Dancing in the Kingdom- Table of Contents
Dancing In the Kingdom – Part 3 – Dancing in the Kingdom– Chapter 15 – Reforming our Souls
Discipline of Distress[1]
[Bible references: Psalm 11:1-7; 24:1-10; Acts 4:23-31]
“Whenever you are in a time of stress, you should go to the Psalms. They have a medicine for everything, they depict every situation that a human being can be in, and they’ve addressed every emotion you could ever have. They also tell you how to process that emotion or about that situation before God.” [2]
Often in times of difficulty we are prone to turn our focus on whatever it is that is bothering us. This spiritual discipline, sometimes known as “don’t waste an illness,” helps us to confront what has caused us distress, and then to use our distress as an opportunity to lean more fully on God. Instead of being preoccupied by a difficulty we can learn to become occupied with the presence of God.
There are three ways distress can affect us.
- Distress tends to cause us to focus on the problem in front of us. Like Peter, when He saw Jesus walk on the water, tried to also walk on the water but he became distracted by the winds and waves and lost his focus on Jesus.
- At other times, distress can make us lean into whatever means of control we have, but again, we focus on the means of control that are right in front of us, forgetting that we are not the ones really in control.
- Also, as part of needing to control our circumstances, we may avoid acknowledging our suffering or our fears instead of being honest about them to God, which will allow those things to control us later.
When we are confronted by things that cause us distress, we can train ourselves to focus more on God than the situation immediately in front of us, to remember that the Lord is on the throne, that He knows our situation, that He is in control, and that He knows our fears and concerns, that He has a plan. In the future, we may be able to look back like Peter and Joseph and see God’s hand at work in times of distress.[3]
In difficult times, worrying may indicate that we are thinking that we know more than God about how things should be working, and we are worrying that He is not going to get it right. In fact, God may also be testing us, to help us come to grips with what is in our heart, to better understand ourselves, to grow in the faith and to examine our priorities.
[1] Keller, Tim. “Disciplines of Distress” Redeemer City to City 26 Mar 2020 redeemercitytocity.com/articles-stories/tim-keller-disciplines-of-distress
[2] Keller, Tim. “Disciplines of Distress” Redeemer City to City 26 Mar 2020 redeemercitytocity.com/articles-stories/tim-keller-disciplines-of-distress
[3] Peter is remembering that Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentiles, and Israelites were anointed to do what God had already predestined them to do. Gen 5:20, Joseph is telling his brothers that the very things that they had intended to do evil, God was going to use it for the good.
Observe
Read Psalm 11:1-7; 24:1-10; Acts 4:23-31. In these passages, what did the people concentrate on in their distress?
Dancing In The Kingdom 