Our Certain God in this Uncertain World.

                                           Our Certain God in this Uncertain World

 

I do not know. I just do not know....

How many times have you heard this phrase since March of 2020?

I many times have you said it yourself?

Why? Because there is just so much we do not know. There are just so many questions.  

When will this virus go away? 

Is it really all that bad?

Are the numbers skewed?

What if my loved ones get it?

What if the nursing home gets it and I am the one that brought it in?

Should I take the vaccine?

What are those rioters thinking?  

Who will win the election?

Is it best to home school or send my kids to school?

The list goes on and on.

All with the same answer. "I just don't know"

If we have ever lived in uncertain times, it is now.

If we have ever needed a certain God who is the source of all Truth it is now.

 Praise God! He is certain. Unchangable. All knowing. All powerful.

He has got this! Period.

He has had this from day one.

And in that I find comfort.  

Let us consider awhile some of the traits of our certain God.

God is all Knowing!

 Psalm 139 states: "Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising; thou understand my thoughts afar off,  such knowlege is too wonderful for me" His ways are above our ways. God knows you inside out. He knows you better then you know yourself. After all, He created you. He knows your thoughts, your fears, your anxieties, your hopes and your dreams. 

He is Omnipresent (All-present; all the time, everywhere). 

2020 did not catch him by surprise. He has already been here. Has been in this moment since the beginning of time. He knows how it is all going to come down. He will be there then. He is with us now, all the time, everywhere. Every minute of every day.

The other day I was talking with Mary Leman. She is one of our Sisters attending here from Bluffton IN originally. Hopefully you have or will meet her soon:) Anyway, she and her brother Joe hiked to the base camp of Mount Everest. It was a 14 day hike; 11 days up and 3 days back. She shared how the scenery was actually barren and desolate. It seemed almost God forsaken. As they hiked above the clouds they saw vast expanse of ice and rocks in drab hues of grays and whites. But she shared how at night, the stars were absolutely indescribably beautiful, twinkling gems shouting out the reality of the amazing nearness and abundant goodness of our Creator God! And so it is with us. At the times when God may seem the most distant, he may actually be the most near, preparing to wow us with His amazing presence!

He is Omnipotent. All powerful. 

He is able to speak the world into existence, to calm the storm, to kill the virus, to raise up leaders and take them down, to move mountains and to change and convert a soul.

Such is the God we serve!

My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. Psalm 73:26

Our God certainly cares. He cares for you and He cares for me.

He cared enough to send His Son to die and pave the way out of this mess. Out of life's confusion, chaos and sadness. To a place of joy and peace. But...He also made a way to speak peace and joy into this troubled mess, to help us to rise above it because of who He is and Whose we are!

He cared enough to provide us with His Word. His beautiful living Word.

Let me share a few personal things with you. I know we all have amazing testimonies we can share of the times when God said "I am here. With you, I care."

It was the summer of 1978. I was single, enjoying young group life, working as a nurse. That summer I went through something tough. My heart was involved. I was hurting. But God met me there. In my pain and discouragement. He shared peace and gave me hope. I told a good friend that it felt like "God took the time to put a bandaid on my heart. And you know how it was as a kid, when your mom put a bandaid on your knee, most important was the love you felt from her, her presence and her caring. Well later in the fall, I was in that friend's wedding. For a gift she gave me a Precious Moment figurine. They were quite popular back then. How special it was. It was a figurine of a shepherd boy putting a bandaid on a little lamb. And you recall how there is always a verse on the bottom of those Precious Moments? Well the verse could not have been more perfect. "Cast your care on Him for he cares for you".

May we be doing that dear Sisters. Let's cast our cares on Him. All of them. Take them to Him. Pour them out at His feet. Give Him all that is bothering you, all that is eating at you. Let Him take it.

The other Sunday, Bro. Arlan read from Psalm 73. One verse in particular spoke to my heart. It was vs 17 "Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood " You see, my heart had been troubled. I was face to face with something ugly in me. I had been recognizing a seed of selfishness and it was not good. I opened up and confessed it to my God. It was deep rooted, had been lying under the surface for a long time.  God was working in and on me. He was bringing it to the surface in an interesting and unexpected way. The day before we had had our W2W meeting. My sister had the lesson. She gave us all some clay and had us pray a silent prayer while we formed our clay into a vessel of sorts, to  signify a pouring out. When we would later look at our clay formation, it was to remind us of our prayer and encourage us to keep pouring out our heart and soul to God. And so I did. And He gave me a beautiful peace, a calm reassurance and everything was once again right with the world. That place of God's sanctuary is that beautiful meeting place with God. That place, not so much physical, as spiritual, where our soul entwines with our maker and He works His refining work. It is there that He gives us understanding. The understanding that we are nothing without Him. That we are simply to be His vessel. To be used as He sees fit. And there in lies true joy and real meaning!

And you know this Word of God. It is living! It is Jesus in print. The Bible calls Jesus the Word. And so He is. Something happened this week while I was doing my Bible Study. It was Monday morning. This talk laid heavy on my heart. The desire to share what God wanted me to. Wondering how to take such a big topic and make it memorable, applicable and helpful. I love to talk and share. But I was feeling the weight of the task before me. So I opened my Study Guide and started in. It was just perfect. Exactly what I was needing. It spoke truth that is for all of us. That God will equip us dear Sisters, for the task at hand. The verse He gave me from Isaiah 50 was just what I needed "The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded." Thank you Jesus, I needed that.  I wrote in the margin "Perfect verse". Then I read a note from the first time I had gone through this study, back in 2017. Written in a different colored ink it said "Wow, just along the lines of what I was pondering this morning". Isn't that amazing! Such a living Word. The same study. Done almost 3 years apart. And both times it was "exactly what I needed"  As I proceeded with the Study it suddenly occurred to me that I was studying the wrong chapter. I was actually off by 100 pages. I must have opened to where a book mark had been and just dug in, not realizing that I was at the wrong spot. Or was I? No, I was exactly where God wanted me to be. His living, powerful, personal Word!

So spend time in sanctuary with your caring Savior. Soak up His Holy Word. Let it infuse you so He can use you! 

He cares for you so personally. He loves you so intimately.  

So many stories and memories come to mind when I think of our caring God. I will share one more with you. It was 2005. Our family was on vacation in Colorado. Our son Justin was 18. And he fell 30 feet from a ski lift. Many of you remember I am sure. So many of you prayed and loved and carried us through that time. God was so close and so real. From that moment when I stood at the base of the alpine slide and watched the paramedics bringing him down the mountain on a board, neck brace on, helplessly strapped in, unable to walk with a broken back. I almost audibly heard God speak "I am going to use this to refine you and Him". And from that moment on, He was beside us, every step of the way. And praise God, when I say step of the way, I mean literal steps. For our son, once paralyzed, after spending 10 weeks in a Spinal Cord Rehab Hospital in CO, praise God,  he walked out! So many times we felt the Lord there, caring for us. One time was so special to Justin. It was early on.  He was sitting in his wheelchair, crying out to God, asking for healing yet surrendering the situation to God's will. He held out his hand, held it high while praying. He felt a hand grasp his and looked up to see a big, kind man holding his hand.  The man spoke words of affirmation and encouragement and then he was gone. Justin never saw him again. How we thank God for sending that angel of a man to our son to let him know how much He cares!

Yes, He cares for you and for me. He cares about our jobs, our education, our kids. He cares about fear welling up inside you, the sadness that causes a lump to be felt in your throat, the frustration you feel when you can't get a human on the phone because "due to the Corona pandemic, we are not able to answer your call at this time."  

He cares that your 401K is volatile. He cares that your emotions are volatile. That the world is volatile!

He cares about it all.

And He will love you through this. Of that I am certain.

Think about some stories from scripture's timeline.

Did he not care even for Cain as he sent him away, and yet he marked him so he would not be killed.

Did He not care for Abraham, who believed in Him, who was without child, whom he then blessed with Isaac and a promise of redemption for all mankind.

Did He not care for Rahab, a women who knew sin well, yet who came to trust in the living Lord?

Did He not care for Elijah, who fled in fear from the wicked queen, but turned to God for provision and encouragement which God provided via a raven?

Did He not care for Mary, the mother of Jesus, who surrendered in faith to His will and took on the amazing role of being mother to God's Son, of watching Him die on the cross, and even from the cross hear the words of her son assuring that she would be loved and cared for by John.

Did He not care for the hungry little boy, who shared his lunch? How must he have felt when He partook of his portion of the bounty that God provided from his meager gift? Oh, what a story he had to tell his grandkids someday?

Did He not care when short little Zacheus did what he could and climbed a tree to get a glimpse of the Savior. How must he have felt when the Lord announced that he wanted to spend time with him, to actually come to his house?

And so the stories go on and on.

And we each have our own story. As you are sitting here, most of you have likely already surrendered to Jesus. Did He not care for you so beautifully to call you personally to Him in His own way. We all have our own story, our own testimony. And no story is too small or insignificant. For to become His child is the most significant story of all time. And for those who may not yet have said, Yes to Jesus, know He loves you and desires to be part of your story as well.

He is a Redeemer and a Provider.

We are all here, for such a time as this.

 He is our faithful provider!

He is God almighty!

He is a Redeemer!

Nothing happens that was not first vetted in his throne room! Janet Parshall

So, now have a little fun with me. Let's all get out our pretend glasses and put them on.

What color are they? Are yours gray, clear, rose colored? If you happen to be a gray glasses, half empty type of person, that is okay. It can actually be a gift. As you all know, gray is a very popular color. It goes well with lots of other colors, It helps facilitate that fun pop of color we all have come to love. So for those of you with gray glasses, you may likely  be a wonderful and empathetic listener. A true and understanding friend. Someone who can bring out/pop out the best in others.

Are they clear? Are you a Realist? Awesome. We need folks like you. To call out things for what they are. To help us be honest and to thus appropriately  process all that lies before us. To be intentional, logistical and effective.

Are you one with rose colored glasses. You can help us smile and laugh, even in the times of hard. You can keep us inspired and encouraged. You tend to be a giver of hope.

Rose colored glasses. Able to see good. Able to feel hope and even joy.

Do you know what? As children of God, we all can have rose colored glasses. Rose is a type of red. Looking through the blood colored glasses in the paradigm of our risen Lord and Savior, we see a future of hope and joy and glory. We sense His presence. We tap into His wisdom. We experience His power! As His redeemed child we can face the uncertainty of this world and look with joy and anticipation to the world that awaits with great hope, joy and anticipation!

But what about our now? Our today? How do we navigate the realities of our uncertain day by days.

We do it day by day, moment by moment, by leaning into and on our risen Lord.

We do it by reaching out to one another, by being open and vulnerable, by being prayer warriors for one another. Don't be afraid to be honest and open. Being overwhelmed or struggling is not a sign of weakness. This life is real and it can be hard. God put us in a spiritual family for a reason. The person who listens to and helps you out today may be the dear sister who will be so in need of your help and encouragement tomorrow. Such is the beauty of the family of God!!!

Our Certain God! Our way maker and our redeemer!

  

So, in summary

1. Our God is certain. He is certainly there. He is always present, all knowing and all powerful.

2. He certainly cares for you.

3. His Word is alive. It lives in you. It works and move in and through you.

4. He has a plan for you.

5. He loves you.

6. He is certainly working in today's uncertain world.

7. He is with  us and will equip us, for such a time as this.

8. He  cares for the entire world and desires our help in reaching it.

9. His Word is our  spiritual nourishment and we  need to be refueled by it every day.

10. He is forgiving and understanding. "He is a rewarder of  those who diligently seek Him."

When it comes to feasting on His Word. 

 It is like a delicious pot of soup simmering on the stove. Some times, we stop by the stove, stir it, maybe pick up a spoon and taste it. It may give us a temporary sense of satisfaction.

But then there are the times that we grab a bowl and grab the ladle. We dish out a nice, big, hearty serving. We sit down and partake. It fills us up and nourishes our soul and body. May we always remember that time spent in God's Word is time well spent. For God meets us there, equips us there,  loves us there!

So, may each of us who have been washed in the red blood of Christ, as we face these uncertain days and challenges in this uncertain world, take time to put on our eternal perspective glasses, our rose colored glasses, because we have a Certain God and thus our future is Certainly hopeful and bright!

Discussion Questions:

1. What uncertainty is hardest for you right now?

2. What certain trait of our certain God speaks most directly to your heart at this time?

3. Share how one of the verses we spoke together ministered to you.

4.  How do you feel that we can best be there for one another during this time?

5. Share something that God has shared with you during this Covid season that you have found to be spiritually beneficial.