Suffering Well

     Lately, in our Sunday School Class, the topic of the persecuted church has come up in discussion.  We have spent time praying for those who have to hide their faith or live in fear that they might lose their lives.  The question often comes to mind as to why these believers are called to suffer.  I wish I had a ready answer for that question, but we know that God sees a much bigger picture than we do.
     Throughout Scripture, we are aware that various churches and individuals faced the tribulations which Jesus told His disciples would come in John 16:33:  "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  We know from the book of Acts that the early church and many of the Apostles were beaten, stoned, and ultimately, killed by the authorities.  Hebrews 11 tells of their faith but also their difficulties as well.
     In Peter's letter to believers who had been scattered, he encourages them not to lose hope or faith during the persecution that they were experiencing.  His letter was written some time after Nero burned Rome.  Nero pointed to Christians as the cause of the fire which destroyed a good deal of property; therefore, believers felt their wrath.  Peter's words written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit gave sound wisdom as to how to face these trials:  "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.  Be sober-minded, be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.  And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore,confirm, strengthen, and establish you" ( I Peter 5:6-10).
     Nowhere in his letter does Peter come out and say why these saints were facing tribulations.  Instead, he wrote how we are to live as we walk through hard places.  We know, from what our Lord said, that we will face tribulations.  We will experience loss in this life, but Peter indicated that we need to rejoice when we share in the sufferings of Christ and for His name.  It is further proof that we belong to Him.  The comfort is in knowing that God will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish us again.  This we can depend upon.
     Peter further instructs us to be humble in the face of suffering.  We are to commit ourselves to the Lord's keeping.  Our humility coupled with our steadfast faith will serve as a witness to others.  In addition, we are to pray and give our anxieties to God.  He is able when we are not.
     Finally, Peter encourages the believers to be sober-minded.  They should not panic but be on guard watching for the enemy who is looking for areas of weakness to attack.  It is so easy when we are going through hard times to let our guard down.  However, we are called to be vigilant and resist Satan.
     Speaking from my own experience, I have found the difficult valleys have increased my faithfulness in prayer and caused me to rely upon God.  Too often, we lean on our own understanding, and when we do, we are vulnerable to the attack of the enemy.  I may never know "why" God allows certain things to happen in my life, but I know Him.  He is good all the time and righteous in all His ways.  Furthermore, God cares about the death of His saints (Psalm 116:15).  He is not far from us or indifferent to our needs.  Instead, He desires us to be conformed to the image of His dear Son as we walk in this fallen world.
     Suffering comes to all people both believers and nonbelievers alike.  Our world is broken and fallen.  However, when we are in Christ, we have the hope of heaven.  God's purposes in allowing trials may not be clear to us, but we know that He is able to work all things together for good, and we can depend on Him.  Let us rejoice in Him that we have so great a salvation through Christ.  He is our defender and the lifter of our head!  Selah!

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

     One of my favorite hymns is "Great Is Thy Faithfulness".  The words speak to the character of God which is unchanging, and in our ever changing day to day life, this is so reassuring.  To know that we have a God who will never leave us nor forsake us has been the hope of many during times of suffering and loss.  Certainly, this was the situation for the writer of this hymn.
     Thomas Obadiah Chisholm was born in a log cabin in Franklin, Kentucky in 1866.  He had a difficult adult life due to fragile health.  He was often unable to work as he was confined to bed from time to time; thus he had to push himself to work extra hours in order to make enough to live on.
     When he was 27 years old, he gave his life to Christ and found tremendous comfort in the Scriptures.  He knew God was faithful to provide for his needs, and one of his favorite verses came from Lamentations 3:22-24 which reads:  "Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning, great is Your faithfulness.  “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, ‘Therefore I hope in Him!”
     At the age of thirty six, Chisholm became a pastor.  Sadly, he could only serve in this capacity for a year as his health again became an issue.  He took another job as a life insurance salesman, but his devotion to the Lord grew as he wrote 1,200 poems which included several published hymns.
     While Thomas was away on a missions trip, he happened to write to a friend of his, William Runyan who was a little known musician at the time.  Several of the poems that Thomas Chisholm wrote were exchanged in the letters while he was away and one stood out to Runyan.  He was so moved by the poem that he wrote a musical score to accompany it.  As a result, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" was published in 1923.
     This hymn was not an instant success, but eventually became popular when George Beverly Shea  began singing it during Billy Graham Crusades in 1945.  Little did Thomas Chisholm know that even though he had to give up the pulpit ministry he was still able to minister through the words he had written to encourage others.  Mr. Chisholm died in 1960 at the age of 94 and left the world a testimony to the faithfulness of God.
     Reading stories about hymn writers puts life into the songs that we share in worship.  This man did not have an easy life and could easily have lapsed into depression or self-pity.  However, the key to his joy was found in a relationship to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.  This should speak volumes to us because none of us is immune from loss, sorrow, sickness or other troubles in this world.  We can either wallow in sadness or find comfort in God's Word as Thomas Chisholm did.  As we read the words to this hymn, let us rejoice in the faithfulness of God who daily meets our needs and gives us great hope for tomorrow.  Selah!
                           Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Thomas Chisholm – 1925

Great Is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father!
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Though changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Refrain:
Great Is Thy faithfulness,
Great Is Thy faithfulness,
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

Refrain

Pardon for Sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Refrain

When All Else Fails....Read the Directions

     I hate reading directions.  Mostly this is because they are poorly translated from another language into English and make very little sense.  I do much better with someone showing me how to work a new gadget than I do with reading about it.  Of course, my dear husband has reminded me more than once to read the directions and I would not have trouble with the item I was trying to use.  However, there was one occasion when even he failed to read the directions carefully.
     I was out for an evening, and I left a frozen pizza for he and the boys to eat.  He set the oven correctly and thought he had followed all the directions.  When it came time to eat, the boys complained to their father about the doughiness of the pizza.  It was then that he realized he was supposed to have removed the cardboard from under the pizza before baking it.  No wonder it was doughy!  We joked about his incident afterwards but the story I am about to tell was not a laughing matter.
     Near east Tawas, Michigan, there is a small zoo housing exotic animals.  The park had ample signs warning people not to touch or get too close to the animals.  However, one woman, Renae Ferguson chose to ignore the signs and put her hand through a chain link fence to pet a male African Lion.  The lion bit off a good portion of her middle finger and now she is suing the park for not protecting people from the dangerous animals.  A guide had warned her along with all the signs, but she claims they did not actually physically stop her from doing what she did.  What part of failing to follow directions did this lady not get?  I used to laugh at some of the ridiculous directions I found printed on items like:  "Do not use the iron on clothing you are wearing".  Well...."duh" as they say, who would iron something they are currently wearing?  But obviously, there are people who would.  Hopefully this lawsuit will be thrown out since clearly there was plenty of warning signs.
     We may laugh when we read some of the foolish things that people do when they fail to read the directions, but are we any less foolish when we neglect reading the Bible?  In its pages are words of truth and instructions that lead to knowing the God of our creation.  It is written for us to guide us, teach us and lead us into righteous living.  According to II Timothy 3:16-17, the Word does this for us:  "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work."
God's Word does all this in the life of any believer who will take the time to mine its riches.  Do we want to be equipped for every good work?  Do we want to be competent when it comes to sharing truth with our neighbors?  Then, we need to read the Bible.
     In addition, the Bible also acts as an effective weapon in terms of spiritual warfare.  Hebrews 4:12 tells us:  "For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."  When we read the Word, we are changed by it for it is living.  It exposes our own faults and thoughts, so if there is any sin in us, we will be confronted by God's truth.  Likewise, it exposes the lies of the enemy as we discuss the truth of Christ with others.  What a powerful weapon in the hands of believers!
     Furthermore this Word of God will not pass away.  People have tried to stamp it out, burn it up and toss it in the garbage, but always this Word will stand.  In Matthew 24:35, Jesus said:  "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."  Voltaire the French infidel, who died in 1778,  predicted that a hundred years from now the Bible and Christianity will be swept away.  Fifty years after his death, his home and printing press was used by the Geneva Bible Society to produce large quantities of Bibles.  He is gone, but God's Word stands just as the Lord said.
     Why is it that this precious resource is often the last thing that people turn to when they face difficulties and decisions?  It should be the first book we open on a daily basis.  In its pages, we will meet God for He reveals Himself to us.  The Bible is our source of spiritual nourishment.  However, the choice is ours.  Will we, like Renae Ferguson, choose to ignore all the warnings and march ahead with our plans?  If we do, we won't be able to sue God and tell Him that He never warned us or protected us.  It is all there in His Word.  Let us become students of the Bible that we might study to show ourselves approved by God and avoid the foolish actions that come from ignorance of what God requires of us.  Selah!