Tag: Circumstances

Hearing the Truth

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We really cannot know the truth of our circumstances until we have heard from God. Moses demanded that Pharaoh let God’s people go, but caused the Hebrews to experience greater hardship. What might we have done in Moses position?

  1. Gotten mad at Israel and returned to tending sheep.
  2. Gotten mad at God and told him to get someone else.
  3. Decided that I must have misunderstood God’s will.
  4. Go back to God and ask to see what is happening from God’s perspective.

Moses blamed God and accused him of failing to do what he promised. He was so discouraged that he was ready to quit (Exodus 6:12). Let’s work on responding with the last statement.

The most difficult thing for anyone to do is to deny yourself and take up the will of God and follow him. We need to be God-centered, rather than self-centered. Look back at your day and you will notice how radically self-centered we are. It takes a lot of effort to see your life from God’s perspective.

Hearing the Truth:

The Truth is a person (John 14:6) so let’s work at hearing the truth from the Truth.

  1. Disciples in the Storm (Luke 8:22-25) They thought they were going to die in the storm. Was that the truth? No, the Truth was asleep in the back of the boat. The truth in this circumstance is that Jesus would stand up and calm the storm.
  2. The Widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17) She likely thought that God doesn’t care, her son has died. Was that the truth? No, Jesus showed that he cares and has power, and raised her son. The people were filled with awe and praised God.
  3. Feeding the 5000 (John 6:1-15) They thought that we cannot feed all these people. Was that the truth? No, Jesus was testing the disciples because they were not God-centered. The people were fed and they praised God claiming a prophet has come to them.
  4. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) They were to reach the whole world, on their own? Was that the truth? No, Jesus wanted them to be filled with the Holy Spirit, for him to work through them to reach the world. Trust me and see what happens. He will not give us a task without the ability to accomplish it.

Never determine the truth of a situation by looking at the circumstances. We cannot know the truth of a circumstance until we have heard from God.

God’s View of Circumstances

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Job is the classic example of bad circumstances and wondering what God is up to. His life was a mess, family died, health and wealth were gone and Job knew knowing from God’s perspective (Job 1:2-6, 2:1-7).

Job’s friends thought they knew God’s perspective and said Job needed to confess his sin. Had we not read the first two chapters of Job, we would conclude that God was being mean and cruel.

Have you ever been through an experience of confusing circumstances and in your prayers accused God of things that you know are not really true? My stories where the birth of my son (in the NICU for a week) and my leaving the mission field (in my previous post).

It is at these times that we question God’s love and wisdom. We tell God that he has deceived us, following him in what we thought was his will, only to experience his silence. The first thing we must do is to ask God to help us see things from his perspective.  We must look back at our circumstances with the heart of God.

Here are things to keep in mind:

  1. Settle in your own mind that God will never demonstrate anything but absolute love, the cross is that evidence.
  2. Don’t try to understand what God is like from the MIDDLE of the circumstances.
  3. Ask God to show you the situation from HIS perspective.
  4. Wait on the Holy Spirit and use the Bible to help you understand your circumstances.
  5. Adjust your life to God and what you SEE him doing in your circumstances.
  6. Do all he tells you to do.
  7. Experience God working in and through you to accomplish his purposes.

Jesus watched the circumstances to know where the Father wanted to involve him in his work. So, to understand your circumstances, God’s perspective is vital.