In Jesus Absence
In Jesus absence upon the earth, He has sent the Holy Spirit to “guide us into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father – the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].”1
Paul Calls Forth Devotion
Paul encourages us to be confident in the Lord by having confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness.
“So then, being always filled with good courage and confident hope, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord – for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises] – we are [as I was saying] of good courage and confident hope, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore, whether we are at home [on earth] or away from home [and with Him], it is our [constant] ambition to be pleasing to Him.” ~2 Corinthians 5:6-9 AMP
“Only let your way of life be worthy of the Good News of Christ, that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your state, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the Good News.” ~Philippians 1:27 WEB
“For even though I am absent [from you] in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, delighted to see your good discipline [as you stand shoulder to shoulder and form a solid front] and to see the stability of your faith in Christ [your steadfast reliance on Him and your unwavering confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness].” ~Colossians 2:5 AMP
The Father is in heaven, and His Son, Jesus Christ is in heaven interceding for us. The Bible says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.”2 And why does the Lord do this? “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”3
Missionaries’ Choices in Their Absence
Not all compromise is negative. A good compromise takes place when we choose to prefer others. We can compromise by picking up groceries, taking an animal to the vet, or giving a co-worker a ride.
“A ‘good compromise’ is changing your habits and self in such a way that you grow more into your most full, authentic, best self. Putting in the work of ‘good compromise’ is a positive way to ensure you’re stretching and strengthening your soul so you can grow into your best possible self and increase your overall happiness.” ~Karen Salmansohn
A negative compromise is when we compromise the truth of God’s Word or act in an unauthentic way that affects the core of our being.
“A ‘bad compromise’ is changing your habits and self in such a way that you wind up becoming less of your full, authentic, thriving self.” ~Karen Salmansohn
When living in a foreign country, missionaries must choose what they will and will not compromise in their absence from their own country.
A family member who lived overseas for 12 years, chose not to compromise her name or her devotion to her home state. The family member did choose to forgo triumphing her native country as that would have caused issues in her host country. Her choice to compromise pride in her home country in favor of her love for Christ and in favor of her love for the people made a way for her to share the Gospel in her host country.
She remained authentic by keeping her name and firm roots in her home state but compromised by giving up pride in her home country, choosing instead to prefer Christ and her hosts.
Absence of Witnesses – Devotion or Compromise?
We want our devotion to be from the heart, and we do not want to compromise the core of who we are just because no one is looking. Doing what is right or wrong when no one is watching forms the basis of our character.
This quote by one of our former Presidents is one of my favorite quotes on character.
“The character that takes command in moments of crucial choices has already been determined by a thousand other choices made earlier in seemingly unimportant moments. It has been determined by all the ‘little’ choices of years past – by those times when the voice of conscience was at war with the voice of temptation, [which was] whispering the lie that ‘it really doesn’t matter.’”
“It has been determined by all the day-to-day decisions made when life seemed easy and crises far away – the decisions that, piece by piece, bit by bit developed habits of discipline or of laziness; habits of self-sacrifice or self-indulgence; habits of duty and honor and integrity – or dishonor and shame.” ~Ronald Reagan
In the absence of earthly witnesses, let us choose habits of discipline, self-sacrifice, duty, honor, and integrity because He Who sits in the heavens’ eyes are searching to and fro to support those whose hearts are completely His. Let us choose to honor Him whether man recognizes our choices or not. In the absence of praise and encouragement here on earth, let us continue to entrust ourselves to Him who is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Recommendations
How to Find God – Strength with Dignity
Important: You Need to Decide Your True North – Strength with Dignity
References
1 John 16:13 AMP1
2 Proverbs 15:3 NASB
3 2 Chronicles 16:9a NASB
18 Bible Verses about Absence. Published by Knowing Jesus. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from 18 Bible verses about Absence (knowing-jesus.com)
Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631.
New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB 1995), copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
Salmansohn, Karen. Good Compromise vs. Bad Compromise. Published by Oprah on November 19, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from Good Compromise vs. Bad Compromise (oprah.com)
World English Bible (WEB) by Public Domain. The name “World English Bible” is trademarked.
Bible Gateway Blogger Grid Member #bgbg2 #BibleGateway
Every Friday, I join an online Christian writing community, Five Minute Friday. The one word prompt this week is absence.
18 thoughts on “In My Absence – Reasons for Devotion or Compromise”
There’s just one hear to see this fight,
just one who knows my dying brand,
but even she can’t always quite
comprehend nor understand
the wall of pain that’s in my way,
a monster leaping from his lair
every hour of every day
because I really cannot share
the agony of which I speak,
that incubus from which I’d flee,
without the risk of looking weak,
a mewling cry for sympathy,
and so, to no-one’s great surprise,
alone is how the hard man dies.
It’s amazing how some things are for us alone to walk, Andrew. And yet, we are never alone for He is always with us. I have spent many hours pondering Jesus’s cry upon the cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” I know there are times that the depths of pain are so great, that it seems we are alone; and yet, He is there for He says in Psalm 139, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take up the wings of the dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will take hold of me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,” even darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.'” I believe He is always there – even when it doesn’t feel like He is there. May that bring comfort to you, Andrew, in these days of intensity. You are not alone.
I’m your FMF neighbor. I’m going to come back and read your complete post. I’m a mom in a hurry this morning to wake the household after my quiet time. I wrote and shared scripture also! I love your scriptures, and they mentored my heart this morning. THANKS! Jennifer
Thanks, Jennifer! May the Lord bless your day as you love on your children and guide their paths.
Lisa, I love this call to action. We have a choice but I mostly love that God’s eyes are everywhere searching for hearts that belong to Him. Oh, I pray to be His and for Him to see my heart.
It is such a comfort to know that He strongly supports us, Deborah!
Lisa, I love that God’s eyes are everywhere. It’s so comforting to know that we’re not alone, even when we are alone. I had to jot down 2 Chronicles 16:9 & Proverbs 15:3 in my journal, because your message touched me so. So I’ve got those verses down for extra reflection.
FMF #6
It is comforting to know that He is always with us, Paula, and that He strongly supports us.
I like that quote by Ronald Reagan. Have not seen it before.
It is one of his best quotes, though I have only seen it printed once, Sandra.
Lisa, Your post was thought-provoking, thank you. 🙂
Thank you for visiting, Annette!
Thanks Lisa. I loved all the Scriptures speaking of absence. I’m reminded that God is always seeing all that we do. He is our constant witness and rewards all that we do for Him, when nobody else notices or cares.
So true, Dawn, God sees and rewards all that we do unto Him – whether in this life or the one to come or both is up to Him.
Lisa I like the way you explored the word “Absence” here. especially Jesus’ absence from earth. How easy it is to slip into a mindset of thinking He is not coming back and becoming caught up in the world’s ideals.
I’m thankful we have a living hope, Donna!
Definitely! Every day we choose!
Yes, we do, Michele!