Why Can't I stop

 

My guess is that all of us have wrestled with a bad habit or addiction that we have not been able to stop.  Whether it is being constantly negative and only seeing the bad in people and situations, or not being able to control our eating, drinking, or shopping, or spending way too much time binge watching TV or scrolling through social media, we have all found ourselves asking the question, Why can’t I stop?  

Many years ago, before binge watching was a thing, I discovered the TV show 24.  I started watching it in the third or fourth season but then someone gave me the first few seasons on DVD.  I started watching it one night and if you know the show, each episode is one hour in a 24 hour day, but it is a day when the nation or the world hangs in the balance due to some kind of attack.  So I watched the first hour and was hooked.  I would tell myself, it’s not a full hour of TV, it’s more like 45-50 minutes so I would watch another episode, and then another.  One night it was 2:00 in the morning and I asked myself, why can’t I stop?  The DVD’s will be there tomorrow, this wasn’t real life, and I needed to get some sleep, but I just couldn’t stop.  

I’ll be honest, I ask this when I sit down with a bag of chips as well.  Why can’t I stop?  Or a half gallon of ice-cream?  Why can’t I stop?  Sometimes I ask this when I visit a new church or am a visitor in worship and I start critiquing everything.  Why can’t I stop and just worship?  I was doing this on vacation once with my friends and they said, Andy - stop.  

Sometimes, the things we wrestle with are much more serious and destructive.  Why can't I stop fantasizing about others when I’m in a perfectly happy and healthy marriage?  Why can't I stop drinking or smoking?  Why can’t I stop the constant negative and destructive thoughts I have about myself?  Why can’t I stop gossiping and putting others down? 

For those of us who walk with Jesus, when we ask this question we might begin to bargain with God.  God, I will read my Bible everyday, worship every week, give 10% to the church if you will just let me stop.  We might find some strength to change for a day or two, maybe even a week or two, but then we find ourselves falling back into old habits and bad addictions.  Why can’t we stop and experience real change?  We want to change, we desire to change, we pray for change, but change doesn’t happen.  

The truth is that there are many reasons why we might feel “stuck” in a pattern of old habits and addictions and we aren’t going to be able to talk about them all.  There are practical reasons why we might not be able to change.  For example, if I buy chips and have them in the house I’m going to eat them.  I know this but I don’t change my practice.  

There are emotional reasons why we might not be able to change.  Old wounds and unresolved issues will find their way to the surface in our lives and usually they come out in negative behavior.  One of my favorite shows is Hoarders and if you watch more than a few episodes, you know that one reason people hoard is because they have experienced some kind of traumatic loss that they have not worked through.  

There are also relational reasons why we might not be able to change.  It’s hard to stop drinking if all our friends go to the bar every night.  It’s hard to stop gossiping when everyone around us is eager to share the latest tidbit they just heard.  And there are physical reasons why we might not be able to stop.  If you struggle with deep and ongoing depression, it could be a chemical imbalance in the brain that needs to be cared for.  

Each of these things can keep us stuck in an endless cycle of asking why, so it’s important to work with people who can help us figure some of this out.  I encourage you to talk with friends or therapists who can help you work through some of these issues, but today, what I want to focus on is what we find in the center of all this - spiritual reasons.  

There are spiritual reasons that cause us to turn to negative habits and behaviors that over time can take control of our lives.  When this happens, it is often because we are trying to meet a spiritual need with something other than God.  In the 17th century, there was a french mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal, who said, 

What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace?  This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.

Pascal talks about an emptiness and a craving in us that is so strong it leads us to try and fill the void with everything around us.  The emptiness is so strong that we feel helpless in overcoming our behavior, in other words, we can’t stop, but nothing fills the void.  Since the void within us is a longing for a relationship with God, only God can fill it.  Nothing finite can fill the infinite abyss, or the God shaped hole, except God alone.  

Even religion can not fill that God shaped hole.  I’m not saying Jesus can’t fill it, or God can’t fill it, I’m saying religion can’t fill it.  Religion is our attempt to earn God’s approval by trying to follow all the rules.  Religion is trying to please God on our own.  Religion is trying to live like Jesus all by ourselves.  Religion is trying to stop bad habits and addictions in our own strength and working with all our strength and power to be good.  Religion will always come up short.  

Religion won’t change us, but grace will.  The first thing grace does is bring us back into a relationship with God.  For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  Titus 2:11

We are saved by God’s grace alone.  While our sin separates us from God, God’s grace brings us back to God.  Religion doesn’t save us.  Trying on our own to be good and faithful doesn’t save us.  We are saved by grace alone.  Grace is the unmerited goodwill and favor of God.  Grace is what God has done for us, not what we have done or can do for God.  God’s grace saves us, but it doesn’t stop there, it is God’s grace that will also change us.  

Too many of us know that we are saved by God’s grace but then think we have to change all on our own.  We tell ourselves, I have to overcome all these things in my life, I have to follow all the rules, be obedient to God in all things, and change all that is bad in me and make it good.  If it’s going to be, then it’s up to me.  We are saved by grace but then tell ourselves transformation is only going to come by our hard work.  As long as we believe this and live this way, we will fail.  Let me share a verse that can be a game changer when it comes to change.  

God’s grace teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Titus 2:12-13

In other words, the grace that SAVES us is the grace that SUSTAINS us.  Just as it is God’s grace that sets us into a right relationship with God, so it is God’s grace that will transform us into the person God has called me to be. I don’t change by trying harder, I change by trusting more and more in the grace of God that is already at work within me.    

Here at Faith Church, we talk about our faith in the context of 3 relationships: a relationship with God, the church, and the world.  We can grow in our faith by focusing on the rhythms that are part of each relationship.  We can grow in our relationship with God by living fully into our identity.  The rhythm of identity is simply knowing who we are in Christ Jesus and that we are a new creation not by working harder but by trusting in God’s grace.  

Because of God’s grace, we don’t have to work harder to be loved, we are fully loved right now.  Because of God’s grace, we don’t have to dig deeper to find the strength to change because God’s grace leads us to a new life, it helps us change.  Jesus said, if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.  Well guess what, the Son, Jesus, has set us free so by God’s grace we are free.  We are not slaves to sin and addictions and the habits that hold us back, we are free, free to live a new life by God’s grace.  

So the question is, how does God’s grace change us?  It changes us by helping us focus on the right things.  Too often when we want to change, we focus on the outward problem.  We focus on our eating, or shopping, or drinking, or the time we spend online.  We focus on the problem and tell ourselves that if we can change our outward behavior, everything will be ok.  

As long as we only focus on the outward appearance and our behavior, we will fail.  In many ways this is religion.   Religion focuses on the outward appearance and behavior and tells us that we need to clean things up. This is what the religious leaders were doing in Jesus’ day and Jesus told them, you’re doing it all wrong.  

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.  Matthew 23:25-26

Jesus often talked about how religious people always got it wrong because they started by focusing on the outside.  He was critical of those who worked to make sure their prayers were just right but whose hearts were hard.  He was critical of those who made sure they gave exactly the way the law told them to but then weren’t generous with their family and friends.  

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus was critical of the religious leaders who all passed by a man in need because they had important things to do or didn’t want to defile themselves by stopping to help.  What Jesus wants us to do is focus on and fix what is inside of us and allow that to change our actions and behaviors.  What changes the inside is not our actions but God’s grace.  

So the first step to real change is to stop looking at the outside and what needs to change and more deeply accept God’s grace on the inside.  The second step to real change comes when we can be honest about all that we find when we do look inside, and we can be honest, brutally honest, when we fully trust in God’s grace.  

When we know beyond any doubt that God loves us, and that His grace alone has forgiven us and saved us, we can confess all our sins, even those sins we don’t want to acknowledge.  When we know the full power of God’s love, we can be brutally honest about all the darkness that lies within us and open up about the secrets we carry, the shame we hide, and the lies we tell ourselves and others.  

Because of God’s grace, we can be honest about the things inside us that need to be cleaned up, and when we start being honest and confess those things to God, our lives will change.  If we can’t see the brokenness on the inside that needs to be healed and the void that needs to be filled, and if we aren’t willing to confess our sin, then God can’t forgive us and heal us and make us whole.  We have to allow God’s grace to lead us to a place of confession and forgiveness.  

It can be painful when we come to terms with the spiritual issues in our lives and the sin that lies deep within us, but the wonderful thing about God’s grace is that the more sin we uncover in our lives, the more God’s grace appears.  Paul said, where sin increased, grace increased all the more. Romans 5:20.  

We don’t sin more to get more grace, but as we uncover and come to terms with the reality and tenacity of our sin, the sin that keeps us holding on to our bad habits and behaviors, we find God’s grace abounds all the more to set us free.    

So, why can’t you stop?  I can’t completely answer that in your life.  It’s complicated.  There can be many issues that keep us stuck and unable to change, but behind much of our struggle is a spiritual problem.  We are trying to meet a need and fill a void that can only be met by God’s grace.  Religion won’t solve our problems.  Trying harder to stop bad habits and addictions doesn’t always work.  What we need is to trust in the power of God’s grace alone.  The grace that saved us is the grace that will sustain us, but even more important is this.  

The grace that saves us is the grace that will set us free.  

Freedom and new life doesn’t happen in an instant, we might find success and failure in our walk of faith and our relationship with God, the church, and the world, but the more we focus on the power of God’s grace, the more we find the power to live a life free from sin and the power to really change.  

 

Next Steps

Why can’t I change?

What are the habits, behaviors and addictions you want to stop?  

● How have you tried to stop in the past?  

● Were you successful short term?  Long term?

How have you been trying to fill the “God-shaped hole” in your life?  

What do you tend to turn to when you feel isolated or alone?  

The grace that saves you is the grace that sustains you.

Read Titus 2:11-13

When has God’s grace led you to a more self-controlled and godly life?  

How can seeing yourself as a fully loved child of God help you grow in the rhythm of “identity”?  (check out the 3 Relationships Workbook at bellefontefaith.com/3r)

What other rhythm in the 3 Relationships can we grow in by focusing on God’s grace.  

Set your heart and mind on God’s grace each day this week by reading a verse about God’s grace .  Ephesians 2:8-9

Romans 5:20-21

 Romans 6:14

1 Corinthians 15:10

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

John 1:16-17

Hebrews 4:15-16.  

Why is it easier to focus on the outside, and work to clean up behaviors and actions, instead of trying to clean up the inside?  See Matthew 23:25-26

How can God’s grace lead us to a place of confession and repentance?  How can that help us clean up the inside?  

Why did God not answer my prayer?

 

Last week we started a series called “Ever wonder why?” and asked the very difficult question that people have been asking for centuries, why did God let it happen.  Today we are going to consider another difficult question that people have wrestled with for centuries, why didn’t God answer my prayer?  

Prayer can be very confusing at times because while we believe in its prayer and see all kinds of prayers answered in the Bible, we often question why God doesn’t answer our prayers.  

In the book of Joshua, when the people of God were in battle, Joshua prayed for the sun to stand still, and it did.  

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!  Joshua 10:13-14

God answered that prayer, but when we pray for flood waters to recede to ease the suffering of people, or storms to weaken so they don’t devastate communities, it doesn’t happen.  God didn’t answer those prayer.

We read about Elijah asking God to send down fire from heaven to show His power and glory, and God does, but when we pray for God to show His power and glory by healing someone with cancer, it doesn’t happen.  Why does God answer one person’s prayer and not others?  

In the story of Daniel, Daniel prayed for the mouths of the lions to be shut, and they were, but when we pray for a door to open for employment, it doesn’t come.  All of this can cause us to question why God didn’t answer our prayers.  Did God not hear us?  Did we pray the wrong way?  Does God not love or care about us?

Like last week, let me be clear at the beginning and tell you that I am not going to be able to give you a clear answer about why God may not have answered your prayer.  

What I can do, and want to do, is share some thoughts on prayer that can help guide us when we ask the question why and some teaching about prayer that can help our prayers be more effective.  If you hear nothing else today, I hope you will hear this:

The purpose of prayer is not to get God to do our will.

The purpose of prayer is to know God so we can do His will. 

 Believe it or not, God does not exist to answer our prayers.  We are not the main character in the story - God is.  While God created us in love and loves us unconditionally, God does not exist to do our will and fulfill all our desires, we exist to honor and glorify God.  So, prayer isn’t about getting what we want or telling God what He needs to do in our lives and in the world, prayer is about surrendering to God so we can learn more about what He wants and how we can serve, honor and glorify Him.  

While the purpose of prayer is about growing in our relationship with God and surrendering ourselves to God’s will, Jesus does say that whatever we ask for in God’s name, we will receive.  

I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.  John 14:13-14

This seems to say that God will answer all our prayers. Ask for anything in my name and you will receive it.  Jesus makes prayer sound like we have a genie in a bottle who will grant all our wishes, but this isn’t all Jesus said about prayer or all that the Bible says about prayer.  The Bible says many things about prayer, and we need to take them all into consideration when we ask why God didn’t answer our prayers.  God’s willingness to answer our prayer doesn’t just depend on our asking, it depends on many things.  

We are going to look at 4 things that lead to effective prayer and the first one comes from Jesus.

Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.  Mark 11:24-25

1. Effective prayer needs healthy relationships with God and others.  Jesus said that how we treat others, our relationships with others, will impact how God hears and responds to our prayer.  If you stop and think about it, this makes sense.  If your kids are yelling and fighting with each other all day, how likely are you going to be to let them have friends over for the night?  How likely are you going to be to give them anything they want?  As parents, how your children treat each other, and how they treat you, impacts how you respond to them.  

If we are being unkind toward one another, if we are putting others down, if being negative and critical of others at home and at work, if we aren’t lifting others up as the Bible tells us to but tearing each other down, and if we aren’t willing to forgive as God has forgiven us, why would God look graciously at our prayers?  We may not like hearing this, but how we treat one another has a direct impact on how God hears and responds to our prayers.  It’s not the ONLY thing God takes into consideration, but it is one thing, and it is one thing we can control.  

If you don’t think there is a direct link between our relationships with one another and our prayer life, then consider this verse.  It is written to husbands, but I would say it is true for husbands and wives, children and parents, siblings, friends, and neighbors.  

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives and treat them with respect… so that nothing will hinder your prayers. 1 Peter 3:7

How we treat one another impacts our prayers.  If God doesn’t seem to answer our prayers, maybe our relationships are broken, and we need to start treating one another with respect and grace.  

2. Effective prayer needs the right motives.  Not only does effective prayer need right relationships, it needs right motives. 

When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.  James 4:3

If we ask God to bless us financially so we can spend more money on ourselves, why would God answer that?  If we aren’t willing to tithe, or give or be generous towards with what God has already given us, why would God answer our prayers for more?  If we ask God for gifts and abilities but all we want is to use them for recognition and fame, why would God answer our prayer?  If our motive in prayer isn't to give glory to God and serve God and others, why would God answer our prayer?  

We always need to check our motives because even if we think our hearts are good and right and pure, they may not be. Jeremiah said, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Jeremiah 17:9

It’s important for us to examine our motives when we pray because we can be easily deceived.  More than once God has pointed out that my motives may not have been as right as I thought they were.  Motives matter.  Relationships matter.  And faith matters.  

3. Effect prayer needs faith.   When we pray, do we believe that God can do what we are asking Him to do?  Do we have faith, even the size of a mustard seed, when we ask God for help?  Faith matters.  Jesus linked people’s faith to His ability to answer prayers.  Jesus said, if you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.  Matthew 21:22

A few weeks ago, we heard the story of the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years.  She went to Jesus and believed that if she could touch the hem of His garment that she would be healed.  She reached out in faith.  We might say she prayed in faith and Jesus said, daughter, your faith has made you well.  

Another time Jesus was approached by two blind men who cried out to Him for healing.  Jesus asked,  "Do you believe that I am able to do this?”  “Yes, Lord,” they replied. Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; and their sight was restored.  Matthew 9:28-30

Their faith had a direct effect on Jesus’ ability to answer their prayer.  Now let me be clear and say that faith is not the ONLY thing that God takes into consideration when He answers our prayers.  If God doesn’t answer our prayer, it is not always due to a lack of faith, but we do need to have faith when we pray.  And if our faith is weak, we need to ask God to strengthen it.

A man came to Jesus asking him to heal his son from a spirit that threw him on the ground and into fires, but his faith was weak.  

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

“‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”  Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”  Mark 9:22-24

I love Jesus' response to the father, If I can?  You're asking me to do something but aren’t sure that I can do it?  All things are possible if you believe.  The father is passionate about wanting his son healed, but he is also honest, I do believe but help my unbelief.  

I don’t know about you, but this is often where I find myself in prayer.  I believe God can answer prayers and move in miraculous ways, and I believe God wants to do these powerful things, but there are doubts that creep up in the shadows.  So, I cry to God, I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.  God, wipe away the darkness of doubt that too often creeps into my faith because I know that my faith matters when I pray.  I believe, help my unbelief.  

Relationships matter.  Motives matter. And faith matters if our prayers are going to be effective, but even when all these are spot on, when all our relationships with God and others are as good as we can make them, and our motives are pure and humble, and our faith is strong and powerful, there are still times God may not answer our prayers the way we want Him too.  One final thing needed for effective prayer is for us to surrender to the will of God.

4. Effective prayer needs to yield to God’s will.  

This takes us back to the beginning when I said that we aren’t the main characters of the story and God isn’t here to do all that we want Him to do.  We pray to know God and to obey His will.  Sometimes we pray so that our hearts can surrender to God’s purpose and plan.  As much as we might think we know what God’s will is, we might not know it fully.  As much as we think we know what is right, what we think is right might not be what is best in the short term or the long term.  

And no matter what we think is right for us and best for us, God might have a different plan.  Notice I didn’t say a better plan, God’s plan is not always better in our eyes, it just might be different.  A great example of this is seen in the life of the Apostle Paul.

Paul was the major leader of the Jesus movement after Jesus ascended into heaven.  He helped spread the gospel of Jesus across the Roman Empire and his wisdom and faith accounts for much of the teaching we find in the New Testament.  He was a man of faith and passion who always tried to align himself with God’s will.  We might think that God always answered Paul’s prayers, but He didn’t.  Paul prayed diligently for something that God did not provide

I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  2 Corinthians 12:7-9

We don’t know what this thorn in the flesh was. Some think it was a person who always seemed to work against Paul.  Others thought it may have been a physical ailment that held him back.  We do know Paul suffered from some type of eye problem so it could have been that Paul prayed for this healing, but it never came.  What God told Paul was that He had a different plan for him.  

Instead of bringing Paul healing and removing the thorn, God was going to teach Paul how to lean on His grace and strength.  Clearly, for Paul, a better plan would have been to be healed, but God’s plan was different.  Our prayers always have to yield to God’s will and God’s will is not always our will  

Now you might be asking, if God is going to do whatever He wants to do anyway, why should I pray?  If God is going to follow His plan regardless of how healthy our relationships are, how pure our motives are, and how strong our faith is, why should we pray?  It’s a valid question and it takes us back to the purpose of prayer.  

We pray not to just get what we want; we pray to know God more.  We pray to align our hearts with God’s heart.  We pray so that our will surrender to God’s will.  

The purpose of prayer is not to get God to do our will.

The purpose of prayer is to know God so we can do His will. 

Next Steps

Why doesn’t God answer my prayer?

When have you struggled because God didn’t answer your prayer the way you thought God should?  (Some of these situations can be deeply painful.  Ask God for light to understand and grace to ease the pain.)

Jesus said, I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.  John 14:13-14

Does this mean we will get everything we ask for in prayer? 

What other teachings on prayer help you understand what Jesus is saying?  

4 teachings on what makes prayer effective.

1. Effective prayer needs healthy relationships with God and others.  Mark 11:24-25.  

● Why does God care about our relationships?

● What relationships do you need to work on before you go to God in prayer?  

● How can prayer help strengthen your relationship with God?  

2. Effective prayer needs the right motives.  James 4:3 and Jeremiah 17:9.  

● When have your motives not always been right when you prayed?  

● What motives need to be set right before you prayers?  

3. Effective prayer needs faith.  Matthew 22:21, Matthew 9:28-30, and Mark 9:22-24

● When have you prayed for a stronger faith?

● How can you strengthen your faith so that you fully believe in what you are asking for in prayer?  

4. Effective prayer needs to yield to God’s will.  2 Corinthians 12:7-9

● How does Jesus show us this during His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane?  Matthew 26:36-46

Keep the purpose of prayer always before you.

The purpose of prayer is not to get God to do our will.

The purpose of prayer is to know God so we can do His will. 

Why Did God Let It Happen?

 

As you know, we open our worship with the response:

God is good…  and all the time….

Have you ever wondered if this is true?  When things aren’t going well and things in your life seem unfair or unjust, do you still believe that God is good?  When you see good and innocent people suffer through the devastation of storms or the destruction of war, do you still think that God is good all the time?  If you are experiencing financial setbacks, job loss, or the fear of losing your marriage and family even though you are working hard in all these areas and striving to be faithful, can you still say God is good?  If you have ever questioned the goodness of God, then I pray this message, and this new series will speak to you.

We are starting a series called Ever Wonder Why?, and today we are going to reflect on one of the most difficult questions we all ask at times.  Why did God let it happen?  Why did God let the rains of Hurricane Helene wipe out whole communities in Western NC?  Why does God allow ongoing war in a land that is so important to Him?  Why does God allow those we love to battle cancer?  Why do children suffer abuse and abandonment?  Why does God still allow hunger and starvation?  Why?  

This is not a new question.  300 years before Jesus, the Greek philosopher Epicurius asked similar questions, and these were some of his observations:

If God is not able to prevent evil, then God is not all powerful.

If God is not willing to prevent evil, then God is not all good. 

If God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does evil exist?  

Epicurius asked the same question we do.  If we believe God is all powerful and always good, then why does evil exist and why do bad things happen to people.  The presence of evil does not mean there is no God or that God is not good and powerful, we know this because the story of God, the Biblical narrative, is full of evil and suffering.  

In the Old Testament, King David, who was known as a man after God’s own heart, asked God where He was in the presence of the injustice and suffering he was facing.  The prophet Jeremiah cried out to God when evil was all around him, and in the New Testament, John the Baptist, whose mission and purpose was to point people to Jesus, was unjustly arrested and then beheaded.  John was in prison with Jesus not far away and Jesus knew the bad situation John was in.   I have to imagine that John asked God why He was allowing this to happen?  Where are you God?  Where are you Jesus?  Why are you letting this happen?

Another person in the Old Testament who asked this question was a man named Asaph.  Asaph was a poet and prophet who led the choir in the Tabernacle.  There are 12 psalms that we believe he wrote, and this is from one of them.  Psalm 73:11-14

What does God know? they ask. Does the Most High even know what’s happening?  Look at these wicked people—enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply. Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?  Did I keep myself innocent for no reason? I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.

Does God know what’s happening?  Does God know that evil people are prospering?  Does He know that good people are suffering?  And if He does, why does He allow it?  Why is evil getting the upper hand?  Why is there so much injustice and suffering if God is so good and loving?

As we wrestle with this issue, let be clear, I am not going to have a good or precise answer to this ancient and ongoing question.  What I hope to provide are some reflections and thoughts that can carry us through our questions and pain to a place of hope and faith.  

So again, the question we ask is:

If God is love, why is there suffering and pain and evil?  

One way to answer this is to say that there is suffering and pain because God is love.  It’s not that God chooses to have some suffer, but if love is a choice then suffering is a possibility.  Since God gives each of us the choice to love Him and others in response to His love, when we choose not to love, it opens the door for pain and suffering.  When we choose hate or indifference over love, when we choose to do what is wrong over what is right, we bring suffering into the world.  

It’s not that all suffering and pain in the world is caused by our choice, but some of it is. God knew this was a possibility when he gave us the freedom to choose love or hate, goodness or evil.  In theological circles this choice we have been given is called freewill.  God gives us the freedom to choose how we will respond to His love.  The reason God gives us this freedom is that didn’t God didn’t want robots adoring Him, He wanted a relationship with His children.  God loves us enough to give us the freedom to respond to His love- or not, and God did this knowing that at times we might choose not to love Him.  Choosing to not love God is called sin and sin is what opens the door for pain and suffering in our lives and in the lives of others.  

God loves us enough to give us freewill knowing that the consequence could bring pain and suffering into the world, but He also gave us this freedom knowing that the only truly good and innocent person who would ever live, His son Jesus, would suffer and die because of it.  While we often ask why bad things happen to good people, the only truly good and innocent person to ever live was Jesus, and Jesus chose to take on all the bad that the world had to offer so we could be counted as good.  Jesus took on our sin, our failure to love God and others, our evil and unfaithful choices, and paid the price for it all.  

Because God is love, He gave us the choice to love Him or not.  God knew that at times we would choose not to love and that our choices would bring evil and suffering into the world and because of that, God knew someone would have to come to set things right.  The only one who could do that was going to be God Himself, so God gave up the glory of heaven to come to earth as a man.  Here on earth, Jesus was rejected by his family and community, He was falsely accused by His own leaders and people, He was arrested, abandoned, imprisoned, flogged, and finally hung on a cross to die.  The only good person to ever live took on all the suffering and pain of the world and cried out with the very question we wrestle with today.  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  

Jesus was asking God, Where are you?  Why are you allowing this to happen?  God watched all this happen, we might say he allowed it, because He knew it wasn’t the end of the story.  The cross was not the end of the story.  A resurrection was coming.  New life was coming.  Healing and wholeness was coming.  While Jesus felt forsaken, and in a moment when the sin of the world was laid on Him, God did turn away, it was not the end of the story.  God had not forsaken Jesus, in the end God raised Him to a new life.  

Let me be clear and say that God doesn’t allow suffering to happen so something better can come, but I will say that in moments of suffering, good things can still happen because God is at work and God is love.  Too many people want to look at pain and suffering and say there is no God or that God isn’t loving.  I want to say that in those moments of suffering, God is still with us and God still loves us and God is working for something good.  

The resounding message of the Bible is that God loves us and God is with us - always.  In the presence of evil and suffering we see in the Bible; we see that God is right there.  Isaiah 43:2 says

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

God’s love is so powerful that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. 

Suffering and pain is never the end of the story.  During the darkness of Friday, with Jesus on a cross, God could see the light of Sunday and Jesus walking out of a tomb.  God knew something better was coming.  No matter what suffering we face, we can be assured that something better is coming, here in this life or in the life to come.  The Bible says:

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  All these things are gone forever.  Revelation 21:4

In every situation of suffering and pain, we need to be reminded that God’s love is still with us and that God is working for something better.  Even in the midst of the destruction and devastation we see in NC and TN, good things are happening.  

It’s been difficult to watch all the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.  I heard someone say that in most floods the waters rise and then fall and everyone is left mucking out and cleaning up.  This flood rose and swept everything away.  Homes, churches, schools, businesses, hospitals and even cemeteries were completely wiped away.  There is nothing to muck out, nothing to clean up, nothing to restore.  Entire towns have to rebuild or people need to move to new areas.  Why did God let this happen?  

I don’t have a good answer, but here is what I do know.  God is still with these communities and something good is taking place.  During an election when we are so polarized and divided, it is great to see people coming together to help one another, to support and care for one another, and to love one another.  Our political differences don’t seem very important in the face of suffering.  Maybe something good can come out of suffering and pain.  God didn’t cause this destruction to bring about something good, but God can bring something good from it.

While God can bring something good out of suffering and redeem all bad situations, for many of us, we aren’t there yet.  We still see evil in this world and experience loss and hurt and pain.  

While we might not have a good and clear answer for why these things are happening, we can say with confidence is that:

God is still with us. God is with us and He gives us the strength to keep going

God still loves us.  God loves us  and He always will

God is still strong.  In fact, God is strong enough to bring something good out of the pain.  The Bible says, 

God works for the good in all things through Christ Jesus.  Romans 8:28  

Because God is with us and still loves us and is still strong, God is able to bring good into all situations, even situations of suffering and pain. So let’s go back to Asaph who asked God why there was so much pain and why evil seemed to be prospering while the faithful were suffering.  While he didn’t come up with any good answers himself, this is what he said.  Psalm 73:16-17, 23-26

I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. Whom have I in heaven but you?  I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.  

When we come to God, the problem of evil and suffering don’t disappear, but we still have hope.  So if you are hurting now, if you are living in the “not there yet” of pain and suffering, and if you are wondering where God is to wipe away the tears, know this - God is still with you and something better is coming.  God is still with and He will stay with you.  God still loves you and He always will love you, and because of God’s love and presence and power, even in the midst of suffering and pain He is working for your good.  

That’s why we can still say… 

God is good…. And all the time… 

Next Steps

Why did God let it happen?

What situations of suffering, injustice, and pain cause you to ask, Why did God let it happen?  

How have you wrestled with these questions in the past?  

Some might argue that injustice, suffering, and pain is a sign that God is not present or that God is not love.  

● How does God’s love actually open the door to the possibility of suffering and pain?  

● Why would God choose to love us if this were a possibility?  

● How do our choices to love God, or not to love God, lead to suffering and pain?  

Jesus was the only truly good and innocent person to ever live and bad things happened to him.  

List some of these bad things.

Why did God allow these bad things to happen to Jesus?  

How did these bad things lead to a better future for Jesus and for us?  

How can the injustice, suffering, and pain of Jesus give us hope when we see or experience injustice, suffering and pain today?  

If God can work for the good in all situations (Romans 8:28) how can we look at bad situations and start working for good.

Where can you start working for good and a better future in situations of injustice, suffering or pain you see today?  

How can the storms and floods of Hurricane Helene lead to a better future for us, our church, and our world?  

How can you give right now to create this better future?

(A Hurricane Relief offering is being held this month.)

If you are hurting and wondering where God is in your life, lean on God’s promises and find support among God’s people.  

● Pray.  

● Read God’s word.  

● Join a small group.  

For help with any of these things, contact one of our pastors or reach out to the church office.    

God Is Unchanging

 

30 years ago, when I started as a pastor at 2nd Ave. Church in Altoona, I upgraded the old computer in the church office.  I worked with the administrative assistant and taught her how to use a mouse and work in windows and I set up all the programs we used in the church.  Today, I need someone to tell me what kind of computer to buy and how to use it.  Computer technology has changed so much that I am lucky if I can turn one on and use it. 

15 years ago, I could run a wedding or a funeral here at the church on my own.  I couldn’t play the organ or provide music, but I could turn on the lights and run the sound by myself.  Today, I only know how to turn on the lights because Justin programmed it so I only have to hit one button to turn the lights on and one button to turn them off.  Don’t ask me to make any changes to the lights because the light board is beyond my comprehension.  And I have no idea how to turn on the sound board and get one of the mics to work, I only know how to turn my mic on and off, most of the time.  

Technology is increasing at a rate we have never seen before and the speed of change is only going to get faster.  As Artificial Intelligence is integrated into more things, there will be even more change.  I don’t know about you, but all this change makes me unsettled, anxious and at times really frustrated.  My Dad used to get so mad when his iphone would update and then he didn’t know where all his contacts were or how to check the weather.  Now I am the one who gets mad when my phone updates and I can’t figure out how to use it.  

But it’s not just the changes in technology that can be unsettling, it’s change in general.  I was frustrated 30 years ago when my hair started to turn gray.  At the time I said, well at least I still have it.  Now, if I’m out in the sun too long, there is a little spot on the top of my head that gets sunburned because I don’t have much hair there anymore.  I can’t see it most of the time, but when I see a video of me from behind and I see that spot - I get frustrated and a little sad.  Justin - no more video from behind.  

Our bodies change and while those changes are great when we are young, once we hit a certain age, those changes are frustrating.  When you can’t drink coffee after 12 Noon because it will keep you up at night, or eat spicy food after 6 pm because of acid reflux, it’s not fun.  And men, let’s face it, we know we are getting old when we are up not once or twice during the night to go to the bathroom, but three and four times.  Change is not easy.  

Right now political change is unsettling as we face an election.  Social change keeps us from knowing what to say so that we don’t offend anyone, and financial changes can happen so fast that one day we feel rich and the next day we are anxious about our financial future.  Everything changes and change is happening faster than ever before.  Since we have been here this morning, my guess is that fashion has already changed and bellbottoms and leisure suits are making a comeback.    

While we can laugh at some of these things - the truth is that change can be really difficult.  Sometimes change makes us feel unwanted or left behind, it leaves us worried about the future for ourselves and our children, and it leaves us feeling out of control.  Change is distressing and it could be this kind of distress the author of Psalm 102 was feeling.

We don’t know who wrote Psalm 102.  Some think it was King David, but others think it may have been one of the prophets who experienced the fall of Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem.  What we know is that they were in some real distress because of how things were changing.   Psalm 102:1-4

Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you.

Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress.

Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.

For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.  My heart is blighted and withered like grass; and I forget to eat my food. 

The psalmist is crying out to God and part of his distress is over how things have changed.  He says, my days vanish like smoke, his body weakens quickly, it’s all like grass that is green one day and brown the next.  Things are changing and he is unsettled and feeling out of control.  

In a world where everything changes so fast that we find ourselves anxious and unsettled, the attribute of God that can give us hope and peace and strength is that God is unchanging.  When everything around us changes leaving us in a whirlwind, we can place our feet on solid ground because God never changes.  That’s where the psalmist found his hope and strength.  Psalm 102:25-27

In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, 

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded.

But you remain the same, and your years will never end.

God is unchanging.  The Bible makes this clear.  

I, the Lord, do not change.  Malachai 3:6

Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever.  Hebrews 13:8

When nothing around us is safe and secure, when nothing gives us a firm foundation on which to stand, we can find comfort and strength in the truth that God is unchanging.  The economy and our finances change constantly, but God is the one who will supply all our needs and He never changes.  Our health can change at any moment but the one who created us and knows how our bodies work and can bring healing, does not change.  The stability of our nation and world can change overnight, but the God who created the world and is ruler of it all does not change.  The unchanging nature of God can give us strength and stability and hope in an ever changing world.  

There are three things about God that we know will never change and these three things can help us in life.  

  1. God’s word never changes.   The Bible itself tells us this.  

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.  Isaiah 40:8

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.  Matthew 24:35.  

What is so great about God’s word is that while it never changes, it is also living and active so it can speak to us in different ways at different times.  There were two very specific times in my life when God’s word spoke to me.  One was when I needed to know that God had forgiven me and redeemed me.  At that moment I read  Psalm 18;1-19.

Another time was when I needed guidance and direction and I read 

2 Timothy 2:2

God’s word doesn’t change.  Its truth doesn’t change.  Its wisdom and guidance doesn’t change.  It might speak to us in different ways at different times, but the truth and power of God’s word doesn’t change.  It is not the book of the month or the book of the year, it’s the book of the ages and what doesn’t change is its ability to speak to us today.  Many times we don’t read the Bible as much as the Bible reads us.  What I mean is that as we read it, it speaks to us.  That never changes.  The Bible is living and active and it will be living and active forever.  God’s word never changes.  

2. God’s character never changes.  Because God never changes, God’s character never changes.  The attributes we have talked about this month aren’t going to change next month.  God is merciful and God will always be merciful.  God’s mercy is new every morning.  God is loving and God will always be loving.  God is with us and God will always be with us.  God is good…. And all the time….

Because these attributes of God never change, we can depend on them, we can count on them, and we can trust them.  God is trustworthy and always will be.  For example, this is what the Bible says about the unchanging attribute of God’s love:    

What can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  …No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:35, 37-39

Neither the present nor the future can change God’s love for us.  God’s love doesn’t change.  Because God is love, God can’t not love us.  Because God is merciful, God can’t not extend mercy to us.  God’s character doesn’t change and God’s love and mercy and grace isn’t for some and not for others, it’s for all people at all times.  God’s holiness is always there to initiate forgiveness for all.  

While our feelings about God might change  and our feelings about ourselves might change, God never changes and His feelings toward us never change.  God is not swayed by what we do or what we don’t do.  God’s character of love and grace and mercy is unchanging and the unchanging nature of God gives us strength and peace.  Our lives change and our world changes but God’s word does not change and God’s character does not change.  

3. God’s promises never change.  Again, God’s unchanging word says, no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ.  2 Corinthians 1:20

Every promise God has made to us, He will keep.  It’s hard for us to understand this because our lives are filled with broken promises.  Right now there are politicians making all kinds of promises to us to get us to vote for them, but the reality is that we don’t really believe them because we have seen politicians not keep their promises for generations.   We don’t always trust the advertisements we see and hear because we know that businesses don’t keep their promises. Everywhere we turn we find people who don’t keep their promises and unfortunately even those we love and trust the most don’t always keep their promises.  

Because all those around us don’t keep their promises, we have become cynical and jaded when we hear about a God who says He keeps His promises, but God does.  God’s promises are YES and AMEN.  God will not go back on what He has promised.  God can’t go back on His promise because He is the promise keeper and His character doesn’t change.  God’s promises are ours now and forever but too often we don’t lean on them or claim them for ourselves.  

How sad it is that God has made us so many promises that we either forget about or don’t accept.  It’s like a gift we aren’t using and enjoying.  How many of you have a gift card at home that you haven’t used?  I’ll be honest, I have several that I have had for a while and some that I have completely forgotten about.  I read this week that the value of unused gift cards is estimated to be between 20 and 25 Billion Dollars.  Billion!  Each of us probably have some.  We think about using them, but don’t or we have forgotten about them all together.  

All of those unused gift cards are like all the unused promises of God.  We know God has made these promises but we forget what they are and never accept and lean on them in our life.  When we don’t remember, claim and stand on God’s promises, we are losing out on so much.  Claim God’s promises!  They have not changed, they are still Yes and Amen.  They are still there for you today.  Whatever promise you need, it is there for you.  Listen to just some of the promises God has made to us.  

God gives strength for the weary - Isaiah 40:31

God forgives all our sin - 1 John 1:9

God will fight for us - Exodus 14:13-14

God gives us wisdom- James 1:5

God will make us new - Romans 1:8

God will never leave us nor forsake us - Deuteronomy 3:6

God gives us eternal life - John 3:16

God gives us freedom - John 8:36

God will meet all our NEEDS - Philippians 4:19

God has written our name in the book of life - Revelation 3:5

God prepares for us a home in heaven - John 14:3

God gives us peace - Isaiah 26:3

God gives us courage - John 16:33

Good has a good plan for our future - Jeremiah 29:11

God gives us a way out when we are tempted - 1 Corinthians 10:13

God will walk with us always - Psalm 23:1-4

God will guide us through life - Proverbs 3:5-6

These are just some of the promises God has made to us that He will keep.  We need to stand on them.  We need to trust them and know that God will never go back on them.  He will not change, He cannot change and He cannot NOT keep these promises.  

God’s word never changes.

God’s character never changes.

God’s promises never change.  They are Yes and Amen.  

As we say… God is good… And all the time….

 

Next Steps

God Is Unchanging

Read Psalm 102:1-11. 

● How might change be causing some of the author’s distress and depression?  

● Where do you find the pace of change in our world today unsettling?  

● What changes cause you the most frustration and anxiety?  

● What are some things that help you adjust to unexpected changes?

God is Unchanging

Read Psalm 102:25-2, Malachi 3:6, and Hebrews 13:8

● How does the unchanging nature of God give you hope, strength, and peace?

3 Things of God that never change:

1. God’s word never changes

Read Isaiah 40:8 and Matthew 24:35.

● How does the unchanging nature of God’s word give you hope?  

● When has God’s word spoken directly to you?  

2. God’s character never changes.

Looking back over this series, which attribute of God do you need to remember will never change and always be there:

● God’s Mercy

● God’s Love

● God’s Trustworthiness

● God’s Holiness

Why is this attribute so important to you?

3. God’s promises never change.

● Where have you seen God keep His promises in your life?  

● What promise of God do you need to lean on and trust today?

Consider how some of these promises can give you strength, help and peace: 

God gives strength for the weary - Isaiah 40:31

God forgives all our sin - 1 John 1:9

God will fight for us - Exodus 14:13-14

God gives us wisdom- James 1:5

God will make us new - Romans 1:8

God will never leave us nor forsake us - Deuteronomy 3:6

God gives us eternal life - John 3:16

God gives us freedom - John 8:36

God will meet all our NEEDS - Philippians 4:19

God has written our name in the book of life - Revelation 3:5

God prepares for us a home in heaven - John 14:3

God gives us peace - Isaiah 26:3

God gives us courage - John 16:33

Good has a good plan for our future - Jeremiah 29:11

God gives us a way out when we are tempted - 1 Cor. 10:13

God will walk with us always - Psalm 23:1-4

God will guide us through life - Proverbs 3:5-6