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For ten months now, I have been avoiding making an appointment with my
financial advisor. This is consistent with my reluctance of opening the
monthly statements which arrive with less than good news. But setting
aside important decisions that impact our futures doesn’t solve much, so
I finally bit the bullet, figuring some counsel was probably more
productive.
There are a
number of decisions we make throughout life where trust is a necessary
ingredient when the end result is not always revealed. For example, how
do we best save for the future in these times? On what basis do
we select a spouse? Do we decide to have children or not? What about
changing careers? There are just a number of significant decisions we
make during our lifetime, without knowing in advance of the outcome.
Even with an
arsenal of knowledge and wisdom of others, there is no guarantee. Trust
is required in making many decisions. We are people who want proof and
guarantees, please, before we commit. But that is not always possible.
The confidence we place in other systems or people we admire, does not
always warrant our trust, and in the end we have to let go and hope all
will go well.
But there is a
better way. Our passage today is a reminder and comfort of what we
already know: that God is the only One whom we can trust completely. It
is our Creator who wants to be involved in all of our lives, seeking the
best for each one of us. So who do we follow for our counsel? Is it a
trusted friend? our financial advisor? A therapist? In whom do
we place our trust? Not always a conscious decision.
Let me set the
stage with a bit of background to our passage for today. The Israelites
were slaves in Egypt for many years. They cried out to God for relief
and were, at last, provided a way of escape by God. Moses, their leader,
led the people out of Egypt on a difficult journey towards the land,
promised by God, as a place of sanctuary; a place to start over and be
free. After 40 years of travelling across the barren desert and just
prior to reaching the border of this Promised Land, Moses died and
Joshua was put in charge.
The people were
tired. The journey had been long and many died along the way and the
food and water had been sparse. They had put their trust in Moses, whom
God had called as their leader, to lead them to a better place. But the
people, unsure of this happening, kept their options open, by bringing
their false gods along as a safety guard. After all, they figured, it’s
always good to have a backup plan. What if God didn’t come through?
So after their
arrival, Joshua gathers the tribes and leaders together, who are more
than just military leaders; they are leaders of faith for the people.
Joshua reminds them of God’s faithfulness to them, throughout all their
challenges along the way, with these paraphrased words:
“Now fear the Lord and serve him with
all faithfulness; throw away your false gods and choose this day whom
you will serve. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then
choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, the false gods of
the land you are about to occupy, or the Lord. (You cannot serve both,
so choose.)
But for me and my household, we will
serve the Lord.”
You and I are
not unlike the Israelites of long ago. The same trust issues afflict us.
How do we know God will come through? We profess that the Lord is
the answer, but what proof do we have that this will occur? Joshua’s
words haunt us. Like the Israelites, we too, take out the other gods of
our hearts; those things we hold dear and often seek first; our
families, our money, our success or power, our possessions that demand
our attention. We too, want to keep our options open; worship the Lord
and keep our other gods handy just in case; that way we think we’re
covered.
But the Lord,
through Joshua, says no; make a choice one way or the other. You can’t
have it both ways. The same message is echoed much later by Jesus who
tells the people they can’t serve God and mammon at the same time; you
must choose.
It seems that
these words are even more critical today than so long ago; a different
context for us, but the same dilemma. In fact, we have many more
false gods than the Israelites did; that call and tempt us away from the
only One who has the answers for us. But beware; worship of lesser gods
is not always a conscious decision for us. This is why it is to our
advantage to spend some regular time with God’s holy word; for it is
written for our protection so that we will not be tossed about by with
the winds of the world’s influence.
Today’s
scripture is clear; be conscious of your choice and choose. Make a
choice and know why. Remember who God has been in your life up until
now, and choose. Who or what do we trust the most? Who are our false
gods? We all have them. Better to be aware of who our false gods are,
than be led away from God.
We know the
right choice, but is God the one we choose? Why do we waffle between
God and our false gods, who are not faithful in their allegiance to us?
I think there are a number of reasons. First it could be our
unfamiliarity with the promise of God’s faithfulness throughout all
generations. Or it could be our lack of awareness of God’s presence in
our own lives.
The Israelites
did not recognize the help and protection that was theirs and they
argued, if they were the chosen people, then why did God abandon them?
Why were they left to fend for themselves in a new and foreign land? Why
did life have to be so difficult? It is the human condition and like the
Israelites, our journeys are lonely too, seemingly bereft of provisions
or protection. We think we have no maps or leader to show us the way;
but this is not the case.
Aren’t we too,
flooded with our own theological “why” questions? Why do innocent
people have to suffer? Why aren’t our prayers answered? What is God’s
will for my life? Why do we have to walk through the desert of our
lives, struggling to find our way? Why doesn’t God direct us more
clearly, after all? However, with this mindset, I think it is only too
easy for us to believe we are on our own, forced to find someone or
something to lead us through the mire. It is then, without even
realizing it, that we have taken out the other gods of our hearts and
are at risk. God gives us choices, but does not demand that we follow.
In two of my
small groups, we have been using a book entitled Why? , by Adam
Hamilton. If interested, there are a few copies available in the office.
I would like to share some his responses to the questions that plague us
all in making our choices. For example, if God loves us so much, why
would God allow innocent people to suffer? Our rationale for avoiding
suffering goes something like this: we pray; we worship; we give to the
church, we volunteer in the community, so why are we being punished? In
other words, we are really asking, why are we not rewarded for good
behavior?
Hamilton says,
“Suffering, unanswered prayers, and the unfairness of life naturally
lead us to question God’s goodness and sometimes to question God’s very
existence.” Then an internal debate begins in our heads of our all
powerful and all loving God. It goes something like this: If God is
loving and just then God must not be all powerful. Or, if God is all
powerful God must not be loving and just.
Where we go
wrong, Hamilton suggests, is with our assumptions of how we think God is
supposed to work in the world. When that doesn’t happen we are
disillusioned and even angry. We run into the same problem with each
other too, don’t we? We make assumptions based on limited information
and react accordingly, often without consulting the person in question.
Whether with God, or each other, trust is eroded, based on perhaps our
erroneous assumptions.
It seems that in
our confused understanding of suffering there are two areas that trip us
up: our assumptions and our expectations. One of our assumptions about
God is, if we lead clean and faithful lives, nothing bad will happen to
us. However, Hamilton reminds us, that the sweeping message of the Bible
is not a promise that those who believe will not suffer. It is rather
the powerful and hopeful account of people who suffered greatly and yet
refused to let go of their faith, in the midst of it.
Consider the
Israelites, people like us; or consider the suffering of the disciples,
or Paul, or how about Jesus himself? None of us are spared from
suffering, but we have choices to make. And choosing the Lord, like
those who have gone before us, is the better way.
Reconciling a
loving and just God with a suffering world is difficult when we accept
such clichés like “Everything happens for a reason” or, “It must be
God’s will”. If that is the case that would mean that God wants us to
suffer and that belief conflicts with the Biblical teaching of a loving
and just God.
Whenever we hear
a cliché we need to hold it against the truth of the Bible, like, for
example, in Romans where we read “All things work together for good, for
those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
If we allow our
clichés to override the Bible, we run the risk of ultimately eliminating
God from our lives. Christianity does not promise we will escape
suffering; rather it proclaims two important truths: first, that God
will walk with us through our all of our suffering always; and second,
suffering will not be the last word. We know this through the
Resurrection. Furthermore, when we reject God, we eliminate our
greatest source of hope, help and comfort.
Our expectations
can trip us up too. We have specific prayer requests and are
disappointed if they are not met. Hamilton raises an interesting
question here: What if our well-meaning prayer for someone else was not
what was best for them? Or reversely, what if God forced upon us
something that wasn’t in our best interests, simply because someone
prayed for it?
We don’t have
the full picture. What we consider unanswered prayers might in fact be a
better answer, than we requested. Even Jesus did not have his prayers
answered yet his response was always, “Not my will, O Lord, but yours.”
So the choice is
ours: will we choose to follow and serve the Lord? Will we trust the
outcome even if we don’t know it in advance? Will we follow the Lord
first, before others? Will we seek God’s direction before our
lesser gods? Frankly, I am relieved to know that my future well-being is
not entirely in my hands, but rests with the Lord who promises to lead
me if I choose him. God does not force our actions or our will. The
choice is ours.
Joshua, gives us
the words of choice: “if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose
this day whom you will serve….. but as for me and my household,
we will serve the Lord.”
Our assumptions,
our expectations and also our fears can whittle away our faith; fear of
failure, fear of rejection, fear about the future, fear of illness,
being alone or dying. But the protection from our fear consuming us, is
our trust in God, who is always faithful.
When I find
myself trying to make sense of a situation; or discover God’s will for
my life, or find myself at a crossroads, it is then that the words of
Joshua 1:9 come to mind; it is one to write on our hearts. “Be strong
and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord
your God will be with you wherever you go.” These are words of promise
for you, for me, and for our church, in the days ahead.
Amen |
