The Man and The Wall: Waiting for Superman

Faster than a speeding bullet he raced onto the scene.

Sometimes it was through a window sometimes it was even through the wall, and when the occasion called for it, it was through the doorway like the rest of us.

He showed up and he did what the rest of us wished we could do in those situations in life where a person who chose to impose their will on everyone else was stopped from doing so.

He stepped in front of the weak and he became their strength and he became their shield from the bullets and debris that would be flying all over the place.

If you could not get out of a burning building on your own, he was there to pick you up and fly you off to safety. If you could not escape an oncoming a bullet, he would deflect what you could not dodge. He stopped speeding trains and plummeting airplanes.

It was his smile to you when the smoke cleared that told you that you did really good on your part under pressure for the strength that you had and that everything was going to be OK. He would speak a word of encouragement, pat you on the shoulder and then fly away just as quickly as he showed up.

He was Superman.

I write quite a bit about Superman because I am in fact a Superman fan. I always have been and unless the story line gets too crazy I always will be.

I see in the character of Superman so much of what I want to be for the people that are allowed to be in my life.
I want to be strong, protective, vigilant, and patient. I want to "save the day" in the train wrecks life throws other people's way. I want to take the bullets for them and see through every act of frustration on their part and respond with a calm patience. I want that...

I am however, not Superman.

I fall short and my jumps in life are just enough to clear the first two steps out in front of the tall building Superman would so effortlessly jump in a single bound..

I think that if I had a dollar for every train I derailed instead of keeping it safe I would be a very rich man indeed, and in spite of my best intentions to protect my Metropolis, I end up in my own logic and reasoning becoming the Lex Luthor who strangles it to a position of becoming a shadow of what I know it's potential can be.

Have you ever rushed into the proverbial "Building on fire" only to discover that your rushing in weakened the structure causing it's premature collapse?
Have you ever found yourself doing more harm than good because you in fact are not the cure all you thought you were?

Once the train comes rumbling full speed out of control you had better be able to stop it because there are passengers who are hanging on for dear life depending on the fact the one who boldly stepped onto the tracks ahead really does have what it takes to help.

So what do we do when we realize that we are not the Superman that others need us to be?

David often found himself in this type of scenario. He did a lot of good and he did his share of wrong as well. He loved the Lord, and yet he found himself in this battle of dependence upon the God that he praised for His ability to stop the speeding bullets.

He praised God for His unfailing ability to be the only one to stop an out of control train wreck like Goliath and yet stepped in front of a runaway Mack Truck like Saul.

Right in the middle of this rampage through Metropolis David finds himself chased from his home, crawling through caves, and hunted like a wild animal. The Superman cape is torn and the blue uniform is ripped. The finely chiseled jaw of this superhero is cut and bleeding and worst of all...his very soul has been crushed. Can this really happen to a Superman?

Right in the middle of this struggle for a hero to stay on top of the pedestal that he has been unwillingly placed on we find him curled up in a cave and speaking something that comforts me when I go through cave times myself.

Have you ever went to hang your cape up at the end of the day and been discouraged about the condition that it is in as it goes back in the closet?

You know, the cape you wear as a parent, a spouse, a friend, and employee or employer, a grandparent, or even just as a person?

It looks so tattered now and at one time it was brilliant and red and it was a "Symbol" of something greater for others to ascribe to but now it looks like it is ready for the car wash towel pile. Look at what David has to say;

"Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah." ~Psalms 3:1-2

Please notice that David is taking an honest look at the circumstances around him and these are the result of him trying to stop a train by himself.

Notice the word "SOUL". This word is one to describe our Mind, Will, and our Emotions. The popular consensus of the day was "Ain't nobody got time for that. No one, not even God can help this man."

Have you ever felt this way? Beyond hope.

What happened Superman?

Then look at the response because this is for us!!!

^"But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the Lord sustained me." ~ Psalms 3:3-5

David acknowledged within his spirit that he was not Superman. It is OK to understand that you are not the master of the universe.

David said, "Father, you are my bullet deflector, you stop every bullet that flies through the air and you are my strength. You literally hold my head up. Without you I am a spineless mess. You hear me with super hearing and you see me with x-ray vision, and I can find complete rest under the shadow of your cape."

BAM!!!

I love the word "Sustained", because it means God alone keeps it going. When I step onto the tracks in front of a runaway train, it is me who is going to get creamed and not the train.

When I intervene in the life of another in my own wisdom and strength I will do more harm than good. I need to be clothed in Christ. It is not me that they need, it is Him.

I am not Superman and neither are you.

To expect anyone to complete the work of Christ in another person's life will only lead to disappointment and regret. It is in the realization of this which causes us to recognize and establish God in our hearts as the only one who can stop the bullets in our life and in the life of another.

"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." ~ 2 Corinthians 12:10

I know you like the way that the cape hangs off your shoulders because I do as well, but today can I challenge you to surrender the self imposed responsibility to save the city to the One who truly is THE Superman!

Take the cries of the citizens of Metropolis to Him and allow Him to be in their life who He claims to be. When you are in a position where God opens the door to help with the runaway trains, then understand where your true strength comes from.

Wait on Superman!

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." ~ Isaiah 43:31