and eating my soul, my inbox will suddenly fill with offers from famous people that beg me to join their humanitarian but unbelievably lucrative organization.If I join God in what I sense God is doing in the world, I will wake up fulfilled and courageous, fueled by the knowledge that my mission is clear and I'm doing meaningful work that helps people.If I do the right thing, I'll be blessed. That's what many Christians think.I do think we'll be blessed by doing the right thing, but the lie is that the blessing we receive will make us become shiny, happy people who end up on top. I just don't think that's true.Sometimes when you do the right thing, all hell breaks loose.Sometimes when you do the right thing, you wake up confused and depressed.Sometimes when you do the right thing, things get worse.My friend and mentor gave a message at our church last week called "Wind and Waves." His basic premise was that very often, when the Wind of God really blows, and you are invited into something really good and right and full of God, waves of resistance also come.All hell breaks loose.Wind of God. Waves of resistance. They go together.And we despair, thinking it means that we did something wrong. (Incidentally, we probably did do something wrong, but that's not the point). The point is that joining God in the work of healing and restoring the world is something that will be resisted. It will be hard work.But when you join that work, all of heaven breaks loose as well.Watch this message, and join the conversation.https://vimeo.com/64560863