God Answers the “Why?” Question

When things go wrong, terribly wrong, we can’t help asking God, “Why?”

Why did You let this happen?

Why did you let him die?

Why can’t I get pregnant?

Why can’t I find a job?

Maybe you’ve asked one of those questions. Maybe you’re asking one now. Or a different one.

Often, no answer comes. Bad things happen, but we’re only left to wonder why. God just doesn’t provide us with a reason.

And in those times, we have to fall back on His character. If we forget or never realize that He is good, faithful, loving, kind and all-powerful no matter what happens, then we will quickly become angry, fearful, depressed or any number of other negative emotions.

Sometimes though, God pulls back the curtain and gives us more information. Sometimes He answers the “Why?” question. In John 11, Lazarus is sick and eventually dies, but Jesus says, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Now of course the disciples heard Jesus say this, but Lazarus and his two sisters who had sent for Jesus didn’t get to hear what Jesus said. They saw the miracle a few days later when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, but those were a rough few days of silence while they wondered why Jesus wasn’t coming.

In the first chapter of Haggai, we have another instance of God actually explaining why something bad was happening. The temple was in ruins and the remaining Jews in Jerusalem had been saying, “The time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built.”

They were wrong.

Apparently, the time had not only come, but had passed. As a result, the people were experiencing drought like conditions in all areas of life. They would plant, but not harvest much. They’d put clothes on, but not be warm. They’d earn wages, but it was like putting money in a purse with holes in it.

Nothing was working out.

Have you been there? I have.

Just when you think a situation can’t get worse–it does. It looks like something will work out, but it doesn’t. You seem so close to getting out of difficult circumstances, but can’t quite ever make it.

Twice in chapter 1, God tells the people, “Give careful thought to your ways.”

I’m not sure we’re very good at that. We don’t stop very often to give careful thought to our ways. I think we just press on, wonder why things aren’t working and then blame God for not helping us.

But in Haggai 1:7-9, God is very clear about why things have not gone well: “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the LORD Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.”

There it is. God answers the “Why?” question. The people had been busy with their own homes, but had ignored His. God’s temple was in ruins, but the people were saying, “The time has not yet come for the LORD’s house to be built.”

They were wrong. It was time for the temple to be rebuilt. It was time for the people to be about God’s agenda.

You and I don’t have a temple to rebuild, but could it be there’s something else God has given us to do, but we’ve ignored it? We didn’t think it was important or we were busy or it would have made us uncomfortable or we simply forgot?

But the bottom line is we didn’t do it. And it has led to drought like conditions in our lives.

Press pause for just a moment.

PLEASE DO NOT HEAR ME SAYING THAT ALL BAD THINGS ARE THE RESULT OF OUR SIN OR FAILING TO DO WHAT GOD HAS ASKED US TO DO.

We live in a fallen world that’s badly stained by sin. Bad things happen. People get sick. Cars breakdown. Loved ones die. And it’s not because of anything we did or didn’t do.

Sometimes though, God does get our attention through frustrating circumstances. Is this one of those times for you? Maybe there’s something He wants you to do. Or maybe He wants you to start walking according to His ways, not yours.

If you ask Him, He’ll tell you, but if you’ll stop and “give careful thought to your ways”, I suspect you will know what He’s wanting you to do.

Waiting on God

My wife and son and I drove to Branson, Missouri today for a long weekend. One of my daughters is working here this summer, so we’ll get to visit her and have some fun at a water park and Silver Dollar City.

After dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack tonight, we were driving back to our cabin when we came to a traffic light. The light was red and there were two vehicles in front of us. Very few cars were on the road that had the green light. So we sat there and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited.

It was one of the longest red lights I’ve ever waited for. Maybe the longest. Apparently, it was also one of the longest for the two cars in front of me because they finally just went through the red light. I can’t blame them because I would have done it too, except that right after they went through it, the light turned green and I was able to go.

It made me wonder how often we get impatient waiting for God to answer a prayer, open a door, give a direction or meet a need we have. And because we’re impatient, we go before we should. We take matters into our own hands. We make a decision before we’ve heard from God.

One of the most difficult things we’ll ever do is wait for God. We don’t like to wait. We want to know now. We want our need met now. We want to see how things will work out now.

We don’t want to wait, but quite often, God requires waiting. It’s just how He works, so we might as well learn how to do it well.

When we find ourselves in a season of waiting, we need to remember that God is always good, He’s always faithful, He alone is all-powerful and He never stops loving us. It’s so important to be reminded of these truths. If we forget them, then we will become impatient and possibly make decisions apart from God’s best for us.

Remember that because He is good, He cannot even think a wrong thought toward us. He cannot even consider doing anything that isn’t best for us.

But if we doubt His goodness or His love for us or His faithfulness to His promises, then we will naturally find it difficult to wait for Him.

Are you needing to wait right now?

If you’re wondering what God is up to and why He won’t just do something, if you’re impatient to the point of moving ahead without God’s clear direction, then spend some time meditating on this passage from Psalm 37:3-7. Let His word saturate your mind. Let it bring calm to your heart.

Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

You will never go wrong if your goal is to trust Him, delight in Him, commit your way to Him and wait patiently for Him, because He will NEVER fail you.

The Fruit of the Spirit

Yesterday, my son snapped this picture of a bee that was desperately holding on to our windshield as we were driving to lunch.

You could see that as our speed increased, the little bee was straining to hold on. The bee must have thought it was trying to survive a very windy day.

If the bee would have only known that to experience calm, it only needed to let go. It was only experiencing a turbulent day because it was holding on to the wrong thing.

What wrong thing are you holding onto today?

Have you placed your security in money?

Does your happiness depend on another person?

Are you only at peace if all your circumstances are good?

Do you only feel good about yourself if you think you’re pleasing everyone around you?

Do you look to your job or your children to make you feel significant?

Galatians 5:22-23 says:

“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

If we hold on to anything or anyone other than God Himself, our lives will feel out of control, turbulent, confusing and chaotic. But that’s not God’s intention for us.

When we surrender everything we have, everything we are and everything we desire to Him–we experience the fruit of His Spirit. We don’t produce the fruit–He produces it as a result of living surrendered lives and walking in obedience. And He even gives us the power to obey Him if only we will trust Him.

We can do life our way or we can do it His way.

Which way are you doing it today?

Are You Ready For a Change?

In the mid-90′s, I was in a job I didn’t like and was looking for a change. A couple years later, I was without a job and looking for a change. Ten years later, I was again in a job that was no longer a fit and was looking for a change.

Last week, I visited a friend in the hospital who’d recently undergone major surgery to remove several tumors. A week after the surgery, he was fighting off a serious infection. He just wanted to start feeling better. He was looking for a change.

I’ve talked to numerous men and women who are unhappy in their marriages. They are looking for a change.

When our circumstances are difficult or unpleasant or just less than desirable–we’re all looking for a change. We want to move on. We want something better. We want God to do something. Sooner than later.

I’m sure the nation of Israel felt the same way.

They’d been slaves in Egypt for 400 years and when change finally came, it was short-lived. Because of their rebellion and unbelief, God made them wander in the desert for 40 years until all those over the age of 20 died off.

Once that generation had died, God led Israel to the east side of the Jordan River in preparation for crossing into the land of Canaan–the land He’d sworn to give to Abraham hundreds of years earlier.

Can you imagine the anticipation?

It would be like a few days before your wedding, Christmas and the best vacation ever all rolled into one. All you’ve ever known is slavery and living in a desert and now, you’re about to move into the land that God is giving you for your very own. They will live in cities they didn’t build. They’ll harvest vineyards they didn’t plant. They’ll be out of the dry, dusty desert and enjoying a land with streams and pools of water.

Everything is about to change for the better.

But is Israel ready?

Moses described them as a rebellious and stiff-necked people. They were prone to grumbling, complaining and wandering. They had short memories–often forgetting what God had done for them.

Are they ready for what God is doing for them? Will they be fully able to enjoy this good land He’s giving them? Have they learned anything from their past?

Still valid questions today.

Are you ready? Are you ready for whatever change God may want to bring into your life?

Are you ready for a new relationship? Are you ready for your marriage to become all God intended? Are you ready for the new job? The new city to live in? The new addition to your family? The increase in pay? New opportunities and responsibilities?

I don’t mean are you tired of your current circumstances. That’s a given. I’m talking about actually being ready to receive or enjoy or capitalize on whatever God is about to do.

When Israel came out of Egypt, God led them to Mt. Sinai where they received the 10 commandments. They would camp there for some time as God revealed many other commands. And before they were ready to cross the Jordan, Moses reviewed God’s commands and explained how to live them out in the new land they would possess.

There are a couple significant passages from what Moses taught that may help us answer the question: Are you ready for a change?

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Deuteronomy 6:4-10)

Love God. Have His commandments on your heart. Impress them upon your children. Talk about them.

Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God. He also said we demonstrated love by obeying Him.

Moses also said:

Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you. (Deuteronomy 8:1-5)

During the 40 years in the desert, God was humbling the Israelites and teaching them that they didn’t just live on bread, but on every word of His. They were to love and cherish and depend on His words. Regardless of how you got to where you are today–God desires to teach you that you cannot live apart from knowing and believing His word.

Are you ready for a change?

We can answer that question with a few other questions…

Are you growing in your love for God? Is your desire to obey Him and walk in His ways increasing?

Do you find yourself talking more about God’s word with others? Are you sharing what you’re learning?

Are you realizing that His word is life to you and that it can be trusted even when your feelings and circumstances aren’t making sense?

Are you only seeking relief from your circumstances or are you seeking God? (If you’re only seeking relief, then it will be easy to forget God once “you eat and are satisfied.”)

A new land, a change of scenery, a better life, relief from present pain and difficulties in the desert–they may be right around the corner.

Now is the time to get ready for them.

I Know the Plans I Have For You

Most of us don’t have any problem believing God knows the plans He has for us. Of course He knows the plans. He is, after all, God.

The problem for many of us is that WE don’t know the plans. God knows the plans, but we want to know them…and God doesn’t always seem to be telling.

Now if everything was going well in our lives, I suspect that a lot of us, myself included, wouldn’t care quite as much about knowing God’s plans for us. We’d just assume we were already experiencing His plans. Pleasant circumstances have a way of dulling our sensitivity to God.

But when things aren’t going so well, when circumstances aren’t what we desired, hoped for or prayed for–well, then we’re much more interested in knowing God’s plans.

Sometimes, I think we wrongly assume our current circumstances, because they’re painful or difficult, couldn’t possibly be what God had planned for us. But that’s not always the case.

In Jeremiah 29, the chapter the “I know the plans I have for you” verse comes from, we see that many Jews are in exile in Babylon for a period of 70 years. That’s a long time to be in exile, to be away from the land you long to return to. There may have been people who were born during the exile and died during the exile. Exile was all they ever knew.

Hundreds of years earlier, the nation of Israel was in bondage in Egypt for 400 years. I’m sure most of them remembered the promise God had made to their ancestor, Abraham–that God was going to give them the land of Canaan as their possession. And yet, many Jews were born in Egypt, lived their lives as slaves in Egypt, and died Egypt.

Hebrews 11 is a chapter that highlights the great faith displayed by Abraham, Moses, Noah, Rahab, David and others. This is also the chapter that says:

“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.”

To be honest, I really don’t like that verse all that much. They did not receive the things promised? Only saw them and welcomed them from a distance? Huh? I want God’s good plans for me. I’m not into the “did not receive” part. That sounds…hard. Painful. Disappointing.

And yet, a life of believing God is lived by keeping our eyes on God, not our circumstances. Paul said he had learned to be content in all circumstances. Whether he had plenty or he lacked–he was okay with it. Why? Because regardless of his circumstances–he had Christ.

I’m not suggesting we don’t desire or pray for improved circumstances. For those of us with medical issues–we want healing. If we have financial problems–we want God to provide a way through or a way out. If it’s a failing marriage or a rebellious child or some other relationship problem–we want God to fix it.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 says:

This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

God’s plan was to bring the Jews back after 70 years in Babylon. His plans were to prosper, not harm them. His plans were to give them a hope and a future. They would call upon Him and He would listen. They would seek Him and find Him.

It wasn’t going to happen immediately though. There was a period of waiting. Surely, some of them died before returning. They saw God’s promise from a distance.

I know we long for God to change things. I do. But what if we were to long for God more?

Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

To delight in God means to find pleasure and enjoyment in Him. What if we made that our highest aim, instead of relief from our difficulties?

Ultimately, God’s best plan for us is simply…Himself.

Could it be that we experience God’s plans when we experience Him in the midst of whatever we’re facing?

What Does God Want?

When I operated a personal training studio a number of years ago, some clients would wonder why they weren’t losing weight even though they’d been working out for several weeks. The issue was always the same–they hadn’t changed their eating habits. Somehow they thought that two one-hour workouts each week would be enough to accomplish their goals. It wasn’t.

The answer was to go back to what I’d showed them at the beginning. Reduce sugar. Increase protein. Eat five or six smaller meals rather than two or three big ones.

When it comes to your relationship with the Lord, does it sometimes feel like you’re not “getting the results” you’d hoped for? Are you frustrated? Does it feel like something is just off?

Maybe it’s time to go back to what He has already told us to do.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 makes it pretty clear…

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

Those words were written for Israel, but Romans 15:4 reminds us, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

If you’re feeling stuck or frustrated in your relationship with the Lord, if you need some hope…maybe it’s time to return to the basics and make sure you’re doing what God has already showed you.

1. Fear Him. That means we respect Him and live in awe of Him.

2. Walk in all His ways. We set the course of our lives toward Him and His ways, not our own.

3. To love Him. When we love someone or something, we willingly give our time, our devotion and our money, don’t we? Do we love Him that way?

4. To serve Him with all our heart and soul. We give Him our very best.

5. To observe His commands and decrees. We obey Him because He is worthy of our obedience, but observing His commands is also for our “own good.”

I’m not suggesting these five things are easy, they’re just not difficult to understand. I suspect if you’re having some trouble figuring out what God wants for you–it may be time to go back to the “basics.” Work on these five and a lot of other things will fall into place.

By the way, if you want to lose weight and get in shape, check out this post.

One other thing, if you’d like to receive all new posts by email, you can subscribe using the form that’s just below “About Me” at the top of the right hand column. New posts will hit your inbox. That’s all you’ll receive. I don’t use your email address for anything else and will never sell it.

Where Are You God?

One of the most confusing and painful things we will ever go through is a desperate, heartfelt prayer that goes unanswered. Or at least seems to.

In John 11, Jesus gets word that his good friend Lazarus is sick. Jesus tells His disciples, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Then John tells us that Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus. That’s significant because of the word that comes next. The word that confuses us. The word on which the whole story hinges.

“Yet.”

“Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where he was two more days.”

Does that bother you? Just a little?

Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters. He got word Lazarus was sick. Yet He stayed where He was for two more days.

Of course, if you know the end of the story, it’s not so bad. You know that even though Lazarus dies, Jesus brings him back to life. But put yourself in the story–these were real people, after all. Put yourself in Mary’s position or Martha’s. You’ve sent for help from the one person you know can make a difference, but He doesn’t show.

And it’s not like Jesus let them know He wasn’t coming. He just didn’t show. His good friend is sick, but He stays where He is.

Maybe Lazarus was too sick to even know what was happening, but Mary and Martha saw that Jesus wasn’t coming. I’m sure they kept watching the road, waiting for Him. But He was a no-show.

“Yet.”

Maybe you or a loved one are dealing with a serious illness. You’ve begged God for healing, but God doesn’t seem to be doing anything. And the condition is getting worse.

Could be you’re trying to sell your house. Surely, it’s not God’s will for you to be stuck with a house you can’t get out of, right?

Or you’re waiting for a call back after the job interview. You thought it had gone well, but it’s been two weeks and they were supposed to call back a week ago.

Maybe you’ve tried and tried and tried to get pregnant. Your friends have babies, but God doesn’t seem to be listening to your cries.

Where are you, God?

Jesus told His disciples that the sickness would not end in death, rather it was for God’s glory. Jesus could have easily gone right away and healed Lazarus. We know from other stories that He really didn’t even need to go–He just needed to say the word and Lazarus would have been healed.

This time was going to be different though. This time Jesus was going to raise a man from the dead. A man who’d be in the grave for four days.

What if God is using your circumstances, your waiting, your suffering, your confusion…for His glory? Could it be that God is orchestrating circumstances in a way that brings glory to Him?

I know there’s pain and confusion in the waiting. And unlike the situation with Lazarus, our circumstances don’t always turn out like we’d hoped. Our family member dies. The house doesn’t sell and we lose it in foreclosure. The job goes to someone else. A good, faithful woman remains infertile.

I won’t pretend to understand why God does or doesn’t answer some prayers. And I don’t have the words to erase the pain that unanswered prayers can cause, but there’s something very, very powerful that happens right before Jesus raises Lazarus.

Eventually, Jesus made His way to Bethany where Mary and Martha were now mourning their brother. After talking with Martha, she goes to get Mary. When Jesus sees the pain Mary is in, John tells us that:

“Jesus wept.”

Why did Jesus cry? Think about it–He’d already told His disciples that the sickness would not end in death and He knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, but it didn’t matter. He still entered into their pain.

Jesus is not far away and unconcerned. He sees what you’re going through and feels your pain.

As you live in a season of “yet”, remember that while God is orchestrating circumstances for His glory, He also feels your pain. He hurts with you. Waiting is never easy. Often it’s confusing and painful. But there’s a good and loving God in it with you.

Walking On Water

Have you ever been doing well one minute, but felt worried or anxious the very next minute? It happens to me. Sometimes it’s not even apparent why my feelings have changed. One minute I feel peace and the next minute I’m anxious. Usually though, if I stop and think about it, I can identify the thought that led to the change in feelings.

Maybe you can relate.

You feel confident God will meet your financial needs, but then you think about that tax bill or medical bill that’s due. And a wave of panic washes over you.

You believe God is going to heal you, but you remember that your type of illness usually gets worse, not better.

You’ve applied for several jobs and even had a couple of good interviews. You’ve felt God’s assurance that things will work out, but several weeks have passed and you haven’t heard any news.

One minute we feel God’s presence and sense His peace. We feel so confident He’s going to come through for us. And then, almost without warning, we’ve overcome by worry or anxiety or fear. Then God seems distant and our situation feels hopeless.

I think Peter could relate to us. Check out this story in Matthew 14:22-33…

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

This isn’t the first time the disciples have experience a miracle while on the lake. Previously, they encountered a great storm while trying to cross the lake. It was so bad they feared they were going to drown. Where was Jesus? He was in the stern of the boat. Sleeping.

They weren’t in any danger. God Himself was in the boat with them. Jesus stood up, calmed the storm and then asked His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

This time though, Jesus isn’t in the boat. He sent the disciples on ahead while He prayed. In the middle of the night, He walks out on the water to them.

Of course, they’re frightened, but Jesus tells them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

That’s not good enough for Peter though. He’ll believe it’s Jesus if he’s able to walk on the water.

Don’t you love Peter? Maybe he made mistakes and said some dumb things, but at least he took action. We don’t see the other eleven disciples willing to get out of the boat. Just Peter.

So Peter gets out of the boat and begins to walk on the water toward Jesus. Stop there for a minute. Peter. Walked. On water. He was just a regular guy. He was no different than you or me, but when He listened to Jesus, he was able to walk on water.

Everything changes in verse 30 though:

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

It has always struck me that Peter “saw the wind.” You can’t really see wind, right? He saw something that you really can’t see. I guess he actually saw the effects of the wind blowing the waves around. Still though, Matthew makes the point of telling us that Peter saw the wind and was afraid.  And once the fear hit him, he began to sink.

Peter was fine as long as he was looking at Jesus and walking toward Him. It’s when he took his eyes off Jesus and got them on the situation that he was afraid.

That’s what happens to us. We’re fine one minute–walking on the water in the midst of a storm, but then we look around at what we can see (or can’t see) and we panic.

We’re not meant to live by sight though. We’re meant to live by faith, by trusting God, not our circumstances. We worry and feel anxious and afraid when we start looking at the wrong things. Yes, the bills, the diagnosis, the broken relationship–they’re all real, but they’re not to be our focus.

Jesus calls all of us to get out of the boat and walk toward Him. And when we do, we can experience His supernatural presence, protection and provision in the midst of the most terrible storms…if we will keep our eyes on Him and trust that He is able to keep our heads above water.

When you feel the waves of worry and fear starting to pull you under, choose to stop looking at the wind. Choose instead to focus on Jesus and continue walking toward Him.

He will not let you drown.

Do You Ever Doubt God’s Love For You?

Of the four seasons, fall is my favorite. The temperatures cool down a little. The leaves change colors. Football season begins. And the holidays are just around the corner.

In second place is summer. Hot, sunny days. Relaxing by the pool. Hanging out at the beach. Walking along the boardwalk. Family vacations. And no school!. When I was a kid, summers meant endless days of stickball and swimming. Such good memories.

My least favorite season has always been spring. Even the cold, dark days of winter beat it. So what’s my problem with spring?

Well, partly it has to do with Easter. Actually, it’s not Easter so much as it’s Good Friday.

I don’t like to even think about what happened to Jesus between Thursday night and Friday night. I don’t like the beatings or the bleeding or the betrayals.  It’s brutal and violent and confusing.

I’ve seen clips of film, “The Passion of the Christ,” but I’ve never seen the whole thing. And I don’t want to.

Easter morning is great of course. I love the display of power. I love the fact that Jesus proves He’s the Son of God by coming back to life. But to get there, we’ve got to first go through Friday.

Honestly, it’s hard for me to even understand the crucifixion and the events leading up to it. There aren’t any adequate analogies or illustrations or metaphors to point to. That 24-hour period from Thursday evening to Friday evening stands alone in time. No other day can compare to the day that…

God let us humiliate and kill Him.

It was the day we abandoned Him. Deserted Him. Made promises to Him and then broke them. The day He asked for our help and comfort…and we fell asleep.

We beat Him. We spit on Him. We whipped Him. And we nailed Him to a cross.

And He let us do it.

When Peter tried to fight with a sword, Jesus told him to put it away. Then He said, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

Twelve legions? How many is that? Well, a Roman legion was comprised of 6,000 soldiers. So if He’d wanted to, He could have summoned over 72,000 angels to wipe us out. That’s only if He didn’t want to just do it Himself.

The high priest, the elders and the teachers of the law interrogated Jesus, but He remained silent. He didn’t even defend Himself against their false charges. Even when they spit on Him and beat Him with their fists, He did nothing.

The twelve legions of angels were still available as Jesus was flogged by the Roman soldiers. But still, He didn’t call for help. And not when He was hanging on the cross either.

Jesus deliberately let us torture and kill Him in the most brutal way imaginable. And He did nothing to stop it. It all played out just as He’d planned it.

We may doubt many things in this life, but I wonder if the horrific events of Good Friday were meant to forever erase all doubt of God’s love for us. The resurrection proved Jesus was who He claimed to be. It showed us that He truly had power over death.

But the self-control and humility He exhibited on Good Friday was His way of saying, “If you’re ever tempted to doubt My love for you–just remember all that I willingly endured for you.”

Do you ever doubt God’s love for you?

Just remember.

Bad News

I have a daughter and son-in-law who live in North Carolina. They’re a couple hours from the beach. Yesterday, I reserved a condo on the beach during spring break. My daughter who lives in California is flying in to join us. A month from now, the rest of us will start the thousand mile drive to get there.

If the weather forecast a few days before we leave is for chilly temperatures and rain–it would be bad news.

But not as bad as hearing a doctor tell you the biopsy was positive for cancer. Or not as bad as losing your job or your house or your loved one.

(By the way, don’t ever minimize the pain or fear someone else is experiencing because of bad news. Maybe their bad news isn’t as bad as your bad news, but it is to them. Bad news is relative and comes in all shapes and sizes, but it’s still bad.)

So what do you do when bad news comes?

Some of us worry and become anxious. We imagine the absolute worst scenario and play it over and over in our minds. I do that.

Some of us go into “fix-it” mode. We research, analyze, figure and calculate. Somehow, we’re going to fix the problem. I do that.

Some of us may start looking for someone to blame. If something has gone wrong, then someone has to be held responsible. I do that.

Some of us get emotional and go into a full blown panic attack, while others internalize everything and suffer in silence. I do the latter.

What do you do? How do you react when bad news hits?

Toward the very end of His earthly ministry, Jesus tells His disciples He’s going to be killed and that one of them would betray Him. Jesus also predicts that Peter will deny even knowing Him.

The one you have followed and loved and served for three years is going to suffer and die. For sure, that’s some bad news.

Take a look at what Jesus tells them:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me.” John 14:1

The word “troubled” means “to agitate, to cause inward commotion, take away calmness of mind…”

I’ve been there. I’m sure you have, too.

It’s interesting though, Jesus says, “Do not let…”

How often do we hear some type of bad news and immediately experience fear or worry or panic? And yet, Jesus tells us not to let that happen. Like it’s actually a choice. Like it’s something we have control over.

Is it possible though? Is it even realistic to think we could not be troubled at the mention of bad news?

The key is in the believing. Not simply believing that Jesus exists, but that He can be trusted, that we can place our confidence in Him and know He will not let us down.

I’m not suggesting that our initial reaction to bad news won’t ever be a wave of fear. When the phone rings at 2:00 a.m., it’s hard to not panic–especially if it truly is bad news.

But once the initial blow has passed…then what? How do we react once we’ve had time to gather ourselves?

Bad news doesn’t have to sink us. We just need to be quick to remember that Jesus is still good. He’s still faithful. He’s still in control. And He still loves us. No matter what we’re facing.

His power and peace are real and they’re available. When we need them. It just requires that we believe Jesus.

Oh, if you don’t spend much time reading the Bible, so that you can actually know the truth about Jesus, then you’ll probably continue to struggle with a troubled heart. A troubled heart results from troubled thoughts. Troubled thoughts must be replaced with the truth.