Verse of the Day: 1 John 4: 15 If anyone unites with our confession that Jesus is God’s own Son, then God truly lives in that person and that person lives in God.
Memory of the Month: Psalm 33:4
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
Today's reading: DANIEL 1-2 1 JOHN 4
Lord, Are You There?
A young man asked God the questions: "Lord are you really there? If you are, why did you allow my life to be so horrible for so long?"
This is one of the hardest questions to which I do not have a list of 'preacher answers'. I only know what I know from what I have seen and been taught by God.
We all know that the world was created perfectly until sin entered and man was separated from God and that is the ultimate reason for the first coming of Christ and for His perfect sacrifice and His defeat of death in the resurrection.
The Bible tells us in Luke 4:17-19 that Jesus read from the Book of Isaiah where it says:
Luke 4:17-19
17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,"
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Nowhere in this passage does it say that Christ Jesus will destroy the sources of all this suffering. The Book of The Revelation tells us how all this wickedness will be destroyed.
The original questions from a young man bring the question we hear so often, "How can a loving God allow all this suffering?"
Jesus did not say there would not be suffering but he warned us:
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have distress(affliction, trials), but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
God gave us free will and so we have sin. God did not create evil-He gave us free choice.
We have horrible things happen because of life's challenges and because of the choices people make but God told us why:
Romans 8:28-29
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
God uses all things for our good-if we are in Jesus-so we can be changed into the image of Christ that we may become His brothers and sisters.
One man said this: "God took the very worst thing that has ever happened in the history of the universe—the death of God on the cross—and turned it into the very best thing that has happened in the history of the universe: the opening up of heaven to all who follow him." If God can take the very worst circumstance imaginable and turn it into the very best situation possible, can he not take the negative circumstances of your life and create something good from them?
We have suffering from sickness, injury, tragedy,etc. Then we have suffering from our own sin or the effects of the sins of others on our lives.
Jesus comes into our lives to guide us through all suffering-to empower us to see into our past, present and prepare us for tomorrow, if it comes.
I do not have an answer yet for the questions of the young man-but God does. Yes, this sounds like something a preacher would say, but this one knows it is an absolute from his own life. No, my experiences may not help one bit but one's own experiences with God opens the door to the answers in God's own heart.
But getting past the questions and hurt and distrust calls for ultimate love. Constant Love from us in everyday life-love that does not judge but accepts the fact that 'we cannot fix it' for someone else. We can help in God's love and all that calls for when asked the hard questions. So, for us, in God's love we know no retreat. We follow God's leading into the hardest of questions.
For the horribly hurt, they must be introduced to Jesus and this may come with great anger and doubt from the deeply hurt and this is where we cannot retreat. God's love endures all things(1 Corinthians 13) and demands our constant and unwavering commitment to be Jesus to the hurting.
From our hurt and our pain, God molds us into the image of Christ so we may tell of His freedom and healing-so we may love from the deepest place of hurt-the very cross of Christ.
Christ never gives up on us-we must never give up on the broken hearted. There is light for all in Christ Jesus.
...because he Loves us...
Father In Heaven,
I carry a lot of baggage from earthly hurt. Forgive me the sin that caused some of that suffering. Have mercy on me and show me how to love the hurting and negative into Your healing.
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