All to Him I Owe

Summer is quickly approaching and with that comes the planning of a family vacation! I love and look forward to our family’s annual vacation and have already begun to count down the days. My hope is that each of our families here at FBC will find time this summer to take an intentional time of rest and time together making memories as a family.

Some families love trendy vacations like Disney Land, Sea World, cruises, etc. They love to be active, stand in lines, eat out, fill every waking hour, and come home tired! Other families choose less trendy vacation spots. They like lakes, beaches, and places with no lines and no activities. I am definitely a less trendy vacation guy. I like rest, no schedule, and lots of quiet. The purpose of my email today is not to persuade everyone to vacation like me. My purpose is to give you a few thoughts that I hope will encourage you to simply take a much needed vacation and use it well this summer.

1. The difference between a forgettable vacation and and unforgettable vacation is not the location or attractions. The difference is the attitude of the family! A stay-cation can be just as memorable and enjoyable as a trip to Disney Land if the attitude of love permeates a family. Note the words of Solomon in Proverbs 15:17 and make sure you go into vacation with an attitude of love.

2. Study your family before you plan your vacation! Each year brings new challenges to our homes. Our kids get older and develop cognitively, and their strength and health changes. Study your family to see what plan of vacation best helps the particular season of life your family is in. A new mom with young children may need a week of physical rest more than a week of activity. A home filled with energetic junior highers and teens may greatly benefit from a vacation that leaves the kids tired at the end of each night. There is great wisdom in Mom and Dad sitting down and giving careful thought to the current needs of the family and planning a vacation accordingly. Don’t get trapped in the thinking that you must do a vacation just like everyone else is doing. Every family is unique. You do what God would deem best for your family right now.

3. Keep your vacation affordable. A vacation that puts you in debt is a surefire way to put a damper on your family vacation. A wife or husband that spends the vacation wondering, “How are we paying for all of this?” will be distracted from enjoying his or her family and being at rest. The memories of a fun-filled vacation fade away when we get back and begin looking at the bills from the trip. A slim budget doesn’t mean you can’t have fun! It may just mean you have to work harder at being creative in your planning.

Family vacations are FAMILY vacations! They are supposed to be about being together, deepening relationships, laughing together, playing together, and making memories. You may not have much money to spend on vacation this summer, but you can have a low-budget vacation that is wealthy in what matters–developing a stronger bond together and with the Lord. Don’t worry about comparing what you do with the people next door. You do what is best for your family within your means and for the right reasons.

I hope God enables each of you to build some “family equity” this summer.

Our family has been attempting to relocate here in Folsom. In our search for new housing, we have been reading contracts and rental home requirements. We are looking within documents for a full disclosure of our responsibilities for payment and requirements for living. Full disclosure helps us make wise and thoughtful decisions.

John 16:33 gives us full disclosure to our righteous lives here on earth. It says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” God’s full disclosure of life here on earth eliminates the element of surprise and enables us to focus on four right responses to the inevitable suffering of the righteous.

1. We must respond to suffering honestly.

Psalm 73:2 is helpful concerning this point. Notice how the Psalmist speaks openly and honestly to his suffering. He says, “But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.” He is not taking a “buck it up” or “real men don’t cry” mentality. He is honestly admitting the suffering and his vulnerability within it. In a similar fashion, we must respond through an honest admission of hard times and their impact on our lives. However, we cannot allow this to be the only element of our response. Notice the next three points.

2. We must respond to suffering by allowing God to deepen our relationship with His Word.

Richard Baxter said that “suffering unhinges the doors of our hearts to allow the Word of God easier entrance.” Have you found that to be true in your life? The Psalmist in Psalm 119 certainly found that to be true. Notice vss. 50, 67, 71, and 75. All four of these declare the profit the Psalmist received from suffering. The Word of God had comforted him (vs.50), kept him faithful (vs.67), taught him truths (vs.71), and reinforced God’s faithfulness to him (vs.75).

3. We must respond to suffering with a view that screens suffering through the lens of eternity.

I Peter 1:6-7 is so helpful in this regard. To those who have suffered or are suffering in something that feels like a lifetime, take comfort. Scripture teaches us that the longest suffering here on earth is still brief compared to eternity!

4. We must respond to suffering missionally.

The Psalmist Asaph and the Apostle Paul were both able to endure suffering because they looked at their suffering as a channel to one day help others who suffer.

Psalm 73:28 says, “But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.”

II Corinthians 1:4 says, “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

II Corinthians 1:6 says “And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation.”

We must not be surprised that God may lead us through something and give us something that is for a purpose bigger than ourselves. A missional response to suffering seeks to allow God to do things through us for the sake of others.

To each of you who has suffered righteously, have you responded right to righteous suffering?