SARAH STEPPED TO THE MICROPHONE

He felt like he lived in a pit, troubles beyond count surrounded him, and people wished for his death. Yet, we hear King David in Psalm 40:3 declaring, “you gave me a new song, a song of praise to you. Many will see this, and they will honor and trust you, the LORD God” (CEV). During David's duress the Israelites observed David's authentic relationship with God and then they chose to honor and trust God as well.

Psalm 40:3 impacted my wife Sarah during a life-threatening period.  In 2004, a doctor of oncology diagnosed Sarah with breast cancer.  After praying and getting the best medical advice, Sarah decided that a double mastectomy and reconstruction would best remedy her cancerous condition. Years later her judgment proved correct. However, at the time she did not know if she would live or die, especially since four years earlier her mother died of cancer 3 weeks after the diagnosis.

Hundreds watched Sarah. She did not shake her fist at God and ask “Why me?” Instead she asked, “Why not me?” Then Sarah did the remarkable. Like King David she thanked and praised God, an all-loving and all-powerful God, in the midst of her cancerous condition.

As a family we observed Sarah as she looked forward to her morning time alone with God, enjoyed listening to her praise music, told others of God's goodness, and evidenced throughout the day an inner peace. Sarah caused all of us to examine our hearts: would we trust, thank, praise, and worship God at death's door? From the cards we received, she inspired many to go deeper in their trust and honor of God.

Based on Psalm 40:3 several questions arise that apply to your marriage.

Will you trust God's goodness in the face of unanswered questions? One person wrote, "I realized that this is where I have to trust God. God is good, God is sovereign, God has a plan." Wow! That's not easy to do when life throws us a curve ball.

Will you thank God in anticipation of Him working things together for good in your life though your spouse remains closed off? A wife shared with me about her husband's drug addiction and the devastation his enslavement brought to the marriage. To encourage her, I shared 1 Peter 3:1,2. She replied, "The Lord had led me to that exact passage in scripture when 'I' made my decision not to divorce...It has given me peace, as well as 2 Corinthians 10:5." She then said, "I praise God for a way 'out' of depression and anxiety through His Word to us." Even though her husband did not respond, she praised God for His way out of depression for her.

Will you motivate others, beyond your spouse, to follow God by showing them how to thank and trust God? As one husband gave himself over to God, opening his heart to the Lord in a new and positive way, seeking to love his wife "unto" Christ, spiritual things happened in his children. He wrote, "What you say about my influence on my kids is so true. I have noticed that in trying to show love to my wife, avoiding yelling and anger, and being more encouraging (none of this perfectly though), my kids have responded. I've had more conversations about God and the Bible with my son (the 12 yr old) which is an incredible blessing..."

Friend, your son can place his confidence in God while watching you reverence God and love your wife. Your sister can come back to faith as she observes you praise God while experiencing a demotion, loss of pay, and a rocky marriage. Your wife can open her heart to the Lord as she sees the peace you have with God and feels your loving treatment of her.

As a final thought, let Sarah's words inspire you as they have me. "As I faced my cancer diagnosis, I realized I am here on this earth to represent Christ.  This was a chance of a lifetime.  Would my life reflect him during this time of suffering or would I be no different from the world in my response?  Since I claimed to know Him, would my countenance and my words cause someone to desire him? Would I praise and thank God regardless of the outcome? I felt like God was saying that he wanted those looking on to see his power, his unfailing love, and his faithfulness.  I believed that he had been preparing me ‘for such a time as this.’ I felt humbled that He had chosen me to be a spokesperson on his behalf.   It was my time to step to the microphone."

You may not have cancer but nonetheless a disease is eating away your marriage. Is God handing you a mic for such a time as this?

Go ahead, I know you can step to the microphone.

Christmas Did Happen!

Years ago I recall a conversation that went something like the following. My older cousin asked condescendingly, "do you actually believe in Jesus, and that Jesus was born of a virgin and that Jesus was raised from the dead?" I replied, "well, let me answer that by asking you this: Do you believe in the possibility of a God?" He answered, "yes." I then asked, "can a supernatural God, if that God exists, do supernatural things?" He answered, "yes." I then said, "it is not un-intellectual to believe that a supernatural God can do supernatural things. A supernatural God can cause a virgin to give birth and cause a dead man to come back to life. The question before us is not ‘CAN God cause Mary, a virgin, to give birth to Jesus or CAN God raise Jesus from the dead?’ but ‘DID God cause Mary, a virgin, to give birth to Jesus or DID God raise Jesus from the dead?’ This is not an intellectual question but an historical question. Each of us must ask ourselves, ‘DID this happen, not CAN this happen, since we have already established the fact that it could happen, since a supernatural God can do supernatural things. For me, I have a satisfied mind and heart that it DID happen."

I have not buried my brains by placing my faith in the testimony of the New Testament. My heart cannot believe what my mind rejects. Yes, part of the testimony in the New Testament revolves around the miraculous. After all, the central message of the New Testament revolves around a supernatural God. The supernatural and miracles tend to go together. I would expect this. I would expect to read about such phenomena. For this reason, I always chuckle at those skeptical of the account of the miraculous in the New Testament because if the story did not consist of the miraculous these very skeptics would denounce the New Testament as a false document. They would cynically declare, "if the New Testament authentically tells the story of a supernatural God then we would expect miraculous stories, like the blind seeing, the sick getting healed, the lame walking, and a few other things like walking on water, entering buildings through a wall, and dead men being brought back to life, not to suggest God walking among us and showing himself to us and then ascending into the heavens after telling us everything will be okay in the end."

Well, that kinda captures the New Testament, doesn't it?

Guess what? Now, because the New Testament account consists of supernatural events, these very cynics reject the account as myth, nothing more than fairy tales about dead men coming back to life, the blind seeing, the lame walking and a virgin giving birth. In the spirit of Scrooge we hear them derisively mumble, "Bah humbug.”

For some, whichever way the story comes out, whether the story consists of miracles or whether the story has no miracles, either way they rudely jeer, “Bah, humbug.” With some you cannot win for losing.

As for me, I believe. For example, I believe what John writes in his gospel, the good news. John, 1:1,14, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."

Who is the Word in John’s Gospel? He identifies this One as Jesus. What do we know about this Word or Jesus? This Word, Jesus, was with God and was God, in other words, Jesus was distinct from God the Father but Jesus was equal to God the Father (Philippians 2:6). Then John tells us that this Word became flesh, in other words, Jesus, who is God, became man.

CAN something like the incarnation happen? Of course. A supernatural God CAN do supernatural things. DID it happen? I believe it DID happen, and I have a hunch, because you continued reading, you too believe, or want to believe. Therefore, I wish you a Merry Christmas!