Matt Chandler - Trials, Temptations

There was a sociological study that rolled out this week. In fact, most of the major secular media outlets picked it up. It was a significant study on Instagram and its effects on us. Here’s the conclusion—not by Christians: Instagram leads to depression. Alright, Instagram leads to depression. Here’s why. We could just paint the picture of how it actually happens. You just finished binge-watching a whole season of something on Netflix, you haven’t gotten out of your pajamas that day, and you crawl into bed, grabbing your phone to start scrolling through your Instagram account. Here’s what you find: everybody’s marriage is awesome, their kids are incredible, they’re counting money, and they don’t struggle—there’s no pain and no sorrow. And here you are, in your trial, having eaten a whole gallon of ice cream while watching a series on Netflix that you already finished, and you start to resent them. You begin to grow in anger against them, thinking, «Really, Lord? I’m enduring this trial; what about them?» In your trial, your insidious, wicked heart will be exposed, and comparison is how it plays itself out. Just so you know, I’m not criticizing you; I’m criticizing us.

After my diagnosis with brain cancer, which happened around Christmas, I was in a dark place—no cape on me. Everything I saw felt lost. I couldn’t look at my daughters because I would think, «Oh my gosh, I’m not going to get to walk them down the aisle; I’m not going to help them navigate the travails of being teenage girls in this depraved day.» I couldn’t look at my son because I thought, «Oh my gosh, I’m not going to be able to encourage him to become the man he’s meant to be.» Everywhere I looked, I just saw loss. It was that time of year when everyone sends you a picture of their family and dog on a card. So, what Lauren does with those is put them all over our mantle and on our Christmas tree. I was sitting on the couch, Lauren and the kids were gone, and I was just feeling sorry for myself, really running through everything I was losing. I thought that the next two years of my life would poison and radiate me, and then I would just melt away; everything that was strong and fun about me would be gone forever. That’s where I was; that’s where my heart was. I don’t want to bully you—that’s where my heart was. It was dark.

I looked up, and on my mantle was a picture of a family, and the man in that family is a serial adulterer, a coward, and a fool. I thought, «Really, God? This is happening to me? I’ve done nothing but serve you. I’ve done nothing but pour out my life for your glory. I’ve done nothing but magnify your name, and this clown gets health?» I’ll tell you what, the Holy Spirit did not wait long to punch me in the soul. He quickly brought Luke 15 to my mind, and I realized I was like the older brother complaining outside. The Holy Spirit pressed upon my heart, saying, «This can’t be a victorious story of your salvation and reconciliation; only you can.» Plus, brother, I think you might be elevating your own worth here. Do you really think that my plan is contingent upon you being here? Brother, you’re going to go to the ground; come on home to me, and I’m just going to keep moving. I have hinged nothing on you, sweet friend.

It was a really beautiful, awful moment, and I’m grateful to God for it. When we’re enduring trials, we become hyper-aware of the prettiness of other people’s lives, and we begin to resent them. James, here through the power of the Holy Spirit, is saying, «No, no, no, no, no! It’s all level in the end!» Don’t believe the Instagram hype; everyone endures trials, everyone struggles. We’ll have seasons when the sky is clear and seasons when they’re cloudy. I am leading you into maturity; I am showing you that you need me. In the middle of this, we’re going to need encouragement, so the Holy Spirit knows that we’re going to need that. Verse 13 is here: «Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God, ’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then, desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death.»

So here’s the argument as it flows down: We need to see our trials as paths to maturity. We need to understand that trials make us consciously aware that we need God—the only thing we actually really need. And on top of that, be careful because you’re going to have to duke it out with doubt, and it’s going to be a fight! It’s like a Round 12, Round 13 hang-in-there-and-keep-swinging kind of fight. If you’re not careful, comparison will tag-team jump in there. If you’re not careful, you’ll be tempted and drawn, incited by your own flesh to betray God’s invitation to maturity and to get what you actually need, and that will lead to death. Hang in there; I’ve got you.