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Transformed Living in Tough Times

Abingdon Press

Chapter One

Birds are sometimes picked up by strong wind currents and carried long distances. Many new sightings of unusual birds occur after particularly difficult storms. As the birds adapt to their new location, volunteer birders go out to search for and count the number of new birds found in the area.

We all experience tough times—financial problems, health-related challenges, family issues, and the effects of natural disasters. We can allow these issues to engulf us and leave us feeling helpless, angered, and depressed. Or, as transformed people, we can turn our focus to God and rise above the tough times.

Transformed people know the importance of returning to priorities.

Losing Our Way

It is easy to allow our priorities to become inverted. It is not intentional, but a lack of focus causes us to drift.

The Bible teaches us that we are like sheep—we stray from our points of security. Sheep don't wake up in the morning and say to themselves, "Let's see if we can get lost today." They just wander away from the flock.

I understand a sheep can see only about eight feet away. It looks for a clump of grass and sees one ahead. It wanders over to that clump of grass, and then sees another clump several feet away. It then sees another clump several more feet away. It just keeps its head down looking for grass. Suddenly, it looks up and doesn't see anything familiar and discovers it is lost. It didn't intend to get lost; it just wandered away.

This is the way most of us get lost. We don't wake up and intentionally try to get lost—we just wander.

Psalm 23 was written in a region of desert territory with little green grass. On my first trip to Israel, I thought our experience with sheep would be staged. I figured our hosts would put us on a bus and carry us out to a place where they hired some people to dress up and look like shepherds. But this wasn't the case.

We saw shepherds all around Jerusalem, and we had to be careful as they led their sheep across the roads. Most of the area in southern Israel is very arid, and good green grass is scarce. It is the responsibility of the shepherd to find green pastures where the sheep can graze each day. The sheep can't find green pastures on their own.

Look at Psalm 23:4—"Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me" (NLT). Today, just as in biblical times, shepherds always carry a staff. Staffs give sheep a sense of security and stability. Because sheep can't see very far, when they look up and see a staff they know their shepherd is nearby, watching over them.

Also the Bible says that the sheep know the shepherd's voice (John 10:4), and when a sheep hears a shepherd talking and sees him with a staff, there is a sense that everything will be OK.

Like the sheep, transformed people who look up and see the Good Shepherd watching over us will feel secure in tough times. We know with the Shepherd's help everything will be OK.

How Much Are We Worth?

The transformed person begins with a clear understanding of his or her worth in God's sight. This worth is not predicated on achievements, career advancement, good deeds, leadership positions, or church involvement. It is based solely on God's grace to accept us as we are, redeem us, and give us a purpose for living.

A person's worth seems to be a continuing debate in major league sports as professionals negotiate contracts and free agents look for the best deals.

Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth went into the free agent market, and the Washington Redskins thought he was worth a lot. He signed a $100 million contract that included a record $41 million signing bonus.

Outfielder Manny Ramirez signed a two-year, $45 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Many other players are "testing the market" to see what they are worth. It doesn't appear that the economy is in a downturn when we see what so many of these players are getting.

At the other end of the spectrum is the story of John Odom. He was a former prospect in the San Francisco Giants' minor league system.

Odom grew up in Roswell, Georgia. He played baseball in high school, and then spent a season at Tallahassee Community College before signing with the Giants. After four inconsistent years with the Giants, he was released in 2008. The Canadian Calgary Vipers picked him up; however, because of a 1999 conviction for aggravated assault, Odom was not allowed to enter Canada, so the Vipers traded him to the Texas Laredo Broncos.

The initial trade called for a cash settlement of $1,000 to the Vipers; however, the Canadian team decided they didn't want to do a cash deal because it would make them look financially unstable.

In the end, Odom was traded for ten baseball bats made by a company called Prairie Sticks—a total of $665 for double-dipped black, 34-inch, model C243 baseball bats.

At first the unusual trade was a media-hyped novelty, and Odom actually enjoyed the publicity. But the fun turned to embarrassment as Odom was saddled with nicknames like "Bat Man" or "Bat Guy" or "Bat Boy." His performance for the Broncos suffered, and after only a short time he quit the team in humiliation. Six months later he was found dead from an overdose of drugs and alcohol.

How much was Odom worth—ten bats? Is a football player or baseball player worth $110 million? How much are you worth?

The transformed person focuses on how much he or she is worth to God, not to the world. We are worth everything to him. We are worth so much that he sent his only Son into the world so that whosoever believes in him should never perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Peter reminds us that the faith we have through Jesus Christ is "more precious than gold that perishes" (1 Peter 1:7 NKJV). He also reminds us that when our lives are truly lived according to God's Spirit, we become a "hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which ... is very precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 3:4 AMP).

Some scientists have estimated the worth of the chemical components of the human body. The dollar amount is not very much—not even the price of ten bats!

It's far more important to know that God calculates the worth of every person by the fact that he created us, loves us, and sent his Son to save us. Each of us is of inestimable worth in God's sight.

Your worth to God is more than any contract that any athlete will ever sign. God will never trade you for anything—not even a few bats or multimillions of dollars.

Ask God to help you today know your worth and live it out accordingly!

Second Things First

Tough times are not always marked by decreased financial resources. Some tough times come when we have more money than we need. The issue that creates tough times is not the amount of money we have but rather getting our priorities straight.

Sometimes we get our priorities out of order. The consequence of getting second things first in a family or in our finances creates tough times. Take for example the teenager who came to me some time ago. She said, "John Ed, I'm terribly upset. You've known our family for years. When we were young we were in...