A Heart Of Thanks: Even When Life Is Difficult

The wilderness is for my own good so I should be thankful for it.

 

Psalms 95:1-11 Come, let us sing to the LORD! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come to Him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to Him.

3 For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods. 4 He holds in His hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. 5 The sea belongs to Him, for He made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.

6 Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, 7 for He is our God. We are the people He watches over, the flock under His care. If only you would listen to His voice today!

8 The LORD says, "Don't harden your hearts as Israel did at Meribah, as they did at Massah in the wilderness. 9 For there your ancestors tested and tried My patience, even though they saw everything I did.

10 For forty years I was angry with them, and I said, 'They are a people whose hearts turn away from Me. They refuse to do what I tell them.' 11 So in My anger I took an oath: 'They will never enter My place of rest.'"

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When we think about all of the reasons we have to be thankful, we should go to God and give him praise and worship, if we consider just a fraction of what he has done the praise and worship should be unrestrained.

Maybe that isn't your experience right now, you know he deserves it but you are wondering around in the desert and your feelings are just not there. You are in a situation that you don't want to be thankful for.

Our number one desire here in the United States is to be comfortable, more money, better health, a house full of stuff and we are happy. The only problem with that way of thinking is that it isn't God's number one desire for you.

We like to pray for him to close doors that we shouldn't go through but what if he closed that door to test your faith? Do we really believe that God is in control when things happen?

God's number one desire for you is to make you holy, he is the master gardener that prunes his vine to make it more productive, pruning doesn't feel good but growth usually comes in the most difficult moments.

We are just like God's children in the wilderness, we have been brought out of slavery, we have witnessed unexplained miracles but at the moment we are out in a desert and the last thing we want to do is thank God for this situation.

We need to see God's presence in even the most difficult times and realize that sometimes he strategically puts us where we would never choose to go. 

Have you considered the reality that Jesus knew the weather forecast and he still put his disciples in a boat on two different occasions? 

Why would God ask Jonah to go start a revival in enemy territory? 

Why would faithful men have to make a stand for their beliefs and get thrown into a furnace?

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

When everything is going our way we take prosperity and comfort for granted but when things get tough we realize that we are powerless to control our circumstances. If you begin to see that everything you have and everything you have counted on can disappear in a second then it becomes much harder to take it for granted.

A heart of thanks can help you persevere when stress and heartache come upon us. You can focus on the current situation and forget about the past experiences that we have already come through. God brought you through yesterday, last month and last year when you thought things were so bad so why won't he do it again?

Lord help me to remember that you are in control and that I should not look at the people and circumstances around me and blame them for interrupting my plans to be comfortable. Thank you for loving me enough to die for me and for using any means necessary to help me grow.

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Waiting On The Lord

There is hope greater than the darkest day I will ever face.

Habakkuk 2:1-4 I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guard post. There I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer my complaint.

2 Then the LORD said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. 3 This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.

4 “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

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The man of God is right to be upset about the evil world that he lives in, Habakkuk complained to God about it and asked him why, why don't you do something, why have you let evil go unchecked for so long?

We can't help feeling this way if we have a godly perspective of sin, we should be bothered, we should be anxious for God to bring about his greatest promise, we should be yearning for the day when his righteous kingdom will come. (Matthew 6:10)

Habakkuk's complaint receives an answer from God that he doesn't like, the world around him is going to get worse, God is going to use a notoriously more evil people to punish his own chosen people. Man's wisdom says that God should punish the worst people first and work his way down the list to the next most evil people but God doesn't try to do things so that they make sense to our little brains.

God's plan is in motion and everything that happens is a part of that plan. Thankfully God gave us the book of Habakkuk so that we can learn how to face our struggles as we wait on the Lord.

Wait Patiently

The last thing that anybody wants to hear is "be patient" but that's exactly what Habakkuk did. When someone tells us to be patient, it probably means that we aren't behaving very well, it is much easier to blow up than it is to make a deliberate choice to be patient.

We have to decide for ourselves if the circumstances will make us better or bitter. We rarely look at these situations and consider the potential that we have to become more like the person God wants us to become or the person that the other people in your life wish we would become.

Wait With Perspective

It is easy to be overwhelmed and fearful when you are in the middle of the chaos but hope is also pretty easy to find if you change your perspective. If you are at the city gates and you see an attack coming you have every reason to be afraid but if you change your perspective by climbing the watchtower and you see reinforcements on the way it will set your mind at ease.

Romans 8:18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

That is the perspective that the apostle Paul had in the middle of his suffering, he suffered greatly but he viewed it all as a temporary setback that would amount to nothing in comparison to the glorious eternal future that he would enjoy.

Wait Obediently

The main qualification for sitting in the watchtower is watching, this is the last person that you want to find taking a nap, there has to be a commitment. The stakes are too high for such carelessness.

Instead of viewing waiting as a time to rest, think of being a waiter, one that is a servant or an attendant. Instead of being idle, you must keep being active, you don't stop praying, attending worship or studying the Bible just because you aren't getting anything out of it.

Wait Focused on God

When evil days are upon us and it seems like God is withholding his blessings from us, that's when we get to prove our motivation for being a child of God, that's when we prove why we are in a relationship with him.

The blessings and benefits are so great that we can easily focus on the gifts and not the giver of the gifts. Are we desiring the Lord or the Lord's things? Are you faithful even when you aren't getting anything out of it?

Satan's accusation against Job was that Job was loyal and loving toward God because he was getting the things. That's how most of us begin our relationship with God, we are at a tough spot in life that we want help with, it's okay to start there but God expects us to deepen our relationship with him so that it is a true love relationship instead of a self serving, exploitative relationship.

Wait Joyfully

Because of our faith we can live with the difficult circumstances and the evil days that we encounter, the gospel gives us a reason to have confidence in God’s wise and good control of our life, even in the worst of times.

One of the disadvantages of living in such a blessed society as we have is that we lose our joy so quick. The lives of God's people in the Bible were so much more difficult, the evil around them was so much greater, they suffered through evil invaders and they had very little comforts yet they tell us that we need to always have joy. (2 Corinthians 6:10, Philippians 4:4-8)

If we are waiting on him now then he will wait on us when he returns!

Luke 12:35-38 “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded.

I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.

I don't know how the good news of this parable gets so little attention. How could we overlook such an amazing promise that has been given to the servants that are ready and waiting for Jesus return? How can we lose our joy so easily?

Jesus left us behind to serve him as he prepares a place for us in his father's house, part of making the house ready will be setting the table for a grand feast, a celebration so spectacular that I will have to be given something good enough to wear.

After I am dressed in my new clothes, I will be waited on by my Savior, he will approach the table wearing servants clothes, he will pull the chair out and seat me at the table and then begin to serve me. How can anybody love me that much after I have betrayed them? (John 14:1-4, Revelation 19:6-8)

I need to wait on the Lord in the same way that he will wait on me, I need to serve him enthusiastically even in the darkest of days as I wait for his return, I can rise above the dark days around me because of the amazing future that you are preparing for me.

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Who Are You?

What defines who you are? What would you do if all that were taken away?

Video: Hillsong Worship - Who You Say I Am

Who the Son sets free

Oh is free indeed

I'm a child of God

Yes I am

In my Father's house

There's a place for me

I'm a child of God

Yes I am

What defines who you are? As a child of God, Satan knows who you are and how powerful your life can be, he just hopes that he can keep you from knowing it. Cheap substitutes is all that Satan has to offer you to keep you from living up to your full potential.

Satan will get you to define yourself in ways that involve your family, friends your career or good deeds but any of these things can be taken away and then what do you have to stand on?

If you lose the thing that defines you then your life will feel empty and meaningless when it is gone. You need to be defined by something eternal so that you won't be crushed when your circumstances change.

Overcomer - Hannah Scott Quote
I am created by God. He designed me, so I’m not a mistake. His Son died for me, just so I could be forgiven. He picked me to be his own, so I’m chosen. He redeemed me, so I am wanted. He showed me grace, just so I could be saved. He has a future for me because He loves me. So I don’t wonder anymore, Coach Harrison. I am a child of God.

Overcome The World

Our Savior has overcome and he promises that we will too.

 

John 16:29-33 Then His disciples said, "At last You are speaking plainly and not figuratively. 30 Now we understand that You know everything, and there's no need to question You. From this we believe that You came from God."

31 Jesus asked, "Do you finally believe? 32 But the time is coming--indeed it's here now--when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving Me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with Me.

33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."

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The fact that you have the technology to see this blog post and choose to read it or click away to something else says that you probably have a very comfortable life. The odds are that you probably live in a culture that offers you a comfortable lifestyle, beautiful stuff at your side, and instant everything that requires little effort.

But there are some of you that have had a miserable existence, I am not talking about people that have first world country problems, these people have nothing easy or comfortable about their life. People that you loved and trusted have let you down, friendless, beat up and unloved, you find yourself all alone and hopeless.

That is the kind of people that Jesus had around him during his stay on earth, his people were beat-up and tired, they had been raided by foreign governments and their own religious leaders didn't have anything to offer.

Jesus Was A Man Of Sorrows

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.

Imagine living here after being in heaven for all of eternity past, imagine starting life over as a child, a child that is fully God but also fully man. You get cold, feel pain and you require sleep just like everybody else yet you are also God.

Imagine leaving the perfection of the best place ever to come to a broken world so that you can go head to head with your worst enemy. What would it be like to know that you were here for the sake of dying for people that don't like you and for friends that would turn their back and run. (John 13:37-38)

Jesus gave up a lot to come and be "God with us" but he didn't show any sorrow about what he lost by leaving heaven. The main source of his sorrow was for the condition of man and the fact that they rejected the only hope that could ever help.

  Video: Tenth Avenue North - I Have This Hope

Jesus Had The Best Friend

I am not alone because the Father is with Me.

The disciples’ faith was strengthened by Jesus’ words but it wouldn't be enough to pass the test that was coming. In a few hours they would scatter in fear but Jesus said that he had a close friend that was better than his earthly friends that he could count on.

Jesus had confidence in God and he was dedicated to God's plan. At his time of death he was able to say, “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)

Jesus Best Friend Can Be Mine

I have overcome the world.

The victory that Jesus had over Satan makes it possible for me to become friends with God. Jesus worst enemy is also mine but thankfully Jesus closest friend can also be mine as well. I can have a close intimate relationship with God through my faith in Jesus as my substitute for the punishment that I deserved.

Since Jesus overcame I know that I will overcome, I can rise above this evil world and I can live without the horror of death, I can have the same confidence that Jesus had that death is not the end.

We can be encouraged by five aspects of God’s love and grace:

1. There is always hope in Christ for future spiritual growth. (John 16:25) 2. Be encouraged by your privilege in prayer. (John 16:26) 3. Be encouraged by the Father’s special love and grace. (John 16:27) 4. Be encouraged by God’s sovereign plan of salvation. (John 16:28) 5. Be encouraged that ultimately your peace is in Christ, not in your performance. (John 16:29-33) Overcoming Spiritual Failure - Steven Cole on Bible.org

Jesus Disciples Overcome

Every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.

God is still governing this world, don't let the daily battle get you down and cause you too much grief, there aren't any term limits on God's reign. He is in charge of the circumstances around us and he always will be. What we see as chaos isn't a surprise or a source of concern to him.

This is not my home, and I will never feel perfectly at peace and perfectly comfortable here but I must continue to the the good works that he has planned or me to do until the day I die and overcome this world just as Jesus did.

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Why?

Don't let your heart be troubled when Jesus doesn't make sense to you.

 

John 13:36-38  Simon Peter asked, "Lord, where are You going?" And Jesus replied, "You can't go with Me now, but you will follow Me later."  37  "But why can't I come now, Lord?" he asked. "I'm ready to die for You."  38  Jesus answered, "Die for Me? I tell you the truth, Peter--before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know Me.

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Life is so difficult and seems out of control, things do not add up and we cannot make sense of what is going on, we have all been through those times when you just want to scream at God and ask him if he really knows what he is doing. That is the situation these eleven men find themselves in.

Not too long ago Jesus caused quite a stir when he raised Lazarus from the dead, they must have thought that the coming Kingdom was about to be established, instead Jesus leaves the crowds and takes them to a village in the desert, these guys were never able to figure out what was going to happen next.

Why are we out here?

This couldn't have made any sense to the twelve disciples. They didn't realize that even as the religious leaders were purifying the people in preparation for Passover they were simultaneously plotting Jesus death. (John 11:54-57)

As Passover drew near Jesus went back towards Jerusalem and stopped in Bethany where he had dinner with his friends. While they were at the dinner Mary came into the room with expensive perfume that she used to anoint Jesus.

Why is Jesus talking about his burial?

They could have had a church fund-raiser and used the money to help the poor. They all blindly went along with Judas and agreed that this was a big waste of money. (John 12:1-8)

Now this is more like it they must have thought as they walked on toward Jerusalem and saw the crowds running out to meet them as they sang their praises for the arrival of the Messiah. But instead of capitalizing on the momentum and taking charge he is deeply troubled and starts to pray. (John 12:29)

Why is Jesus talking about defeating Satan?

This crowd just wants somebody to make today a better day and improve the outlook for their future. Get rid of the burden that the Romans had them living under. Obviously Jesus was opposed to the plan that the crowd was pushing for and his kingdom was a disappointment to them.

Why is everything not as we thought?

There was so much chaos and unanswered questions on that day. Isn't he the Messiah? We just gave him a Messiah's welcome when he came into the city. Isn't the Messiah going to live forever? (John 12:34-36)

We thought that Jesus was our leader and now he is acting like our servant and washing our feet! What do you mean that you are going somewhere and I have to stay here? We thought that our small group was solid but now we have learned that one of us has been living a lie and Jesus tells us that the rest of us will all desert him.

Why would Jesus treat us this way?

 In the middle of all of the turmoil that the disciples are going through, none of them had much thought for the emotions that Jesus was feeling. He was with his small group yet he was all alone. None of them showed any interest in Jesus' suffering and offer up any comfort.

"Now My soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to Your name."

We gave up three years of our life for him and now he is leaving? They had to wonder how safe they were because Jesus enemies also hated them. Would they be the next to die?

Despite the feelings that Jesus had, his deep sorrow and grief, nobody else notices! Yet he is so in touch with their feelings and he is so concerned with their ability to cope with the circumstances even though he knows that they will desert him later that same night.

Don't Be Troubled
John 14:1-3  "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me.  2  There is more than enough room in My Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  3  When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.

When your heart is troubled Jesus calls on us to have faith in him and his promises, "you cannot see God but you believe in him therefore believe in me even though you won't be able to see me anymore." A lot of confusion about what was going on was due to their misconceptions about the Messiah which are getting blown away but they still needed to know that their faith was not in vain. (1 Peter 1:8)

They still had every reason to believe in God and in his son Jesus. They had every reason to believe that they have a home in heaven that is being made ready for them and when it is ready he will come back for us. You only prepare a place for someone if you are confident of their arrival, we don't have to worry about getting their on our own, Jesus himself will come to get us and escort us into the Father's house.

Victory In Jesus: Romans 8:35-37, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, Hebrews 13:6, 1 John 5:4-5

Don't let your heart be troubled when Jesus doesn't make sense to you. Faith in God and in Jesus is the cure for a troubled heart, believers should be the most peaceful people but in reality we are not much different from the rest of the world, usually this is due to a lack of faith. If you're discontent, worried, anxious, or otherwise in need of comfort, the reason can be that you don't trust Jesus as much as you should.

We do what the disciples did, we have all of the same confusion and questions, we focus on our problems and trust in their power to wipe us out more than we trust in God. We know that our ultimate future is very bright. When we arrive at our father's house he will take care of all the hurts and the needs of his children, there won't be any unmet needs and no wanting for anything.

Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility He endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up. 

Just like Jesus looked beyond the present sufferings to his future glory, we should keep our eyes on the higher purposes of God and realize that these troubles that we have in this present world are very temporary. (Romans 8:18).

Thank you Lord for caring for me, help me to realize the impact of that, since I know you care for me I know that I can trust you for every situation that I don't understand. Help me to grow in faith so that I won't let my heart be troubled when you don't make sense to me.

Growing Big Faith - Pivotal Circumstances

God uses circumstances that seem to have no good purpose to grow your faith.

John 11:11-15  Then He said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up."  12  The disciples said, "Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!"   

13  They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died.   

14  So He told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  15  And for your sakes, I'm glad I wasn't there, for now you will really believe. Come, let's go see him."

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In this very familiar story we find the best example of God using difficult circumstances to work out something good in our spiritual journey. Jesus received a message that one of his best friends is dying and everybody is surprised that he doesn't do something to save him. At the very least we expect Jesus to heal Lazarus by remote control. He could have easily spoke it and sent the messenger back with the good news but he didn't do anything at all.

Imagine Mary and Martha caring for their brother and stopping to take a look down the street every now and then to see if Jesus was on the way. Imagine the hurt as they recalled the thousands of people that Jesus healed. Didn't he heal a Roman? So where is he? Imagine answering their friends when they were asked over and over again, "where is your friend Jesus?"

John 11:14-15  So He told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  15  And for your sakes, I'm glad I wasn't there, for now you will really believe. Come, let's go see him."

Belief is very important so Jesus used this situation for the disciples benefit. A situation that he seems to have created on purpose. Belief is more important than answered prayer and healing, more important that sparing Lazarus a death that may have been painful. Belief is more important than sparing Mary and Martha the emotional turmoil that they endured. Imagine the pain that they and their extended family and friends felt as they mourned.

They didn't have theology yet to explain that this situation may have some benefit for somebody. Even if they did there isn't anything comforting about theology. Even Jesus was moved to tears in this situation even though he understood the purpose for all of the pain.

John 11:25-26  Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after dying.  26  Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?"

Jesus ask us the same question he asked Martha, "do you believe?" Do you believe in me even though the circumstances are not easy, even though your prayers were not answered and your friends mocked you? How do you know you have faith if it is never tested?

John 11:39-40  "Roll the stone aside," Jesus told them. But Martha, the dead man's sister, protested, "Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible."  40  Jesus responded, "Didn't I tell you that you would see God's glory if you believe?"

We prefer that God get the glory through a positive experience in our life, isn't it more fun to score the winning touchdown and stop for a moment to give him credit for our talents, we prefer to stay comfortable while we give God the glory.

James 1:2-4  Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  3  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  4  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Pivotal circumstances are usually painful circumstances that can make or break our faith. We have all prayed and waited for Jesus to do something but as we wait the situation gets worse and we are tempted to forget about our faith. Will you endure and flex your faith muscle or will you walk away?

Our community of Christian friends should help encourage us to keep the faith and grow instead of walking away. The people that come beside us on our journey of faith will help us see that life is hard and sometimes it is hard because God is working on growing our faith.