Husband. Dad to 5. Student Ministry Pastor. Follower of Jesus. Yatta yatta.

WILL IT EVER STOP?

When was the last time you asked, “Will it ever stop?”

Maybe it was after a painful diagnosis?  Maybe it was during finals week. Maybe it was after a family fight or when another round of layoffs went through your work.  I don’t know when the last time you asked “Will it ever stop?” or “When is this going to end?”, but my guess is it was not on a good day.  It was not on a day when everything went ridiculously right.  On those days, we usually say things like, “Pinch me, I must be dreaming” or “I hope this day never ends“.  Instead, it’s the tough days, the difficult seasons, the moments when the pressure won’t stop and you just wonder if you can make it another day.  Those are the days we wonder, “Will it ever stop?”

To be honest with you, I’ve been asking myself that question a lot lately.  Mostly, due to the constant and perpetual breaking and stealing of my home and cars over the last 18 months.  In that time period, here’s a partial list of what has broken or been stolen:

  • My house water main broke 3x
  • The sprinkler system died and killed all our grass and lots of plants in the process
  • 2 sidewalks have been removed to fix water damage
  • Oven and stove
  • Microwave
  • Dishwasher
  • Wash machine
  • All the lower kitchen cabinets, sheetrock, and countertops due to undetected dishwasher leak that insurance denied coverage on
  • AC blowers/fans in truck and yukon
  • Power steering in my truck
  • Water pump in my truck
  • 10 other things on my truck that I don’t feel like typing- including a cracked engine block
  • DSLR Camera lens straight up died and won’t work
  • The yukon xl engine and transmission died and had to be replaced
  • Our couch (just after the warranty ran out) started to self destruct.
  • My house was broken into and they stole all our computers, tons of jewelry, some tools, money and my car

I wish that list was exhaustive for my lifetime or even that it had a period at the end so I could say, “I’m so glad that season is over”.  But, it doesn’t seem to be stopping.  My family vehicles are still breaking.  The drain from our AC unit in the house managed to clog itself over labor day weekend and is now spewing water all over the garage.  Yeah… it makes you want to scream. Truth is, some days I do.

Along the way, while my wife and I have had plenty of not-so-fun days dealing with this stupidity, we have also pretty much come to the conclusion that the answer to “Will it ever stop?” is this: “Nope.  It’s not going to stop. Not here anyway.”

Jesus warned us as much.  In John 16:33 he told us we’d have trouble and that peace comes from another realm.  In Matthew 6, in the sermon on the mount, he said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”   This call from Jesus has become somewhat of a motto of mine at this point.   I’ve been living in a home and driving in cars that are easily damaged by water, destroyed by rust, and taken by those who want to steal them and I can either try and fix that, or I can admit that “fixing it” only solves a temporary problem.

Don’t get me wrong, I like a nice car. I’d love it if my yard was not a desert wasteland and if my kitchen didn’t look like a water damage bomb went off in it.  And I’m working to do some of that, but evidently, that’s not how life is going to roll anytime soon in my world.   Even if I fixed it and put in a new kitchen, the truth is that in 20 years, the next home owner will be saying it’s old, outdated, and in desperate need of replacement.  My cars will wear out, my house is in a perpetual state of falling apart.  Everything in this world is that way.  It simply can’t hold my hopes for peace or value. It’s not designed to and money won’t truly fix anything of value.

This world cannot give what it does not possess.  The peace we all long for is not found in this world, so I refuse to find it there.  Instead, I’ll keep loving my wife, raising my kids, and fixing my junk with one priority in mind:  I’m putting my hope in the God of another realm.

Be careful what you store your treasure in.  Not all vaults are created equal.

(BTW: if you’d like to hear some of this story and a message I gave on re-engaging God in a series at our church, you can go here to give it a listen.)

Comments

  1. Will it ever stop? Great question, Last year I lost both my father and my boys dad within 3 months of each other. I cried to God…will it ever stop? When they told me I had a rare form of breast cancer on July 11 2013, I thought to myself will it ever stop? When they told me the cancer moved to my lymph nodes..I thought to myself will it ever stop? The doctors told me last week that they will remove both breasts and 20 lymph nodes in November…will it ever stop?

    It might not stop but my belief in God has never been stronger. I’m alive! I have people praying for me! My mom who wasn’t a believer is now a believer! God is walking with us every day through the tough times and good times. I have hope and faith through God.

    Brian, thank you for bringing God in my life. I don’t know how I would go through this journey without God.

    Much love
    Ms Linda

    • Linda,

      I’m so sorry for the craziness that you’ve been through with your body and so proud of you for trusting Jesus in the midst of it. I had no idea. I’m guessing if I was better on facebook I probably would have known some of this. I prayed for you today and I’m leaning on God with you and asking God to redeem all of it.

      Brian

      • Thanks Brian for your kind words. I like what you wrote on…Will it ever stop….
        I’m so grateful to have you in my life…you brought Jesus into my heart.

        You’ve touched so many…….
        Much love,

        Ms. Linda
        I still have my rose tattoo for now…..

  2. We are proud of you and your family for putting your trust where it truly belongs. It’s nice when all else goes right, but it often doesn’t. One of my favorite quotes from a sermon (and I don’t know the original source of the quote) is: “Count your wealth not by how much money you have, but by how much you have for which you would not take money” Love, Dad

  3. I was drawn to read your blog entry to the title, as I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed with major issues.

    I’d like to suggest two things after reading this:
    First, you said “Everything in this world is that way. It simply can’t hold my hopes for peace or value. It’s not designed to and money won’t truly fix anything of value.” I agree with the first pat, not the second. All of the rust and moths and thieves weren’t “designed” in this world. The world was “designed” to be that original paradise, where God spoke to man face-to-face. Then, the Fall – and decay entered along with sin. Suggesting a teleological “the world was designed to fall apart, and that’s why it does fall apart” ignores half of the Gospel. Jesus didn’t come just to make us feel better or give us a spiritual pep talk; He came to redeem us from sin and death, and even creation itself groans awaiting the the redemption and restoration of all things. That’s the reason we don’t find peace in this world: it is full of sin and decay, not because God “designed” it to fall apart.

    Second, I have serious reservations about your final statement, “The peace we all long for is not found in this world, so I refuse to find it there. Instead, I’ll keep loving my wife, raising my kids, and fixing my junk with one priority in mind: I’m putting my hope in the God of another realm.” Scripturally – yes, our hope is in the Lord, our God is or refuge and our strength, and we should store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. But HOW does one store up treasure in heaven? You seem to suggest that it’s done by ignoring everything in this world except for your own family, and trusting in a God who is totally absent from this world and has no connection to “this” realm. Maybe it’s the Calvinist in me, but I dislike the suggestion that “storing up treasures in heaven” means that somehow God is not present in this realm. God IS here, with us and for us, not in a pandeist sense, but certainly His realm is not entirely separate from this world. Even the final Escheton, is a renewal or recreation of THIS world. Furthermore, you suggest that laying up treasures means disembodied hope and loving your own family. I humbly quote Jesus here, “do not even the pagans do that?” Jesus commanded us to be the hands and the feet of the Gospel, not just having a sense of personal hope. He calls us to serve others in order to “gain treasure in heaven”.

    When I find the most peace about my own overwhelming situations is when I recall Jesus’ statement about finding heaven, Matthew 25:34-40:
    “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

    “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

    “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

    Heaven is found in hope and trust in Christ, but it is also found in ministering to others.

    • thanks for your comments. I’m glad it clearly got you thinking. I’m not sure we disagree on much except what you understood this brief post to be saying. Bottom line, all I intended to communicate was the “stuff” of the world, “your possessions” (regardless of how awesome or miserable those possessions might be) are not going to be the source of hope or peace we all long for. Jesus is. The focus was not to say that God doesn’t work in this world or exists only in another realm, or that his Holy Spirit is not present in my life or the life of others, or much of what you are reading into the between spaces. You might give the tagged message a listen if you want a more full treatment of God working and a few more stories of God’s work and presence in my own life to add to this mayhem of stuff I’m living in. So, I guess 1 John 2:17 is as good any summation of my intentions in this blog post. “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

      • Ok, that helps clarify what you mean; thank you for responding.

        And thanks for suggesting the tagged post, but as my username says…I’m deaf. So listening to online sermons is unfortunately impossible for me!

  4. And a last-minute clarification: heaven is not found in ministering to others WITHOUT Christ.

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