|
|
|
Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. If you need wisdom, if you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do. (James 1:2-8 NLV) Recently,
someone wrote to me and remarked how they felt God had dumped all of this
garbage on them. They even said
that when they prayed, He only dumped on them more. My
response was to take them to our reading today. God simply doesn’t dump stuff
on us. Either others dump it on us or we pull it down on ourselves. That’s the
whole point of being creatures with a free will. We do have choices. God doesn't
break up marriages, shoot people, or steal from people. Unless it's the result
of a natural disaster, it's not God's work, except in that He has allowed us all
to fully exercise our free will, even when contrary to His will. As a result,
sometimes we hurt ourselves, sometimes we hurt others, sometimes others hurt us,
but it is our own doing, not God's. What
He DOES do is give us the strength to
get through it all one way or another. Please note, I did not say
"comfort," I said "strength." I've had some of those
miserable lonely terrifying times when I've been so emotionally hurt and in need
of comfort that it was like a physical ache. God did not come down and make me
feel “comfortable” by taking it all away immediately. What He did was simply
give me strength and the assurance that I would get through whatever it was that
needed getting through. He also gave me a way out of the hurt and ache that I
was experiencing. I've learned to simply ask Him to do His will and make me okay with whatever happens. Each time I pray, I ask Him to make me more willing to go along with His will. Even when things are going a little ragged for me; I still have peace knowing that whatever happens, God is going to get me through it, no matter how painful and unpleasant the process. God doesn't cause our problems; He doesn't "dump" on us; He doesn't cause our pain. He DOES love us and wants to help us through our trials with His heavenly presence. Just ask Him. |
|
