Do you ever begin to question God, asking Him what He’s up
to? Abraham did! In Genesis 12, God gave
him an amazing promise of many descendants, that he would be a blessings to the
whole world. Years past and Abraham was still without a son! In the 15th
chapter, he asks God this - “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your
blessings when I don’t even have a son?” (Genesis 15:2, NLT) I think most of us have been in that place. We
think we know God’s promise but there seems to be no way from where we are to that
place of His blessings. What did Abraham do?
“He believed God!” So must we.
If we attempt to anything in life, especially in the work
of God, we may find ourselves dealing with situations that look like failure.
Our doubts will be fueled by the half-truths that are shared by well-intentioned
Christian. Many insist that if we are
living in faith, we will go from success to victory in unbroken triumph! We don’t.
Nobody does.
We love to recount the story of Jesus’ visit to his friends
in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. We
imagine Peter’s bold step over the side of the boat where he walked on the
water, too. It’s a glorious story of faith, until it isn’t! Peter
failed moments after he started. So, did God throw him away? Not at all. More
remarkable than Peter’s short trip on the water, is the faithfulness of Jesus who
caught him before he sank. We love to tell of Paul’s travels around the empire
planting churches. Yet that story is incomplete if we do not remember that he
got thrown out of most cities he visited, knowing rejection and disappointment
again and again. He spent almost as much time in jail as he did teaching in
marketplaces. The most amazing thing is that he didn’t just give up and go
home! In fact, some of his best writing to us comes from those times of
imprisonment.
Paul acknowledged the desperation he felt. Feel the emotion
in his words. “We were crushed and
completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In
fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves,
but on God who can raise the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:8, NLT) Like Abraham before him, Paul learned to
lean unto God. In his moment of doubt, the Lord spoke to Abram and that man responded
with faith that leaned into God.
"And Abram believed the Lord,
and the Lord declared him righteous because of his faith."
(Genesis 15:6, NLT)
Are you wrestling with disappointment? Have you heard the
promise of God only to find yourself frustrated? Brent Crowe reminds us of an
important thing. “There is a type of
failure that attempts something that is consistent with God’s desired will and
yet comes up short or doesn’t work out the way we thought it would. This is the
type of failure that God doesn’t look at and go… ‘You’ve failed and you’ve
sinned’… Number one I think it pleases him. Number two, I think he views
it through the lens of sanctification and we’re being built up in the faith
when we attempt things for God’s glory.” - Brent Crowe
God chose to include failure on the pages of the Bible. Instead
of giving inspirational stories about perfect heroes, He told us about real
people who lived in faith mixed with failure.
If we look deeply, we will be astounded by the grace of God that finds people
at their worst. We celebrate David’s love for God and his victories and they
are ever more amazing when we also include his violent nature, his terrible
moments of adultery and even murder! We admire about Abraham’s faith,
which was remarkable, but tend to forget that God loved and used him even when
he got it very wrong, fathering a son with Hagar, lying about Sarah to Pharaoh.
Samson was a hero and a heel! He led Israel to great victories but could
not overcome his weakness for pretty women. Still God’s grace persisted.
So, am I excusing faithlessness or failure? Not for a
moment. Our desire must be to know the Presence of God, to walk in the
Spirit, and to do those things that make His Name great. But, we will
fail and others will fail us. What then? Will we give up, go home, and
look for another place for joy? Or, will we love Him, accept His grace, and
give it where necessary?
The word from the Word is from a letter of Paul that I love.
In our worst failures there is a
divine conjunction - "But God…” He “is so
rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead
because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It
is only by God’s special favor that you have been saved!) For he raised us from
the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly
realms—all because we are one with Christ Jesus. And so God can always point to
us as examples of the incredible wealth of his favor and kindness toward us, as
shown in all he has done for us through Christ Jesus. God saved you by his
special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a
gift from God." (Ephesians 2:4-8, NLT)
Lord lead us to life in the middle of the messes that are a
part of this broken world. Amen
__________
(Mercy Me encourages us to lean on our Father)
They say sometimes you
win some
Sometimes you lose
some
And right now right
now I'm losing bad
I've stood on this
stage night after night
Reminding the broken
it'll be alright
But right now oh right
now I just can't
It's easy to sing
When there's nothing
to bring me down
But what will I say
When I'm held to the
flame like I am right now
I know You're able and
I know You can
Save through the fire
with Your mighty hand
But even if You don't
My hope is You alone
They say it only takes
a little faith
To move a mountain
Well good thing
A little faith is all
I have right now
But God when You
choose
To leave mountains
unmovable
Oh give me the
strength to be able to sing
It is well with my
soul
I know the sorrow and
I know the hurt
Would all go away if
You just say the word
But even if You don't
My hope is You alone
You've been faithful
You've been good all
of my days
Jesus I will cling to
You
Come what may
'Cause I know You're
able
I know You care
I hope in You alone
ooh
It is well with my
soul
It is well it is well
with my soul
Bart Millard | Ben Glover | Crystal Lewis | David Arthur
Garcia | Tim Timmons
© 2017 D Soul Music (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music
Publishing, Inc.)
Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publishing (Admin. by
Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)
CCLI License # 810055
No comments:
Post a Comment