Monday, April 4, 2011

Isn't There An Easier Way?

It has now been so long since I have sat down and taken the time to post anything on this blog now. I apologize for this to everybody who enjoys reading them. It can be such a mystery of life how things can suddenly turn bad for no apparent reason. In the last month or so we have had many sudden, unexpected, and most of all unwanted surprises come at us all at once that we have had to deal with. But as He always does, He provides us a very great and profitable lesson in each of our trials. A little while ago, all at about the same time, I lost my job, we had to sell our house and move, and almost ran completely out of all money before things started to get better. It was really as if the Lord waited until the very last moment before he decided to step in and help us with the problem. It reminded me of the story of  Job. He went through more than most anyone could imagine. He remained faithful with the Lord, but still God will sometimes test us to the very breaking point and then answer our prayers. I also was reminded again that while God will always answer our prayers, it is not always in the way we are expecting or wanting. Maybe the Lord didn’t want us in that house. Maybe we needed to be here for a greater reason that we don’t understand. 


So my question to pose tonight is this, “Why does God allow life to become so difficult for us?” There are so many people who have done nothing wrong but the Lord puts us in these situations that can just make us ask, “Why? I am strong in the Lord, I have my faults as does everybody but I try my best. So why do I need to go through this? Why do I need to prove myself in this way?”


I am sure that each of you have felt this way at some point in your lives. For me the clear answer didn’t come fully until after the fact. But there were so many different ways we were taken care of despite all that was going on. If this would have happened any time other than when we received our tax returns, we would not have been able to get into another place. The truth is that the Lord is always with us and watching over us even when it may seem that He has abandoned us. He wont let us fall completely. 


Hear is another thing to keep in mind when you go through these things. God knows our hearts, our thoughts, our intentions, and everything else. He knows how faithful we are. And because of this there is no need for Him to test us……..for Him. HE IS TESTING US FOR US! This is not to prove anything to Him. He knows what’s going to happen. This is to prove to ourselves our devotion to Him. Yes, sometimes it is hard, sometimes it may seem that the world has fallen out of place and all is hopeless, sometimes we are asking, isn‘t there an easier way? But the truth is that life is hard. This is our time to be tested, to come to know Him, so that we may return one day to live with God. 


If Jesus Christ can come in the night, fall to the ground, sweat drops of blood, and shout out, “Abba, Father (Daddy in a sense), if there is anyway this cup can pass, then let it pass”, then surely we are allowed, we are invited, we have the opportunity and duty to spend a few minutes on the cross. A little time in Gethsemane. Now don’t misunderstand me, I’m in no way saying that we need to go through anything like what Jesus did, but hopefully you understand my point. 


Friends, the next time your life gets difficult, and you find yourself wondering if there isn’t another way?…..You remember that you are not the first person to ask that! Somebody a lot greater….and a lot grander asked that question on that night so long ago. “Isn‘t there an easier way?”


The next time you feel like God has abandoned you because things get hard and your prayers aren’t being answered in the time frame or way you want them to be, remember that Jesus Himself, while hanging on the cross, shouted, “Father, why have you forsaken me?”





Jesus has gone through every sorrow, every bad day, every worried feeling that any of us have been through or EVER WILL GO THROUGH. He knows how we feel, He understands it. He will NEVER abandon us. He knows what is best for us and will guide our lives in the best way there is. We may not understand it at the time. We may never understand it throughout the rest of our lives. But we can rest in the fact that He is taking care of it. Psalms 139: 1-6 says, “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold. O Lord, You know it altogether. You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.”


Proverbs 3:5 ,”Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”


God is good, God is great! God knows us, and is an expert on what we need and when we need it. He is taking care of things for us. It is our job to trust that He knows what He is doing. To sit back and say, “Lord you are great in all things and You know what is right for me. I am turning my life over to you and trust in what you decided for me.”


I promise you we will all face many more troubles in the coming days and it is my greatest hope that we can just put it in the Lord’s hands and know He is God.