Surviving the Setbacks and Storms
Philippians 4:6-7
Any of you who have ever played a board game know that one of the most important things to remember is the rules. In fact, most family arguments occurring during a board game are over disputes about the rules. If you don’t know the rules, the game becomes infinitely harder and more confusing. You lose everytime! It’s no fun and you’re just frustrated by it. And that’s how it is with the simple truths of life. They are all grounded in Scripture and thus are God’s guidelines. These rules of life are so simple to follow and yet we need to be reminded of them so we continue to follow them.
The first simple truth of life is that life is filled with setbacks and storms. Life is hard sometimes. We’re all going to suffer and it hurts, it’s no fun but it’s something we will all have to go through. But the other truth for you this morning is that we can overcome. We can survive life’s setbacks and storms. It’s kind of like the board game of life. You spin the dial, get in your car and begin to live what life throws at you. If you look at the board, there’s 10-12 places where people sue you. You are going to get sick. You’re going to have your in-laws visit every once in awhile. And then of course, there’s the space where the taxes are due. Tragedies, difficulties and adversity are all over the board! And the reason they’re on the game of life board is because well, that’s life. What makes life bearable is the fact that for every one of the bad things, there are 4-5 good things which make life fun. There are moments where you see the majesty of creation, times when you fall in love for the first time or the 5th time. There are friendships which are so rich that you just can’t believe it. There are moments where a peace and satisfaction come upon you which far surpass anything you ever imagined. Life is full of all of these things.
Today I want us to focus on four strategies for surviving the times of suffering in life. The first strategy is understanding. It’s just knowing that there will be potholes in your road of life and that they can be overcome. But I want you to know more than that. I want you to have a clear idea about the storms and setbacks in life. There are two phrases we often hear in times of suffering. “Everything happens for a reason” and “It must be God’s will ”. There are times when that just sounds so true but today I want us to dig a little deeper into these sayings. If everything happens for a reason, then everything happens by God’s hand. It is intended to happen and God does it for a reason which is appointed. Take LSU in the World Series. After they killed Texas in the first game, the pundits came out and said very few teams go on to win. Then they lost the second game and there was supposedly very little chance for them to win the third after such a big letdown. But the last game was one to watch and LSU who wasn’t even ranked first came back and won that game. God must be a Tiger’s fan.
But this type of thinking breaks down when a child falls sick with cancer or a mother and her daughter are killed on the highway or a police officer dies while trying to help a homeless man. This type of thinking led many in the OT to place the blame of bad things happening on our shoulders. You must have sinned somewhere in your life so this is God’s punishment to you. But they took it even one step further: if something bad happens to you and you haven’t sinned then it must be because of a sin in your parents or grandparent’s life. Now if I fall sick the night before I preach, surely God’s knows I have to preach 2 services today. Is this God’s punishment for me or maybe God’s trying to teach me a lesson? Does God rig the game? Texas didn’t have a chance because God fore ordained that. Would you want to play the game of life if I controlled the spinner? You can spin but it lands on the number I want so that you get sick and when I spin, it lands on $100,000. Do you want to play a game like that? With this thinking, we become puppets and God stands behind the curtain like in the Wizard of OZ and pulls the levels determining everything that will happen. To me where that breaks down is when you experience a tragedy in your life like a child who is ill, or a person who is raped. Or when my dad who served God in ministry for 42 years and grew every church he was in and then retired and diabetes ate his body away as he underwent two amputations and had no quality of life in retirement. Is this God’s will? There comes a moment when you look at it closer and realize, This just doesn’t work because God becomes a monster in causing these thing and then you can’t turn to God for comfort or help because you’re just so angry at a God who does things like this. The Scriptures tell us that God is just, loving merciful and kind. And whatever God does reflects his character. And so whatever we see of God must be just, loving merciful and kind. So this kind of theology just doesn’t work.
When we divorce God from doing bad things then suddenly we have the freedom to make choices on our own. Isn’t that one of the first premises of the Bible when God put the tree in the middle of the Garden and said, “Don’t eat from it” but he still gives us the freedom of choice. You know the story. God tells then he doesn’t want them to do eat from the tree but he’s gives them the choice and they choose to eat the apple. That’s the overarching story of the Bible where we wrestle with knowing God’s will and yet wanting to do our thing. And so God has to send Moses and the Law and then the prophets and then finally Jesus to save us from our sin. There’s a continual cycle where God has to come and save us and clean up the mess we’ve made of our lives. That’s what God does and he walks with us through the pain. This is why God is referred throughout the OT as our refuge and strength. “In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.” Psalm 71:1-3 The first strategy is to recognize that God does not cause bad things or tragedies to happen to people to punish them or teach them a lesson.
The second strategy is to turn to God and count on him to pull us through. How does God do that? One of things we need to understand is that God’s primary means of working in the world is not to act supernaturally with a miracle. Rather when God does something in the world, he does so through people. And so we are responsible for helping one another. Galatians 6:1, “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” When God wants to help us make it through the tough times, he sends people our way. You remember the NT story of Jesus teaching to a packed house and a paralyzed man on stretcher was brought so Jesus could heal him but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they torn a hole in the roof to let him down through and as a result Jesus healed the man. Let me ask you a question, “Who are your stretcher bearers?” Who are the people you will call in the midst of a crisis at 2 AM in the morning and you know they won’t be upset you called and in a moment they will be at your house to carry you? Who are the people who are going to be there at the visitation and funeral but also a week later and then a month later? Who are your stretcher bearers? And here’s perhaps a more important question, “Whose stretcher bearer are you?” If you are never a stretcher bearer to someone else then no one will ever be one for you. The only way to have a friend is to be a friend and the only way to have a stretcher bearer is to be a stretcher bearer.
The third strategy for successfully navigating the storms of life is to have a healthy outlook. There are four keys to a healthy and positive outlook. First, look to what brings you joy and to pursue those things. Some people in the midst of the storm only focus on the storm and the circumstances they’re surrounded by. Others decide they are not going to be a victim of the storm but continue to do the things that bring me joy even in the midst of the storm. I’m going to acknowledge the difficult things in life but I’m also going to choose to still live. If you’re grieving, it may mean to remember the good things of that person’s life and what a blessing they were to you. Second, give thanks. One study found that if you would write down three things you were grateful for at the end of each day, after 3 months there was reduced depression and significantly increased mental health and happiness, all because people gave thanks. Paul tells us to give thanks in all circumstances because this is the will of God in Christ Jesus. Focus on the storms and you’ll be crushed by them but focus on the blessings and you’ll find joy.
The last two go together. Third, look at trials as opportunities to grow and fourth, opportunities to make a difference. Catholics have an idea called redemptive suffering which says no suffering is ever wasted on God. It’s turning to God and saying, “God use this in my life to perfect me and shape me. Bring good out of it. Romans 8:28 reminds us, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” When we do that, these become the most powerful moments for God to work in our life. But we are also called to move beyond that to say, “God, is there some way you can use this to your glory? Can you use me now or this situation to make a difference in the life of other people” I’m thinking Candy Lightner who lost her daughter to a drunk driver and became the founder of MADD. Or Mimi Butler who was dying of cancer in the hospital and yet she decided that every nurse who came in her room was going to get a gift bag full of lotions. Here she was dying of cancer and she was thinking about caring for the caregivers. So in the midst of the hospital and death, she decided to continue to do good works and give glory to her father in heaven. And it made an incredible impact on those she touched. I tell you God works most powerfully through suffering, not that he inflicts but that in it he reveals himself and his presence
Fourth, keep the faith that anchors and leads us. 1 Cor 4 “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” It’s a matter of trusting our lives to the shepherd of our souls. It’s a faith that says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” He promises to be with us always.
When we were living on the eastside of Slidell, we rented a house which had all of the bedrooms on the same side. We had set Luke’s room up at the end of the hall. One night a storm blew in but neither Giovanna or I were awakened by it. All of a sudden, I felt a hand on my shoulder waking me. Now this was before we knew Luke could crawl out of his crib and I think I came about this close from jumping and hitting my head on the ceiling. When I came to my senses and realized who it was, I asked Luke what was wrong. He told me the storm awakened him and that he was scared. I pulled him up in bed with us, put his head on the pillow and my arms around him and said, There’s no need to be scared, I’m right here with you and will protect you.”
God doesn’t do bad things as punishment for our wrongs but we look for him in those moments most of all because that is when God is most active and present in our lives. We have an outlook on our suffering that says, God do something good with this, help me to count my blessings and savor the joy I have each day. And finally we rest in his arms knowing that the Father loves us more than we can believe. That is how we as Christians survive the setbacks and storms of life.
