Eugene Peterson’s book “Eat this Book” teaches us to chew on a passage of scripture, digest it, and then put it to use in practical ways.  Use this pattern of Bible study to go deeper into a conversation on maintaining an apprentice focus even in the most challenging of times.  Use the following ideas as a potential starting point.  

Being an apprentice does not mean that life is without moments, days, and weeks when issues, setbacks or difficulties assail our spirits. Things happen,  externally and internally, that dim our light and, sometimes, even lead us to think we are losing sight of our Creator and Loving God.  It’s almost as if our compass just spins and it can’t locate home. What is true? What is false? Is this right? Or is it this?  How do we know we are living faithfully? How do we remain focused on the things that truly matter? A good place to start is always the scripture: 

Eat

Isaiah 29:13  The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” 

Matthew 23:3-4 {Speaking about the Pharisees, Jesus says} “So you must be careful to do everything they tell you.  But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.  

2 Cor. 12: 9-10 {Paul speaking about the thorn in his flesh and vision} But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me…I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 

Matthew 5: 3-5 He said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “ 

Chew

These passages speak to a message that offers balm to a tired apprentice of God.  They remind us that we are human, God is divine.  God knows that even though we humans are actually powerless,  we seem to constantly seek power.  God with his supreme power recognizes that humans’ striving for power comes from human rules of success, not from Him.  In the passage from Isaiah, God is fully aware that the people might say one thing and do another.  He notes that the heart is what he seeks.  And that fact, returns us to the point: Our Loving Father sees us, our struggles and the pain of the world and He is present.  

Thinking about that a bit more, the Bible speaks often of dichotomies such as goodness in evil, light in darkness, or joy in sadness. The passages given above talk about one’s words vs. actions, weakness vs. strength, and those with the least garnering the most. Each of these opposites can offer wisdom and balm to our troubled hearts.  Our God is a god who knows full well the challenges of this world.  He sees the struggle of ego over the gift of love.  He encourages us to choose what the world sees as lacking, even though it is opposite of what human hearts tell us is worth striving for, and dedicate a renewed commitment to the journey. 

Digest

So, what are we to do when life drags us down?  

How do we remain diligent and focused on the goodness that IS vs. the issues that arise?  

As apprentices who live in the unshakeable kingdom, where should our eyes turn?  

Well-known and loved theologian, priest, and writer Henri J.M. Nouwen reminds us in his essay “The Path of Power” of three disciplines to help remain focused on our apprentice journey.  First of all,  he encourages us to seek out the “poor who are close to us and in our world”. (Nouwen, 45) “To be poor” comes in many forms including physical, intellectual and spiritual lacking.  Poverty, as he uses it, can also reference those who speak the words, but don’t put love into action.   As well, it can refer to unkindness or hatred found in our every day. It might even represent the uninformed or those who don’t see facts from fiction. Our first job as apprentices is to not become dim, but instead, to shine brightly and show God’s way.  

In order to be able to do that, Nouwen notes the second discipline of trusting that we have what we need from God to truly care for the poor that are given to us.  Sometimes it may not feel that this is possible, but Nouwen notes that “we are often afraid to enter into the chaos” when we simply need to go.  We can be encouraged that God provides and He is in all things, so fear should never be given the ability to paralyze us from movement towards light.  

Lastly, in a world filled with darkness, Nouwen reminds us that it is the joy that should surprise us, not the suffering.  This world is built on suffering; consequently, suffering will always be there to tempt us and encourage us to question that we are on the right path.  He reminds us not to allow it.  Instead,  to expect the suffering and be encouraged by the joy.  He writes:

…don’t be surprised by pain. Be surprised by joy, 

be surprised by the little flower that shows its beauty 

in the midst of a barren desert, and be surprised by 

the immense healing power that keeps bursting 

forth like springs of fresh water from the depth of 

our pain… (Nouwen, 47)

More Food For Thought

Here is some additional “food” for thought in staying connected to your heart home:

1. Locate Joy: Spend some time noticing the joy in dark places.  Keep a journal as a means to document and remind yourself of the beauty of life in the pain. 

2. Stay Close to Home:  Be vigilant to see where those around you may be in need.  Who are those that may need encouragement, strength, or understanding? 

3. Keep your Light Charged: What do you need to shine bright in your community? How can you find the strength you need to be an apprentice?  Listen to your heart and know that God sees it.  

References:  

Nouwen, H.J.M. (2015) Finding my way home: Pathways to life and the spirit.

          New York, NY: The Crossroad Publishing Company.