When God Says, "Gotcha!"

You may be familiar with the true story from 2005 about a radio show listener who thought she'd won $100,000 in a radio contest. She called in at the correct time and was told she'd won "100 grand." After she exploded with joy and eventually calmed down enough from her excitement to listen, the DJ informed her that she had, indeed, won the prize -- a "100 Grand candy bar." Gotcha!

The DJ was sued.

Then there's the similarly-zany account of the Hummer that a listener won in another contest. When the caller gave the correct answer in the contest and went to pick up her brand-new Hummer H2, she unpleasantly found that it was a toy. Gotcha!

She sued the radio station.

How many times have you heard it said, "You'd better not ask God for patience because He might just give you what you ask for"? The implication is that we'll be thrown into trials during which God will prolong difficult situations, cause our children to go astray, make it impossible for us to pay our bills, or any of a number of circumstances which will teach us to be patient.

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The String Incident

Being aware that something bad or unwanted may happen doesn't ensure that you can avert catastrophe. This is one of the reasons that it's really not a good idea to be paranoid about stuff. Be prepared, yes. Paranoid, no.

Earlier this week at my friend Dwight's birthday shindig, I talked with him and his dad about the topic of archery. We talked about restringing a bow and I mentioned a time when I'd shot a compound bow and the string had twanged against the inside of my left arm on its way to propel the arrow toward the target. It hurt.

A short while later we were in the back yard and Dwight brought his bow out. I'm betting you have an idea where I'm going with this. Dwight is a big guy. He MIGHT be able to lift more weight than I can. I say that because he has 70 lbs. of tension on his bowstring and uses it like that all the time. As I pulled it back I said, "Sheesh, Dwight!"

So there I was, bow drawn, sights on the target. I couldn't let fear of hitting my arm make me mess up, so I ignored my instinct. "Thwipp!!!" The first arrow was away. Good joss! A clean shot! It went about five inches to the left of where I was aiming, though. That was unacceptable; I had to compensate on the next shot.

Let me break here to quote from a couple of websites:

Hitting your arm is one of the unpleasantries of archery. (Amen, brother.)

The effort of overcoming the force of the bow may well have caused you to rotate your forearm into the path of the string. At best, this could result in a spoiled shot owing to the deflected string. At worst, you could end up shaving off a substantial amount of skin from the inside of your arm.

The latter is what happened when I let go of the second arrow. I pushed my left hand in a way that brought my arm into the path of the string.

I just knew I had fileted a quarter inch of skin off of the soft part of my arm. At the very moment of scraping impact, I thought, "No way. I was just talking about doing this, and here I am doing what I was aware that I shouldn't do." Or something like that -- it took a fraction of a second to think it.

What would the solution be for next time? I'd probably want to do some minimal research on how to hold the bow, listen to Dwight's coaching (In most situations I'm prone to think, "Yeah, yeah. I know, I know."), etc.

What's that sin that so easily trips you, personally, up? The one that you're definitely always aware of, but you seem to mess up and do it again? Being on your guard doesn't ensure that you're going to stand strong.

To be fair, the bow incident was an accident. When we give in to sin, we're going in with eyes wide open in almost every case.

These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age. If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
- 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 (NLT)

Interested in your thoughts.

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Contrasting Joy and Pain

I believe that the only way (or maybe just the best way) to experience great joy lies in our ability to contrast the current, joyful time with the darker, joyless times of our lives. If we don't have the perspective of dismal times, the realization of the good stuff is less pronounced.

In reading Psalm 66 this morning, I noted that the author was giddily focused on the joy that came from praising and serving God, but his perspective was then established in lines like this:

You have tested us, O God;
    you have purified us like silver.
You captured us in your net
    and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.
Then you put a leader over us.
    We went through fire and flood,
    but you brought us to a place of great abundance.

- Psalm 66:10-12 (NLT)

To me, this foreshadows Romans 8:28 and many other passages, particularly what Jesus said in Matthew 5 about being glad when people despise and lie about us because we're following Him (not because of our stupid mistakes). In the case of ancient Israel, their suffering often came at their own hands because of their stupidness, but in the end they found that God was standing there with great things waiting on them.

In honesty, do these promises lift your spirits when you're going through difficulty, or are they more of a "I'll believe it when it finally gets here" set of hopes?

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Is Suffering Optional?

I don't think that Francis Chan and Peter Popoff (or a hundred other TV charlatans who give Jesus a horrible name and preach lies) would get along too well where understanding of Scripture is concerned.

Please, listen to Francis Chan's sermon from February 22 (right-click to download the MP3 version -- video Podcast is here, audio podcast is here, study guide/notes page is here), entitled "Is Suffering Optional?" I get the sneaking feeling that Francis Chan wouldn't be too well-liked by many in the religious community if they heard this message. He takes the listener on a journey through the New Testament, highlighting the harmony between each book as it's made quite apparent that Christians will suffer for the sake of Christ.

I've heard each of these passages elaborated on, but not all in one sitting like this. I'd love to hear your reactions and responses to it.

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Angry at God for Our Foolishness?

Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good;
haste makes mistakes.
People ruin their lives by their own foolishness
and then are angry at the Lord.
- Proverbs 19:2-3 (NLT)

(Ow! Ow! Ow! Surely I haven't been guilty of this, have I?)

I put this passage into the same category as this verse: "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." (Romans 8:28, NLT)

How's that, you ask? Think about it. Don't we have a tendency to assign to every event the idea that God has ordained it to be so? Don't get me wrong; while God does specifically ordain and orchestrate many things that happen and often executes these things through His people who are following Him closely (and sometimes through those who don't know Him), He also allows us -- beings to whom He's given free will -- to make choices, both good and bad. How He uses the outcome of the latter (our choices) is where we see His power to make a jeweled purse out of a proverbial sow's ear. This is exemplified throughout the Scriptures. Don't take what I opine as being the absolute truth. Search the Word for yourself to see if what I'm saying is correct.

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. "Rabbi," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?" "It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins," Jesus answered. "This happened so the power of God could be seen in him."
- John 9:1-3, NLT

As Jesus said, this man was born blind so that the power of God could be seen in him.

But later...

One of the men lying there [at the Sheep Gate] had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” . . .
Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”
Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath. . .
But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.”
- John 5:5-6, 8-9. 14, NLT (emphasis mine)

Not only did Jesus not directly tell the man in the second passage that his affliction had been given to him so that God would be glorified, but He tells the man afterward that actions have consequences.

We don't even necessarily need to go too "deep" with what Jesus said. He may have meant something much more mundane than we typically read into this. For instance, "If you continue to be verbally abusive to your neighbor, he may hit you in the face and crush your nose, giving you breathing problems for the rest of your life." Simple advice, but very practical. And possibly worse than being crippled.

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All Things are Not Good

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
- Romans 8:28 (NLT)

All things are not good. I believe that is a meaning that people want to invoke with this verse, or maybe it's just a wish, that can be detrimental to the faith of a Christ-follower.

God doesn't cause me to sin -- sin is a bad thing. However, if I recognize my sin, turn away from it, and love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, that's where He begins to cause things and situations, whether bad or good, to work for His good purposes. His good purposes are good in the life of a Christ-follower.

Trying to make it through a fiery, painful trial by thinking, "The Bible says all things work together for good. What is good about this?" will probably not result in seeing good in the situation (but it may have the effect of making us start to think that Paul got it wrong when he recorded God's Word in Romans). Perseverance in our love for God, and in our obedience, through the worst that life has to offer is the only way to see the good that He will bring as a result. But how do we do that?

This is where we see that we can't take verses from the Bible in "microscope mode." Add this to the one above: "Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2, NLT)

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Putting Ourselves Through Trials

I was reading through some of my older posts last night and latched onto one called "Returning to Disgorged Matter" (probably because it mentions Proverbs 26:11) The key verse from that post goes right along with a verse I've just read this morning in a totally separate reading event: "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. " (Romans 5:3-4, NLT)

And here's the key verse from the previous post: "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." (James 1:2-3, NLT)

I want to focus again on the point that was made in the old post. Whenever the extremely tough times come along, one of the first things I ask myself is, "Is this my own fault?" Many times, the unfortunate answer is, "Yes!" Sometimes we're thrust into the middle of a situation that's out of our control, but sometimes, on the other hand, we prepare our bed, make it, jump into it, and then bemoan our pitiful circumstances. It hurts to realize that we're at fault, doesn't it? It's rarely something we want to know or see, and it is far, far easier to blame someone else or to wonder why God is allowing such a bad thing to happen to us.

Whatever the case -- if the problem is of our own making or if it's an uncontrollable situation -- "Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on Whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for Him, He thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and He is now seated at the right side of God's throne." (Hebrews 12:2, TEV)

Make way for God to use the "bad" in your life to teach you the good.

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Apollo the Dog vs. Rocky Lusk

Remember the part in Rocky III where Apollo Creed has a footrace on the beach with Rocky and winds up beating him by about a mile and a half? That was the scenario with Hershey the Dog and me yesterday. We weren't on the beach, but we were near an above-ground pool, so it's kinda the same.

I just wanted to see if I might be faster than Hershey the Dog yesterday, in spite of the fact that's historically only been the case in Fantasyland. And yesterday I confirmed that I'm still not faster. After about fifteen or twenty of the fastest paces I could muster, I slowed down and watched him race home ahead of me, working up slobber as I worked up a sweat.

I did make it home. Yes, Hershey the Dog arrived ahead of me, but indoor air conditioning was waiting for me when I got there (not for Hershey the Dog, but that's a story for a different analogy).

I've come to find out that perseverance is one of the toughest disciplines to master, or come close to mastering, in my walk with Christ. Steeling myself for a day to say, "Okay, Lord, I will be diligent to endure and even be thankful for this situation or this person today," is easy enough to do. For a day. When the situation doesn't change tomorrow or the next day, though, in that short amount of time I actually begin to think, "Okay, God, aren't you supposed to be changing that person [and not me]?!"

"So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith." (Galatians 6:9-10, NLT)

"I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things [read the preceeding verses] or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Philippians 3:12-14, NLT)

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The "Satan" Basket

On occasions I've thought that I was going through trials or suffering for the sake of the Lord. It's possible (actually, it's factual) that I was quite wrong on many of those occasions. I'm able to look back and see that God used the results, and even the process, of various situations to teach me more about Him and His character as revealed in the Word -- to make those things I'd read and studied come to life.

However, much of the "tribulation" I've been through has been the direct result of my own moronic choices. I'd even venture to say that most of it is of that variety. Not just the comparatively big situations, either. I'm speaking of carelessness, self-centeredness (which actually has negative by-products in almost every area of life), rebellion, and stubbornness.

"God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way." (Matthew 5:11-12, NLT)

Jesus didn't say here that any of us would be blessed for enduring persecution or slander or taunting because of our pig-headedness. (Hey, haven't I posted something about this before?)

"Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you." (1 Peter 2:20, NLT)

"If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name!" (1 Peter 4:15-16, NLT)

"Making trouble" and "prying into other people's affairs" are things that we might consider small, but Peter placed them in a sentence with murder and theft. While those crimes are universally recognized as evil, trouble-making and gossip have far-reaching and long-enduring consequences that directly impact the lives of other people. I believe we consider the latter two things to be small because they are already practiced widely in daily living.

Before lumping your troubles into the "Satan" basket, ask yourself the "why" question and be honest with your answers: "How did I get here? Is this situation of my own making?" If you're at the bottom of a hole that you can claim as your own, stop digging!

(Tip of the brainstorming hat to Once-Frequent-Commenter-But-Now-Behind-a-Firewall Leroy)

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Preventive Maintenance

I just remembered that I have to play a piano part this morning to accompany a vocal soloist. The moment I remembered that, I remembered that I had not practiced the piece as I'd committed to myself to do (not only for the sake of the soloist, but for the sake of all those who'll hear it). Most of the things I play are really pretty easy; it's been a while since I've had to actually read music that requires practice.

Rather than praying for God to miraculously guide my fingers (which I'm slightly ashamed to admit I'm asking), the first thing I'm talking to Him about is a request for forgiveness for being irresponsible. I'm going to need to arrive early and practice the piano piece in order to make up for my failure to take advantage of the past few days' rehearsal opportunities.

I was sitting at a stop sign the other day during moderately heavy traffic, and I realized that I'd have to take advantage of a short no-car-coming window. At the appropriate time, I "gunned" it and zipped across the intersection far more speedily than normal. Not so much that it could be classified as reckless driving, but fast enough to ensure I'd make it across quickly.

I'm not a model car-owner; historically, I have a habit of failing to maintain vehicles. I've been doing pretty well with my current set o' wheels, though: oil changes, periodic maintenance, tires, all that good stuff. However, if I've failed to give my vehicle any preventive maintenance or keep it in good day-to-day working order, getting it across an intersection in a hurry would be a bit of a crap-shoot, wouldn't it?

Easy-to-see parallel: if we don't prepare ourselves to face the wear and tear of everyday life -- no prayer, no hiding the Word in our hearts, no spending time meditating on God -- then what do we expect the Spirit to bring to mind on those situations where that recall and deep sense of His presence is needed? Why would we expect our focus to remain on Him? The strength for the unique trials we face, the comfort we need to give to someone who's hurting, the word of wisdom, correction, or encouragement we need to give to our children... where will we get those things?

As Paul directed Timothy regarding the preaching of the Word, "Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching." (2 Timothy 4:2, NLT)

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Practicing What They Preach

I guess this is officially the first guest-blog at EGBDF. A friend of mine, Robby Newton, sent this via our church's e-mail distribution list. I couldn't help wanting to pass it on, and with his permission I do so:


Our character isn’t molded by adversity as much as it is manifested through it. Few of us will bury our grown daughter, or simultaneously experience the joy of birth and sorrow of death, or gaze at our grandchild through the viewing window of not one, but two, neonatal intensive care units. Yet, within the past month, three of our pastors have experienced the above events.

To be sure, our true character is manifested in both good times and bad. Yet, the character we exhibit during times of adversity is the more noticed by both the lost and the redeemed. What sort of character is being manifested in the trials of my life…when uninvited circumstances press in from all sides? Is it of the godly sort, as we have seen and are seeing in the lives of our pastors? If so, perhaps some will be encouraged to press on. If not, then maybe my spiritual roots aren’t as deep as they need to be.

Of course our pastors aren’t the only ones in our fellowship that have or are still facing Herculean adversities. But what makes a pastor’s situation somewhat different is that their sorrows are so very public, open for all to see. But their response is so very public as well, for which we all who claim the name of Christ should be grateful. It’s one thing to talk the talk, but quite another to see our leaders practice, with humility, what they so fervently preach.

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Returning to Disgorged Matter

James 1:2-3 (NKJV) says, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience." It does not say, "My brethren, count it all joy when you put yourself through various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience."

I have witnessed an awful lot of situations lately in which my friends and the staff at my church fellowship have been plunged into terrible trials; ones that are not of their own making. These are the kinds of things that I believe James was speaking about. The very foundations of their beliefs are being tested through circumstances beyond their control, and I have seen how they are relying on God, believing that He is in control in spite of the pain and struggle. It's an honor to be able to speak to the Father for and with these friends.

However, I am not speaking to those genuine tests of faith today. I speak of the circumstances that we, ourselves, create. I have unfortunately seen that I get myself into precarious situations because of my own foolishness, and sometimes mentally morph those things into "trials of faith."

If I don't brush my teeth, I get cavities. This causes pain and costs money. Therefore, when my family is in a tight spot financially because of a humongous dentist's bill, I can certainly pray for a miraculous infusion of money, but I need to understand that the little practical issue of failing to brush after a tub of ice cream or two (or a hundred) has actually caused this major situation. When I take that into account, I have a tough time looking at this kind of thing as the testing of my faith.

This can be applied at any number of levels and in a multitude of situations. Do we sometimes just do dumb stuff and then, as we suffer the repercussions, tell ourselves that Satan is really running us through the ringer?

Thankfully, though, I have seen that God excels at bailing me out of my own stupidity. If I learn from my mistakes, I believe He is pleased in the end. I have wanted to use Proverbs 26:11 for a long, long time, so here goes: "As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness."

Yes, I believe that spiritual warfare is real! Yes, I believe that demonic persecution happens! We should also be aware, though, that indulgence in our own sinful nature is sometimes to blame for our circumstances. "Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away." [emphasis mine] (James 1:14, NLT)

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