Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Is God really in control?

We will all face times in our lives when we ask "Where is God?

   It's not an uncommon thing for believers to face trials in our lives that make us question if God is hearing our prayers, or if he's even paying attention to what's happening in our lives. I've experienced times like these on numerous occassions, as I know you have too. We come up against a set of circumstances that cause us a great deal of pain, and we just don't understand why these things are happening. We pray and we pray, but nothing seems to change. We ask for relief, but none seems to come. At times we feel as though we can't go on another day in those places, and yet another day comes........and another.

   When we are feeling this way, a well intended verse thrown at us by other believers can cut like a knife, even though it was intended to lift us up. They may have our best interest in mind and want nothing more than to help us out of our current heartache, but their answers fall flat. When our hearts are truly broken, and someone repeats Romans 8:28 to us, (And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.) or tells us that what we need is to have more faith, it can feel like a slap across the face on a cold January morning.

   Have you ever been struggling with a situation in your life that you have no answers for, and which leaves you feeling as though you're alone in a deep, dark cave with no light to guide you? Where there appears to be no logical answers for what you're experiencing? Where you trace the steps you've made that led to this situation and can find nothing you did wrong that led to your being in this place?

   Are you there now?

   Paul must have had many days like that. In Philippians 1, we find him writing to the church in Philippi, thanking them for the generous gift they had sent him while he was imprisoned in Rome. Why was he imprisoned? What did he do wrong? Did he commit a crime? No. He was falsely accused of breaking laws he hadn't broken by a crowd of people who simply didn't agree with his teachings. He was teaching the things that God himself had given him to teach. But they wanted him silenced, so they falsely accused him. He was completely innocent of any crime.

   While awaiting his trial in Rome, he remained under house arrest for 2 years........For nothing.

   And yet, while in prison, he wrote the following words:

   "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

   Being in prison for two years after being falsely accused, how many times do you suppose Paul "Presented his requests to God?" And yet..........imprisoned he remained. How many times do you suppose Paul imagined how much more work he could do for God if he were a free man? How many times do you suppose he thought about those who had falsely accused him? And yet.......while in this place.......he rejoices.........How is that possible?

   This leads to a crucial question. Why was Paul there? Did "man" send Paul to prison, or did God? From Paul's writing, it's evident that he knew God had put him there for His reasons. Mainly, that the gospel might be preached in Rome, and that God had chosen him to be the one who would preach it there.

   While there, Paul not only preached in Rome, he even preached to the guards who were charged to watch over him. He never stopped preaching. Why? Because he knew what his purpose was in life. He knew what his calling was. The circumstances surrounding him did not change either his purpose or his calling. They just changed the venue within which his calling would be performed.

   In Philippians 1:3-6, he writes:

  "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy  because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

   If he believed this for the church in Philippi, he clearly believed the same was true of himself, that "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

   Friends, we are all works in progress. None of us have all of this figured out. We will continue to grow, learn, fail, and succeed until we breathe our last breath. As we would ask others to be patient with us as we face difficult circumstances in our lives, we must also extend that same courtesy to others. We are all "works in progress" - each and every one of us. To expect that anyone would be a completed work, free of flaws, blemishes and wrinkles would be unfair at best.

   Every change that comes into our lives, be it a new job, a new vision, new goals, or even the end of a ministry at a specific locale, does not mean that God is done with us. It just means he's giving us a new perspective on what we're called to do..........Planting us in new soil that we may grow there. That being said, don't ever believe for a moment that when a believer who has been involved in a certain ministry is called somewhere else, it was the work of any man..........not even the man who is called elsewhere. God calls us where he chooses, for as long as he chooses, and he then calls us someplace else. He will continue this process to complete his will in our lives until we live no more.

   Whatever place you may find yourself in, you are there for a reason. God didn't forget about you, nor has he given up on you. He's merely brought you into a new season in your life. That season will lead to another, and another, and another. The only thing that remains constant is change. And when the time comes for him to call you home, you'll look back and see how all of these seasons, woven together over the course of your life, will have created a beautiful tapestry that only God could've created.

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