Hope For When We Hurt

Our lives were going through a period of transition. We had just move from Pennsylvania to Alaska. Familiar faces and places were gone. As we began to settle into a new ministry and make new friends, we were faced with our greatest challenge. I was diagnosed with cancer. Over the next six months there were tests, treatments and trips to Anchorage, which was 145 miles away, for treatments.

In the midst of the questions, pain and the sickness, God was my helper and my hope. His Word was one of my sources of comfort. It was a constant reminder of those truths that were my help and hope during those days. Things I believed to be true were now becoming part of my daily experience. They were:

1. God is omnipotent [1 Corinthians 1:8, 9; 2 Corinthians 12:9]. When the chemotherapy robbed my body of all its strength, there were times when I experienced God’s supernatural strength. On Sundays I was barely able to walk to the pulpit to preach and yet once there I experienced God’s power enabling me to deliver a 30-minute message. I was learning the power of my God’s grace – His all-sufficient grace.

2. God has a plan and a purpose for my life. [Jeremiah 29:11; James 1:2 – 4] Even though I did not understand what was happening or why, I held on to the truth that everything was part of God’s plan and purpose for me. My experience was nor random or purposeless. It has been over 16 years since my battle with cancer and it only now that I am beginning to appreciate what my God was doing in my life.

3. God loves me. I learned that God’s love for me was so great that what was happening to me was for my good and through it His glory. My difficulties did not negate God’s love for me but demonstrate His love as He uses them to build Christ-like character. I was learning that my God was more interested in building my character than in making me comfortable.

4. God hears and answers prayer. [Jeremiah 33:3; Romans 12:12; Colossians 4:2] There were days when I tried to pray and couldn’t put words together in any coherent fashion. All I could do was to sigh but my God understood and provided for my needs. During this time I realized how fragile life was and how important the little things of life were. I learned to be thankful for the little things in life. Things I would normally take for granted. When I could verbalize my prayers, I thank God for those little things.

5. God does not abandon us in our difficulties. [Hebrews 13:5, 6] Often during and in between my chemotherapy treatments I felt very lonely. People around me were very busy with life and because of my physical limitations I felt left out. My constant source of comfort was my awareness of God’s presence. Even though I felt lonely, I was never alone. I was learning that my God would not forsake me in my times of difficulty.

6. God used and continues to use my experience as an opportunity to minister others. [2 Corinthians 2:3, 4] My experience of God’s comfort was never meant by God to be singular experience. God intended for it to be multiplied as I shared my experience with others in their times of need. I can remember being asked to visit a man going through chemotherapy. When he saw me, his initial reaction was “go away, leave me alone.” Once I told him I was going through chemotherapy, his whole attitude changed and it allowed me to be an encouragement to him and provide me with the opportunity to share the gospel with him.

God is a God of hope – triumphant hope. It’s not about being delivered from this world’s pain and suffering but being able to experience His strength during our moments of light affliction [2 Corinthians 4:17, 18] and being able to see that they “work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

PS If you have a story to share, email us by clicking on the envelope below.

Hope's Benefits

“For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD: thou art my trust from my youth.” Psalm 71:5

When your hope is in God and His Word, your view of life totally changes. Listed below are some of the benefits that come from this hope. Hope gives the believer encouragement, enjoyment, restoration, a solution to problems, motivation, leads to godly living, boldness for witnessing and evangelizing.

"Hope enables the believer to face suffering with assurance. Hope also assures believers of their heavenly inheritance and to face death with confidence of an eternal dimension with their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Hope in a believer knows God's love, patience, compassion, His grace and mercy.

Godly hope encourages trust, belief in truth, repentance, self-denial, humility, thankfulness, prayerfulness, watchfulness, forgiveness towards others, hospitality, generosity, kindness, gentleness, unselfishness. There is hope for the sanctity of life, courage, always forward looking and being positive.

Hope gives a desire to the believer to walk with God and obey His will, and encourages a strong stand against evil as well as confident, victorious spiritual warfare.

Hope evaluates priorities; putting God first, living by His Word, preferring God's way instead of sinful advice, waiting rather than being impetuous, choosing to be creative instead of laziness and putting true riches above all earthly wealth, including anything that is temporal." [unknown]

Who is a believer? A believer is a person who has gone to Jesus Christ and confessed his sin and his inability to save himself. He understands that salvation is a gift from God and not something to be merited through good works. He recognizes that Jesus Christ died in his stead on Calvary and by that death bore his condemnation. He has asked Jesus Christ to forgive his sins and to be the Lord of His life. [Romans 3:23; 6:23; 10:9,10; John 1:12; Ephesians 2:8, 9]

Quiet Place

Our house is in a small village but the road in front of our house is quite busy most of the day. Just a few yards behind the house is a small stream. During the summer it dwindles down to a trickle and it often reminds me of Elijah hiding by the Brook Cherith.

When I sit beside the stream it’s like being in a different world. It’s peaceful – no noise from the constant stream of cars and truck riding past the house. It’s like not having a care in the world. It offers time to commune with God. For Elijah the isolated brook provided him a place of protection from Ahab. He was alone with God away from danger and totally dependent upon God for his daily provisions. When I take time to get away from the hustle and bustle of life, I am provided with the opportunity to be reminded of our heavenly Father’s care for us.

Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” [Matthew 10:29 –31] One day the Brook Cherith dried up but Elijah’s heavenly Father knew all about it and already had made provision for him in Zarephath. Why because he like us is more valuable than a sparrow and He cares for us.

I am going to miss the brook and all it offers when we move. I will have to find another place quiet peaceful place where God can remind me that he cares for me and will provide for both my present and yet unknown needs.

On Being A Missionary

The Great Commission is recorded in all four gospels and the Book of Acts. The commission encompasses the need for God’s people to tell all peoples and nations the wonderful gospel story. One consequence of the scope of the commission has been for us to turn the job of telling all peoples and nations to the professionals, the missionary. We send missionaries off to foreign lands and dangerous places to tell others of Jesus and His love for them. When they come home, we rejoice as we hear of peoples whose lives have been transformed and of churches being established. That’s all well and good but somewhere along the way we have missed out on what it really means to be a missionary, an ambassador for God to lost people.

After Jesus healed the demon-possessed man in Gerasa, he wanted to go with Jesus. In response to this man’s request Jesus said, “Go home to thy friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for thee…” [Mark 5:19] Here is a picture of a real missionary. If Jesus has changed our lives, those who are our friends should be able to see evidence of our encounter with Jesus. This is where our mission starts. At home, telling our friends. Strangers may hear what we say, but because they don’t know us, they have no idea of the transforming power of the gospel. Before he met Jesus and his life was transformed, he would run around naked, cut himself, yell at night in the cemetery and break the chains used to try and control him. After meeting Jesus we see the restlessness is gone. He is sitting, clothed and in his right mind.

Here is the real evidence of the gospel. Not what you are in the presence of strangers but what you are when you are with your friends and family. Here we see what it really means to be a missionary. “Go home to you friends…” Show them the difference Christ has made in you life. “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you.” When we say missions begins at home, don’t mean our country state, or city. We really do mean at home, the place where friends and family live. It’s time to stop turning the winning of the lost people over to the “missionary” and realizing the task of missions begin right after you accept Jesus as you personal Savior. It begins with those words, “Go home to thy friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for thee…”

What If God Said Yes To All Our Prayers

We would not be happy! Our prayers are based upon the limitations of our knowledge of our need, our understanding of the problem and our wisdom in solving the problem. God in His wisdom, goodness and love has a better understanding of our real need and in His wisdom provides the best solution to or problem.

If God gave us what we wanted, it would bring distinct disadvantages. Because tomorrow is unknown to us, our prayers may bring tragic consequences we are unable to handle along with an unwillingness to pray out of fear of what our requests will produce. In the wilderness the children of Israel prayed for meat and the Psalmist tells us “he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” [106:15] If God gave what we wanted all the time; do you think we would be happy? Consider the wisdom of Solomon - "Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." [Provers 15:16, 17]

Our heavenly Father gives us what He sees as best for us not what we want. As little children we have difficulty understanding that concept but as we mature, we are better able to comprehend the love, wisdom and perfect omniscience guiding His response to our prayers.

In not giving us what we want, God ‘s answers are far better than our highest hopes. Elijah was under the Juniper tree asking God to let Him die. God said no and later on he was translated. The apostle Paul prayed three times that God would remove the thorn in His flesh. God said no. Instead God increased the effectiveness of his ministry so much so that down through the ages this exchange between God and Paul have been a comfort men and women. “And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 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 12:9, 10]

If God said yes to all our prayers, we would be fearful to pray as a result of the consequences, we would miss out on the inner contentment that comes from God and we would miss out on some of the great blessings God has in store for us. The next time you pray; tell God how thankful you are that He responds with wisdom, love and omniscience in answering our prayers. Our good and His glory are the governing factor in all that God does or allows in our lives.

I would appreciate hearing your comments or testimonies regarding this series on prayer. Just use the “0 comments” link below.

Are Our Prayers Really Unanswered?

Unanswered prayer is a figment of our imagination. We pray as a response to God’s promise to Jeremiah. “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” [Jeremiah 33:3] We must first consider the question. “Does God hear all our prayers?” NO He doesn’t hear all our prayers. The Psalmist writes, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” [6:18] The concept in the original is that God will not hear with attention, interest or pay attention to my prayers. Sin destroys our fellowship with God and becomes a barrier to our communication with God. If I expect God to hear my prayer, I need to remove the barrier caused by sin by coming to Him and confessing my sin. [1 John 1:9]

How then does God answer our prayers? There are times the answer to our prayer is delayed. Consider Abram request in Genesis 15:1 –3 for an heir. It was 15 years before God answered that prayer and at the same time He denied Abram’s request that Eliezer be his heir. We should never confuse God’s delay with God’s denial. During period between our request and God’s answer, God uses that time to develop our faith, trust and patience. When He does provide the answer to our prayers, our appreciation of God’s timing enhances our worship.

In praying the absence of an immediate or definite yes can mean a definite no or delayed response. There is another alternative in discerning God’s answer to our prayers. In Genesis 18 we find Abraham praying that God would spare Sodom. He asked God to spare the city on behalf of 50 people. God agrees not to destroy the city on behalf of 50 righteous people. But Abraham has second thoughts and goes through a succession of requests that lower the number of righteous people from 50 to 10 and then finally stops. I will speculate as to why. Lot has a wife and four daughters. In spite of all that Lot was, the N. T. speaks of him as a righteous man. Could it be that Abraham felt comfortable stopping at 10 because if Lot’s daughters were married Lot’s family would have been what Abraham believed to be 10 righteous people in Sodom?

Does God spare Sodom? NO! Are the righteous spared? YES! Here we see a disguised answer to prayer. He saved the righteous but destroyed the city. God answered Abraham’s prayer but not the way Abraham wanted Him to answer it.

A final way God responds to our prayers is by denying them and then in His wisdom He provides something different but better. Consider David’s request to build the temple. It was turned down but God provide something far better. He gave David a promise that “his house and kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever.” [2 Samuel 7:16] His kingdom would not be taken away from his family like God to Saul. David’s lineage would produce the Messiah who would reign forever upon David’s throne. Yes David was disappointed he could not build the temple but what God gave him in return was far better.

God answers all the prayers he hears with one of five responses. He denies our request, gives us a definite yes, provides a delayed response, disguises His answer by doing what we ask in His way not ours or by denial of our request and providing something different in its place.

We often miss the blessing of God’s answer to our prayers because our eyes of faith are blinded by the erroneous concept of unanswered prayer.

Our next post will answer the question: What if God said yes to all our prayers?