Pleasantville

Dates don't happen all that often for my husband and I, so a few weeks ago we tried to make the most of our time together and after the kids went to bed we watched the movie, Pleasantville. Pleasantville is about a teenage brother and sister that end up accidentally zapping themselves into the brother's favorite TV show. The show takes place in the 50's and is like the good ol' shows of Leave it to Beaver or Father knows Best. Everything in this show is pleasant. There's even a scene when the girl goes in to bathroom and finds there is no toilet. Nothing unpleasant in Pleasantville.

 Wow!!! Wouldn't it be great to take everything in your life that's unpleasant and have it just disappear! All the past mistakes you made, especially the ones that you are still paying the consequences for, would just zap out of your life with the push of a button on a remote. (As they would say in the movie) Gee, that would be swell! Or would it?

I saw this quote the other day: “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; If we did not sometimes taste adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” Oh how true that is!

On the show Pleasantville everything is in black and white but slowly everything starts turning to color. When you see the color of one rose in the middle of a black and white picture it really pops! Just as when you receive blessing and/or joyful news after a period of a very trying time. The blessing tastes even sweeter then it would had nothing difficult been going on in your life. That made me look a the thorns of life in a whole different manner. It's hard to go through difficult situations. They squeeze us and try us down to the very core of our being. They can wear on us and are physically and emotionally exausting. Sometimes we wonder why we're even in that situation. We don't always get to there through our own doing but at one time or another ALL of us will find ourselves in trying situations. When those times come, cry out to Jesus! Reach for Him! Though the situation stinks right now and can even be very painful, the light of day IS coming and with it, healing.

“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” Malachi 4:2

“Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will go your rear guard.” Isaiah 58:8

Just like Jesus wasn't afraid of the stench that would be in Lazurus's grave, neither is he afraid of the big stinky messes we get in. Though it looks dark and dead inside that place, Jesus has complete contol. He can breathe life into any situation and give hope where hope has died.

The tension we feel between good and evil and of sin and doing what's right will be there as long as we are on this Earth, but it is that tension that drives us closer to our Lord. We get emptied of the icky stuff inside of us and filled up with more of Christ. In this light, the tension can be a good thing.

“Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galations 6:9

Continue you to do the good you know the Lord wants you to do during these trying times. Don't grow bitter or angry or start playing the blame game. Which is easy to do. Instead continue to praise the name of the one who is worth all glory and praise. Read the Psalms, turn on the Christian music and keep your focus of this moment verses the span of time. Keep your focus on Jesus and loving Him.

“...we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope and hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts, by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us.” Romans 5:3-4

 It may not always be “pleasant” as we think of pleasant but in Christ we, as dearly loved children of God, are always free from the unpleasant things the world tries to chain us down with. We are free through Christ. Free because Satan has been stripped of his power. Free because Jesus has given us authority over sin, death, hell and anything else that gets thrown our way.

“When Jesus called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out demons and to cure all diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:1

“ In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”   I Peter 1:6-7