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Preached in Markham Baptist Church, June 8, 2008
 

The new Indiana Jones movie came out three weeks ago.  I saw it last week.  It was okay.  In my mind you cannot beat the third movie in that series entitled Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  In this movie Indiana has to pass three tests to reach the Holy Grail and save his father who lies mortally wounded.  Indiana manages to pass the first two tests using his brains and brawn.  But the third test is the most difficult.  Here he comes to a large chasm – it’s too long to jump and it’s bottomless.  On the other side of the chasm is the doorway to the Holy Grail.  The instructions say, “Only in the leap from the lion’s head, will he prove his worth.”

(see “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” – 1:47 – 1:51)

I like that clip because I think it’s a great picture of the faith.  Indiana Jones had the truth of the book in his hands that the bridge was there.  He had the testimony of his father to believe that the book was there.  He only needed to take a step of faith.  And so with our relationship with God.  I believe that our faith is logical.  We have the truth of the Holy Scriptures in our hands.  We have the testimony of others - faithful followers of Christ both past and present.  There is much about our faith that appeals to the mind and answers life’s questions.   We have historical evidence to back up our faith but when it comes right down to it we have to realize that we cannot be 100 percent certain about God.  Even with all the evidence and all the proof we have it still takes a step of faith to believe.  Just as it takes a step of faith not believe. 

And once we have taken that step of faith we need to realize that it takes faith to continue to believe.   There are many people who after they have given their life to Jesus discover that the going is rough, life situations seem so overwhelming that they choke out any kind of faith in God and what was once the centre of their life all of sudden is discarded like yesterday’s newspaper.

This morning as we continue our theme of No Compromise I want us to think of the whole idea of believing in God even when He seems distant.  Even when God seems to be absent, and our next steps seem unclear, believing in God even when He seems to have abandoned us because things are going so poorly for us, the idea that we hold on to that faith no matter what comes our way and refusing to compromise that faith. 

Long ago there was a prophet by the name of Habakkuk and he lived in a difficult time and he expresses an amazingly strong faith – a faith that rests on God even when things are not going too well, even when things were not positive.  Let’s take a look at these words for a moment

“Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold, and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will exult in the God of my salvation.  God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, and makes me tread upon the heights.”  (Habakkuk 3:19)

Whoa.  This is an amazing faith.  Habakkuk touches on every major source of income for the Israelites here, figs, grapes, olives, wheat and live stock – even though each of these fail says Habakkuk – even if they are wiped out  - yet I will rejoice in the Lord.   I will hold on to God.  I continue to trust in God. 

What do you think?  Do you think we can live like that?  Even though we are wiped out economically, we are not even receiving an unemployment cheque, even though we may be destitute, so much so that there isn’t even any food at the food bank, even though all those calamities come upon us, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.”  I will still cling to God. 

This kind of faith is astounding and we come across it often in Scripture – I’m going to preach on this text next week but think of three Israelites by the name of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – they refuse to bow down to an idol and so are threatened – bow to the idol or be thrown into a fiery furnace take a look at what they say - Daniel 3:16-17.  “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.” 

That’s a brave faith.  That’s a real man faith, isn’t it? It says “Go ahead do your worst – God is able to save us.”  But that’s not the amazing part look at what they say next – Daniel 3:18 - “But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

That’s an amazing faith – it says that we will trust God no matter what the circumstances.  Even if we are thrown into the fiery pit we will still trust God, we will still obey Him.  We will not compromise. 

How are Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego able to say such a thing?  How is Habakkuk able to say such a thing? “Even though there is economic failure and it appears that God has abandoned us – because all the facts seem to demonstrate that truth – I will still rejoice in God I will be joyful in God my Saviour.”

How is he able to say such a thing?  Because for me, let two or things not go my way and I’m liable to doubt the existence of God.  Let attendance drop here and I’m ready to question my calling and if there really is a God.    Don’t you find it in your own life? let God be absent for a bit, let there be silence from God in response to our prayers and we’re ready to cash the whole thing in.  Our attendance at worship drops off our enthusiasm for reading God’s word falters and our desire to pray is no to be seen. 

But here is Habakkuk saying, “Let me come to economic ruin – let everything be taken away from that we evangelicals believe are blessings from a right relationship with God - and I will still praise you.”  And we say to Habakkuk, “Are you crazy???”  How does he do that?

It’s an admirable faith - holding on to God when all indicators show us that He has let go of us, is no longer listening or is completely absent.  How do we not compromise our faith in the face of that kind of situation. 

Can I suggest some ideas? And whenever I begin this way, I am painfully aware that I may seem to be wrapping up the Christian faith in a neat package and that as long as you follow these steps or think this way then every thing will turn out alright.  That’s not what I am suggesting.  I am very aware that the experience of God’s absence is a great mystery.  Why God chooses to hide Himself, as the Psalmist says, is a great mystery.  We would only understand if we were God.  But we are not God so we will never completely understand it. 

But I am also aware that God has revealed His character and nature  – He has revealed Himself in creation, history, in His Son and in His Word and wonder upon wonder there is much that we know about God because He has chosen to reveal Himself.  And so while I admit it’s a great mystery, I’m not willing to leave it there – especially if we are given some clear pictures revealed to us in Scripture that us comprehend the mystery of God’s absence.   

The first thing that is clear from Scripture is that this experience of feeling like God is absent is normal.  Read through the Psalms and you get this sense.  Psalm 10:1- “Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”  Psalm 13:1 - “How long, O Lord?  Will you forget me forever?”  Psalm 42:9 – “I say to God my Rock, Why have you forgotten me?  Why must I go about mourning oppressed by the enemy?”  Psalm 44:23,24 -  “Awake, o Lord! Why do you sleep?  Rouse yourself? Do not reject us forever?  Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?” 

And we could go on citing Psalm after Psalm that expresses this very idea.  And then we could look at character after character in Scripture who seems to be abandoned by God – the people of God are enslaved for 430 years by Egypt before in Exodus Chapter 2:23 God hears their groans and He remembers His covenant. 

Joseph is sold by his brothers into slavery.  He is falsely accused and thrown into jail.  He stays there year after year after year.  Where is God?  Job, Jeremiah – all experience this absence of God. It’s not a pleasant experience at all.  But we have to remind ourselves that it is normal.

To be sure sometimes this absence of God is experienced because of a sin our life and we must be careful that repent of sin and do not cherish it in our heart. But sometimes this absence of God is not a result of sin – it is simply a normal experience that is not exceptional, preventable, or a result of the judgment of God. It’s just a normal, mysterious part of living with God. 

We forget that because we have in our minds this idea that walking close with God brings continued blessing, a continued sense of his presence, there’s joy, joy, joy:  “Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together.”

That’s the way we modern evangelicals often describe a relationship with God.  We celebrate success with God, the wonderful warm fuzzy experiences we’ve had.  But when we say to fellow Christians that the only experience that we have had is a feeling that God is absent then people look at us strangely and tell us there’s something wrong with us.  And the truth is nothing is wrong. It is normal.

Don’t despair.  Don’t give up and don’t walk away from the faith.  What we are called to do during such times is to keep on trusting in God.  We are called on to keep on serving God – keep on holding on to God, keep on calling out to God even when it feels He is absent. “Even though the fig tree does not blossom, and there are no fruit on the vines …. Yet I will rejoice in the Lord.”   Realize that this experience is normal.

Second, understand that the feeling that God is absent may in fact be a blessing. Again we often equate God’s absence with some difficulty in life.  If life is difficult then God is absent and what I’m saying is that this difficulty may be a blessing. 

Now this may require a whole shift in our thinking because we are often taught that a blessing – by definition is a good thing which makes us feel all wonderful.

Do you know that plant breeders have developed many thornless varieties of roses?  One variety is call the Smooth Touch thornless rose series.  Developed in California the Smooth Touch series are 95-100% thorn free. And we love the idea.  It’s the ideal life we want from God -  a thornless Christianity.  We want a life that is bed of roses – without the thorns. 

But I’m convinced that this is wrong thinking.  I think Habakkuk is able to say this because he is knows that this difficult experience will actually bring him closer to God rather than further from God.  If we can understand this, then the thorn is not curse but a blessing.

Do you know the Christ follower Paul speaks of a thorn he has in his flesh?  We don’t know what it is.  A whole library of books have been written on this topic, each suggesting what Paul’s thorn was – a physical deformity, a problem with his sight – we don’t know what his thorn was but we do know from 2 Corinthians 12 that Paul asked God to remove it three times. But God doesn’t remove it and instead says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul’s thorn became a blessing because it gave him a deeper appreciation of God’s grace it gave him a deeper awareness of his own inability, is own weakness and he was made to depend on God all the more. 

And he goes on to say, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  (2 Corinthians 12:9b-10)

Philip Yancey has written a great book entitled, “Disappointment with God” and in it he addresses three questions, “Why does God hide himself?” “Why is God silent?” and “Is God unfair?”   He does a study of the book of Exodus where the people of God are walking in the desert for forty years.   And in his study he discovers that God does the very things we long for.  He speaks to the Israelites directly.  He shows himself in a pillar of cloud and  a pillar of fire at night.  He makes His presence known to them every day.  And Yancey says, Do you know the results?  The results are disastrous.

Instead of growing their faith this experience of God seemed to stunt their faith.  Why pursue God when he had already revealed himself so clearly? Why step out in faith when God had already guaranteed the results?  Why wrestle with the dilemma of conflicting choices when God had already resolved the dilemma?  In short, why should the Israelites act like adults when they could act like children? 

As I studied the story of the Israelites, I had second thoughts about crystal-clear guidance.  It may serve some purpose – it may for example, get a mob of just freed slaves across a hostile desert – but it does not seem to encourage spiritual development.  In fact for the Israelites it nearly eliminated the need for faith at all; clear guidance sucked away freedom, making every choice a matter of obedience rather than faith. ¹    

Can you see how God’s absence could be seen as a blessing?  It is a blessing if through it we are made to depend on God – look to God and trust God and hunger for more of God.  Then God’s absence could indeed be a blessing. 

Of course I have a third point. When faith in God is hard, when we feel He is absent, don’t compromise your faith, don’t give up – why? This feeling of God’s absence is a normal part of the seasons of faith. Second, His absence may not be a curse but indeed a blessing as we are made to depend on Him, trust Him more.  Third, His absence is an opportunity for you to allow God to work through you in ways that will amaze you.  

If during God’s absence you continue to hold on to God and not compromise your faith, it seems that God is able to work in amazing ways. As we look at the history of the church we see those who were able to do great things for God attempted great things for God during difficult times, during times when they were unsure of His presence. 

One of my favorite reference books I have on my shelf is entitled From Jerusalem to Irain Jaya – A biographical history of Christian missions.² Here you will find biographical sketches of missionaries. It seems that it doesn’t matter where you open this book, each missionary was touched by some sort of hardship, or sickness

For instance one of my spiritual heroes Hudson Taylor, founder of China Inland Mission, wrestled with depression much of his life.  In 1858 he married the love of his life and she bore him 5 children.  In February 1870 their youngest child died.  In July his wife gave birth to a baby boy, who died.  And after he died, she also died they were married only 12 years, she was 33 years old. (page 183).   Yet this man was greatly used by God.

Or William Carey, the founder of modern missions, was a shoemaker with a vision to reach the world for Christ.  He was laughed at and told, ”Young man, when God decides to convert the heathen he will do it without your aid or mine.” (page 115) He eventually went to India where his wife went insane, his five year old son died, and after seven years of work he could not claim even one Indian convert.  And yet when he was asked about the prospects for the future he would write, “The future is as bright as the promises of God.”

Person after person – and the story is the same not just for missionaries but for theologians as well.  John Calvin the French reformer who endured such opposition that he wished he was dead ten times a day.  He had to flee to Germany where he met his wife.  She gave him three children, all of them died.  Then she died as well after only 9 years of marriage.  Calvin went on to give the world a system for understanding Scriptures that has challenged and helped many.

Preachers - William and Catherine Booth who founded the Salvation Army were hated and ridiculed.  His ministry to the poor and hungry was mocked – he would later watch his wife die of painful cancer.

Writers - John Bunyan was thrown into jail for 12 years, separated from his wife and children.  If he denounced his faith he would be free.  He went through depression and despair.  But somehow Christ remained real to him.  And he wrote the classic Pilgrim’s Progress.  

Do you see? Sickness, disease, death, persecution all signs of what we would in modern times and our modern theology call the absence of God were experienced by these men and women of God but they held on – they did not compromise and God was able to use them mightily. Their experience of the absence of God did not destroy their faith it built their faith. 

I’ve told you stories from Pilgrim’s Progress many times – it is a classic which I had to read during my undergraduate studies, not during seminary. It tells the story of Pilgrim and his journey to the celestial city.  At the beginning of the book, Pilgrim becomes aware of his lostness and meets the evangelist and says, “Where must I flee from the wrath of God?”  And the evangelist points his finger over the wide field and asks the pilgrim, do you see that gate?”  

And the pilgrim says, “No.”

Then he asks, “Do you see the shining light?””

And the pilgrim says, “Yes, I think I see the light.”

And from there on he went after that light through all kinds of obstacles, and dangers and temptations. 

Commenting on this passage Hans Peeter Royer says, “My friends, this is how our life will go.  Sometimes we will be able to see the light crystal clear.  We are absolutely certain about the resurrection life of Christ, the truth about the gospel. But there are also days when we think we only see the light and we aren’t quite sure that it is the light.”³ 

Let us hold on.  Don’t let go of God.  What you are experiencing is normal.  What you are experiencing may in fact be a blessing if it brings you to a place where you are made to depend on God more.  What you are experiencing is a means by which God may be able to use you mightily as you refuse to compromise your faith in Him. 

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - June  2008

ENDNOTES:

1. Philip Yancey, Disappointment With God ( New York, N.Y.: HarperPaperbacks, 1988), 41

2. Ruth A. Tucker, From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1983)

3. Hans Peter Royer in a sermon entitled, “The Absence of God”. Delivered at The Peoples Church, Toronto, January 14, 2007.