God Is with Us as We Struggle 

I woke up one morning recently after not sleeping well. I will admit that I was feeling stressed. I was preparing for extra activities with both church and family for Easter weekend, in addition to my responsibilities in connection with a church association gathering that would occur a few days afterwards. However, the main source of my emotional distress was the fact that I had been in a car accident the previous day. I was fine physically, but there was a traumatic aspect to the incident that kept replaying in my mind. I was struggling.

As I followed my normal routine of opening my Bible to spend a few minutes in God’s Word, I was overwhelmed by the appropriateness of the scriptures I encountered. These were not passages I intentionally sought out, but they were simply the next chapters that followed my regular reading schedule. The one from the Old Testament was about the time when the prophet Elijah was struggling. He was greatly discouraged while on the run from an evil queen who wanted to kill him. Yet God met Elijah, encouraging him and directing him about the work God still had for him to do. The passage I encountered from the New Testament included a familiar verse, but one I especially needed to hear that particular morning. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:6-7).

I confess that the personal applications of my morning Bible readings aren’t always that clear. However, on this occasion, the Lord knew that I was struggling and needed to be reminded of certain truths. Maybe more than that, I needed this indication that God was there, He knew what I was going through, He cared, and He would help me through it. The biblical truths themselves were important and helpful, but it was especially comforting simply to meet with God, to feel His presence, and to know He was reaching out to me in this moment of need.

We all struggle at times. Maybe we don’t have wicked queens chasing us and end up in a wilderness ready to give up on life like Elijah did. Hopefully we don’t experience traumatic accidents very often, as I went through. However, we all face various degrees of stress in our lives. They can stem from family matters, job issues, health concerns, the loss of a loved one, or simply the busy-ness of life. Sometimes we are able to breeze right through those experiences without much effort. However, on other occasions they can cause us to struggle mightily. I have always been amazed at how Elijah could stand so boldly against a king and his false prophets, win a great victory over them, and then turn around almost immediately to face such a struggle with fear and depression. We never know what circumstance might trigger our struggles.  

The good news is that God is with us during those times. Maybe He will speak to us through His Word as He did with me that morning. Maybe He will minister to us through a song, a time of worship, the words of a friend or pastor, or through some other means. Maybe it will be through that still small voice that Elijah heard in his situation. Even if God is silent during those tough times, we can be assured that He is there and that He cares. So let’s keep trusting Him no matter how hard our difficulties may be. Struggles will come at times, but God will come and be there with us too.

 

Easter Can Bring Comfort to the Grieving 

I know several people who are grieving the recent loss of loved ones. I see their social media posts in which they express how much they miss those who are no longer present in this life. However, it is not just those who have dealt with such experiences over the past weeks and months who are affected by grief. We may still be facing the void left in our lives from someone who passed away years ago. In spite of the passage of time, there are moments when the wound feels fresh and the sorrow wells up in our hearts, maybe even bursting forth in tears streaming down our cheeks. Time doesn’t heal all wounds. Sometimes we just learn to live with them.

The truths related to Easter can help bring comfort to grieving souls. In one of Jesus’ most familiar statements, He declared, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). It is helpful to remember the circumstance in which Jesus made this proclamation. It wasn’t at an Easter sunrise service. He wasn’t declaring this to an excited crowd who had gathered to hear some words of inspiration. No, Jesus spoke these words to someone grieving the death of her brother.

 The concepts expressed in Jesus’ statement are wonderful to consider: resurrection, not dying, life after death, eternal life. Shortly after making this declaration, Jesus would support those words through His actions – raising Lazarus from the dead. The grief of his family would disappear. Their loved one would be alive and present with them again…for now. Actually, this was only a reprieve. Death would visit Lazarus again at some point down the road. And this time there would no miracle of being brought back to life. What happened to Lazarus was impressive, but it didn’t really change anything in the long run.

However, what we celebrate at Easter changed everything. Jesus’ resurrection was different. He didn’t come back in the same old physical body. He was raised with a glorious, spiritual body. He didn’t revive from the dead only to die again. He arose to live forever. He didn’t just postpone death’s victory over him. He defeated death and the grave. He showed that they had no power over Him, but rather that He was the conquering King. Jesus’ resurrection not only proved who He was and gave meaning to His sacrificial death, but it also gave hope to us concerning the issues of life and death. Because Jesus was resurrected, we can be assured of our own resurrection. If we put our trust in Him as our Savior, we can know that although we will die, we will still live. There is life after death, and a wonderful life for those who love and know the Lord. And we can take comfort in the fact that if our loved ones believed in Jesus, they are still living and we can see them again someday.

 Grief is understandable. Jesus Himself grieved. Shortly after making those declarations to Lazarus’ sister, the Bible records that Jesus wept. We can grieve too. However, we don’t grieve as those who have no hope. And Easter gives us hope. We know there is life after the grave. We know that through Jesus there is victory over death. We know that we and our loved ones can live forever with the Lord.

We may still grieve and miss those who are no longer here with us. However, let’s find comfort today in the fact that Jesus lives, our loved ones who trusted in Him live with Him, and we can go be with them one day.

 

Let’s Act as If Jesus Truly Is King 

I saw that numerous demonstrations were organized last weekend in order to protest some of the policies and actions being taken by the current President and his administration. The motto that was being prominently displayed on many of the participants’ signs was “Hands Off.” Apparently this sentiment conveyed their desire for the government to stop intruding into certain parts of their lives. They don’t appreciate some of the reforms that have been implemented since this administration took power.

This week our thoughts often turn to another crowd. At one point they were joyfully welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem as their deliverer and king. They laid down their palm branches before him in recognition of His greatness. They shouted their hosannas. They declared, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38) Their zealous support and praise of Him was so intense that it drew complaints from some of the religious leaders. However, it was only a few days later that the fickleness of this group was manifested. They were easily persuaded to turn against this same person. However, they didn’t simply demand that He keep His “hands off” their business. No, they called for His crucifixion.

It is easy for us to be critical of those who seem to have so quickly changed their tune about Jesus. However, we need to be careful that we aren’t guilty of similar actions. We can recognize Jesus for who He is. We can acknowledge that He is the Savior. We can even refer to Him as our King and our Lord. Nevertheless, it is one thing to worship Him as King, but another to actually submit to His authority over us. We can call Him our Lord, but are we yielding ourselves to His will for our lives?

Although we may confess Jesus to be the King, we are often ready to pull out our “Hands Off” signs in protest when His policies and commands conflict with the way we think or the way we conduct ourselves. We don’t mind Him being King, just as long as He doesn’t interfere with certain aspects of our lives. If His will conflicts with our will, then some people choose to rebel against Him. Others try to find a way to reinterpret His demands so as to make them appear to be compatible with their behavior. Others will compartmentalize their lives, letting Jesus generally be the ruler over their house, but keeping certain doors closed or rooms off limits to His presence and influence.

   If we believe Jesus is King, then we need to act more like it. Instead of just bowing before Him in worship on Sunday mornings, we ought to be bowing in submission to Him throughout the rest of our week. Rather than searching for ways to make His commands fit our lifestyle, we should change what we are doing in order to be obedient to His will for us. We need to retire our “Hands Off” signs we have pulled out too often in the past in reference to Jesus. Instead, we need to affirm that we belong to Him, He is our Lord, and we are willing to do whatever He might call us to do. Nothing is off limits to Him in our lives. His lordship covers everything – our finances, our work, our relationships, our free time, our family, everything.

 So as we join the crowd on that Palm Sunday acknowledging Jesus to be King, let’s be sure to take it a step further and actually submit to His authority and lordship over our lives.

 

God’s Call Is Specifically for You 

Recently I was driving through southwest Tennessee on my way to a Bible conference when I found myself on a highway I had not traveled on before. I noticed from a couple of signs that this particular stretch of road had been given the name “Rockabilly Highway.” Therefore I wasn’t surprised when a few moments later I passed a small business advertising that they sold “custom turkey calls.” Not being a hunter, and with nothing else to do as I made my journey, I mused for a few minutes about how turkey calls might be customized. I assumed the sign was indicating that these hunting tools could be produced in a certain style, size, or with other details as specified by the one who would use them. However, I also whimsically wondered if it could be customized for the particular turkey or type of turkey a person might be trying to call. Was it customized for the hunter or for the turkey, for the caller or for the callee?

We sometimes refer to God’s call in reference to His reaching out to us. We might think about His call to salvation, as He shows a person his need to repent of sin and to put his trust in Jesus as his Savior. However, we might rightly relate God’s call to additional matters too, such as the call to follow Him, the call to holiness, and the call to serve Him. We have tended to especially use the word “calling” in connection with preachers, evangelists, and missionaries who have received a clear sense of God directing them into those types of ministries.

In one sense, God’s call is universal. It goes out to everyone. He extends His invitation to eternal life to “whoever” will hear and receive it. Nevertheless, I believe it is also a customized call. God deals with each of us individually. He knows us personally and is aware of everything about us. We aren’t just a faceless member of the human race to Him. He knows our name. He knows the number of hairs on our heads. And while His call goes out to everyone, it also goes out to each one of us by name. It isn’t like the piece of mail we receive addressed to the current resident, whoever that might be. No, God’s call to each one of us is like a handwritten letter with our name on it. It is personal. It is meant just for us.

When Jesus encountered Saul on the road to Damascus, He didn’t yell out, “Hey, you!”  He called him by name, saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Likewise, the Lord calls us by name. While there may be similarities in how the Lord deals with different people, He also treats us individually. The One who created me knows how I am. He knows my tendencies, my weaknesses, my strengths, my struggles. His call is tailormade just for me. His Spirit deals with me in the unique ways that I need to be dealt with. Some of us may need a quiet whisper to get our attention while others may require God to holler in a bullhorn to get through to us. God knows what we need and adjusts the call to best reach out to us.

Let’s listen for God’s call to us – not just His call to the world in general, but for His specific call to you and to me. He calls you to repent of sin and to be saved. He calls you to follow Him. He calls you to be holy. He calls you to serve Him in some way. It’s a call directed specifically at you. And only you can answer it. Will you?