Why…?
I don't think anyone would argue, cancer is one of the worst scourges of humanity. Doesn't matter your race, your political affiliation, your age – I think everyone would agree, it's awful. Does God know the cure for cancer? - Certainly. Why then doesn't God take a Christian Doctor – give him the cure – and then let him change the world by saving lives? That Dr. would become famous and he'd then have a massive international platform from which to preach the Good News of the Gospel!
Think about it – a Dr. who could 100% cure cancer? Who wouldn't listen to him? People would believe in Jesus and then be saved! The Church would thrive and lives would be changed! So why doesn't God do that? And if I can think of that idea, surely God thought about it way before I did. So why does God work the way He does...?
This morning I want to look again at a story from the Old Testament about King Saul and the prophet Samuel. Both of them were struggling to understand God's ways, but Saul and Samuel were looking for…
I. Answers in the wrong place
I want to look specifically at 1 Samuel, chapters 15 & 16. I'm not going to read both chapters in full this morning, but I would encourage you to write that down and read through it this next week to get the whole story. Basically, I want to sum things up to set up the story, in chapter 15 – God had given some very specific instructions to Saul, the King of Israel, God's Chosen people. But instead of following God's instructions, Saul decided that he had a better idea. God responded to the situation by saying to the prophet Samuel…
1 Samuel 15:11 (NIV)
"I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the LORD all that night.
After Samuel gets this message from God, he confronts his King, Saul. At first Saul claimed he did follow the instructions. And when it was clearly pointed out that he really didn't, he tried to rationalize and explain why his idea was better than God's. Basically - God had told Saul, when they went into a particular battle, they were to destroy EVERYTHING that belonged to His enemies. But even after he had been given these specific instructions - Saul thought it was a better idea to bring back some sheep and cattle and then sacrifice them to God. A very nice idea – but it wasn't what God had told him to do.
Saul looked to himself for an answer of how to deal with his situation rather than to God's instructions. Then we see this, in 1 Samuel 15:22 (NIV)...
But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."
God didn't ask Saul what he thought should be done – He told Saul what to do. And as God – as the Creator – He has that right. And if we skip ahead, we see God's response for Saul's disobedience…
1 Samuel 15:26 (NIV)
But Samuel said to him, "I will not go back with you. You have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you as king over Israel!"
Because Saul looked to himself rather than God - God decided to choose a new king to lead His people…
1 Samuel 16:1 (NIV)
The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king."
Up to this point, Saul had been a very successful King. He looked the part - he was a tall, regal kind of guy. He had led his people well and been successful in battle. The problem was - Saul got so caught up in his own success that he somehow thought that he was responsible for his success. He forgot that he was chosen by God, and that God was the One blessing him with success.
But then Samuel - the prophet of God - the one who corrected Saul for his disobedience to God - then did something similar. God sent Samuel to anoint a new King, and we see this in 1 Samuel 16:6-7 (NIV)...
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the LORD." (7) But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
Samuel saw Eliab – he was tall, good looking, manly – he looked like a king, to Samuel. But God had chosen Eliab's brother – David – the guy who later killed Goliath, who arguably became the greatest King of Israel and in whose lineage was Jesus! In the search for a new king, Samuel was looking to a man's outward strength as his source of hope for Israel's troubles. Both Saul and Samuel needed strong reminders…
A. God is our source
Once we forget from where our strength, our 'wisdom', our hope comes, we get into trouble. The entire Old Testament is a cycle of God saving His people. Bunny and I were just talking about this recently. The nation of Israel would get comfortable with their blessings, somehow think that they were responsible for those blessings and then they'd fall away from God. They'd get themselves into trouble, God would once again save them and they'd once again worship Him and obey Him - for a time. And the cycle would repeat itself.
Fortunately, we in this nation would never forget God as the source of our blessings... Yeah, hits a little close to home, doesn't it? King David himself wrote this in Psalms 68:35 (NIV)...
You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!
Saul forgot that he was given strength; He was blessed, for a purpose – God's purpose! God created Him with the characteristics he had, with the leadership abilities he had not for his own glory – but to serve God! Saul was the King of Israel, but he was created to serve the true King! We need to remember…
B. We serve the King
Saul was given the position of King not for Saul's glory, but so that he could serve at the pleasure of the King of the universe; so that he could serve God! Saul saw a situation where he thought he had a better way, perhaps a more fair way to handle things. Saul listened to the 'wisdom' of those around him and thought he had a better way to honor God - even though it went against what God actually said.
There are plenty of 'Christians' today, who choose to ignore God's Word, because they think that they have better ideas on how to honor God. They ignore scripture because either it doesn't fit with what they personally believe - or they think it will make God look bad to those outside the Church...? Either way, they make the same mistake - they choose their ways over obedience.
And it's easy to see that in others. But do I do similar things? Do we allow our priorities, our desires, our spending, our political views, our personal views on human relationships to take precedent over actually trusting and obeying God? And then I'm just as guilty as Saul. And if God took His blessings away from Saul - the Lord's anointed one - when he disobeyed, why do I think I would be any different?
Those of us who are blessed – and that really includes all of us in the Church in some way, shape or form – we are blessed with gifts, abilities, not for our own pleasure but in order to fulfill God's purposes – to be a blessing to others! And especially those of us who have been placed in teaching or leadership positions have been placed there not for our own benefit or pride – we have been placed there to serve! We can't ever forget that. That being said, all of us, many times – we lean on…
II. Our own ideas
We look at Samuel, a prophet of God who had seen God do miraculous things – and he still didn't understand how God worked in choosing a King for His people. He was still looking for a man and his strength to lead. Saul had seen God clearly give him victory in battle and still he chalked it up to his own great leadership. When it came to following God's instructions - because he thought that he had a better plan than God – Saul leaned on his experiences and made his own plans.
Now it seems odd that people who had seen, firsthand, God's amazing work - it seems odd that they would choose to ignore God and trust their own judgment rather than His, right? …But isn't that what we do, many times, in our own lives? We have seen God change lives and do amazing things over and over, but yet when it gets right down to it – frequently we tend to trust our own judgment and sometimes make choices contrary to what we know God would have us do. Why is that? - Because, the reality is…
A. Trusting God is hard
It is hard. Jesus promised that He would be with us always and when we accept Him in baptism that we would receive God's Holy Spirit to help us live – but He never said it would be easy. But just because it's hard doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do. Jesus said the road to Heaven wasn't the broad, easy road, but the narrow one. It says this in Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)...
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; (6) in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Memorize that verse - hang it on your wall – don't let it go! The reality is - I do not have all of the answers! There are many times that what I see God doing - or not doing - doesn't seem to make sense, at the time. I've been very open about my frustrations with God's plans in my family for several years now. And like Saul, I think, 'Surely, I've got a better plan...' But just because I don't understand all of what God is doing doesn't make God any less God!
A story is told about a pretty rough man who accepted Jesus. His former 'friends' got ticked that he now refused to participate in their illegal activities and gave him a hard time. He was still a new Christian and hadn't really leaned the 'finer points' of theology. They berated him saying, "You say you're a Christian; so who was Jesus' father?" "I don't know.", said the man. "When did he live? How old was he when he died?" "I don't know." "Well, you are a pretty lousy Christian; you don't know who Jesus' father was or when he lived or died; what do you know?" The man thought for awhile and then replied, "I know that He saved me."
God doesn't require that we know all the answers before we trust Him. If we had all the answers, we really wouldn't need faith then, would we? We lean on what we know because trusting God can be hard! But I have to remember – God is smarter than me! Just when I think I have things figured out, God does something that humbles me and reminds me that I'm not as brilliant as I think I am, when compared to Him. It takes a great deal of humility to follow God – and, in my opinion, a whole lot of arrogance not to.
Isaiah 55:8 (NIV)
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
God didn't say to Saul, "Hey, you know what – I hadn't thought of that, your idea was way better than my plan – let's do that." God didn't say to Samuel, "Maybe you have a point, I'll let you pick out the new king." God doesn't seek my advice on how to do things. God has revealed His will to us and He asks that we follow His way, not ours!
How do we learn to rely on God for answers, as our source of strength and wisdom and hope, to serve Him and trust that His ways are better than our own? We need to learn to see…
B. What God sees
We can only see things from our perspective – God sees the big picture. We can only see outside circumstances - God sees everything; all the way to a man's heart and thoughts and all of history - from beginning to end! The writer of Hebrews wrote…
Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
I will never have the understanding of God, but it is easier to trust and follow when I remember that I am just the servant and He is the master. - How can I learn to see what God sees? Read His Word! God isn't hiding His Truth – He's given it to us in the Bible! Do we take that for granted?
I read a story a while back, I thought it might have just been an exaggerated illustration. Turns out it's a true story; I found a digitally scanned internet archive from May of 1921 of 'Popular Science Monthly' vol. 98, pg. 47.) 'A man named William McPherson was severely injured in a dynamite blast in a quarry. He lost his eyesight, both his hands and had severe nerve damage to his face. He had just become a Christian, and was devastated that he could no longer read his Bible. But in his desperation, he learned to read Braille with his tongue. The man 'read' the entire Bible multiple times using only the tip of his tongue'.
I'm guessing it's not as difficult for any of us to read the Bible as it was for William McPherson - so why is it not always a priority for us? God wants you to know Him. He's revealed Himself in creation, in His Son and in His Word! How can you expect to learn to see things from God's perspective if you don't actively read His Word?
But I do need to warn you, however, that as you get to know God, as you learn to see things His way – you will start to see the good and the bad. What do I mean by that? As you learn just how powerful, all knowing, strong and Holy God is, you will also realize just how unholy and small we are. But don't let that discourage you! The devil would love to use that to drive us to guilt and keep us away from God. But we need to remember, our worth is not found in how great or small we are – but our great worth is found in Whom we serve!
So What?
We don't always understand God's ways. We do know, however, that we serve a God who is in control and can and will work things out for those who trust Him.
At the beginning I asked, why doesn't God just use a Christian Dr. to cure cancer to spread His message? It makes sense to me – but God does his best work in ways, and with people, we might not expect. David was just a teenager when God used Him to kill Goliath. Moses was eighty years old when God picked him to lead Israel out of captivity. Why does God work the way He does…? I don't know – but He sure gets the job done!
God has a plan for you and He has given you gifts and abilities to accomplish His purposes. I don't care where you are in life – until you're dead and buried, God has plans for you. "But I'm too old, I'm too young, my health is failing, I'm inexperienced, I've got too much experience, I don't know the Bible well enough, I'm not the right person for the job - it just doesn't make sense for God to use me." It doesn't have to make sense. God's ways are not our ways.
Your value to God's work is independent of your life circumstances, your age, your intelligence, your experience or your physical limitations. Our value is not in how great or small we may be, it's found in whom we serve! Let God use you!