The Five Rings to Combat Suffering Pt. 4 | The Signet Ring
YOU HAVEN’T LOST ANYTHING
Have you ever lost something that just crushed you? Or felt like you were missing out, that you worked so hard for something that was taken away, or felt so behind you thought you’d never achieve your purpose?
I want to share an important truth with you today. You haven’t lost anything, you are not behind. God is not delayed, and everything is right on time. You are not running out of time. In fact, if you are a believer then the very definition of eternal life is that it will never run out.
FRIENEMY
I had a frienemy in elementary school who was on my gymnastics team. I say “frienemy” because we got along fine, but secretly, I was so jealous of her cause she was the best gymnast on the team. She was flawless, won everything and already talking about getting a coach to train her for the Olympics. She even had local news stations doing stories on her - she was that good. She loved it and she wasn’t pushed into it or burnt out. She had a fire for the sport in her eyes.
One day she had a bad fall on beam, then a few weeks later, she came into the gym crying and said the doctor said she couldn’t train anymore or it could cause permanent damage to her back. I’ve seen adults struggle with the loss of jobs, but I will never forget the look of heartbreak etched on her face. There is something just so utterly heartbreaking about that kind of loss.
TWO QUESTIONS
For me, it brought up two very deep questions. What if I ever had to face something like that? Say, I love to dance… what if I lost my ability and how could I handle it?
How do you move forward from something like that without losing your marbles, a.k.a. your mind?
Is it even worth putting that much energy into anything if it can just be taken away at any time?
POWERFUL SYMBOL - WHAT DOES THE SIGNET RING REPRESENT?
To answer these two questions, there is a very powerful symbol that I want you guys to call to mind when you face anything similar. The symbol is a Signet Ring. Now if you’re not familiar, a Signet Ring was used in the olden days as a form of a signature and a seal. If a king sent a letter they would put wax over the opening and imprint their signature ring into the wax so that the person receiving the letter would know it came from authority and it hadn’t been opened or tampered with.
THE SEAL
People are bound to lose important things in this lifetime - family, friends, possessions, wealth, success, the list goes on.
If you believe that this life is all there is, then not only can you lose things, but due to the 100% death rate of humans - you’re actually guaranteed to.
So how can my introduction statement be true? How can I say you and I haven’t lost anything?
TWO ECOSYSTEMS
The answer is because this life is NOT all there is. There are two ecosystems playing out, one is dying the other is thriving.
You get a choice on which one you want to be a part of and which you will invest your energy and treasure in.
Like what we’ve discussed in last week’s video; the choice of whether to invest your life into God’s Kingdom or man’s is the most important investment decision you will ever make.
JOSEPH’S JOURNAL
I want to share a page from Joseph’s journal. Joseph was one of the 12 sons of Jacob who became one of the 12 tribes of Israel.
“It’s all over he thought, I have lost everything. ...again. When I was younger I had a dream that I would do something great with my life. I even had a vision from God that I would be some kind of great leader, but then my brothers got jealous of me. They didn’t like how much my father adored me or the special coat he gave me. They threw me in a pit and sold me as a slave. I should have given up but no I kept the faith I stayed on the right path.
I thought maybe God was still working in my favor because I became a steward to Potiphar, one of the Pharaoh’s officials. When I was finally back in the game and making progress toward the man I thought I was called to be, my boss’s wife hits on me, I do the right thing and refuse and she accuses me of attacking her! I will be in prison for life for this. Some leader and a great man I will become. Everything has been taken away, everything.”
Luckily Joseph didn’t decide to give up, he instead chose to maintain his trust in God. Due to his ability to interpret Pharaoh's dream he was made governor of Egypt and ended up saving his people from a great famine, every evil that was done to him was weaved perfectly together to bring him to that exact place and time he needed to be to save the entire nation.
What you meant for evil, God meant for good.
The Bible teaches that God does not cause evil nor does he delight in your frustration or pain. He does know everything and knew it before you were born.
He has promised to weave everything for your good and his glory.
Joseph's brothers were responsible for doing great evil against him by selling him into slavery and God was very truly heartbroken for Joseph and comforting him in that pit. But God also had much bigger plans for the situation than Joseph's brothers did.
When Joseph confronts his brothers he gives the famous quote.
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
THE GREATEST DANGER
Joseph was able to survive the terrible circumstances because he set his hope on God’s word and promises. He continued to trust and obey him even when things looked hopeless. Had Joseph abandoned God and gone his own way he would have never received the vision to interpret the Pharoah’s dream or been in a position to save his people.
The greatest danger we have is to leave God’s Kingdom and try to do it on our own. When you are following God, you can trust that nothing you go through will be pointless. God doesn’t waste a thing. When you invest in His Kingdom, you will never lose anything permanently.
THE PRODIGAL SON
The Gospel of Luke tells a story of great inheritance and a greater family in the well-known parable of the Prodigal Son.
A son asks his father for his inheritance, then squanders it recklessly as he lives a life of indulgence. He returns to his father to beg for forgiveness and asks to be his servant.
However, upon arriving at his father’s house, he was welcomed with loving arms. His father is overwhelmed with joy at his son’s return, and holds a feast in his honor:
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”
https://www.nationalshrine.org/blog/the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son
A GREAT INHERITANCE
If you didn’t catch it, the Signet Ring is mentioned in this story of the wayward son, giving another powerful metaphor of what it represents.
When he returned, the father put a ring on his finger to identify him not as a servant, but as a SON of the master.
His inheritance was great but even though he squandered it, he had something even greater; he was still part of the family. Even if we have squandered our inheritance and not been diligent, we can still return to our loving father and he will still provide for our needs. He has placed a ring on our fingers to identify us as part of his family.
3 IMPORTANT TRUTHS
1. God will rebuild you.
“Enemies came against you like storms, and no one comforted you. But I will rebuild you. I will use a beautiful mortar to lay the stones on your walls. I will use sapphire stones when I lay the foundation.”
2. You have infinite time.
If your true goal is to bring glory to God, then if you have prayed about something and not received it yet, you shouldn't be frustrated. It could be to direct you down a certain road, to meet a certain person, to help someone, to learn or grow like Jesus. Regardless of The Why, you can trust The Who.
You can trust that He has you exactly where you should be.
You haven’t missed out on anything, there is no race. Have you grasped that you will be alive for all of eternity? We get anxious when we think we are running out of time, but the truth is you will never run out of time.
Maybe also ask God, why are you saying not yet? What do you want me to learn or enjoy here now? How can I bring you glory in my current circumstances?
3. You have a great calling.
The Signet Ring comes from the word “signature”.
You have a great calling and purpose. You carry God's signature in this world. You are called to be the hands and feet of Christ.
The Signet Ring he has placed on your finger gives you great authority and protection against any power that might come against you.
The gates of hell can’t stand against that authority.
I’m sure you’ve seen the picture of the mother lion standing behind the baby and the prey looking all intimidated. That is a picture of us when we have God behind us. Your enemies will flee from you.
TWO SIDES TO THE COIN
Lastly, let me ask you a trick question: can opposites be true at the same time without contradicting each other?
They can be if they are true about different aspects of a thing. For example, watching a child grow up and leave are both beautiful and painful at the same time. It isn’t beautiful that you feel disconnected, it’s beautiful that they are growing. It isn’t painful that they are growing, it’s painful that you feel disconnected. They can both be true and opposite because they are referring to two different sides of the same coin.
The Bible doesn’t shy away from the fact that these tensions exist. This is especially true in wisdom literature, like the Book of Proverbs, because wisdom by definition isn’t just about applying rote responses without thinking. It’s about learning when to apply the right principles.
Many imbalances happen when you take one principle too far without remembering its opposite.
The Signet Ring represents the perfect balance. It both reminds us of both sides of the coin; that every day has urgency and purpose, but is also in the hands of the sovereign God.
HEADS
In one sense, the Bible teaches us to make the most of every opportunity. We have God’s signature and authority, we are to be His hands and feet on earth. We can make a real difference and we should take that responsibility with all diligence and stand in awe of how much purpose he has packed into our day. We will never have this day again.
This sense of urgency makes life exciting and purposeful. There is something unique in each day, and to that day alone - and to what God wants us to do that day.
TAILS
On the other hand, it also reminds us that our inheritance is sealed. No one can snatch anything out of the Father’s hand. You have eternity, you are not running out of time. You are where you need to be, so enjoy the day because there is no need to rush.
If you only focus on the urgency of your calling without remembering God’s sovereignty, you’re going to end up with an anxiety attack. You're not going to be useful because you’ll be so focused on all the things you think you missed or messed up.
If you only focus on God’s sovereignty and never consider the urgency of our calling, you might conclude it’s a good idea to lie on your couch all day. And for those like me, feeling unmotivated is one of the worst feelings.
But when we remember to balance both principles, only then do we get purpose and peace.
IN CLOSING
Your Signet Rings remind you that
You are a part of the family of God
You are chosen for a great purpose, there is an urgency to our calling.
And you have a great inheritance coming that can never be taken away. It is sealed in heaven waiting for you and nothing of value will ever be permanently lost.
We are all God’s - that is our one and true signature.
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