Remember Reality

We live in a world governed by specific rules.

The earth rotates in a 24-hour cycle that causes night and day. Sometimes we are thankful for the morning, other times we grudgingly drag ourselves from the bed.

Water is wet. When we are in a pool or an ocean on a hot day, we are thankful for this. When we are carrying a load of groceries in the rain, making the mad dash from the car, we resent this.

Gravity exists. If I drop my phone, it falls hard to the ground. If I bump a drink, the cup tips over and all the liquid flows down to the lowest point.

We get annoyed and frustrated at these things. You know what we never do? We never deny their reality. We never say the morning won’t come because we feel the weight of a long, dark night. We never say water is bad because we don't like the feeling of wet clothes. We never say, "Because I am angry or hurt, gravity cannot be real." It never occurs to us to attempt to explain away or voice a different reality of these rules of our world. They are what they are, and we must contend with them on their terms. We don't rule reality; we live in it.

There's another rule of reality that governs our experience; one that we have no part in defining and shaping. That reality is God. He declared Himself "I AM," making it abundantly clear that He is. We don't make God or shape God. He is the same today as He was in the beginning and as He will be into eternity. And yet, consistently and persistently when life gets hard, when injustice rules and we are hurt and knocked down, we cry that God must not be real or that God doesn't care. We say things like, "Why is God doing this?" "Why doesn't God do something?" Or "There is no God or He wouldn't let this happen." All of a sudden, our reality shifts and it begins with us, not Him.

Undeniably, there are some really tragic and horrible things going on in our world. Everywhere I look I see people carrying heavy burdens. They begin to breathe again from one burden and another comes along and knocks them down like relentless ocean waves. I see people who are tired and exhausted of the burdens of life. I can't deny that I feel overwhelmed and at a loss. I can't deny that I have asked "God, why?" Or that I have wondered at the purpose and plan for such tragedy. I am struggling to see hope and light. I pray every day for God to have mercy. I have no easy answers for the assault of tragedy and struggle in my world right now.

And so, here I sit, contemplating reality. I know that God exists. He has moved and spoken into my life. I know that He defines us and our world. He has declared His being and His intentions clearly. There are 6 rules of reality I choose to remember in hard times:

1. We are made...In Genesis, God said, "Let us make man in Our image according to Our likeness." We are God's image. As creations, we can rest in knowing that our Creator has created us with care, intention, and purpose. This rule of reality is not changed by our circumstances.
2. We are fallen...Isaiah 59:2 states, "But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God..." God placed us in a perfect paradise and gave us dominion to rule. We disobeyed and sinned, so our world changed. Struggle, pain, disappointment, and discouragement entered. This world is not as God intended. We became separated from His perfect harmony and justice but that does not mean those things no longer exist. It simply means they are located a distance away and we are on a journey back to them. This rule of reality is not changed by our circumstances.
3. We are pursued...God still chose to move among His people. In Exodus 6:7, He declares to Israel, "I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." Over and over throughout the Old Testament, God pursued His people. He also hinted that this pursuit would extend beyond Israel in the fullness of time. When was time full? When God sent His son. "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God" (Galatians 4:4-7). God has pursued His creation since the beginning of time. This rule of reality is not changed by our circumstances.
4. We are ransomed and restored...The death and resurrection of Jesus closed the chasm between us and our God. Time and space shifted, and our journey away from God became a direct path to Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him" (John 3:16-17). We have already been given indescribable grace in that "while we were yet sinners Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). This rule of reality does not change with our circumstances.
5. We are not alone...Jesus himself tells us he is with us. “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). In John 14:26, Jesus promises, "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all the things that I have said unto you." Finally, in Revelation 3:20 we receive this promise, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” This theme of God's presence in our lives is woven through all of scripture. This rule of reality does not change with our circumstances.
6. Nothing can separate us from the love of God…Paul reminds us of this reality in Romans 8:38-39: "For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!” This means that these hard things have limited power over us. This rule of reality does not change with our circumstances.

I can't say why this pain and tragedy is happening. I can't tell you it's all part of the plan because I don't know that God plans suffering. All I can say for sure is that God IS. This law of reality governs our existence. He is active and present in the lives of those who call on His name. We also know that He is Good¹, He is just², He is holy³, and He is loving⁴. Let us choose to remember these things.

And let us obey the call from Galatians 6:2: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Christians, let’s carry one another's burdens and tell those who are burdened, "I will stand with you and cry. I will help you shake your fist and scream at injustice. I will also help you hold your arms high in praise." Questions, doubts, pain, and hurt do not define reality. God does. And because He does, we have a reason to hope.

¹Psalm 34:8
² Deuteronomy 32:4 
³ Leviticus 19:2
⁴ Psalm 86:15

Julie Malecki

Julie Malecki lives with her husband, two kids who have recently become adults, a cat, and a dog in a house with more bookshelves than closets. As of June 2023, she is officially retired from her long-time vocation as a home school mom but still has a heart to encourage and breathe life into the Christian community at large. She is a graduate of the Circe Apprenticeship and received her certificate as a Master Classical Teacher. She is passionate about Classical Education, great books, insightful authors, enduring words, and seeing God’s fingerprint on the cosmos (the well-ordered whole of reality).