We stepped off the plane and my back was thanking me. 20+ hours of sitting sitting and more sitting is the exact opposite of what the Doctor ordered. I injured my back a little bit before Thanksgiving and after seeing 4 different chiropractors I am not feeling better. I ended up getting an MRI and it showed that I have a moderate disc protrusion in my L5 – S1.
As I write this Sarah is lying in bed with some sort of sinus infection. She was in bed all day yesterday as well.
The both of us have been feeling discouraged and worn out. We aren’t sure if it is from these last two months of transition or if it is because of this last year being as busy as it has been, probably both. All the while we are in our new home in Cambodia away from most of our friends and family again with a few suitcases and our pup.
This morning I was walking on the roof of the guesthouse we are staying in. I got real with God and I told Him I need to know that He is real. You’d think I’d have resolved this already having left just about everything because of Him.
In asking Him this I somehow stumbled upon 2 Peter. Chapter 1 verse 16 Paul writes, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”
As I read that I looked over the surrounding houses from my rooftop view I realized I was looking over a people who follow a cleverly devised myth. Buddhism is a set of teachings leading to spiritual experiences. Is Christianity the same thing?
Peter seemed to face the same question. He was living in a time where people were saying Jesus was only an illusion. He did not really exist, they said. Or they said He was just a really good teacher. He didn’t really die and rise from the dead! Peter faced these accusations in a land where people followed cleverly devised myths.
His word to these people was “we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” How do you argue with that? It would be like someone telling me Sarah doesn’t really exist. My response would be, your wrong she is my wife and I sleep next to her every night. She is a real person, and so is Jesus.
Peter reminded me of that this morning. Because Jesus is real and He rose from the dead, so do I. Because He is not just a nice idea or a promoter of a new way of living, I can have confidence in following Him. He is real. And when I look out over the fields of Cambodia and houses upon houses are filled with people without Jesus and without hope in this world, it makes any doubts about following Him here to Cambodia cease.
If you are struggling today, be reminded that Jesus is real. He is not just some clever idea.
