Trusting Even When You Don't Have An Explanation

So there is a guy in the Bible by the name of Job. The Bible describes him as someone who was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. Well, in a pretty short period of time he lost his animals, and his servants and his children died. Then to top it off he had these boils from the sole of his feet to the crown of his head. The Bible says he took a potsherd to scrape himself. Then as all this was going on his wife spoke these words of encouragement to him, " Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die!"

The book of Job in the Bible is 42 chapters long. All of this took place in the first two chapters. Chapter three is about him cursing the day he was born.  Fom chapters 4 to 37 his so called friends basically tell him that all this must have happened because there was sin in his life. (We know there wasn't because of the first two chapters). There are always people out there who believe that if something bad happens in your life it is because you must have ticked off God somehow. During these chapters Job trys to tell his friends that he hasn't done anything wrong before God, and he wishes he could get an opportunity to talk to God and plead his case.

The amazing thing through all of this is that he doesn't give up on God. He doesn't understand why all of this is going on in his life, but He still remains faithful to God. The reason I find this amazing is because it is hard to remain faithful when you don't have an explanation as to why something is going on in your life. Not only do we like explanations, but we also like time periods. If you are sick and the docter gives you some medication and tells you that you should feel better in 24 to 48 hours, you can endure feeling bad because you have a time period as to when you should start feeling better.

Now here's the kicker... we are told why all of this is going on with Job. It is all explained to us in the first two chapters. Basically God was bragging on Job to satan. But satan basically says, "sure he is faithful to you. You never let anything bad happen to him. But let some bad things happen to him and he will curse you to your face." So God lets satan do some harm to Job. But satan can't just do what ever he wants. God does put some restrictions on the devil. God tells satan that he isn't allowed to kill Job.

Let's bring all of this to our lives. There are times when bad things happen to us because they are a result of some bad choices we have made. I think we are all mature enough to accept that. But that is not what this story is about. It's about those times we are obeying God and things go bad. And then to top it off we are not given an explanation as to why it is going on. You see, when those tough times come, if we have an explanation as to why, it helps us to endure. It also helps us to feel vindicated. If we think the reason is because God wants to see if we are faithful, then of course we will endure, because we want to show God that we are faithful. If we are told what we are going through is because of satan, then of course we remain faithful because we want to show satan that we will remain faithful to God. Let's also remember that if it is because of satan, he can't do anything he wants to us. God sets up the boundries. As Martin Luther said," even the devil is still God's devil." But there are times when we aren't given an explanation and we are called to just trust and remain faithful to God.

There are times in the midst of troubles God will reveal to us why it is happening to us. Then there are times He doesn't until years later. But there are also those times He never reveals. Maybe He will in heaven, I don't know. But no matter what the situation is we are called to be faithful. We are called to trust in His goodness. We are called to trust in His faithfulness towards us.

Here are some verses that I hope will help us to continue to trust:

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.
                                       Psalm 118:29

The LORD is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble,
And He knows those who take refuge in Him.
                                    Nahum 1:7

... and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.
                                     Joshua 23:14

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
                                      1 Thessalonians 5:24

Troy

God Is Thinking Of You

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
                A. W. Tozer

I have always believed the above quote. As I have met various people I have found that their thought of what God is like has influenced their lives. Some think of God as someone who is far off and not concerned with what goes on here on Earth. They live their lives out according to that belief. Some think of God as someone who gets mad at us every time we mess up. Those that believe that live their lives according to that belief. Some think that since God is love He would never judge anyone. And they live their lives according to that belief. So you can see why the most important thought we can have is what we think of God. You can also see why we need to get the right thought about what God is like.

I would like to share a a truth about God that hopefully will encourage all of us: God is thinking of you. Hopefully this will encourage those who think God doesn't care. Sometimes we take two steps forward and three steps back. After an extended period of living like this we can become discouraged. When that happens we begin to get thoughts in our head that tell us that we should just give up. We think that God couldn't be concerned about us after all the times we have failed. We think we should have our act together by now. We think since others have given up on us, God probably has also.

The Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:16). It doesn't say that He is merely loving. It says He is love. That love, no matter what you and I have done with our lives, is directed towards us.

Not only does God love us, but He thinks of us. He says,"For I know the plans that I have for you. Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11).

If He has plans for us, that means He is thinking of us. If you are planning something, that means you have put thought into it. This verse from Jeremiah was spoken to a people who had been disobedient toward God. They had not lived their lives the way God had desired. Yet, God was still thinking of them. God was still planning good for their lives. True, they would have to yield their lives to His plan. But their disobedience had not stopped God from thinking of them.

His thoughts towards us are good, and He has a special plan for us that is birthed out of His undying love for us. Psalm 40:5 says," Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us:There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count".

That verse is telling us that God has many thoughts towards us. He doesn't just think of us once and then forget about us. Think of all the wonders He has done, there are so many. And Psalm 40:5 is telling us that He has that many thoughts towards us.

 I have had times where I forget something, times where something slips my mind. But God doesn't forget us. Some may say,"I can believe He is thinking of me when I am living right. But when I mess up, He probably isn't thinking of me." That thought process is not true. God's love toward you is not dependant upon what you do. If it were, God would have been done with me a long time ago. In fact, He would be done with all of us because the Bible says there is none righteous. Yet, here we are still alive, still experiencing His goodness and love and mercy.

I hope you will remember that God is thinking of you. I hope that truth will help shape you life. I would like to end this with a couple more verses from the Bible that speaks of God thinking of us.

     How precious also are Your thoughts to me , O God!
     How vast is the sum of them!
     If I should count them, they would                          
     outnumber the sand. 
     When I awake, I am still with You.
                                               Psalm 139:17,18

Troy

Staying In Shape For The Gig

I couldn't believe it. I thought I was going to have the night off. But at about 4:00 I got a call asking if I could do a gig for someone. The guitar player that had been hired for the gig had some unforseen events come up and now he wasn't going to make the gig. Usually this is no problem. I tend to be ready for a gig on a last moment's notice. I could do this gig, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I knew I was going to be asked to do a lot of guitar solos throughout the night. Now usually that is not a problem. I have been improvising for decades. I know my scales, modes, and theory. I could do the gig and the audience wouldn't know that I didn't feel in shape. Most gigs you can get by after you have done it this long because most gigs don't require too much of you musically. But tonight I was playing with musicians who would know the difference. They would be able to tell if I was in shape musically or not. And there was the problem, I had not picked up the guitar and done any scales or playing that week. Usually throughout the week I pick up my guitar and run through different exercises just to stay in shape. But for some reason I didn't do it this particular week. It's a horrible feeling to know that you have the ability to do something but because you are not prepared you don't perform up to your potential.

This happens not just to musicians, but to all of us. We can all identify with not responding up to our ability. We can all relate to those times of being unprepared. It also happens in our spiritual lives. You respond in a way that you know you shouldn't have. You say something that you know you shouldn't have. I'm not talking about being perfect. I'm talking about those things we do when we know better. Not things that we struggle with. Things that we already have responded the right way many times before in our lives.

This can happen because we haven't been staying in shape spiritually. We get caught off guard. The way I was for that gig. There are times when unexpected events happen in our lives and we respond the way we should. And then there are those times we don't. I think one of the reasons why, though I am not saying it is true 100% of the time, is because we have drifted away from doing the things that help us to be ready for those moments.

I would like to share with you some of the things I do throughout the day to try and stay spiritually fit. Please understand , I am not perfect, but when I do what I am going to mention my relationship with Jesus seems to go better. I would also like to add that you don't have to copy what I do. I am just telling you how I stay in shape spiritually and maybe you can apply some of these actions to your life.

Our spiritual life is like a fire. A fire just doesn't keep burning on its own. It needs to be fanned throughout the whole time you are wanting it to burn. This is why even though going to church is wonderful, and we all should go to church. Just one hour on Sunday isn't going to keep you in shape spiritually. Sunday starts the spark, but what we do Monday through Saturday keeps it burning. Another thing I have noticed is that we Christians often think of Sunday church as the "gig" when it is the rehearsal for the real "gig" which is Monday through Saturday.

So here is what I do to stay in shape spiritually throughout the week. When I wake up I thank God for the new day. A new day is promised to no one, so I am thankful that I get a new one. I also thank Him for allowing me to sleep the night before. Most of us know what it is like to have trouble sleeping, so if you get a good night's sleep, be thankful. In the morning I will pray and read a little of the Bible. Now throughout the day, maybe every hour or two I will pick up where I left off in prayer and  pray for a minute or two. I may also read a few pages from a Christian book sometime during the day. When I sin during the day, if I am aware of it, hopefully I will ask God to forgive me. At the end of the day I will spend more time reading books, my Bible and prayer. I don't do these things because I want God to love me and bless me, I don't do them to impress anyone or to try to avoid being on God's bad side. I do this to keep the relationship with God alive. To keep the fire burning. To stay in shape spiritually. To be ready for the "gig'. I guess you could say I do these disciplines because I realize I am spiritually weak. I have found that I cannot maintain a joyful and meaningful relationship with Jesus without these disciplines. I also need to get to church weekly, hangout and interact with other Christians during the week. I have found that when I neglect these things, my spiritual life gets out of shape.

By the way, that gig I had, we did very basic songs so it wasn't a problem. But as I reflect back on that day, I see the connection between staying in shape musically and spiritually. Hope these words will help you find a routine to stay in shape spiritually, so that you can be ready when God calls on you for a "gig" during the week.

Troy