04/29/2019
When disaster comes, or times grow hard to bear, how do you perceive these events in relation to your walk with God? Do you question Him and wonder why He would allow such things to happen to you? Maybe you even think they are of His doing, and that He is mad at you, or in some way displeased. Well friends, we read in the Bible that the Lord has indeed punished some, but for the most part times like these are just the everyday storms of life that bring rain upon us all.
“...For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
Matthew 5:44-45 ESV
We all experience storms, and have tribulation of some sort in our lives. Certain occurrences are just part of the nature of life and living. When your child is going to school, and someone in their class comes down with a virus, this isn’t necessarily God punishing that child, and when it spreads to the rest of the class that isn’t a Sodom and Gomorrah event, it is the natural working of God’s creation. If this sickness were to happen that would be a normal occurrence, but if your child didn’t get sick... well then that might be the miraculous event, or an answer to prayer... but it also might just be the result of frequent hand washing. Sometimes life is bad, and trouble comes naturally to both the good and the evil folks alike, but how we approach our troubles is where the difference comes into play... this is when the faithful call on God, and He comes to their defense, or protection, or to redeem them.
“Be not a terror to me; you are my refuge in the day of disaster.”
Jeremiah 17:17 ESV
Jesus healed the blind, made the lame to walk, and raised the dead, but he never prevented these naturally occurring infirmities from happening in the first place. There is no account of Him touching the belly of a faithful pregnant woman, and saying that the child in her womb would live its life without issue or illness, no, Someone was already blind, already lame, and already dead... this is nature, and in accordance with the laws of creation. If you have a child that is born with disabilities this is not a punishment... it is an opportunity for you to lean on God in a deeper and more humble way, and to experience a richer life of faith.
“And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
John 9:2-3 ESV
I took an anthropology course in College, and learned that there were certain North American Indian tribes who looked on the birth of a handicapped child as a blessing. In fact this child was not considered the child of just its parents... but of the tribe as a whole. It allowed everyone to demonstrate their kindness and love. To a certain degree this happens today. My wife had a sister that was born with a mental and physical handicap, and she immediately became the favorite of Ann’s uncle, and many others in her family and church. Although this sister died young as a result of her birth problems, Ann’s uncle Bill Hughes speaks of her at nearly every family get together, and talks about how much he loved her, and what a sweet spirit she had; how she would hug him, and bless him. God creates us all... the normal and the abnormal, those who choose to have faith, and the faithless. Each one of us therefore has been given an opportunity to worship God in a certain way, and to bless Him and others in accordance with our creation.
“Then the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?”
Exodus 4:11 ESV
So it is with all the everyday hardships we face in life; and we will most certainly face them. We can choose to look at them as God’s punishments, and as His way of placing hardships on us out of some whimsical and cruel nature, or we can choose to apply our faith to them, and call out to Him for rescue, mercy, and grace. When the rains come into our lives, how will we face them? Will we go to our knees in prayer, and ask for deliverance, and a miracle... or will we try to weather these storms alone, and in the darkness of fear? Storms come, but in their aftermath there is growth.
There is an old saying that goes like this: “When the world gives you lemons, make lemonade.” And although this isn’t a saying of faith, it can be applied there as well... the difference is that our lemonade, unlike that of the world, it is not sweetened with sugar, but with the seeet promise of God’s Word, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Romans 5:3-5 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the hardships in life, because each one allows me to call upon your goodness and mercy. I thank you Holy Father for teaching me lessons of faith, and of your character, as I face the naturally occurring storms of everyday living. Hear me through these storms Lord, and reach into the belly of the leviathan to draw me out of my misery. Bless me in the hard times Merciful Father, and help me to love and obey you in the midst of them. When I weep, and my sorrow is about to overcome me, lift me up Father. When I am beaten, battered, and cut, and my body is failing me, lift up my spirit Father. When those I love are suffering, give me empathy and prayer Father. When you take those I love through the portal of death, mourn with me, and lead me to your joy once more. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God, whose Spirit comes to me in the midst of my suffering with a persevering love, and leads me through it. Great are you who hears my prayer, and lifts me up. Praised be your name for the tribulations that teach me how to love more, and know you better. Claim glory Holy Father from the hand of my sadness and sorrow, and let all heaven and earth sing of the miracle that is you.
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”
James 1:12-13 ESV
Rich Forbes