Facing the Unexpected
by Maria
M. Kneas
"And
blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in
me." Matthew 11:6
The Apostle Paul wrote
nearly a fourth of the New Testament. He had amazing
revelations about God. Much of our theology is based on
his writings. Yet he said,
"For we know in
part, and we prophesy in part." (1 Corinthians 13:9)
Paul includes himself
among those who only know "in part." If the Apostle Paul
only knew in part, then no church, no denomination, and
no individual has all the answers. All of us have areas
where our understanding is limited.
What will we do if things don't make sense to us? Will
we become offended with God and abandon our faith? There
was a time when many of Jesus' followers became offended
with Him and left Him. The twelve Apostles were
troubled, but they were loyal and remained.
"From that time
many of his disciples went back, and walked no more
with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye
also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord,
to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life." (John 6:66-69)
There was a time when
King Nebuchadnezzar commanded Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego to bow down and worship a huge golden idol. If
they refused, then they would be thrown into a fiery
furnace. They answered the king,
"If it be so, our
God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of
thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto
thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor
worship the golden image which thou hast set up."
(Daniel 3:17-18)
What will we do if the
unthinkable happens? Will we be faithful to God no
matter what? Or will we only be faithful if things work
out the way that we think they should? The Apostle Paul
said,
"For the which
cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am
not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have
committed unto him against that day." (1 Timothy
1:12)
Notice that Paul said
"whom" (a person), not "what" (theology, understanding,
Scripture interpretation, etc.) Paul's primary
confidence was in the person, Jesus Christ. And that is
where our primary confidence needs to be. The Bible
says,
"Wherefore take
unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day, and having done
all, to stand." (Ephesians 6:13)
This says that we can
expect to have to face at least one "evil day." You may
know people who have had to face a number of them. But
even though that time may be incredibly difficult, God
will enable us to stand if we cooperate with Him. Jesus
said,
"These things I
have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have
peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation but be
of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John
16:33)
According to Jesus,
tribulation is a normal part of life. It is to be
expected. The important thing is that we can trust Jesus
to get us through it. The Bible tells us,
"Trust in the Lord
with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and
he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own
eyes; fear the Lord, and depart from evil."
(Proverbs 3:5-7)
What if something
happens to us which doesn't make sense to us? What if it
seems to be contrary to what we were taught by our
teachers, or pastor, or our Study Bible notes? What will
we do?
Will we call God a liar? Or will we say that evidently
our teachers didn't fully understand (or adequately
explain) that issue? Will we become bitter against God?
Or will we choose to trust Him? Will we turn away from
God? Or will we turn to Him for strength and comfort and
wisdom?
God promised to make everything work out for our good if
we love Him. (Romans 8:28) When the pain and the tears
come, will we trust God to bring good out of our
situation?
We can ask God to increase our trust in Him and our love
for Him. We can ask Him to make us faithful. We can ask
Him to enable us to stand with Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego -- to be determined to be faithful to our God
no matter what happens to us.
"Therefore we
do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet
the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our
light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a
far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do
not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which
are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but
the things which are not seen are eternal." 2
Corinthians 4:16-18
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