Category Archives: Difficulties and Trials

Blogs in this category focus on trials, tribulations, and difficulties we experience in our daily lives.

Approaching storms – are you ready?

Posted on April 20, 2015 by | Comments Off on Approaching storms – are you ready?

PHOTO_13700605_148597_31058328_apI have always loved watching approaching storms. There’s something about the change in the smell of the air, the cloud formations, and even the slight breeze that I just love. I love the flash of lightning and the clap of thunder and simply sit in awe of the might of the storm. With all of humankind’s technology, we still have yet to master the storm much less understand all the mechanics surrounding one. I’m reminded of the story found in the gospel of Luke where Jesus disciples are panicking as the storm unleashes its fury on them: And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm (Luke 8:24).

There are so many lessons we can learn in this one verse about the Lord and the disciples lack of understanding in who Jesus actually was. They saw Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, and cast out devils, yet when it came to this storm, they pleaded for Jesus to save them. The previous verse, But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy (Luke 8:23), tells us that Jesus was asleep in the boat, the same boat where the disciples were panicking. Just as the disciples knew who Jesus was, we have the benefit of knowing who Jesus is through the scriptures. Just as the disciples did, we also cry out in the  middle of our storms not fully realizing that Jesus is right there with us and realizing He will not allow us to succumb to the tempest we face. We can have peace in the middle of our storms if we take the time to prepare for the storms before they even begin to form.

A Christian emergency kit

As I began to think about what items we would need to bring together for our spiritual emergency kit, the first thing that crossed my mind was the Bible. It is God’s instruction book for life. Within its pages it has God’s guidance, not only for daily living, but God’s advice on how to handle any situation. As I have begun to mature and grow in my faith I become more dependent upon the wisdom contained in the Bible. God offers financial advice, advice on how to raise children, on what to look for in a mate, and everything else in between. The Bible is an everyday book; this makes it perfect for any spiritual emergency kit we put together. 

A strong prayer life is another thing we need to include in our kit. Prayer should not just be something we do our of vain repetition or right before we eat. We know that the prophet Daniel prayed multiple times a day: Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime (Daniel 6:10). I will be willing to speculate that these three times of prayer were in addition to his mealtime prayers. Not only is prayer an important part of our daily life, it must be a part of how we handle the storms when they come. In my life there have been times I have watched the spiritual storm approach and instead of trusting in and praying to the Lord, I have tried to handle it on my own using my own understanding of the situation.

What I have learned is that when I do this, I am actually acting out my doubts in God’s ability to manage the situation. The prophet Isaiah was led by the Spirit of the Lord to write, But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31). When this verse is coupled with the teachings found in Proverbs, Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), it becomes clear to me that two important tools Christians need to have in their emergency kit are patience and trust. Especially when you are a person who likes to have their hands on a project or like to be an active participant, it is hard to simply hold back and wait for the Lord to guide you. When I think back at my life, some of the worst spiritual storms I was in was because when the storm first started I didn’t wait on the Lord. I thought I could handle things on my own. It wasn’t until the waves were too high, the currents too strong that I cried out to the Lord. The Lord tells us simply to wait and trust. He promises to renew our strength and to see us safely through the storm. He tells us not to simply act on our own understanding because He knows we never have the full view of the storm as He does. 

When we are facing spiritual storms many of us have the tendency to isolate ourselves and not approaching others and asking for prayer and fellowship. It is difficult to remember the admonishment by the apostle Peter, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world (1 Peter 5:8-9). Within this passage, we learn a couple of things about the spiritual storms we face. We learn that the Devil uses them to separate us from God’s love and joy. We also learn that other Christians, our brothers and sisters in the faith, also experience the same spiritual storms we go through. Even the apostle Paul wrote, Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:12-13). When we are in the middle of our spiritual storm, we need to reach out to our brothers and sisters in the faith. When we see our brothers and sisters in the faith going through their own spiritual storm we need to embrace them, lift them up, and encourage them to continue in the Lord. 

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Posted in Chrisitian Philosophy, Difficulties and Trials, Discipleship, Our relationship with God

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Are you ready for when the weather turns?

Posted on September 17, 2014 by | Comments Off on Are you ready for when the weather turns?

 DSCF3056I  have always enjoyed watching the weather – no, not spending hours at a time watching the Weather Channel, but sitting outside and watching as the clouds begin to build and the storm front approaches. Even the most sunny day will give way to an afternoon thunderstorm as temperatures begin to rise sharply ahead of a descending cold front. I’ve never been to a professional weather-spotting class, but I have watched storm fronts developing long enough and in various locations that normally I can have a rough idea what to expect before the storm hits my area. Types of clouds, refraction of sunlight, and the wind actually undergo some changes as the storm approaches and the first rumble of thunder is heard. Needless to say, because of my love of watching the weather, I am rarely caught off guard by the storms when the “weather begins to turn” – a phrase I picked up from living in southwest central Louisiana that describes a change in weather that occurs suddenly.

It wasn’t until a while back ago that I could even remotely see the “storms of faith” or recognize the warning signs of trials and difficulties as they approached. I was often caught off guard by them and for that reason, there were times that the spiritual storm I was facing caught me off guard. Looking back, it wasn’t that the storm suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but that I was not paying attention to what was happening with me, with the ones I was associating with, or even how far I had begun to wonder away from the Lord. Yes, I believe that God does warn us of approaching storms and times of great trials. During His earthly ministry, Jesus even challenged the Scribes and Pharisees: He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.  And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Matthew 16:2-3). For much of my life, I believed and as many pastors, Sunday School teachers, and other Christian leaders have taught that this is about the end times. I now believe that not only is Jesus talking about what is yet to come for society but what is yet to come to the individual follower of Christ.

There are times we know when we can expect storms and spiritual difficulties to challenge us. Just as my love of the weather has led me to a better understanding of what to watch for, our love for the Lord Jesus Christ should also give us a better understanding of what we can expect to face. Back when I was pastoring a small church in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, I had an older woman approach me after a Sunday morning service to tell me that her faith in the Lord was so strong that she had never experienced a storm or even a ripple of spiritual difficulties. I will never forget the expression on her face as I asked her the one simple question I ask anyone that tells me this: “Are you sure you’re saved and have completely trusted in Jesus Christ alone as your source of salvation?” It was not out of disrespect for her that I asked this question. It is because as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will experience times where you will be tested, you will face storms, you will face nights so dark that you’ll begin to question if the Lord is still there. Satan loves to discourage Christians, our pains and our fears are reasons for his rejoicing especially when we become ineffective for Christ and unable to tell others about His love for us.

We can expect to face a spiritual storm when we continue to dwell in sin. I can actually and unfortunately speak from experience here. Earlier in my Christian walk and before I began to take my faith more seriously, I held on to the sins that I had enjoyed before I became a Christian. I often used the excuse that “God understands that I am only human” and with a less-than-heartfelt and sincere apology, I continued to live within those sins. Looking back at my life before 2006, I was overdue for a spiritual storm. I had ignored the pleadings and later warnings of the Holy Spirit. I had all but ignored the advice offered by God through the Bible. As a child of God, when we no longer are listening to the reasoning and the pleadings of the Holy Spirit, God has no other choice but to use a spiritual storm to get our attention. Even the apostle Paul understood this and provided us this warning and explanation: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth (Hebrews 12:6). If I were to continue in sin and in disobedience and not experience the loving and corrective hand of the Lord, then I would not be one of His children.

The second type of storm we all face is what I call the “spiritual growth storm” because it normally comes right before or after a leap in our spiritual growth process. These storms come to test our resolve in remaining faithful to God. These storms come to teach us; David, the psalmist and king wrote, Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart (Psalms 26:2) and that is exactly what these storms are, God proving the reigns of our hearts. It’s not for His benefit that He does this, but because He wants us to see our progress, or in some cases, lack of progress. He wants us to see that our faith has grown, where we still need to seek His help, and that we can always depend on Him no matter how long the night seems or how dark it gets. Even the prophet Jeremiah understood this and was led by the Holy Spirit to write, I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings (Jeremiah 17:10).

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Posted in Christian Living, Difficulties and Trials, Our relationship with God

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A response to an errant view on stewardship

Posted on August 8, 2014 by | Comments Off on A response to an errant view on stewardship

CountryChurch_Large1There are a number of websites that I have subscribed to that send out “morning updates.” While most them are politically based, about a quarter of them are faith-based.  There are some faith-based subscriptions that focus on issues such as abortion, developing church leadership, and even the struggles of Christians facing persecution around the world.  One subscription I receive is for encouraging pastors and leaders of other ministries both inside and outside the local congregation. This morning, that particular subscription focusing on pastors and ministerial leadership had an article that focused on what the writer called the “unwise stewardship of the small congregation.” I have decided to keep the author’s name and the affiliated website to myself for various reasons including that normally I find most of the stuff posted on this particular site useful, encouraging, and enlightening.

Being a member of several small churches over the last thirty years, I have witnessed what I considered to be poor stewardship of church resources. Now to be fair, I will share with you that I see anything that does not increase the visibility of the church in the community, that does not further the reach of the church, or does not give support for the ministries of the church as being a waste of church resources.  I once went to a church that hired a professional decorator to come in every two weeks to come in and decorate the sanctuary so that it would be aesthetically appealing and fresh. Yes, while I do believe that having a nice looking church building is important, spending close to $300 a month to keep the place “fresh” is not wise stewardship.  Many churches have women and men who love to do the exact same thing and if asked, would probably be willing to do the same thing for just the cost of the materials or even for free.  I am sure that many of you could also share stories of things that churches have spent money on that have not always shown the best judgment when it came to stewardship of the church’s resources.

So, with all that said, I fully expected the article to discuss similar issues with some suggestions on how the church leadership could guide the church body into making more sound decisions.  I was surprised as I read past the first paragraph to discover that the author was not focused on poor spending habits of the church but on the wastefulness of small church congregations.  The author, an associate pastor of a large church in the Boston, Massachusetts area was lamenting that smaller congregations, by their very nature, are a waste of God’s resources.  His entire article was that by remaining open and unmerged with larger churches so that their financial resources can better serve the Lord, these churches were wasting those resources. Smaller congregations were identified as any local church having fewer than 300 regularly attending Sunday morning services.  The ideal church, according to the article, were those that regularly had a “participating” membership of 300 or more. Again, the author identified those as “participating” as simply showing up for Sunday morning worship. As a part of the benefits of smaller congregations merging to form larger congregations, the author counts the benefits of such actions as the ability to better support paid positions within the church, the ability to have better worship facilities, and the ability to adequately fund various activities within the local church. The very basis for the article was fundamentally flawed on several levels.

The first thing that came to my mind was the apostle Paul’s description of the local New Testament church: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him (I Corinthians 12:13-18). I, as well as other preachers and teachers, have used this passage to discuss the importance of each believer in the local body of Christ but there is a larger application that can be made.  Each local New Testament church has a specific role within the larger body of Christ. Within any denomination, each congregation has its own unique and distinguishable character.  Just as each member of a congregation has a specific function within that congregation that only they can fill, so each local congregation has a specific role and function that it fills within the larger body of Christ.  

Where the author of the article focuses solely on the financial aspects of stewardship, there are other areas that must be considered beyond church finances. As someone who has served as both pastor and interim pastor, I do know the pressures of serving in a smaller congregation that could not financially support a full-time pastor.  My heart’s burden is for the smaller congregation and I admit I am somewhat biased.  In all the churches I served in within those two roles never did I ever consider the money offered by the congregation as a part of my reason to serve.  In every case, I was approached and I saw an opportunity to serve the Lord.  I prayed about the decision and allowed the Lord to lead me without any regard to the amount of money offered. When I did accept the position offered, I was ready to do what was necessary, both in the role I was serving in and as provider of the family.  If I had to have a part-time job to support the ministry I was in, I was ready to do it wholeheartedly and  without complaint.  With this particular author, he was lamenting that as a seminary graduate, it took him serving as an associate pastor nearly ten years before he could find a church that could financially support him. While I understand the hardships that can be caused by insufficient income, any man who approaches a church with an attitude of “if I cannot get paid $xx, then I will not serve as your pastor” is actually hindering the work of the Holy Spirit and is not living by the faith he exhorts others to live by.

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