Dear Friends,
As a pastor one of the things I‘ve discovered is that people often pull away from the church when they go through difficult times, which seems very counter-intuitive to me. Our times of difficulty are the times when we need the support of our brothers and sisters most. Why, then, would we pull away from our source of help when we need it most?
I’ve found the same to be true with God. Many people pull away from the Lord when they need him most. Not all people, of course, since some are driven to God by hard times. Yet, there are a good number of others who feel detached from God and pull away in those hard times when they need him most.
The following story is simply one example of a leader in ministry who initially did that, before learning through his struggle that it was not a good policy. This selection comes from a book entitled, “How to Succeed the Biblical Way” by Ron Jenson, former president of the International School of Theology. I’m grateful for his transparency. Enjoy.
“I attended a meeting one night several years ago for a ministry with which I was involved. During that meeting (with some of my good friends) I was raked over the coals. Now usually I have a pretty good self-concept and can handle criticism. But this particular night I felt betrayed by a friend. I had never been so emotionally low in my life. I drove home and sat in front of my house in the car. It was 2:00 a.m., and I was emotionally, physically, and spiritually drained. I could not pray, and I did not want to read the Bible. Normally, when we are down, the last thing we want to do is turn to the Lord. And yet, that is the time when God wants to use these circumstances to teach us something about our lives.
As I sat in my car, I began to cry uncontrollably. I was on the verge of anger, bitterness, and frustration over the events of the night. That is when God allowed me to sing the only song I could think of at that time:
‘Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
They are weak but he is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.’
As I sang that song over and over, God did a miracle in my life. He changed my attitude completely. I was grieved for a while, but not bitter. I was hurt, but not angry. God gave me a new perspective by reminding me that I was here to please him – not people. He was causing all things to work together for good. The most important thing I needed to know was that he loved me. He was going to care for me in the days that followed.
I started to keep a log of all that God was doing in my life. I got more profound insights than ever before, because God was able to meet me at a point of great personal inadequacy. He began showing me that it is all right to have times when we are emotionally up and times when we are emotionally down. High and low points are not marks of spirituality, but a mark of physiology. We must turn to God in our low points. It may also be helpful to keep a log or a diary as we experience highs and lows in our lives, for God can give us special insights into him and his Word as we experience him in our low points.”
Jenson is right that anger and bitterness can make it difficult to want to go to God. It’s understandable, since all anger and bitterness is ultimately anger at the God we believe could have shielded or protected us from the painful things we've experienced. As people of faith we know God cannot be separated from our painful life experiences any more than he can be separated from the joyful ones. He is the God of all of life, not just the God of our good times. Scripture assures us he is Sovereign over all -- the things we like and the things we don’t. And he uses each to form and mold us if we will just seek him and his purposes for permitting it to come our way.
I have seen that truth time and again as I look back on the journal entries I have jotted down. Patterns of God’s faithfulness recorded in both the highs and lows of my life. Memory is helpful, written records are better. The fact that God was there through both becomes glaringly apparent when I read entries that say, “It feels like God is a million miles away,” or “I feel like God has deserted me.” Then, after a time, I recover my “sanity” (a correct perspective!) and am able to trace the finger of God even through my most difficult or painful times.
Living in His All-sufficient Grace, Pastor Jeff
As a pastor one of the things I‘ve discovered is that people often pull away from the church when they go through difficult times, which seems very counter-intuitive to me. Our times of difficulty are the times when we need the support of our brothers and sisters most. Why, then, would we pull away from our source of help when we need it most?
I’ve found the same to be true with God. Many people pull away from the Lord when they need him most. Not all people, of course, since some are driven to God by hard times. Yet, there are a good number of others who feel detached from God and pull away in those hard times when they need him most.
The following story is simply one example of a leader in ministry who initially did that, before learning through his struggle that it was not a good policy. This selection comes from a book entitled, “How to Succeed the Biblical Way” by Ron Jenson, former president of the International School of Theology. I’m grateful for his transparency. Enjoy.
“I attended a meeting one night several years ago for a ministry with which I was involved. During that meeting (with some of my good friends) I was raked over the coals. Now usually I have a pretty good self-concept and can handle criticism. But this particular night I felt betrayed by a friend. I had never been so emotionally low in my life. I drove home and sat in front of my house in the car. It was 2:00 a.m., and I was emotionally, physically, and spiritually drained. I could not pray, and I did not want to read the Bible. Normally, when we are down, the last thing we want to do is turn to the Lord. And yet, that is the time when God wants to use these circumstances to teach us something about our lives.
As I sat in my car, I began to cry uncontrollably. I was on the verge of anger, bitterness, and frustration over the events of the night. That is when God allowed me to sing the only song I could think of at that time:
‘Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
They are weak but he is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.’
As I sang that song over and over, God did a miracle in my life. He changed my attitude completely. I was grieved for a while, but not bitter. I was hurt, but not angry. God gave me a new perspective by reminding me that I was here to please him – not people. He was causing all things to work together for good. The most important thing I needed to know was that he loved me. He was going to care for me in the days that followed.
I started to keep a log of all that God was doing in my life. I got more profound insights than ever before, because God was able to meet me at a point of great personal inadequacy. He began showing me that it is all right to have times when we are emotionally up and times when we are emotionally down. High and low points are not marks of spirituality, but a mark of physiology. We must turn to God in our low points. It may also be helpful to keep a log or a diary as we experience highs and lows in our lives, for God can give us special insights into him and his Word as we experience him in our low points.”
Jenson is right that anger and bitterness can make it difficult to want to go to God. It’s understandable, since all anger and bitterness is ultimately anger at the God we believe could have shielded or protected us from the painful things we've experienced. As people of faith we know God cannot be separated from our painful life experiences any more than he can be separated from the joyful ones. He is the God of all of life, not just the God of our good times. Scripture assures us he is Sovereign over all -- the things we like and the things we don’t. And he uses each to form and mold us if we will just seek him and his purposes for permitting it to come our way.
I have seen that truth time and again as I look back on the journal entries I have jotted down. Patterns of God’s faithfulness recorded in both the highs and lows of my life. Memory is helpful, written records are better. The fact that God was there through both becomes glaringly apparent when I read entries that say, “It feels like God is a million miles away,” or “I feel like God has deserted me.” Then, after a time, I recover my “sanity” (a correct perspective!) and am able to trace the finger of God even through my most difficult or painful times.
Living in His All-sufficient Grace, Pastor Jeff
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