Life's Storms

This is a rerun of an earlier posting. Considering the times, I thought it appropriate.


Is there hope in the midst of life's storms? The obvious answer is yes. Then why do I still feel so hopeless and so alone when facing life's difficulties? How do I correct the disconnect between knowledge and emotion? It is so much easier to speak the truth to others then to personally experience the truth in the storms of life.

Where do we begin? Let's start with the Word of God and view both sides of the picture. Let's see the difference between what the disciples perceived to be true and what was really true. In Mark's gospel, we read that as the disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee at night a storm arose. It as a raging storm that threatened to capsize their boat and cast them helpless into a raging sea.

How did the disciples respond? Their response was one of aloneness and a paralyzing fear. Why? They neither fully understood the person of Jesus nor remembered his teachings. While they were in the midst of the storm, what did they fail to realize? They were totally unaware that Jesus was praying for them and that He was totally aware of their dilemma. Mark says that from the mountain top where Jesus was praying "he saw them toiling and rowing."

Faith makes real for us two very important truths. The first is that Jesus sees us when we cannot see Him. Secondly He is with us even when He is physically absent.

We must learn to focus on these same two truths. The first, the Bible tells us that Jesus is at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. [Hebrews 7:25]

The next truth has two facets to it. He has promised never to leave or forsake us. [Hebrews 13:5, 6] Since this is true, He is always knows our difficulties.

How then do I keep from the same disconnect the disciples experienced? How do I keep from feeling a sense of aloneness that allows me to be overcome with fear and hopelessness? Let me suggest four simple thoughts.

First, be a good student of the Word of God and commit the truth of God's Word to memory. Second, remind yourself of theses truths as often as possible so that in difficult times they will be a source of comfort and hope. Third, recognize there is no disconnect between the physical presence of the Lord and His presence. Jesus does not have to be physically present to comfort and strengthen us. Lastly even though you do not feel Jesus presence, it does not mean He is not present. His protective presence is always with us but our comfort comes from the knowledge of His presence. How many times while here on earth did Jesus heal someone while being physically absent from that person?

True faith not only believes something is true but obeys the truth. In times of difficulty stop, remember and pray. Let the truth control our feeling, not our circumstances.

There is one overriding truth that makes all this possible and provide us with hope in difficult times. Jesus is the Son of God, sovereign ruler over all things. It is He who says to us in the midst of life's storms, "Be of good cheer! It is I: do not be afraid."

Contentment

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." [Philippians 4:11]

The Apostle Paul speaks of being content in what ever circumstance he finds himself. To be content means having the ability to be satisfied with things as they are. This is not an excuse for laziness, sloppiness or poor quality work but it is the ability to find satisfaction in any and all circumstances because the real source of our contentment is not in our outward circumstances but our inward relationship with God. Contentment is relational not circumstantial, it is a learned attitude.

Let me suggest to you 10 Keys to Contentment.

1. Learn to focus on that which is internal and not externals [Luke 11:37-54]. The key to real religion is our relationship with God. This does not mean externals are unimportant but it means they are not an end in themselves. They should give evidence of one's relationship with God and not be a substitute for that relationship.

2. Learn the value of keeping a proper balance between that which is eternal and that, which is temporal [Mark 8:36] because things cannot satisfy [Luke 12:15]. We must recognize their necessity for physical existence but we can not dependent upon them to be source of satisfaction. Our spiritual and emotional needs cannot be satisfied with temporal things [12:16; Jeremiah 2:13]. We are to seek first the kingdom of God and God will provide for our physical necessities.

3. Learn that worry has no value [Philippians 4:6; Matthew 6:25 - 34]

4. Learn the value of godliness [1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain“].

5. Learn the value of faithfulness. God requires of us that we be faithful to Him and in serving Him. [Faithfulness defined]

6. Learn the value of being thankful. Be thankful for what you have because thankful people are contented people.

7. Learn the value of prayer. The way to learn the value of prayer is by praying. When we pray we exercise our faith in God and it is this exercise of faith that brings greater faith. Prayer is the ability to trust God.

8. Learn to control your attitude regarding the circumstances of life. We cannot control your circumstances but you can control your attitude. and your attitude frames the way you respond to your circumstances. “Attitude is your paintbrush, it colors every situation.” [Ann Turnage] In the ways of God our circumstances are meant to be beneficial not detrimental – purposeful not random. They are intended to be stepping-stones not stumbling-blocks.

9. Learn the value of your thought life [Proverbs 23:7].

10. Learn that life is not about you but about glorifying God and ministering to others.Now for the most important point, contentment just doesn't happen, it is learned. Learning to be content comes from trial and error.

It takes time to learn to focus on what God is doing in and through us and not on our circumstances. They are just tools He uses to so that our lives will bring Him glory.

Truth Under Attack

What is truth? An age old question with a million answers none of which conform to what God has revealed. Once we deny that God is the objective source for determining what truth is, we have nothing but personal opinion or communal consensus that varies from person to person or community to community. As a result we have both conflicting and changing definitions of truth. In science what one thinks is truth is a theory until proven and then it becomes a scientific fact. In religion we have man’s opinion set against God’s revelation in the Word of God. Truth concerning we came from, why we are here and where we are going is not a matter of opinion or conjecture but that which corresponds with God’s revelation. Truth is knowable.

Over the centuries men and women have been martyred because the stood for the truth against teachings contradictory to God’s general and special revelation. Real truth does not need to stifle the expression of untruth. Yet on the other hand, untruth must silence truth for truth exposes untruth for what it is – a lie that deceives mankind and leads him into bondage.

We live in a day and age when terrorists and suicide bombers call themselves martyrs but “they are suicidal murders who kill people for not believing. Their violent aggression is actually the polar opposite of martyrdom, and the ruthless ideologies that drive them are the antithesis of truth. There is nothing heroic about what they do and nothing noble about what they stand for.” [p.xii, The Truth War, John MacArthur, Thomas Nelson]

True martyrs are those men and women who standing for their beliefs are the object of persecution, even being put to death for their faith as opposed to the terrorist and suicidal bombers whose actions destroy the lives of others for no other reason than their failure to believe what they believe.

What they believe is a lie because it cannot endure being exposed to the truth. How do we know that? The religious systems of man deny all other voices the right to speak or discuss truth claims, threaten death to anyone who converts to another religion and kills those who dare to speak the truth. All this because of a faith system based upon a lie that cannot be defended in the market place of ideas. A religious system based upon a lie puts people in physical, spiritual, intellectual and emotional bondage by stripping them of their basic freedom to determine their own destiny.

Not all error [untruth] is found outside the banner of Christianity. Within Christianity we have many teachers and preachers who deny the truth of Scripture and teach doctrines that do not conform to the clear teaching of Scripture. They teach error and error is a lie. “The fact that error is being taught and defended and being promoted by people who profess to know and love Christ does not alter the fact that it is error. And the fact that relativism is often propagated in books on best-seller racks in evangelical book stores does not alter the seriousness of the error.” [p. xxii, John MacArthur]

What is our responsibility toward error? “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” [Jude 3] We are also to”hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” [2 Timothy 1:13] We must defend, contend for and guard the faith by faithfully proclaiming the Word of God and exposing error. Every truth claim must be held up to the light of the Word of God. If it conforms to the standard of God’s Word, it’s truth to be believed and proclaimed and if does not it’s error to be denied and discarded.

What is truth? God himself is the source of truth. Truth is what He decrees. Truth is found in the Word of God and personified in Jesus the Second Person of the trinity who said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” [John 14:6] Only one way, one truth all else is a lie!! Truth exists outside of us and remains the same no matter how we perceive it. Truth by definition is fixed and constant just as God is unchanging. Will you like Paul be able to say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith?” [1 Timothy 4:7] Why is this necessary? Our hope is bound up in the truth. Those who follow error are without hope!

Tough Times

"We need to pay attention to what we are learning about God in the darkness because the darkness is where our relationship with Him is tested. The darkness is where we learn the truth that God will be faithful." [Jan Dravecky] We are constantly told that God will never let us go through difficult times greater than we can bear.

While we may learn much about ourselves during our difficult times, we learn a whole lot more about the God we serve. During these times the intellectual knowledge we have about God becomes real. We are told in Revelation that it was “…heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” [Revelation 19:6] God is omnipotent is a basic understanding from our study of theology.

In reality this truth is translated into the following concept: God will not allow you to go through any circumstance that He cannot handle. Instead of focusing on our ability to handle our difficult moments, our focus should be upon the fact that our omnipotent God is able to deal with every and any circumstance that comes into our lives working all things for our good and His glory.

Our ability to deal with difficult times comes about because of His omnipotence at work in and through us. It is never my ability but always His ability even as Paul proclaimed, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” [Philippians 4:13]

Our hope is bound up in His omnipotence!

Hope Thou in God II

“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:7

God cares for us. He wants to be our helper in our times of difficulty. The formula for making this a reality is simple. Cast your care [anxiety] upon Him.

How often have you wondered, “Does God really care about my difficulties?” Life’s experiences have made us skeptical. People we considered friends, who we though cared for us, in the face of our difficulties, because of their total indifference to our sufferings have let us down. How can I know that God really cares for me?

First we have His promise: “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” [Hebrews 13:5b, 6] God’s promises are so different from the one’s we make. Consider a bride and groom repeating their wedding vows to each other. The do so with blissful ignorance of the future but when God made this promise, He did so knowing the future and He is saying in spite of how you feel toward me and the difficulties that lie ahead, I am committing myself to never forsaking you. He cares for us.

Secondly we have his provision. “Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields.” [Job 5:10] He is Job in the most miserable condition of his life and he acknowledges God’s life sustaining provision. Consider also provision during our difficulties. By casting our care upon Him, we demonstrate our complete trust in His love, wisdom and power to use our difficulties for our good and His glory. We do so with the realization of God’s promise “there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” [1 Corinthians 10:13] Note those wonderful words: “God is faithful,” “able to bear,” and “a way of escape.” Peter tells us of the brevity of our difficulties: “though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations” [1 Peter 1:7]. So to does Paul tell us “our light affliction, which is but for a moment” [2 Corinthians 4:17].

The most important reason to believe God cares for us is Calvary. There His Son, Jesus Christ, bore our suffering that we through faith would have the opportunity to become the children of God. God told us he loved us, demonstrated His love and His Son Jesus Christ bears in His body the marks of love – nail pierce hands and side.

Yes, God cares for us. Go to him and cast your cares upon Him. His care for us offers us sufficient for hope.

Hope Thou in God

When times of difficulty come upon you, do you have the inclination to say that God is not fair? If anybody had the right to make that complaint it was Job. His response to the difficulties in his life was “…naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD…What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” [Job 1:21; 2:10]

Read through the book of Job and you will read of the difficulty he had understanding what God was allowing in his life. One lesson Job learned was that God makes no mistakes in the way He deals with His people. When you complain that God is unfair, you are in essence saying that you know more than God.

The real question is not “‘Why do the righteous suffer?” but “Do you worship a God who is worthy of our suffering?’ It’s the courageous faith of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they had to choose between conformity and cremation: ‘If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.’ [Daniel 3:17, 18] No ‘commercial faith’ there! They worshiped a God worth dying for!” [Warren Wiersbe, Why Us]

Instead of looking for reasons and explanations for your difficulties, you need to cultivate your personal relationship with God. As your relationship with God matures, the easier it is for you trust God in difficult times because you know that He loves you, will only allow what is best for you and is wise enough not to make a mistake in that which He allows.

Your maturing relationship with God deepens your faith enabling you to trust Him when He says “for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” [Isaiah 55:8, 9]

In the face of difficulty, do you protest or praise? The movement from protest to praise comes about as you learn to place your hope in God. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” [Psalm 42:5] God will never forsake you, never leave you to walk alone through difficulty!