This is the message I gave at Tawas on the 17th of Feb,
We think God has deserted us when things go wrong.
Lose a job, Get a divorce, a child is hurt or killed, a spouse dies, etc., etc., etc…
We ask God why it happens to us.
Have I been so sinful that this should be on me?
We suffer from prolonged or terminal disease and ask why.
We ask God 'WHY ME?'
What have I done to deserve this treatment?
Have I been such a great sinner that this should happen to me and to my family?
LK.13:1-5 tells of a group of Gallileans that Pilate had destroyed as they worshipped.
Jesus asked them what they thought of what had happened.
Were they worse sinners than anyone else?
The prevailing thought at the time was that when something bad happened to someone, it was because God was punishing them for some great sin. The church leaders taught that the afflicted were the 'accursed of God', and refused to have anything to do with them.
He made the point that if we don't repent of our sins [ literally turn away] we will suffer the same fate.
We ask 'why me', 'why him/her'? If they weren't such great sinners, why did this happen?
WHERE WAS GOD IN ALL OF THIS?
Why did He leave me to face this all alone?
Doesn't He love me anymore?
These are questions that run through our minds at times like these.
But, does God in fact ever leave us?
Does He ever turn His back on us and refuse to help His children?
Mt. 28:20 [last part] …I will NEVER leave you…..
"Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for He has said, I will never leave you, or forsake you."
God by His scribe, Paul, in Hebrews 13:5.
He says He will never leave us, He will be with us even unto the 'end of the world'. Mt.28:20, lp
In Heb.13:5 he tells us we will never be left, He hears us when we are in trouble and trials [Ps.22:24]
He is our strength in times of trouble [Ps.37:39]
He will deliver us [Job 5:19]
Ps.71:20- He will lift us out of the depths.
When it appears as though we are all alone; when all is arrayed against us; when we don't find the strength to go on and it looks like we are defeated - He is there.
For He has not despised nor abhored the affliction of the afflicted; nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him, He heard. Ps.22:24 NKJV
No matter the situation, He is always near, just call His name and He will be there.
Do we need to fear?
Lest we fear, He has overcome this world [Jn.16:33]
When things overcome, go to Him, ask the question that sits heavy on your heart.
Talk it over with Him, ask Him any question you please, He desires to talk to us and help us in all situations.
He invites you to reason with Him in Isa.1:18
Lk.21:28-look up, your redemption draweth nigh. Jesus came to seek and save that which is lost.
Ignore feeling abandoned, lost, rejected, fearful …
Acts 18:9, 10 - Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
We don't need to fear, no matter the circumstance, because He is with us; He has made the way straight; He leads us through the trials and tribulations of this life. Remember, He has already walked this path before us and knows all the stumbling blocks. He has His people everywhere and they are here to help.
Jer. 1: 18, 19 - For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the priests thereof, and against the people of
the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.
Satan can't overthrow that which God has fortified.
He is our protector and He has promised that He will never leave us.
We are never alone, He is always with us.
In the last part of Matthew 28 verse 20 He said He will be with us even unto the end of the world.
There is a popular poem called Footprints, and I'd like to share a 'Readers Digest' condensed version with you.
A child of God is walking along the beach with Jesus. When he looked back, he saw their footprints in the sand and liked what he saw. As they walked along, he talked with Jesus and got to know Him. At the end of the walk, he looked back and saw that several times there were only one set of prints.
Being concerned, he turned to Jesus and asked, "When I came to You, You said you would never leave me. But, as I look back over my walk with You, I see several times there were only one set prints in the sand - at the times of the lowest and most troublesome times in my life. Why, oh why did you leave me at this time?"
Jesus looked at Him with tears in His eyes and answered, "My precious, precious child, I love you and would never leave you. When you see the single set of footprints during those times, it was then that I carried you."
In the book, Desire of Ages, this is shared about John the baptist, a man that was familiar with discomfort and affliction:
quote:
The childhood, youth, and manhood of John had been characterized by firmness and moral power. When his voice was heard in the wilderness saying, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight" (Matt. 3:3), Satan feared for the safety of his kingdom. The sinfulness of sin was revealed in such a manner that men trembled. Satan's power over many who had been under his control was broken. He had been unwearied in his efforts to draw away the Baptist from a life of unreserved surrender to God; but he had failed. And he had failed to overcome Jesus. In the temptation in the wilderness, Satan had been defeated, and his rage was great. Now he determined to bring sorrow upon Christ by striking John. The One whom he could not entice to sin he would cause to suffer. {DA 224.1}Jesus did not interpose to deliver His servant. He knew that John would bear the test. Gladly would the Saviour have come to John, to brighten the dungeon gloom with His own presence. But He was not to place Himself in the hands of enemies and imperil His own mission. Gladly would He have delivered His faithful servant. But for the sake of thousands who in after years must pass from prison to death, John was to drink the cup of martyrdom. As the followers of Jesus should languish in lonely cells, or perish by the sword, the rack, or the fagot, apparently forsaken by God and man, what a stay to their hearts would be the thought that John the Baptist, to whose faithfulness Christ Himself had borne witness, had passed through a similar experience! {DA 224.2}
Satan was permitted to cut short the earthly life of God's messenger; but that life which "is hid with Christ in God," the destroyer could not reach. Col. 3:3. He exulted that he had brought sorrow upon Christ, but he had failed of conquering John. Death itself only placed him forever beyond the power of temptation. In this warfare, Satan was revealing his own character. Before the witnessing universe he made manifest his enmity toward God and man.{DA 224.3}
Though no miraculous deliverance was granted John, he was not forsaken. He had always the companionship of heavenly angels, who opened to him the prophecies concerning Christ, and the precious promises of Scripture. These were his stay, as they were to be the stay of God's people through the coming ages. To John the Baptist, as to those that came after him, was given the assurance, "Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the end." Matt. 28:20, R. V., margin.{DA 224.4}
God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake." Phil. 1:29. And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor.{DA 224.5}
"To all who are reaching out to feel the guiding hand of God, the moment of greatest discouragement is the time when divine help is nearest. They will look back with thankfulness upon the darkest part of their way." Desire of Ages pg 225
God will not leave us alone. He is as near as the mention of His name.
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To the best of my memory this is it.
I don't write the whole thing out as a rule, so had to reconstruct for my notes. 
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Chose you this day whom you will serve,
as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:15
What is popular is not always right.
What is right is not always popular.
I edited for spelling and formating.
[This message has been edited by Karen (edited March 04, 2001).]
