Life / Religion / Philosophy / Science / Polictics

Tag: Tribulations

  • What Do You Do In Times Of Trouble?

    Recently I was asked about life’s good times and bad times,  The expression ‘When it rains, it pours.‘ (to describe multiple events of a like or same nature occurring together in a short period of time) came to mind.  I was reminded that sometimes we are overwhelmed by life’s events and we wonder whether or not the whole world is against us or if God (and we caveat this in our own minds with ‘If there is a God‘) even cares.

    It is in times like these we might tend to sink into hopelessness and despair.  It is also in times like these that we may find others giving us sage advice, offering words of comfort, or simply offering a listening ear or a hug,

    Personally, I believe God places us into trying times like these for His own Honor and Glory.  It is in our weakness that His strength is shown.

    Have you ever watched a wrestling or a boxing match?  Two mighty champions will climb into the ring and flex their muscles in front of the crowd.  They will both show their prowess and agility as they dance around the ring.  They will stare each other down and predict a great defeat for their opponent.  But whom amongst us is impressed?  The real answer is “No One”, and if you answered differently, you didn’t understand the question.  All of the bravado means nothing.  Oh sure, the fighters may be trying to psych each other out and whip the crowd into a frenzy cheering for them, but this does not win the fight.  What eventually gets written about in the history books is when the fight begins and one fighter confidently walks over and takes his opponent out with a single blow.  That is the point that the crowd becomes impressed.  When they see a great display of strength and skill and prowess.

    In some regards, God is the same way in our lives.  He can tell us in His word of His strength and greatness.  He can show us the majesty of His creation.  But what do we do?  We do not listen to Him when He speaks and we ascribe His creation to a process He is not part of.

    However, when God steps into our lives and demonstrates His great strength and His love and His mercy, that is when we are impressed.  That is when we see Him for who He truly is.  That is when, in wonderment, we look around and ask “How did that happen?” and the only answer is: “God”.

    But there is a condition.  You have to let God into the ring of your life.  Just like the great fighters who climb into the wrestling or boxing ring will only fight the opponent they are scheduled to fight, God will not take His intervention into someone’s life who does not want it and has not scheduled with Him.

    This is why I always become uncomfortable when people start offering people in need advice or comfort.  When we try to solve the worlds problems through our own wisdom and understanding, we keep God out of the ring and don’t allow Him to work in our lives and the lives of others.

    And more importantly, I believe we rob the individual going through the trial or tribulation.  God is trying to show His strength in their lives, not ours.

    I am able to illustrate this in a very simple way.  Find an atheist and describe God’s goodness in your life.  Tell them of all of your experiences with God and what it has meant to you.  I can almost certainly tell you that the atheist will point to anything else in the world other than [a] God, to explain your experiences.  The atheist doesn’t need your experiences for proof of God.  The atheist needs an encounter with God.  Their own personal encounter.  And the same is true of us when we encounter trials and tribulations.  God wants us to interact with Him in a very real and personal way.  Not through someone else’s experiences, no matter how similar.

    I am reminded of a King who lived a few thousand years ago.  This king was the King of Israel.  And he has been regarded as a great King indeed.

    King David experienced his own set of trials and tribulations.  He may not have known the expression “When it rains, it pours”, but he would almost certainly identify with its sentiments.  King David allowed God to work in his life during these times.  He sought out a personal encounter with God in the close confines of the ring of strife within his life.  And King David walked out with his own answer as to how to address troublesome times.  Not someone else’s answer.  Not the answer of some program, or a counselor, or friends.  He walked out with a personal answer from God.

    I like King David’s answer.  God asked him to write it down for us.  And he did.  King David’s answer to troublesome times in his life is this:

    Psalms 23:
    1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.  King James Version.

    King David simply had to remember that it was THE LORD who was his Shepherd.  It was THE LORD that was doing the leading.  It was THE LORD that was restoring his soul, leading him in the paths of righteousness.  It was all about THE LORD and nothing about him.

    How about us?  When we find ourselves in times of trouble do we invite a Holy God into the ring of our trials and allow Him to show us His strength?  Do we make it about Him?  Or do we stand there in our own bravado and face the situation without Him?

    Do you want to prove to yourself there is a God who loves you and wants to show you mercy?  Invite Him to show you His strength the next time you face trials and tribulations and you will have your proof.

  • Are You Walking Through Fire?

    Fire Walking has been a test of a person’s mettle for several thousands of years (or so the claim goes).  The afore referenced Wikipedia article places it at around 3,215 years old.

    Today, many people attend seminars that supposedly help them build confidence by walking across glowing embers.  You can find a number of them with this search here.

    The first one that showed up on my list (your mileage may vary)  (Firewalking Institute of Research and Education) suggests that:

    “In just one four-hour seminar, you can discover your inner strength, power and confidence. Journey with us through the fire, and you’ll discover an exhilarating world where anything is possible. You’ll be guided through overcoming your fears, building your inner strength and finally, after a calm and confident walk across the red-hot coals, claiming the life of your dreams on the other side! You will profoundly understand that you can do anything you want.”

    This quote is from their Seminars page.  Many of the other Self-Help, Motivational, Fire Walking symposiums will tell you the same thing in a very similar fashion, but with different words.  They are all here to help you gain confidence and change your life!

    I can’t help but wonder though, if any of the gurus that guide these self-help events know about the most impressive Fire Walkers in all of history?  That would be my friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  You can read the accurate story of their encounter here.

    You see my friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not just walk across some glowing embers that someone had spread out on the sand, they were cast, bound, into an oven that was so fiery, and so hot, that it literally consumed those that cast them into it (Daniel 3:22).  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego really and truly knew what it meant to walk through the fire.

    I also can’t help but wonder if any of these self-help gurus are sensitive to the plights of folks all around them that Walk Through the Fire each and every day?  These would be the folks that face life’s most challenging situations head on without any or little support from those around them.

    I know such people.  A coworker and friend actually.  I saw my coworker the other day, as I do most days, and he asked me what my plans were for the weekend.  I began to outline a weekend with family and friends spent at a local area theme park where we were looking forward to fun, and shows, and fine dining.  But I noticed that he had something much more troublesome on his mind.  So I paused and asked him about his plans for the weekend..

    And that is when he relayed to me his story, a story he told me that no one else at work had heard yet.  My friend told me that for the past year he has been struggling to keep his marriage, and his family intact.  His wife has asked him for a divorce and he was facing some very difficult decisions regarding his home, his daughter, and his very future.  This weekend, he told me, he was going to have to sit down and have a discussion with his mother and ask to move back in with her.  And let me add some more relevancy to the story, my friend is an older gentleman and I gather his daughter is college/career age and we are talking an impact of a  marriage that spanned decades coming to an end.

    My friend is Walking Though the Fire right now.  And he is walking through fire that is hotter, and more trying, and more damaging than anything the Firewalking Institute of Research and Education would ever have him walk through (or across, as the case may be).  He is walking through life changing, life impacting, and life scarring fire.  Fire that will try his faith and his very foundations in life.

    So regular readers of this blog may ask the question, what exactly is your friends life foundations?  Well, he is a Theist.  He believes in God.  He gave his life to Jesus Christ some 44 years ago.  And he has grown in the Lord over those years and today serves as a Deacon in his church.  He was raised in a Christian home, and I believe (based upon his active Church life) that he attempted to establish his home as such as well.

    And yet God is allowing him to Walk Through the Fire.  Why?  Why does God allow His children to encounter some of the deepest, darkest, and most trying times in life?  I believe there are several reasons, but one very compelling reason is that when standing before the Judgment Seat of God, no one will be able to claim that God favored those whom he loved in such a way as to provide them an unfair advantage in their path to seek him out.  As in the case of Job of old, God says to Satan (or anyone else who will listen) “Have you considered my servant …”?

    God has allowed people to Walk Though the Fire since the beginning of time.  God did not take away the fire walk from Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego, rather he allowed them to pass though it to show that he was God.  And what was their response?  It is found in Daniel 3:16-18.  GOD IS ABLE TO DELIVER US!  They knew that God could deliver them.  BUT (and that is a very important but), If he does not, WE STILL WILL NOT BOW DOWN.  Rock solid Faith.  Even when faced with the fire, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, stood on their Faith in God, no matter what.

    Every time I begin to think my life is not as good as it could be, I come across a friend or a coworker, who shows me what it is really like to Walk Through the Fire all the while keeping their Faith.

    If you are Walking Through the Fire today (like my friend and coworker), I pray God’s Peace, and His Mercy, and His Love, and His Grace would touch you in such a way that you would have to know you have been touched by the hand of God.  And I pray that God would carry you safely to the other side.  BUT, If he does not, I pray that like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego you would KNOW that he still is God.