Understanding the Will of God August 21, 2016

Transcription

1 Understanding the Will of God August 21, 2016 Matthew 11: At that time Jesus said, I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 27 All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. I d like to tell you about my friends John and Kelly DeGarmo from Up with People. Back then, we knew him as Boom Boom. Boom Boom is from Michigan. He was warm and funny and kind of like the class clown when he was a student in Up with People. Kelly was sweet and gentle and from Australia. Boom Boom says it was love at first sight. at least on his part. Well they ended up getting married and today they live in Atlanta. He got his PhD in Education. She got her PhD in Nutrition. They had three biological children. They adopted three more they fostered over 50. Boom Boom is a nationally recognized expert on foster parenting. He goes all over the country speaking to civic groups and agencies and churches about foster parenting. He has written books about foster parenting. But he and his wife aren t done foster parenting, yet! Just a few months ago, they bought a larger house in suburban Atlanta so that they could welcome in boys who had been bumped along from foster family to foster family and needed a home. The name of this ministry is Never Too Late. Boom Boom recently posted a video on Facebook about how having a foster child leave his home is like losing your child...he said it hurts. And every time they take another child in and then see the child leave again, they say, We re never going to do this again. It hurts too much! But you know what he also said, Then the phone rings and there is another child in need and of course we are going to take them in. Why? Why, does he do this? Why does he put himself and his wife through this? Well, I think if you asked Boom, he would say, it s because it is what God has called them to do. God has put a passion in their hearts for helping foster children and so that is what they do. In the midst of crisis or circumstances that are beyond their control.they open up their home to children in need. They know that it is what God has called them to do. In the midst of the circumstances, this is God s will for them. 1

2 and when their hearts are broken as the children leave their home, I think they would tell you that they have a sense of peace in their hearts knowing that they are doing God s will for them. As Dante wrote in the Divine Comedy In God s will is our peace. Well, it s ok to say in his will is our peace, but with so many things happening in the world today that are outside God s intentional will we often feel overwhelmed. In the midst of World War II Leslie Weatherhead wrote, For most of us there is the dull sorrow which goes on day after day, and which then is suddenly focused into some poignant case of suffering, thrusting itself upon our attention because the sufferer is dear to us or because he chooses us as the recipient of his burden. Sometimes this burden weighs us down and we wonder how we are going to go on one more day. Ever been there? There is flooding is happening in Louisiana fires are raging in California domestic violence is happening in our community, some of which ends tragically, friends come and friends go, terrorism interrupts our world, the political process drags on, decisions happen that affect our institutions of faith.and we wonder, where do we go from here? Well, we draw from our faith and through our faith God shows us where to go from here. We trust in God to show us what his will is for us in the midst of the pain and strife that we are going through. Weatherhead wrote, No evil circumstances can ever befall us but we can find in them a path which is God s way for us just then, and we must train ourselves, so to discern the will of God that we shall not falter or fail to find the path. When we find it, then, though all the world is in tumult, there is at least an inner peace at the core of our being a peace that comes from knowing that we are within his will and his will is revealed to us in those circumstances and at that moment. P. 75 The Will of God In the midst of the trials of life, Jesus says, 28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Jesus tells us to walk with him and to let him lighten the load for us. That s how we keep from being overwhelmed by the circumstances around us. Jesus is telling his followers that the Rabbis and Scribes (i.e. the wise ones) rejected him. It was those who thought they knew everything who rejected Jesus. Those who humbly approached to learn were the ones that accepted what Jesus had to offer. Jesus tried to show them with his life who God was. Jesus called all who were exhausted in the search for the truth to come to him. 2

3 You see in the Jewish tradition of the Pharisees and Scribes there was an exhaustive list of rules that one had to abide by to be a good follower of God but those rules were quite burdensome and people were exhausted trying to keep track of all of them. So, Jesus was saying instead of trying to follow all those complicated rules, why don t you come and take my yoke and learn from me. He said, my yoke is easy. The word here in the Greek for easy is chrestos which can mean well-fitting. Think about how a yoke on an oxen or other animal works? If it is the appropriate size, then it doesn t chafe or pull on the animal s neck and shoulders. In those days, a yoke was made by hand after measuring, roughing it out, trying it on the animal and making the needed adjustments so that it would fit well. The yoke helped to distribute the weight or the burden to be carried or dragged evenly between the animals. If the animals were well matched and the yoke fit properly, much could be done. So, think about being yoked with Jesus. Using the word chrestos here means that we are yoked so that there isn t undo pulling or chafing. We are yoked with Jesus so that he can help us carry the load. When we find that path that God wants us to be on, then he will be right there next to us, helping us to carry the load and as difficult as it might be, we don t have to carry it alone. I think that is what my friends Kelly and John are finding that as difficult as it is to be foster parents, they aren t alone. God helps to shoulder some of the burden. God gives them a peace knowing that they are doing exactly what God has called them to do. One of the favorite places that I have visited was Boys Town in Omaha, Nebraska. I love the whole idea of the place. They have found a way to create foster homes for children, to educate them, to provide for their needs in homes on their campus. Outside their visitor s center is a statue that has stuck with me for over 20 years. It is the picture of one boy carrying another on his back and the caption says, He ain t heavy Father. He s m brother! Back in 1918, a boy named Howard Loomis was abandoned by his mother at Father Flanagan s Home for Boy in Omaha, which had just opened a year earlier. Howard had polio and wore heavy leg braces. Walking was very difficult for him, especially when he had to go up or down steps. Soon, several of the Home s older boys were carrying Howard up and down the stairs. One day, Father Flanagan asked Reuben Granger, one of those older boys, if carrying Howard was hard. Reuben replied, He ain t heavy, Father he s m brother. But the story doesn t end there. 3

4 In 1943, Father Flanagan was paging through a copy of Ideal magazine when he saw an image of an older boy carrying a younger boy on his back. The caption read, He ain t heavy, mister he s my brother. Immediately, the priest was reminded of a photo of Reuben carrying Howard at a Boys Town picnic many years before. Father Flanagan wrote to the magazine and requested permission to use the image and quote. The magazine agreed, and Boys Town adopted them both as its new brand. According to Boys Town, seventy years later, the saying is still the best description of what their boys and girls learn at Boys Town about the importance of caring for each other and having someone care about them. Isn t that the way it works? When we know that we are lifting up a brother or a sister, suddenly it seems to be no burden at all. When we have Jesus help in lifting the burden, it is even better. With God s help, the load is lifted. So why would we want to find God s will for our lives and to follow it? Just what does it mean to find God s peace as we follow. Well, Weatherhead would say three things about how being within God s will means peace: 1. We lose the fear of getting lost. Kid in store.lost like having GPS we can always find our way to our destination. As long as we keep in his will there is peace. We can find our way even through apparently overwhelming storms, until we arrive where God wants us to be. 2. The dread of carrying the responsibility of what happens is removed. As long as you try to do my will, I will accept responsibility for whatever happens. I will carry that burden for you. My yoke is easy and my burden is light. God helps us carry the load. 3. In his will our conflicts are resolved. Do I do this or that? Don t have to fret about it. Do God s will as far as we can see it. Do what God calls you to do. Don t have to know God wants you to do this and you suffer internal struggle because you do otherwise. Have to do what you know is right from God or cause yourself great internal distress. God s intentional will was for us to follow Jesus to focus on love and justice and mercy as Jesus did. When we do that and walk side by side with Jesus, our burdens are lifted it doesn t mean that they go away, but God makes sure we have strength for the journey to endure. The burdens the circumstances of this life are meant to be shared with and carried with love love of God and our neighbors. As we follow God in the midst of the circumstances that we are in, our hearts may still be broken, but we can have peace knowing that God goes with us. Do you find yourself restless in your life? Maybe God is calling you to examine your life. Maybe God is calling you to see if you are on the right path. If you are great! Then ask God for 4

5 his peace to know that you are on the right track. If not, then ask God to help you see what his will is for your life that you might have his peace. Let s pray 5