Why?

 “'About Jesus of Nazareth,' they replied.

'He was a prophet,

powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.  The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 

but we had hoped that he was the one

who was going to redeem Israel.

And what is more,

it is the third day since all this took place.'"

Luke 24:19-21

Have you ever thought you knew what God was doing in a certain situation only to be completely confused when things didn't go the way you had expected?

This has happened to me.  Not because I think I'm so smart as to know the mind of God.  Rather, I like to know why I am doing things.  This desire leads me to ask God, "Why?" 

It's like the time we were looking for a house with which to expand our afterschool program.  As we drove through our neighborhood one day, a house which had been on the market for at least 2 years beckoned us to come with it's door standing wide open.  We interpreted that to mean this was the house for our program!  We rejoiced and began taking steps toward purchasing, trusting that God would provide the funding.

We spent much time praying over that house, at God's direction.  We prayed for all the children whose lives would be changed under that roof.  Then we prayed for a way to purchase it.  Finally came the day when the Realtor told me she had a buyer.  I trusted that God had a plan.  The family moved in and I was confused.  Things hadn't gone the way I expected.

A few months later I met a woman up at our neighborhood pool.  After talking for a few minutes, I realized she was the one who had moved into the home we had been praying over.  She and her husband had adopted two children and were raising four in all.  I stood in awe as she told me how she invited children in for story time and how they were always looking for ways to reach kids for Jesus.  It was then that I understood and I tearfully told her that we had been praying for her for months before they moved into their home.  The house was not for us, but it was being used for God's Kingdom just as much as it would have been with our afterschool program.

Instead of asking, "Why?"  I need to ask, "Who?"  And the answer to that question is always, "God."  I need to trust God for the answers.

Suffering Woman

She had been bleeding for years. . . .twelve to be exact, and no one had ever been able to help her. In fact, all of the experts had only made the bleeding worse.   But this Jesus of Nazareth. . .He was different.  She knew deep within her heart that He could heal her, if only she could get to Him.  So many people pressed around Him, vying for His attention.  She need only touch Him. . . even the hem of His garment. . . and she would be free from this affliction.  She knew this as much as she knew that the sun would rise each day. 

The woman with the issues of blood possessed deep faith in Jesus.  She didn't care to know why she was suffering.   She didn't bother to ask, "Why me?"  Instead, she came to the One who could truly help her.  She trusted that He was the ultimate remedy.  All she needed was Jesus.

This is why Jesus said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”  (Mark 5:34)

Trusting Jesus means believing He is the only remedy needed to free me from any problem.  I need not understand, I only need faith enough to leave the details to Him.

Healing at the Pool of Bethesda

Albert Einstein is credited with saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting different results.  I'm not sure if the poor fellow who spent his days at the pool near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem could be diagnosed with insanity, but he sure did not give up! 

The man in question had been disabled for 38 years, and it can be assumed that he had spent quite a number of his days at the pool of Bethesda where angels are said to have stirred the waters from time to time, giving the first person who entered the waters instant healing.  He had lain there year after year, hoping to one day be the first to enter the freshly stirred waters, but never having anyone to help him get there fast enough.  He never gave up hope in the healing properties of this pool.

Then came Jesus, his only real hope, if only the suffering man had known.  But no matter. . . Jesus healed him despite the man's ignorance of His identity as the Son of God whose power could change a mortal's life with a mere word.   

Unlike the woman healed by touching the hem of Jesus' robe, this man did not know Jesus, and never expected healing to come from anywhere besides the pool.  He was putting all his faith in those waters and the angels that stirred them.  

How often do I go after things that I think will help me, only to be disappointed by the outcome.  Doing things my way without giving God a chance to bring healing will always frustrate me. 

Trusting Jesus means going directly to Him with my issues. My hope lies in Him and Him alone.  I am reminded in Lamentations 3:25 that, "The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him."

Disciples

  

The One they had left everything to follow had been brutally killed, was dead and buried.  All there hope was gone.  What kind of a Savior was He with all His talk of coming to save the world and all?  Dead men are able to save no one.

Or so they thought.  Little did the disciples know that God had a plan that included the crucifixion of Christ as a way to atone for their sins.  Little did they know that Jesus had risen from the dead and was speaking to them at their greatest point of despair.  Little did they know that they had already been saved.

Circumstances can blind me to the reality of God's plan.  Things seem hopeless.  Despair sets in.  But underneath it all is a tapestry of great beauty.  The disciples did not understand the purpose for all the suffering their Friend and Teacher had endured.  But there was a purpose.

Trusting Jesus means believing He has a plan, even when I don't see it.

It's easy for me to think I have things all figured out.  But trusting Jesus means leaving behind my desire to understand "why?" and instead letting Him handle the details.  It means placing all my hope in Him, and believing He has a plan in all things, no matter how hopeless it seems. 

Trusting God means never asking, "Why?"

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I can trust Jesus with the plan that lies beneath the mess of my life.

When do I place all my trust in other things instead of leaving it all in Jesus' hands?

What am I expecting to happen that has nothing to do with God's plan and instead has everything to do with mine?

Dependent and Interdependent

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
   therefore I will wait for him.”

 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
   to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
   for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:24-26

I'm as American as they come.  My husband served 24 years in the US Army, and I was proud of his service to our country and gladly endured long deployments to hostile areas for the sake of freedom.  When I hear the National Anthem played, I always get choked up when I hear, ". . . our flag was still there, " thinking of the resilience, determination and thirst for freedom of my forerunners.  I love this country.

But growing up American, I have many times worshipped at the altar of independence.  I celebrate those who are able to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, who dig themselves out of homelessness or bankruptcy, or who climb out of the slums and rise to great success.  One of this countries most popular finance motivational speakers, Suze Orman, said, "A big part of financial freedom is having your heart and mind free from worry about the what-ifs of life."

The problem with this spirit of independence the American way has bred, is that I forsake my calling as a child of God to be fully dependent on Him to supply all my needs.  As a follower of Christ, it is dangerous to be American, for her values run counter to those of God's Kingdom.

Dependence on God 

When I think of my relationship with God, I like to imagine I am a rich young girl who is confident that her every need will be met by her wealthy daddy.  She does not wont for anything, and she never worries because she knows she need only mention it to her father, and he will gladly give her what she has asked for.  He shows his love for her in this way, and she is secure in that love.

Many times, though, I am like the typical American, and I think of a back up plan in case God doesn't come through.  I am not intentionally turning away from God, or thinking that He won't provide, but it is in my nature to analyze a situation and come up with solutions.  If God does not immediately provide, I assume I need to step in and act, using my resources to supply my own need.

Jesus taught about the generous nature of God.  “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:9-11)

Because of His great love for me, He will not fail to give me the good things that I ask for.  The thing is, God is in control of the timing of the gift, and the nature of the gift.  If I don't want to wait and give God a chance to provide, I will never find out how to be dependent on my Father in heaven.

Interdependence of the Body of Christ

It is not in my nature as an American to depend on anyone else for anything.  I take pride in the fact that I can do for myself and many times don't want to put anyone out, bothering them with my problems.

But God wants us to rely on each other as believers.  Just as the whole of creation is interdependent with each other, so His body is designed to work together.  Take, for example, bees and flowers.  They need each other to survive!  The bees need the flowers as a source of food, and the flowers need the bees to facilitate pollination necessary for reproduction by carrying pollen to other flowers as they feed.  God designed all of nature to work together in such a way.

It's no surprise, then, as part of God's creation, that He expects us to rely on each other.  "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. . .there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.  If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." (I Corinthians 12:12, 25-26)

When I take care of matters myself instead of relying on my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am denying their position and function in the Body, instead trying to fulfill the purpose of each part myself.  This is the most challenging thing for me as an American.  I have been raised to rely on myself and to not bother others with my problems.  But the Bible teaches that we are stronger together.

If I never give the other parts of the Body of Christ a chance to help me, I will never find out how to be interdependent along with my family.

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I will learn to think of myself as a follower of Christ first, and an American second.

 

When do I rely on my own resources instead of turning to Him who owns the cattle on a thousand hills?

 

How can I better rely on my church family to help me in times of need?