Cheating Again

Well, kind of.  Once again, I do not have time to write, so I'm going to reuse an answer asked of me over a year ago.  But I think it is a topic everyone has struggled with at some point.  Suffering.  Why is there so much suffering?  Why are there Christians who are poor and outcast?  Why do so many people feel alone and abandoned?  Isn't Christ supposed to keep us away from all of this?  And then, when we find ourselves in the midst of suffering, what is to be our response?  (As a side note, this answer was directed to a person who lived in third world poverty.  I guess he/she had Internet access though. :)

It never seems fair that some people suffer more than others.  There are those who seem to get by in life without trouble and others who can’t seem to escape it.  I know that it wasn’t in God’s original plan for any of us to have to face loneliness, rejection, suffering or pain, yet because there is so much evil in the world, we all get a taste of it in different doses.

Jesus knew that we would have trouble.  But He is our Hope!  He is our Rescuer!  He is our Savior!  While the world may try to knock you down, don’t fall into that trap.  Your value lies in your love for the Lord.  If you know Him intimately as your personal Lord and Savior, if you acknowledge that Jesus is the only way of salvation, if you commit your life, your thoughts, and your deeds to serve Him, He promises “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5 and in Deuteronomy 31:6 - “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Even though the world may offer you no hope and tell you that you are helpless, the Lord says that you are His child and no one can take you away from Him!  John 10:28-30 “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one."

Even though the world may keep you in poverty, tell you that you don’t matter, or aren’t worthy of joy, the Bible says in John 14:1-4 and 25-27, “ ¹"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ²In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going….All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

The devil is a masterful liar.  The Bible calls him the father of lies (John 8:44).  The devil and the world will tell you all these terrible things about yourself and your situation, but that doesn’t make it true.  We don’t live for this world.  We live for the Lord and for His return and the days to come.  Earth is just a temporary place and we are passing through.  True joy and peace and love are on the other side of this life, when we are eternally with the Lord.  I know it doesn’t make our days here easier, but it does give us all hope that the sufferings of today are not the sufferings we will experience forever.  God WILL rescue you in His time.

Until then, never give up hope.  Draw closer to Him.  If you don’t know the Lord intimately, take time to get to know Him.  Read your Bible.  Pray.  But please know that living a life for Christ doesn’t mean life will be easy or wonderful.  However, the joy of eternal security, of knowing your creator intimately, of having the privilege to talk to Him anywhere anytime and knowing you are never alone, is enough to make it through the dark deep valleys in life.  You are not alone in your suffering.  David suffered (Psalm 23).  Job suffered (Book of Job).  Just about every prophet in the Bible suffered!  Jesus suffered death on a cross! (Luke 23)  Paul suffered again and again.  (Book of Acts)  I have always said that I never knew anyone who did great things for the Lord who didn’t suffer greatly!  Please know that you are never alone in your suffering.  God has a purpose and a plan for your life.  And even though you may not feel it, Christians do love you.  We believe that you are valuable.  There are people who care for you and will pray for you.  Even though you may not be physically near them, that doesn’t mean they don’t exist.  

A while ago I saw an interview of a man who lived in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world.  He had no food, 10 children, no job, and only a small hut for everyone to live in.  Another man asked him, “If you could have anything in the world, what would you ask for?”  The Haitian man replied, “I have all that I need, the Lord Jesus Christ.  There is nothing else I could want.”   The words of an extremely hungry and poor man, who is often forgotten by the world, have impacted my life far beyond what he will ever know.  God has something in store for you too, if you are faithful and willing to obey Him.  He can use us in spite of our situations!

Giving In

I like numbers.  I dislike writing.  And yet, I keep finding myself in the writing realm.  So, I'm giving in and starting a blog.  I'm not entirely sure why I feel the need to post some of my thoughts, which stem mostly from things God has taught me.  Maybe my brain is looking for a break and emptying some of it onto paper will help!  Honestly, I don't know.  But this is where I find myself, so I'm giving it a go.

I'll write a new post later on, but below is one I wrote on facebook a while ago, and at the very least it will take up some space until I have time to write again.

Why is it so difficult to pray?

This was a question recently assigned to me by the web page I write for.  For the past 5 days, I really thought about what I should write.  As I sat down to compose my response, nothing I previously intended to write about actually made it into the answer.  However, I have been asked this question before by a few people, so I thought some might find it interesting.

There could be many reasons people find it difficult to pray.  It doesn’t seem that it should be that hard because in essence it is just talking to God.  However, unlike talking with other people, God rarely verbally responds.  We have instances in the Bible – often with Moses – where God actually speaks out loud.  But usually when we pray, we speak and we don’t hear a response.  This can be very frustrating, especially when we have a question we want answered.

Yet God in His infinite wisdom knew this would be a struggle and so He left us with His Word.  It is a book filled with God’s thoughts, stories, life examples, instruction, and love.  The Bible gives us insight concerning God’s character and His will.  If we read the Bible and meditate on His Word, we will find it easier to talk to God and find answers to some of our questions.

Maybe this anecdote will help you further understand what I’m trying to say.  In college I volunteered at a local church to work with special needs adults.  I was assigned to work with a particular middle age man, Herm, who was non-verbal.  He could say, ‘hi’ and his name, but that was it.  It took a really long time for me to learn to communicate with him.  At first, we had very little in common.  Herm was twice my age, and I had never met him before.   I didn’t know what he liked, I didn’t understand his mannerisms, and I had a very difficult time connecting with him.  But over time, we got to know one another.  I learned by watching him that Herm was an excellent basketball shooter.  He also loved to do puzzles and he certainly preferred some foods over others.  The more time I spent with him, the better I was at communicating with him and the more I understood who he was.  It is similar with God.  It can be very hard communicating with God if we don’t know who He is.  But we can get to know him by reading His word.  Once we know Him better, it is easier to pray.  God does listen and he definitely responds.  But He responds in His own way and in His own time, similar to Herm.

The last thing the devil wants for us to do, is to love, serve, and talk with God.  So, he will put many things in our way to make it seem more difficult.  But never give up.  God loves us and longs to talk with us.  We can tell him anything – after all, he already knows us better than we know ourselves.  And as we get to know Him, we also learn to follow Him.
Jesus said in John 10:3-5, “3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”

Later on he emphasized this again in John 10:27-28, “27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

Paul also writes in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray continually.”

I have a child who will talk my ear off at home, but when we are in public, she won’t speak to a soul.  In a way this mirrors our spiritual life.  It is so much easier to talk with a God we know.  God wants to be in constant dialog with us, and the better we know Him the more naturally we speak with Him.