Pastor's Corner
I came across a wonderful website while doing some research for a part of the January Sermon Series on 'hope'. The "And if not..." story below is taken from that site and is being used with the permission of the author. I pray that through these words God reveals a new understanding for the hope He alone brings to your life...
Blessings,
Pastor Scott
"And if not..."
"It
doesn’t seem like God loves Daddy very much since He won’t heal him. I thought
Jesus healed people quickly?” I knew one day that my children would begin
asking me questions like these, but that didn’t make me feel any more ready for
them.
Of course, it’s true. It doesn’t look like love when God allows pain in our
lives. When Joseph was sold into slavery, and later put into prison, I don’t
suppose it looked much like God loved him. And
yet—what we see on the surface as circumstances unveil
themselves often has little to do with God’s plan, God’s true
commitment to us, God’s very real and unfailing love. Joseph’s prison
term was not a revelation of God’s attitude towards
Joseph—far from it, God intended to save not only
Joseph from prison, but also his whole family and the entire nation of Egypt
from famine!
However,
Joseph’s response was a revelation of his attitude toward God. No matter where
he ended up, he served faithfully, as a man of integrity, remaining
steadfast towards God. He had the same attitude as Shadrack, Meshack,
and Abednego, when they were about to be burned for
refusing to bow to idols. They proclaimed that God
would save them—“and if not…” they continued—if God did not, they would still
never forsake God. Their faith was genuine.
I find great power in those three little words, “and if not.” They free us from
having to know why God allows things to happen in our lives. They free us from
the quagmire of trying to foresee the future or
understand the mind of God that is so infinitely far
above our own minds. It’s not that our questions are unreasonable or without
merit, but that they often lead us from asking the
greater question—the one that sustains us regardless of whether we know what God
will do.
Who
is God? When we know who He is—when we find our minds firmly set on God’s
goodness, love, sovereignty, when we believe He hears us and He answers,
when we know beyond any visible circumstances that He truly rewards those
who seek Him—then we have a faith that’s genuine. A
faith that’s ready to serve God after years in the
dungeon. A faith that says, “and if not.” “Because of the increase of
wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who
stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matt 24:12-13). A faith that
says, “and if not,”
is a faith that stands firm, and a love that does not grow cold. A faith and
love that do not come from us alone, but from a heritage of others who encourage
us, and from God’s very Spirit within us.
Not feeling very faith-full? I think all of us go through times where we
realize our love has grown cold. Carpe Diem! Seize the Day! Don’t worry about
what you haven’t done yesterday, we can’t allow the past to distract us from the
question God puts before us today—do we know the God
whose character gives us the strength to fix our eyes
on Him instead of circumstances we don’t like? Are we firmly grounded in
Him, so that we live with faith, love, integrity, steadfastness no matter
what happens in our lives? We can start today,
because God is a God of unfailing love, whose mercies
are new every morning, whose grace continues to seek us and lead us on.
Make
sure your goals for yourself are reasonable. Hanging onto your faith is often
the only job you need when you are in pain or are struggling with something
difficult. Don't overburden yourself with guilt. Just seek the Lord as you are
able, cling to Him, and try to set aside some time to
"Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)
-Merry Marinello
Hope is My Anchor © 2004 Dave and Merry Marinello, all rights reserved.
Used by permission.