Did it Ever Occur to You?

"Judah's defenses have been stripped away.

You run to the armory for your weapons.

You inspect the breaks in the walls of Jerusalem.

You store up water in the lower pool.

You survey the houses and tear some down

for stone to strengthen the walls.

Between the city walls, you build a reservoir

for water from the old pool.

But you never ask for help from the One who did all this.

You never considered the One who planned this long ago."

Isaiah 22:8-11

Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.  Engine trouble.  Health woes.  Income cuts.  Mounting debt.  Relationship struggles.  Homelessness threatens and I wonder, can't I ever catch a break?  Why is all this happening to me?  Where did I go wrong and what did I possibly do to deserve such suffering?  So I try harder.  I maintain my car according to my mechanic's recommendations.  I cut out all processed foods and regularly cleanse my body of impurities, adding exercise to my daily routine.  I take on a second job to start paying off my debt.  Still, things don't get better.  What's missing?

It's easy to try to fix what's broken in my life, working hard to turn my life around.  But no matter how hard I try, I can't reverse my misfortune.  How could I have such horrible luck?  Maybe I'm asking the wrong question.

What?  Despite popular perception, life is not what I make of it.  Yes, I do make choices which have consequences; I reap what I sow.  But I can no more direct my own path than a farmer can change the weather.  Mankind is at God's mercy, under His dominion, here for His purposes (John 9:3, Romans 9:16).

Therefore, when things start to go haywire despite my best efforts, instead of asking, "why me?" I'd be wise to turn to my Father through faith in Jesus and ask, "What are You trying to say to me?  What is the message I need to hear?"  And when I ask with a pure heart, truly wanting to know the answer, I will hear from the One who is behind my misfortune, who is using the difficulties to draw me back to Him.  I so easily stray that I often get off track before I realize what's happening.  Thankfully, God is not so easily deceived or misled.

Did it every occur to me to ask God what He's trying to tell me?

How?  My husband and I were struggling to lay the paving stones in a straight line.  We were building a patio area in the corner of our yard between two trees and were relying on our own perception to establish the perimeter.  No matter how we tried to line the bricks up, though, they never looked quite right.  We finally tied a string between two stakes to help us gauge our work.  Once we had a standard by which to judge our work, we were able to lay the stones in a straight line.

In the same way that it's difficult to lay patio pavers in a straight line without a some kind of straight edge to guide me, it's just as hard to tell if my thinking is off by relying on my own perception.  I need a "straight edge" by which to judge my perception.  In fact, I can't even trust my own ability to judge rightly.  Therefore, I'm wise to do as David did and ask God to search me and test me, showing me where I'm off, how my thinking or behavior is offensive to Him (Psalm 139:23-24).  It could just be that I'm reaping the destruction my hurtful habits or selfish ways have sown (Galatians 6:7-9).

Did it ever occur to me to ask God how I've strayed off track?

Help?  I'm a product of my culture, resistant to help, determined to make a go of it by myself.  No matter how much I struggle, I tend to want to try to make it on my own.  I feel bad asking for help, seeking support, or reaching out for assistance.  It's not surprising, then, that this independent streak would translate to my relationship with God.

The going gets tough and I think I need to get going, dig my heels in and apply more elbow grease.  A little determination and grit will get me where I need to go, I think.  That is until I'm overwhelmed, in over my head, and pushed beyond my means.  Then I realize the foolishness of my stubborn autonomy.  I need God and often He places me in positions beyond my ability to handle to get me to come to the end of myself (2 Corinthians 12:9).  When I do, I may realize my need for God because He is the only One who can change my situation, give me what I need, save me from myself.

Did it ever occur to me to ask God for help?

When life gets sticky and it seems like I can't catch a break, I find myself asking the wrong questions.  Instead of wondering why this has to happen to me, it's time I start asking God what and how, and be willing to ask Him for help.  These are the questions to ask in times like these:  Did this ever occur to me?

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can keep a godly perspective when encountering trouble.

When do I automatically blame myself or others when things go wrong?

How have I forgotten to place God in the center of any of life's equations?  

Really?!

"Then the LORD asked Satan,

'Have you noticed my servant Job?

He is the finest man in all the earth.

He is blameless--a man of integrity.

He fears God and stays away from evil.

And he has maintained his integrity,

even though you urged me to harm him without cause.'"

Job 2:3 NLT

Wasn't it enough?  Hadn't he faced ample suffering?  Did his faith need further testing?  Hadn't he proved himself loyal to God?

It sometimes seems like God is toying with me, pushing me beyond what is necessary.  The truth is, however, He has His good, unfathomable reasons (Isaiah 40:13-14).

Bad with the good.  My idea of a good life is where I am protected from suffering, hurt and difficulty.  If I really think about it, I want a little taste of heaven here on earth.  I expect the world to be the proverbial bowl full of cherries.  If this is true, then, in the words of Erma Bombeck, "what am I doing in the pits?"

Job understood God's sovereignty more than I do. He realized that letting God be God means taking the bad along with the good.  It means things won't go according to my plan because God has something bigger and better in mind.  Even His concept of bigger and better is far different from mine.  Assuming my life here on this fallen earth is going to be all good is a mistake.  

Where, then, is my hope?  If I can't expect all good all the time, what's the point?  My hope is in Jesus Christ and what He can do through the bad.  My hope comes from how He will use every bad thing to transform me into the image of Jesus (Romans 8:28-29).  My hope comes from the realization that this place is not my true home;  I have something far better to which I can look forward (Hebrews 13:14, John 14:1-3).

Walking with God by faith means taking the bad with the good.

Others tested.  She hurts so much she cannot sleep.  Her slumber is often interrupted by bouts of pain.  So great is her suffering that she cannot leave her home.  In the midst of such agony, her beloved cat dies in her arms.  How can she bear such heartache?

It is hard to see others suffer.  When those around me are hurting, it's sometimes hard to know what to do.  Part of me wants to comfort and encourage, another is ready to judge and fix.  How I respond shows where my heart is.

The heart of Jesus is to weep with those who weep.  When he encountered the deep mourning of Mary at the loss of her brother Lazarus, he was deeply moved, so much so that he wept with her (John 11:33-38).  This is our calling as His followers (John 12:15).

Does God sometimes allow suffering into the lives of others to grow the bonds within the body of Christ?  Is His concern for the strength of the church greater than His interest in my welfare?  Does He allow trouble to give opportunities for His family to come together?

Walking with God by faith means sharing in the suffering of others.

Lessons.  Until I saw it with my own eyes, I couldn't comprehend its height.  Standing at the top, however, and looking at the vista spread out before me, I gained a new understanding of how tall the Sears Tower was.  Standing at 1451 feet above the ground was similar to what it would look like to make it to the top of Mt Rainier in Washington state.  My respect for great heights grew that day.

God's ways are similarly higher than mine in ways I have a hard time comprehending.  I often think I can see what God is doing, or guess how He will operate, or assume I know in what way He will come through.  The reality is, however, that I have no idea.

I can't truly grasp God's superior sovereignty until I'm taken somewhere that goes far beyond my own ability to understand.  As I submit to His plan for my life, I gain a greater appreciation for His preeminence.  If I choose to fight His mysterious ways, I will go forward in anger and bitterness, questioning why a loving God would allow such suffering.  It all boils down to God having the right to do what He sees fit to do.  

Walking with God by faith means learning hard lessons about the sovereignty and supremacy of God.

It's hard to know why God allows suffering, especially when it seems I've endured enough already.  Living in relationship with Him, though, means I must let Him lead me through the valley of the shadow of death at times, trusting that He is with me.  I can learn to take the bad with the good, to respond in love to the suffering of others, and to realize His preeminence; I just can't expect to fathom His ways.  Then, when I feel like saying, "Really, God?"  I can instead say simply, "God."  I live in His world, so yes, really.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can give up my rights to direct my own life.

When do I assume God will never take me anyplace bad?

Why do I think I should be protected from suffering when the world is filled with it?           

Grumbling

"Then Moses added,

'The LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening

and bread to satisfy you in the morning,

for he has heard all your complaints against him.

What have we done?

Yes, your complaints are against the LORD

not against us.'"

Exodus 16:8 NLT

I didn't like the new schedule at church.  In order to try to maximize use of resources such as space and volunteers, and to carve out a time of fellowship during the Sunday morning program, the elders and deacons came up with a plan.  They decided it would be best to split up the Sunday school classes, holding some during the first service and others during the second.  Consequently, our family could no longer worship together since our classes were at different times.

Another downfall of this new timetable for our family was that we had to arrive at church an hour earlier than normal.  While we wanted to support what the leadership was doing, we spent quite a bit of time at home grumbling about the whole situation.  Finally, God convicted me one day that we needed to submit to the guidance of our congregation's leaders. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13)

As a result, we shelved our plan to go to the diaconate with our grievances and instead threw ourselves wholeheartedly into the new arrangement.  After about 2 months, the leaders decided to return to a more traditional timetable, determining that attendance was down since beginning the new schedule.  Newly humbled, we could see how God worked it all out in His time and we learned a good lesson about how to follow in a way that glorifies God.

It is sobering to realize that when I complain about what my leaders do, I am really grumbling against the LORD.

God's Sovereignty

I don't agree with most of his beliefs, world view or agenda.  I didn't vote for him and believe his programs are bad for our country.  It is hard for me to have respect for him as a leader.  Still, God has called me to submit to his authority. (Romans 13:1)

Why would God want me to yield to someone who seems to work against Him?  I believe it has more to do with respecting God's sovereign plan than it does with politics.  While this leader may not make godly decisions, God has a purpose for placing him in this position of power.  While I may not understand what God is doing, I can trust Him fully as Sovereign God. (Proverbs 3:5-6) While it may pain me to see the direction in which this country is headed, I can rest in the truth of God's promise to never forsake me. (Joshua 1:9, Matthew 28:20)

Therefore, I can obey God in His desire for me to live in submission to those in authority over me because in so doing, I am bowing to His sovereign power over the world He created.  In other words, I can only submit because I trust God not necessarily that I trust the man He placed in a leadership position.  Recognizing God's sovereignty is crucial to my understanding of how much higher His ways are from my ways.  (Isaiah 55:9)

If I want to keep from grumbling against the LORD, it is important that I understand that God is never out of control of any situation.

God's Plan

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Romans 8:28 NLT)  I have heard this verse quoted many times by people who are going through something hard, or by someone who is trying to encourage another.  It seems to me we tend to focus on the "bringing about good" part but fail to recognize the "according to his purpose" portion of the well-known verse. 

I have my own idea of good.  When I think of what good God will bring out of a situation, I tend to focus on what will make me comfortable, happy or pleased.  It is natural for me to define "good" through my own selfish point-of-view.  I assume the good will be something that benefits me, or satisfies me, or brings me pleasure.  In other words, I like to think God's plan is the same as my plan for my life.

Unfortunately, I could not be further from the truth.  As I earlier stated, God's ways are much higher than my ways.  As a result, He has a plan that would blow my mind if I could see it in it's entirety.  If God revealed His purposes for my life, I'd probably want to give up right now.  When He takes me through a time of suffering, my natural tendency is to desire nothing more than to have my pain eased if not fully removed.  God, however, may be using this time to purify me, conforming me more into the likeness of His Son.

While it's easy for me to complain about a situation, especially if it seems the hard times were brought about by the failings of man, I must remember that God has a purpose for everything that He allows into my life.  While that objective may not seem pleasant or relevant to me, I can trust God to protect me from harm and bring about the kind of good that will bring glory to His name.

If I want to keep from grumbling against the LORD, it is important that I understand God has a plan of which I know nothing.

God's Lessons

I spent much time encouraging the hurting woman.  She responded positively to my efforts, confirming my purpose for sending the daily text messages as she went through the darkest days of her life.  After a few weeks, I sensed the Holy Spirit's nudge.  I gained the impression that she was no longer receiving the messages in the same way as before.  Still, I persisted in doing my daily duty.

Soon I received a message back that said, "I appreciate what you've been doing for me, but it's getting to be a little too much right now.  Please stop texting."  It was as if I had been pierced through the heart.  The very thing I had been trying to avoid, making her life more difficult, is what I had actually been doing.  I grieved over the extra pressure I had unknowingly been causing.  I say unknowingly, but in reality, God had tried to warn me.  Unfortunately, I did not heed His caution.

I learned a valuable lesson that day: It is vital that I heed the leading of God's Spirit.  Failing to do so can cause undo harm and increase suffering.  The kind teaching that God gives us is not book learning, but more like on-the-job-training.  His lessons are found in the every-day happenings that sometimes seem so ordinary.  If I'm paying attention, however, I'll learn much from what He allows into my life.

Therefore, when I feel like a fool as I lay with my face in the dirt, fresh from a humiliating headlong fall, I can use the opportunity to learn how to get back up again.  Other times I may think the decision of a leader is foolish as I bear the brunt of his decision, but I can use the resulting time of misery to learn how to submit even when I don't agree.  Then there are the chances God gives me to learn a lesson of compassion as I witness the suffering born by those affected by the decisions of others.  Instead of railing against the powers-that-be I can turn my attention toward caring for those who are hurting.

If I want to keep from grumbling against the LORD, it is important that I look for the lessons He is probably trying to teach me.

It is easy to get into the habit of complaining.  After all, there is a lot to feel discouraged about in this world!  God, however, wants me to know that when I whine about what those in positions of authority are doing, I am actually rising up against Him.  As a result, I would be wise to recognize God's sovereignty, His plan and the lessons He places in the midst of life.  Then, I will be less likely to grumble against Him.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can submit to God's sovereign plan.

When do I mindlessly complain, not even thinking that God has a plan through my present situation?

How am I oblivious to the lessons He is trying to teach me today?