GOD, WHERE ARE YOU?

“In all their distress he too was distressed,” (Isaiah 63:9 NIV).

When bad things happen we may never understand the why. God tells us, ‘’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘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).

Dr. James Dobson said: “Trying to analyze His [God’s] omnipotence is like an amoeba attempting to comprehend the behavior of man.”  It’s simply not possible. But there is one thing we can be sure of. “All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful,” (Psalm 25:10) whether we understand them or not.

When we encounter difficulties, it is easy to jump to conclusions. We may think God is mad at us or He is punishing us. We wonder if God is not blessing us because we’ve disappointed Him in some way. But all through the Bible we see that some of God’s closest friends experienced the darkest nights.

Joseph suffered. David suffered. The disciples suffered. Elizabeth suffered. Mary suffered. Martha suffered. Mary (Jesus’ mother) suffered. Paul suffered. Jesus suffered. And each one of these men and women were smack dab in the middle of God’s will. The ordinary pabulum of popular religion, of health and prosperity, just doesn’t line up with the suffering we see among some of the most godly men and women in Scripture. The abundant life that Jesus came to give does not come without struggle any more than a butterfly can soar without a struggle from its cocoon. We would never slice open a cocoon and expect to find a butterfly ready to fly. Without the struggle, the butterfly could not grow strong enough to take flight.

Jesus warned us that we would have struggles in this life, and yet struggles always seem to catch me by surprise. “Consider it all joy,” James said, “when you encounter various trials…” (James 1:2, NASB). Notice James said when and not if. Honestly, I wish there were some other way.

Come to think of it, Jesus wished the same. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will,” (Matthew 26:39). The cross. There was no other way.

Take a look at the names given to the Holy Spirit: Intercessor, Helper, Counselor, and Comforter. The very nature of those names lets us know that we are going to have difficulties this side of heaven, and thankfully God did not leave us to struggle alone. Jesus wept. The Holy Spirit groans. And God’s heart aches. In one beautiful sentence, we catch a glimpse into the heart of God as we go through tough times: “In all their distress he too was distressed,” (Isaiah 63:9). We may not see God’s face during the difficult days of pain, but you can be sure He is there, and many times His face is streaked with tears.

Sometimes life is tough. As we practice Acts 17:28, In Him we live and move and have our being, it does not mean that we will walk down a path void of treacherous twists and turns. It does mean that no matter where the road may lead, we are not alone.

So many times I’ve cried out with King David, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” only to discover that He was right there with me all the time. None of us knows what the future holds. Sometimes we just need to put our hand in God’s and walk around the next corner with Him—even when we don’t understand. In that journey of the unknown, we’re apt to experience moments of sudden glory in well-placed nuggets of gold.

 

 

 

GETTING REAL WITH GOD

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I

have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness,” (Lamentations 3:19-24 NIV).


Are we brave enough to be real and honest with God? We might as well be; He knows our hearts inside and out anyway. A. W. Tozer, in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, wrote:

How unutterably sweet is the knowledge that our Heavenly Father knows us completely.  No talebearer can inform on us; or enemy can make an accusation stick; no forgotten skeleton can come tumbling out of some hidden closet to abash us and expose our past; no unsuspected weakness in our characters can come to light to turn God away from us, since He knew us utterly before we knew Him and called us to Himself in the full knowledge of everything that was against us.

God knew the real me before I even knew myself. David wrote, “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD” (Psalm 139:4 NIV). Knowing what He knew and knows, it is a wonder that He even gives me the time of day. And to think, He gives us the time of our lives!

Jeremiah was a mighty man of God who was not afraid to be real before His maker. He wrote, “I am the man who has seen affliction because of the rod of His wrath. He has driven me and made me walk in darkness and not in light. Surely against me He has turned His hand repeatedly all the day. He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away. He has broken my bones. He has besieged and encompassed me with bitterness and hardship. In dark places He has made me dwell, like those who have long been dead” (Lamentations 3:1-6 NASB).

Jeremiah was mad and he was mad at God. As far as he was concerned, God was the cause of all his problems. He felt trapped and afraid. He continued, “He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy. Even when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my prayer. He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked. He is to me like a bear lying in wait like a lion in secret places. He has turned aside my ways and torn me to pieces; He has made me desolate…So I say, ‘My strength has perished, and so has my hope from the Lord’” (vv.7-11,18 NASB).

Jeremiah was in a bad situation…mostly because he had a wrong perception of God. God did not make him to walk in darkness, cause his flesh to waste away, or break his bones. God had not encompassed him with bitterness or hardship. But Jeremiah had allowed his perception to be skewed by his circumstances.

Even though what Jeremiah had to say was incorrect and certainly painted a bad picture of God, he was able to be real about what he was feeling. Jeremiah did not feel the need to put on a holy mask before an all-knowing God. And you know what? God didn’t strike him dead for being real and saying what was on his heart.

Before we leave poor Jeremiah, let’s notice what happens at the end of his lament. He begins to remember all the times that God had been faithful. “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving kindnesses… are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I have hope in Him’” (vv. 21-22 NASB).

Jeremiah cleaned the clutter out of his emotional closet and rediscovered the treasures he had forgotten were there. His circumstances didn’t change. God didn’t change. But his attitude and perception of God changed and his emotions followed close behind.

We can learn two lessons from Jeremiah in this passage.

Number 1: We don’t need to be afraid to be real with God.

Number 2: When we’re disappointed with our circumstances, we need to remember all the times God has been faithful, and practice praise, gratitude and thanksgiving to get us out of our hissy fit.

ON OUR WAY HOME

       

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:4-7).                                                 

Have you noticed how hard "re-entry" is? 
One of my favorite movies is “Apollo 13” in which we first heard those famous words, “Houston, we have a problem,” an understatement if there ever was one. The astronauts faced seemingly impossible odds of getting back to earth, but they refused to give up the fight until they finally and safely splashed down in the waters of home.
Life is much the same. We are often thrust into a daily life of foreign and often frightening worlds, shaky circumstances, and impossible trials with no obvious way of escape. It seems like we will never get home and our world will never be right again. 
I have discovered a truth that surfaces in my heart on a continual basis. We all come into this world with a sense of being lost. Tucked into the corner of our souls is a feeling of restlessness ... a longing for home, for something eternal. That longing will never be satisfied outside of a relationship with God. He holds each today and every tomorrow in His hands. Nobody and nothing can fill the “God-shaped” hole in our heart. 
I have come to cherish that desperate heart cry that drives me to my knees and into the arms of my Father. Each and every time I come to Him, He whispers, "It will be all right. You are not home - yet." 
I do not want this broken and torn world to be my final home, but merely a place I am passing through. While I am here, I have a God-sized job to do, an extraordinary mission to complete and a wonderful purpose to fulfill. Is that awesome or what? Absolutely! But it is only the beginning of the eternity for which I was created. And the same is true for you. It doesn't get any better than that. 
So as you dive into your hectic schedule, remember that one day, we will be home - with Him - but until then, let's celebrate here! Guard your heart and mind by filling them with God’s Word. Hold fast to the true meaning of a purpose driven life, and don’t let go! Look for ways to share the Good News that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life. Share the message of the manger, embracing that longing for home as a sweet reminder that one day we will celebrate His birth in Heaven. What a day that will be! 
And remember - we are on our way home!