Lessons from Amos: Persevering In Difficulty

     “Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel: ‘Amos is hatching a plot against you right here on your very doorstep! What he is saying is intolerable. He is saying, “Jeroboam will soon be killed, and the people of Israel will be sent away into exile.” Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: ‘Get out of here, you prophet! Go on back to the land of Judah, and earn your living by prophesying there! Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!’ But Amos replied, ‘I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one. I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. But the Lord called me away from my flock and told me, “Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.” Now then, listen to this message from the Lord: “You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel. Stop preaching against my people.’ But this is what the Lord says: ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city, and your sons and daughters will be killed. Your land will be divided up, and you yourself will die in a foreign land. And the people of Israel will certainly become captives in exile far from their homeland.’” Amos 7:10-17 NLT

     What a daunting thing for Amos! He was just a shepherd, minding his own business, tending his stuff when God tapped him on the shoulder. Oh man! I can imagine what that felt like. I've been in hard situations like that. I think it took a lot of courage and trust in God for Amos to go to the king and face what he faced. The king said….get out of here you prophet! Ha!

     How about you? Has the Lord asked something of you and, in obeying, you felt accused, judged, rejected, opposed, or intimidated by others? I think Amos might have felt that way too.  It seems to me that that is part of the human condition. If we live on this earth, we get to experience these things from time to time.

     In ministry with others, we say, “It gets worse before it gets better,” and, “You’re becoming healthy enough to be sick.” We (myself included) come to counseling with a host of dysfunctions, unhealthy coping patterns, and heresies believed (twisting of truth). As we journey toward health, we start identifying and shining the light on things, embracing where we are, confronting things, and “becoming healthy enough to be sick.”

     Then, with God’s help, we begin the process of change. We learn to accept and like ourselves. We learn about codependency, what safe people look like, and how to set healthy boundaries. What we are often not aware of is…we are part of a family system that’s been in place for a very long time. When we change one part of that family system the other parts of the system are challenged. We are entering into new territory. Old patterns are changing and that can feel unloving and uncomfortable to the ones who are used to the way we were before….unhealthy as it was. We are confronting the unhealthy and embracing the healthy. We can receive opposition from those resistant to the changes. It can be a bumpy ride…”it gets worse before it gets better.”

     So, how do we persevere in the midst of the bumpy ride? We can examine our 51% (what do God and I think?), cling to His armor, and cling to His commitment to us. He is far more invested in our journey to health than we are, He is working behind the scenes in ways we can’t see, and He will never leave our sides. God help us to persevere, courageously…believing that You’re with us and You’ve got this. Whatever “this” happens to be.

     Let’s trust Him together. “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:23 NIV