When I was little, I used to worry about everything....no, literally everything. I worried about people dying, my teacher being a literal witch, making bad grades. Every patch of tall grass I saw just had to have some sort of poisonous snake in it, and anyone knocking on the front door I didn't know was a potential drug dealer trying to inject poison into me. Yeah, I was a basket case.
Mom tried to help by giving me a book about worrying. The point of the book was that most of what we worry about we can do nothing about, so why worry? After reading the book, Mom asked me if I learned anything. My response was "yeah. I have a lot more to worry about than I thought." Well, she tried at least.
Thankfully, I got better with age. But now I find myself sitting in a similar position. Mandy's been job-hunting, and so far no success. Granted, we haven't heard back from everyone yet, but those we have heard from either said no or asked us to fill out a survey, whatever that means. Of course, if Mandy can't find a job as a nurse, I can always teach, but we all know what teachers get paid. Right now we're barely getting by on what I make now. How much tighter is it going to be in Texas?
Not to mention Mandy has been having headaches a lot, and she says her vision is strained, even with new contacts. Now, the stress of it all may be causing tension headaches, which could pull things tight enough to mess with her vision, and as soon as she gets a job it will all go away. But she has a headache with blurred vision. Remembering my uncle, what am I supposed to think about that?
On top of that, my grandmother is in the hospital with pneumonia, which will probably never get any better if she doesn't change her environment at home (she lives out in the woods where dust and pollen are a common part of life). But if you mention moving to her at all, she quite vehemently tells you no, and the discussion is over. Pushing it any further only upsets her, and that's the last thing she needs.
So now, instead of worrying about unseen snakes and mean looking teachers, I'm worrying about getting bills paid and loved ones being taken from me long before I'm ready to let them go. the issues are all grown up now. And, to be honest, I'm scared out of my wits. I have no idea how any of this is going to turn out. I try to be reassuring for Mandy, but half the time I feel like I'm trying to convince myself more than I am her.
But still, despite all this, I still believe this, because I don't know how to not believe it:
"So do not be overly concerned about what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. For all the nations in the world pursue these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, pursue His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." --Luke 12:29-31
If I am going where God has called me, then He will take care of everything--jobs, headaches, and pneumonia. All that I have to do is trust. I won't lie; it's hard to do that. But it's all that is required of me.
Still, any prayer sent up on our behalf for any of these circumstances would be greatly appreciated.
Feel free to leave comments or ask questions. I'm always here.
Keep Soaring,
B
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Silence of God....
I came across this song while looking through some old CDs. Something tells me this song applies to more people than who care to admit that it does. If you care to download it, it's performed by Andrew Peterson.
"The Silence of God"
It's enough to drive a man crazy.
It'll break a man's faith.
It's enough to make him wonder
If he's ever been saved.
When he's bleating for comfort
From thy staff and thy rod
And the Heaven's only answer
Is the silence of God.
And it'll shake a man's timbers
When he loses his heart,
When he has to remember
What broke him apart.
And this yoke may be easy,
But this burden is not.
When the crying fields are frozen
By the silence of God.
And if a man has got to listen
To the voices of the mob
Who are reeling in the throws
Of all the happiness they've got.
When they tell you all their troubles
Have been nailed up to that cross,
What about the time when even
Followers get lost.
Because we all get lost sometimes.
There's a statue of Jesus
On a monastery knoll
In the hills of Kentucky
All quiet and cold.
He's kneeling in the garden
Silent as a stone
And all his friends are sleeping.
He is weeping all alone.
And the Man of all Sorrows,
He never forgot
What sorrow is carried
By the hearts that He bought.
So when the questions dissolve
Into the silence of God,
The aching may remain,
But the breaking does not.
The aching may remain
But the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo
Of the Silence of God.
Feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm always here.
Keep Soaring,
B
"The Silence of God"
It's enough to drive a man crazy.
It'll break a man's faith.
It's enough to make him wonder
If he's ever been saved.
When he's bleating for comfort
From thy staff and thy rod
And the Heaven's only answer
Is the silence of God.
And it'll shake a man's timbers
When he loses his heart,
When he has to remember
What broke him apart.
And this yoke may be easy,
But this burden is not.
When the crying fields are frozen
By the silence of God.
And if a man has got to listen
To the voices of the mob
Who are reeling in the throws
Of all the happiness they've got.
When they tell you all their troubles
Have been nailed up to that cross,
What about the time when even
Followers get lost.
Because we all get lost sometimes.
There's a statue of Jesus
On a monastery knoll
In the hills of Kentucky
All quiet and cold.
He's kneeling in the garden
Silent as a stone
And all his friends are sleeping.
He is weeping all alone.
And the Man of all Sorrows,
He never forgot
What sorrow is carried
By the hearts that He bought.
So when the questions dissolve
Into the silence of God,
The aching may remain,
But the breaking does not.
The aching may remain
But the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo
Of the Silence of God.
Feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm always here.
Keep Soaring,
B
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Happy Birthday Mandy!!
The plan for tonight is as follows:
1.) Crawfish and real coke for the birthday girl
2.) Chick-fil-A sweet tea and something non-shellfish for me
3.) A chick flick selected by the birthday girl
Adding up to a sum total of:
--Spending an evening with the beautiful woman God has blessed me with.
Keep Soaring,
B
1.) Crawfish and real coke for the birthday girl
2.) Chick-fil-A sweet tea and something non-shellfish for me
3.) A chick flick selected by the birthday girl
Adding up to a sum total of:
--Spending an evening with the beautiful woman God has blessed me with.
Keep Soaring,
B
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Garlic sauce, birthdays, and the Lone Ranger...
I'm afraid this post isn't going to be a lesson, more like a sharing of some things that have been on my mind. The LORD has been doing things in my life, allowing things to happen, and some of it has me kind of scrambled up. If nothing else, the title of this post should suggest something of my mental capacity to stay focused.
My wife didn't get a position at the hospital that she wanted. Which, in all actuality, means nothing. There are literally thousands of positions in the Dallas Fort worth area for BSNs, so not getting one job is in no way an indication of whether or not she will find a job. But still, I feel somewhat regretful. She was so worried that this was going to happen, and everytime she mentioned it, I would always say, "but you're going to get it. You're good at what you do and you have a very impressive resume. They'll jump at the chance to hire you." It's true...she is good at this nursing thing and she does have an impressive resume. But for whatever reason, the hospital just didn't hire her. Now I feel like a heel, because I told her this wouldn't happen, and it did. Maybe I should have spent less time trying to fix her worries and more time simply acknowledging that she was worried. I'm learning that sometimes a shoulder to punch/cry on is needed a lot more than the mystery answer to the problems at hand.
On a more comical note, she did find some courage in ordering garlic sauce. She tells the story about it here, but the cool part is that God used it to help overcome her fear of talking to recruiters. God can use anything....even garlic sauce.
Today is my mother's birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!!) and Thursday is my wife's (Happy Early Birthday Sweetheart!!). It's a very happy and exciting time of the year, and often serves as an excuse for everyone to get together, which I thoroughly enjoy. But this year, things are little disjointed. Between work schedules, school activities, assignments being due, and increasingly aggravating geography, it's become impossible to have a gathering to celebrate either birthday where everyone is there. My sister managed to make it in last night to see Mom, but has to work this weekend, which is of course the only time that Mandy and I can make it out to see her, and it also happens to be right when my other sister is going to be in Baton Rouge. Mandy and I have plans to celebrate her birthday with my sister later in the week, and we sort of celebrated with her parents last weekend. But her parents are going to out of town this weekend, so having an actual party is impossible. Don't get me wrong, I understand that this is part of life, and I wouldn't change any of it. Children grow up, they have their own lives to tend to, and getting together gets harder and harder the farther along this life we get. But still, I feel a little disappointed (mainly in myself for not coming up with a solution) that the birthdays of two of the most important women in my life have to be celebrated in pieces where we can manage to fit them.
If you read this blog, and you're not related to me or one of my friends from my many walks of life, then chances are you have a bone to pick with the church. Somewhere along the way, someone has hurt you, ridiculed you, embarassed you, or otherwise caused some sort of emotional damage that makes you uncomfortable to walk into anywhere that has the word "Church" or "Fellowship" written on the building. I understand how you feel; several of my friends and loved ones have been there. But I think it's important to remember something....churches unfortunately are full of people, which means someone at some point is going to screw up and hurt somebody. No matter which church you go to, it's going to happen. Some of you probably figured this out, and so, like I've done before, you just don't go to church at all, thinking "I believe in Jesus, that's good enough. Church is for those other people." It's almost like we adopt this "Lone Ranger" mentality. We can survive this harsh world on our own, we just need Jesus like the Lone Ranger needs Silver, someone to travel with and keep you going. But that just isn't how it works. We're group minded by nature; even loners tend to find a group of "loners" that they feel comfortable with. It's how were programmed.
My old pastor can give you all the Biblical reasons of why you need others here. The point I'm trying to make is this: just like you wouldn't disown your entire family because of one or two mean cousins, it really isn't fair to disown the entire Body of Christ for one sick group of people. I realize that most of the churches in this country are nothing like they should be, but there has to be at least a few, so please find one where you can be at peace and be part of the Body again. And if for some reason you simply can't find one, get a group of like-minded people together and start your own Bible study. Those who earnestly seek God will not be disappointed, and having someone with you to talk about what He's doing in your life makes this life all the more bearable.
I was somewhat lazy on this post and let other people do all my talking for me. But hopefully, somewhere in this madness that is my mind, you have managed to find truth. And I hope that it will point you to the One who defines what truth is.
Feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm always here.
Keep Soaring,
B
My wife didn't get a position at the hospital that she wanted. Which, in all actuality, means nothing. There are literally thousands of positions in the Dallas Fort worth area for BSNs, so not getting one job is in no way an indication of whether or not she will find a job. But still, I feel somewhat regretful. She was so worried that this was going to happen, and everytime she mentioned it, I would always say, "but you're going to get it. You're good at what you do and you have a very impressive resume. They'll jump at the chance to hire you." It's true...she is good at this nursing thing and she does have an impressive resume. But for whatever reason, the hospital just didn't hire her. Now I feel like a heel, because I told her this wouldn't happen, and it did. Maybe I should have spent less time trying to fix her worries and more time simply acknowledging that she was worried. I'm learning that sometimes a shoulder to punch/cry on is needed a lot more than the mystery answer to the problems at hand.
On a more comical note, she did find some courage in ordering garlic sauce. She tells the story about it here, but the cool part is that God used it to help overcome her fear of talking to recruiters. God can use anything....even garlic sauce.
Today is my mother's birthday (Happy Birthday Mom!!) and Thursday is my wife's (Happy Early Birthday Sweetheart!!). It's a very happy and exciting time of the year, and often serves as an excuse for everyone to get together, which I thoroughly enjoy. But this year, things are little disjointed. Between work schedules, school activities, assignments being due, and increasingly aggravating geography, it's become impossible to have a gathering to celebrate either birthday where everyone is there. My sister managed to make it in last night to see Mom, but has to work this weekend, which is of course the only time that Mandy and I can make it out to see her, and it also happens to be right when my other sister is going to be in Baton Rouge. Mandy and I have plans to celebrate her birthday with my sister later in the week, and we sort of celebrated with her parents last weekend. But her parents are going to out of town this weekend, so having an actual party is impossible. Don't get me wrong, I understand that this is part of life, and I wouldn't change any of it. Children grow up, they have their own lives to tend to, and getting together gets harder and harder the farther along this life we get. But still, I feel a little disappointed (mainly in myself for not coming up with a solution) that the birthdays of two of the most important women in my life have to be celebrated in pieces where we can manage to fit them.
If you read this blog, and you're not related to me or one of my friends from my many walks of life, then chances are you have a bone to pick with the church. Somewhere along the way, someone has hurt you, ridiculed you, embarassed you, or otherwise caused some sort of emotional damage that makes you uncomfortable to walk into anywhere that has the word "Church" or "Fellowship" written on the building. I understand how you feel; several of my friends and loved ones have been there. But I think it's important to remember something....churches unfortunately are full of people, which means someone at some point is going to screw up and hurt somebody. No matter which church you go to, it's going to happen. Some of you probably figured this out, and so, like I've done before, you just don't go to church at all, thinking "I believe in Jesus, that's good enough. Church is for those other people." It's almost like we adopt this "Lone Ranger" mentality. We can survive this harsh world on our own, we just need Jesus like the Lone Ranger needs Silver, someone to travel with and keep you going. But that just isn't how it works. We're group minded by nature; even loners tend to find a group of "loners" that they feel comfortable with. It's how were programmed.
My old pastor can give you all the Biblical reasons of why you need others here. The point I'm trying to make is this: just like you wouldn't disown your entire family because of one or two mean cousins, it really isn't fair to disown the entire Body of Christ for one sick group of people. I realize that most of the churches in this country are nothing like they should be, but there has to be at least a few, so please find one where you can be at peace and be part of the Body again. And if for some reason you simply can't find one, get a group of like-minded people together and start your own Bible study. Those who earnestly seek God will not be disappointed, and having someone with you to talk about what He's doing in your life makes this life all the more bearable.
I was somewhat lazy on this post and let other people do all my talking for me. But hopefully, somewhere in this madness that is my mind, you have managed to find truth. And I hope that it will point you to the One who defines what truth is.
Feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm always here.
Keep Soaring,
B
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
THIS IS NOT LOUD!!!!!!!!!!......this is.......
I've been away from the blogging realm for a little while now. I've been in Fort Worth, TX, securing a rent home so that my wife and I won't be literally homeless while I attend Seminary. The LORD had his hand in the whole process. Our new landlords just happen to walk into the hardware store where a friend of mine worked, who happened to mention to said landlords that he has friends (that's us) who just happen to be moving to the Fort Worth Area and needed a home. Then it turns out that the only week we have to go looking just happens to be the week that the landlords are finishing remodeling the house. The cards were shuffled, the dominoes fell, we somehow managed to survive all of my mixed metaphors, and God allowed us to put down a safety deposit on a small but beautiful rent home. Thanks to all who have been praying, and please remember to praise God for His provision.
Something happened to me on the way home from out house hunting. It's a little embarassing, honestly, that it's taken this long for me to get it. But God knows how thick-headed I can be sometimes, and that subtlety for me isn't always the best way to do things.
To spare the suspense, I believe, for the first time in a long, long while, I heard God speak.
Now let me clarify, God did not verbally speak to me. The heavens did not open, I did not have a vision of a winged creature wreathed in light and speaking with a tongue shaped like a sword. I don't have some sort of special communication with God that no one else has. This is not the televangelist "God told me to tell you" horse manuer that you get so often these days. What I am talking about is the Holy Spirit leading and guiding me in a way that is undeniable.
I won't go into details of the circumstances due to their personal nature, but suffice it to say I was very bewildered. Things were going on a track that I didn't know how to get off of, and I was going to crash emotionally if things didn't work out soon. I had asked God for guidance on the subject before, but He never really seemed to be answering. Well this time, He answered. As I said before, it wasn't a grand vision of epic proportions. No, God chose to speak to me in probably the most unlikely way you can imagine.....He spoke to me in a whisper. Just a slight "tug" on my heart that pulled me in a direction I didn't normally go. And the results were profound. Months of confusion suddenly and instantly made clear. Wounds that had been open for far too long, for the first time, seemed to finally be healing. And the oddest part of it all was that it wasn't because of a great effort on my part. It was because God chose to whisper.
I know that this is terribly vague, and if the circumstances didn't involve more people than just me, I would be more forthcoming about it. But the point remains the same--when God spoke to me and gave me an answer to questions that had been plaguing me, He spoke in a whisper. So, if you have tried to listen for God and heard nothing, maybe you were like me. You were looking for skywriting and supernatural events, when really all you need to wait for is a whisper.
I wanna close this post with a lesson that the prophet Elijah learned. He had just seen God work an amazing miracle by conquering the false god Baal. Then, when his life was threatened, he fell into horrible depression. When God came to him, to encourage him, this is what happened:
"A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper. When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave." --1 Kings 19:11-13
To hear God's voice, we don't need to look for miraculous signs and wonders. We need only to listen for a whisper.
Feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm always here.
Keep Soaring,
B
Something happened to me on the way home from out house hunting. It's a little embarassing, honestly, that it's taken this long for me to get it. But God knows how thick-headed I can be sometimes, and that subtlety for me isn't always the best way to do things.
To spare the suspense, I believe, for the first time in a long, long while, I heard God speak.
Now let me clarify, God did not verbally speak to me. The heavens did not open, I did not have a vision of a winged creature wreathed in light and speaking with a tongue shaped like a sword. I don't have some sort of special communication with God that no one else has. This is not the televangelist "God told me to tell you" horse manuer that you get so often these days. What I am talking about is the Holy Spirit leading and guiding me in a way that is undeniable.
I won't go into details of the circumstances due to their personal nature, but suffice it to say I was very bewildered. Things were going on a track that I didn't know how to get off of, and I was going to crash emotionally if things didn't work out soon. I had asked God for guidance on the subject before, but He never really seemed to be answering. Well this time, He answered. As I said before, it wasn't a grand vision of epic proportions. No, God chose to speak to me in probably the most unlikely way you can imagine.....He spoke to me in a whisper. Just a slight "tug" on my heart that pulled me in a direction I didn't normally go. And the results were profound. Months of confusion suddenly and instantly made clear. Wounds that had been open for far too long, for the first time, seemed to finally be healing. And the oddest part of it all was that it wasn't because of a great effort on my part. It was because God chose to whisper.
I know that this is terribly vague, and if the circumstances didn't involve more people than just me, I would be more forthcoming about it. But the point remains the same--when God spoke to me and gave me an answer to questions that had been plaguing me, He spoke in a whisper. So, if you have tried to listen for God and heard nothing, maybe you were like me. You were looking for skywriting and supernatural events, when really all you need to wait for is a whisper.
I wanna close this post with a lesson that the prophet Elijah learned. He had just seen God work an amazing miracle by conquering the false god Baal. Then, when his life was threatened, he fell into horrible depression. When God came to him, to encourage him, this is what happened:
"A very powerful wind went before the Lord, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper. When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave." --1 Kings 19:11-13
To hear God's voice, we don't need to look for miraculous signs and wonders. We need only to listen for a whisper.
Feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm always here.
Keep Soaring,
B
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Answer Finale.....
For the past couple of weeks, I've been trying to get something resembling a reason as to why bad things happen to good people. So far, I've mentioned that (1) God has a perspective that we don't have, so when He allows bad things to happen, we need to trust that He does so for our benefit, and (2) The reason bad things like death and disease happen at all is the sin of our hearts, so technically, the blame for tragedy in this world falls on us.
The last thing I want to mention is something I learned from watching Shadowlands, a movie about the love story of C.S. Lewis and his wife Joy. At the end of the movie, after Joy has died of cancer, Lewis says something that I think rings very true. "The pain now is part of the happiness then."
Basically, he's saying that the reason he felt pain when Joy died was because she made him happy, and to be free of the pain of losing her would mean to never experience the happiness that she gave him. We could say the same about the world in general. The reason that we experience pain when tragedies and disasters strike is because we can point to a time where things were good. Lewis felt pain at Joy's death because he experienced happiness in her life. A divorced husband feels pain because he experienced happiness in marriage. Parents of a sick child feel pain because they know the happiness of seeing the child happy and healthy.
There's an old saying that goes like this: "Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." We can debate on whether or not that statement is true; for some people avoiding the pain of loss is worth sacrificing the happiness that comes before. But either way, the point I want to make is that if God were truly mean, if He were "a mean kid with a magnifying glass," He would never have let us feel the happiness before. Lewis would never have met Joy, the divorced husband would never have been married, and the parents would never have had children to begin with. And to me, that would be more cruel than letting them feel that happiness for a little while.
The reason I've spent so much time on this topic is because it is one that I still wrestle with today. Roughly four years ago, my uncle was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and died a few months later. Every night while he was sick, I prayed for his healing--I begged, I bargained, and I screamed--but in the end, God saw fit to allow him to die. I struggled through my faith for a while after that. But at the end of it all I had to admit three things: (1) The only reason I hurt now is because I was that happy when he was alive, (2) God did not give him the cancer that killed him; he got the cancer because we live in a world where sin has brought death and disease to us, and no one, not even a good man, is immune to them, and (3) As much as I try, I can never know what eternal implications his death had on the world. For all I know, his death might be the one thing that saves thousands one day. I don't know, and I may never know, and because of that, I can't really speak to how fair or unfair his death was.
None of those answers made the pain of losing him any less. And to this day, there are moments where God and I have our discussions about it. But those answers did give me some perspective and help me accept his death. That, and the fact that no matter how bad the pain gets, God carries me all the way. I would have left everything--my future in the church, my ministry, even my faith--for the pain of my uncle's death. But God, in His grace, gave me the strength to endure. And now, looking back, though I don't understand all of it, I can see that God is with me because of His love, and that He will get me through even this.
As I said before, this is not meant to be the answer to all answers on why bad things happen. It's just an answer that seems to make sense to me. And I pray that somehow, it will bring some understanding and peace to you.
Feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm always here.
Keep Soaring,
B
The last thing I want to mention is something I learned from watching Shadowlands, a movie about the love story of C.S. Lewis and his wife Joy. At the end of the movie, after Joy has died of cancer, Lewis says something that I think rings very true. "The pain now is part of the happiness then."
Basically, he's saying that the reason he felt pain when Joy died was because she made him happy, and to be free of the pain of losing her would mean to never experience the happiness that she gave him. We could say the same about the world in general. The reason that we experience pain when tragedies and disasters strike is because we can point to a time where things were good. Lewis felt pain at Joy's death because he experienced happiness in her life. A divorced husband feels pain because he experienced happiness in marriage. Parents of a sick child feel pain because they know the happiness of seeing the child happy and healthy.
There's an old saying that goes like this: "Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." We can debate on whether or not that statement is true; for some people avoiding the pain of loss is worth sacrificing the happiness that comes before. But either way, the point I want to make is that if God were truly mean, if He were "a mean kid with a magnifying glass," He would never have let us feel the happiness before. Lewis would never have met Joy, the divorced husband would never have been married, and the parents would never have had children to begin with. And to me, that would be more cruel than letting them feel that happiness for a little while.
The reason I've spent so much time on this topic is because it is one that I still wrestle with today. Roughly four years ago, my uncle was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and died a few months later. Every night while he was sick, I prayed for his healing--I begged, I bargained, and I screamed--but in the end, God saw fit to allow him to die. I struggled through my faith for a while after that. But at the end of it all I had to admit three things: (1) The only reason I hurt now is because I was that happy when he was alive, (2) God did not give him the cancer that killed him; he got the cancer because we live in a world where sin has brought death and disease to us, and no one, not even a good man, is immune to them, and (3) As much as I try, I can never know what eternal implications his death had on the world. For all I know, his death might be the one thing that saves thousands one day. I don't know, and I may never know, and because of that, I can't really speak to how fair or unfair his death was.
None of those answers made the pain of losing him any less. And to this day, there are moments where God and I have our discussions about it. But those answers did give me some perspective and help me accept his death. That, and the fact that no matter how bad the pain gets, God carries me all the way. I would have left everything--my future in the church, my ministry, even my faith--for the pain of my uncle's death. But God, in His grace, gave me the strength to endure. And now, looking back, though I don't understand all of it, I can see that God is with me because of His love, and that He will get me through even this.
As I said before, this is not meant to be the answer to all answers on why bad things happen. It's just an answer that seems to make sense to me. And I pray that somehow, it will bring some understanding and peace to you.
Feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm always here.
Keep Soaring,
B
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Answer Part 2.....
Last week, I tried to wrestle with the question of why bad things happen to good people. I said part of the answer is that we don't have the perspective that God has. He can see things that we can't, and what hurts today might be the one thing that helps us survive tomorrow. Thanks to those who commented; you gave me a broader perspective on the topic.
The second reason I came across of why good people so often meet tragedy is the fact that this is world is messed up. None of what we're experiencing right now is what we were designed for. Sickness, disease, death, natural disaster, war---none of these were in the schematics when God designed us and the world we would live in. In His foreknowledge, He knew that we would sin and leave Him, and in His grace, He decided to create us anyway. But we weren't meant to be where we are now, living an average of 75 years on this earth, forced to watch people suffer and die.
The worst part of it all is that it's our fault. God is not the one who causes death to happen; death happens because we sin and bring death on the world. Sickness and disease exist because God's standard has been fallen short of. This world is at unrest, flinging its hurricanes and tornadoes and earthquakes and tsunamis about because what it was designed for is not happening.
That's a bitter pill to swallow, especially things that occur out of our control. But it's the truth. We grow old, get sick, and die, because of the sin in our hearts. My first inclination is to shake my fist at God and demand, "Why?" But the sad truth is, if He took the time to give me an answer, He would say something similar to what Paul said to the church in Rome. "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless. Although they fully know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them" (Romans 1:28-32).
It isn't God who sends storms to ravage homes, it's sin. It isn't God who creates cancer to kill, it's sin. And it isn't God who brings death that pains us so much; it's sin. He has to punish sin; otherwise He would no longer be God. So if we really must point fingers at someone to blame hardship and heartache on, then we should point to ourselves.
This is why the grace of God is so important. Because despite the fact that sin has all but robbed us of our natural life, Jesus Christ provides us a way to save our spiritual life. We may experience death on Earth, but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we can experience life the likes of which we can never imagine.
This reason isn't nearly as encouraging or comforting as last week's or next week's. But it would be wrong to ignore it, because it is true. We die because we sin. But, thanks to God, we can live because of Christ.
Please remember, this is not meant to be the answer to end all answers to such a hard question. This is just what got me through some very difficult times in my life. And hopefully, God can use it to help you.
Feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm always here.
Keep Soaring,
B
The second reason I came across of why good people so often meet tragedy is the fact that this is world is messed up. None of what we're experiencing right now is what we were designed for. Sickness, disease, death, natural disaster, war---none of these were in the schematics when God designed us and the world we would live in. In His foreknowledge, He knew that we would sin and leave Him, and in His grace, He decided to create us anyway. But we weren't meant to be where we are now, living an average of 75 years on this earth, forced to watch people suffer and die.
The worst part of it all is that it's our fault. God is not the one who causes death to happen; death happens because we sin and bring death on the world. Sickness and disease exist because God's standard has been fallen short of. This world is at unrest, flinging its hurricanes and tornadoes and earthquakes and tsunamis about because what it was designed for is not happening.
That's a bitter pill to swallow, especially things that occur out of our control. But it's the truth. We grow old, get sick, and die, because of the sin in our hearts. My first inclination is to shake my fist at God and demand, "Why?" But the sad truth is, if He took the time to give me an answer, He would say something similar to what Paul said to the church in Rome. "And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless. Although they fully know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them" (Romans 1:28-32).
It isn't God who sends storms to ravage homes, it's sin. It isn't God who creates cancer to kill, it's sin. And it isn't God who brings death that pains us so much; it's sin. He has to punish sin; otherwise He would no longer be God. So if we really must point fingers at someone to blame hardship and heartache on, then we should point to ourselves.
This is why the grace of God is so important. Because despite the fact that sin has all but robbed us of our natural life, Jesus Christ provides us a way to save our spiritual life. We may experience death on Earth, but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we can experience life the likes of which we can never imagine.
This reason isn't nearly as encouraging or comforting as last week's or next week's. But it would be wrong to ignore it, because it is true. We die because we sin. But, thanks to God, we can live because of Christ.
Please remember, this is not meant to be the answer to end all answers to such a hard question. This is just what got me through some very difficult times in my life. And hopefully, God can use it to help you.
Feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm always here.
Keep Soaring,
B
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