During a recent conversation with
a Christian woman; I told that my health
insurance may come to an end in March; she frantically said “make all your doctor’s
visits; get all your tests done before it ends; who knows your new health
insurance policy may costs you a “leg and an arm.” What fear; and uncertainty
have I noticed in her voice! It is true we are living in uncertain times. In
one sense she was right; getting sick in this country is a costly affair.
If that is the case it is better not
to get sick right? But can we entirely avoid sickness? No matter how well
disciplined we may live, there are certain things beyond our control. On the
other hand a theology that is spreading in the church at large which by some is
called, “Wealth and Health” which says that God wants you to always remain
healthy and wealthy. Those who buy into this theology believe that you should
never get sick; if you do you have sin in your life; or you can claim healing
instantly; and if you don’t get the healing you have unbelief or you are not
obeying or doing God’s will! Really!
Does this mean that if you are a Christian
and do everything by the Book you will never get sick or go through any
hardships? In other words if we obey God’s will then everything will always go
well for us; and God is obligated to protect; heal; provide and make us
successful? The way you answer these questions is shaped by your theology.
Think for a moment; did Jesus do God’s will or not? Did he suffer? He was persecuted and in the
end was crucified. The disciples followed in his footsteps and haven’t they experienced
the same? If that is the case are we any different than our Lord and his
disciples?
Recently I read a story of a young
pastor couple in “Christianity Today,” in many ways their situation was similar
to ours except for this horrible reality. A regular hospital visit turned out
to be a nightmare where Carol, the wife, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Her type of cancer was in the words of her doctor “a potent killer of young
women”.
To add to their misery there was another
crushing blow. The health insurance company had determined that Carol’s cancer
was a preexisting condition and terminated her coverage. Which means the couple
was forced to pay for the treatment on their own. What would you go through if
you were in a similar situation? This is what Peter her husband and the pastor
of a small struggling church said in his own words; “I remember feeling a
multitude of things during that time: shock, intense fear, confusion. But the
emotion I remember most clearly was that of betrayal. I felt betrayed by God.”
To cut the long story short; in
the end his wife survived the cancer; God blessed them with two healthy
children one during the cancer treatment and another after the treatment the
later one Peter calls, a Miracle” because the doctors had said his wife may
never conceive again. Well, who can stop God from doing what He wants to do.
Wilma and I both were inspired by the story because this couple was real and
honest about their struggles and wrestling with God.
This is a story of survival and
God’s healing power. We just heard the testimony of how God healed Geoff Mann
completely from a stage three cancer.
When we do see such answers to prayer we rejoice and give praise to God.
But this is not always the case. For example a Dutch missionary to Luxembourg who was imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel and
happens to be my brother-in law as we speak, in spite of his prayers and many
peoples prayer remains a quadriplegic. When we visited him during the past
summer he was radiant and full of the Lord, did not display any bitterness
towards God.
When I hear some of the survival
stories and tremendous hardships people endure world over, my seemingly
troubles and hardships amount to nothing. What makes people like Peter Chen,
Wilma’s brother-in-law and others like Joni Eareckson remain strong in their
faith? I believe they have developed a healthy theology contrary to the cheap “Wealth
and Health” theology. They see God differently at work in the midst of and in
spite of their suffering. They have learned valuable lessons of trust and
dependency on God. They experienced God’s abiding presence. What is the fire
and the river you are going through today? Are you wondering where is God’s
presence in all this? Let’s turn to Isaiah 43:1-2
Vs 1 Talks affirmatively how God
viewed Israel: It was God who created Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and formed them
into a nation called Israel. He called them by name which shows their personal
identity; not only that, they became God’s own possession. They had seen in the
past how God had delivered them from the hands of Egyptians and other nations
who threatened to wipe them out. Above all he assured them with these words
saying “Do not Fear”
What can we learn from this
scripture? As many scholars believe that when we accepted Christ as our savior
we have been brought into the family of God and became the heirs of God’s
promises to the nation of Israel as well as the recipient of God’s purpose of
why He has created, formed, called and redeemed and kept them as his own
possession. In other words what applied to Israel then can also apply to us
today, both the good, the bad and the ugly.
Some Christians have wrong
understanding what it is to be a child of God or belong to God. They think just
because now they are a child of God they should be free from all trouble; all
heartache; never get sick and always succeed. Really? God has never promised
that we will never have troubles on this side of the earth; on the contrary many
scriptures in the bible suggest that we will have troubles and heartaches but in
the midst of all that God promises to be with us.
Vs 2, “When you pass through the waters I will be with
you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through
the fire; you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you.” Let’s read
what the text is saying here. “It starts with “when” you pass through the
rivers, walk through the fire,” it doesn’t say “if” a slight grammatical observation
here. Let’s pay close attention to the word “When” you might be wondering what
difference does it make? Well it matters; in normal use the words “When’ and ‘If’ are both used while referring to the
future. ‘When” is used while referring to something that will certainly happen.
Whereas “if”
is used while referring to something that might or might not happen. This
concept is easily understood. Keeping that in mind now we read our text; when
God says; “when you pass through waters and rivers and walk through the fire
and flames” It means these things were bound to happen to Israel then and now
to us his children. Then why are we surprised when calamity hits us; or bad
things happen to us. Why do we wonder saying why are these troubles happening
to me; am I not a good Christian, am I not doing everything by the book and why
am I still suffering?
Let’s face
it, we all may have asked such questions as to why? When we do, we are lacking
the understanding of God’s nature and what it is to really follow God in the 21st
century. It appears to me that a modern day western Christian has very little
resistance towards pain and suffering. We are known as the “pop a pill”
generation. When trouble hits us in one place we tend to run away to another
place thinking that we might be safe there; instead of facing the trouble with
the help of God. Can we really overcome trouble? Yes we can! Not when we run
away from it but only when we go through it.
God is saying
to his Children no matter what you go through nothing will touch you because my
presence will be with you. What can we know of God’s abiding presence? Moses was convinced that without God's presence in his
life, it was useless for him to attempt anything. When he spoke face to face
with the Lord, he said, “If
your presence does not go with us,
do not send us up from here. (Exodus 33:15). In
ESV it reads, “If your presence will not go with
me, do not bring us up from here.” Moses was saying here "Lord, if
your presence is not with me, then I'm not going anywhere. I won't take a
single step unless I'm assured you're with me!"
Moses knew it
was God's presence in Israel that set the people apart from all other nations.
And the same is true of the church of Jesus Christ today. The only thing that
sets us apart from nonbelievers is God's being "with us" - leading
us, guiding us, working his will in and through us and us being with God on a
daily basis.
When the
Lord's presence is in our midst, no one can harm us. But without him, we're
helpless and reduced to nothing. David recognized God’s abiding presence so he
said, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but
we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Psalm 20:7 The three Hebrew boys knowing that God will be with them
refused to bow down before the statue and when they were thrown in the fire
their faith proved them right; there in the midst of the fiery furnace experienced
the calming and soothing presence of God.
God assured
Moses with these words saying, “My presence shall go with you and I will give
you rest" (Exodus 33:14). What an incredible promise! The Hebrew word for
"rest" here is "a comfortable, quiet rest." God was saying,
"No matter what enemies or trials you face, you'll always be able to find a quiet rest in me!"
Think about
this: what would it be like if we have the manifest presence of God in our
Church? There won't be any hustle or bustle, sweating or striving. There won’t
be any controlling, quarrels, fights among us. Instead, there will be a calming
peace, a quiet rest - and everyone who walks through the doors will sense it
and be blessed by God’s abiding presence in this place! The same is true for every individual Christian. If you
have Jesus' presence in your life, you will experience God's divine order.
You'll have a peace and a calm, with no fretting or anxiety, no running to and
fro to seek guidance, no sense that the bottom is falling out. You'll live at
rest, knowing God has everything under control and His abiding presence will be
with you no matter what happens! Amen
