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Question:

“WHY ME?”
“WHY SHOULD THIS HAPPEN TO ME?”

Remark:

Sometimes life comes at the cost of great personal stress and hardships, and the Lord leads one in ways one does not always understand!

• E.g. Israel - 450 years in Egypt; 40 years of dwelling in the desert; 70 years in exile.
• E.g. Hosea - God told Hosea to go and marry a prostitute with children of prostitution, only to enable him to feel something of God’s grief for his unfaithful people. (Hosea 1:2b)
• E.g. Job - A wealthy and upright man, who lost his possessions, his children, and his health. Job did not understand why he was suffering.
• In my/your case: (Think of your own hardships) …………………..

The Bible’s Comment on Hardship & Commitment:

• Habakkuk 3:17-19, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in my Saviour. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights.…”

Fact of the Matter:

• Habakkuk affirmed: Even in times of starvation and loss, he would still rejoice in the Lord.
  Habakkuk’s feelings were not controlled by the events around him but by faith in God’s ability to give him strength.
• Habakkuk promised: To maintain his attitude regardless of the payback. That’s really what
  commitment is.

What Commitment-making IS NOT?

• “I will be committed if…” [This is deal-making /or bargaining.]

Application:
Today, how can I handle my unique situation and problems?

• When nothing makes sense, and when trouble seems more than you can bear, remember that God gives strength.
• Take yourr eyes off your difficulties and look to God.
• If something really matters, then commitment makes sense!

• Pray continuously and wait on the Lord, even if you don’t get an answer immediately!
• Wait patiently until God puts down the next piece of your life’s puzzle!
• Be different from the rest of the world and adhere to the Bible’s promises:
  
  
  • God’s grace is sufficient, for his power is made perfect in weakness. When I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)
  • God remains faithful (John 10:28; Hebrews 13:5b; Rom 8:31-39)
• Understand that the very season in which you receives a promise, is not necessarily the season of fulfilment!
• You don’t need to be enslaved with negative thoughts any more. You can say something like: “I was long enough on this mountain.
  Now I am going to the promised land – the land where I can live triumphant and, with Jesus’ mercy”

Also read:

• 2 Corinthians 1:8b-9, “…about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”
• Isa 29:16, “You turn things upside down! As if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, He did not make me? Can the pot say of the potter, He knows nothing?”
• Romans 9:21, “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?”
• Hebrews 11:13-16, “…, and they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own… Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one.”

My Prayer:

• Lord when I fall, I shall stand up again; when I sit in darkness, you will be a light to me. (Micah 7:8)
• Lord forgive my self-centredness, where I always want things to be easy for myself. I acknowledge that I don’t want to suffer, and don’t like it if things go wrong.
• Please help me to maintain a positive attitude and to trust you to let all things work together for the good.

Amen

Sources:

1. Dr J Crafford, Wonderpark DR, Message on 17/02/08
2. Leadership Bible, Zondervan Publishing House
3. Life Application Bible, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
4. Day Planner 2008, Joyce Meyer

Pieter Brits
Director: There is Hope Ministries

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