Finding Joy When #TheStruggleIsRealSample

Day 2: Fixer Upper—Welcome to Reality

Millions of people watch “transformation” reality shows every week. Few things in life are as satisfying as seeing a home that was left for dead come back to glorious life. What’s even better—it is neatly packaged into a fifty-minute show that ends in a wow moment every time!

Transformation TV exists because we all long to believe that our lives can become better despite how screwed up we feel from our past or in the present. 

But TV isn’t reality. Ramshackle buildings don’t go from condemned to show-room ready in 50 minutes or less. And neither can we. 

I’ve got a newsflash for you: The Bible is the ultimate source of reality for your life.

Granted, the Bible doesn’t package up like a good reality show does. So many endings are left unwritten. So many relationships are left un-mended. Yet in the midst of all of it is life—real life—the way we actually know it. Hidden within those unfinished stories is an invitation to a life lived not from fifty minutes of “whoa!” to “wow” but from moment to moment, one choice at a time. 

To enter into God’s story means entering into a new “reading” of our lives, one not just defined by what we can see and experience but also by what God sees and experiences in us, what God is doing around us.

The whole story from the Old Testament was a shadow of what was to come in Jesus. He was the complete fulfillment not only of the smaller story of the nation of Israel, but for our time as well. What Jesus offered His followers is what our hearts still need now. He not only explained His Kingdom, but in His death and resurrection, He established that Kingdom right here, right now, in each of our hearts. 

To follow Jesus is a full-life conversion to a new “place.” When we step into Christ’s Kingdom, we are transferring our hearts to a new place spiritually. Rather than uprooting and replanting our bodies, we are uprooting and replanting our spirits. We become transformed. 

But remember, following Jesus is not going to be like a fifty-minute show that neatly ends in a “wow.” The struggle is real, and it’s not going away. However, what is happening in you, through you, and around you—that transformation —is also real. And it’s amazing. 

Conversation Starter: Everyone has something they wish they could change about themselves. What’s one small, wise choice you would like to make to better care for your body, your mind, or your heart this week? 

Getting Started: Think of one relationship in your life you’d like to improve and take a small step in that direction. Maybe it’s a phone call, an invitation to lunch, or a brief prayer offered up on that person’s behalf. Take it slow and don’t get discouraged. Remember, real transformation takes time. 

Verses: 

Psalm 139:23-24 

James 1:2

2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Romans 5:3-5