Are You There God, It's Me.

Are You There God; It’s Me…

Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.

Preserve my life, for I am godly;
    save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.

Be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all the day.

Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
    abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my plea for grace.

In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
    for you answer me.

There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    nor are there any works like yours.

All the nations you have made shall come
    and worship before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.

For you are great and do wondrous things;
    you alone are God.

Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may walk in your truth;
    unite my heart to fear your name.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to your servant,
    and save the son of your maidservant.

Show me a sign of your favor,
    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalm 86

As a lot of Psalms are, Psalm 86 was written by David.  David, here, is in trouble, and he is doing exactly what he is supposed to; he is turning to God.  We don’t know exactly what landed David in this situation, but he has had a few enemies in his lifetime; Goliath, the rest of the Philistines, Saul, even his own son Absalom.  What I find intriguing is that David is referred to as a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam 13:14 and Acts 13:22); yet he has seen more than his fair share of adversity.  Those of us who are in Christ can expect two things; we will encounter difficult times, and God will get us through those difficult times.

Jesus told the disciples in John 16:33 that they will have tribulation.  Christians are not immune to discomfort in this life.  They get sick, hungry, persecuted, falsely imprisoned, killed, and every other thing imaginable.  It is often asked why God allows such things; some may go a step further and ask why He allows them to His own people.  James 1:2-4 begins to answer this by stating: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  This passage is wise yet hard to swallow.  Am I supposed to be happy when life sucks?  Joy is not necessarily being happy.  James MacDonald defines joy as: “supernatural delight in the person of God, the purposes of God, and the people of God.”  So, when times get tough, we aren’t necessarily supposed to be happy, but we delight in God.  We delight in God during our hardships because we don’t know what God will do in that time, but we should expect something great.  

The other part of John 16:33 that I didn’t mention before is that Jesus also said, “But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  God does not leave His people suffering for no reason.  During the First Century, Christians (of all ages) were persecuted, a lot.  But despite this wave of victimization, the church exploded in growth.  Tertullian once said, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.”  God used the suffering of His children to grow His family.  Whatever suffering we go through is not in vain, God has a purpose for it.  When we wonder what that purpose is, we can ask.  James 1:5 states, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”  The purpose or reason of our suffering shows me that God is there, that the cheesy motivational sayings such as; “I will never leave you or forsake you,” or “all things work together for good,” aren’t trite but something solid I can stand on.

If you doubt what I am saying so far, let’s take a look at the life of Jesus real quick.  God the Son, second person of the Trinity, suffered as we did.  He was born of a virgin birth, which no one believed so He was probably looked at as an illegitimate child.  He probably worked as a construction worker.  He was so broke that He couldn’t pay the Temple tax, and performed a miracle that He sends Peter out to go fishing and found the amount in a fish’s mouth.  He was homeless.  What money He did have was being stolen by Judas.  He gets rejected by the religious leaders (think about that one for a minute).  He is wrongfully accused. When He needs His friends the most, He gets abandoned.  He is executed in most painful way imaginable not only because crucifixion was sadistic, but He is now every sin of the world.  And God the Father rejects Him.  But it doesn’t end there.  All the suffering He endured, all the horrible situations He was in ultimately were used to bring God glory, because He rose from the grave and our Savior eternally lives.  So when I take this in consideration, I can take joy because my Savior, who has suffered more than I ever will, will get me through.

When we suffer, we should ask God why we are suffering not in a way that looks for justice, but in a way that looks for wisdom.  And then we can see how He will use our situation.

I love you all,

Justin