In focus
A number of years ago some teenagers from a local school were killed in a tramping tragedy. The rains came and the swollen river floated them away. One cried out to Jesus and he is saved but others are washed away. Presumably, they are praying too, wanting to be rescued but they die.
The parents gather around and wonder why one child is saved another is lost. Outside the theologians defend the sovereignty of God and console themselves with the mystery of Gods plan for the accident. Some people look at the tragedy and think God can’t look after his own so he’s either powerless or if he is powerful, maybe not as loving as we think he is. We are better to admit that God is loving and powerful but there are mysteries when it comes to tragedy in His people lives.
A man called Helmet Thielecke says “When you look through a magnifying glass at the cloth, the fabric is sharply in focus in the centre and blurred at the edges. We know edges are really ok because we have seen the centre. Life is like that too. There are many edges that are blurred but because we have seen the centre, the cross, that greatest demonstration of God’s love, we can accept that the edges we don’t understand will be woven by Gods love too.
Friend, we can understand God enough to trust his character when we can’t understand our circumstances
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Where is God now?
Paul was placed in prison, where it seems his life was being hindered or wasted. He wrote to the believers at Philippi, “I may be in prison but God is at work. I may not be preaching around the nations, but God is still at work, so I’m confident, that God is at work in your life too, no matter how difficult it seems.”
If we think God is not at work in our life, to will and to do of his good pleasure, or we think others are really in charge of our life and not God, we actually become idolaters, because we reduce God down to the size of a small Sunday god, a quite time god or a good time only god. We end up murmuring in unbelief, thinking that other people and not God are determining our circumstances and happiness.
Friend, the apostle understood God is always at work, so he says to his friends in lesser trouble than himself, rejoice in the Lord. The Lord is at work!
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Who promised that?
Sometimes we expect more from God that he ever actually promised. Elijah thought God would use him to change the whole nation for God.
Perhaps we thought we would have a great success we’d become the greatest businessman. We expected we’d become exceedingly wealthy like Abraham, and have no financial difficulties. We expected we’d be much better off than our fathers. Better off, better educated, better resourced. But God never said you will be better than your father. He has no favourites but then you don’t love any less that you father either.
God never promised we would see a whole nation turn back to God in one concert, one service, one year or one lifetime.
Perhaps we thought by serving God fully, we’d be protected from harm (actually every one full of Holy Spirit was killed by evil men) We expected to have no troubles in life, for our family and home to be shielded from every pain and that our children would all sere God every week of their life. But every wrong expectation will only increase our disappointment and pain.
Friend, God wants to heal and restore pain in our heart is meant to alert us to the need for healing.
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