In light of the recent controversies surrounding our Right to Die, I thought I would share this. I hope it reaches just who needs to hear it the most.
“Dear God….”
Why do you allow people to die before they should?
Someone died before his or her time. Don’t we assume that we have a timetable slated when we are supposed to live a full life, like into our older years like 70’s or 80’s? When does the Bible say that? It doesn’t. It states that there is “a time to be born and a time to die”. (Ecclesiastes 3:2) God is in charge of that. We don’t have a say about when we get to be born or when we get to die, but we have everything to do with the time in between and how we choose to live it. Psalm 90:12. “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” means to make the most of our time. Don’t take any of your loved ones for granted. Don’t put off telling someone in your life just how much they mean to you, because no one knows how much time you have left. You don’t have a guarantee on how much time you have left.
There is a book that tells you about “The Things You Must Do Before You Die”, with some of the examples such as going to the academy awards, or running with the Bulls? Running with the bulls? Isn’t that a way to die? Did you know that the author of this book died at the age of 47 after hitting his head after a fall in his home, and he only completed half of the things in his book. The goal isn’t to do all these things but to glorify God. Sure it’s ok to do some of things but they shouldn’t be our life’s focus.
God will give you a peace that passes all understand not give you an understanding.
Don’t worry about it, pray about it and he will give you enough strength to get you through it day by day.
Psalms 61: Here my cry of God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
No one ever said that you would live a trouble-free life in this world.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)
Bad things happen to Christians as well, problems with our families, dying in unexpected accidents, getting cancer. No one is guaranteed a problem-free life.
Why is it that the words trial and problems occur in the same sentence. Why doesn’t God remove my problems if He loves me? Because God loves you, it’s your definition of how He should show that love that is our mistake and what we think good means in our life. No pain, no suffering, no death, a problem free life with the sun shining and birds singing. Doesn’t that sound appealing?
John 16:33, “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.”
Our definition of good is what benefits us in the here and now and not in the by and by. We are interested in what will benefit us temporarily while God is interested in our eternal benefit.
We are interested in what will make us happy, while God is interested in what will make us holy.
He doesn’t always remove suffering because it makes us stronger and keeps us closer to Him. We can also be used in our situations to glorify Him and bring others to Him through our problems.
Why does God allow it?
1. Adversity levels us and keeps us humble. Prosperity has a tendency to make us proud. We don’t need God when things are going smoothly, the bills are paid, we have a great job, family life is incredible and there is money in the bank. Hopefully however, when adversity comes, we turn to God and see what really matters. It is during times of prosperity we will forget God. When tragedy and adversity hits, we pray and pray a lot.
2. Adversity teaches us eternal truths we would not learn on our own. Our basic objective is to avoid pain at all costs. We want to be comfortable. We want to look good, but we don’t want to sweat, we don’t want the muscle aches and pain, but pain reminds us of a deeper need. Hunger pains, birth pains, back pains, you get it.
God teaches us lessons in those pain filled valleys we wouldn’t have learned on the mountaintops of our life. Things we need to know, things we need to share while we are passing through this life into our eternal one.
3. God allows us to go through these adversities so we will have compassion for others in pain. Never minimalize someone’s pain, but reach out for him or her.
Success builds walls but failures build bridges. When things are going well for you, you got that promotion, you kids got all A’s again, you just bought a new house, paid off all your debt, and you’re sharing that with someone whose life isn’t going well. They are losing their home, they don’t have enough money to put groceries in their home, and their kids are failing in school, it puts up a wall between you and them.
But what happens when a friend comes to you and tells you that they need prayer, that they were just diagnosed with cancer. You care and you want to help them. You should. When we go through adversity, we can help others.
2 Corinthians 1: 4-5 “ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.”
It was only through the death of Stephen that the worst Christian killer, Saul of Tarsus, was brought to God and became Paul. So sometimes good comes from adversity and tragedy. We just need to look for it and seek God every minute of every day.
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