THE BUMPS
Introduction: A little boy was leading his sister up a mountain path and the way was not too easy. “Why, this isn’t a path at all,” the little girl complained. “It’s all rocky and bumpy.” And her brother replied, “Sure, the bumps are what you climb on.”
What do you do with the bumps on the path to life?
I. IS A LIFE OF SUCCESS FREE FROM BUMPS?
A. Successful People
1. From a distance you might think they had it made.
2. Closer inspection often reveals otherwise.
B. Great Biblical Personalities
1. Abraham
a. Everyone with any religious education knows that Abraham was a
man of faith.
b. Was he always a man of great faith?
Genesis 12:1 “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
c. God gave him the land of Canaan.
Genesis 12:7 “Unto thy seed will I give this land:”
(1) There was famine in the land.
Genesis 12:10 “And there was a famine in the land:”
(2) Traveled to Egypt Genesis 12:11
(3) Lied about his wife Sarai.
d. Then there was Lot.
(1) Strife
Genesis 13:7 “And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdmen of Lot’s cattle:”
(2) Captive
Genesis 14:12 “And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.”
(3) In Danger Of Judgment
Genesis 18:32 “And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.”
e. Helping God
(1) Did God fall asleep at the helm?
Genesis 16:1 “Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.”
(2) Bad counsel from his wife.
Genesis 16:2 “And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath
restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her.”
(3) The rage of a woman.
Genesis 16:4 “And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.”
f. Isaac
(1) The Promise
Genesis 17:16 “And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her:”
(2) Abraham Laughs
Genesis 17:17 “Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed,”
(3) The Problem
Genesis 17:17 “Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?”
(4) The Sacrifice. Was God kidding?
Genesis 22:2 “And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”
g. Abraham used the bumps to climb higher. Warren W. Wiersbe pg 10
2. Joseph
a. Scorned and hated by his brothers.
b. In a pit.
c. Sold as a slave --> Potiphar
d. In a prison
e. In a palace --> Prime Minister in Egypt
3. Daniel and the den of lions?
4. Paul?
They accepted the difficulties of life and used them as stepping-stones to the top of the mountain. W. W. W. pg 10
II. WHAT ABOUT YOUR BUMPS?
A. What does it feel like when things are going great and then there’s a bump?
1. Do you feel like quitting?
2. You can’t understand why this should happen to you.
3. Did God fall asleep at the helm?
4. Are you kidding God?
B. Why doesn’t God remove the stones and straighten the path?
1. You would never learn to climb.
2. You might become self-sufficient.
Daniel 4:30 “The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?”
3. You might never get to the top because the bumps are what you can climb on.
C. God is always watching.
1. If we are in His shadow.
Psalms 91:1 “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide
under the shadow of the Almighty.”
2. He guides and protects through the difficulties as we learn . . . to climb.
a. Psalms 23:4 “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.”
b. Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
This doesn’t mean that we will never experience illnesses, injuries, etc. But it does mean that no matter what happens in the will of God, all things will work together for good.
III. WHAT’S THE POINT?
A. Most of us respond in predictable ways to the rocks in the path. W.W. W. pg 11
1. We complain about them.
2. We kick against them and only hurt ourselves.
3. We try to pick them up and get rid of them only to find that they are too
heavy for us.
4. We just stop and sit down.
5. We turn and go back.
The child of God does not have to stop our go back; he can use the rocky places in life as stepping stones to climb higher. W. W. W. pg 11
B. We take too much for granted.
1. Most of us are accustomed to paved roads and level sidewalks.
2. We pamper ourselves too much.
Life is not always easy. Sometimes the road is level and easy, and the birds are singing and the way is wonderful. But sometimes the road is rocky and bumpy, and we hear no music and feel no helping hand. Then what? W. W. W.
C. There’s a balance.
1. If life were nothing but a series of defeats, all of us would get discouraged.
2. God knows how to balance our lives so that we have sunshine and rain,
calm and storm, laughter and tears.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”
CONCLUSION
On the road of life there are level places that delight us, and there are difficult places that challenge us. If we get off the path of God’s will and go on a detour, the way will be rough from start to finish. The detour is always rougher than the main road. But there are rocks and bumps even on the paths of God’s choosing, and we have to learn to accept them and benefit from them. The bumps are what you climb on. W. W. W. pg 11 - 12
Outline taken from THE BUMPS ARE WHAT YOU CLIMB ON by Warren Wiersbe (pg 9)
