Does God Really Care?
Have you ever felt that God had forgotten about you? I have, at times. And I suppose His covenant people, Israel, felt that way when they didn’t hear from Him.
Like at the beginning of the book of Exodus. We see the Israelites bent over from the back-breaking servitude of Egyptian bondage. For the first two chapters, heaven is silent. The people were being severely mistreated, and their groans and cries went up to God.
So what do we do? When we feel as if God has forgotten about us in our trouble, and our pain is too deep for words, we should remind ourselves of His faithfulness. His faithful character is communicated in several ways:
God hears. Although He wasn’t speaking during that time, He was there. God hears the deepest sigh and the unutterable sounds of agony in our heart right now.
God remembers. When He heard Israel’s groans, He remembered His covenant. Another way of saying this is that the time was right for Him to fulfill the promises He made to Abraham (Genesis 12; 15; 17). When God promises something, He will fulfill it in His own time.
God sees. He sees obvious pain. I believe He also sees the pain behind the pain. He sees the private persecutions of your heart. He sees and He is ready to respond with compassion and redemption.
God knows. His knowledge of the Israelites’ plight was more than intellectual assent. It was an intimate understanding. He knew it was time to raise up a deliverer (Moses) to redeem His people, and He knew it was time to disclose more of Himself to them (Exodus 34:6-7).
God heard our groaning as well underneath the servitude of sin. He remembered His love for us. He saw that we couldn’t save ourselves. He knew it was time to send Someone who could enter this painful world, reveal to us the depth of His love, and deliver us from the bondage of sin (John 1:14; 3:16-17).
He sent a Deliverer. He sent Jesus.
If you have been wondering and feeling lately like God may have forgotten you - He hasn’t. He had me write this just for you!
Victoriously Loving You Through Him Pastor Lynwood
Focus On Serving Others
What is the best antidote to spiritual apathy? Is it a motivational seminar? A weekend retreat? A new book that will change your life? These kinds of programs may bring temporary relief, but they are more like grabbing a remote and changing the channel when we are already overweight couch Christians. No, the best antidote to apathy is service.
We Baptists often put being saved and going to heaven in the same sentence, as if heaven were the only goal of our salvation. But the truth is we are saved to serve. Heaven is important, but heaven can wait. God saves us because He has a job for us to do in His kingdom here on earth. If heaven is the whole point of our salvation, then what do we do while we wait?
It’s amazing how many of our own problems dissipate when we begin caring about other people’s problems instead of focusing on our own. We’ve picked up some very bad habits from our culture. We have a tendency to be preoccupied with our own needs and constantly trying to fulfill them. Advertising plays into this self-indulgence, promising that one more product will be the thing that will finally satisfy us. The truth of the matter is that “getting” will never come close to the satisfaction that “giving” affords.
Think of someone you know who is truly happy and I venture to guess you will find someone busy serving others. The example of Mother Theresa comes to mind. If, in fact, our troubles will never go away (and I don’t believe they ever will in this life), then to focus on them and try to solve them is going to be nothing but a broken record. Make one problem go away, and watch another one crop up immediately. To give yourself to the task of helping with the problems of those around you may not make your own problems go away, but it will make them less of a drag in your life. Focusing on our own problems can lead to anxiety, frustration and even depression. Focusing on other people’s problems leads to usefulness and a greater sense of health.
So today, you will be tempted to look inwardly to your own needs. Look instead to the needs of those around you. Watch for your needs to diminish by comparison. You may even forget yourself in the process.
Jesus hung on a cross and thought of those who put him there. He pleaded their case before His Father because He knew they didn’t realize the full impact of what they were doing. Can you imagine having even a fleeting thought about someone else if you were in that much pain yourself? But that’s just the thing about Jesus: He was always thinking of someone else.
May we all learn to think of others as Jesus did!
“ Pastor Lynwood"
