FACING CHALLENGES
The world in which we live offers all kinds of challenges. Sometimes we are confronted with health issues. Other times, it may be family matters or interpersonal relations that may be creating turmoil in our lives. Or perhaps unexpected financial problems come our way causing our worries and concern. There are a host of other crises that can hit us like a ton of bricks. And when we face these unwanted circumstances, they can seem to present insurmountable problems. Sometimes those unwanted circumstances are of our own making, but other times they are things that we never asked for or caused. Nevertheless, they descend upon us without mercy. These ordeals and trials are not unique to our time. Everyone has faced such difficulties throughout history and will continue to do so. The real question is this: How will you stand up to these trials of life when they come your way? For the Christian, the answer is: We turn to God.
One of best ways to deal with adversity is to realize God’s faithfulness to those who lean on Him and allow Him to help them through whatever ordeal they are experiencing. I love the way Ann Moshenek put it when she visited our Wednesday morning bible study a couple of weeks ago. As a missionary in Costa Rica, she has faced so many difficulties—from government opposition to the perils of bandits. But, whatever challenges come her way, she doesn’t confront them alone. Rather, she simply “rests upon Jesus’ shoulders.” Rest upon Jesus’ shoulders—that’s great advice! When you do that, Jesus does all the heavy lifting. You can lay down your burdens at His feet and He will take care of you. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 (NLT2) Jesus will help you through whatever “impossible circumstances” may arise in your life. All you have to do is turn to Him.
One of the best ways to do that is to turn to God’s Word and remember how He sustained those in the past during their “impossible circumstances.” But here’s the thing: Don’t be surprised that when you turn to God in times of trouble, the world will try to tell you it’s useless to do so. The reason the world does this is that the “prince” of this world (at least for the time being) is Satan.[1] Satan will do whatever he can to make you question God’s faithfulness. First, he wants you to doubt the validity of God’s Word and will insist that what the Bible teaches is pure nonsense. Secondly, Satan wants you to believe that God is powerless to meet your needs. The best way to combat Satan’s evil efforts is to recall the many times that God has proven Satan to be wrong on both points.
For instance, when God sent Moses to Egypt to free the Israelites from slavery, Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let God’s people go. And so, God sent plagues upon Egypt to convince Pharoah to change his mind. The tenth plague was the worst of all. God told Moses to go to Pharaoh and deliver a message. The LORD instructed Moses to tell him: 4 “This is what the LORD says: ‘At midnight tonight, I will pass through the heart of Egypt. 5 All the firstborn sons will die in every family in Egypt, from the oldest son of Pharaoh, who sits on his throne, to the oldest son of his lowliest servant girl who grinds the flour. Even the firstborn of all the livestock will die.’” Exodus 11:4-5 (NLT2) What a terrible plague! If you were one of the Israelite slaves, and that was all you heard, you’d feel trapped—trapped by these horrible circumstances that had befallen you. But, God won’t allow such things to come into your life without giving you some way of coming out of it alright—if you follow His Word. In this case, God’s message to the Israelites was very clear. He told each Israelite family to sacrifice a lamb and then take the blood of these lambs and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of their houses. If they were faithful and obedient in doing this, God promised: 12 “On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD! 13 But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.” Exodus 12:12-13 (NLT2)
The protection God promised wasn’t hard to obtain. All the Israelites had to do was follow God’s instructions and they’d be saved. Indeed, those Israelites who were obedient to God’s Word were spared. But isn’t it strange that, when God gives simple instructions, the world invariably will ridicule God’s people for following His directives. The world will scream out that what God is requiring doesn’t make sense and, thus, we are fools for following His commands. That is particularly true today. And yet, that isn’t something new at all. I expect this same thing occurred just before this tenth plague fell upon Egypt. Surely, some of the Egyptian slave-masters would have heard the Israelites talking about what God had instructed them to do. The Egyptians would have laughed in seeing God’s people painting their doorframes red with the blood of lambs. “Who told you to do such a ridiculous thing?” they must have scoffed, and then laughed, “How ignorant you people are! How backward you are in believing the superstitions of your God!” But again, don’t we see the exact same reactions from our society today?
Today, believers are mocked and called “backwards” and “out of step with the times,” simply because we take God’s Word seriously. For example, Christians know that the taking of another human life is murder. We also know that life begins at conception when human formation is initiated. There is no doubt about this when we read Psalm 139: 13 “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.” Psalm 139:13-16 (NLT2) From the overall context of this Psalm, it is clear that the “record book” of each human life starts with “day-one”—and “day-one” starts at the point of human conception. And yet the world laughs at this.
Recently, a colleague of mine was offering parenthood counseling to a young mother. This counseling was designed to help her with the mechanics of raising her child under a Christian worldview. From all indications, this mother is in dire need of guidance in this area of her life. The two of them got into a discussion on the topic of abortion. My friend explained that life begins at conception and cited Psalm 139 and other scripture[2] to show that an abortion amounts to murdering an unborn child at whatever point it might occur after conception. This young mother was mystified by this. Then she laughed right in my colleague’s face and retorted: “You’re crazy—you just don’t know the science of this!” That seems to be the mind-set of so many misguided people in our society today. But, the reality is that they are the ones who don’t know the science surrounding abortion. In a recent article by the Christian Broadcasting Network, it explains:
[No one can any longer] plead ignorance and claim that an unborn child is simply a ‘blob of tissue’ or . . . just “pregnancy tissue.” Science is simply too advanced to ignore the truth. Today, modern science reveals the humanity of the unborn child developing inside a woman, like never before. The grainy black and white dots of ultrasound from the 1970’s have been replaced with crisp and clear 3D and 4D images that reveal the developing unborn child in stunning detail throughout all stages of pregnancy. And in part, because of these advancements, almost every day we hear another story about how cutting-edge medical care is using life-saving surgical techniques to treat tiny unborn babies inside the womb before they are born. These unborn children are treated as distinct patients, separate from their mother.[3]
Why do you think the “pro-death” supporters of abortion so strongly oppose legislation that would require a woman to observe a sonagram of her baby before undergoing an abortion? The Guttmacher Institute is a liberal think-tank that supports the murder of unborn babies through the slaughter of abortion and argues: “Since routine ultrasound is not considered medically necessary as a component of first-trimester abortion, the requirements appear to be a veiled attempt to personify the fetus and dissuade an individual from obtaining an abortion.” [4] Do you hear what they are saying? They are arguing that because the sonagram of a baby produced through ultrasound technology does not contribute to promoting an abortion, it should be denied. Why do they say this? Well the answer is clear. They are afraid that seeing an actual picture of their unborn babies or hearing its fetal heartbeat might persuade an otherwise uninformed pregnant woman of something that they don’t want her to know. And what is that? They don’t want her to understand that the fetus she is carrying is a human being. They are terrified that she might realize that an abortion would result in the murder of her own unborn child. But, their complaints against requiring pre-abortion sonagrams make no moral sense whatsoever. It’s a bit like they are saying, “Whatever you do, please don’t tell that bank robber about the 6th and 8th Commandments before he shoots the bank’s guard!”[5]
Now, just as we rely upon God’s Word in responding to issues like abortion, so too do we rely upon the Bible when dealing with our own personal adversities. Like I said, it did not make sense to the Egyptians that the Israelite slaves were painting their door posts with the blood of slain lambs. I suspect that none of those Egyptians did that. Rather, they keep their door posts clear of any such red stains. And yet, the faithful Israelites followed God’s instructions—even if those instructions did not make sense to them at the time. There is a great lesson in that. God will be faithful in seeing you through some very difficult times if you will just hold to His commands and His truths. You may not understand how God will make things work out, but if you keep the faith, then He will provide. And while that may not seem possible at the time, with God all things are possible.
When I think about this, I am reminded of the story of George Muller (1805–1898) who was a minister in Britain during the 1800’s. In 1834, he founded a Christian organization known as the “Scriptural Knowledge Institute for Home and Abroad.” The Institute was extremely successful and was responsible for sending over 160 missionaries from Britain into foreign countries that needed to hear the Gospel. It is estimated Muller’s Institute distributed over 111 million gospel tracts. It also funded the operation of five orphanages that supported over 2,000 orphans, and eventually put Christian study materials in the hands of over 120,000 young students. Now, how did Rev. Muller go about funding such a massive undertaking? Well, you might think that he depended upon receiving the pledges of millions of dollars from churches or charities before even starting such a vast enterprise. But that is not the way his “economic model” worked in funding all those Christian efforts. So, what was his means of paying for all this? Well, as it turns out, Rev. Muller relied on just One Major Contributor. And what was this single Contributor’s name?—We know Him simply as. . .“GOD”! Let me give you an example of how Rev. Muller’s trust in God worked as reflected in the faith of a Christian woman who served at one of his orphanages.
One day a visiting pastor came by one of Rev. Mueller’s orphanages and when the woman greeted him at the door, all she said was: “Have you brought the bread?” The pastor was completely unprepared for such a greeting and gave the puzzled reply of: “Ah—what bread?” “Well,” the woman said, “the bread for the children, of course! It’s five minutes before they are supposed to eat their breakfast!” Sure enough, when the pastor peaked into the next room, there were all the children sitting patiently and waiting for something to eat. He turned back to speak to the woman, but she’d disappeared. A minute later, she reappeared and assured the pastor that everything was just fine. She informed him: “I’m sorry. I had to go answer the back door.” “Who was at the back door?” the pastor inquired. The woman answered, “I don’t know. But whoever he was, he left a cart filled with bread.” The pastor was amazed and asked, “Did you know he was coming?” The woman responded, “No. . . I didn’t know he was coming, but I knew someone with bread would soon be arriving!” Even more puzzled than before, the pastor asked, “How did you know that?” The simple answer she gave was: “We had prayed, and God always answers our prayers.” [6]
You see, George Muller’s operational model, and the one relied upon by the woman who worked at the orphanage, was based on a tried-and-true model that will never fail. It’s the same model of behavior adopted by those Israelite slaves who painted their door posts with lamb’s blood while the Egyptians looked on and mocked them. You see, God’s people know that they can rest assured of God’s faithfulness. Those who call upon Him and patiently wait for His provision will not be disappointed. God will provide the “bread,” in whatever form is required, to meet your needs. The timing of its delivery may not be what you want, and the form of the “bread” may not be what you expected, but He will always deliver exactly what you need, when you need it most. Satan would have the world tell you that’s impossible. But the Bible assures us that, “With God, everything is possible.” Matthew 19:26 (NLT2) Remember that this is especially true when you are facing difficult times—whatever they may be. You may be confronted with what appears to be overwhelming challenges from which nothing good could come. But, Paul’s words are reassuring when he proclaims: “We know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into His plans.” Romans 8:28 (TLB)
We sometimes forget these things when we are lost in the fog and confusion of a crisis. We can be too quick to listen to those mockers and scoffers who claim that believing in God’s provision for us is nonsense, or that our difficulties are impossible for God to address. And yet, He is faithful time and time again when we trust in Him and not in the ways of the world. If the world around you is causing you to doubt God’s ability to address your problems, then it’s time for you to take a deep Christian breath and offer a sincere prayer to God. Let’s bow our heads right now. I want you to silently pray as follows: “LORD, forgive me when I listen more to the world than I do to your Word. Take me deeper into the promises and security of your Word—and help me to paint the doorframes of my heart with the Blood of your Son—our sacrificial Lamb and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Let that be your prayer today!
Darvin Satterwhite, Pastor
Forest Hill Baptist Church
January 29, 2023
©2023 All Rights Reserved as follows:
Anyone is at liberty to use this sermon or any portions thereof for educational or religious purposes, with or without credit. The pastor believes the material presented herein to be true to the teaching of Scripture, and desires to further, not restrict, its potential use as an aid in the study of God’s Word. The publication of this material is a grace ministry of Forest Hill Baptist Church in Louisa, Virginia.
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[1] John 12:31 “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” (KJV)
[2] See also, Jeremiah 1:4-5: 4 “The LORD gave me this message: 5 ‘I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as My prophet to the nations.’” (NLT2)
[3] Dr. Tara Sander Lee, “NPR Blatantly Denies Unborn Child's Humanity to Justify LIVE Abortion Broadcast,”
CBNNEWS.COM (November 12, 2022).
[4] “Requirements for Ultrasound,” https://www.guttmacher.org (January 1, 2023).
[5] Exodus 20:13, 15 13 “You must not murder. . .15 You must not steal.” (NLT2)
[6] Adapted from: Kennedy, Peter. From Generation to Generation. “Day 22: Take the Lord at His Word,” Austin, TX: WORDsearch Corp., 2010. WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
