Monday 9 August 2021

Dancing Christians

 

Let's be honest with ourselves. It is easy to jump up and down and wave our hands in the air and sing "Hallelujah. Praise the Lord" when everything is going well in our lives.

But then, when things start going a little wrong, or even a little more wrong, or really really bad, we get angry, upset, confused, and we perhaps blame God even.

"Why is this happening to me? I am a good Christian, am I not? I go to church regularly, give money in the collection, even send money to charity, and now this is happening to me!"

Sounds familiar? 

I am not saying we all do that. I have known people who have gone through many difficulties in life, suffered several illnesses and constant pain, yet their faith remained strong and steadfast.

I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine
There's gotta be a little rain some time (Lynn Anderson)

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that following Christ means we will have an easy life and all will be well. Quite the contrary, in fact. Jesus warned His disciples and followers many times that they will suffer because of Him. Indeed many of His followers were persecuted and died horrible deaths. Even today, many people are persecuted and killed for their Christian faith.

But, apart from the warnings Jesus gave us and His followers, He also comforted us often enough, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me." (John 14:1)

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid." (John 14:27)

The thing is, we all have to travel to Emmaus every now and then. You remember the story, after Christ's Resurrection, two of His followers were travelling to Emmaus. Jesus approached them and talked with them. But they did not recognise Him because they were too preoccupied with their problems and their worries. (Luke 24:13)

The way I see it; and I may well be wrong. We say we believe in God. If we are honest in that belief then we truly have to trust Him. It goes without saying. Jesus said so.

We cannot possibly believe in God and then not trust Him. Not trust that He cares for us. That He has our best interest at heart. 

Let's face it, God is not in the business of losing His followers is He?

"And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day." (John 6:39)

When things are really bad in our lives, and all seems dark and hopeless, we need to force ourselves, through gritted teeth even, to trust God. As much as is humanly possible, as much as we can muster, we should pray in all honesty and tell God that we trust Him, even though we do not understand the situation or can fathom what is going on.

25 comments:

  1. ...perhaps the bad days are designed to help you appreciate the good days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well said, Tom. Even in the bad days, God is there beside us ready to help. We need to call on Him and trust Him.

      God bless.

      Delete
  2. Another timely message! And I love your last sentence.
    Yep, I can see Mr. God saying "I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden." Great song.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes, Mevely, we are so tired, and so out of our mind with worries and problems, that we have to give up and hand over the whole situation to God. Even though we do not understand what is going on or why. Just hand it over to God ... and hope ... and trust.

      Another great song I used to play on the radio to cheer people up.

      God bless, Mevely.

      Delete
  3. Dearest Victor,
    All we have to do is focus more on our afterlife...!
    This is so temporarily and if people start blaming God for any of their 'human' miseries, then they are playing with their final destination.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so wise in what you say, Mariette. Often people think of the here and now ... not about eternity.

      God bless you.

      Delete
  4. You touched a nerve today my friend. Reading in between the lines, I entertain the exact feelings you have so well expressed. I DO NOT BLAME GOD in my heart, and as far as I know I have NO personal problems to BLAME HIM with.
    However, concerning things over which I have no control, my heart asks, "ARE YOU THERE?" WHERE are YOU? I KNOW BETTER, but I still ask it!!!!!
    Thanks for your prayers..
    Sherry and jack,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are human, Jack. And you act in a human way. God knows that and understands, and forgives our human ways.

      Often, our first instinct is one of survival. So we panic, don't know what to do, and blame someone else ... even God. We probably don't mean it; but we do act this way.

      When we've calmed down a little, and prayed, we realise God is close at hand; ready to help and be trusted.

      Many a time, looking back at my many crises in life, I now realise God was there helping me out. Even though I did not know it at the time. And I forgot to pray at the time. I was too busy panicking.

      God bless you and Sherry.

      Delete
    2. Thanks Victor, you do make me think. I came back and was glad to see your response. BUT mostly to say I did appreciate your comment on Myra (Meverly) today. GOOD STUFF!

      Delete
    3. Thank you for your kindness, Jack. I feel humble.

      Praying for you and Sherry. God bless.

      Delete
  5. I suppose someone could dance a jig when everything was going well, but shuffle in place when they're not.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Amen, Victor! We need to trust God always, no matter what might be happening in our lives.
    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Difficult as it might be, at times!

      God bless, Martha.

      Delete
  7. How could anyone make it through this life without trusting Him? Thirteen bypasses, three stents, a pacemaker, and artificial artery, encourages me to believe and trust in my Heavenly Father. I am here by His grace and I do not blame Him because of my own vice of smoking cigarettes. The Bible tells us that when we pray for something to believe we have received it. You spoke so very well on this subject, Victor, that I had to share a bit of my journey. I hope it promotes trusting in the one Who hold eternity. As Always, Blessings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your honest and very candid comment, Nells. I am speechless, and grateful to learn how God has helped you. You have re-invigorated my sometimes faltering faith.

      God bless you always.

      Delete
  8. Times that I've felt like that I just wait it out and trust God to bring me through like he ALWAYS has before. It takes trials and hard times to realize that God is always there. The older I get the more I see the truth in that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, trials and hard times make us realise that God is helping us all the while.

      God bless, Happyone.

      Delete
  9. I have always known that bad times don't last, better times are ahead and good thing will happen. I don't pray, don't go to church and wasn't raised in any religion, but that inner faith in the natural cycles is always there for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wonder who created the natural cycles.

      God bless, River.

      Delete
  10. One of my favorite verses is John 16:33b, "In this world you will have trouble. But cheer up! I have overcome the world."

    Right now we're having a peck of trouble. It's not easy to deal with each day, but it doesn't stop me believing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I continue to pray for you and your family, Mimi. Trust in God. He is with you through your current difficulties.

      Praying for you all. God bless.

      Delete
  11. I believe there is a higher power and the power is good. I do have doubts, and I hope my beliefs are correct. I don't think having doubt is wrong or even bad. Without doubt, without worry life would be boring. Belief and trust is for the really bad times, to give us hope. Without hope life has no value.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I agree with what you say, JoeH. Doubts can be good for us because they help us to question our beliefs, and confirm that we may not have all the answers; yet we have to trust in God, the higher power. That is faith. To believe without proof.

      God bless you and yours.

      Delete

I PRAY FOR ALL WHO COMMENT HERE.

God bless you.