S
Seaioth
Guest
Appears that I double posted, so I'm editing this one with another book recommendation
It is called Where is God When It Hurts by Philip Yancey.
And a sample song from Sovereign Grace ministries:
http://momoshare.com/audio/audio/6d5613eb9e2ec308521d0d5a1390154d/saviorslove.mp3
Basics for Hurting Believers:
Time Doesnt Heal All Wounds!
Brendas tearful words penetrated Bobs soul. As a youth pastor he had dealt often with hurting teens and was grieved whenever he learned that one had been given trite, unbiblical advice for important issues Brenda had recently joined his youth group and had just confide in him that her grandfather had sexually abused her as a young child.
Youre right, Brenda, time doesnt heal all wounds. Time can heal most physical wounds because the body goes into action repairing itself when it is damaged.
For pain in your heart, time allows you only to temporarily forget what happened, but it doesnt really solve the problem. When you arent thinking about your grandfather, it probably doesnt hurt as much; but when something reminds you of him or what he did, your emotions erupt in all their previous fury. And even sometimes when you arent consciously thinking about the past, your heart probably aches as if you were walking around with something important missing. Is that true, Brenda? Brenda nodded in agreement.
You live on a fallen planet and have been hurt by a man with a sinful heart. Furthermore, your own sinful bent further complicates the problem. You mention a few minutes ago, that you know your hatred and bitterness for your grandfather are wrong. Time doesnt heal all wounds, but your heart can be stabilized if you will allow God to transform (change) you by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).
The youth pastor continued, The apostle Peter wrote two letters to suffering, hurting people. They have been driven from their homes in Jerusalem, ostracized, tortured, and deprived because of their Christian faith. Peter told them in I Peter 1:13 that if they were going to survive they had to exercise some clear-headed thinking.
In the weeks ahead well talk in more depth about your abuse and its effects- your anger, your gears, your confusion, the shame you feel- but there are some basic principles of clear-headed thinking from I Peter you must focus on while you hurt, no matter what issue we are discussing at the moment.
Keep in mind, Brenda, that these three principles arent everything there is to know about suffering, but they are a starting point. They will give you something concrete to start with; we will build on them in the weeks ahead. Believers hurt just as unbelievers do. The difference is that believers can know what to do when they hurt.
Lets look at the principles Brendas youth pastor went over in the first session.
Gods Lasting Solution
You probably are reading this chapter because you or someone you know is hurting, and you are looking for some way to bring relief. That is understandable- none of us like pain. Pain in the physical world warns us of danger. When your finger sense a hot pan on the stove, you instinctively pull away-to get relief.
Likewise, whenever we are hurt by something or someone in our world, we tend to seek the quickest relief. We may find ourselves, however drawing away from God, His people, and His Word during the times we hurt the most. To be sure, for some of us who have suffered much, even the thought of acknowledging the hurt inside our heart, let alone talking with someone about it, is a frightening prospect.
As you read this section, however, prayerfully ask God to give you the encourage to begin addressing these issues in a biblical fashion. Just as the physical body goes to work restoring injured tissue and fighting disease, we must put our heart to work restoring a biblical perspective about our problems. An injured body also is more susceptible to infection, so a hurting heart is more likely to experience temptations toward bitterness, anger and fear. Peters instruction tells us how to overcome these temptations.
Peter says we have to have some clear-headed thinking about God, about ourselves, and about what we are going through. As we embrace Gods perspective about these issues, we experience spiritual growth. It is this spiritual growth that is Gods lasting solution to our hurt. It is for this reason that Peter reminds his hurting friends to put their heart to work growing through the milk of the word ( I Peter 2:1-2; II Peter. 3:18). If they neglect this growth, they will be unstable and will fall ( II Pet. 3:17).
We Need Clear-Headed Thinking About Our Own Heart
When Peter taught hurting Christians how to respond biblically to their hurt, he said, Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts (I Peter. 3:15). Sanctify means to set apart for something special. For example, a church sanctuary is a place that we set apart for the special purpose of worshipping God. Peter says, When you hurt, it is especially important for God to have a special place in your heart. That special place is the throne of our heart. Peter literally says in this verse, set apart Christ as Lord (the Ruler) in your heart.
This means that in an act of surrender we tell God that we acknowledge His loving and wise control over the circumstances of our lives and that we are willing got handle these difficult challenges His way.
Now, why would Peter have to remind us to give special consideration to God during our times of pain?
First, our heart has a tendency to forget God. We are so prone to lean unto [our] own understanding (Prov. 3:5). Solomon also reminds us that he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool (Prov 28:26). Mans sinfulness started when Adam and Even made decisions independently of God. Our nature today still tends to leave God out of our thinking (Isa. 55:6-11).
Second Peter has to remind us to set up Christ as Lord because our heart has a tendency to fight God. We are tempted to shake a clenched fist at Him in rebellion and demand, If You are so good, then why do You let bad things like this happen to me?
We have to understand that Satan, not God, is the one trying to destroy us by sending evil our way. While God, for His own purposes, is allowing Satan to work evil in this age, God is wise enough and loving enough to have all things work together for good to them that love God (Rom. 8:28).
Once again, our problem is that we do not think as God thinks. We dont really know what is good for us. We forget that suffering isnt our greatest enemy: an evil heart is. The highest good is not feeling good but being good.
When Christ suffered on the cross, He prayed, Father, forgive them (Luke 23:24). He was being good (behaving in a God-honoring way) even when He was being tortured to death by crucifixion. When we respond to pain in a similar fashion, the evil done toward us works something good- our Christlikeness.
Nothing will hinder growth more than a stubborn heart that refuses to recognize Christ as Lord. Whenever you seem to be at an impasse in your Christian life as you attempt to grow while you hurt, look for a clenched fist in your life.
Can you honestly say that you have been setting apart Christ as Lord in your heart? If not, take a few moments and ask yourself, Why not? Write down your reasons so that you dont forget your thoughts. Then ask a mature believer you can trust to show you Gods answers to your struggles.
We Need Clear-Headed Thinking About Our Hope
Peter tells us in I Peter 3:15 that we are to be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you. No one can long endure under a burden of suffering and pain unless he has hope- confident expectation. Biblical hope is not merely anticipation of relief from a problem but is a confident expectation that God is accomplishing good through the trial. Hope acts as an anchor of the soul that allows us to remain stable during storms of sorrow (Heb. 6:19).
(continued on next post)
It is called Where is God When It Hurts by Philip Yancey.
And a sample song from Sovereign Grace ministries:
http://momoshare.com/audio/audio/6d5613eb9e2ec308521d0d5a1390154d/saviorslove.mp3
Basics for Hurting Believers:
Time Doesnt Heal All Wounds!
Brendas tearful words penetrated Bobs soul. As a youth pastor he had dealt often with hurting teens and was grieved whenever he learned that one had been given trite, unbiblical advice for important issues Brenda had recently joined his youth group and had just confide in him that her grandfather had sexually abused her as a young child.
Youre right, Brenda, time doesnt heal all wounds. Time can heal most physical wounds because the body goes into action repairing itself when it is damaged.
For pain in your heart, time allows you only to temporarily forget what happened, but it doesnt really solve the problem. When you arent thinking about your grandfather, it probably doesnt hurt as much; but when something reminds you of him or what he did, your emotions erupt in all their previous fury. And even sometimes when you arent consciously thinking about the past, your heart probably aches as if you were walking around with something important missing. Is that true, Brenda? Brenda nodded in agreement.
You live on a fallen planet and have been hurt by a man with a sinful heart. Furthermore, your own sinful bent further complicates the problem. You mention a few minutes ago, that you know your hatred and bitterness for your grandfather are wrong. Time doesnt heal all wounds, but your heart can be stabilized if you will allow God to transform (change) you by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).
The youth pastor continued, The apostle Peter wrote two letters to suffering, hurting people. They have been driven from their homes in Jerusalem, ostracized, tortured, and deprived because of their Christian faith. Peter told them in I Peter 1:13 that if they were going to survive they had to exercise some clear-headed thinking.
In the weeks ahead well talk in more depth about your abuse and its effects- your anger, your gears, your confusion, the shame you feel- but there are some basic principles of clear-headed thinking from I Peter you must focus on while you hurt, no matter what issue we are discussing at the moment.
Keep in mind, Brenda, that these three principles arent everything there is to know about suffering, but they are a starting point. They will give you something concrete to start with; we will build on them in the weeks ahead. Believers hurt just as unbelievers do. The difference is that believers can know what to do when they hurt.
Lets look at the principles Brendas youth pastor went over in the first session.
Gods Lasting Solution
You probably are reading this chapter because you or someone you know is hurting, and you are looking for some way to bring relief. That is understandable- none of us like pain. Pain in the physical world warns us of danger. When your finger sense a hot pan on the stove, you instinctively pull away-to get relief.
Likewise, whenever we are hurt by something or someone in our world, we tend to seek the quickest relief. We may find ourselves, however drawing away from God, His people, and His Word during the times we hurt the most. To be sure, for some of us who have suffered much, even the thought of acknowledging the hurt inside our heart, let alone talking with someone about it, is a frightening prospect.
As you read this section, however, prayerfully ask God to give you the encourage to begin addressing these issues in a biblical fashion. Just as the physical body goes to work restoring injured tissue and fighting disease, we must put our heart to work restoring a biblical perspective about our problems. An injured body also is more susceptible to infection, so a hurting heart is more likely to experience temptations toward bitterness, anger and fear. Peters instruction tells us how to overcome these temptations.
Peter says we have to have some clear-headed thinking about God, about ourselves, and about what we are going through. As we embrace Gods perspective about these issues, we experience spiritual growth. It is this spiritual growth that is Gods lasting solution to our hurt. It is for this reason that Peter reminds his hurting friends to put their heart to work growing through the milk of the word ( I Peter 2:1-2; II Peter. 3:18). If they neglect this growth, they will be unstable and will fall ( II Pet. 3:17).
We Need Clear-Headed Thinking About Our Own Heart
When Peter taught hurting Christians how to respond biblically to their hurt, he said, Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts (I Peter. 3:15). Sanctify means to set apart for something special. For example, a church sanctuary is a place that we set apart for the special purpose of worshipping God. Peter says, When you hurt, it is especially important for God to have a special place in your heart. That special place is the throne of our heart. Peter literally says in this verse, set apart Christ as Lord (the Ruler) in your heart.
This means that in an act of surrender we tell God that we acknowledge His loving and wise control over the circumstances of our lives and that we are willing got handle these difficult challenges His way.
Now, why would Peter have to remind us to give special consideration to God during our times of pain?
First, our heart has a tendency to forget God. We are so prone to lean unto [our] own understanding (Prov. 3:5). Solomon also reminds us that he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool (Prov 28:26). Mans sinfulness started when Adam and Even made decisions independently of God. Our nature today still tends to leave God out of our thinking (Isa. 55:6-11).
Second Peter has to remind us to set up Christ as Lord because our heart has a tendency to fight God. We are tempted to shake a clenched fist at Him in rebellion and demand, If You are so good, then why do You let bad things like this happen to me?
We have to understand that Satan, not God, is the one trying to destroy us by sending evil our way. While God, for His own purposes, is allowing Satan to work evil in this age, God is wise enough and loving enough to have all things work together for good to them that love God (Rom. 8:28).
Once again, our problem is that we do not think as God thinks. We dont really know what is good for us. We forget that suffering isnt our greatest enemy: an evil heart is. The highest good is not feeling good but being good.
When Christ suffered on the cross, He prayed, Father, forgive them (Luke 23:24). He was being good (behaving in a God-honoring way) even when He was being tortured to death by crucifixion. When we respond to pain in a similar fashion, the evil done toward us works something good- our Christlikeness.
Nothing will hinder growth more than a stubborn heart that refuses to recognize Christ as Lord. Whenever you seem to be at an impasse in your Christian life as you attempt to grow while you hurt, look for a clenched fist in your life.
Can you honestly say that you have been setting apart Christ as Lord in your heart? If not, take a few moments and ask yourself, Why not? Write down your reasons so that you dont forget your thoughts. Then ask a mature believer you can trust to show you Gods answers to your struggles.
We Need Clear-Headed Thinking About Our Hope
Peter tells us in I Peter 3:15 that we are to be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you. No one can long endure under a burden of suffering and pain unless he has hope- confident expectation. Biblical hope is not merely anticipation of relief from a problem but is a confident expectation that God is accomplishing good through the trial. Hope acts as an anchor of the soul that allows us to remain stable during storms of sorrow (Heb. 6:19).
(continued on next post)
