“Where Are You God?”
“36 Year Old Father of 3 children, Husband and Church Leader killed by drunk driver less than one mile from his home! Drunk Driver survives with minor injuries” If you saw that headline on the morning news, what emotions invade you? What Questions about God would you have? The year was 1986, and that was my Father who was killed and I was the youngest of those 3 children at 2 years old! Have You Been there…times when you question God? His Goodness? Where Are You God?
- WONDER (v.17-22)
- No doubt this man has tried just about everything for his son to be healed…without success. He hears of a new remedy that just might be the trick…He just has to get his son to Jesus! On the way there the Father is wondering if this is actually going to work…will His son actually get healed? Is God’s goodness finally going to be revealed?
- Some of us are in this season or coming out of it. We’ve been left wondering if God is still good and still a healer! We’ve seen Him heal others in our life but we are still in what seems like this valley with little to no resolution! We are left wondering if God is still who He says he is!
- EMBRACE (v.23-24)
- Here the man has heard all of the stories of Jesus and the miracles! And yet here he is in the presence of Jesus and asks “If you can”…Jesus responds that anyone with faith can see the healing happen. The Father is honest with Jesus by embracing his unbelief and asks Jesus to help him overcome his unbelief so that his son would be healed!
- I wonder how many of us here would have an honest conversation with Jesus like this Father did…would we hype ourselves up with positive affirmations and unrealistic expectations? Or would we just get real with Jesus and say “help me in my unbelief”? How many people can we have a real conversation like this with? That’s why Christian community is so important in our lives because when we get real we get to experience real!
- PRAYER (v. 25-29)
- I wonder how many of us would have stopped at verse 26 and been upset with God that He “killed” the blessing He gave us? And yet verse 27 shows the miracle happening. More than ever the Father’s unbelief is tested and Jesus does what He said He would do! The boy may have been brought to Jesus but once He experienced Him he walked away with new life!
- Many times like the Disciples we wonder why we can’t do miracles like Jesus did, but we miss the point! It wasn’t the Miracle that we should be seeking but the relationship with the Father (prayer)! If we can’t be real with Jesus, how can we grow at all? That’s the house built on sand…but we through faith are built on the rock! And when the winds grow, the waves crash and the storm comes we won’t be defeated because we are in Christ! And to go to Him in prayer is to experience Him in a new way to do a new thing!
We often wrestle with the idea that if we aren’t expectant for God to He won’t…but to get there we have to walk through the Wonder of who He is, Embrace with honesty where we are in our faith and go to Him in Prayer for us to really see where He is…He’s right beside step by step!
Take Away:
Describe a time when you found yourself wrestling with God.
During a time that was (or is) difficult, how did you (or do you) continue to embrace God in the middle of the trial?
Interested in More About Our Thursday Greenhouse Gathering: CLICK HERE
Find Out How You Play a Part to #JoinSpartanburg: CLICK HERE
Listen to Our Full Sermon Here:
Tyler West 