Fearlessly Courageous
9 12 2023
Desk of Dennis Piller

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Struggling With God

There are many people today angry with God.  Many have lost their jobs or have been asked to take a reduced salary to keep their jobs or are struggling with a serious health issue. There are many good Christians who are faithful but are asking the question.  What is happening?  I am saved, chosen, and set apart for God’s work but I can’t pay my bills and everything is uncertain and upside down.  Lord help me.  Things have been so good and now…. This isn’t supposed to be happening!

One of my mentors asked me last night:  What would happen if God’s children followed God’s word implicitly?  Trusted Him, stood on His word… believed in the face of peril and danger that no weapon formed against them would prosper. What would happen?  What would life be like?   We ask questions like, If I have real faith I would not be struggling.  I don’t agree.

I believe there would still be hard at times.  I believe we are a spoiled nation as a whole.  A spoiled people.  (That includes me) We have been since the beginning of time.  We are so blessed to be blessed but we do not act like that.  We are lucky if we praise God for the big things but certainly not for 1000 little things.  We are spoiled, if not entitled.  How do you feel when one of your children takes that attitude?  How long is your patience fuse? (We’re not even thankful God isn’t like that!)

There is no formula in the Bible that once we become Christian if we tithe and live a good life our lives will be easy.  I think that is more at the heart of all this than we care to admit.  It’s hard to trust God in the face of adversity.  Fear rises up.  Anger becomes a demon out of control.  Peace too often vanishes.

When Jacob returns from living with Laban, he encounters an angel on the way and wrestles with him. You know the story, Jacob asks for a blessing before releasing the angel, whom he had just defeated.
The angel responds:
Gen 32:28 “What is your name?” He replied, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with beings divine and human, and have prevailed.” The passage uniquely describes a person successfully struggling or battling God or his messenger.  “To fight with…  Argue with”.

Abraham also argued with God and said, Lord if I can find just 50 righteous people will you not destroy the city? Gen 18:24 God is OK with you struggling with Him.  Ok with you being angry with Him. OK with you trying to make a deal.   He understands loves and supports us unconditionally. 
But He changeth Not!  And He has a plan for our lives. Jer 29:11

We must accept life has a lot of pain.  If you expect life to be painless you will not have a lot of joy.  Struggling or contending with God in our pain, whatever it is, is part of growing up in God. I am having open heart surgery Weds. morning. No one in their right mind would be excited about that.  But after closer scrutiny, I will be joining what they call the zipper club because they will split my chest and repair, hopefully…prayerfully, 3 arteries with 80 to 95% blockage. What? I don’t smoke, I eat healthy.  NO! When we question life and question God we learn a deeper truth.  God’s truth.  upon greater scrutiny left me with no paralysis, no loss of speech, no loss of intellect. Should I be thankful?  Wouldn’t this be classified as a blessing?  Should I be thanking God for this?

Look, I had a couple of conversations with God.  I was emotional…It did hit me hard.  I didn’t want to go through this ordeal, rehab, all the time off work…the pain.  But I saw so many people rise to pray for me … to be there for me.  I saw science and all the hard-working medical people who have honed their craft showering their technology on me to save my life and extend my life.  Should I not be thankful to God for that? I have found a deeper appreciation for life… my family…my wife and my friends…should I not be thankful for that because of the pain and rehab and inconvenience I will have?  Whose mind am I thinking with?  A carnal mind or a spirit mind taking every thought captive to Christ alone?  2 Cor 10:5 Or how about appreciating the beauty of nature or living life in slow motion because of another chance God gave me to live for him?  To really allow God to do what he wants to do with my life and like those three Hebrew boys who said, “Even if our good lord does not deliver us He is still God”.

Read James  1:2-4 – He finishes describing a life of perseverance as one “not lacking anything.” To get everything you need for life, pain is an absolute necessity. Without pain, you would never truly appreciate what hope is. Without pain, you would too easily forget your need for God. Without pain, you would neglect your need for saving and salvation. Pain heightens your senses and gives you a greater awareness of the more important things in life: Love, God, family, and hope. If you lived a life completely without pain, there would be a void in your life, a void only filled through the experience that pain gives you.

Lord thank you for letting me be real with you and throw tantrums from time to time.  Cry before you, be angry with you, struggle with you.  But through this Lord, I know you will protect me and my family.  We will survive this reign of terror and come out closer to you.

Great are you Lord. Casting Crowns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZqV6i98SkA