Isaac’s
wife, Rebekkah, felt the twins wrestling within her womb. She was to become the mother of two nations
(Gen. 25:22) “The babies jostled each
other within her, and she asked, “Why is this happening to me? So, she went to inquire of the Lord.” Have you ever asked that question? Do you go
to God for answers?
Before we
look at the possible reasons we may be experiencing difficulties in our lives
let’s answer another question. What does
it look like when you are traveling through a dark valley or when you are being
battered by a ruthless storm?
1. A man’s wife comes home from work, just
like she does everyday only on this day she tells her husband that she is
leaving him and running off with another man she has fallen in love with. Her husband is asking “Why is this happening
to me?”
2. A teen-aged son is arrested for
smoking and selling pot at school. He is
charged with a felony and expelled from school.
This family finds itself in a deep, dark valley
3. A husband/father has learned that he
has terminal cancer and he only has months to live. He will leave behind a wife and several
children. This man is asking, “Why is
this happening to me?”
4. A young daughter tells her parents that
she is pregnant and she is running away with her boyfriend, the father of her
child. This family is living in a storm.
5. A young couple loses a child to a
miscarriage. Several years later they
have another child that is plagued with birth defects. Are they not going to ask, “Why is this
happening to us?”
6. A young college student decides to tell
the family around the dinner table that he is homosexual. A wife/mother struggles with alcoholism. A husband/father can’t shake a gambling and
pornography habit. What should these
families do when they are tossed about in the storms of life?
“Why is this happening to me?” may be a
question far more common than we realize.
Let’s explore some possible answers:
1. We may be in the storm because of our own
flesh. The ‘flesh’ is that sinful part
of us that wants to believe that we don’t need God so we leave him out of the
equation. When we are more intent on
satisfying our own fleshly desires rather than pleasing and obeying the Savior
we are going to go into the valley.
This is
double-mindedness. (James 1:1) “Their loyalty is divided between God and the
world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”
You stay out
of the valley by being single-minded.
Put God first in every situation of life.
We are often
like Peter on the water. We begin to
sink into the valley of despair when we take our eyes off Jesus. The waves of anger and bitterness overwhelm
us. We find ourselves sinking into the
deep, black waters of hopelessness and fear and anxiety. These are all fleshly
responses to the dangers we are confronted with when we experience the stormy
seasons of life.
Jesus told a
parable about the seed falling into shallow soil. (Mark 4:6)
“When the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered
because they had no root.”
Find time to
build spiritual depth in your life. Not
after the storm arrives but before the storm arrives. Be prepared for the storm by deepening your
relationship through prayer and living in the word of God.
2.) We may be in the storm because we are out of
the Word of God.
We often
fail to read God’s word, not because we don’t have time, but because we are
stubborn. Especially those of us who
are men, we don’t think we need to refer to the owner’s manual. We like to figure it out on our own. We don’t need instructions. Reaching for your Bible is admitting, “I need
help.” It is an act of humility. “I
can’t figure this out on my own.”
My wife
reminds me often of how important it is to have alone time. Spouses need time alone with each other. They
need time to get to know each other, time to catch up on what might be going on
in each other’s life. This time is
crucial for the relationship.
Does God not
occasionally lead us into the storm because he senses the need for some ‘alone’
time. Our God is relational. The storm brings an intimacy with God
uncommon for some. He teaches us things
in the storm that we will not learn when “the warm south wind” is blowing.
3. We are in the storm always, always to bring
glory to God.
Those crisis
moments in life help us to define what is really important.
After I struck a deer on my motorcycle and lay
in the hospital with a broken collar bone, two broken ribs and a punctured
lung…I suddenly didn’t care about the lawn getting mowed, or the car getting
vacuumed. I cared about staying around
to be a husband to my wife and a father to my child and a grandfather to my
grandchildren. I rearranged my priorities.
Paul and his
fellows began to throw the cargo of grain off the ship in order to be
saved. That cargo had great value. It was worth thousands of dollars but in the
moment of crisis it had no value at all to them.
When you are
trying to find your way through the storm please realize that the most
important thing is your relationship with God.
He wants you to use that crisis to demonstrate your faith in him. You can glorify God by putting him first in
your life and demonstrating to others that you have your spiritual priorities
together.
Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego were cast into the fiery furnace. They wouldn’t bow, they wouldn’t bend and
they wouldn’t burn. In the midst of
their trial they revealed the Son of Man right there in the midst of the fire
with them. God allows storms to come
into our lives to provide us opportunities to reveal Christ at work during our
most difficult moments.
4. God is always enough.
My faith has
found a resting place,
Not in device or creed;
I trust the ever living One,
His wounds for me shall plead.
I need no
other argument,
I need no other plea,
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me.
Christ is
always enough. We often find ourselves
running to other people rather than to God and this is a demonstration of our
lack of faith. He never fails. He never
runs out of patience. The fountain of
his wisdom never runs dry. His strength
abounds forever.
We live in a
culture where millions are turning to drugs and doctors, health guru’s and
self-help books and amateur counselors.
All of these things may have their place but we must first consult One
who knows us best.
Maybe we
don’t turn to him because we don’t know Him.
Do you really know the Savior today?
I have
taught many students in my 30 years as an educator. Many have fathers but they lack confidence
in their fathers love them for them.
Some of their fathers are absent, some are negligent, and some are
abusive.
How many
Christians doubt their Father’s love for them?
If you don’t spend time in his word you will start doubting his
love. If you claim a relationship that
you have never experienced you will doubt his love. To be confident of his love you have to know
him. He brings rest and confidence to
our souls when we spend time with Him.
I took my
son for a walk one night after dark. We
walked to a cemetery not far from our home.
I confess our adventure was more about testing his courage than actually
spending time with him. As we got closer
to the cemetery the dogs and coyotes began to howl and bark. I spoke to my son, “Kameron, are you scared?” He looked at me incredulously and said, “Why
no, Dad. Are you?” I wasn’t too sure how to answer him.
I know my
son well. Had he been on that old gravel
road alone on that moonlit night approaching that cemetery he would have been
very fearful. He wasn’t scared because
of the faith he had in his father. He
knew I loved him and I would defend him with my very life.
Don’t walk
through the valley alone. Don’t endure
the storm by yourself.
In those
moments of crisis, God is all you need.
Your Father loves you. He will
take care of you. He will walk with you
through the storm.
Deut.
31:6 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of
them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake
you.”
Kevin Probst - Teaches Bible and Apologetics at Lafayette Christian Academy in LaGrange, Georgia.
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