God's Answers Don't Fit on Bumper Stickers

Easy answers and simple solutions seem to the order of the day in an age of sound bites and slogans.  One politician implies that the complex issue of illegal immigration can be met by just ‘building a big wall’ and we cheer  Another suggests that economic inequality can be remedied by ‘taxing the Wall Street billionaires.’  Preachers do it, too.  Phrases that are meant to be wonderfully comforting such as, "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." (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV) get yanked out of context and twisted into a promise of perpetual blue skies for all Christians.   

An authentic Christian Life and the kind of faith that leads us to joy in the Lord will require thought, dialogue, wrestling with Truth, and waiting for revelation! Those unwilling to exist in the mystery, who will not admit “I don’t know,” will either escape into a superficial faith shaped around slogans or they will become functional agnostics, believing God is out there somewhere, but unreachable for us.

The Lord of the Universe is not a vending machine that spits out goods when we insert our prayers!  He is not bound to do what we ask, though He delights in us and desires to lead us to lives that are, in Jesus’ words, ‘abundant.’  From where we sit, He appears to be infuriatingly unpredictable.  Looking at suffering we cry -  “God, why is one dream realized and another shattered?” There are not enough answers this side of Heaven to satisfy every question.

Naomi, (book of Ruth) moved to Moab with her husband and two sons to escape a famine in Israel.  When they were finally getting life together, Elimelech, her husband, died. Naomi, picked up the pieces and moved on. Her two sons married Moabite women and for 10 years, life was good, then...  both sons died!  The tragedy was terrible for her.  Might she have asked, “Where is God in this?”  Perhaps.  He was, as we know from our view, right there with her. Does that just seem to the 'right' answer?  It IS the truth. 

The Bible tells us the ‘rest of the story’... "Boaz married Ruth. She became his wife. Boaz slept with her. By God's gracious gift she conceived and had a son. The town women said to Naomi, "Blessed be God! He didn't leave you without family to carry on your life. May this baby grow up to be famous in Israel! He'll make you young again! He'll take care of you in old age. And this daughter-in-law who has brought him into the world and loves you so much, why, she's worth more to you than seven sons!" Naomi took the baby and held him in her arms, cuddling him, cooing over him, waiting on him hand and foot." (Ruth 4:13-16, The Message)

That baby became the grandfather of Israel's great king, David! God used Naomi, to bridge His promise to a Gentile woman’s life. Ruth, was brought into Israel and apparently to faith in God.  She was included, in the plan of the Lord, in the ancestry of David and the line of the Messiah, Jesus. Yes, I ask, as you probably do, "So, does that make the pain Naomi had to endure all good?"  No, it still hurt her but there was purpose in it. 

Life entrusted to the hands of the Lord must be received with faith.  Sometimes it simply it what it is, incomprehensible to us in the moment.  If we want to please Him and find His grace in such moments, the temptation to accuse God of unfairness must be leashed and faith loosed!

When God allows us to go through awful circumstances, to walk in the dark, we have a critical choice. Will we wait for a new dream to replace the shattered one OR will we descend into bitterness and unbelief? In my own life, which is filled with unexplained grief and loss at this moment, I cling to the prayer of a desperate father who brought his son for healing to Jesus. These words find their way from my heart often these days;  "I do believe, but help me not to doubt!" (Mark 9.24)  This is no slogan; it is Truth.  IF we will trust Him, He can give us a new dream, a new life that recovers JOY.

Honestly, to please Him, we must surrender our notions about ‘fairness.’  We must let go of the idea that we have a right to live a perfectly balanced life where the pain is always offset by the blessings, where the hard times are offset by the good times. Full faith is God-focused, not self-centered;  trusting that He is able to keep us secure in His love through the shattered dreams!

God’s answer to your prayer won’t fit on a bumper sticker! Don’t adopt slogans to cope. They cannot support you. Instead, reach out to people who will love you and hold you up until your faith is strong enough to touch the heart of God again. Reject the ‘out of context’ Scripture quotes, the simplistic answers, the psycho-babble, the half- truths… but do not reject God. Ask Him for courage to weep yet keep hope and faith intact as you pray --- "I do believe, but help me not to doubt!"

Here is a word from the Word - 
"In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. 
Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. 
Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. 
Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. 
Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. 
I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD. 
I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. 
You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.

 …But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”

My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. 
Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love." (Psalm 31:1-16, NIV)

________________

O love that will not let me go,

I rest my weary soul in Thee.

I give Thee back the life I owe,

That in Thine ocean depths its flow,

May richer fuller be.

O joy that seekest me through pain,

I cannot close my heart to Thee.

I trace the rainbow through the rain,

And feel the promise is not vain,

That morn shall tearless be.

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

George Matteson © Public Domain