Livin' the life...

Last week we spoke on "why" God seems distant at times, today we will cover "what we should do" when that happens. Again, the main point of reference for this discussion will be "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. So, what should our response be when God seems distant?

We Praise Him: Mr. Warren writes, "How do you praise God when you don't understand what's happening in your life and God is silent? .. You do what Job did: 'Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.'[1]'" That is, you keep praising Him all the way! God is so pleased when we keep praising Him regardless of what happens! This shows that we are holding tight to our faith and is exactly why God is testing us in the first place. I know this is not easy, but our God is very wise and patient, and appreciates how tough this can be for us. Therefore, He gives us many chances to show that we are ready to "step up to the plate". When we make this step, it signifies that we are maturing in our relationship with Him.

We tell God exactly how we feel: Rick in [PDL] states that pouring out our heart - including our doubt, anger, fear, grief, confusion and questions - to God is in itself a strong statement of faith. One of the reasons I think this is done is to show God that we regard Him, not only as our God, but also as a close friend. We implicitly: (a) show belief in Him; (b) show that we know He is there for us; and (c) express that we know that He loves when we are open, honest and hold Him as our rock and refuge. I think these things make God smile.

We focus on who God is - his unchanging nature: God never changes, from the beginning He was for you and it will remain that way! To put it more eloquently, "Remind yourself what you know to be eternally true about God: He is good, he loves me, he is with me, he knows what I'm going through, he cares, and he has a good plan for my life. V. Raymond Edman said, 'NEVER doubt in the dark what God told you in the light.'" [PDL] Here are some verses in Job that shows this very point i.e. regardless of what happened to him, he still found things that he could praise God for; See [2,3,4,5,6,7].

We remember what God has already done for us: Last time I checked, God's son died for us. He died for You, the person sitting behind you, the person who's in the kitchen preparing a pot of Earl Grey tea, even the lady who nearly hit your car this morning! The fact is that Jesus Christ came, lived a perfect life and suffered a violent, ghastly death for every one of us. All for the purpose of rebuilding that bridge to the Father, and enabling us to one day be with Him in heaven. Mr. Warren sums things up nicely in the following; "Jesus gave up everything so you could have everything. He died so you could live forever. That alone is worthy of your continual thanks and praise. Never again should you wonder what you have to be thankful for." [PDL]

This brings to and end our extended discussion, I thank you for sharing in it with me and wish you a blessed week. Before I go I would like to leave what I think is a totally appropriate statement to take away from our discussion that perfectly exemplifies the type of maturity we should all be aiming for. It is from Job 13:15 and states:

"God may kill me, but still I will trust him."

Amen! Have a great week!