Even In My Darkest Hour

I remember the darkest day of my preaching life. And frankly, I don’t want to dwell on it. Still, there may be some benefit in remembering the time when I most needed encouragement and remembering the fact that I got through it, through no fault of my own except that I put my trust in the only place left…my Friend Who laid down His life for me.

Without revealing too much, let me just say that I had never in my life seen Christians attack one another the way I did that day. I was one of those attacked, but that did not happen until I tried to interject some calm reasoning into what I perceived was a situation getting out of hand. I loved them and hurt for them and tried my best to help ease the pain and bring Christian brethren closer to God. What I accomplished was to merely refocus the attack on myself. I understand the noble concept of self-sacrifice and in some situations would gladly offer myself, but that was not my intention that day.

All of us have been in frustrating situations. I had been before that day, but never had I been so shocked by the behavior of men who call themselves Christians. Nor have I since, “by the help of the good Lord” (as my dear departed friend brother Aubrey Chalmers used to say). For the first (and only) time in my preaching career, when Sunday morning came around I wanted to find a hole, climb in and pull it in after myself. I did not want to go to church. I did not want to preach. How could I preach? How could I stand in front of those same people? Every ounce of credibility I thought I had before had been destroyed, it seemed to me. Honestly, the only reason I went to church that day and preached the sermon I had prepared before this incident took place was because I could not think of a way not to. It was not courage that took me to church that day. It was surrender. I had reached the end of my ability to handle the situation. I was out of answers. The only thing I could do was place myself in the hands of God, take a deep breath and preach.

Some might ask why I would describe such a painful episode in my life in an article that is supposed to be about encouragement. Well, I’ll tell you. It is hard for me to imagine than any one of you has been through anything as bad as my worst nightmare. By the same token, you probably do not think mine is as bad as your worst experience. Regardless of whether or not you or I have suffered as much as the other, God takes care of us. I am so very glad verses like Psalm 139:11, 12 are in my Bible: If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,” even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. God saw me in my darkest hour. When I had no more answers, He was just starting. He was in control all along. He was faithful to not allow me to endure more temptation than I was able to handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). You had better believe that I was tempted to cut and run. I don’t mean move to another congregation; I mean cut and run that day. But I didn’t. I dejectedly surrendered myself to the will of God and preached the Gospel. As it turns out, that was just what I was supposed to do.

I still, from time to time, get myself into trouble. Sometimes (usually) it is my own fault; other times it’s not. In any case, my Heavenly Father is always there for me. There is nowhere I can go where He is not. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it (Psalm 139:5, 6).
Do you ever find yourself facing a situation you simply cannot see how to overcome? There is just no way out. You cannot go forward; you cannot go back. There is just no hope of winning this one. Thanks be to God, there is a way out. It will not look like a way out, perhaps, but God’s way is a way out! School yourself to remember Psalm 139. Train yourself to look for God’s way out. Know that God is with you and will not forsake you. He loves you and so do I.

The Need for Encouraging Words

One of the most discouraging things that can happen to a faithful Christian is the apparent futility of his or her work for the Lord. When one faithfully pours his heart into a work, failure is much more painful than if he fails at a job that he only halfheartedly attempted in the first place. Our work in the vineyard of the Lord, in order to be carried out faithfully, will be a work we pour our hearts into. And, when it appears that such work is unsuccessful, it hurts; it discourages. This was true even when God told His servant beforehand that the people to whom he would preach would fight against him (Jeremiah 1:19). Still, Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. It can be very discouraging when people will not listen to the truth.

One reason our work may appear futile or ineffective is the actions of brethren who are working with us. We may ask ourselves, “How can I persuade the lost to follow Jesus when my own brethren act the way they do?” Sometimes Christians find themselves in a difficult struggle or an intense battle in the Good Fight. Perhaps the members of a congregation are involved in a difficult and trying time in the life of their local body and the faithful are doing everything they can to stand for what is right. Or, perhaps a team of missionaries is working on some field (foreign or domestic) and is involved in intense Bible study with the lost, teaching classes and individuals for six, eight, ten, or twelve hours a day. When the battle is joined so intensely, we have to understand that our enemy is fighting back just as hard. He will not win, of course, if we remain faithful, but we have to remain on the alert in order to be faithful (1 Peter 5:8). In noticing some of the attitudes and temperaments of Christians in these situations, I have started thinking of them this way. When the faithful are fully engaged in the Good Fight, swords swinging, fighting “knuckle and skull” with our enemy, sometimes we inflict nicks and cuts on our brethren simply because we are in such close proximity and fighting so fiercely. Please do not misunderstand me to be excusing insensitivity or bad moods or biting words. Great care must be taken to avoid such. Having been guilty of some of these things, I have determined to repent of that sin and increase my self-control. It is not easy, but it can be done. When we find ourselves on the receiving end of a harsh word or an insensitive remark from a brother or sister with whom we are working closely and intensely for the cause of Christ, it may indeed be that attention must be called to that injury that has been inflicted. However, we do not have to let the devil win this battle by coming between us (dividing and conquering).

In a marriage relationship there are times over the course of many years when one or the other spouse, for whatever reason, is not at 100% physically, emotionally, or spiritually and needs the other to give the necessary support to get them through a rough time. Loving husbands and wives do that for one another and the relationship survives, even flourishes. Well, sometimes the same things happen in other kinds of relationships and that includes the relationship between Christians who find themselves in stressful times and who may injure one another in the heat of battle. A word of encouragement will go a long way toward healing that wound and preventing the same thing from happening again.

A simple word of encouragement can not only heal a wound; it can strengthen a person’s resolve to continue when a bad experience threatens to stop his efforts in their tracks. It can turn a frown into a smile and dry a tear. I happen to think tears on the battlefield of the Good Fight are a good thing. They signal the passion and love Christians must have in this fight. They also signal a need on the part of a beloved brother or sister to whom we can minister.

When you are on that battlefield (and Christians should always be on the battlefield) remember to keep a scabbard full of encouraging words ready to use in an emergency. You never know when a comrade will be wounded and you may be the only one close by who can heal that wound. God has given you everything you need to get through this battle successfully (2 Peter 1:3), because He does not want anyone to be lost (2 Peter 3:9). He loves you and so do I.

I Know Where You Live

“I know where you live!” Uttered by the wrong person, those can be pretty intimidating, even frightening, words. Sometimes when they are uttered by the right person they can get your attention; especially if you have been doing something you should not be doing. When they are uttered by Jesus Himself, the Righteous Judge, they can be terrifying for the sinner. But wait a minute! Isn’t this supposed to be a blog about encouragement? Yes, it is! On one particular occasion, Jesus made the statement, “I know where you live” to a group of Christians who very much needed encouragement. The church of Jesus Christ in Pergamum, Asia (the southwestern-most province of Asia Minor, now Turkey) was in a difficult position. Pergamum was the seat of the Roman government in that province. Very likely the pressure on Christians to engage in emperor worship was greater there than in any of the other cities of that area. Faithful Christians refused to worship any other god but Jehovah and many paid the ultimate price for their faith. In fact, in the same verse (Revelation 2:13) Jesus praised the brethren of the church in Pergamum for not denying the faith, even in the face of death. Jesus said, “I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.” One of their number had already been killed and still they remained faithful. They were to be commended and Jesus did just that.

Do you ever feel like Satan lives right next door? Or maybe he is renting out a room in your own house? I don’t mean that you have invited him in; it just seems that he is always around. He is always right there with another temptation. He never lets up. It’s pressure, Pressure, PRESSURE!!! Sometimes you just want to give up and scream. You wonder where God is. Where is that “way of escape” He promised in 1 Corinthians 10:13? Well, it’s there. He did promise it and you can bet it is there if you look hard enough. One of the reasons it is so hard to see, is that Satan makes these temptations so attractive that it is hard to really take our eyes off of them long enough to find the way of escape. But do not doubt for a minute that it is there.

Sometimes the temptation is so attractive, the pressure to succumb is so great, that it is like the sound of a mighty, rushing wind, the sound of which drowns out all other sounds. You cannot hear the warnings of friends and loved ones; you cannot hear your own conscience. You are being dragged kicking and screaming against your own will (it seems, but not really) into the pit of sin and destruction. You cry out, “God, where are You?” If you really want to hear it, there comes an answer. “I know where you live!” He knows where you are. He can sympathize with what you are suffering right now (Hebrews 4:15). He has been there. He has suffered through the same agony. In fact, He has made the same cry (Matthew 27:46). Our Father in heaven was in the same place for His Only Begotten Son when He cried out on the cross as He is when you and I cry out. He knows where you live! He knows what you are suffering. He hurts when you hurt. He hurts more when you give in.

Don’t give in! Hold fast, stand firm; keep fighting!! Our brothers and sisters in Pergamum did not deny the faith, even when one of their own was killed. Others of that congregation of the Lord’s church may very well have died, but the faithful did not give up the faith. Jesus promised them something if they would overcome the temptation to quit. He said that to the one who overcomes, He would give some of the hidden manna (spiritual food that would make them even stronger); He would give a white stone (a symbol given to slaves who had been freed to show they were free) and upon that stone would be written a new name which no one knows but the one who receives it. The new name might be the name of Jesus, Whom no one really knows except those who belong to Him. It really does not matter what the new name is. He said no one would know it but the one to whom it was given and that is good enough for me. The point is this: if you will remain faithful, God knows all about it, even if no one else does. He knows where you live; He knows what you are suffering. And He promises to be there for you no matter what, if you will simply remain faithful to Him.

What a lovely thought! What a comfort to know. I hope that thought gives you some comfort today and throughout this week as you serve Him and suffer through the temptations and trials of your life. God loves and so do I.