Bill and Gloria Gaither have written many wonderful Christian songs. One that Gloria wrote in the late 1960’s came while she was expecting a child. The couple was going through some terrible problems. Bill had been seriously sick, their music had been attacked as not being spiritual. On New Year’s Eve night, Gloria sat in a dark room experiencing a time of torment and fear. She said, “I sat alone in the darkness thinking about the rebellious world and all of our problems - and about our baby yet unborn. Who in their right mind would bring a child into a world like this?” She was at the height of her fear and then something happened. She said, “I can’t quite explain what happened in that next moment, but suddenly I felt released from it all. The panic hat had begun to build inside was gently dispelled by a reassuring presence and a soft voice that kept saying, ‘Don’t forget the empty tomb, don’t forget the empty tomb.’ Then I knew I could have that baby and face the future with optimism and trust for I had been reminded that it was all worth it just because He lives.” And she wrote: “How sweet to hold a newborn baby, and feel the pride and joy he gives; but greater still the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain days because He lives. Because He lives I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone, because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives.
You see Bill and Gloria went on to write a beautiful song because God gave them the power to do so. God gave them the power to look beyond Bill’s illness and their spiritual troubles to the greater joy that comes in Jesus Christ.
Similarly, Paul wrote these words to Timothy. Towards the end of his ministry Paul reminded Timothy there was a time when nobody would stand with him. The disciples were initially wary and suspicious of him. He had been stoned, shunned, and arrested at various times in his life.
Yet through all of these incidents, God was still with him. God gave him the strength to continue on. God allowed him to carry on the Word to all of Greece and a portion of Italy.
This Sunday we celebrate restoration and reformation of the Church at the hands of those saints who would not back down. Like Paul many of them had once been part of the system. Whether it was Martin Luther, or John Wyclyffe writer of the first English Bible, or our own John Wesley, they all faced adversity. They were all left alone to defend themselves against those who would judge other wise. Yet despite all of the conflict, and trials they faced in their ministry. God was always with them.
Now some might say, well these are like supermen of faith, right? My faith is nothing compared these guys. They had no doubt that God was always with them.
Well guess what? They were human just like us. They were filled with doubt, and they experienced fear just like us. It might be said that maybe Timothy was experiencing the same doubts and fears.
Maybe Timothy felt completely overwhelmed. In fact from what we had been reading for the last several Sundays we can be pretty sure of that. We can be pretty sure that he was giving deep consideration to whether he was cut out to be a pastor.
One of the hard things about reading Paul’s Epistles to me is the fact that they read like half a phone conversation. Ever had that experience? You only catch half of what someone is talking about. Well this is definitely what I feel when I read this Scripture.
I try to imagine what Timothy has been trying to tell Paul.
“Paul, these people they won’t listen. They keep fighting over some of the most insignificant things. I am really beginning to lose all sense of hope here, I feel all alone, and with out a friend or ally.”
Then Paul would say,” At my preliminary hearing no one stood by me. They all ran like scared rabbits. But it doesn’t matter—the Master stood by me and helped me spread the Message loud and clear to those who had never heard it. I was snatched from the jaws of the lion! God’s looking after me, keeping me safe in the kingdom of heaven. All praise to him, praise forever! Oh, yes!" (2 Timothy 4:16-18 The Message)
See how the conversation could keep going. Of course if we read the whole text we can see that Paul wanted Timothy to come to Rome where he was being held prison. Paul knew how Timothy felt he too was abandoned and felt he could use the encouragement.
He wanted Timothy to know we all go through these struggles however no matter how much junk he had to face, he never was alone. God was with him and giving him the power to prevail even in his current circumstances.
So how do we hold out when faced with adversity? Do we stand with God? Do we try to do it alone? Or do we crumble under the weight of our problems?
Unfortunately many people feel they are alone in this world. They feel no one is there for them. They feel that God is either very distant or just imaginary.
So what happens when life becomes very hard for them? Sometimes they blame the world, some times they get very angry. They lose hope and turn to ways to escape the pains of this world. Whether it is through addictions such as drugs, or alcohol, or they turn to ways to gain control over their lives by such means such as bulimia or anorexia. Some turn to spiritism or witchcraft in an attempt to gain power of forces they cannot see. All the while they continue to spiral down the path hopelessness. All the while they continue to blind themselves to the very person who can bring control back into their lives.
Now people aren’t alone in this feeling of aloneness, entire congregations can cut themselves off as well. When a congregation or a church thinks that they themselves can solve all their problems or make all their decisions without prayer and seeking guidance from the Lord, they too can begin spiral down the path of hopelessness.
However we have hope in the knowledge that this does not have to be the case. We can have hope in the knowledge that God is with us every step of our lives no matter what the circumstances. It is this knowledge that gives strength to our faith as followers of Jesus Christ.
This does not mean we feel that life will not be without adversity or struggle. The case could be made that the very opposite is true. For often times taking up the cross in itself is a very hard struggle.
Think about the words to the song Are Ye Able? Throughout that song Jesus reminds those who wish to follow him that the call to follow will be hard. That their lives will be fraught with danger. However in the end those who followed still called out they were ready to follow even to death.
Why? Because they knew that even when their lives were at an end, Jesus Christ was with them.
You see, that is the crux of the message that Paul was telling Timothy. Your life here and all its “dramas” are but a sliver of time, in the scheme of your life in serving God. No matter what the hardship you will face. It will be insignificant and meaningless in comparison to the great gift you will receive as part of the Kingdom of Heaven.
This is a message we too can take to heart. I realize that we live in a time when people want the best that life has to give them now. I realize having to wait to receive our reward is not something today’s American society considers much of a virtue.
However this is the way God works. Our struggles in life makes us appreciate more what God will do for us. It is in these struggles that we truly look to God for help.
It is in these struggles that we truly find out who our real friends are. It is in these struggles when we truly find out our own resolve. Most importantly it tests the true metal of our faith. It is in these struggles we are able to dig deeper into our own lives and realize that with God all things are possible.
What we can see in this lesson is no one is exempt from fears and doubts of faith. Whether it was Paul or Timothy, as they faced their trials in the creation of the early Church, or Bill and Gloria Gaither, two of this country’s most famous Gospel song writers, who had come face to face with their fears and doubts through Bill’s illness.
Though they may have been afraid, of what was to come, or how their lives would be changed. They remembered that God was with them. They were emboldened in the knowledge that through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they were saved. They were emboldened through the fact that because God had raised His self from the dead, so nothing on this earth could ever have power over them, if they gave it to God.
More over, when we put all our faith and trust in God, when we let God lead the way, when we remember the great sacrifice that God made for our lives. We can be safe in the knowledge that nothing can keep us from being apart of the family of God. Nothing can keep us from that love and that is the beauty of Grace. That is the beauty of it, for God has been standing beside us all the time. Through God we have been sustained and given the power to carry on.
So during this next week and through out your life, whenever you face a hardship or in a struggle in your life, remember that God is there for you. He loves you and will not forsake you.
Remember, we too have the assurance that we can face uncertain days, we can meet them head on, because Jesus lives. Amen.
