Tragedy

Friday, December 14 is another one of those days that turns our stomachs and breaks our hearts. We have questions we want to ask and we look to make sense of something that is beyond tragic.  People always want to ask and need to ask during these times, where is God? If God is all powerful where is this great God!?! It's the same question the world asked the church after 9/11, after the great hurricanes and tornadoes experienced around the world. It's the same question we ask when we get horrible news. It's the type of question where  we can get our faith stuck, where those of faith struggle with God and those with no belief in God strengthen their stance. After a tragic situation I heard David Platt make a statement that I believe is a foundational promise of scripture. A promise that might not be terribly easy to process in the emotional moments immediately following a tragedy but over time it becomes much easier to process and find God's strength.

In His sovereign design, God ordains sorrowful tragedy to set the stage for surprising triumph.

Many times when we see great tragedy we think we're experiencing the end of the story. However, we want to know, is this going to work out!?! We need to know if Romans 8:28 is true.

Romans 8:28

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

But even with that promise we don't know how certain situations are going to end, we don't see much triumph in the midst of the pain, so we are left with our faith, hoping God's got a word of mercy in those moments. Ultimately having to rest in our faith! Knowing that God has given us faith to sustain our hearts while we wait for His victory in our lives.

I found it an amazing God thing that this tragedy happened on the week of JOY in the advent calendar. We know as a nation that the innocence of Christmas has been ripped away from many this year and for one town and many families Christmas will always remind them of a tragedy! No one expects them or us to find JOY.

When we think of Christmas we love the beauty and innocence of the holiday mixed with the frustration of too many activities, not enough time to keep the house clean, not enough money to get everyone what they want to keep peace and joy in the house... But if you asked Mary what she thought about Christmas, and the birth of God's Son?

No one would have blamed her if she would have solely focused on the tragedy of her marriage falling apart! Her life seems out of control! A life that seemed idyllic by the standards of her culture is being turned upside down! "God, it seems like the more I trust you, the more my life is falling apart."

"Joy! NO WAY! ...in the middle of all that is going on there is no way I could find joy!" If that had been her heart and the words she shouted no one would have blamed her but in the midst of her world being turned upside down...

Luke 1:46-47

And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, 47 and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,

How could she declare joy in the midst of these circumstances? Mary's soul was not in a state of confusion or denial... she was declaring the fact that regardless of circumstances or events... her trust in the God would bring her to a place of worship. For Mary and Joseph their joy wasn't in what God had asked them to do; their joy was in God!

Our joy isn't found in what God ask us to do; our joy is found in Him!

Their focus wasn't on the problems created by God's will but on their obedience to carry out God's will! Happiness is circumstance driven but joy is not driven by our circumstances but is driven by our trust in someone greater than our circumstances. Mary didn't fully understand what was happening to her but she was fully convenience that God was greater than her circumstances.

Mary knew the One working through her was greater than what was happening to her.  

The conflict in Mary's life eventually brought life. I don't know what triumph will come from the tragedy of last Friday and no matter what sense we make of it or what good comes from it... families will still be experiencing loss! Pain still hurts; faith is not the absence of pain but the understanding that in Christ I can know that the One working in me is greater than anything that can happen to me.

My prayers are with the families struggling with loss and with the other children trying to process the moment! May God's strength protect and overcome!!!!

Value

Most of us would love to slow our lives down. We'd love to rest a little more, reflect a little more, savor the things we enjoy a little more. Yet, for many of us it's been a long time since we intentionally slowed down our lives, slow enough to ponder unthinkable size questions! Not unthinkable that we can't think about them, but unthinkable that when we do think about them they boggle the mind. And the truth is most of us try not to think about these life-size questions, in fact, the faster we do life the less time we'll have for our minds to wrestle these questions.

Questions that will takes us to overwhelming answers, answers that are completely life altering when we study and apply the truth of them to our lives. But I'm asking you to slow down long enough to wrestle with a question and then apply the answer to your life. 

What gives my life value?

Back many years ago when I completely my master's degree, my parents gave me a very special gift. Now, you need to know that my parents weren't banking on me ever finishing college. So, when I finished my master's degree it was a fairly big deal in our family. Leading my parents to give me a hand touched autographed painting by Thomas Kinkade. I love art that I understand, but what makes this painting valuable to me is that it has the artist hand touched signature on it, and even though it's from a series, because the artist hand touched it... it's unique. He signed it!

Not a stamp, it's not a copy, I know that the artist himself touched this painting and signed it. And it's his personal touches and signature that give this painting its value.

Yet, I've always been amazed by what gives something value.

Pursues, you can have the same name on them but one of them is real and comes from the designer while the other is a knock off (one purse a Coach and the other a "fo-ach"). One was dug out of the bottom of a pile and one was unlocked from a secure area. What's the difference? the value is from the designer, one is from his shop, with his seal of approval is on it. When I purchased one of these I haggled over the price and keep working him down. The other had a set price and they told me to take it or leave it. One had little to no value but the other had significant value.

But the value of stuff is not a life altering question. When we're talking about value I need to know what gives my life value!?!

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.

I am created by the hands of God and God's signature is all over my life! I have value because I am the unique, one of a kind creation of God. How does this answer change the way you see yourself? Don't let the world tell you what your worth when your designed, your Creator has already set the price!!!

Endurance verses Influence

Personally, as a husband and dad... I know, that I'll take a greater leap of faith with my own life than I ever will with the lives of my family. There are plenty of things I've done; and may do again, that I think long and hard about before I'd let my kids do it. There are also a lot of things I'll sit through before I'd ever recommend it to someone else. I mean, if I take a chance on something and it wasted my time then I've only blown a few hours in my day, but if I recommend something and it doesn't pan out like I said or the other person hates my recommendation, well then I've got my reputation on the line, our friendship might become strained, my word carries less weight. And what I've learned through this personality issue is the difference between endurance and influence! In other words...

I'm willing to endure much more chance than I'm willing to influence others to accept.

And spiritually, many people are caught right here. When it comes to faith, when it comes to asking someone to bring their pains and burdens before the Lord... we freeze, right here in this personality issue. When someone comes to you, as a friend, co-worker, family member and begins to share with you something that is overwhelming, or something that is going to leave a wound in their life... you come to this choice. Should I use my opinions? Or will I turn to God's wisdom and allow His truth to be spoken into their life?

This conflict begins for many people inside the church with this though, "Yes, I'm a Christian and I know that when someone gets sick that you pray and that God, the great physician, will heal them... (and publicly, we shout amen and tell the church about our faith and how we know God's going to heal them... but deep inside we wonder... is He going to heal them, is He going to answer my prayer the way I prayed it or will He do something else?!?)

So when someone from the community or the workplace has a sick loved one or is going through a tough time financially, or a crisis in their home life... we are caught deciding, do I really believe what I'm supposed to say?!? I know I'm suppose to tell them that God's in control, that God will heal or restore or fix whatever they have wrong in their life... but I've watched prayers go up and on one day the situation is completely restored... and the next day I watched prayers go up and the situation fall completely apart.

This internal conflicts creates the mindset, "I believe in God and I'm willing to endure what feels like chance when it comes to prayer but I can't influence someone to endure the same random level of chance in their time of crisis."

OR maybe the situation in front of you is a friend, co-workers, or family member who is making decisions contrary to God's word and then they come looking for your support?!? They want us to agree with their choices and choose them... over any moral convictions we may have due to our faith. Bringing us to the question...

Am I willing to trust God's wisdom and accept His authority enough to share His word with the world around me?

Father Knows Best!

In 1954 a popular radio show came to life in the hit sitcom "Father Knows Best," about a wise family man, Jim Anderson, his plain spoken wife Margaret and their children. The show was based around the idea that whenever the kids need advice on anything at all, they can always turn to their father, because as the title stated father knows best.

The show worked because the advice and wisdom from their Father always worked. You knew they trusted his wisdom and respected his authority. Today, when we look into our lives and our faith, and ask... does our Heavenly Father know best... and we come to a real answer when we see how we've either accepted or rejected His wisdom. Statically did you know that...

87% of Americans claim their religious faith is very important in their life today.

and 69% believe that God is the “all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the universe who still rules that world today."
 

while six out of ten adults (60%) believe the Bible is "totally accurate in all of its teachings." Yet, less than half of that 60% ... (44% actually) strongly agree with that notion.
 

But the stat I was the most struck by stated... that among those individuals who are associated with the Christian faith, only half (50%) rate themselves as being "absolutely committed" to the Christian faith.
 

The problem of spiritual influence is not a lack of people who are open to the Christian faith... it is the conviction of us who are already associated with the faith. Plenty of people believe in the existence of God but a much smaller amount trusted His wisdom and respected His authority!

Making the question that every believer ought to ask themselves... Do I believe that Father Know Best?

Because if we trust His wisdom and respect His authority or if we believe in His existence but with no conviction live under personal authority... either way, it will affect the way each of us hears scripture.

Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

The truth is... people don't lose trust in God's wisdom or respect for His authority because He makes flawed decisions. People question His wisdom and reject His authority because they have a different definition of good, pleasing, and perfect!