Carried through hardship by faith

Some thoughts on Psalm 50 and how it applies to our perseverance through trials and hardship.

The struggle has been difficult lately. It can be hard seeing the poverty around us, and wishing there was more we could do. Plus our primary source of funding has been on hold for a couple of months. Although things have been tight for us, it still doesn’t compare to what is going on around us.

I was reminded of the verse about God having the cattle on a thousand hills. This verse can be found in Psalm 50. Reading through that passage, I noticed some things I had forgotten. We often think of that verse describing how bountiful God’s provision can be. However, it is actually about the fact that God doesn’t need anything from us. It transitions into a promise of provision, but with a twist.

9I have no need for a bull from your stall

or goats from your pens,

10for every beast of the forest is Mine—

the cattle on a thousand hills.

11I know every bird in the mountains,

and the creatures of the field are Mine.

12If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for the world is Mine, and the fullness thereof.

13Do I eat the flesh of bulls,

or drink the blood of goats?

14Sacrifice a thank offering to God,

and fulfill your vows to the Most High.

15Call upon Me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”

The Thank Offering

It says to sacrifice a thank offering. I looked up the thank offering in Leviticus and found that it is presented like the usually sacrifice. But its not burned to God or given to the priest as the other offerings are. Instead, the meat is returned to the person making the sacrifice to be eaten as a feast. The thank offering is a sacrifice that turns into a feast.

I spent a few minutes pondering the reality of a sacrificial feast as part of our need for provision. When we struggle so much, it is easy to forget about thanksgiving. Especially when we are trying to claw our way out of a pit of loss, the last thing we want to do is stop and offer up a sacrifice of thanksgiving. It is not easy to offer a thank offering. But in the midst of the hardship, stop and find something you can celebrate as a thank offering.

Notice it isn’t just an attitude of thankfulness. It is an all out sacrifice. I’ve often heard preachers say to take our requests to God with an attitude of thanksgiving. But think about how much more a sacrifice is than just the attitude. Add into that, the the thank offering although done sacrificially should also be enjoyed as a feast too!

What does a sacrificial feast look like to you?

A Tree in the Drought

I was also reading through Jeremiah. Chapter 17 verses 7,8 caught my attention. I have read this passage numerous times in the past. But the imagery of the tree became so much deeper this time. Here are those verses:

[7]  “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.

[8]  He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

What struck me is the image of the tree in the drought. It doesn’t say the tree will be spared from the drought, but it will still flourish in the midst of the drought. In fact the roots are below the surface. There may not be visible signs of water. The river may run dry, but the tree still bears fruit. Drought and famine come, but faith gets us through the times when we see no way out. And sometimes we have to be carried through it.

Faith vs False Optimism

In the church, we often hear false optimism presented as “faith”. This is often presented as “name it and claim it”, “power of our words”, or the admonition not to be “double minded”. It comes from an improper understanding of James 1:5-8. Those verses say when you ask, you should not doubt. That passage refers to seeking wisdom from God. It does not necessarily apply to asking for specific things. And it should never be used to imply that God is a genie who will grant your wishes if you believe hard enough. And reading further on to verses 9-12, James mentions humility and finally perseverance.

False optimism leads to the Stockdale Paradox. This is named after Admiral James Stockdale who had been a prisoner of war in Vietnam. You can easily Google it, so I will give a very short summary. He was eventually rescued after 7 years of horrific treatment in the prison camp. During those seven years, he saw many people give up and die. When asked what kept him going, he said that he never lost faith that he would make it through to the end. When asked about who died, he said:

“Oh, that’s easy. The optimists.”

“They were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.”

Faith isn’t ignoring our circumstances. Faith isn’t relying on God to make our simple solution come true. Faith trusts that we will get through it even when we don’t see the way.

God taught my wife and I this lesson early during my wife’s illness. A couple of years after Debi was first hospitalized, and the doctors couldn’t figure out why she was having such shortness of breath. Our church had a time of praying and fasting. One of the things they were praying for was Debi’s healing. During that time, God told us “not now”, and assured us to trust him through whatever was to come. Many of our friends said we just didn’t have enough faith. When we cried out to God about their response, he gave us a vision in two different but similar ways. The vision was of a flood or a burning building. He said “what takes more faith? To be pulled from the flood/fire or to allow yourself to be carried through it?”

We relied on that vision to get us through many very difficult situations over the following 20+ years. She never was healed. It took us 10 years to get a partial diagnosis. And even then, there was very little medical knowledge because it was very rare.

God eventually promised to give me wisdom to manage her illness. This lead me to learn about biochemistry at a level her doctor could not begin to fathom. Her doctor told other patients and researchers about the things I was doing to support my wife. Many people have been helped by what we were willing for God to do in her life.

She also lived 15 years beyond what we called her original “expiration date”. It was very difficult at times. And we always hoped for a cure or reprieve, but we accepted the cold hard truth of her illness. Which gave us the courage to live regardless of our circumstances. We launched a business that she ran from her bed. We bought a motorhome so that we could take her bed wherever we went. Those things gave her an improved quality of life, and we had amazing experiences in the midst of the medical and financial storms. And we touched very many people through those experiences. But going through so much gave me much knowledge and experience that I can use to help many others going through incredible hardship.

I will end this with her motto:

Never give up! Always hope! Live life!

Be honest with yourself about your circumstances, but never lose site of the trust that you will get through it. It may not be how you want. And it doesn’t matter who you are, your final outcome is death. But until you die, keep living!

I travel to remote communities where I use my technology and business skills to mentor others. I help very poor communities with technology education and economic development. This newsletter helps support these projects. If you want to support but don’t want a subscription, you can by me a bug spray instead.

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