Don't Define Your Life by Your Biggest Heartache

I've been putting this blog off for over a week, but I'm afraid if I do not type it tonight then it might not get done at all. On July 25th I had the pleasure of visiting Calvary Baptist Church and listening to one of the most wonderful sermons I have ever heard. Pastor Dees shared about Sarah and Abram. The sermon was titled, LIFE WITH GOD, "A Recipe for Disaster". Scripture was taken from Genesis 16:1 - 6.

If you want your relationship/life with God to be a disaster do the following:
Harbor Resentment
Blame God for Your Disappointments
Adopt Worldly Behavior
Be Spiritually Passive
Determine your own Timetable

As I was filling out the sermon outline I jotted down a few things that really spoke to me and wanted to share them with my handful of readers. First, you must understand the events in Abram's and Sarah's life. When Abram had been promised to be a father of great nations, and Sarah, not able to have children, determined her own timetable and thought that the only way God's promise could be fulfilled is for her husband to father children with her servant. With that being said, these were some of the things that stood out to me.

First - Your life can be defined by your biggest heartache...Sarah became known by her circumstances, can you imagine that she perhaps walked into a crowded room and the pity people felt b/c she could not have children, or perhaps she introduced herself and said, Hi I'm Sarah and I can't have kids....Her trouble had become her identity.

Second - Sometimes people make their trouble their shield - A place to hide...Oh how many times have I hidden behind my own fears, disappointments, and heartaches? Let's face it, some days I still do this, but I think that's natural to a point.

Third - When you are living in Genesis 16 it is hard to wait for and see the hope in Genesis 21. Completely confused? In Genesis 16, Sarah takes God's plan into her own hands, in Genesis 21 she becomes pregnant. Guilty again - It's so easy to get wrapped up into the events and the circumstances of the present and to see no light at the end of the tunnel or hope for the future.

Fourth - The resentment you harbor is the sin that Jesus died for.

Towards the conclusion we were given several ways for your life with God to be a success and the one thing that spoke most to me was this; HAS THE THING I AM EXPECTING, OR BEING DISAPPOINTED ABOUT, BEEN PROMISED TO ME BY GOD? Maybe that isn't as revolutionary to you as it was to me, but man. How many times have I thought something that I wanted was about to happen, maybe this relationship was going to work out, or this job, or anything else that I dreamed up in my head and actually thought that God was having a hand in it but had no justification that he was? Too many - too many that were not promised to me by God. How can we question and be disappointed with God for things he never promised us. As I was reading back over my notes today I started thinking about something else, when bad things happen to good people. We always say, they didn't deserve that. Did God ever PROMISE Christians that we would be spared by heartache and pain? No...so we should not be bitter, angry, or disappointed with Him about it.

With all that being said...I have a long way to go. I still have circumstances that I wish were different, but God has them that way for a reason. I still see good people go through bad things and get angry about it. Today I was looking at a picture of a friend who passed away a few years ago and out loud I said, "I miss you, it's just not fair." God never promised me fair. He never promised me a lifetime with the people I love. He never promised me marriage or kids. He promised me a life of eternity in Heaven and all I had to do was accept him into my life. I am so undeserving of what He has given me.