“GOD MANIPULATION”

ELIMINATE SHAME

& EXPERIENCE HOPE!

THE CALL FROM THE EMERGENCY ROOM

Friday evening I received a phone call from my wife.  “We’re here at the emergency room,” she started, “but everything is ok now.” 

My daughter Courtney grew up a gym rat.  She started gymnastics at age 5 and grew to be pretty good.  With a state championship under her belt and few trips across the country (and even one to China) she learned high level competition at an early age.  When an untimely foot injury shortened her childhood “career”,   the high school diving coach got wind of her gymnastics background and encouraged her to try diving. 

Even as a freshman Courtney was ranked in the top 20 in the state and tomorrow was the first big varsity high school meet…the sectionals.  If she did well, she would move on to regional competition and then the state meet. 

“Yeah, everything’s ok now,” my wife continued.  “Courtney hit her head on the diving board doing a reverse dive.  We thought she was going to be ok, but soon the bleeding started and didn’t want to stop.  So we’re here at the hospital and they are putting 6 staples in her head.  Looks like the sectionals will have to wait till next year.”

 THOSE NASTY KITCHEN COUNTERTOP QUESTIONS

The island in our kitchen seems to be a magnet for conversation and yesterday was no different.  Courtney was getting her staples cleaned out by her mom when she told me she had a question for me.

“Dad,” she said, “I just don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand, Courtney?” I replied.

“Why did God do this to me?” she asked.

“Do what?”

“You know, I can’t go to sectionals.  Why did God do this to me?” she repeated.

“What makes you think God did anything to you Courtney?”

“I don’t know, it just seems like God could have stopped this from happening.  It doesn’t seem fair.”

LET’S MAKE A DEAL…WITH GOD!

Courtney continued, “I haven’t been reading my Bible much lately or praying.  But last Friday during study hall I was worried about the diving meet so I got out my Bible and started reading and then I prayed for quite a while…then, then THIS happens!”

“Oh, so you think if you do your part…God should do his part,” I replied.

“Well, I don’t know, I guess.”

“Interesting.  So let me get this straight.  You think that if you do the right stuff then you can get God do stuff for you?”

“Seems reasonable,” Courtney said wondering where this was leading.

“So you think you’ve figured out how to manipulate God.  You know, to get Him to do what you want Him to do?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Courtney replied.

“How’d it work out for you?” I asked.

“Not too well,” she sighed, “but why’d God have to go and punish me?  I feel ashamed and guilty.”

“You think God punished you?” I inquired.

“Yes!  But I’m not really sure what I did to make Him mad!” .

“So let me summarize this.  You think that if you do “good” that you can manipulate God to give you what you want.  And if you do “bad” you can manipulate God to punish you?  In other words, you can negotiate a “deal” with God?  That’s a lot of control you have there young lady…especially over the God of the universe!” I smiled.

“I don’t understand, you mean God didn’t punish me?”

“Oh, believe me Courtney; as Christians we would all like to think that we could control God.  Make Him bless us AND make Him punish (usually othersJ).  But we might be a little out of our league on this one…I’m not sure we have that much power!”

BAD THINGS HAPPEN…

BECAUSE WHY?

“Why then?  Why did this happen?  Why did I hit my head on the diving board ONE DAY BEFORE sectionals?  Why do situations like this occur?”

“Because He loves you.”

“WHAT!  That makes no sense.  You’ll have to show me THAT in your Bible!”

“We’ll get to that,” I grinned, “but first tell me why YOU think this might have happened?  Have you learned anything lately?”

“Honestly, I realized that there is probably more to life than diving sectionals.  You know dad, I got myself so worked up for that meet that I couldn’t even sleep the night before.”

“Yep, that’s just like our Father.  He loves you so much that he allows you to go through difficult circumstances to grow you closer to Him and away from those things that pull at us from other directions, stealing our peace and contentment (and keeping us up all night!).”

“Ok, I understand.  We’ve talked about this before but now it hits home.  Challenges ARE gifts…

“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.  So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely.  Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”

James 1:2-4, The Message

“There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!”

Romans 5:3-5, The Message

“But”…

“But what?”

“But what if I intentionally did something wrong.  You know,like lied, or stole something.  Then God has to punish me, doesn’t He?”

PUNISHED FOR ADULTERY?

I opened up my Bible to the story about David.  David was a guy who was an incredible king but decided one night to have an affair…commit adultery.

Did God want David to commit adultery?

 Absolutely not!

Did God have the power to stop David from committing adultery? 

 YES. (in a million different ways)

Did God stop David?

 NO. (God let David choose)

Did David’s act cause some pain in his life? 

 Absolutely…quite a bit actually!

 (Courtney admitted to a little pain as well!)

Why didn’t God stop David?  Why did God let this happen?

 Because God loved David.

WHAT!  THIS IS HERESY!

Wait a second…think about it.  God knew that David needed to learn a very important lesson.  Although God didn’t want it, God knew he had to allow David to experience the pain of his actions, which, in turn, gave David an opportunity to get his priorities straight…to turn towards God.  God wanted a relationship with David.  He wants a relationship with us.  He knows exactly what we need.  He loves us that much.

“God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out.  He’s treating you as dear children.  This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children.”

Hebrews 12, The Message

THE KNOCK OUT PUNCH TO ONE OF THE

ENEMY’S FAVORITE LIES…

“IF I’M GOOD THEN GOD WILL

BLESS ME AND GIVE ME WHAT I WANT”

If I live a good life I’ll have a wonderful spouse and live in a nice house…LIE

 Ask the apostle Paul about this one (he ended up single and in prison).

If I live a good life I’ll get rich…LIE

 Ask Mother Theresa about this one...
(Ok, ask any of these guys about this oneJ)

If I live a good life I'll get treated fairly...LIE

 Ask John the Baptist (who was beheaded) about this one.

If I live a good life I’ll quietly die of old age in my sleep after a long prosperous life…LIE

 Ask Jesus about this one!

TRUTH

GOD DOESN’T NECESSARILY GIVE US WHAT WE WANT. 

BUT HE DOES GIVE US WHAT WE NEED

(And He knows more about what we need than we do!). 

HE LOVES US THAT MUCH!

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

ROMANS 8:1, NASB

Goodbye Shame…forever!

Thinking about it,

Derek