For thought and meditation

[rl69]

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.—Psalm 46:1 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=b161430f89&e=3dd732485b)When crisis hits, when we are facing hardship, when we are sick or in need, we should call on the Lord.

When the Israelites criticized and turned against Moses, we read that he "cried out to the LORD" (Exodus 15:25 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/x-apple-data-detectors://6)). When King Hezekiah received a threatening letter, he "went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD" (Isaiah 37:14). When John the Baptist was beheaded, we read that his disciples "came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus" (Matthew 14:12 (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/x-apple-data-detectors://7)).

That is exactly what we ought to do when hardship comes our way. We should go and tell Jesus, because "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).

Paul had his "thorn in the flesh." We don't know what it was, but he asked the Lord three times to take it away. God didn't answer those prayers as Paul wanted Him to. Rather, He gave him the grace to get through that time of difficulty. There are times when God has a purpose in suffering, a plan through the pain. We always want to leave that option open. And, it is okay to pray about it. In fact, James 4:2 says, "You do not have because you do not ask."

Paul prayed about his difficulty more than once, and we can pray about our problems more than once. Jesus said, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Luke 11:9). This could be translated from the Greek, "Keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking." The Bible encourages persistence.

We don't necessarily need to tell God what He should do, but we should call on Him. Bring your troubles to Jesus.

[Boaz]

Thank you rl69 .
Many don't understand why the Lord will allow personal suffering . It's because he is a good father.

In 1970 I was 18 years old. I told my dad I was going to dive my old wore out Honda motorcycle to California , I had about $26.00 dollars in my pocket .
He advised gathering up more money before leaving . In my adolescent fervor and state of mind I left the next morning anyway .

I made it to Chandelier Arizona before the old bike gave up the ghost. Pushed it about 5 miles back toward Phoenix . Had about $3.00 left and stopped at a phone booth on the side of the road and called him wanting help .

He listened to me and only said ;
Son it sounds like you need to find work and hung up the phone . I stood by the highway in distress , no one stopped to help .
My dad loved me , I know he prayed for me , I know he worried about me but I had to work this out on my own .
A good father teaches and allows even if it causes them pain . Praise our father in heaven .

[Pine Baron]

Thank you,rl. Good story Boaz, great lesson.

[Blackwater]

Thanks, RL. Hand in hand with the Lord is how we're supposed to walk, but often, we give in to temptation and like to have our way, even when we know it's not His will but ours that's driving it all. And Boaz's story is so poignant and applicable to us all! Thanks, guys. Great post and commentary. Sometimes I think the Lord lets us learn the hard way so we'll remember it better?

[Preacher Jim]

RL to me failure is the lesson that teaches us to stay close to the Lord and listen to His voice through the Holy Spirit pointing us toward His goals. Like Boaz dad He directs us and when we ignore his direction we have to learn from it, repent and get back under His hand. Some of us are stubborn and run on our own because we think we are smarter than the Lord. When we come to our senses repent His hand is waiting where we left it.
Thank you Lord for loving so much you let us learn by our mistakes but do not throw us away.
Amen

[claude]

I think to many are "sold" Christianity on the false premise that after we accept The Lord into our lives and admit to Him what utter failures we have been, everything will suddenly be "gumdrops and lollypops" and there will be no more troubles. Is it any wonder why so many revival "savings" end up in the trash?

Yes, The Lord is ever present, as long as we keep that door open;

(Revelation 3:19-20) "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. {20} Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

[Boaz]

I would agree Claude , they are being sold a bill of goods . Truth is when you accept him it's time to go to work . It's time to take stock because you will be accountable for yourself . Prosperity churches are a fail , false teaching . He paid a debit we could not pay . He suffered and was mocked . He died naked nailed to a cross covered in his own blood that he shed for us . It would benefit us to remember that blood .

[Blackwater]

Amen, guys. Great commentary. I'm no great authority, but to me, it seems that it's the world that WANTS to think that all our troubles will end when we come to belief, and THEN, when we see that doesn't happen, and life goes on, and we continue to be challenged and tempted, this then causes doubt in many who'd expected to be taken care of and coddled, rather than learning the real and sometimes hard lessons we all need to learn in life, even after coming to faith. This clearly tends, in my mind at least, to show that the erroneous belief originated with the Evil One, for he's full of "tricks" to snare us with.

There's an old story about a man walking along the beach with Jesuus, and looking back, saw places where there were two sets of footprints, and places where there were only one set. Shocked, he turned to Jesus and said, "Lord, in places behind us, I see only one set of footprints. Why did you leave me alone?" The Lord then smiled, and turned to him and said, "My son, those are the places where I carried you."

That little story pretty well puts things into perspective for many. Sure, it's natural to want a big sugar daddy in the sky. We're naturally lazy, it seems, or at least often so. But God lets us be challenged so we'll be motivated to think and learn and appreciate him. Only when we truly appreciate what He does for us are we truly able to know the real joy in life. All else is confusion and incompleteness.

And we typically have plenty of that all around us to keep us confused and tempted. And when we're comfortable, "fat and happy," what's our tendency? To just get satisfied and idle! We're human. What else would we be naturally inclined to do as humans? So God gives us challenges and even quests, so that we might learn to know Him and His ways better. Even when we complain that He hasn't made everything easy for us.

Look around today. What do you see? A very willful people insisting they ought to get exactly what they want, and that it be extremely easy to reach out and grasp it! Truly, Satan is running rampant in our land today, and he's ensnaring many with all his bag of tricks and lures and temptations. God help us! We've forgotten what God is really like, and tried to substitute real knowledge of Him with our willfulness! The OP's lesson doesn't bode well for the outcome, unless we as a nation repent, and turn back to the Lord and His ways. Pray for our land today. It's the ship that we were given to keep afloat, and we're letting it sink. Much work to do out there for us all!