The online Bible teaching
ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Thursday,
January
20,
2022
"God
Can Take It!"
Message summary: When we have times of doubt and questioning it's good to remember that God can take it. A bedrock Scripture to lean on in times of confusion and doubt is the oft quoted Proverbs 3:5,6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6).
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"When
John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the
Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask Him, 'Are you the
one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?'"
(Matthew 11:2,3).
A
picture of John the Baptist hung in the hallway of my home while I was
growing up (similar to the one on the right as I recall).
As a child I earnestly but mistakenly assumed that his
name meant that he attended a Baptist church. Since we
attended a Methodist Church growing up I also didn't
understand why there was no picture of Mark the Methodist.Well, of
course I eventually learned of the Biblical character of
John the Baptist and that there was no Mark the Methodist
in the Bible!
We often
view the Bible characters as having it all together and
never struggling as we do with faith and trust, although
Peter might be an exception since we saw him flounder in
the midst of his faith crisis.
John the
Baptist was a slightly older cousin to Jesus and thus they
probably knew each other from earliest childhood. He was
the one who was to "prepare the way for the Lord" and he
had a notable ministry.
- He acknowledged concerning Jesus, "He
is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose
sandals I am not worthy to untie” (John 1:27).
- He introduced Christ's ministry with the words, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).
- He baptized Jesus Christ and heard these words from heaven, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).
- He made one of the greatest faith
statements in the Bible when he stated, "He must
become greater; I must become less" (John 3:30)
Wow, with
these credentials and experiences we may assume that John
would have unshakable faith. Yet our daily text records a
crisis of faith in his life. This was later on after most
of the material we have about him has already taken place.
He was in prison and he was perhaps emotionally and
physically broken. Our pastor surmises that he was dealing
with expectations concerning Jesus that had not yet been
met which was common to the other disciples as well.
Essentially they were still looking for an earthly king
who would restore Israel to its former glory.
When he was
thrown into prison perhaps a time of despair and doubt
came over him. In our daily text he asked two
questions that we'd assume were long settled in his faith.
He sent his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the one
who is to come, or should we expect someone else?"
Now bluntly I would expect that John should have the
answer to these questions deeply settled in his heart
after all he had seen and heard.
But here he
was languishing in prison and the
worst was yet to come. The Bible candidly chronicles his
rather ignominious death in Matthew 14:1-12. That's certainly
not what he was expecting!
Today what
unmet expectations are you dealing with? Some may be
chronic and ongoing, others acute. "Why is this happening
to me?" or "It just wasn't supposed to happen this way" we
feel in our hearts and may even cry out.
I was listening last night to a praise song with the
recurring words, "You're never gonna let me down". But
bluntly sometimes we do feel let down.
"Tears Are A
Language God Understands" is a song
we have enjoyed since our earliest years of following
Christ. Gordon Jensen, the songwriter, expresses an
experience many have had,
When grief
has left you low it causes tears to flow
And things have not turned out the way that you had planned
And things have not turned out the way that you had planned
When
things don't turn out the way we plan and we have
unmet expectations this often prompts questions and even doubt, as it
did for John. It's best to face them head on and honestly
as John did. To use the words of another thoughtful song
we enjoy, God can take it!
Bring Him
every question in your heart
The doubt that's tearing you apart
Your greatest hurts, your deepest scars
God can take it.
The doubt that's tearing you apart
Your greatest hurts, your deepest scars
God can take it.
Bring Him all
the bitterness inside
The shame that you wish you could hide
The fear that keeps you paralyzed
God can take it.
The shame that you wish you could hide
The fear that keeps you paralyzed
God can take it.
When we have
times of doubt and questioning it's good to remember that
God can take it. A bedrock Scripture to lean on in times
of confusion and doubt is the oft quoted Proverbs 3:5,6: “Trust
in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your
own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and
He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5,6).
Be
encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, You alone are my Rock, my
Fortress, and my salvation. By trusting in You
with all my heart I won't be shaken. I choose not
to lean on my own understanding but will lean on
You instead, acknowledging You in all my ways,
being confident that You go before me and direct
my paths according to Your sovereign plan. Not
only do you guide, instruct, and provide for me
here and now, but You also are preparing for me a
dwelling place in the house of the Lord forever.
Keep me faithful and trusting until you transport
me to heaven I pray. Amen.Psalm
62:6; Proverbs 3:5,6, Psalm 23:6
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"He
Can Take It" Video
Brian Free & Assurance
"Tears
Are A Language" Video The Booth
Brothers This is one of the first
songs Brooksyne sang and played at the piano
in what was referred to as a "special" back
in the seventies and eighties. Can you see
that I'm a bit sentimental about this song!
"Hymn
Of Heaven" Video Phil Wickham
And
every prayer we prayed in desperation
The songs of faith we sang through doubt and fear
In the end, we'll see that it was worth it
When He returns to wipe away our tears
The songs of faith we sang through doubt and fear
In the end, we'll see that it was worth it
When He returns to wipe away our tears
"King Of My Heart" Video Phil Wickham This is the song that has the recurring line, "You're never gonna let me down".
"He
Sees What We Don't" Video 11th
Hour A very thoughtful song.
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
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