From Category: eternal life
It’s sometimes easy to feel as though God is far away from us; as though He doesn’t hear us when we call. It’s easy to see the suffering around us and wonder where God is. Some days it seems like our prayers aren’t being heard.
I don’t think it’s necessarily a lack of faith that causes this. Of course, we often drift far away from God, particularly when we don’t make an active effort to invest in our relationship with Him. But sometimes we can find ourselves in circumstances where it just feels difficult. We feel stuck; we feel like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and hopelessness isn’t far away.
In times like that, Psalm 22 might be a comfort. The psalmist offers three pieces of practical advice to those of us who cry out the same words as he does in the first two verses:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.”
He is faithful to His promises. He does not change; He is the same God today, yesterday, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). And therefore we can draw encouragement from the fact that we serve the same God who rescued a shepherd boy facing down a giant with five pebbles, the same God who rained down bread in the desert and who blinded an entire army.
He has shown His power and love in the past, and He will do so again.
It is by God’s will that we were formed; it is His will that we are alive. He created each of us for a reason, and He has a purpose for our lives. Therefore, we can, each of us, approach Him in prayer and ask: “Be not far from me” (v 19).
I had a recent airport mishap trying to get a flight home due to the coronavirus, and the whole time my mind was repeating: “For God’s glory, for God’s glory, for God’s glory.”
And He did deliver a hundredfold, and I knew at the end as I had recognized at the start that this obstacle too was for His glory, a reminder for me, maybe, to remember what I had learned in my loneliness abroad before I returned to my comfortable home.
When obstacles and suffering occur over a longer time period, it can be difficult to trust that any good can come out at the end. But though we are weak, God is strong, and He says to us: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
So we can boast in our weaknesses because they serve to illuminate God’s strength. We find comfort in our troubles because we know that He holds us and will be faithful to the end.
James 1:2-3 tells us that sufferings and trials will result in the testing of our faith, and this, in turn, produces steadfastness. When we have gone through trials and seen over and over again that God is faithful and powerful and active and just, our faith is strengthened. And this steadfastness, this clinging to faith, will be an encouragement to those around us.
There is purpose in our sufferings. We are not alone. Even when you can’t see the sun on a cloudy day, it is still shining.
I don’t think it’s necessarily a lack of faith that causes this. Of course, we often drift far away from God, particularly when we don’t make an active effort to invest in our relationship with Him. But sometimes we can find ourselves in circumstances where it just feels difficult. We feel stuck; we feel like our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and hopelessness isn’t far away.
In times like that, Psalm 22 might be a comfort. The psalmist offers three pieces of practical advice to those of us who cry out the same words as he does in the first two verses:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.”
1. Remember what God has already done.
Firstly, he urges us to remember what God has already done, as recorded in the Bible and throughout history (v 4-8).“In You our fathers trusted,” he tells the Lord in verse 4, “they trusted and you delivered them.”God has shown us that He cares for us, that He is all-powerful and all-knowing, that He hears His people when they cry out to Him. Start with Adam and trace through all the Bible characters who trusted in God, even in the bleakest of circumstances, and found salvation in Him.
He is faithful to His promises. He does not change; He is the same God today, yesterday, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). And therefore we can draw encouragement from the fact that we serve the same God who rescued a shepherd boy facing down a giant with five pebbles, the same God who rained down bread in the desert and who blinded an entire army.
He has shown His power and love in the past, and He will do so again.
2. Remember what God has done for you personally.
Next, the psalmist tells us to remember what God has already done for each of us in our own lives (v 9-21).
Verse 9 says: “Yet You are He who took me from the womb; You made me trust You at my mother’s breasts.”Since our births, God has been faithful to us in our own lives in a personal way that transcends blanket promises or an impersonal power.
It is by God’s will that we were formed; it is His will that we are alive. He created each of us for a reason, and He has a purpose for our lives. Therefore, we can, each of us, approach Him in prayer and ask: “Be not far from me” (v 19).
3. Remember that there is meaning in our suffering.
Finally, we are reminded that there is purpose in our sufferings, even if we cannot see it (v 22-31).“I will tell of Your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.” (v 22)Verse 24 promises us that God hears us when we cry out to Him, and the rest of the psalm reminds us that God is glorified in our tribulations. This legacy serves to encourage our fellow believers.
I had a recent airport mishap trying to get a flight home due to the coronavirus, and the whole time my mind was repeating: “For God’s glory, for God’s glory, for God’s glory.”
And He did deliver a hundredfold, and I knew at the end as I had recognized at the start that this obstacle too was for His glory, a reminder for me, maybe, to remember what I had learned in my loneliness abroad before I returned to my comfortable home.
When obstacles and suffering occur over a longer time period, it can be difficult to trust that any good can come out at the end. But though we are weak, God is strong, and He says to us: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
So we can boast in our weaknesses because they serve to illuminate God’s strength. We find comfort in our troubles because we know that He holds us and will be faithful to the end.
James 1:2-3 tells us that sufferings and trials will result in the testing of our faith, and this, in turn, produces steadfastness. When we have gone through trials and seen over and over again that God is faithful and powerful and active and just, our faith is strengthened. And this steadfastness, this clinging to faith, will be an encouragement to those around us.
There is purpose in our sufferings. We are not alone. Even when you can’t see the sun on a cloudy day, it is still shining.
(This article was originally published on Thought Catalog.)
17 January 2022
We are called to be Christ’s ambassadors; His witnesses in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. I’ve not been to the first three places, but I suppose rural Ireland could qualify as the end of the earth and that’s where I am now, so that’s where I’ll be God’s witness.
God has placed us where we are now to be a witness for Him, to shine bright “in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation” (Philippians 2:15).
I find it hard to talk to strangers about Jesus. It’s difficult to open up about something as personal as faith with people I’ve never met and probably won’t see again. But with friends, with people who see me regularly, people whose judgment might stain me and impact me in my daily life; that can often be even harder.
We have received the Good News. We know the way to eternal life. How can we hide it from those we love most?
God has placed us where we are now to be a witness for Him, to shine bright “in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation” (Philippians 2:15).
I find it hard to talk to strangers about Jesus. It’s difficult to open up about something as personal as faith with people I’ve never met and probably won’t see again. But with friends, with people who see me regularly, people whose judgment might stain me and impact me in my daily life; that can often be even harder.
We have received the Good News. We know the way to eternal life. How can we hide it from those we love most?
Adoniram Judson was a nineteenth-century missionary to Burma (now Myanmar). When he wrote to the father of the woman he wanted to marry, Ann Hasseltine, he was very upfront about the many trials she would face as his wife. She would never see her family again, she would be subject to a vastly different culture, lifestyle and climate; she would face persecution and possibly death because of her husband’s vocation.
“Can you consent to all this,” he asked Ann’s father, “for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God?”
“For the sake of perishing immortal souls“; that is what is at stake. The Gospel is greater than judgment or sneering, or the social awkwardness that can arise from discussing faith with friends. The Gospel is a matter of eternal life.
Sunday Christian-ism will not save souls. The importance of this commission does not allow for occasional efforts, but for a life infused with Jesus; a life that shines as a witness to those around us.
We need to remember the bigger picture; we need to remember that what is important is not the admiration of people in this world, but the salvation of those who know Jesus.
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).”
In other words, our every action should be to glorify God. All that we do and say should be to bring Him glory, not ourselves. This is not about us; this is about being witnesses for Christ in our friendship circles and workplaces, in our schools and pursuits.
We should not be embarrassed or ashamed; the news we bear is important, vital and soul-saving. Let’s throw off the discomfort and pride that impedes us. Let’s embrace our commission anew; let us witness for Christ with the urgency that it deserves.
“Can you consent to all this,” he asked Ann’s father, “for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God?”
“For the sake of perishing immortal souls“; that is what is at stake. The Gospel is greater than judgment or sneering, or the social awkwardness that can arise from discussing faith with friends. The Gospel is a matter of eternal life.
Sunday Christian-ism will not save souls. The importance of this commission does not allow for occasional efforts, but for a life infused with Jesus; a life that shines as a witness to those around us.
We need to remember the bigger picture; we need to remember that what is important is not the admiration of people in this world, but the salvation of those who know Jesus.
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).”
In other words, our every action should be to glorify God. All that we do and say should be to bring Him glory, not ourselves. This is not about us; this is about being witnesses for Christ in our friendship circles and workplaces, in our schools and pursuits.
We should not be embarrassed or ashamed; the news we bear is important, vital and soul-saving. Let’s throw off the discomfort and pride that impedes us. Let’s embrace our commission anew; let us witness for Christ with the urgency that it deserves.
21 June 2020
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)