Hello, I’m Mack Lyon and I’m here to welcome you to our program, “In Search of the Lord’s Way” to become a Christian, and the way to live so as to get the very most out of this life. The Bible says time and chance overtake us all. These tough times often break our hearts. But God is compassionate and helps us through them. Phil Sanders has prepared some thoughts about such as this. He has titled his message, “God is Compassionate.” I think you’ll be glad you heard it.
Thank you, Mack. Hello, I’m Phil Sanders and this is In Search of the Lord’s Way, where we look at the Scriptures as Mack Lyon says to find the Lord’s way to be saved and to live the Christian life. Thanks so very much for giving us this time to study God’s Word. We really appreciate hearing that you are watching or listening. We want to be a part of your life each week.
Have you ever felt that the rug has been pulled out from under your feet? Well, dark days, disappointments, grief, and heartache come to all of us. We lose a loved one, lose a job, have an accident, or face a serious illness. But that doesn’t mean that life is all bad. God is compassionate; and He can help you through the worst of times. We shouldn’t think God somehow has forgotten us or doesn’t love us. I have always loved the short poem by Robert Browning Hamilton, it says: “I walked a mile with Pleasure, She chattered all the way; But left me none the wiser, For all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow And ne'er a word said she; But, oh, the things I learned from her When Sorrow walked with me!” Pain and sorrow can teach us things that will help us grow into what God desires.
Some say God isn’t good because He allows pain and sorrow into our lives, but those who say such things may be rushing into judgment without thinking. The most meaningful lessons of life often come with pain. While pain hurts, the good that comes from it often outweighs the agony. God is compassionate and helps us use our tragedies to build our lives and our character.
This program is now in its thirtieth year. Mack Lyon is a blessing to all of us. He’s been preaching the truth in a loving way to all of us and giving us his information free. Now, if you would like a printed copy, a CD, a tape of our study, mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083, or e-mail us searchtv@searchtv.org. Or, if you like, you can call our toll-free number. We’ll pay for the call. That number is 1-800-321-8633. We also stream this program on our website at www.searchtv.org. Ken Helterbrand’s going to lead us now in song, and then we’ll read from the book of Romans chapter 8, verses 35 to 39.
Our reading today comes from God’s Holy Word in the epistle of Paul to the Romans chapter 8, verses 35 to 39. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That’s from the New King James Version. Let’s pray together. O, Lord, we are grateful that Your love makes us more than conquerors, that no matter what may happen to us through our lives that You are always with us and blessing us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen!
Solomon said in the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9:11 to 12, “I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise, nor wealth to the discerning, nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all. Moreover, man does not know his time: like fish caught in a treacherous net, and birds trapped in a snare, so the sons of men are ensnared at an evil time when it suddenly falls on them.”
We all face the day when the circumstances of life turn against us. Life can be very cruel and heartless. It’s not a question of whether dark days will come, but when. Time and chance do overtake us all. It usually happens when we least expect. Tragedy is an interruption that leaves us stumbling through the motions and befuddled and distressed; and we are never more aware of our need for God and His love than when dark days come.
When those dark days come our way, please don’t imagine that somehow God dislikes you or He is picking on you. Good and bad come to us all. The evil in life is not a respecter of persons. Sometimes the best man wins; but sometimes he loses. Life is not always fair. We all make mistakes; we all lose loved ones; we all have illnesses; we all get left out; and nobody escapes the troubles of life. Dark days are hard, but we don’t have to let them overcome us or give in to a defeated spirit or a discouraged heart. God isn’t picking on you. He may be blessing you in ways that you’ve not considered. He may be giving you something that you need. We can learn some great lessons from the heartaches we face.
Solomon, you remember, said in Ecclesiastes 7, verses 2 to 4 that, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for when a face is sad a heart may be happy. The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure.” We may learn the most valuable lessons through our mistakes and our heartaches.
One lesson is that we won’t live forever. You won’t and I won’t either. James said in James 4, verses 13 to 15, “Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we are going to go to such and such a city; we are going to spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit. Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or do that.” You know today is all we possess. Let’s live it for the Lord with joy and thanksgiving in our hearts. Let’s live with His will in mind, because we have no assurance that tomorrow will come.
Dark days also teach us that our lives make a difference. You see, how we live matters. When you go to the funeral of a friend, you might hear many things about that person that touches your life, the good they did and the people they helped uplift; and your spirit is encouraged to live a better life. Sometimes when you go to a funeral the person who has died is a bit of a rascal. And you say in your heart, “Well, I don’t want my life to end up like that.” You see the house of mourning teaches us that how we live matters.
In the 1970s, a popular saying expressed this important truth: it said, “This is the beginning of a new day. The Lord has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it, or I can use it for good. What I do today is important because I’m exchanging a day of my life for it. And when tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something that I have traded for it. I want it to be gain, not loss... good, not evil...success, not failure... in order that I may not regret the price that I paid for it.” We are each building our lives for eternity; and surely we want our lives to be a blessing to our families and a glory to God!
When tragedy strikes, turn through the pages of your Bible. Find verses that give you hope and promise. Too often we read those passages and smile. When your heart is broken read them and see how very true they really are. Believe them with all your heart. God never bears false witness; He is the God of truth. And when I am hurting, I find help in the Scriptures. 2 Chronicles 16 and verse 9 says, “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” Isaiah 49, verses 15 and 16 says, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; and Your walls continually before Me.”
Again the Bible says in Romans 8, verse 28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Oh, not everything that happens to us is good, but God has the marvelous ability to make good even out of the worst circumstances. Look for the good that comes out of your troubles. Romans 8, verses 37 to 39 says, “But in all these things (that is, all of these heartbreaking things) we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Again the Bible says in Ephesians 3, verses 20 to 21 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to that power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.” I tell you God will do more than we think to help us through our struggles. He loves us as His children.
Again the Bible says in Philippians 4, verse 19, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” And last 2 Timothy 4, verses 6 to 8 encourages my heart. It says, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; and in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” These Scriptures, God’s Word, give me hope, hope that fills the soul and reassures me of God’s everlasting love.
When tragedy strikes, turn your heart toward God not away from Him. He is not unaware of your pain and confusion. Jesus said in Matthew 10, verses 29 to 31, “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” I tell you every problem you face is well within God’s view. He hasn’t forgotten you.
The apostle Peter by inspiration said in 1 Peter 4, verses 12 to 14, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”
Peter further says in chapter 5, verses 8 to 11, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But you resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. Then after you have suffered for a little while, (I want you to hear this) the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.” God will see you through this trial and every trial you face, and in the end you’ll be stronger for it.
When tragedy strikes, pray earnestly. When the Lord Jesus faced His harshest night in the Garden of Gethsemane, He spent it praying. He cried out for the will of God to be done. And through prayer you and I can pour out our hearts and our requests to our Father in heaven. He hears and answers our prayers. David spoke of God’s answer to his prayers in Psalm 18, verses 4 to 6 when he said, “The cords of death encompassed me, And the torrents of ungodliness terrified me. The cords of Sheol (that is the grave) surrounded me; and the snares of death confronted me. And in my distress I called upon the LORD, And I cried to my God for help; and He heard my voice out of His temple, And my cry for help before Him came into His ears.”
God will hear you too, my friend. He will help you through your roughest moments. God doesn’t take every tear away. Oh, no! But He helps us bear our burdens. God promises never to let a problem overwhelm us so that we can’t bear it. In 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13 Paul says that, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” Nothing in this life will ever happen to you that is bigger than what you and God together can handle. So when we ask, God hears; when we seek, He helps us find; and when we knock, He opens the door.
When tragedy strikes, weep over your loss but rejoice in the Lord and in the love of good people. Remember that Paul’s advice in Philippians 4 and verse 4, “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I will say, rejoice!” came from a prison cell. Paul didn’t know whether he would live or die. You’ll remember that he appealed to Caesar, and Caesar might let him live or not. But even in that sorrow Paul could say in Philippians 1 and verse 21 that, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” He knew that he belonged to Christ, and death for the Christian is better than life.
My friend, I don’t know where you are in your walk with God, but I know that how close you are to the Lord will make a difference in how you deal with tragedies. In Christ we have hope; and without Christ, we are stumbling through life in the dark. With Christ, we have comfort and help; and without Christ we have only our own resources. With Christ we have a friend; but without Christ, we are horribly alone.
Each of us faces a tragedy now and then, but the tragedy will not get the best of us if we are facing it with the help of the Lord. The best thing you can do today, my friend, is to walk close to Jesus Christ, to hold his hand as you walk through the valley. He loves you and He will be there all the way. Many years ago, a friend of mine changed his ways and began living the Christian life in earnest. And each time I’d talk to him, he would say, “Phil, it just gets better and better.” My friend, it does get better and better. But it can’t get better unless you start living your faith for real. Let’s pray. O Lord, may each one hearing this today draw close to You in those hard times, that they may find the strength, the comfort, and the help that You may give to them. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
If we could look into the heart of God, we would think differently about Him. We can know best what God is like by looking at Jesus. Since Jesus helps us to understand the Father in Heaven, the compassion of Jesus helps us understand the compassion of God. When Jesus’ friend Lazarus died, you remember Jesus went to Bethany to comfort his sisters, Mary and Martha. When Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. The Bible in John 11:35 to 36 simply says, “Jesus wept. So the Jews said, See how he loved him!” My friend, when your heart breaks, the Lord’s heart breaks, too. God cares about you.
When Jesus saw the deaf and the blind, he showed compassion and healed them. When Jesus encountered tax collectors and sinners, he showed them compassion and taught them. He led them out of a sinful life. Jesus came to this earth to seek and to save the lost, because He has something better in store for us than the passing pleasures of sin.
My friend, come find the compassion of the Lord and His grace by trusting in Him, by turning away from sin in repentance, by confessing Jesus as Lord and Christ, and by being baptized in His name so that your sins will be forgiven. God is calling you to come to Him with faith and obedience. Now it may be that God is calling you to come back to Him, because you’ve wandered away. Why not do that today? You’ll find His arms open and full of compassion.
We hope you have been blessed by today’s study. Now if you want a free printed copy, a CD, or a tape of this message that, “God Is Compassionate,” mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083 or e-mail us at searchtv@searchtv.org.
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