Questioning GOD in the Eye of the STORM

Questioning GOD in the Eye of the STORM

In the eye of the storm, wrestling with tough questions about God can lead to a deeper faith in God.

Hab. 1:2 O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you Violence! and you will not save?

Hab. 1:3-4 Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? DestrucJon and violence are before me; strife and contenjon arise. So the law is paralyzed, and jusjce never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so jusjce goes forth perverted.

I. Why is this happening? A. Faulty explanation. 1. It is God s judgment.

Luke 13:1-5 There were some present at that very Jme who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

I. Why is this happening? B. Possible explanation. 1. It s part of the curse.

Gen. 3:17 And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, You shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

I. Why is this happening? C. Accurate explanation. 1. I. Don t. Know.

The Bible compels us to accept a mysteriousness about evil that we simply cannot understand. - Christopher Wright, The God I Don t Understand

The Solution: Jesus Christ Col. 1:19-20 For in him [Jesus] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

1 Pet. 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

1Pet. 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

II. What do we do now? 1 Pet. 2:21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

II. What do we do now? A. Cry out to God.

A. Cry out to God. 1. In Humble Dependence Luke 22:42 saying, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.

A. Cry out to God. 2. In Faith-filled lament. Mag. 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

A. Cry out to God. 3. With Intercessory Prayer. John 17:9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

A. Cry out to God. 3. With Intercessory Prayer. John 17:15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

A. Cry out to God. 4. With Hopeful ExpectaJon. Rev. 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

II. What do we do now? B. Comfort the hurting.

2Cor. 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflicjon, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any afflicjon, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

II. What do we do now? C. Care for the helpers. Gal. 6:2 Bear one another s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Hab. 3:17 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvajon.