Is it in the Punctuation; the Exclamation Point or the Question Mark?

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.” Job 42:5

Just over a month ago my son went out one evening to a concert. None of his buddies were available but he decided he would just go alone. The band he went to see had an opening act that was playing when he got there. He sensed immediately that there was something not right. But, it was a light crowd so he moved up to the front and began taking a few pictures.

From out of nowhere, there came a crushing blow to the side of his head. He went down into a ball as six guys jumped on him, pummeling him with punches and kicks. When they stopped, he was taken by ambulance to the hospital. I was away but my wife got the call all parents fear. She rushed to the hospital to find him with black eyes, lumps all over his head, beaten and bloodied, with broken bones that would require surgery.

Now, more than a month later, we thank God that the physical damage is healing. But, the emotional and spiritual wounds linger. The shocking randomness of the violence continues to haunt him. The confusion circles in his head. Why did these guys do this? What did I do to deserve it? And the inevitable – Why me?

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Pastor Stephen J (not to be confused with Pastor Steve) gave an absolutely awesome message a few Sunday’s ago about the goodness and righteousness of God in the midst of our trials. I agree with all of it 100%. However, there was one thing in his message that I have had some different thoughts about. It has to do with the issue of asking “Why?” about the trials we go through.

The reaction of “Why me!” to our trials is almost always raised with a major dose of either cynicism or a moralism. We reject God for allowing or imposing the trial on us or we determine that God is punishing us for some crime and we must win back His favor. Mostly, like Job, we are certain we don’t deserve it.

Most people cry out when bad things happen, “Why me God!” In most cases it is not a genuine question but a declarative statement using an exclamation point rather than a question mark. We are saying, “This is not fair!” or “I don’t like this!” or “Why have you done this to me! I have done nothing to deserve this!” or “You’re being mean. Just stop already!”

No, God does not owe us an explanation and if demanding an answer from God is all we are after then it is unlikely to lead us to where God wants to take us. Ultimately, as Christ-followers, do we need to know the reason for the bad things that happen to us? Isn’t it enough to be certain of God’s love and his majesty to know that He is in control? I would say that most Christians consider this to be the appropriate response – don’t ask, but trust. However, is this what God intends for us in our relationship with Him? Is there actually a right way to ask the question?

In the book of Job, Job repeatedly declares the unfairness of it all and according to the story there seems no good reason he deserves all the terrible trials other than God proving a point to Satan.

I find Job a challenging read. But, what I do grasp is that through most of the book, Job believes that what God is allowing is beyond his understanding. He’s sorting through all the voices and the many opinions of men but mostly declaring that He (and we) can’t know what God is doing. Is that true?

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Our God is a God of Restoration

Guest Blog Post by my Friend and Brother-in-Christ, Dennis – A First Hand Believer in Miracles

1 Peter 5:10 – And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

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I have made some bad choices in the past. Back in 2016 my choices resulted in possible incarceration for 5 years or more. But, the judge allowed me to hold off sentencing for 1 year if I did everything that was asked of me with no new arrests. This required staying sober with weekly alcohol screenings. I also had to attend various recovery groups, undergo mental health evaluations and continue with intensive weekly therapy. I had to stay employed and self-sufficient. In addition, I had to attend a spiritual based group where I would have to volunteer for a minimum of 10 hours a week. All this was among a number of other requirements. I not only did everything that was required, but I did even more.

So, because of my complying with all of Judge Dennis’s requirements (Yes, her last name is actually Dennis) I was given a suspended sentence of 10 years and put on probation. I was very grateful.

Fast forward 9 months later and I was helping a homeless person move into a shelter. A\pparently, everything we moved was not his including an old bicycle. I did not know this until 5 months later when I was pulled over for a cell phone violation and taken into custody because I had a warrant out for my arrest. What?

I didn’t even know what it was for until I went to the court. From that point on everyone from the prosecutor to the judge assumed I was guilty even though the evidence suggested otherwise. Now, when you’re on Probation and you get arrested you also get arrested again for violating your probation. So now I have two different cases in two different courthouses because of helping someone in need whom either intentionally or unintentionally, took a bicycle that was not his. (What’s the old adage? No good deed goes unpunished)

At this point it seemed that the deck was stacked against me but I determined to trust in God’s Grace and infinite power over ALL circumstances. Knowing that if I can’t, He can.

The prosecutor didn’t bother to review the facts and the police failed to do some basic follow-up. So, because of some bad decisions from my past resulting in justifiable convictions, everyone bypassed due process and wrote me off as being guilty. Everyone except for God.

Over the next 9 months I was in and out of courthouses and lawyer’s offices trying to convince the prosecutors in 2 court houses just how insane these allegations were. All along I gathered numerous letters from personal and professional references. I accumulated 2 years of weekly negative alcohol screens and documented the numerous ministries that I had and continue to be a part of.

But the judicial system was determined to waste theirs and my time and money relentlessly pursuing the matter. The prosecutor was also determined to see me go to jail for no less than one year and possibly up to 5. It all seemed pretty hopeless.

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How Does Something So Small, Grow So Quickly Into Something So Big?

Matthew 17:20 -“So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Many of us have been there. Throughout our walk with Christ there has certainly been occasions where we are challenged to pray for someone who is dealing with a devastating or desperate need – a serious illness, family tragedy, financial collapse an urgent or even emergent situation that we have been asked to call upon God to intervene.

Elders of the church are called upon in James 5:14-15 – Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.

No pressure there! I know first hand as an Elder, we love that people will come forward asking for prayer in response to this scripture call. It is one of the most satisfying and rewarding of the things Elders are charged to do. Why? Because it is all spiritual in nature. As an overseer, the Elders often get caught up in the business of the church and though that is a spiritual charge it doesn’t always feel like it.

However, this can be a very daunting thing. People are coming to Elders in desperation and the Elders are challenged to the degree of their faith that God will do the thing that they pray for. Right? “The prayer of faith will save the sick.” Again, I say – No pressure! But it can challenge them to look at their faith and the degree of their faith.

So, what do we often do to relieve this pressure? We remind ourselves that it is really God’s work and we invoke this scripture of Mathew 17:20. Whew! Okay. All we need is a little mustard seed – The smallest of seeds – that size faith to see a great thing done. So, we look around at each other and say, sure, we are men of faith and surely we have that much faith so we pray. And we pray to cover every possible mode of healing from a miracle to doctors to medications to treatments. Praise God, we do see people healed in the way that we pray and hope for but perhaps not as often as seems promised in James 5. Still, with certainty I know that our loving God hears our prayers and responds in ways seen and unseen.

However, more often than not, I have to admit that my unbelief or the “Seeds of doubt” seem far greater than my mustard seed faith. I mean, I desperately want to believe that God is going to do a miracle but there is this doubt that hovers in my spirit where I really want to know it to be true – that James 5:14-15 will happen every time. But I doubt and then I hedge my bets so as not to disappoint the person we are praying for, not wanting to disappoint them if God does not heal them in the way that we have prayed.

But Jesus said that all it takes is a mustard seed of faith to see a great thing happen. Is that all we need to walk around with – our little mustard seed and we’ll experience all that God wants for us?

In the episode preceding Matthew 17:20, the disciples were unable to heal a boy who appeared to them to be suffering from epilepsy. So, the father comes to Jesus. Jesus then heals the boy. His disciples are brave enough to ask – “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief. “ The Greek word used for unbelief is also translated as weak or little faith.

I wonder – what is the difference between the weak, little faith that led to the failure of the disciples and the minuscule mustard seed faith that Jesus declares can move mountains?

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