http://godtalklouisvilleky.blogspot.com/2012/03/03-31-12-praising-him-in-sickness.html Job 13:15 - Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.
"PUT YOUR HAND IN THE HAND" by Joan Baez
Lyrics to "PUT YOUR HAND IN THE HAND" by Joan Baez
Can we praise God in sickness and in health? MOST DEFINITELY! As a matter of
fact, I say it this way for a reason - "...in sickness and in health..." - do you recognize
those words? They are most often heard during a marriage. I want to post an
example of a traditional wedding vow, courtesy of Wikipedia.org.
"I, (Bride/Groom), take you (Groom/Bride), to be my (wife/husband), to have and
to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in
sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death
do us part."
So...you can praise God in health, but not in sickness, right? You can praise Him in
better, but not in worse? How about praising Him in the richer, but not in the poorer?
Do you get the point?
If you only praise Him when things go well, it is a sign that you are not treating this
relationship like a marriage. What is up with this whole spirit of apathy that has
consumed us? Why do we feel as if we don't owe God so much? I am not worried
about the nay-sayers who say Jesus wasn't real. HE WAS. I am not worried about
those who say He didn't die for our sin. HE DID. I am not worried about those who
say He hasn't rose from the dead. HE HAS. As a matter of fact, He was a witness
to many people after His resurrection - read it for yourself in 1 Corinthians 15:6 -
"After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the
greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."
The fact is that Jesus rose from the dead for your sins and mine...no, wait...let me go
back. Jesus DIED for your sins. He beared a huge chunk of rough wood upon his
shredded back and carried it down a path up a hill while getting beat with whips. He
was spit upon, and they ripped out His beard. He was punched and kicked. WHY?
He did these things because the price had to be paid for your sins and mine.
But you say, there are no such thing as sins. Friend, I beg to differ with you. Not
only before I got saved did I know that there was a difference between right and wrong,
but I have come to learn to a more intimate detail daily what was right and wrong.
What were my sins. The thoughts within...the temptations that I succumbed to...the
concessions I made daily. There were times where I buckled under worry of what
someone else thought, and I FAILED GOD. This is idolatry.
Sin is so much more than simply "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal". It is
ANYTHING that does not match up with the PERFECT WILL OF GOD. Until you
walk in this realization, you may not feel that you have much sin. When the day
comes that you realize how far away your level of perfection lines up with God's
perfection, you wake up to the realization that it is IMPOSSIBLE for you to make that
standard.
And then you come back to Jesus, dragging that rough, heavy cross upon his
shredded back down a dusty road to die a horrible death, at the command of His
father. You begin to realize that without this payment, it is impossible for you to be
saved. You begin to become grateful for the sacrifice that God made in your place.
The scoffers say that if God was real, He never would have allowed man to sin. This
doesn't perturb me at all. Because God gives man freedom of choice, in spite of
knowing we can NEVER meet the level of perfection required, this makes Him evil?
Knowing that Jesus willingly embraced His crucifixion back in eternity, long before the
first man ever walked the earth, because He saw the need that mankind would have to
be redeemed from their shortcomings....
SSSSSHHHHH.....can you hear that? That is Jesus panting and gasping as He
begins to fall to the ground. Beyond exhaustion, His body collapses, but not His will.
He must make it to be crucified...but His body will not go any longer. And along
comes Simon of Cyrene, to pick up that cross, and help Jesus get to the place where
He will hang in that hot sun and begin to suffocate - all for YOUR sins and MINE.
"Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they nailed Him
to the tree? Were you there when they pierced Him in the side? Were you there
when they laid Him in the tomb?" These are lyrics from a Marian Anderson song. If
the Lord is pressing upon your heart, you begin to become sensitive to the amazing
cost it took to reconcile you back to the standard that is required by God's judgment
side.
This is the wrath side that people love to criticize - the side of God that requires
justice, and will bring judgment upon mankind when they choose to continue in their
sin. This side of God is always governed by His longsuffering nature, which gives
mankind time for repentance, yet in the end, if we choose not to repent, as it is
written in Genesis 6:3 - "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive
with man, for that he also is flesh..." God has paid the price for us, but it is no
excuse for us to refrain from seeking His righteousness -"Learn to do well; seek
judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow"
(Isaiah 1:17).
In short, realizing the impossible level of perfection that was required by God for
perfection, and realizing the price that Jesus paid to make it possible for us, in our
imperfection, to walk in a level of relationship with God that before was only reserved
for the perfect - WE SHOULD BE READY TO PRAISE HIM IN A HEARTBEAT!
This morning, when I woke up, my head was spinning. I didn't feel like I could move
without an extreme sense of nausea. It was highly reminiscent of the old Jim Beam
days...loads of fun! As I finally made my way to the bathroom, in the midst of the
trial, I was thinking about God. I was asking for forgiveness for my sins, and thanking
Him, in spite of my weakness.
This does not mean I am perfect - as a matter of fact, I know I am not perfect. But
what I do know is that, even if I am not feeling well, GOD IS STILL WORTHY! My
Jesus reconciled me from my sin, and this earth is not my home. My home will be
with Him for eternity, because He loves me, and He made a way for me to be with
Him.
Today, consider the type of relationship you have with God. Do you praise Him in
sickness AND in health? Or do you only praise Him during the times of prosperity?
Our relationship with God must be balanced, where we come to the place where Paul
spoke of in Philippians 4:11-13/ 11Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have
learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
12I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where
and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to
abound and to suffer need.
13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
God bless!