"We are not doing right" - 2 Kings 7:9

A drill officer was putting his young recruits through some PT (physical training). At one point he commanded them to lay on their backs, raise their legs, and start moving them in circles as if riding a bicycle. One young soldier raised his legs but held them motionless. The Sergeant briskly walked toward him barking out, “What’s the big idea soldier? What do you think you are doing?” The recruit, as he lay on his back, looked up and said “I am coasting downhill, sir!” As I read that this morning I thought there are many Christians and many Churches that are coasting downhill. Let me give you a great definition of coasting downhill. I would define it as ‘Benefiting from work that was done in the past.’ The only way you coast downhill is to have worked to get to the top of the hill in the first place.

In 2 Kings 7:3-11 we find the story of four leprous men. The Syrians had laid siege to the city of Samaria and God’s people living there were in trouble. On top of the Syrians, there was according to 2 Kings 6:24-26 a “great famine” that had occurred to the point buying a donkey’s head was very expensive and people were even buying “dove droppings” as food. There are three parts of these lepers story I want to point out as I think they speak to those who are ‘coasting’ on the Lord.

First, the lepers ask one another “Why are we sitting here until we die?” (v.3) They knew if they entered the city the famine was there and if that didn’t kill them the people likely would have because lepers were not welcome because of their disease. In order to die, all the lepers had to do was absolutely nothing. They recognized if they simply sat there, they were going to die from starvation. Their predicament was exactly like it is for lost people today. What do they have to do to be lost or spiritually dead? Absolutely nothing; they don’t have to commit even one more sin. They are dead in their trespasses and sins right now (Ephesians 2:1).

Second, the lepers decide to take a huge risk. They decide to surrender to the Syrians and they proclaim, “If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die” (v.4). This decision to surrender is what ultimately saved their lives. Isn’t that the message we should share today with those who are lost? The Good News is that God loved them enough to send Jesus who willingly paid for their sins dying on the cross, that they might experience forgiveness from and relationship with the Lord God.

When the lepers arrive at the camp of the Syrians, it is deserted. Verse six says the Lord caused the Syrians to hear “the noise of chariots and the noise of horses.” The Syrians then ran for their lives, literally, leaving everything; their tents were intact, and their horses and donkeys were left behind as well. The four lepers go from tent to tent eating and drinking and hiding some of the riches they have found. But the story turns in verse nine as the lepers realize what they are doing is wrong. Here’s how the Word of God says it, “They said to one another, ‘We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us.’” They decide they have to tell the people in the city what they have found and they understand time is of the essence; who knows how many would have died during the night because of starvation and dehydration. Friend we have good news to share to people who are dying as well. And time is of the essence because people are dying lost every minute of every day and will be eternally separated from a God who loves them. When it comes to speaking the Good News we cannot remain silent and coast downhill ‘benefiting from work done in the past.’

I read some quotes from some of our IMB missionaries recently. Here’s what a few of them said: “Somehow we’ve got to get into their soul pain and walk with them; that’s where Jesus is.” Another said, “My heart’s desire is to serve Him (Christ) no matter what it takes; even if I have to suffer; even if I have to die!” One more from a missionary serving in East Asia, “China is a dark place… sometimes I lie in bed at night and cry for them… I want them to have a chance.”

In 1982 John Sculley was the President of PepsiCo when Steve Jobs, Apple CEO and co-founder approached him. Jobs offered Sculley a job with these words, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want to change the world?” That’s a great question for the church today? Will we maintain the status quo and just do what we have been doing, or will we settle for nothing less than changing the world?

Do you ever struggle with doubts?

Today I was reading the news on a major network news site and clicked on a link that said “Mama June” from the show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (I’ve only watched 1 episode … really), had lost 100 pounds without dieting or exercising. I clicked the link and it ended up being an infomercial by Dr. Oz for a plant supplement that grows in Southern Asia. “100 pounds without exercising or dieting”; if something seems too good to be true it usually is.

In John 20:24-29 we read of the resurrected Christ appearing to the disciples in the Upper Room. Before He does, the disciples start telling Thomas that they have seen Him alive, but to Thomas it seems too good to be true and he doubts. Then the Lord shows up and everything changes. In your faith life some who are reading this are struggling with doubts. I believe Thomas’ doubts ended up being one of his greatest assets. Sincere doubts, that are handled properly, can leave your faith stronger. So what should you do if your faith life is plagued with doubts?

1. Acknowledge your doubts – We tend to ignore or at least pretend the doubts aren’t there; or as a minimum keep them hidden from others. We do this because we associate doubts with weak faith. But I believe doubts can also be a sign of growing faith. I need to explain what I mean by doubt here. Doubt to me means you are undecided or wavering between two positions. Unbelief on the other hand is a willful decision to stand against the truth. There are a number of reasons we have doubts. Maybe its intellectualism that causes you to wrestle with doubt; you have learned things that challenge what you believe. Maybe its emotionalism. “Mountain top faith” is not sustainable; there would be no mountains unless there are also valleys nearby. Maybe for you it is comparisons where you look at others and wonder why God seems to be treating you differently. Or maybe it’s a life situation where things have not gone the way you expected and now you are plagued by doubts. First you must acknowledge their existence.
2. Look to God for help – When the names of certain bible characters are mentioned there is a descriptor that is immediately attached to their name. Examples would be Judas the one who betrayed Jesus; Noah the one who built the ark; Thomas the one who doubted. Do you realize the bible is filled with people of faith who doubted? Genesis 18 Sarah laughed when God said she was going to have a baby in her old age. Peter walked on water until he took his eyes off the Lord and looked at the storm around him and began to sink. Jesus said of John the Baptist there was no greater man born of woman. This same John, who said of Jesus when He came to be baptized, that He was the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” later when imprisoned sends word to Jesus asking “Are you the One, or should I seek another?” Doubts! Don’t miss this. Where was Thomas when he doubted? He was with the other disciples. Were all of his questions answered before the Lord showed up? No but Thomas put himself in a position where God could answer them. Don’t give up on the church or Christian friends because of your doubts. Acknowledge your doubts, then turn to God for help, and finally … 
3. Accept what God offers – What was it Thomas needed? I believe in light of the crucifixion what he needed most was comfort and reassurance. And what does the Lord offer? When Jesus enters the room in verse 26 He says, “Peace to you.” Jesus could have scolded Thomas with something like “After three years of seeing what you have seen you doubt Me?” Jesus could have said He was “hurt” by Thomas’ unbelief, or He could have shamed him for a lack of faith. But instead Jesus responds with grace. He allows Thomas to touch and thus exercise his doubts. Thomas then made one of the greatest professions of faith ever; “My Lord, and my God.”

Today Thomas is often referred to as “Doubting Thomas.” But that’s not what history records of Thomas. Thomas, after this encounter with Jesus ends up a missionary in India where one he’s martyred for his faith by an angry mob that threw him off of a cliff. Today if the devil is attaching the descriptor “doubting” next to your name acknowledge the fact that you do have doubts, but don’t stop there. Bring those doubts to God and receive what He offers you. Your struggle with doubt today doesn’t have to be a thing of weakness. It can be one of those times of great growth in your life. Like Thomas, it’s not where you are right now today that matters as much as where the Lord can and will take you by faith.

Can a Christian be depressed?

For some reason many Christians feel they cannot admit to having feelings of depression; I actually talked to a doctor who is a Christian one time about depression and he told me depression is strictly a spiritual battle and if I read my bible more and prayed more I would get better. I tried that for a few years and when it didn’t help, thankfully I had the wisdom to go to a different doctor and get the help I needed.

In Psalm 42:1-6 it is apparent that David battled depression. The scripture records he wrote: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.”

If you are battling depression today, let me suggest three things that hopefully will help you get past it. First, you have to admit there is a problem. In Psalm 42, David is not trying to hide it; he is openly admitting he has a problem. Charles Spurgeon battled depression. He once preached a sermon entitled The Christian’s Heaviness and Rejoicing where he said, “I was lying upon my couch during this last week, and my spirits were sunken so low that I could weep by the hour like a child, and yet I knew not what I wept for—but a very slight thing will move me to tears just now—and a kind friend was telling me of some poor old soul living near, who was suffering very great pain, and yet she was full of joy and rejoicing. I was so distressed by the hearing of that story, and felt so ashamed of myself, that I did not know what to do; wondering why I should be in such a state as this; while this poor woman, who had a terrible cancer, and was in the most frightful agony, could nevertheless ‘rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.” In Numbers 11 Moses asked God to kill him so that he didn’t have to deal with the Hebrews pettiness any longer? In Job 3 Job asked why didn’t he die when he came forth from the womb? Jeremiah battled depression as he wrote in 20:14-15 “Cursed be the day in which I was born! Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me! Let the man be cursed who brought news to my father, saying, ‘A male child has been born to you!’ making him very glad.'"

Second, to deal with depression, you have to acknowledge the possible causes of it. For some it is money problems and for others it involves people problems. For some it is a matter of perspective; a bad attitude will ruin a good day every time. For others there are physical problems, sickness or lack of exercise for instance, that contribute to the depression.  For some there are emotional issues like the sudden loss of health or a relationship and for others there are definitely spiritual causes that contribute to depressive feelings.

Third, you must attack the feelings of depression. In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah is depressed. He’s just witnessed a huge victory over the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, only to have Queen Jezebel put a contract on his head. He finds himself under a ‘broom tree’ and the way the Lord ministered to him is I believe the way He will minister to you today. First God didn’t tell Elijah to ‘suck it up’ or ‘get over it’. God didn’t judge him or chastise him. What he tells Elijah to do is rest. Our bodies are designed to where we need rest and if we are not getting enough, they tend to break down physically and emotionally. Second, God wants to make sure Elijah rediscovers Him. He sends the prophet to Mt. Horeb which is called the ‘Mountain of God’ some 200 miles away. There from outside the cave Elijah hid in, God called to him and he rediscovered God. Third, Elijah experienced reassignment; he was told to start serving others once again. And fourth he was told to build relationships. Elijah was isolated and felt alone, and after he rested and rediscovered the Lord, God provided for him a genuine friend named Elisha. God made us for relationships; with Him and with others. One of the best ways to deal with emotional pain is through personal contact with a friend.

For some of you reading this God is calling out to you. He’s not calling from the fire, wind, or earthquake; He calls to you from His still small voice. He is whispering to your soul, ‘It is time to leave the cave.’ As Max Lucado once said, “God likes you just the way you are but He loves you too much to let you stay that way.”

Why do bad things happen to God's people?

Today I find myself asking an age-old question with a slightly different take on it. I’ve been asked, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” While I understand the question it is built on a faulty premise; that there are people who are ‘good’. Romans 3:12 states “there is none righteous, no not one.” If that’s true the question could rightfully be asked, “Why do bad things happen to bad people?” But for most reading this, the question is phrased still differently; “Why do bad things happen to God’s people?” That’s the rub for those of us who know Christ. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that we are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.” So why do bad things happen to God’s people? I think there are a few answers worth considering.

1. Pain makes us focus on what is most important – to put this another way, pain has a way of improving our perspective. While in seminary I had a pretty difficult job where I went into the jail 5 days a week and spoke to offenders of non-violent crimes. Life was hard adjusting to having a 1 year old daughter, being a student, and working full-time. Then out of the blue one day, after a routine doctor appointment, I was told I had a blood disease that “about 90% of the people with this live.” Quickly my perspective switched from I have a tough job working with difficult people to am I going to live to see my little girl grow up.
2. Pain reminds me I need help from outside of myself – as long as I can ‘deal’ with everything that comes my way, why would I need God to help me? The greatest problem any of us face is our lost condition without Christ. This pain brought on by hopelessness and helplessness, we know from the scripture, can only be dealt with through the blood of Jesus Christ. Pain reminds me that there are some things in life that no matter how hard I try, I cannot make them any better; that I need help from someone else.
3. Pain happens so I will learn to trust only in God – this one is really pretty easy to understand. God allows us to go through tough times because it’s only when we have to trust Him do we really learn that we can trust Him.
4. Pain prepares me to help others – nothing is ever wasted with God. The pain we experience today, while God did not cause it, He will use it to His glory. That blood disease I had, God did not cause that; I got sick because I live in a fallen world inside of a fallen body. But God did use it by allowing me to cross paths with others dealing with the same illness and questions I had pondered. God did not cause Jan’s two miscarriages, but He has used them by giving us the opportunity to minister to others who were experiencing the same heartache that we had to work through.

Recently I had back surgery and have a 6-inch scar on my spine to prove it. The recovery was painful; the first few days I was praying ‘come quickly Lord Jesus.’ I didn’t want to have to endure another minute of that pain. Now I am past that and if you were to see my back you’d simply see a scar. But that scar has a story behind it. Friend every scar you have has a story to tell as well; maybe from a surgery, an injury, an accident, or battle. Scars prove two things to you and to those who see them. They prove that you have suffered and they also prove you have survived. So when pain comes and the hurt is excruciating and you don’t feel like going on, know that the God who delivered you in the past, you can trust Him to deliver you again. To live is Christ and to die is gain; we are winners either way!

When heaven is silent ...

Our 30^th President was Calvin Coolidge. President Coolidge was a man of few words and when he did speak he was known for his bluntness. One time a female journalist said to the President, “Mr. President, I made a $100 bet with another journalist that I could get you to say more than three words in this interview. Would you care to comment?” President Coolidge smiled at her and said, “You lose”. From then on he was often referred to by the nickname “Silent Cal”.

There are times when we want to refer to God as “Silent God”. In times of painful trials and tribulations we often cry out, “Why, God? Why me? Where are you?” and in response it seems that heaven is silent; more than once this has been my experience. Job in the bible is the poster child for enduring pain, suffering, and loss. He’s a wealthy family man with 10 children, and God declares he is “righteous”. Satan then accuses God of having bought Job’s worship by blessing him so much. God allows a satanic attack where job loses his wealth, and his children. When Job still doesn’t turn on God, Satan inflicts him with boils from his head to toe. It’s at this time his wife turns on him asking if he still held to his integrity; she wanted him to admit all of their problems were because of him and his sin. As she tells him to “curse God and die” (see Job 2:9), Job’s three ‘friends’ show up and tell Job there must be some great sin in his life or he’d not be having the troubles he is.

For about 35 chapters Job questions his friends and also questions God. While his friends are a broken record saying it must be his sin, God is silent. It’s not until Job 38 that God answers, and when He does, He answers Job with questions of His own. In Job 38:3 God says to Job “I’m going to question you and you will answer Me.” In chapters 38-41, God asks Job no less than 187 questions. Questions like “Where were you when I created the earth?” (38:4-7); “How many sunrises have you made?” (38:12-13); and “Can you control the stars?” (38:31-33).

Let me suggest three lessons that Job learned, that are lessons we need to know when heaven seems silent.

Lesson #1 – God often speaks to us during our storms. Job 38:1 says that “God answered Job out of the whirlwind”. The world whirlwind, according to Strong’s, can be translated ‘hurricane’. So God spoke to Job out of a great storm. I believe God still speaks to us in our storms. Whatever storm you face today; marital, financial, familial, relational, whatever, if you will listen for His voice I think God will speak to you out of that storm. Often the reason heaven seems silent, at least to me, is because I want a different answer than what God seems to be giving.

Lesson #2 – We are speechless before God’s power and His wisdom. In Job 23:3-4 Job had boasted, “Oh that I knew where I might find Him that I might come to His seat! I would present my case before Him, and fill my mouth with arguments.” Job wants to go all Larry King on God; God you sit there and I will ask the questions and you answer them. But after hearing the 187 questions from God, in 42:6 Job says he “abhors” himself. The word “abhor” is the Hebrew word ‘galal’ which means lightweight. In other words Job becomes overwhelmed by God’s greatness and His ignorance of the ways of God and admits when compared to God he is an intellectual lightweight.

Lesson #3 – There is peace when you trust in the sovereignty of God. The easiest way to define sovereignty in my mind is by saying “God has the right to do whatever He pleases.” God rules and reigns and His way and will is always perfect.

So if you are walking in troubled silence today, and God does not seem to be answering, I would encourage you to remember the words to Arron’ Shust’s song My Savior My God. The words say, “I am not skilled to understand, What God has willed what God Has planned. I only know at His right hand, Stands One who is my Savior.” Here’s a simple prayer you may need to pray today. “Father, I don’t understand You or Your ways today. But I will trust You with today and trust You with all my tomorrows.” Be blessed and know you are never alone (see Hebrews 13:5).