Genesis 32
"In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups… then he prayed.
I can only imagine all the "If only's" that were flooding Jacob's mind at that moment. "God, how did I end up in this mess? You made such great promises to me. You told me you would guide me, keep me, and fulfill your plans in me. How could any of this be your leading? What kind of covenant walk is this? Lord, I simply have no future."
Now, you may reason to yourself, "Maybe Jacob didn't seek God about some of the choices he made. Maybe he acted out of his flesh." Well, perhaps he did, but all that is beside the point. God could have intervened on Jacob's behalf at any time but He did not.
The fact is, we can be committed to following Jesus and still have problems in life. You can read your Bible today and still get a flat tire on the way to work. You and your spouse may both love the Lord and still have to work through relational disconnections.
Most of us think, as Jacob did, that praying believers should not have to endure great sorrows. We should not have to face awful times or fearful conditions in which our very future is threatened. Yet, the reality is, praying Christians still go through great storms in life.
Nowhere in the Bible does God promise to keep us from problems. Never does He promise us a smooth ride in our job, our relationships or in life itself. Nor does He promise us exemption from affliction. In fact, He says:
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Psalm 34:19 ESV
This verse does not say God delivers us from troubles, but out of them.
Jesus put it this way to his disciples, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
The apostle Paul speaks of knowing the heights and depths of God's love for him. Yet the Lord didn't keep Paul's ship from sinking. In fact, He allowed the apostle to be stoned, beaten and disgraced.
At times we may weep, wondering, "God, where are you? Why haven't you taken me out of this?" But even though the Lord allows us to go through things that try our souls, in one way or another He delivers us out of them all, just as He did Jacob and Paul.
If you find yourself in a storm today, pray and ask God for overcoming deliverance.
No comments:
Post a Comment