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Bad Things Happen To Everyone
Bad Things Happen To Everyone
We know bad things will happen. What story do we tell ourselves in the wake of tragic events?
One event with two reports
One event with two reports
Daniel 1:1-2 NLT
Daniel 1:1-2 NLT
During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. [2] The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.
Report #1: Babylon's king defeated God's people.
Report #2: The Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar the victory.
God's people (Judah) were devastated by Babylon. But who was really in charge? What do we believe in the middle of tragedy? How we self-report tragedy (our level of anxiety) will depend on our answers to two questions.
Questions we must answer when when bad things happen,
Do we believe in a loving God or a mean God?
Do we believe God to be intimately involved or dreadfully distant?
What our thoughts report depend on our honest answers to these questions. If we grew up in Sunday School we know that we "SHOULD" believe God is loving and involved. But if we really believed what we "should," we wouldn't get so bent out of shape when bad things flow through our lives. We must move from "should" believe to "would" believe.
I am still learning (really learning) these 3 lessons:
God is loving
God is involved
God can be trusted
These are true regardless of my feelings or "facts". They are true even when my experience and emotions report to me otherwise.
Carving trust into my heart of stone requires daily pounding with hammer and chisel of worship and meditation.
Verses to chisel on our hearts
God is loving
John 3:16-17 NLT
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [17] God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
God is involved
Matthew 10:29-31 NLT
What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. [30] And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. [31] So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
Psalm 147:4 NLT
He counts the stars and calls them all by name.
God can be trusted
JOB 13:15 KJV
"Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him"
I want faith in the one and only true living God. My faith is in the One who rides upon the clouds (Psalm 68:4). I trust the enormous God who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16). My confidence is in Him who by the power of His breath created our world (Psalm 33:6-9). And not just this world but the universe with stars so numerous our best scientists can’t calculate the number. I believe in the God who not only breathed those stars into existence but who declares to have a name for each one (Psalm 147:4). I require to submit to a God who far exceeds my ability to comprehend or understand or predict (Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33-34; Job 42:1-6; Psalm 139:6, 17-18; 147:5; Isaiah 57:15; 1 Corinthians 2:10-11; 1 Timothy 6:13-16). I worship and rest in our God, who according to Isaiah, has my name (and your name) tattooed on the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16). My name in front of His all-knowing and unending attention 24/7/365. He promised to always have my back, to always stay vigilant, to always act in my best interest, to never ever sleep or take a break. How is it that I don’t trust in His love? The question of His love was forever settled on a cross. His love is (or should be) beyond my feeble questioning. Does God love me? Yes, yes, yes. To a level that is beyond my understanding or measure.
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