There were lots of images I could have used for this morning’s blog but I thought a picture of Elvis, smiling, in a cowboy hat was a good way to start the day.
Growing up I often thought that things going wrong was God’s way of teaching me something. I was mistaken.
As I got older and wiser, I realized that some things that go wrong are a result of our lack of knowledge, our poor planning or our outright stubbornness. I also learned from God’s word that we have a real enemy, who we can’t see, that is out to steal, kill and destroy. If he can’t kill us he certainly wants to render us useless.
“A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life—life that is full and good.” John 10:10 ERV
The Bible is filled with people who had circumstances in life go wrong.
- Joseph was sold into slavery
- Moses had to lead a million grumbling people
- Ruth’s husband died
- David faced a giant
- Daniel was carried away as a prisoner of war
- Hannah was barren
- Jesus was born during the cruelty of Roman rule in Israel
- A young Jesus went missing & his parents didn’t know where he was
- John the Baptist was thrown into prison and then beheaded
- Jesus was constantly harrassed by the religious leaders
- The disciples were in a storm at sea and nearly sank
- Peter was beaten and thrown in prison
- Paul was beaten, stoned, imprisoned and ship wrecked
These circumstances were not easy situations to deal with but each of them came to a positive end. In each occurrence the Father had a plan to rescue and restore. Each one of these people, people just like you and me, looked to the Lord for help and found it. They were never deserted by God or left to handle things on their own.
“Keep your lives free from the love of money. Be happy with what you have. God has said, ‘I will never leave you or let you be alone.’ 6 So we can say for sure, ‘The Lord is my Helper. I am not afraid of anything man can do to me.’” Hebrews 13:5-6 NLV
I know I quote these verses frequently and that’s because they are life verses for me. They have brought me through some really tough times, and brought me through with peace. We can spend so much of life chasing after financial gain that we lose sight of ouf Father’s provision. We can make money our god and be miserable.
However, when we keep our focus on the Lord and His presence in our lives and things go wrong we can be at peace. We can trust that God is with us and He will be our deliverer. He will be our help.
“Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! 16 So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:15-16 CEV
When things go wrong we don’t have to go with them. We can come to the Maker of the Universe, the Almighty God who just happens to be our heavenly Father and when we do we will find all the help we need!
He’s reaching out to us; we simply need to take His hand.