Why God!?!

John 14:22-27

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014%3A22-27&version=NIV;AMP

 

Have you ever asked this question? I know I have. Twice that sticks in my mind. Once when my fiancé dumped me during my sophomore year of college. After about six months I was able to give an answer to the question. God used her rejection to bring me to the point of turning my life over to Him; to draw me closer to Him.

 

The next time wasn’t as easy to figure out. My wife was pregnant with our first child when something went terribly wrong. We went to the hospital at about eight months, and were told that the baby would be still born. Looking back on it, even now after over forty years, I still can’t answer the question, “Why God”.

 

¹⁸ I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.           John 14:18-19 NIV

 

²² Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, “Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”      AMP

 

Even the disciples asked the question, “Why God”. Maybe not in those exact words, but essentially that’s what they were asking. The disciples were expecting Jesus to become the political leader of Israel; to overthrow the Romans and anyone else in power.

 

Sometimes we just don’t get it do we. The Israelites certainly didn’t get it while wandering in the wilderness. The disciples didn’t get it as Jesus was giving them his last minute instructions before being crucified. And we don’t get it when we’re in the middle of struggling with life.

 

But God has a plan and you are a part of it. You may not understand it right now. You may not understand it in forty years. But God has a plan and He is working it. The question to ask is not “Why God”, but “What is your plan God, and how can I be a part of it”. Then trust the Spirit to lead you.

 

²⁶ But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.  AMP

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teachable Moments

 

Psalm 25:1-9

(All verses are from the New King James Version.)

 

 

Teachable Moments… We all have them, but do we always learn from them? For me it usually takes a 2x4 upside the head before I say, “Oh yeah!” The Israelites were like that. They learned the same lesson over and over and over again. Kind of makes you wonder if they actually ever learned it at all.

 

David’s prayer in Psalm 25 is about teachable moments during the crucible of life.

² O my God, I trust in You;
Let me not be ashamed;
Let not my enemies triumph over me.  

 

We know that David had many enemies. Some of them were those closest to him. Saul, his mentor, hunted him down like an animal. His own son, Absalom, rebelled against David declaring himself king. Indeed, David knew what it was like to have mortal enemies, but he also knew what it meant to struggle with enemies within.

⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.           

 

David’s sins are well documented. He seduced Bathsheba with his power, and then had her husband, who was a courageous warrior for David, killed in battle; quite a resume of failure. But in this Psalm, David cries out to the Lord and asks him to use his failures, his struggles and his enemies to teach him.

⁴ Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
⁵ Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
 

No matter what kind of struggles you face, how big your demons are, how overpowering your temptations, how shameful your past sins; God can teach you, change you and use you for His Kingdom.

 

Just cry out to Him like David.

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
² O my God, I trust in You… On You I wait all the day.        

 

 

 

And the Lord will answer.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.

⁹ The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way.

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2025%3A1-9&version=NIV;NKJVhttps://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Ps.25.1-Ps.25.9  

Reach Higher

2 Corinthians 4:1-6

 When does God speak to your heart? When do you see the light?

Last weekend I went to the Big Ten Championship football game in Indianapolis. On Michigan State’s final drive, or some might call it the Championship Drive, they had the ball for 22 plays, 82 yards and 9 plus minutes. It was a drive for the ages.

 In dramatic style, with 27 seconds left in the game, down by 4 on third down and goal, LJ Scott - a true freshman - was hit by no less than 6 Iowa Hawkeyes. But he still managed to stretch his right hand out while holding the ball to break the plane of the end zone and score the winning touchdown.

This was an amazing effort by the Spartans to endure, persevere and overcome. There were many roadblocks in the way of their victory. It would have been easy to give up; to say “I can’t do it”. There was a worthy adversary working extremely hard to keep them from succeeding. But finally they crossed the line; they reached their goal.

There are many roadblocks that can get in the way of hearing God speak to you. Paul mentions some of them in 2 Corinthians. Losing heart, self-centered motivation, preaching something other than Christ and Satan blinding people from seeing: All of these can blind you; can keep you from seeing the light of Jesus.

But Paul also wrote, ^6 “It was God Who said, “The light will shine in darkness.” He is the One Who made His light shine in our hearts. This brings us the light of knowing God’s shining-greatness which is seen in Christ’s face.”                      NLV

God opens our eyes to His light when the time is right. Years ago, one of my sisters shared the Gospel with me without positive results. I wasn’t ready. But God cultivated my heart, and when I was ready, He brought someone into my life to draw me closer to Him.

The Spartans have a tag line this year given to them by their coach… “Reach Higher”. It is supposed to help motivate them when adversity strikes; when the game seems to be over; when it seems like they will never score.

As Christians, we have more than a tag line. We have a God who loves us, is always at work in our lives, is constantly drawing us to Him, has given us gifts to be used for His purposes and has called us to ministry.

This is the God who will never leave you; who will help you reach the goal that is at the

end of a 22 play drive. This is the God who will help you… “Reach Higher”.