Tag Archives: trust

Why?

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OklahomaTornado.JPEG

Damage from a tornado in Moore, Oklahoma last month.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do bad things happen to anybody? If God is good, why does He allow bad things in this world – sometimes terrible things?
Last month we had several very powerful tornadoes in our area. One of them came within one mile of our house. Thousands of houses were destroyed, billions of dollars of damage, hundreds of people injured, and more than fifty people killed. I attended the funeral of one of the victims whose father I knew. Hundreds of people were there…and amazingly, it was a hopeful, encouraging time. Everyone was supporting each other, seeking God together, reminding each other that God goes with us through our pain. God suffers when we suffer. And God brings good out of our suffering and His suffering.

I don’t know why God let the tornadoes happen – probably there are many reasons. Probably there are special reasons in the lives of each person who was affected. Some of God’s reasons might be difficult to accept if we knew them. But maybe it wouldn’t be so difficult if we saw how everything fits together.

The week after one of the storms, I was listening to a sermon on Sunday morning and noticed what Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis 50:
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” (Gen. 50:20).

You know the story of Joseph, right? His brothers sold him as a slave into Egypt, where he was falsely accused of assault and imprisoned for three years. Because of that, he met the king’s wine taster. Because of that, he met the king and saved Egypt from a famine. Because of that, his own family moved to Egypt. Because of that, the family grew into a large nation: Israel. Because of that, the Egyptians hated them and they left Egypt and wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Because of their experiences in the wilderness and the Law that God gave them, they learned to trust God instead of themselves. Because of this, Israel was set on a path that would prepare them and even us to trust Jesus Christ. The evil done to Joseph was an integral part of the picture of God’s redemption of the world.

And this all began because Joseph’s brothers intended evil against him. Who fully understands God’s power to bring good out of evil? Certainly not me. But I think we can see glimpses of it at times, and those glimpses can help us to believe in bigger pictures like this one. This is part of living out God’s reality…in the middle of the reality around us. VOICE 2013 starts in less than a month and we’ll be talking about all kinds of stuff like this with more students and staff. See you there!

Puzzled?

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I’ve always enjoyed putting puzzles together because the bigger the puzzle, the greater the challenge! I’ll confess, I’m not one for suspense. I always had to know what the finished picture was going to look like before I could even begin.

Have you ever played with a puzzle that you pulled out from the archaic pile in the closet, only to come up with 999 of the 1000 pieces? You’re no longer happy that you put together 999 pieces; you’re mad because that 1 piece is missing!

Right now, I’m staring at that almost completed puzzle and am frustrated because I just can’t figure out where that last piece is, or even what the finished picture will look like. It’s missing an important piece – and one I’d rather have in my little box so I can finish my puzzle. I mean, I have things to do, people to see, a life to live, right?! Why does God have me sitting here staring at a blank hole in the picture, with a huge question mark in it’s place?

Because instead of a ‘?‘ I’m beginning to see the true attributes of WHO God is, based solely on just that – Who He is. It is easy to come to a realization of who God is by what He gives; but, what if He takes? Where do you stand if you’re relying on those gifts to shape who God is to you, and they crumble under your feet?

Jesus + Nothing = Everything.

Even though it looks like there is a piece missing – my picture has already been completed because it is Jesus who holds that piece. He’s the Author & Finisher of my Faith with the timing of completion totally up to Him; and one glorious day we’ll all be able to see our finished pictures. Won’t that be wonderful?

Jeremiah 29:11 says For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

 

The Desert: A Place to Grow?

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Wadi Rum Desert, Jordan ©2010-2012 David Sant, used by permission.

The sun beats down until the rocks are so hot you could literally fry an egg on them.  Finally the sun drops below the horizon and the temperature plummets to near freezing.  Winds whip across the parched landscape, blowing sand into your eyes, nose, and mouth.  There is little to no water and only the sturdiest, most efficient plants and animals survive here.

The desert is a wasteland.

Or is it?

Often Christians describe bad times in their spiritual lives as “desert times”: times of dryness, apathy, and seeming distance from God.  I believe there are actually two types of spiritual deserts: those God leads us into and those that we make for ourselves by losing fellowship with God.

Throughout the Bible, God led individuals into the desert and used that time to grow their faith.

Moses spent at least eighty years of his life in the desert.  During the first forty years, God was preparing him to lead the Israelites across a desert into the Promised Land.

John the Baptist grew up in the desert. (Lk. 1:80) Then God used him to prepare the way for Jesus.

Jesus fasted for forty days in a desert in preparation for His ministry.  The Bible tells us that He was led there by the Holy Spirit. (Lk. 4:1)

However my favorite Bible story about a desert concerns Philip.  Philip was a leader of the church in Jerusalem.  He had just participated in an amazing spiritual awakening in Samaria, preaching the Gospel and baptizing new believers.  He was seeing God work and getting to be a part of it.  It must have been like working at VOICE multiplied by about a thousand (and watching God work at VOICE is incredible!).

The next thing Philip knows, he’s sitting in Jerusalem and God is telling him to go to the Gaza desert.  There are no people in the desert.  If I had been in Philip’s shoes I would have been thinking, “Um, we are on a roll here, God.  Why on earth do you want me to go to this desert?  You aren’t making any sense!”

The next sentence simply says, “And he arose and went.”  Wow.  That’s faith.  That’s living like God is real and truly all-knowing.

Philip followed God to a seemingly barren place, but he was able to share the Gospel with a man from the court of the Queen of Ethiopia.  We can’t ever know how many Ethiopians believed on Christ just because Philip “arose and went” to the desert!  (Read Philip’s story for yourself in Acts 8:5-40 in Chinese or English.)

God can make good things happen even in the desert.  My question for all of us is, do we try to flee the spiritual desert too soon?  Of course it’s uncomfortable.  Of course it’s lonely.  However, maybe we seek escape when we should be seeking God.

Each of us will probably spend time in a spiritual desert.  Let’s be careful we are there because of God’s direction and not as a result of our own sin!  The Israelites disobeyed God and because of their sin they were forced to wander in a desert for 40 years.  If you take yourself into a desert by disobeying God and losing fellowship with Him – repent!  Don’t waste your life wandering in a spiritual desert of unbelief.

If God leads you into a desert, seek Him.  At the very least He wants to draw you closer and perhaps prepare you for something in the future.

 

From Worry to Worship

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I’m a teller at a bank, and having every penny accounted for is essential. Perfection is required. Not too long ago, I was off an odd amount of cash, and all the review & double checking of previous work couldn’t find the error. Lunch break came, and I had to leave. While I was gone my coworkers continued to try to solve the mystery. All I could do was trust and believe that God knew exactly what happened, and that it would be found.

Lunch became a prayer session, since I sure didn’t feel like eating. I prayed – believed – and guess what!? The moment I walked back inside work, one of my coworkers exclaimed – “We found it! The currency counter misread a bill.”

I know this is something small, but, it still matters just as much to God as the big things. It pleases God to have us come to him for everything. Because when we seek Him, He is found. He always shows up. When we trust Him for those small things, yes, even VERY small things, and we realize that He cares about them even more than we do – our attitude is turned from worry to worship, knowing that He is in control.

Worry prevents Him from doing anything for us. While we worry, our focus is on ourselves, our problems, and their solutions. Placing our trust in Him, glorifies Him, puts God in His rightful place in our lives; on His throne ahead of us and our worries.  Allow God to be glorified in your life by trusting Him for the things He wants to see you through.

God Mended My Hoodie

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One winter day, during my second year in Taiwan, the weather was cool so I had taken my favorite blue hoodie along to school with me. On the drive to school, I noticed a tear in one of the sleeves.  I couldn’t wear it like that. I resigned myself to toughing it out in my t-shirt.      When I arrived at school, I plopped my bags, books, and purse down on and around my desk. My coworker, Xu Jun, and I greeted each other with smiles and “Good morning!” Then I showed her my hoodie.”The grandma can fix it,” she responded to my tale of tear.

The “grandma” is a bustling, kindly, older woman. What her official job is at the school, I’m not really sure. She bandages, combs disheveled hair, scolds, comforts, and generally ‘grandmas’ everyone in the school – except the principal, of course.

“Yes!” exclaimed another teacher, “We have a very good seamstress!”

“Here, here. Bring it here.” Grandma ordered in her gruff, yet good-tempered, way.

I gratefully handed my hoodie to her. I expected to teach at least one period in my shirtsleeves, so I settled contentedly down at my desk for a chat with Xu Jun before class. Not five minutes later, bless her heart, the grandma tossed my sweatshirt to me. She had mended it beautifully.

I thanked her profusely. I thanked the Lord, too. I knew He had directed me to take that particular hoodie to that school (as opposed to the others, which don’t have ‘grandmas’) just so it would be mended.

A couple of days later a friend of mine was trying to tease me about the hole. “Look!” she commanded several of our mutual friends. “Look! There’s a big hole in her sweatshirt… Where is it?” she asked in surprise.I laughed and explained how God had mended my hoodie.

Sometimes I’m tempted to think that God doesn’t really care about what is happening in my life. Then He reminds me of times like this when He has proven that He is concerned with even the smallest details. Why should I doubt His loving care? After all, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)
This Easter, as we celebrate God’s greatest act of love, may we all continually marvel at and trust in the faithful loving-kindness of God!

the mommy dilemma

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On Februray 4th, God blessed us with a beautiful daughter, whom we named Arianna. In the months leading up to her arrival, I did everything I could to get ready– I read books on what to do, talked to friends about their experience, exercised and ate a baby-friendly diet, which is probably why she weighed 8 lb 10 oz at birth– more than my brother when he was born!

Even with all that preparation, I wasn’t quite prepared for all the conflicting opinions. American doctors say I should eat one thing; Chinese medicine says that would be bad for my body. Some say babies should sleep on their tummies; others say they should sleep on their back. One group says babies should be fed on demand; another group says babies should be put on a schedule.

What to do? How do I know if I’m making the right decision for Arianna and for our family? The more I talked to people about what they did, the less certain I felt about making a decision. I began worrying that my decision might have a negative effect upon our daughter.

When family came to visit, I worried that Arianna might get sick from all the germs people were bringing into our house. Just as I was breathing a sigh of relief after they left, Luke caught a cold. Every time he sneezed or coughed, I winced. What if I catch his cold? What if Arianna gets sick?

In the midst of my worries, a verse broke through like a light in the darkness: “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You” (Psalm 56:3). Even though I don’t know for certain what’s best, God does and He loves my daughter far more than I ever will.

As a new mommy, living like God is real means remembering that fact and trusting Him to lead us one decision at a time.

 

In God I trust.

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I like having things well-planned in advance. I like to know that everything is prepared before it happens.

It’s hard to picture myself having the kind of faith missionary
George Mueller had when he didn’t know where his next meal would come from or if he’d even get one. Advanced preparation wasn’t possible then! He could only trust God to do the next thing.

I’ve never had to go through anything as drastically faith-testing as waiting for your daily bread, but recently experienced a small-scale parallel of the uncertainty, not of the next meal, but of the next ride.

Two weeks ago, my family was at a conference and only after arrival realized that the sessions were held at a different place than our lodging. We had no car and thus no way to get there.

Four times a day we had to find a ride between the 2 places, and I was regularly uncomfortable in this position of waiting for the next unknown benefactor. Not in financial poverty living hand-to-mouth, but in simple need going from ride-to-ride.

It was a very small “problem” but it was a situation I couldn’t control nor choose to have transportation all planned ahead. I knew God would provide, but harder than trusting was letting that trust transform tension into peace about waiting and not knowing.

What is your unknown that is causing a lesson in trust? We know God is trustworthy, but do we live like it? Or does our anxiety say otherwise?

I like to know what will happen and be prepared for it. But trusting God sometimes means being willing not to know…the future, or where the next ride is coming from.