God’s sovereignty
A couple of days ago I was on the phone talking with my uncle in North Carolina. He has been a Reformed Baptist pastor and counselor for over 35 years. We were doing some “catching up” since it had been way to long since we had last talked. Much of what we did talk about was the way God preserved me and brought me through the accident and how He has used other people to touch my life and vise versa.
We talked about Romans 8:28. We also acknowledged that suffering was part of a deeper spiritual experience to draw us close to the Lord and to also prepare us for ministry to others in unique ways. We both agreed that God allows us to experience suffering so that in the end, He is glorified though us. (Got to be a maturing follower of Christ to believe that and also live it.)
I am the midst of walking through this valley of physical suffering but after I hung up I realized that my uncle and his family have suffered emotionally and spiritually far beyond my present sufferings.
You see my uncle has already lost two sons. The first one died shortly after birth roughly 50 years ago. The second one died just a few years ago in his 20’s in an automobile accident just a few weeks before he was to be married. He was in the prime of life and he died. I’m soon to be 56 and I didn’t die.
Now my uncle never lamented with me that life is unfair. Rather he acknowledged that we are in the hands of an awesome God who loves us and is always at work in the circumstances of our lives for our good and His Glory. My uncle is not bitter but instead is surrendered to God’s will and trusts, even joyfully, that He must be in control if He really is God. He knows he will see his sons again someday. He knows, like myself, that there is meaning to what I am going through.
But still there are the unanswered questions. Why were my cousin’s epic journeys shorter than mine? What things am I left on earth to accomplish still?
In Ephesians 2 it states we are saved for the purpose of doing good works. That doesn’t mean saved from car wrecks but to be saved from judgment and to live with Christ in all eternity. And those who are saved have a purpose: doing the good works, while still here on earth. Not that those works have the power to save us (earn our salvation) but they are our mission as saved people.
So what is my unfinished business since I didn’t depart that day? I don’t exactly know but I do know that staying the course, being obedient to His ways and His statutes, being obedient to sharing my faith, and being available to be used by Him will all lead to the answers to my questions . . . someday.
Stay close to Jesus
Bob
1 comment:
Bob, your blog post led me to share a column from a newspaper.
Why me, Lord? Then again, why not?
I Believe
By Kathy Yoder | Posted: Saturday, January 17, 2009
"Why me?"
That's what most of us ask when we're faced with hard situations in life. They seem to descend without warning and take our normal way of life hostage. Eventually we realize that life as we knew it may never be the same again. So we ask, "Why me?"
"Why me? Why is this happening to me, God? I've been faithful. I love you. I try to be the best person I can be. I go to church. My children go to Sunday School. I pray. I read the Bible. I try to live my life for you. So, why me? Why? It doesn't make any sense."
It's a natural question, but belief in God is not an insurance policy that guarantees we will never have bad things happen in our lives. Look at the disciples. Out of the eleven faithful, only John died a natural death. And he was exiled to the island of Patmos.
No, if we want life to be easy we need to live it fast and grab everything this world has to offer, caring only about ourselves and what makes us happy. Don't look at others' suffering. That takes attention off us. But even then, bad things can still happen.
Money is no insurance policy against bad news. No one can buy his way out of a terminal diagnosis. And jumping from relationship to relationship will not make us happy. We don't want to get too attached to one person because a real relationship takes the focus away from ourselves. But empty relationships leave us -- empty.
Having the best job in the world or having fame or commanding respect doesn't ward off bad news or bring lasting happiness. Luck doesn't play into it, either. You can't scratch off a lottery ticket that reads, "Nothing bad will ever happen to you."
During my husband's battle with leukemia, another question keeps popping up in my mind. "Why not me?"
Why not me, Lord? Why shouldn't bad things happen to me? To my family? Why should it happen to someone else and not me? Why not me?
I don't have a degree in theology, but there are some simple truths that I know. Not from my head, but from deep down in my heart.
1. God does not cause cancer. The Almighty doesn't look down on us and say, "Gee, their lives have been pretty easy. I think I'll send cancer to them. Just to see what they're really made of."
God knows us more intimately then we know ourselves. He doesn't need to find out more about us by testing us. He already has all the answers. And He loves us anyway.
2. God doesn't take a child from its parents because "Heaven needs another angel." People do not become angels when they die. God created angels. God created people. Angels are angels. People are people. There's no giant transformer in the sky that morphs people into angels as they pass through the Pearly Gates.
3. God does not cause heartache and grief. We do that well enough on our own. And so does the sinful world in which we live.
4. God is love. Perfect love. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love" (1 John 4:18). Whatever you are going through in your life right now, you do not have to go through alone. Cling to God. Let His love embrace you, His strength uphold you and His hope surround you.
During the tough times, try something different. Don't ask God, "Why me?" Ask Him, "What can I learn from this, Lord? Make me a stronger person, God. Walk with me and hold my hand. Stretch me. Grow me. Make me more like you."
Then you may come to the most important question of all. "Why me, Lord? Why did Jesus die on the cross for my sins? Why me?"
Kathy Yoder is a devotional writer. She may be reached at dkeyoder@longlines.com. See Kathy's new book, "God's Compass: Finding His Direction" at www.kathyyoder.com.
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