Begin with a personal story/illustration of a problem or difficulty in life or perhaps a failure experienced.
I think you would agree that in this life, problems and trials are inevitable. Nobody has a problem-free life.
What we do with these problems determines if we are going to learn and develop our character through them, or if the issues are going to defeat us and cause us to stumble and falter in our walk with God.
The most difficult thing about these hardships is that, when God wants to teach us a lesson through them, it always requires much more grace, energy, wisdom, and power than we have within ourselves. Because, you see, if we could handle these complex issues in our own power, then who needs God?
Even so, I would say that everyone in this room knows the experience of having to learn a difficult lesson that we resisted learning and grew tired of struggling with. But the moment we surrendered the issue to God, answers began coming into focus, and God led us through the issue, making us better people because of it.
To get us through these lessons of life, God often sends us a teacher. The teacher may be in the form of the Holy Spirit Himself, or it may be another brother or sister in the Lord, or it may be someone who’s like “holy sandpaper” to us—someone who absolutely infuriates and frustrates us, causing us to run into the arms of God Himself for help and guidance.
Let’s begin today by watching a clip from The Grace Card and see if you can identify with how Sam is struggling. Sam (a pastor AND a policeman) has been partnered with a difficult-to-love individual who not only resents Sam, but also seems to be very racist. Sam senses that there must be a lesson in this somewhere … and with great vulnerability, he shares with his congregation some of his truest personal feelings.
“Sam’s Sermon” movie clip
“I don’t know about you, but it sure seems to me that when God’s got something to teach me , He brings me a teacher. But I don’t usually like the lesson, and I usually don’t like being taught”
I think we all can identify with Sam’s personal feelings here. Oftentimes the lessons God teaches us are difficult and painful to learn. Yet, we read in James:
James 1:2closeJames 1:2 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. . . . (ESV) When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!
But we want to respond, “James, you have no idea what I’m facing! These are not just easy problems—these are difficult, critical, can’t-see-my-way-through”
James 1:2closeJames 1:2
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. . . . (ESV)
: Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds …
Meus irmãos, considerem motivo de grande alegria o fato de passarem por diversas provações
What is that? This is a brother of our Lord Jesus writing this! Then we read from one of the disciples:
1 Peter 4:12close1 Peter 4:12
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. (ESV)
My friends, do not be surprised at the terrible trouble which now comes to test you. Do not think that something strange is happening to you.
Amados, não estranheis a ardente provação que vem sobre vós para vos experimentar, como se coisa estranha vos acontecesse;
The fact of life is that problems are inevitable. These verses indicate that we should not be surprised by them, nor should we be surprised to learn that these problems come in all shapes, sizes, and varieties.
We also need to understand that problems can be purposeful. They come to teach us something. If we were to read on in the passage from James, we would learn that problems come to produce in us the quality of endurance. They come to perfect our character and deepen our maturity.
I still need to state the obvious: Not everything that happens in this world is God’s will! Oftentimes God is grieving and hurting right alongside us when He sees the choices that people make and the painful consequences resulting from those choices. So God’s will is not always done on this earth because we live on a fallen planet. This is not heaven; this is a world full of sin and confusion, and we sometimes struggle as a result, and we don’t always get what we deserve.
Could God step in and prevent certain problems or crises from happening? Sure! But to be consistent with Himself, He would have to take away the freedom of choice He has given to humans. And He wants to enjoy a relationship with us by choice, not because He forced us to love or worship Him. But often we make the wrong choices, and then we must reap what we have sown and suffer the consequences of those choices. But even though we sometimes struggle with issues we bring upon ourselves, sometimes we suffer in innocence.
To help make sense out of problems and trials, we need to look for the lessons we can learn through them. We know we can grow and mature through these problems, because God has promised in His Word:
Romans 8:28closeRomans 8:28
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (ESV)
: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him …
E sabemos que todas as coisas concorrem para o bem daqueles que amam a Deus, daqueles que são chamados segundo o seu propósito.
Note that this promise is not for everyone—it’s for those who love God. And it doesn’t say everything is good—we know that’s not true. But God does say He will work out all the details of your life: “You know those problems in your life? I’ll handle them. I’ll work them all out for your good.” The things that are beyond your control are not beyond God’s control, and when you know God is going to handle them for you, it gives you confidence. It allows you to wait and rest in Him, trusting His guidance and His timing, and to allow the difficult to turn into the delivery.
When we do this, then we can learn and grow from these problems. And when we end up victorious on the other side of these issues, we can look back and see from a whole new perspective how faithful and powerful our God is.
In the movie The Grace Card, Sam realized that God was up to something in his life. His wife Debra even helped him realize that God had not brought Mac into his life as much as God had brought Sam into Mac’s life. But Sam still recognized there must be a lesson to be learned in the relationship; there was something God was attempting to teach him. So he persevered. He endured. He kept attempting to be friend to Mac and develop a relationship with him.
And in the film, you know God provided an opportunity for Sam to make an undeniable impact on Mac’s life. Through an act of self-sacrifice, Sam provided a kidney for Mac’s injured son, and in that act of love and compassion, something in Mac’s heart changed. Let’s watch this next clip from the end of the film. Here we see a whole new awareness that a difficult lesson has brought forth great results.
“Standing Room at Gospel Church” movie clip
What was it that Sam experienced that God had taught him? There are several answers to that question:
Grace
Forgiveness
True friendship
Compassion
But let me point out another truth that Sam probably knew from Scripture but had now authenticated in life:
Galatians 6:2closeGalatians 6:2
2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (ESV)
By helping each other with your troubles, you truly obey the law of Christ.
Levai as cargas uns dos outros, e assim cumprireis a lei de Cristo.
In the difficulties and trials of life, we need each other! It’s a big mistake to isolate yourself from others when you are going through a crisis. But usually that’s just what we want to do: We want to get alone. We think that nobody understands what we’re going through. But listen: You need other people during the crises of life. You need the family of believers! You need their perspective, their support, and their encouragement.
To make it through the problems/crises of life, we not only need the promises of God. We need the people of God. The promises of God keep hope alive. The people of God not only offer support and love, but they model for us how to endure and carry on.
When you witness a believer in Jesus Christ going through some of the difficult issues of life, and you see them handling those issues with grace, optimism, and confidence that their heavenly Father will somehow cause the issues to work together for good in their lives—when you see this example set before you, you want to experience the same peace, joy, and confidence that you see being modeled by that child of God.
Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ need to witness to our fellow human beings by the way we live our lives. They need to see us practicing forgiveness. They need to see us expressing unconditional love and support. They need to see us putting into practice what we preach! We need to remember that others are always watching us to see if our walk matches our talk. Walk in the confident faith and assurance that the God we serve is far greater than the problems we face.
All of the issues Sam was facing in his relationship with Mac—prejudice, selfishness, disrespect—those were difficult problems to overcome. But God was taking Sam to school. There were some lessons Sam needed to learn that may have been unpleasant at the time, but the end result was well worth it. Another family had come into the kingdom of God, a lesson of grace and mercy had been taught, forgiveness had been offered and received, and the Holy Spirit allowed this transformation to be seen. Sam’s church was now standing-room only with an atmosphere of victory and praise being offered to Almighty God.
I would have to agree that all things worked together for good.
