Where Is God When We Need Him?
• NOTE: All illustrations and additional characteristics given to
biblical characters in this article is used in a reverent tone, not meant to
belittle God’s word but only to help remind us all that men and women in the
Bible are like the men and women today and that our God is the same as well
(Heb. 1:10-12). May all glory go to God, and please have a Bible handy, all
references are worth looking up.
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“I think God forgot about me.” You think as you set in that quiet place
thinking of everything that is wrong with your life.
“That’s an awful thing to say or think,” gasps someone, and perhaps it is, but
there are Christians out there, ones you know, perhaps one yourself who has felt
or does feel this way regardless of the promise God has given us to never leave
us nor forsake us. (Heb 13:5)
What you will read below is something that someone, somewhere has experienced, a
very good possibility that as you read this you realize “hey I’ve experienced
each one of these.” Listed are the topics that will be touched
Unsaved Souls -- “I’ve prayed and prayed, why won’t he/she get saved?”
Work/Finances -- “Everything is falling down around me, nothing will work out,
and I’ll lose everything!”
The World – “What has happened to the world? Where is the fear of God? No one
believes anymore! Christians? What are they thinking nowadays?”
Sickness – “He/She is so sick, why won’t God raise him/her up? I don’t know what
to do if that person dies.”
Feel Useless – There’s absolutely nothing I can do, no one likes me, I have no
special gift for God.”
Many Christians have a burden upon their hearts that no one knows about, they
come to a meeting and it’s just to show a smile to the people, yet their soul
inside is crying “Help!” Perhaps it’s gone so far that they don’t even feel
like going to meeting anymore, “I’m too down, I’d rather stay home.” As the time
goes by and the person seems to get no help from anywhere, they feel God isn’t
listening, they may even question, “Has God forgotten about me?”
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UNSAVED SOULS
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The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but
is longsuffering to us–ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
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Joshua 6: 2 And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand
Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
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Take a moment to read the story of Joshua and Jericho. God promised Joshua
something – Jericho. Jericho was a great city; it was the strongest fortress in
the land of Canaan. Jericho was so mighty and popular that the activity of
Joshua and his men was being monitored by men as far away as Egypt (found in
Armana Tablets)
God gave Joshua instructions. Joshua with all his men of war, 7 priests who
would bear the ark and trumpets of ram horns, was to walk around the mighty wall
once a day for six days.
On the seventh day he and all his men were to walk around the wall seven times
and upon the last time around they were all to stop, blow the trumpets then all
the people were to give a loud shout, after this the wall would fall down.
Now take a moment and put yourself in the shoes of one of the soldiers of that
time. Him and a comrade could be setting under one of the many palm trees of
that area, and look at the Walls of Jericho lit up by the night moon.
Imagine one of the men saying “Tomorrow we start our walk, once around that wall
and then do it over and over again.”
The second man with a chuckle laughs. “Ya so I heard, but that’s so hard to
believe, I know God’s power, why does He make us do that? He could bring that
wall down for sure in no time.”
The first man agrees and the conversation fades off.
5 days later the men are together again talking.
“I’ve been walking and walking, for five days now, and nothing has happened,
“growled the second man.
“I know,” could reply his friend, “but you know what God promised, He will give
us the city, but I have to admit I haven’t even seen a change in the wall, not
even a small rock fall off, how is God going to bring those huge walls down so
that we can conquer the city?”
The men’s doubts could perhaps continue to grow throughout the night and next
couple days, both tired and discouraged of all the walking. They could walk and
walk and nothing ever happened. Why was it taking God so long to answer?
On the seventh day, the men could start walking again, again imagine one of the
men while walking in the line whisper “I am so discouraged nothing will ever
happen, I just want to go home and be with my family.”
The other man could poke his friend and whisper back, “Let’s just continue on,
surely God can’t forget about us.”
On the sixth walk around the building the men could perhaps be getting pretty
heavy hearted. All this walking, help seemed so far away, they had put their
trust in God and just wished so bad that He’d answer them.
Imagine though, the seventh walk around, the men stop, listen for the trumpet of
the priests and then as loud as they could let out a large shout. In amazement
(even though God promised) the walls could fall down, the giant fortress that
was known all over had suddenly crashed to the ground, gone. God had fulfilled
His promise.
Now you may be wondering: why is he going on that long string? No one ever
doubted that, it’s soo plain and simple God promised something, they listened,
obeyed Him and it happened.
Look at us for a moment, we have family members and friends we care for dearly,
if only God would hear us and save them. Think of that brother, no care in the
world, the sister, does she even think about her soul? The parent, they don’t
seem to think they need God’s salvation; the child would rather be playing then
thinking of his or her soul being lost.
It can be so discouraging. Do you ever pray and pray and then feel as if that
person will never get saved? In all honesty I do at times, “They don’t even
listen” I can think as I look at that sibling that has a lost soul, “why can’t
they realize that in a blink of an eye they could wake up in a lost eternity,
never to come back.”
Many people will say, “Oh I hope they get saved someday”, or “they might get
saved someday”. While attending college I boarded with a godly lady that had
children who were not saved, not once did I ever hear, “I hope they get saved”,
never did I hear “They might get saved.” The only thing from her mouth was,
“when they get saved.” Her children are grown up into men and women with
children of their own, can you imagine the years and years of prayer that have
reached God’s ears for those children? 30 – 40 years? Perhaps more.
Many people feel that “oh that person’s heart is too cold; we may as well give
up.” The people in the New Testament must have felt that for Legion as well in
Mark chapter 5. Nothing seemed to help this man, so what did the people do?
Bound the man in chains and left him among the tombs – forgotten about. “I’d
never do something that awful.” You could say and perhaps not, but how often
have we gotten so discouraged over a loved one that may blaspheme the name of
God, or seem to have no cares at all? Legion was a man that someone had gotten
discouraged over, he was on his own, his cold heart was everywhere but where it
should be, but something happened, Christ came along. The man was changed.
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Mark 5: 15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the
devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind…
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Even Legion could be reached by God’s wondrous love. A verse that needs to be
remembered every time we doubt is what God can say:
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Jer 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too
hard for me?
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But how does this relate to the one you want saved? So often we pray to God
saying we want something, but how often do we truly expect Him to answer? How
often do we sputter off a rehearsed prayer to ourselves, get to a meeting and
perhaps get up and sputter the same thing out again, just change it around a
bit? God doesn’t tell us to pray like that, and it’s not as if we’re praying
about something that we don’t know His will on.
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1 Timothy 2: 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge
of the truth.
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God’s will and desire is for all to be saved. It’s not a question of “Does he
want that person saved? God does want that person saved, He would love to see
the person saved the same time you want that person saved – right now, today (2
Cor. 6:2)
So perhaps we need to change our prayers just a bit right? We are not asking a
prayer that we’re not sure how God will answer, we’re not praying something that
is determined on what His will is, we know what His will is – to have them
saved.
God sent a comforter into this world, one that is here to convict the world of
sin (John 16:8)
God wants us to pray, God tells us if we ask anything believing we will receive
(Matthew 21:22). Let us pray with more confidence, to never lose our trust, to
never get discouraged.
Oh may we pray more that one may be stirred and realize their condition, The
Spirit will continue to work with them convicting them of their sins and lost
estate. Let us pray expecting, we are praying to one that is pleased to hear and
answer our prayers. Let us never give up praying for that person or persons. God
hears our prayer, longs to answer our prayer, all we need to do is wait and
listen for the day we hear the true story of when that person “cried unto the
Lord and He heard me.” (Psalm 120:1)
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WORK/FINANCES
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Lu 12:28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to
morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little
faith?
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Making a living isn’t always easy at times in this world, perhaps it’s trying to
find the job, or so many bills even with a great job you’d have trouble keeping
your head afloat. More people have this problem then people seem to realize. Yet
nothing is said, they just keep praying and God keeps answering.
There have been many stories of people that God has helped out. I can think of
one story I have heard of a lady who was having it hard one month. Bills needed
paying and children needed feeding and she had nothing. Her husband working as
hard as he could but there was just too many bills that month. It came to the
point where the woman, had no milk, she didn’t know what she would do, what
about the children’s cereal? She needed milk. She was getting pretty down and
sad, nothing in the house, when a knock came on the door, “who could it be?” she
wondered Going to the door she opened it and standing on the other side of the
door was a good friend, in the friends arm was more then one carton of milk.
“Hi, the big time we just had resulted in us having a lot of extra stuff, this
milk will go to waste if someone doesn’t use it, would you like to have it?”
came the question.
Graciously accepting the milk, the lady went into the house, thanking God for
seeing her through once again.
These same things happened to many people in the Bible as well. Remember the
lady in 1 Kings 17?
Let us think back to that lady for a moment, we find her out picking up sticks
to prepare her last meal for her and her son, some meal and oil, she was going
to eat this with her son and then die, she had nothing else.
Do you think she was picking up the sticks with a smile on her face? I would
imagine a tear was running down her cheek, she had lost her husband, there was
no food anywhere and nothing she could do about it, she was helpless, she would
have to die. She probably felt no one was there, no one cared, everyone had
forgotten about her. But there was one that did not forget. God saw the widow (1
Kings 17:9) and He was about to bless her in a way she had no idea about.
When Elijah arrived and asked for a cake, the woman could tell him what little
she had and that she was going to die, she was so discouraged, and no help, she
had no other choice but to starve to death. But Elijah told her to make him some
food and she would be blessed with enough oil and meal to last her until rain
came and she could get food for herself.
The woman could have acted like some of us may have acted. “I can’t invite that
person here, I have no food for him/ her.” Or, “oh what am I going to do? I
don’t know what to have for supper tomorrow night, I have nothing left for the
next meal.” Or if you were that lady you could have said: “I don’t know sir, I
have no food at all, and if I give you some then I’ll have none for myself, I’m
sorry I can’t take the chance.”
No the woman did nothing like that, she just trusted and God blessed her
greatly. God will not forget His own.
There is a great lesson for all of us here, the woman was down and helpless, God
helped her back up and then gave her an opportunity to grow food for herself.
Surely God will always be there to help us and will also provide a way for us to
maintain ourselves. He wants us to be happy.
FINANCES:
Money is a problem for most of us, and paying bills for some can be a problem at
times, but God will never let His own down, look again at 2 Kings 4:1-7.
There was a woman here about to lose everything. She couldn’t pay her bills, the
creditor was coming and she was about to lose everything. Did she curl up in a
corner and think “There’s nothing I can do now, it’s hopeless I can see no way
out.” No she cried for help, did God hear? Of course God heard.
The woman was to get all the vessels she could find and He would have them
filled with oil. Enough oil to pay her debts and all could be fine. Of course
the woman could have laughed and said that was impossible and decided to not do
it, but she listened and was blessed richly for it.
Like these two women we seem to get right down to our last loaf of bread at
times, not sure where the next thing will come from
There is a hymn sung by a group called 4HIM, one of the songs is called “The
Promise” a line in it goes “You may be looking for a sign, to let you know that
it’s ok, but hold on – I’m on my way.”
When God sees us in our distress do not get discouraged, do not feel like giving
up even though it seems so easy to do, to get down, just hold on, God sees our
distress and He’s on His way to answer.
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Ps 3:5 I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.
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THE WORLD
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“No one believes in God anymore.” Have you felt that before? Or felt as if the
world had turned against all the commandments of God, treated His word like just
any book and disregarded all that was true and holy?
If so you are not alone, Elijah felt this way too. In 1 Kings 19:4-18
He was alone, according to him. People were out to kill him; everyone had
forsaken the covenant (v.10). Elijah a great man of God, became so discouraged
that he sat down under a small tree and just wanted to die.
Just imagine a great man like him, slowly walking along the path, his heart
heavy with grief and trouble, in discouragement he sets down under the tree,
Feeling everything went wrong for him, he was so very discouraged that he felt
the best thing for him to do was just to die.
Have you ever been so discouraged you wanted to die? You did not feel like going
on You felt like you were the only one left in your work place or in daily life
that believed in God, or called Him your Saviour. Everyone else laughed at the
thought, thought the Bible was just another book, Christianity as it really is,
just another religion. Have you ever felt that every other Christian in your
area was going astray, getting away and doing something wrong?
God told Elijah to go up to the mountain side before the Lord, so Elijah went,
Elijah listened to the great wind – God wasn’t there. He listened to the
earthquake – God wasn’t there. There was then a fire, but God was not found
there then finally a still small voice – there was God. But notice something
next, Elijah came out of a cave……a cave? Did not God tell him to go on the
mountain side? Did Elijah listen to God? Elijah so taken up with him and
everyone else and what they were doing wrong, he forgot about himself. He did
not seem to listen to the smallest instructions. Elijah didn’t come out until he
heard the still small voice of God; perhaps the other events scared Elijah?
Perhaps God was trying to teach Elijah a lesson, that harshness and coldness is
not what brings people to God, nor does it allow fellowship among the other
Christians. Did Elijah learn the lesson? Can we learn the lesson? God even let
Elijah know that surely he wasn’t alone there were 7 thousand other men that had
not bowed their knees to a false god.
But what about us? Do we need to be taught a lesson, is our discouragement over
the world and other Christians partly because we are not looking at ourselves
and realizing, “hey I’m human too.” So are they, perhaps there’s a better way to
approach them. To the unsaved, what better way is love, warn them of the danger
they are facing yet telling them of the great love the Saviour has for them. And
the fellow Christian? Sure they may have done something we don’t like, or does
something we may have a problem with, but let us approach them in a still small
voice.
Let us not be discouraged in our surroundings, but let us use them to motivate
us to do more for God, let us use them to examine ourselves and think “What am I
doing wrong? What can I do to make this better?” It is a sweet thing for
brethren to dwell together in unity (Ps. 133:1), but how sweet is it too, to
look upon the world with a smile on our face, realize the fields are white to
harvest (John 4:35) and take God’s Holy Inspired word, that is powerful, quick
and sharper then any two edged sword (Heb. 4:12) and tell others of our Saviour.
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SICKNESS/DEATH
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In Matthew chapter 8 there is a man who lived near Capernaum, he was a man of
power, he was in charge of a large number of soldiers. He was a centurion.
One day his servant became very ill. Imagine for a moment that we were there
watching the scene unfold. What do you think would have happened, if the
Centurion had of wiped the man’s forehead, whispered to him that all would be
alright, but when he left the room to talk to his wife and family he would bow
his head, shake it in a troublesome manner and go, “it sure doesn’t look good, I
don’t think he’ll make it.” He then gives a small prayer asking for God’s will
to be done, not really paying attention what he’s saying then continues on his
way saying to his friends that his servant doesn’t look well, he doesn’t think
he would make it. If the man had of did that, his servant surely would have
died. But the man did not do that.
He did not give up hope and become discouraged because someone he cared for was
sick, no he went into action and went to the only one who could help. It was no
light desire; the centurion got up and without asking another man to do it for
him, went directly to the Saviour, and asked for his help. He did not say, “You
better come and touch him to heal him.” No, that man had great faith in the
creator, and asked him to just speak and the man would be healed. Did the
servant get better? Yes he did, and why? Can we say it’s because the man asked
God to heal his servant? I am sure we can say that, so what do we do when
someone gets sick?
I can think in my own experience of loved ones that have been in the hospital
and how a lot of things were said about how he/she was very sick and not around
for much longer. We should have been praying for him. We should be praying
fervently for the sick amongst us. God tells us to He never tells us something
unless it has a great meaning behind it, so what is the great meaning?
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James 5: 15 and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall
raise him up;
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So it seems sincere prayer to God can make a difference in the health of another
Christian. But according to 1 John 5:14 only if it is the will of God, but how
little do we really pray? How much power and grace are we missing out on,
because we are not asking it of God in faith? Let us in private and together
pray more for the sick that are among us, God has promised that we will see a
difference.
But what if a difference is not seen? What if that person we were praying for
dies? The loss would be great but to who? We will think us, but in what way? Yes
the pain of losing someone here on earth will be great, but that person we will
see again, and I am quite sure that person would never want to come back. Think
of Stephen for a moment as he was being stoned by the people in Acts 7. As he
was about to die do you remember the view he saw? The heavens open the Son of
man standing. What a view that must have been. Stephen didn’t care about what
was happening to him, he was ready to go home, (v.59). That was only the view
too; imagine what it must be like actually in heaven, in the presence of the
Saviour. Stephen would never want to come back; a Christian in heaven will never
want to come back. Yes the tears will fall if we lose someone; that is very
natural but let us find relief in the fact that they have entered into the home
that was prepared for them, and are now with the Saviour, for all eternity.
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FEEL USELESS
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Often when someone may be feeling down, they feel they are no good at anything,
they feel that when it comes to doing something for God they are useless,
helpless, anything they do will not be good enough. They can never make a
difference.
Let me tell you a story about a man who had friends that thought something like
this.
A while ago a man from Northern Ireland decided he would visit some of his
family and friends in the southern parts of the United States. His friends loved
to fish and did it quite often. But fishing for this Northern Irish man was
something new, he had never fished before. As he visited with his friends, the
evening finally came around and they got up deciding it was a great time to go
fishing. The N.Irishman, a bit nervous went along too.
A short while later they were out in a boat, family and friends had to laugh at
the man’s lack of Knowledge when it came to fishing. They assisted him with the
rod and showed him how to cast the line out. He was definitely not catching
anything that night.
The night passed on, the others, expert fishermen cast their lines out and
waited for a bite, while the friend from away was looked on as not being as
good, and that he didn’t have the experience or expertise to be successful.
They stayed out late that night and eventually went home. One fish was finally
caught; it was a nice fish too, a big heavy one. The only one able to catch a
fish that night was the one that felt he couldn’t, the one others looked at and
thought, “He can’t do much.”
I’m sure if you had of asked that man as he went out into the boat that night if
he would have caught anything, he would have laughed and told you for sure not.
If you were to ask him why, I’m sure he’d say “because I’ve never done this
before, I don’t know how!”
God doesn’t expect only certain of His people to do something, He expects all to
do something. Did Peter have a great education? No Peter was a fisherman (Matt.
4). He couldn’t set down with Paul and discuss all the knowledge that Paul had,
but did that make Peter less important? No he preached to the multitude in Acts
2, Peter saw great things done for God.
Perhaps you will say, “I can never be great like Paul, God had him chosen out to
do a work, I can never equal or come close, I can never do anything like Paul
did.” God had a plan for Paul to do, and Paul fulfilled it. There was a time in
Paul’s life when he said “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). Has
there been a time in our life when was asked that as sincere as Paul did that
day? Do you think maybe perhaps that is why we feel we have done nothing for
God? Because we haven’t asked Him seriously what His plan was for us, we have
never asked Him to help us?
I am sure you have heard of the one who even gives a cup of water in God’s name
shall be blessed for it (Mr 9:41). I have heard it before and it sounds nice
that we can do what seems so little for God yet He sees it as so great. Yet even
though we have heard it, why is it we get so distressed and discouraged? We look
around us and see ones that are doing what we call great things for God, and
then we look at ourselves and see nothing done. Is that God’s fault? We are told
that each one of us has a gift
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1 Cor. 12:
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts,….
v. 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every
man severally as he will.
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If you take the time to read 1 Cor. 12, each has a gift that can be served for
God. God does not lie (Tit. 1:2). Let us pray that God will show us the gift He
has given us.
After a gospel meeting, if you are the one that has spoken you wait and listen,
no one has gotten saved, you asked God to bless, why won’t someone get saved?
You may ask. It can be discouraging at times. Or perhaps you brought a friend to
the meeting. Why won’t he/she get saved? You spoke to someone but they don’t
seem to listen, or perhaps even laughed and mocked you. Let us find comfort in
God’s word:
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Isa 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not
return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
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We have such a great treasure within us (2 Cor.4:7). God desires us to tell
others, and we have the confidence that when His word is spoken it will be
blessed in a way that He seems fit. Perhaps the word you spoke instead of seeing
a soul reached and saved, it may have been just what a discouraged soul needed
to hear to rejoice anew in his/her Saviour. Perhaps the word is one that will
come back to someone years down the road and lead to them being saved or
restored.
For all we know the word we spoke may have already blessed a soul and we don’t
even know about it. A year and a half ago a man was visiting his in- laws and
one Sunday was asked if he would take Sunday school for the children. Preparing
the message, the man got up and spoke to the children about the Saviour. Nothing
more was said, Sunday school ended, the day went on, the man left and Gospel
Meeting came. That night in the gospel meeting was a small eight year old girl.
The Sunday school message she had heard that day had really bothered her, she
heard what the man had said, and realized she had to be saved, she was lost.
That night sitting in the gospel meeting the girl trusted the Saviour.
Time went by and the man heard nothing about how his Sunday school message had
touched a soul. It wasn’t until a year and a half later that the man heard. His
face shined as he heard what was being told him. “Boy that’s really good to
hear, that’s really nice.” Beamed the man. I could only imagine how he must have
been feeling inside “Thank you God, for using me.”
That is one true story of a man, that for a long time did not know that he had
touched a life, if that was out there imagine how many more is out there.
Perhaps you have touched a life in a way you don’t even know how, perhaps it was
a smile to someone that was feeling the world hated them, and it made them
realize “hey that Christian is happy.” Perhaps it was just the passing of a
tract to someone and you never saw them again. Would it not be great to get in
heaven and see a soul there that was there because of something that God allowed
you to do? Think of every time you did a kindly, Christian act for someone,
every time you gave even the smallest word to someone. Then think. “I wonder
what type of blessing God gave it.” Because we do have his promise, He will
bless His word. So let us not feel useless, God has saved us. Let us do what we
can do and when we reach heaven God will tell us what blessing has come out of
it.
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So where is God? Right beside you, carrying you, catching you, loving you.
And where will He be tomorrow? ---- The same place.
Ps 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
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2 Cor 4: 8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed,
but not in despair;
9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
De 33:27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:
and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.
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Re 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven,
saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our
God: