Change

2 Kings 2:1 NIV

When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.

How Do You Feel About Change?

We all have benchmarks when monumental changes have altered our lives.  My wedding day was one for me.  At the hospital discovering for the first time that Mary Jo and I would have a child was one.  The first time I taught in Russia was one.  Some were not so pleasant such as the evening when I was fired from the first church where I was pastor and the day I got a phone call from my dad that my mom had passed away.  The morning I snapped my leg in half skiing was another benchmark.  We try our best to figure out why certain events happen.  We sometimes wish God would tell us why certain things happen to us.. 

Perhaps you have been like me.  You have wondered why you had to go through something painful or traumatic.  Maybe it was the death of a loved one close to you or the loss of a job or even a career.  It could be that you aren’t sure why you had an injury or health issue.  You might be struggling with why someone doesn’t show you love or how come a person you deeply care about is facing so many trials.  Life is sometimes like a roaring lion and it is not always reasonable or even rational.  What are you to make of the changes you have in your life?  How should you respond to them and where is God in it all?

In the middle of the Gospel of John is an interesting story that illustrates the struggle many have with the wreckage in life.  As Jesus and His disciples were walking through Jerusalem, they came upon a man who had been blind from birth.  The disciples posed Jesus with the question, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9: 2 NIV)  The assumption was that being born blind was bad and that someone was to blame for it.  God would not just let such a terrible thing happen if no one was to blame, they reasoned.  Jesus saw matters differently.  “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, “said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.  As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.  Night is coming, when no one can work.  While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”  (John 9: 3-5 NIV) 

Many times people get mad at God for what happens to them.  Others turn their back on God when things get rough because they don’t think He has treated them fairly.  The disciples wanted to know who to blame for the blindness of the beggar they came across.  Jesus did not put blame on anyone, not God, not Satan, not the man or his parents or even on luck or fate.  He did admit that God was at work and all was not lost for the blind man; in fact Christ seemed to indicate that this blindness made it possible for God to do something in particular for the man that could not be done any other way.  We all have experienced something like this if we have lived long enough.  A restaurant was closed but you stumbled upon a café you now love.  A boyfriend or girlfriend broke up with you but then you met the person you eventually married.  A bout with depression gave you insight into deep psychological wounds that you had ignored.  Unemployment led to a new career that fits you better.  Jesus insisted that the blindness was not a curse laid upon the beggar but an opportunity for God to do something for him that would not have been possible if he had always been able to see.

The question before you is simple.  Do you really know what to make of your circumstances?  Are you certain of what your next steps in life should be?  Jesus said that He is the light of the world.  What does that mean?  Although there is much that is dark and confusing now, Jesus can help us make sense of it.  Death is irrational and cruel and sin has broken what once was a perfect universe.   In this darkness there is a light that shines and cannot be extinguished.  Where pain and sorrow seem to rule the day, it is not so.  With Christ we find that love rules the universe and that evil and death will be conquered by our Lord who died to save the world from its sin.  Yes it is hard now.  Yes we suffer many hardships and heartaches.  But there is a light that shines in the darkness and Christ will see you through whatever you face and show you the way.

The famous account of Elijah and his departure from this world in God’s chariot of fire ran on two levels…that of Elijah and that of Elisha.  For Elisha it was not quite as exotic as for Elijah.  Elijah rode God’s flaming chariot to heaven.  How exciting!  Elisha was left to sort out things on earth…life and death, loss and hardship, loneliness and trouble.  The account of the journey Elisha took with Elijah to the spot where God’s chariot would take Elijah away is fascinating from a psychological perspective.   Try to put yourself in Elisha’s shoes as he walked with his friend and mentor; knowing they did not have much time left to be together.  When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.  Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the Lord has sent me to Bethel."  But Elisha said, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.  The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?"  "Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it."  Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho."  And he replied, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.  The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?"  "Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it."  Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the Lord has sent me to the Jordan."  And he replied, "As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on.  (2 Kings 2:1-6 NIV)

Elisha had many hours, maybe even weeks to process what was about to happen.  You have to wonder if he was really prepared to lose Elijah his friend.  Maybe he hoped that something would change things, that Elijah could stay a week longer, or a month or a year more.  If he just kept going with Elijah they might not be parted.  Elisha had the head knowledge of Elijah leaving but did he have the heart knowledge?  Was he ready for Elijah to go?  His response to the prophets who warned him of what was to come is telling.  ”Don’t talk to me about this!”  Have you ever known something was going to happen but you were not emotionally willing to talk about it…did not want to face it?  Elisha craved every last second he had with Elijah…cherished each last moment with him. Most assuredly he was not ready to face the fact that this part of his life was about to end; that he wouldn’t have Elijah with him any longer.

It is intriguing that we have no record of how Elisha knew of what was going to happen or any explanation of why God chose to take Elijah away just then.  There is no doubt though that it was God who was behind Elijah leaving.  As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. (2 Kings 2:11 NIV)  Somehow the Lord let Elisha know what He was about to do with his friend and mentor but we aren’t told how He did so.  Yet there were no silly explanations like so many create for why people die.  No “God needed him in heaven” or “Elisha was too dependent on Elijah to keep them together” or not even “God is making Elijah into an angel to watch over Elisha”.  No nonsense like that as a justification for what God did.  It was just the raw material of God and Elisha building a new life together without Elijah there.  Our Lord does not expect you to make sense of why certain painful and difficult times strike you.  You cannot draw straight lines between the tragedies and sorrows you meet and why you face them because our Lord is not ready to show you everything yet.  We live in a world broken by sin where death and suffering continue.  He does have something in mind for you now though just as He did for Elisha.  Elijah was gone and Elisha couldn’t do anything to change that.  For whatever reason, the Lord took Elijah away.  For whatever reason, you experience difficult and sometimes terrifying times.  God does not give you an explanation though.  It is there…and God is there.

A time comes…and it may be right now for you when you must give up making sense of what you face and begin to make sense of God.  Let me illustrate.  After I broke my leg and I was confined to a wheel chair I still was left with the responsibilities I had before my leg was snapped in half.  One of them was to go around the school where we lived just before bedtime and check the doors to make sure they were locked as well as see if anyone was on the school grounds causing or potentially causing trouble.  My three children wanted to go with me and my older son pushed my wheel chair.  While walking, we came across a large gang of young adults talking loudly in the field.  As we approached them, I was very concerned about what they were doing at the school and felt like I needed to investigate but I was also afraid for my kids.  I told them to leave me and go home which the two younger ones did but my oldest son insisted that he stay with me and push my wheelchair.  When we got to the group there were four young men and four or five teenage girls.  The conversation they were having was filled with cursing and I could smell marijuana too.  They all turned around to face me as I got close and the entire group surrounded me when I told them they had to leave.  The young man who seemed to be the leader of the group cursed at me and started making threats.  The other guys also drew closer and grew increasingly belligerent.  As I sat in my wheelchair encircled by this gang, I had three thoughts.  The first was just crazy.  I was certain I could take out the leader of the group even with a cast on my leg.  I had no idea though how to defend myself against the others.  Immediately I began to wonder about my son.  What could I do to protect him?  I knew he would not leave me.  My third consideration was that God with me and so within I began to feverishly pray for His help.  My mind grew so fixed on Christ that I barely heard what the gang members were saying to me or to each other but all of a sudden one of the girls said to them all, “Let’s just leave” and that is what they did. No further confrontation.  No more threats of violence.  They just left.

Was this a miracle?  Did God change the course of events for me and my son?  I leave that up to you to decide.  All I know is that in desperation, I turned to Christ for help and I was helped.  You may be at that point too.  Something has changed for you and you could use God’s help.  Maybe it is time to find out who God really is and if He can be your Savior.  Your mind, because of what is happening, is undistracted by the Kardashians, by President Trump’s tweets or what is going on in sports, it is laser focused on God right now.  The Bible insists that because of Christ, God can live in you if you invite Him to join you.  He is there and you are there.  What sort of God is He?  Does He have any love or mercy to offer you?  Is there a hope He can give you?  Is He big enough to see you through this?  Who is this Jesus?  It is time for you to find out.  In a world broken by Sin and wrecked by death and suffering, you have a Savior who also suffered and died too.  But now He is alive and He loves you and wants to go through whatever you face with you.  You may not have your Elijah to go with you but you have Jesus.  Find out for yourself who He is.  Let Christ be a part of your life.  Take a moment to invite Jesus to go with you, to make His home in you.  Since He died on a cross to take your sin from you and give you eternal life, He might just be the friend you need right now.

Loss Syndrome

Luke 17:32-33 NIV

Remember Lot's wife!  Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

What Have You Lost?

Loss, or the threat of loss, is one of the greatest enemies of our peace of mind.  When I was in graduate school, I was fired from a part time job as an attendant at the campus gym.  After being told I was “relieved of my duties”, I went back to my dorm room and I wept.  This was a terrific blow leveled against me.  I felt humiliated.  I wondered what my worth was as it was just a goofy little job that anyone could do…but clearly not me.  I was afraid to walk down the streets of the campus knowing students would be looking at me in a new way; I was the one fired from the gym job. I was afraid of what others now thought of me. I was afraid of how I would pay my school fees without the job.  How could I find another job as good as that one?  It felt like my world had fallen apart and I was afraid that it could not be put back together.  All I could think about in my little room while I sat on my bed was all the losses I would face now.  I had lost a great job and I had lost my sense of worth with it and possibly my ability to stay in school.  The losses were too great for me to bear!

Losses come upon us often without warning and in dreadful ways.  A good friend suddenly cuts off all communication with you.  You get sick and the days you lose can never be regained.  A ministry ends that you loved and believed would have a tremendous impact.  The career you once believed would be so great is now a dead end.  Your degree has become worthless and now you have to somehow pay off the debt you owe for your college degree.  A love you cherished fades and someone you respected so much before has let you down.  Some losses are barely noticeable and others take your breath away.  Losses seem so unfair, so cruel at times.  You had hoped for so much more but losses made you cynical and moody.  What are we to do about the losses we face?  How are we to respond to loss?

If the ancient book of Job tells us anything, it is that Satan can hurl great big boulders at us, terrifying boulders.  Some of us have felt like Job because there are boulders that have hit us squarely too.  A friend wants to talk with us and it turns out he is deeply insulted by something we have said or done.  The owner of the company tells us layoffs are starting.  The doctor calls us into the office to discuss our test results.  We make an investment and it wrecks us.  A child of ours renounces Christianity.  The boulders slam us and we have a terrible time knowing what to do with Satan’s attacks upon us.  When Satan went after Job, the patriarch did not think a bit about Satan…all he could see was the loss he encountered and how unfair it all seemed.  It was unfair and Job was right about that.

Satan is a master at bringing us loss.  Satan disrupts our plans.  For we wanted to come to you — certainly I, Paul, did, again and again — but Satan stopped us. (1 Thessalonians 2:18 NIV)  How many of us have looked forward to a holiday that when it came, fell apart!  Satan has wrecked many long anticipated events.  Satan also torments us with worries and dissatisfaction and injuries and hardships.  To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. (2 Corinthians 12:7 NIV)  Satan can make our friends a stumbling block for us.  Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (Matthew 16:23 NIV)  Who hasn’t at some time or another felt betrayed by a friend who we trusted!  That is a terrible loss and Satan is the master at taking apart friendships.  We also know that Satan turns authorities against us so that those in positions of power can be used by Satan to multiply our losses.  Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you… (Revelation 2:10 NIV) There are some losses we face that are due to our bad decisions and poor planning.  Satan even disrupts our thinking so that we go up against God to our loss.  Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? (Acts 5:3-4 NIV)  It is impossible to calculate how many bad decisions we have made because we have let Satan have sway over our thinking!

When Elijah the prophet fled the evil Queen Jezebel who threatened to kill him, he wound up in a cave and something that is enlightening for us occurred there.  As Elijah recuperated from his terrifying and exhausting flight, he was greeted in that cave by a series of horrifying calamities.  Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. (1 Kings 19:11-12 NIV)  Famously, after the fire was a whispering voice that Elijah heard which was either external to him or placed by God straight into his mind and that whisper was God.  Each of these terrifying events…the great wind, the earthquake and the fire were clearly not from God or at least God was not “in them”.  So who was in them?  Would we be off-base if we said “Satan”?  They seem to have been supernaturally caused.  It’s not like rock shattering winds, earthquakes and fires pile up together in the normal, natural realm.  Regardless of their point of origin, we do know that if we were there, we would have been frightened by it all.

We suffer many losses in our lifetimes and most we barely notice.  They may be irritating or even a bit maddening but never really frightening.  Every once in a while though, like Elijah’s wind and earthquake and fire, they are stunning and mind-numbing and we care very much about them.  And the Lord is not in those losses.  Satan is behind them and we must remember who the taker is, who the thief that robs us is…who is behind the storm we fear. 

With Jesus resting peacefully at the back of their boat, the disciples encountered a great storm.  Now this storm must have been bigger than usual because although several of the disciples were seasoned fisherman, they all were panicked by the storm.  Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" (Matthew 8:24-25 NIV)  Let us now make a point that perhaps is unnecessary but pertinent to our discussion.  First, Jesus was not going against the Father in calming the storm.  The Son never opposed the Father in anything. His work as Savior was to put an end to the wreckage brought on by Satan and sin and in that deliverance came the calming of the storm.   Second, the storm did not frighten the disciples.  It may have been wild and potentially deadly but it was not what terrified the disciples.  What brought on their panic was the possible loss of life they faced because of the storm.  The storm itself was exciting, maybe even thrilling with the giant waves, the billowing, boiling clouds, the claps of thunder and bolts of lightning. The thought of terrific loss though made them scared out of their skulls and they could not take it.  Loss is not our problem; it is the fear of loss that we must battle.  Now how did the disciples cope with their fear of loss?  They went straight to Jesus Christ.  They did not paddle harder or duck behind the walls of the boat, they went directly to Christ.

There are two key considerations when it comes to losses.  The first is that if God is not in the losses, then the probability is that Satan is involved.  Therefore, it is not God who we blame and avoid when the storm comes that threatens to take away from us what we love.  It is Satan.  Second, the loss is rarely as grave and horrifying as the fear of the loss.  Many have suffered terrible losses in their lives and been just as peaceful and calm as Jesus sleeping in the back of the boat.  They may have been completely overwhelmed emotionally by the coming losses but afterward, they found comfort.  King David comes to mind.   He wept and fasted and begged God to intervene while his son was deathly ill but once the child died, he became calm and unperturbed.  Now this may sound cold and inhumane on David’s part but perhaps we have left out the supernatural component to loss.  Maybe David was helped by God when the loss came to pass.  Perhaps in his begging for God to not take his baby away, it brought into the event the supernatural kindness of God to comfort the inconsolable soul when the loss did come to pass.  Like the disciples who turned to Jesus when the storm raged, David went to the Lord when the storm he faced raged.

Because this world is wrecked by sin, dying is all around us and it hits us directly.  Dreams of careers die.  Marriages die.  Plans we have for our children die.  Vacations fall apart and investments collapse.  This happens and Satan is directly involved in many of these “deaths”.  We must face squarely this matter of death and dying in every realm we travel.  Friendships die and dinner arrangements die and much of what we hope to have goes up in smoke.  But there is one matter we must put into our equation of loss.  Jesus Christ is “in the boat”.  Satan may take our lunch but Jesus Christ is in the boat and when the disciples went to Him, they gained peace...a supernatural peace.  It is hard when the storm strikes to go to Jesus Christ then and there.  We are captivated by the storm and all we can think about are the losses we are going to face and perhaps we are angry with God for the storm.  We are in a way mesmerized by our fear and frustration and even anger over what is happening but Christ is in the boat.  The storm that rocks us rocks Him too.  When we turn to Him, we may not lose what we thought was lost.  He may completely take the storm away.  He can do that and He may do that.  We must have a little bit of faith but if we do, He might take our storm from us.  But if He doesn’t and He lets Satan steal something from us, He will give us peace…a supernatural peace.  Anyone can have peace when it is smooth sailing; but Christ gives us peace when the storm comes headlong into us.  You may not think you need the peace of Christ now…everything is nice and easy for you.  But the time will come when Satan will throw a great storm at you, a storm too big for your peace to handle and when He does, remember that Christ is in the boat and if you turn to Him, He will give you His peace…and you will have peace that is supernatural and big enough to carry you through whatever loss you face.

More Than A Difficulty

It is nearly impossible to get the sufferer to believe that what is happening is for good.  Etched in our personality is the determination to want none of the trials we face.  Adam and Eve groaned under the weight of Satan's temptation and refused to endure it courageously; consequently the rest of us are marred by their heritage.  For most seeds to sprout, the ground must be broken and torn apart, a violent tearing of what was settled and at peace.  Even the seed itself must be blown to bits before it can find its place in God's design.  The Lord's yoke is the most profound way He transforms us into living, breathing images of His perfect glory.  No trouble or hardship or difficult person comes to you without God's loving hand making the gate swing wide open.  The yoke is easy as long as you keep your mind fixed on Christ and do not let it be split apart by Satan's accusing and your own whining.  There is kindness and goodness and humility and patience and sincere faith and hope ready to be born in you if you will just settle your thoughts on the crucified Savior who has suffered for your complete salvation.  Nothing is finished with you; you must bear the yoke before you can move along into perfection.  The character of the yoke bearing Christian is the loveliest sight in all the universe.   Imagine the hunk of marble barking at Michelangelo for wrecking his day.  Look in the mirror.  Are you the canvass upon which Rembrandt is recklessly slopping paint or the paper that Mozart is scratching his notes?   Are you not in the hands of a far greater genius who has a plan for you that will be worked out perfectly?   "But the yoke", you cry.  Why this yoke?  The greater the yoke, the more settled your Lord's determination to make you into a masterpiece of love and glory.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  Matthew 11:29-30 NIV

Crossing

What seems so harsh and gloomy, the present reality of death and dying is nothing of the sort.  We have in death the perfect picture of how life gets out of the ditch.  When once we see, perhaps for the first time, that this daily circle will one day veer off to the left and go somewhere else, somewhere completely different, we finally grasp the reality of things.  It is always lurking back there in our minds...the death and dying, but we hardly can face it for ourselves.  God's call from death is a shriek of icy water splashed on us without warning.  This will not continue and you must stop thinking it will.  Every dying man hid from it as you have for the longest time.  Old photographs of relatives long gone are not mere curiosities, they are the perfect text of your own place in God's world.  The Lord wants you to die and you must die.  The cross of Christ will be carried by you and in the end it will kill you.   Does this perturb you?  Are you irritated by it?  Do you welcome it?  The woman in India cannot really see things as the woman in Ecuador;  they are worlds apart and you won't really see things as God does until you take up your cross and carry it fully to its stopping point.  God wants you dead and you will be.  Right now you struggle mightily with the cross and groan under its weight thinking somehow you can cast it off or crawl out from under it but it is yours and you must carry it if you are to come after Jesus.  Scream and cry and fight against it if you think you must but it is better to courageously  face squarely the inevitable than kick away at the goads as it were like the Apostle Paul while he was still Saul.  Die, let Christ kill you off completely.  Resurrection is just as inevitable as the Cross but you cannot reach the former without going through the later.  Give Christ His way with you and He will raise you up and the sin in you will finally be dead.  Remember though that the cross is the cross of Christ given you by Him and not  yours to choose.   Never try to pick your cross...It would be like letting the monkey take the controls of the plane just as it is set to land.    The mercy of God was not in living but in dying and unless the seed is buried...it does not spring to life.

 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.     Luke 9:23-24 NIV

Untested Gifts

Be careful of the gift that seems so timely and needed.  Hagar probably was given to Sarai during her sojourn in Egypt and that gift became a terrible snare for Sarai and Abram.  Hagar eventually was the out for each of them as they frantically searched for a way to make God's promise of a child come true.  Rather than trusting solidly in the Lord Himself, they took the gift of Pharaoh as the solution to the difficulty they faced.  Later Abram proved his growing awareness that not every gift should be accepted willy-nilly by rejecting the offer of wealth from the king of Sodom.  But in Egypt, with his mind clouded by the affluence surrounding him, Abram saw nothing wrong with gathering everything offered him there including the lovely maiden Hagar.  It can seem like such a minor issue, taking this, accepting that and yet there may never have been a more haunting image for Abram all his days than the moment he turned his back on Sarai (albeit at her demand) and fathered the son Ishmael with Hagar.  We must be suspicious of what we mark as a blessing and what we decide is a curse.  The wounds of God are sweeter and more lovely than the poisoned presents of Satan and it takes discernment to know what you have in your hand at any given moment. A job offer, an open door, an opportunity for change may not come from who you think.  Be careful about the gifts you accept and the difficulties you reject.     Do not be afraid, Abram.  I am your shield, your very great reward.  Genesis 15: 1 NIV