Ps. 68: 1-10; I Peter 4: 12-14; 5: 6-11
Here’s a little story about anxiety and danger. This week, while in Macon on Tuesday, I decided to get coffee because I was sleepy. While rounding the corner from Third Street to Poplar, a truck swerved into my lane, I quickly swerved right and turned on Poplar, but I bounced into the sewer drain and blew out my back tire. There I sat, waiting for roadside assistance, only to learn that new vehicles do not come with a spare tire in the back. There’s space for it, but no tire.
Because all the tire places are now closed, I have the car towed to the church, then have it towed again the next morning to Discount tire. That took till afternoon because the tire had to be ordered and there were two road emergencies necessitating the towing company to drive around with my car on the back responding to these emergencies. Six hundred and fifty dollars later, it was fixed. There was one bright spot in all of this. I called Doug and Angela for help, and they showed up within minutes and offered the use of their car to get home. I think that was the only thing keeping me from insanity along with the prayer and medication.
Life is often going to send us trials and troubles. They will come at the most inconvenient of times, when we are least prepared for how to handle them. With this will come anxiety, perhaps danger, fear, and maybe even feeling like we are being disciplined or punished. Not one of us is going to be spared heartache and trouble in life. It may come as a failed relationship. It may come as financial woes. It may come as illness or struggles of the mind. Perhaps it will be addiction struggles. Or it may be just a big old flat tire in the middle of the road and all you can do is drink your now cold coffee and roll your eyes. Life is filled with troubles and trials from now till we see heaven.
What makes our faith so rich for us is that we never suffer apart from God. I Peter tells us that when we go through fiery trials, “be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering.” We cannot forget that Jesus has an intimate familiarity with human struggle. Life’s trials are not meant to drive a wedge between us and Jesus. That comes more from anger and blame than some kind of divine smiting. Trials and trouble are simply a hazard of human existence. God does not cause them, nor does God delight in them.
When we face harrowing things in life, that is simply because of how things age and happen in this world. We live in many ways as broken people, and none of that brokenness is because God orchestrates evil in our lives. Instead, we are offered the benefit of drawing close to Jesus who understands because he experienced the inherent brokenness of this world too. A friend of mine is dealing with his grandmother’s last days. She has become bedbound, but she refused to give in to the trial. She said, “Jesus was bound to a cross in pain. At least I am bound to a soft bed.” That’s a greater peace and faith than I think most of us could summon up, including me.
The apostles knew and understood suffering and struggle. There is no hint in any of the gospels or epistles that we can magically make life’s struggles disappear for good. But we are taught ways to manage and get through the trials we experience in this life. I saw a joke the other day. It said, “God, why do you give me your toughest battles!?” The response was, “You literally just have to fold the clothes you took out of the dryer. Come on.”
I Peter tells us to humble ourselves under God’s power, give our worries to God, stay alert, stand firm, be strong in faith, and remember you are not alone in struggles. We’re not given the advice to circumvent or get around our trials. We are told how to, instead, plow right through with the strength of God. Humility and giving cares to God speaks to our dance with pride. Sometimes we lead, and sometimes we are led by our pride. In giving over to God, we have to lay down that pride that can cause our trials to be magnified. Why try to handle ourselves, what God is prepared to help us with in God’s own strength?
Good advice also includes staying alert and standing firm. These can be very hard to do when we feel under the pressure of a life struggle. I am far more prone to abject panic and running around crazily. Thank you to God, prayer and medication for helping with that. But we must find the courage to gather ourselves and be alert to what is coming our way. We cannot let trials pull us apart and knock us over, and when we struggle to stand firm, we can remember that God is standing in strength behind us!
Most importantly we must remember that we are not alone in our trials and troubles. Just as Jesus knows and understands, Jesus is also with us. We often use prayer and going to Jesus as the last resort when all else we’ve done has failed. But prayer should be the preparation, not the Hail Mary. As the hymn tells us, “Are we weak and heavy laden? Take it to the Lord in prayer.” Don’t let trials from a broken world pull you away from your faith and from Jesus. Draw closer, read your Bible more, study more how Jesus lived and loved, and lean into that human life of holy work, especially in these times when we feel like all the world has gone crazy.
Lastly, remember that God often shows up in a crisis in us. I Peter tells us that “after you have suffered a little while, [God] will restore, support, and strengthen you, and…will place you on a firm foundation.” The Psalm also tells us that God will provide a bountiful harvest to a needy people. It was Mr. Rogers who said, “When I was a boy, and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” Indeed, very often the presence of God is seen in and through us. When you show up with a casserole, when you offer a prayer, when you call someone who is sick, you are showing up with care, love, and the presence of God with you and within you.
What we have to remember is that the phrase, “Look for the helpers,” is intended for small, frightened children. As adults we learn what it means to be the helpers. We can still look for the helpers around us to join with us and give us reassurance, but there comes a time when we must stand firm as I Peter says. Looking for the helpers applies when we find ourselves in the midst of trials and need God to show up in some way in our lives.
It may be minor, or it may be a bit trouble. We may need a friend to check on us, to have a cup of coffee. We may need a bit of prayer, or a visit at a hospital. Or we may need someone to come to our rescue when the tire blows out because so many Macon drivers seem to have gotten their license at Sears and Roebuck instead of the from the State. Either way, God calls us at times to stand up and be the helpers for those who are suffering, but God also calls on us to have the humility to accept help when we are struggling ourselves. Pride goeth before a fall, and sometimes you cannot get back up. But perhaps if we are willing to accept help when it is needed, putting aside our pride, we can avoid the fall.
I want to leave you with a story about Winnie the Pooh and Piglet. Pooh shows up, sitting down on the log next to Piglet, and he says today was a difficult day, but he doesn’t want to talk about it. Piglet, in his wisdom offers that he understands difficult days, and he, too, does not feel like talking about it. Piglet goes on to say, “But goodness, difficult days are so much easier when you know you’ve got someone there for you. And I’ll always be there for you, Pooh.” As Pooh sits there swinging his legs with Piglet, we are told he “thought that his best friend had never been more right.”
Each day is a new day for trials to come our way. But each day is also a day where God can do amazing things in our lives. May we have the faith to show up for those who need us and the presence of God in us. But may we also have the grace to let others show up for us, bringing the presence of God with them.
Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/949549221043745