Blank Pages

While driving to work this morning and meditating on the subject of this blog, a warm tear trickled down my cheek. As I brushed it away, another one replaced it. My soul was crying out with this thought: whatever it means to be a "blank page" for the Lord to write on--- I want that in my life so very much........

You see, last week I was called out at midnight to see a family in need. While I was struggling to get awake and, at the same time, driving to where they lived, the Lord impressed me with the thought of compiling a talk on how we can become a blank page for Him to write upon. I'm not sure that I really understood what that meant, but I intended to proceed that idea and learn what I could.

I began by meditating on what being a blank page is. I quickly came to the realization that what I needed to do was pray over the whole matter, then allow the Lord to bring the blank page concept into my own life. So, I began to take it for a test drive in the things that I did daily.

Here are some things that I discovered.

Every day all of us have tasks to carry out that are already written within our lives just because of who we are.

Mine looks something like this:

I am a husband.

I am father.

I am a chaplain.

I am a friend.

I am a witness.

I am a coworker.

I am a spiritual caregiver.

I am a counselor.

I am an employee.

I am a believer in Christ.

I am a team member.

I am a citizen.

And, arguably, there are many other things I could add to this list.

So, then, since this is all true, how could I possibly be a blank page? How could any of us be so?

This is the solution that I discovered for me.

I'm not sure that I did everything just exactly right, but I began to pray over those things that the Lord had already allowed to be written into my life.

I asked the Lord to let me become a blank page for Him to write upon in all of the areas in which I function as a person.

Let me illustrate what I am mean.

When I am at work, I want the Lord to be free to write on my blank page the kind of attitude that I should have toward others. If I have already written one in because I dislike or distrust someone, then I'm not being a blank page for the Lord to write upon. Get the picture?

Check out this other example also.

I may have an appointment to meet with a friend and do some counseling. I know the reason I'm going....... I know the time that I'm going..... I also know the subject that we will discuss. But, I can ask the Lord to feed into my heart and mind the things that I need to say to help this friend. I can ask the Holy Spirit to guide my words and thoughts in order to address the issues in a very positive way. I can ask the Lord to help me be the blank page for Him to write upon so that I can help this person.

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Right now, as I am writing this, I'm using a piece of blank paper – no lines, no color, nothing. As this page is getting filled up with my writing, I notice that there is less room for anyone else to write on the page. It is becoming filled up with my own thoughts flowing through the pen which I am holding.

My life can get much like this page...all filled up with my own scribbling which sometimes is hard for even me to read.

Way too many times it is like that.....

Please understand this .......if I fill up my life's page with all my own stuff, then, where is there room for the Lord to write anything on it? No wonder I miss His will sometimes. Especially when there is no room for Him to write because I have everything so filled in with the me, me ,me words.....

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Asking the Lord to help us abandon ourselves is the key to setting aside the lines of selfish clutter within our lives.

In 1875, a Quaker named Hannah Whithall Smith wrote a wonderful book called The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. In that book she encouraged the readers to pray this prayer:

"Here, Lord, I abandon myself to Thee. I have tried in every way I could think of to manage myself, and to make myself what I know I ought to be, but have always failed. Now I give it up to Thee. Do Thou take entire possession of me. Work in me all the good pleasure of Thy will. Mold and fashion me into such a vessel as seemeth good to Thee. I leave myself in Thy hands, and I believe Thou wilt, according to Thy promise, make me into a vessel unto Thy own honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work."

This prayer sounds as if Ms. Smith wanted to forsake her own stuff and become a blank page for God to write on.

I do believe that this concept has Deep Roots in the Scripture also. Just consider the following passages of Scripture.

Luke 22:41-42

41  And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,

42  saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."

John 17:4

4  "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.

John 4:34

34  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

John 14:31

31  but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.

Jesus' life was directed around the constant goal of accomplishing the will of His Father.......so should ours be too.

However, in order for the Lord to write His plans into our lives, we first have to abandon our own selfish plans.

If the pages of our lives are too full, where does God write?

Here's a suggestion:

Come before the Lord with an honest heart. Ask Him to clear out the meaningless scribble on the pages of your life. And then, present Him with your blank page and ask Him to write upon it.

I believe that you will really enjoy what you see.

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You are more special than you know.

You are God's child.

You really can do this.

Sincerely and humbly submitted,

Dan

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Roots - - - Healthy Or Harmful?

Definition:

Roots – the fundamental cause, basis, or essence of something, or the source from which something derives

Healthy roots are essential to the plants and trees in nature in order for them to grow and produce their fruit or flowers. In this same way, the roots that we have in our lives determine that which is produced from within us.

Our attitudes, judgments, evaluations of life, and general dispositions all come from different roots that have been planted in our lives.

Commonly we refer to our ancestors as our "roots". The information that we learn concerning them intrigue us very much, and they can make us very proud or embarrassed.

For the believer, however, his roots go deep into the Word of God. The solidness of these roots depends on God's ability to carry out what He has promised in the Scriptures. We know that His abilities have never diminished, and so then, these roots are powerfully planted and will never pass away.

As we consider the complexity of our existence on this earth, discovering the roots of the problems in our lives will affect very much the outcome as we try to fix our brokenness. Sometimes the fix is easy, but most of the time it's really difficult.

When we talk about the word "roots", its application is wide-ranging. We use it when talking about our hair, our problems, plants, thoughts, ideas, and philosophies. It's not uncommon that someone may ask you, ".....where are your roots"? What they really want to know is where you grew up and what has influenced your life.

The Bible also expresses many different thoughts about the use of the word "roots". Just consider these verses:

Deuteronomy 29:18 NIV

18  Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.

Proverbs 12:3 NLT

3  Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots.

Proverbs 12:12 NIV

12  The wicked desire the plunder of evil men, but the root of the righteous flourishes.

Isaiah 11:10 NIV

10  In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.

 Romans 11:16 NIV

16  If the part of the dough offered as first-fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

 1 Timothy 6:10 NIV

10  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Hebrews 12:15 NIV

15  See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

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Before I can advance further in this talk, you will need to be clear on the premise that I am teaching. Most of the time what we call "problems" are not really the problem at all, they are only the symptoms of a much deeper problem. When we confuse symptoms with the real problem, we are leading ourselves into an endless circle of managing difficulties that spring up and plague us. This causes us to be powerless to find a fix concerning anything really troubling us.

It is important to examine the roots within us when there are symptoms that show problems are present. This is a significant concept that is easily missed when we are dealing with reality in this world.

Having been a preacher/pastor/spiritual counselor for over 30 years has allowed me to log quite a few hours attempting to help others deal with their own issues. Most of the people who came to me wanted their symptoms fixed. They never thought that the anger, guilt, or whatever else they were dealing with had a deeper root from where it sprang. They were not concerned about getting to the root of the problem. In fact, I'm quite sure that they were not distinguishing any differences between the two.

Until we know the difference between the two, roots and symptoms, we will not adequately be able to approach fixing the deep problems of our lives.

Examples:

•   If a husband and wife have been bickering and fighting, they might perceive this as the problem in their marriage. This is not the real problem at all. Their fighting is just a symptom of something deeper. Maybe it is carnality, self-centeredness, or another problem yet to be discovered. The things that usually cause the problem in their lives generally come from having a wrong spiritual understanding of their relationship to Christ. This is more likely the root of the problem.

• Ø          Pornography and lust may be identified as a person's problems, however, these are still    just symptoms of a much deeper problem. The root problem may be the love of fleshly, carnal ways, or simply refusing to set one's mind on things above as the Scripture tells us. It also could be that this person has never been regenerated in Christ. He may still be a slave to sin.

When we as friends, counselors, pastors, or professionals try to help others by treating their symptoms only, we are relegating ourselves to be a "problem manager". Many counselors find themselves in a role like that. Wouldn't it be smarter to discover the real problem and then work on that instead?

I was talking to a friend once who brought up the subject of "anger management".

During our discussion I said to him, " Instead of managing your anger, wouldn't it be better to get rid of it altogether?"

The answer certainly sounds obvious, but it's not at all an easy fix. Praying, seeking God's plan, surrendering our lives, asking for the Holy Spirit's intervention and empowerment, claiming God's promises, abandoning ourselves,........ all of these things come into play when we try to fix the root of our problems.

And when the fix does come, it may have to be applied anew every single day of our lives.

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A very controversial book that I enjoyed reading in the last few years is called The Shack. I know that the book is just a fictional story and is not trying to teach any doctrine. However, many applications of Scripture appear to be in its pages.

One part of the book that I really enjoyed was when the one representing the Holy Spirit is having the main character help him clean out a garden.

Here is that part of the book:

    Obviously the short break, which had been for Mack's sake, was over......... Sarayu thrust a hand shovel at Mack, picking up the rake.


"To prepare this ground, we must dig up the roots.............It is hard work, but well worth it. If the roots are not here, then they cannot do what comes naturally and harm the seed we will plant." 

   "Okay," Mack grunted as they both got down on their knees along the freshly cleared plot. Sarayu was somehow able to reach deep underground and find the ends of the roots, bringing them effortlessly to the surface. She left the shorter ones for Mack, who used the hand shovel to dig under and pull them up. Then they shook the dirt from the roots  and threw them into one of the piles that Mack had earlier raked together.

                                   .........................................................................

She turned to him." MacKenzie, you are such a delight! Thank you for all your hard work!"


 "I didn't do all that much, really," he said apologetically." I mean, look at this mess." His gaze moved over the garden that surrounded them." But it really is beautiful, and full of you, Sarayu. Even though it seems like lots  of work still needs to be done, I feel strangely at home and comfortable here."

The two looked at each other and grinned.  


Sarayu stepped toward him until she had invaded his personal space."And well you should, MacKenzie, because this garden is your soul. This mess is you!"

(How often do I resemble that last remark!)

The indication of the story here is that we need to rip up the bad roots of harmful things in our lives. I know that this is a fictional book, but the concept of not allowing the roots of sinful and hurtful things to remain in our lives is also backed up by Scripture.

Ephesians 4:21-24 NLT

21  Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from Him,

22  throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.

23  Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

24  Put on your new nature, created to be like God--truly righteous and holy.

Our "former way of life" consists of the roots that need to be dug up and thrown away.

As we willingly allow the Holy Spirit in us to take hold and develop our minds, emotions, and faith in Him, this will happen. Righteousness and holiness will be produced through us by Jesus living His life out through us.

It is also important to understand that in order to get rid of some problems rooted deep within us, we have to begin by managing the symptoms. People who are lying, stealing, or being violent toward others, need to stop those unhealthy actions while they go forward toward discovering the root problem and fixing it.

Have you ever asked why so many drug rehabilitation places have their clients relapse over and over again? Most of the time those facilities will treat drug abuse as the problem to be conquered, they do not recognize that it is just a symptom. Usually, once they have the symptom under control for a short period of time, the patient is then released. Sadly he or she usually falls back into the same old routine of drug abuse because the root of the problem is still there. An appropriate remedy has not yet been discovered or applied.

We have something so much better than that to treat the roots of our problems. We have an authority to go to in order to discover the solution to whatever ails us.

If I am angry, I can go to the Lord and ask him to show me where my anger comes from.

If I am depressed, I can ask the Lord and trust Him to lead me in the ways to discover the roots of my depression. The Lord may use a counselor, or book, or sermon, but He will use something or someone to help me.

Even if we have to use medicines to control our symptoms for a while, we must still be pursuing the root cause of our problems if we want to truly be free of them.

..... Do you want to be free from dangerous, damaging roots in your life? Get with a Christian mentor or counselor and pursue where the roots are coming from.

And please, don't refuse to get medical help if you need it.

Just remember, the greatest help that we can possibly have comes first from the Lord:

Colossians 2:20 NLT

20  You have died with Christ, and He has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world.........

Romans 6:22 NLT

22  But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.

John 8:36 NLT

36  So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

Being made free from the destructive, unhealthy roots will develop you in such a way so that the healthy roots can grow and make you into what God plans for you to be.

Your marriage.

Your relationships.

Your whole life.......

... sprouting up from the roots that God places within you.

With love, and humbly submitted,

Dan

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On Purpose Acts Of Kindness

A few years ago, there was a movie made that was called Evan Almighty. This movie was a funny take-off from the Biblical story of Noah and the ark and actually reinforced the idea of always obeying God. The events of the story took place in Washington, D.C. and dealt with the life of a new congressman named Evan. He was elected and then sent there to represent the people from his state. The move, the family adjustments, and the excitement of being elected to office was a big change to his life, but he was coping with it all.... that is, until "God" showed up.

God (whose part was played by Morgan Freeman) came to Evan and told him to build an ark just like Noah did. Through a series of very funny and "God" controlled events, the ark eventually gets built and winds up providing the means of safety for the area people who experience a flood from a broken dam. God's plans proved to be the best for everyone in order to survive the danger.

At one point in the movie, God takes Evan aside and writes the letters A R K on the ground. Then, during their conversation, He illustrates that the letters stand for Acts of Random Kindness.  The point was made, and it was a good ending to an enjoyable family movie.

Normally, we use the phrase arraigned a little differently than the movie did. We will say random acts of kindness when talking about the concept of spontaneously doing good for others.

This is a really good idea to follow as we live our lives daily. Can you imagine? People just randomly doing kind things for others......this would radically change the face of Christianity before the world!

As I thought about this concept, it suddenly dawned on me that in doing acts of kindness toward others, my attitude would be a vital factor in the whole process.

Let me explain.

One of the biggest pet peeves that I have is when people leave shopping carts out in a store parking lot. They usually block all sorts of paths and parking places and wind up making me so frustrated and angry! Then one day I decided to do something about it. From then on, when I would go shopping, I parked my car and would....very much on purpose.... find a buggy (or sometimes two) in the parking lot and push them into the store as I walked. I felt a certain self-righteousness as I did it, and honestly, thought that I was acting much better than those people who were so inconsiderate to others (meaning me) by leaving their carts scattered everywhere.

What I was doing may have been helping others, but my attitude was one of self-righteousness and anger. My attitude would have cleared a whole room full of skunks.........

The random act of kindness that I attempted was anything but.......

Later on, (as God was continuing His work within me) I began to realize that what I was doing by moving the shopping carts really could be a blessing to someone who would come that way later. I saw that the Lord could use me to bless someone who may never know that I did anything at all to help them today.

I kind of liked that.....

My attitude changed as I talked to the Lord about it, and the parking lot changed from being a source of frustration to a serious place of opportunity to show kindness.

I even began picking up nails or screws that I would see on the parking lot thinking of the lady with a van full of kids who might now avoid having a flat tire. I could envision someone in a great hurry on important business not being delayed, or maybe a little old lady not having to face the fear and trouble of a flat.

I began to find joy when the random act of kindness began to be a ministry within me. God was using me to bless others who I probably would never meet and who would never know about it!

We need to remember this when doing our acts of kindness:

Attitude matters.

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Now let me tell you about Tammy and Becky.

On this particular morning, after leaving the house, I was trying to determine where I might stop for some quick breakfast, and while I was at it, spend a few minutes writing this blog. After considering my choices, I decided to stop at a Chick-fil-A close to my house.

Walking up to the counter, I scanned the menu and ordered one of my favorite breakfast sandwiches. As the cashier (whose name was Becky) rang up my order, I reached for my wallet and discovered that I had not picked it up before leaving home.

This was one of those awkward, embarrassing moments that everyone experiences at some time or other.

Red faced, I began to speak to Becky as she was trying to fill my order and explain my situation to her. She reacted very kindly and said to me, "Don't worry about it. I will give you the ticket, and you can drop by later today to pay it." If you have ever found yourself in a similar situation, you can imagine not only my great appreciation for how Becky brought ease to the situation, but also for the fact that she trusted me to return.

Then, it was time for Tammy to come into this picture.

I'm not sure how long she had been observing my awkward situation, but the Lord had presented her with an opportunity to display kindness to someone she had never met. She, on purpose, stepped forward and generously said, "I have a solution for this, I would like to pay for his breakfast."

I was blown away and blessed by the kind act of this lady!

I tried, but there were not enough words to express my gratefulness to her.

As I sat eating my meal, working on my blog, and contemplating all of this, I began to understand that the events of my life this morning all were orchestrated by the Lord to give this opportunity to Tammy so that she could show a beautiful act of kindness to someone.

Just think of all the events that had to come about in perfect order:

-- the time that I got up this morning

-- the time that I left home

-- the forgetting of my wallet

-- showing up at that Chick-fil-A the time of the morning I did

(I had several choices of where I could have gone for breakfast!)

-- also, the events in Tammy's life were coordinated so that she would be standing at the counter the same time I was during my awkward situation.

I gathered some insight from this....

Not only does the Lord want us to show kindness to others, but He, on purpose, provides us with opportunities to do so all the time. He orders the daily events of our lives to bring us into places and situations that give us the privilege to represent Him by our kind actions. When we are living in "alert mode", it is easier to see the opportunities provided for us so that we may allow those kind acts to flow from us into the lives of others.

Tammy and Becky were alert today, and God used them to do something kind to someone in need.

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Another dimension of this concept of doing kind acts was opened to me as I talked with my wife the other day.

While she had been out shopping, the Lord had used her to do a random act of kindness to someone. Afterwards, she shared with me the event and expressed that the Lord had spoken to her heart about it. The thought that the Lord gave her was this..... Why do random acts of kindness have to be so random? For a believer, shouldn't these acts just be a normal way of life for us?

Absolutely beautiful!!!!   (the thought and my wife, of course.)

I love what she said!

Christians being kind as a way of life!!

This made me think:

Way too much of my life is spent being all about me.

v     My thoughts

v     My goals

v     My plans

v     My job

v     My family

v     My education

v     My church

v     My ministry

v     My bills

v     My car

v     My vacation

v     My stuff

v     My needs

v     My wants

v     Bla...bla...bla...

If I wrote a diary of all the events in my life for one day, what percent of it would be encompassed with the above ideas?

Only the brave should try it....we may not like what we would find.....

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Jesus organized His life around others and His acts of kindness were not random but on purpose. Should not our lives shoot for the same goal?

The Scripture expresses it so well to us all:

          Matthew 7:12 NLT

          12  "Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is

           taught in the law and the prophets.

          Colossians 3:12 NLT

          12  Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with

          tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

          Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT

          31  Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil  

         behavior.

          32  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God

          through Christ has forgiven you.

Our obedience to these simple statements would revolutionize the church within and be a catalyst that the Holy Spirit could use to revolutionize the world also. What a wonderful idea.

------Just imagine..... all Christians doing kind things to others all the time......wow!-------

The early church had an awesome testimony by the things that they were doing for others, and many came to Christ because of it.

          Acts 2:43-47 NLT

          43  A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous

          signs and wonders.

          44  And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.

          45  They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need.

          46  They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and

          shared their meals with great joy and generosity--

          47  all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the 

          Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Performing acts of kindness is a wonderful personal ministry that the Lord gives to each of us, and honestly, it's not hard to be kind if we really want to be. We can start with showing kindness to our spouses, children, and friends. It will then begin to flow out to others.......

 We just need to be alert to the Holy Spirit's leadership and be ready to serve the Lord as He places the opportunities in front of us.

Check this out:

          Matthew 25:35-40 NLT

          35  For I was hungry, and you fed Me. I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink. I was a 

          stranger, and you invited Me into your home.

          36  I was naked, and you gave Me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for Me. I was in prison,

          and you visited Me.'

          37  "Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see You hungry and feed 

          You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink?

          38  Or a stranger and show You hospitality? Or naked and give You clothing?

          39  When did we ever see You sick or in prison and visit You?'

          40  "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of

           these My brothers and sisters, you were doing it to Me!'

How's your kindness ministry going?

Humbly Submitted,

Dan

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Manipulating God

• v Last week, as I was talking with a pastor I knew, he shared with me the story of how he had been listening to a friend describe the details of his horrible divorce. When that friend had finished telling the story of his sadly failed marriage, he then looked at the pastor and said, “Why is God doing this to me"?

• v Several months ago our nation had a remembrance of the 9/11 tragedy. During that time, I was also sadly reminded of something else. After the horrible terrorist attack, many people felt compelled to ask the question, “If God loves us so much, why did He let this happen?" That question surfaced in many ways over the media (and in peoples' hearts) for the next several days. It was disheartening to hear it.

• v Just the other day I had a most striking visit with a person who is battling a severe lung disease. During our conversation she looked at me and said," Pastor, why is God letting this happen to me?"  I quietly looked at the pack of cigarettes at her bedside and struggled to not say the obvious.

All three of these real-life examples reveal a powerful willingness of people to blame God when He does not act in the manner that they feel He should. For some strange reason, it seems natural to want to hold God accountable when things are going badly. After all, doesn’t He love us enough to keep bad things from happening to us?

It is very common to ask that question while tending to ignore the wrong decisions and the poor paths we have chosen. We want to blame God for not heading off the bad results so that we can try to escape our own responsibility. This begins to reveal a deep problem rooted in ignorance, self-centeredness, and usually conceit.

But regardless of the reasons why we blame God, people seem to have a natural feeling that God should always see things from a perspective similar to ours. And then, in fact, He should act in such a way as we would.

For example, if I knew that a baby in the womb had a formative problem, and I had the power to supernaturally fix it, then I would do whatever was needed to heal the child. This makes sense doesn't it?

Well then, doesn't God know everything? Doesn't He know when a baby is becoming deformed?  Surely, with the power that He has, He ought to fix the unborn child.

I know that I would if I were Him.

 You see, when God does not act in the way that we naturally feel that He should, questions about His goodness surface as our faith in Him gets challenged and shaken. We begin to question His real care and purported love for people.

Have you faced any of these questions?

-- Why can't I find a job?

-- Why am I my losing my home?

-- Why won't God heal my child's cancer?

-- Why am I going bankrupt?

-- Why am I so afraid?

-- Why is God absent when I so desperately need him?

-- Why can't I find someone to truly love me?

-- Why is God allowing this to happen to me?

All of us are going to deal with questions like these at sometime or other. Our response to them is so crucial! When thoughts like these confront us, it can become easy to question whether or not God really loves us. 

We have all done it...........

There are several ways to approach this dilemma concerning us and God, but we will look at only two for right now.

I. One of the approaches that we can try is to manipulate God.

Yes, that really is what I just said.

Somewhere in the failed system of our humanness, we have developed the idea that we can force people to do what we want by embarrassing or intimidating them. (Some managers use this method of motivation with their employees, and many others work this way with their spouses and kids.)  This technique works very poorly with people, and is most often the worst form of motivation. Just so that you really know............ it doesn't work at all with God.

When we try to provoke a response from God by saying things such as, “Why would God allow..... (you can fill in the blank), it has the subtle idea - and challenge behind it - of embarrassing God because He did not act in accord with the way that we expected or wanted Him to.

Be clear on this.

When we approach God this way, we are saying:

          " I know what is good to do in this case. God, how is it that you do not? You did

           not do anything at all to help, and I believe that you missed a great

           opportunity   to do good. Why aren't you as good as I thought you were?

           Sometimes You make me so angry because I just don't understand You!"

Of course, we wouldn't say these things out loud, but, if we are honest, our spirit has mulled over these challenges many times.

When we have thoughts like these, they presuppose that......

1. We always know the right thing to do in every situation, and

2. God should have the integrity to do what we know is right because, after all, it is easy to see what is the right thing to do.

For example:

-- God should always provide the money......

-- God should always heal the sick.......

-- God should end all suffering and hunger forever.....

We all suppose that we are completely right in our evaluations of these situations, so then, why doesn't God jump in line with our thinking?

When we get into this vulnerable state of challenging and doubting God, Satan will push all sorts of things at us.

-- We are prompted to become angry at God.

-- We may refuse to believe in Him or trust in Him.

-- We question His love, power, and intent for us.

Sadly, we feel justified in our actions because God did not do what we believed was the right thing to do. When we have feelings like that, things can get even more screwed up within us.

-- We can begin to question the Scriptures.

-- We can become arrogant within our own mal-formed wisdom.

-- We launch into the mode of judging God and His motives.

-- When we do these things, we begin to regard our own judgment higher than God's.

We are in deep trouble………..

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II. Another way to approach this problem is one of trust.

Trust.........

This is what God expected from the very beginning. He was expecting Adam and Eve to trust what He said. When they failed to honor His instructions, they royally screwed everything up for themselves and all the creation that God had made.

Exhibited in the rest of Scripture, however, is God constantly giving instructions, promises, and warnings. Throughout all of these, God invites mankind to trust Him wholeheartedly. When they decide not to do so, then they invite the consequences upon them. Whether it pertains to marriage, finances, prayer, salvation, or the future,-- God just asks everyone to trust Him.

Think about these stories from the Bible....

•  God gave instructions to a guy named Gideon about a battle that was coming and then expected Gideon to trust him. Gideon did so, and took on an army of thousands with only 300 warriors that God had provided for him. He won the battle.

•  God gave directions to Joshua about the walls of Jericho falling down and then, though the instructions were strange, expected Joshua to trust Him. Joshua did the things that God told him to and the walls fell in a miraculous way.

• When Jesus told Peter and the others about how that He was going to be crucified, Peter emphatically said, "No" to the idea of it. The Lord’s answer to Peter revealed something deep. He said, "Get behind me Satan!" Peter, at that moment, was refusing to trust what the Lord said and Jesus was showing him that those kind of thoughts were from Satan, and not acceptable.

• Jesus went to the cross and died for the payment of our sins. In the offer of salvation to us, the Lord instructs us to trust Him as Savior. Those who do so, receive eternal life.

It's always been about trust ..........trusting what God says just because of who He is.

Job is another example for us to examine.

When Job was expected to approach God in trust, it must've been hard.

-- What had his children done to die?

-- What had his servants and animals done to be stolen and abducted?

-- What had Job done to be covered with sores and to suffer such severe pain?

The answer is, absolutely nothing.

Yet, because Job decided to respond to God in trust, there are things revealed about God in this recorded story that we could not know in any other way. If Job had not suffered those things in his life, all of us in the kingdom of God would've missed out on knowing some innate truths about God because the book of Job would not have been written in the way that it was.

          Would you like to know some mind blowing things about God and His creation?      Read the last several chapters of the book of Job.

          Here is a short part of Chapter 38...

          Job 38:4-17 NLT

          4  "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you

          know so much.

          5  Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?

          6  What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone

          7  as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

          8  "Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb,

          9  and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?

          10  For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.

          11  I said, 'This far and no farther will you come. Here your proud waves must

          stop!'

          12  "Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to

          rise in the east?

          13  Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to 

          the night's wickedness?

          14  As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a

          seal; it is robed in brilliant colors.

          15  The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

          16  "Have you explored the springs from which the seas come? Have you

          explored their depths?

          17  Do you know where the gates of death are located? Have you seen the gates of

         utter gloom?

         

….Some cool stuff concerning God and His creation………

-----------------------------------------------------------

Trusting someone is not always an easy thing to do. Especially if you have been hurt in life.  (...and which of us has not?)

Maybe it was...

-- a spouse.

-- a friend.

-- your parents.

-- on your job.

-- at your church.

But listen! God has never betrayed anyone who trusted in Him. Our understanding of the circumstances in our lives will sometimes skew our view of what God is doing and make us question this truth.

-- When we get hurt,

-- when things do not go our way,

-- when we get sick, or

-- when we get down,

…..it becomes easier to feel that God has betrayed our trust in Him.

All this goes back to us expecting God to act the way that we think that He should.

We are not asked to trust Him because He keeps us from hurt, pain, disappointment, sickness, or need; we are asked to trust Him regardless of them.

That is real trust and it powerfully grows our faith.

Consider this scripture for a moment………

Hebrews 11:6 NLT

6  And it is impossible to please God without faith.......

...our trust translates into faith.....

You can trust Him..... really…… you can.

As this talk is ending, I encourage you to remember this truth…..

Isaiah 55:8-9 NLT

8  "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

9  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.

With much love......

Humbly Submitted,

Dan

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