A Tribute To All Mothers
Scripture Reading: I Peter 4:12
“Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you”
Charlie Brown builds a beautiful sandcastle, works on it for hours. Finally he stands back, looks at it. It’s wonderful. Just as he’s admiring it, a storm comes up and blows over all of his sandcastle. Now, he’s standing where his beautiful masterpiece was, on level sand, saying to himself, “I know there’s a lesson in this, but I’m not sure what it is.”
We have all faced trials and have wrestled through the struggles of life. Some our struggles are extremely tragic … some, by comparison, are less traumatic. But they are all real … the Bible refers to these struggles as trials. All of us have struggled in one way or another. Some of us are struggling right now. One thing is for sure about life; we are all guaranteed to have troubles at some point or another. Life’s Struggles come in all flavours. They come at the most unexpected times. They interrupt plans and dreams. Yet some are chosen! Yes. I said it. Some struggles are chosen by God. What are your struggles and how do you cope with them? For too many it is a struggle with health. Pastor Sunny was here last Monday and I had to fetch him to the Fort San Pedro to go to Guimaras. But a few hours later having left him at Fort San Pedro, he texted me that he had to turn back and head straight to the airport to catch the next flight to Singapore because he received news that his mum was in critical condition and he had to rush back. Until today she is under treatment. Some contracted cancer-where the struggle can go on for years. For parents it can be with the struggles of their children. For children it can be struggles with their parents. Last evening during the one good meal, I was in conversation with a member of the NET cell under Fernan Peralta. We were surrounded by 4 children. The lady pointed to one of the four children, a girl, aged 6 and told me sadly she is an orphan. Both her parents were killed. This lady has become the 6 year old girl’s mother. She herself has 5 children. It is so sad to hear such story. For some it is a struggle with beliefs and doubts. You struggle with your belief in God and you doubt your salvation and it is real. I know of a lady that struggles with guilt for the last 30 years; another that has doubt about the born again experience for years. For too many it is a struggle with housing, or finances. Just recently houses at Barangay Flores were demolished and 35 families have no home to go to. Overnight they have become homeless. Their children are all scattered, looking for places to stay. They had to sleep in the open air at night and they have no food to eat. Some of them approached our church member, saying, ‘please spare us some food; a little will do; for we have no food to eat.’ The pressure caused many to break down in tears. The 2016 batch of graduates in the Philippines are struggling to find a job. Some struggles are thrust upon us and we resent their intrusion very much. Some struggles are of our own making. Tomorrow is voting day and many are choosing Duerte because the citizens are angry because the government has neglected them and Duerte echoes their life’s struggles and thus you are voting for him.
We say, ‘Life’s not fair!’ Bad things happen – things that I didn’t choose, things I don’t deserve. You are most probably right. We thought the Christian life meant that once we believed in Jesus, if we walked obediently, certain things would happen:
God would bless us
Protect us
Put us at ease
Basically dote on us as His children.
To some extent, we still expect that. But God wants to give us something greater than those things. Hardship is normal for the Christian life. Welcome to the normal Christian life. Peter would later write, “Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).
This morning I want to share 3 Bible Stories about People Facing Struggles or Trials. All of them wanted to die because of the sufferings of life.
Job
Job 3:3, ‘Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived.’
We can observed 3 things concerning Job.
Job’s delirious (emotional) cursing of life.
Job’ eager longing for death.
Job’s reproachful inquiry after the end of such a life of suffering.
Job’s curse is against the day of his birth and the night of his conception and this is a recurring theme in the lives of humankind. I have to admit that a thought did occurred to me that I wished I was not born; and that has to do with life’s struggle. Make no mistake about it, Job really struggled with his suffering, saying “I loathe (hate) my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul.’ Doesn’t this sound familiar? I hate my life, I will pour out my grievances and speak out in the resentment of my soul. The questions of ‘Why me?’, ‘Why this?’, and ‘Why now?’ are part of everyone’s life. The interesting part is that God never reveals to Job the reason behind his sufferings. YHWH may never give you an answer to your sufferings. Life is a mystery. The same can happen to you. As Job never knew ‘why?’, so we must face an unsure life. Trust in God is more important than information (the reason for our suffering)! Satan uses Job’s suffering to attack God’s character and ways with us. We seek peace but experiences the terrible turmoil of sickness, confusion, and a sense of abandonment by God. If without given an answer we can degenerate in a bitter person. Today, God ask for faith in Him. This is a very powerful demonstration of faith in God. Nothing pleases God when you say in the face of all life’s struggles you say, ‘I believe in you, I trust in you. I put my faith in you.’ God’s answer to Job has totally nothing to do with the reasons for suffering. His answer with His greatness and sovereignty.
1. He can do all things
2. His purposes cannot be thwarted
3. He has a plan in this world and that includes His plan for you.
Chuck Templeton, a friend of Billy Graham said to Him, ‘Billy, you’re fifty years out of date. People no longer accept the Bible as being inspired the way you do. Your faith is too simple. Your language is out of date. You’re going to have to learn the new jargon if you’re going to be successful in ministry.’ Billy was troubled and he went to the mountain and prayed, ‘O God! There are many things in this book I do not understand. There are many problems with it for which I have no solution … I can’t answer some of the questions Chuck and others are raising. But even though he was praying sincerely, he could tell something was still unresolved. And then he said the Holy Spirit finally enabled him to pray — Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word — by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word. Here’s what happened next — When Billy Graham got up from his knees at Forest Home that August night, his eyes was stung with tears. He sensed the presence and power of God as He had not sensed it in months. Not all my questions were answered, but a major bridge had been crossed. In his heart and mind, he knew a spiritual battle in his soul had been fought and won.
The example of Billy Graham is similar to suffering in life as what God did to Job. You are troubled and there are many things in life you do not understand, especially life’s struggles. There are many problem which you have no solution. You can’t answer many of the questions concerning life’s struggles. Satan uses life’s struggles to attack God’s character and his ways with us. But you are going to say, ‘God I put my trust in you. I am going to allow my faith to go beyond my questions and doubts and I believe in you. Then I believed you have pleased God and the presence and power of God will come upon you. At the end of Job’s life, God restored everything and he came out of life’s struggles a living testimony of the goodness of God.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah was a tender hearted kind of man. He was asked to deliver God’s word to the people and was hated for it. Jeremiah’s complaint was not unlike that of Job. He too like Job cursed the day he was born. You will be very surprised many bible characters cursed the day they were born. Moses, Job, Jeremiah and Elijah all asked to die. Jeremiah 20:14 says, ‘Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!’ This is a very striking parallel in Job 3:3-12. The words express in the intense language of emotions, the bitterness of the pangs which ever and again seized upon a person’s mind and heart. We see some great arguments Jeremiah had with God. Maybe some of you are in great argument with God because of life’s struggles.
Jeremiah said this to God in Jeremiah 20:7, ‘You deceived me, LORD and I was deceived. You seized me and prevailed. I am the laughingstock all the time; everyone ridicule me.’ Jeremiah complained of the insult and injury he experienced. When Jeremiah said to God, ‘you seized me and prevailed,’ he meant that God was stronger than him and he was influenced or overpowered by the Spirit upon him and was persuaded by God to do his bidding but life did not turned up what he perceived it to be. God promised never to give him up to the will of the enemies and yet God had done so. To illustrate, Jeremiah’s enemies lowered him into a hole that was mushy and muddy. It is equivalent to a person lowering another into a deep well and leaving him there for days. When Jeremiah demurred on his calling (protested, objected), God persuaded, overpowered and overcame him. But Jeremiah misunderstood God’s promise which was not that he should have nothing to suffer, but that God would deliver him out of sufferings.
One of his complaints is ‘So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long.” This shows the real struggle going on in Jeremiah’s heart and mind. Despite his fearless preaching, he was suffering great emotional turmoil. He was a sensitive person and the sarcasm and ridicule he faced affected him deeply.
Well the word of God, delivered by Jeremiah to all the people God, came to pass. It is important to note that the people that did not heed Jeremiah’s word, were killed, exiled and destroyed. Even Zedekiah the King; his whole family, all his children and royals were slayed in front of him and he himself had his eyes gouged out and exiled to Babylon and stayed there until the day he died. Literally from the prophets, priest and kings that went against Jeremiah were all destroyed as a result of disobeying God’s word. What about the outcome for Jeremiah himself, the King of Babylon instructed his subordinates to do no harm Jeremiah and give him bread every day and whatever Jeremiah wants will be given to him. Jeremiah himself was not exiled but allowed to stay in his own homeland.
In 1983, a pastor visited the beautiful city of Suzhou, China, famous for its gardens and canals. His main reason for going to Suzhou, however, was not to see the gardens & canals but to visit a dear Christian brother, Stephen Wang who had been in prison and labour camp for many years because of his faith. He was given his address by his former colleague in the China Intervarsity Movement. Trying not to be too obvious, as a foreigner, he found my way to his home down a little alley called Zao Fu Nong – “Create Blessing Lane”. He will never forget his first sight of Brother Stephen Wang, with his white hair and welcoming smile. He became very close friends with the Wang family. During the political movements of the fifties and sixties (the rise of communism), including the disastrous Cultural Revolution, they suffered greatly for their faith. Brother Wang was paraded round the streets of Suzhou wearing a dunce cap and denounced as one of the so-called “five bad types”. He and his wife dared not tell their twin daughters and their son about the Lord in case the children inadvertently said something at school which would get them and the whole family into even more trouble. Brother Wang related that he will never forget how full of anguish he felt when he saw his son’s disappointment at being refused a place at school because his father was regarded as a bad element. He cried out to the Lord, “How long, O Lord? Why do our children have to suffer because we have chosen to love and serve you?” Did God hear his prayers? Did those days of trial and suffering come to an end? Could he and his family come to see, despite all they had been through, that God was still in control? I said earlier that we misunderstand God’s promise which was not that we should have nothing to suffer, but that God would deliver us out of sufferings. Well this is Stephen Wang’s story. Their son, Moses, who had not been allowed to go to school because of his parent’s faith, was able to complete university and later went to the USA for post-graduate studies. Moses married a Taiwanese sister and they are now back in China being greatly used by God. The twin girls, Joy & Grace, later joined their parents, who by then were in Canada, and after graduating from Prairie Bible Institute they joined a Children’s ministry as full-time workers. They too are being greatly used in reaching children in China.
When God calls us to follow Him and serve Him, He does not promise us an easy life with health, wealth and popularity. No, at times it is a lonely and difficult road – as Jeremiah discovered. But in the long run we too will discover that the joy and blessing of serving God far outweighs any trials, ridicule or even persecution we might have to face. Certainly God never deceives anyone. We can trust Him and His word completely.
Elijah
Elijah the prophet wanted to die. He asked God to take his life because he had come to the conclusion that he was a failure. He experienced tremendous victories in life but when his life was threatened he fled. He ran 100 miles away from the place of danger in his life. He was terribly exhausted due to the struggles in life and it became too extreme, he fell into depression and requested to die. When his burden had seemed too great to carry, Elijah had asked God to take his life. James 5:17 told us Elijah possessed the human nature, with its problems, like anyone of us. If you want to study about depression, the right person is Elijah. Elijah has become the classic example of a depressed person. Christians are not immune to depression. Christians feel guilty and ashamed to talk about this issue, thinking that spiritual people should never feel depressed. But spiritual depression is a recurrent theme throughout Scripture. One example is the prophet Elijah who, despite his great faith, fell into depression, going from the mountain top to the valley. One of the outcome of the struggles of life is depression.
Why do people have depression? One, we presumed the outcome. Elijah presumed things would turn out certain ways. But things didn’t turn out the way he planned. Can you relate? Haven’t you looked forward to something, believing you had everything mapped out when suddenly things changed? If so, you know how disheartening it can be. Two, we focus on the problem. Elijah focused on Jezebel’s murderous threats that consumed him and overwhelmed his faith. Three, we focus on ourselves. Elijah focused on himself: Elijah was in the depths of self-pity when he said, ” … I am no better than my fathers!” (1 Kings 19:4). Elijah’s focus had shifted from the Lord to his circumstances, and then from his circumstances to himself. Looking at himself he became depressed. Lastly, we are physically exhausted. Elijah was physically exhausted: We are not overlook exhaustion can lead to depression. By the time Elijah got to Sinai he was weak from fatigue.
What is the prescription for people who are depressed? One, have new expectation. The lesson for us is to guard against unrealistic expectations by remembering that God is sovereign; we must never presume upon his perfect will or I call it our perfect expectation. Have new expectations. YHWH’s recurring themes in the bible are a NEW THING, a NEW DAY. Once God had Elijah’s attention, he set out to readjust his expectations. He told Elijah to go outside “and behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-12). Elijah had unrealistic expectations — God wasn’t in the wind or the earthquake. Instead, the Lord readjusted Elijah’s expectations, coming to him as “a still small voice.” Elijah learned that God’s work is sometimes an inner work of the heart. God is not just interested in a new expectation for you but also a new person he is working on you. Two, have a new focus. In his panic in the struggles of life, do not focus on the enemy’s power to destroy you; rather on the power of God to deliver you. Get a new focus. Elijah believed he was the only one who is faithful and spiritual. Elijah was in touch with his feelings but not in touch with reality. Things weren’t as bad as he thought, so God came to give Elijah a new reality. Three, get some rest. 1 Kings 19:5-6 says, As he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat”… So he ate and drank and lay down again.’ God’s plan was simple: rest and refreshment.
