Starting a thank you note with an excerpt from a manual on drowning seemed strange but I did it anyway. December was a difficult month and I was
grateful God sent people to love on me. I wanted to send a thank you note that
meant something. A sermon by Pastor Tim Dilena on faith convicted me so deeply that I
find myself writing about it for the third time. As 2013 comes to an end, New Year’s messages
abound. Pitiably, New Year’s resolutions
are being dragged off the blood sucking heap of futility, to be recycled, repolished
and reattempted. It irks me.
Truth be told, I am looking for a New Year’s message that holds
more significance than slender thighs. Despite
my deep desire for the aforementioned appendages, there is something I needed more in 2013.
Hope. Though I pray 2014 will be
radically different, I suspect I will need hope again.
Until recently, I would not have looked for the desperate
and drowning in the pews of our churches.
I spent my life in the church and grew up believing those within its
walls were safe and happy and those without were lost and hurting. Not quite.
The life of a believer is fraught with trials. God fearing saints often experience
painful circumstances and can become overwhelmed at their
intensity.
Paul writes,
8-11 We don’t want you in the dark, friends, about how
hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn’t
think we were going to make it. We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that
it was all over for us. (2 Cor 1:8-10 The Message)
An article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene magazine describes
drowning. (This is difficult, stay with
me, we will end up somewhere positive I promise.)
Except
in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out
for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the
secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled, before speech
occurs.
The
mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough
for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s
mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths
start to sink below the surface of the water.
Drowning
people cannot wave for help. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop
drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward
a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.(Source: On Scene Magazine: Fall 2006 : On Scene Magazine: Fall 2006 (page 14))
Do you know Dear Heart, that as you worshiped this morning;
chances are strong that someone near you was drowning? If you asked them how they were doing, they
would have been unable to explain for the hundredth time, what the Lord is doing
with their family. Someone in church was
without the strength to respond to one more altar call having gone forward
three times in a row without seeing their prodigal return. Someone fasted for a loved one only to have
their prayers lay wet and unanswered at their feet. The breath to read scripture and believe it
had gone; eclipsed by trials and suffering they never anticipated. At
times we are frightened, overwhelmed and needing a helping hand.
Let me now quote a far superior lifesaving manual,
19 So shall they fear the
name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When
the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a
standard against him. Isaiah 59:19
I think unanswered prayer is one of the most difficult
trials to experience within our North American churches. To hold onto faith, I scoured the writings of
Christendom and found the writings that helped me most were written before the
1900’s. There I found reassurance that
spirit filled believers struggle and are faced with trials they are unable to
overcome on their own.
How wonderful God promises to rescue his children.
The
righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them
all; Psalm 34:19
Paul goes on to explain,
As
it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened. Instead of
trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust
God totally—not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead! And he did
it, rescued us from certain doom. And
he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing. You and your prayers are part of the rescue
operation—I don’t want you in the dark about that either. I can see your faces
even now, lifted in praise for God’s deliverance of us, a rescue in which your
prayers played such a crucial part. (2 Cor 1:8-10 The Message)
I wish I were a real writer. Then I could share with you the sense of
dismay at having followed God into a dark and frightening place. Perhaps my words are not necessary, because
you visited this valley yourself. If I
could explain the tears I cried over unanswered prayer, you might understand
the relief that comes when someone brings a word of encouragement. The hours spent wrestling over the sovereignty
of God, His ability to redeem, His plans when human hope is extinguished; even
these monsters sing God’s praise when help arrives.
May I encourage you, as you consider the New
Year, to join the Lord in is work to lift up the downhearted? It is not as difficult as it sounds. How many times has the Holy Spirit laid a
person on your heart, for you to find out later they were struggling? Have you ever heard of an unsettling incident
befalling a friend, only to realize the Lord brought them to your mind just
days before? Did you send a note, text,
email or card? Such acts may seem small
and insignificant but for one in the dark night of the soul it is life and
relief.
Be extravagant with your encouragement this
year and stingy with your critiques. Send
a quick note, offer a loving word, and tell someone you were praying for them. You could well be the answer to someone’s
prayer. Instead of focusing on egg
whites, caloric content and chubby body parts in 2014 seek first the kingdom of
God and focus on the body of Christ. I
assure you, you will be more blessed devoting yourself to her beauty rather than your
own.
May God bless you richly this coming year,
KB
Pastor Tim Dilena's sermons are on the Brooklyn Tabernacle website. He speaks about ministering to those around us who are drowing. Anything here that seems insightful definitely came from his work.
Pastor Tim Dilena's sermons are on the Brooklyn Tabernacle website. He speaks about ministering to those around us who are drowing. Anything here that seems insightful definitely came from his work.
