The Big Comeback Part IV

As I was writing this blog I was listening to a song I would like to share with you that will set the tone for these thoughts. 

"At night please dont you worry

about the things that you're going through...

Sometimes they are there on purpose

just to show you He can bring you through."

Wow.

Well, I am back from Christmas vacation and excited about jumping into part IV of the blog so let’s get started and as always if you have not read the proceeding parts of this series please do so first.

We ended the previous blog with a word about transplants and how we should have the mind of Christ. But what I would like to open this blog with is a question. Is Christianity the ONLY way to achive lasting chnage in life? Through having the mind of Christ as was noted in the previous blog? At the risk of some of my super saved readers getting upset. No. Yes; you can change without without going through Christ. People do it every day.

Now with that being said, allow me to add the following. It is also within Gods divine plan for you to change at times without supernatural assistance. Why? Because He at times will allow evil to come into your life, just to convince you that doing it by yourself is not enough. Why do you think we were given our greatest gift? Free will? By giving us free will we discover that maybe—just maybe sleeping around more does not equate to more gratification. That the answers you thought you would get from drugs—are not the answers you thought you would get. So in order to correct you, God will at times give the green light to Satan and allow him to come into your world in order for you to avoid going over the guardrail of life tomorrow. How do I know?

I have not written about this in any of the blogs but less than three months ago I almost died.

The reason I have not written about it is because it was just too soon and it seems while I am writing this God has released me to share a little of what happened to me—in hopes that it will help you.

On October 26, 2011 I was headed home to prepare for bible study. In fact that night I was teaching part three of a series entitled, “Why Does God Allow Evil And Suffering In The World?” As I was coming home on I-20 here in Atlanta, someone pulled in front of me driving 40 miles an hour. Now keep in mind I was driving 70 so in a split second I had to make a decision. To run into them or to avoid running into them and drive off the road. I chose the latter. Unfortunately there was a steep ditch on one side of the road so to avoid driving off the cliff I over corrected my car which caused a roll over. And yes the above pictuers are of my car, and of my arm 3 weeks after the accident.

As a result of this action I endured four surgeries and was in the hospital three weeks. While there I had a lot of time to think about what happened. “What was God trying to tell me in this accident?” And it never occurred to me until tonight—why I had to go through what I went through. God was saying to me to always watch out.

See in the natural there were times when I drove a little fast. I depended on other people to do what they were supposed to do and at times when they did not I was let down. So God was telling me "I know you want to move through this thing called life at full speed, but I have something great for you to achieve and in order to get you to that—I must allow you to go through this."

Here's another question for you. Would an all loving God—who would send his son to die for you, allow you to go through pain because he loves you? Would God put you though “this,” just to get you to “that?” Interesting question. Turn your bibles to Numbers 21:4.

4. Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

The children of Israel were a group of people who at time acted just like children. They would have a famine, they would pray, God would bless them, they would thank God and before you know it they were out serving false Gods. In one such incidence God decided he had enough. As you can see in this passage they were traveling in the wilderness when they became discouraged. In fact the bible does not say they became discouraged but it goes a step further and says their SOULS became discouraged. Their SOULS became discouraged. Do you realize just how discouraged you must be for your SOUL to be discouraged?

It’s amazing what we will do when our souls become discouraged. When our souls become discouraged we sleep with people we have no business sleeping with because our souls are discouraged. When our souls become discouraged we get in cars and think I’ll take my chance tonight and why? Because our souls are discouraged. When our souls are discouraged we walk into schools and shoot innocent people. Why? Because our very souls are discouraged. What will a man do when his soul—is discouraged? What will a man say when his soul is discouraged. Sometimes people will say things to you that you must learn to ignore? Why? Because their souls are discouraged.

There are people who will insult you this week that I am begging you now not to hold it against them. They are upset about 2011, about how much they spent for the holidays, possibly because they were all alone and just want to be a part of a family that loves them. And they will fire off on you for little or nothing. Why? Because their souls are discouraged. People will hate you—like family members, not because they hate you, but because their souls are discouraged. Don't hate them—love them. Love them. Love them.

So the bible says when this happened God did not wipe out the Children of Israel. Why? Because he still saw the good within them as a whole. But what he did was to send fiery serpents.

What are these things the bible refers to as Fiery Serpents? These were serpents that were found in Europe and Africa that were very unique to that region and the reason why is because they had the ability to thrust themselves at people from nowhere. And when they bit them—it burned. Okay? It burned. Get it? “IT” burned.

Okay God sent something that was thirst at them from nowhere… and when it bit them it burned. God sent… (Okay let me just put it another way). God allowed the man to just pop up in your life from nowhere and when he bit your checking account and it was empty. God allowed, (You get the point) Let me move forward.

My point is this. Sometimes God will allow you to be hurt in this life—just to save you in this life. See when the fiery serpents came to attack them—it drew them closer to God. It humbled them. It’s amazing how pain from an unexpected place—will humble you. The snakes reminded them just how painful life can be when they walked outside the will of God. What has God ALLOWED to happen to you with the desired outcome to drive you closer to him? To humble you so that you realized that you could not do it on your own. To allow you to feel pain unlike you have ever felt before? Let me go grave digger deep on this. You remember Paul right? Could it be that God struck him blind—so that he could see?

It’s a scientific fact, kids who are told to come in at a certain hour, to do their choirs, kids who are made to do their homework and are not allowed to go out until a certain age feel more loved then kids who have no rules to live by. It’s a fact. So let me tell you just how much God loves you. Remember the guy who never called you back after having sex with you. Could it be God allowed that to happen so you could endure a little pain today to avoid a more serious pain tomorrow? After the kids. After the divorce. After the debt.

Maybe it was God that allowed you to be drunk that night and run your car into a wall because he was trying to save you from being drunk around your children and watching them grow up alcoholics as well. Maybe it was God.

Remember when you got the STD. The STD that no one knows you got even today. Maybe that was to prevent you from stepping over the line of demarcation and getting aides. Maybe God allowed that.

Wow. I went deeper than I anticipated but please return tomorrow for the conclusion of the series.

As always, remember today--this day, is the first day of the rest of your life.