Highs and lows, ups and downs, good times and bad. I suppose everyone experiences the roller-coaster of life that is made up of a series of successes and failures. I know I have. I remember early in my ministry I was building a church. I remember how excited I was the day we broke ground. I was out at the sight taking pictures of surveyor flags, getting in the way of the contractors, and asking the project manager a thousand questions a day. For the first two years of my ministry, I was laser focused on getting that church built. So, I was exceptionally excited to see the foundation poured and I could hardly contain myself when the walls started going up.
My excitement might have something to do with the fact that we had been worshiping in a Masonic lodge. The Masons were nice landlords but every Friday they had a fried fish dinner which meant every Sunday our makeshift sanctuary, which had to be set up and torn down every week, smelled like fish. It was hard enough to convince guests to come worship in a cinder block building with no windows that was used by a secret society Monday through Friday but to have those guests show up to your place of worship and have it smelling like two-day old fish… it made it nearly impossible to convince anyone to come back for a second visit, a few did, but not many. (Musicians, next time I complain about speaker wires or microphone cables laying around, remind me about the fish smell in my first church to give me a little perspective.)
We started building the church in June, which is the beginning of hurricane season. We built the church In Mobile, Alabama, which is on the gulf of Mexico. You can probably guess where I am going with this. The first storm to arrive was Dennis. Much like our own Dennis that storm was a powerful no nonsense system that was a force to be reckoned with but, in the end, hurricane Dennis turned out to be a gentle giant that was kind to our church. But then came hurricane Katrina. You may have heard of that storm before. It was one of the worst storms to hit the gulf coast in years. That storm was so big that it spun off tornadoes here in Georgia. Hurricane Katrina is most well known as the hurricane that flooded New Orleans, but I will always remember it as the hurricane that destroyed my church. As the last feeder bands of Katrina were passing over the house, I loaded my family into the truck and raced to the site where we were building the church. When we got there, we discovered everything had been destroyed. Not a timber was left standing. Two years of planning was reduced to a pile of rubble in a matter of moments. My little family huddled together at the edge of the debris field and cried.
Highs and lows, ups and downs, good times and bad. We all have them. The roller coaster of success and failure isn’t just a ride for clergy. There are seats on that ride for medical professionals, accountants, administrators, educators, engineers, executives, and the like. Whatever your profession, occupation, or vocation there is a seat on that rollercoaster for you. As a matter of fact, it doesn’t really matter if you are gainfully employed or not, it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman, it doesn’t matter if you are young or old. If you are living life, you have already been strapped into a seat and have likely already experienced the dizzying and disorienting effects of this ride for yourself.
The ups and downs, highs and lows, good times and bad can have a sickening effect on a person, especially when the devil straps himself into the seat beside you. One moment the devil uses the ups, highs, and good times to tempt you with pride and in the next moment he uses the down, lows, and bad times to tempt you with despair. That’s why years ago I borrowed a phrase from my son Aidan and have adopted it as my own. The phrase is, “it be like that sometimes…”. Don’t get worked up about the poor grammar of the phrase, indeed the phrase itself is a reminder not to get too worked up about anything. “It be like that sometimes” is the mantra of a mellow mind. It knows that good things don’t last, and it is not surprised when bad things often follow the good things and it doesn’t sweat the bad things because as the old Persian proverb says, “this too shall pass”. Or as Aidan would say, “It be like that sometimes…”.
I doubt Paul and Barnabas used this mantra, but they certainly lived it. I am not sure they knew it when they set out for the first missionary journey to the Gentiles, but Paul and Barnabas were strapped into a violent rollercoaster with delightfully high highs and dreadfully low lows. One of the more dramatic sections of their journey occurred in the city of Lystra. Saint Luke records the event for us in Acts 14:8-22.
Paul and Barnabas should have known things were about to get bumpy. Lystra was a town in Asia Minor that was filled with superstitious pagans. Typically, when Paul and Barnabas arrived in a new town the first place they went was the local synagogue. We don’t read anything about a synagogue in Lystra, possibly because there wasn’t one. Paul and Barnabas were deep into pagan territory which is probably why the people reacted the way they did when Paul healed a man who had been crippled from birth. Luke tells us, “11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.” Talk about a high high! The people of Lystra were so impressed by the miracle Paul performed that they assumed Paul was a god and not just any god but Hermes, the right hand of Zeus himself, which they assumed must then be Barnabas. You see, there were legends about Zeus and Hermes putting on disguises and visiting towns to see how the people would react. Not wanting to take a chance of offending Paul/Hermes and Barnabas/Zeus the priest of Zeus was prepared to offer sacrifices to them.
The people of Lystra treated Paul and Barnabas like gods. I am not sure about you, but I have never had that happen to me. That is not to say I have not had some high highs. One high that stands out for me professionally was the time I welcomed 18 people into membership at my church and baptized 5 people during the same worship service. That was a pretty high high. I am sure you have experienced something like that before. I am sure you have tasted similar success in your life. Whether it was in your personal life or professional life, I am sure you have found yourself sitting at the very top of the rollercoaster admiring the view. As you think about one of those moments, do you remember wondering how you got there? Did you say to yourself “I did it!” and did you look around to see who noticed what you did? I am not saying that you should never have satisfaction in a job well done, but there is a very thin line that separates satisfaction from pride. When you are on top it doesn’t take much for the devil to get you to cross that line. It doesn’t take much for the devil to convince you that your success is a result of you and you alone.
Can you imagine what would have happened if Paul and Barnabas would have given into the temptation of pride? They would have enjoyed a good meal and whatever other pleasures the people of Lystra could provide, but if Paul and Barnabas became the gods of Lystra then the greatest missionary who ever lived would have never gone on his second, third, or forth missionary journeys and he would have never known the joy of seeing thousands of people brought to faith. Not only that, but worse than that, if Paul and Barnabas had given in to pride then they like all other people who give in to pride would have been guilty of sinning against God.
Paul and Barnabas would not allow their pride to push God aside. As an expression of sorrow, they tore their clothes rushed out into the crowd and shouted, “15 Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God.” Paul and Barnabas wanted the people of Lystra to focus on Jesus. They wanted them to focus on the One who left the heights of heaven came down to the depths of earth and humbled Himself so that everyone who had ever, who has ever given in to the temptation of pride could be forgiven.
Paul and Barnabas were not interested in the trappings of success that the people of Lystra offered them. They knew the praises of men would not last, they knew “it be like that sometimes.” They knew it was only a matter of time before the rollercoaster came crashing down from, in their case mount Olympus, and plunged them to undesirable depths. But I doubt Paul and Barnabas expected the ride to drop so suddenly and so violently. Moments after Paul and Barnabas convinced the people of Lystra they were not gods, Luke tells us, “19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead.” Friends, lows don’t get much lower than that. Having rocks thrown at your face to the point where your motionless body is dragged to a ditch and left for dead is what you call a low low.
The people of Lystra tried to murder Paul. Now, I am hoping that nothing like that has ever happen to you. But I am guessing you have experienced a low low before. For me it was when a young woman, who I had confirmed into the faith, stood in front of me and screamed profanities in my face, making it extraordinarily clear that she was not a fan of pastor Lewis or the God he served. I also hope that has never happened to you, but I wouldn’t be surprised if something just as gut-wrenching or scary or disappointing or sad has happened to you. Whether it was a result of your own failure or the failure of another, I am sure you have found yourself sitting at the very bottom of the roller coaster trying not to lose your lunch. As you think about one of those moments do you remember wondering how you got there? Did your insecurities bubble to the surface and send you into a woe-is-me kind of depression? Now, I am not saying you should never allow yourself to get depressed, being a sinner living in a sinful world makes that exceedingly difficult, but there is a very thin line that separates depression from despair. Despair is deeper than depression. Despair causes a person to throw in the towel, doubt God’s goodness, and to give up all hope. When you are at your lowest low it doesn’t take much for the devil to fill you with despair.
I think most people would understand if Paul threw in the towel. No one would have blamed Paul if he decided missionary work was not for him. From what we know of Paul I am sure he would have found success in a line of work where there was less potential for rocks to be thrown at your head. But if Paul would have given up all hope, he would have never known the pleasure of working with a young believer named Timothy. You see, Timothy lived in Lystra, and that young man was watching to see how Paul would react, not when he was riding high, but when he was sitting low. Not only that, but worse than that, if Paul had given in to despair he, like all those who give into despair, would have been guilting of sinning against God.
As he lay in the ditch outside of Lystra, Paul was down, but he was not out. Luke tells us, “20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. 21 They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.” Paul got up, he went back into the city, and he kept preaching about Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins because the empty tomb of the one who died to forgive the sins of those who had, who have given in to the sin of despair had chased away all of Paul’s doubts. Paul knew from personal experience that life was full of hardship, but he didn’t let it fill him with despair because… it be like that sometimes.
Highs and lows, ups and downs, good times and bad. Life is like a roller coaster of successes and failures. The devil is going to take advantage of the highs, ups, and good times to tempt you with the sin of pride. Likewise, he is going to take advantage of the lows, downs, and bad times to tempt you with despair. If you want to resist the temptation of pride when you are riding high focus your attention on Jesus who endured the humility of the cross in your place. Likewise, if you want to resist the temptation of despair when you are sitting low, focus your attention on Jesus whose empty tomb fills you with hope. As long as you are focused on Jesus it doesn’t much matter where you are at on the roller coaster of life. Whether you are riding high or sitting low you can turn to the devil and say, “it be like that sometimes.” Amen