Bump In The Night

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee."   Psalm 56:3

      There is a really popular movie that children love to watch and it is called “Monsters Inc.”.   I remember watching it with my grandson many years ago.  That night he was so scared that we had to leave the lights on in his bedroom.  To me, it wasn’t so scary because I had seen worse.  Some people like to watch scary movies but not me.  I remember being 7 years old and watching the old black & white movie, “King Kong”.  I watched much of the movie hiding behind my moms’ chair.  Once I even went running/screaming to my room. Even now, when a movie starts to get the least bit scary (and you can usually tell by the music that starts to get intense), I immediately close my eyes, place a finger in each ear and hum.  Bob knows to tap me when the scary part is over.  Scary movies are not for me! 

We as Christians, face fears from time to time… things that seem to go “Bump in the Night.”

1.  Things of Our Own Making:  Adam in the Garden of Eden comes to mind.  Remember Adam and Eve had eaten of the fruit that God commanded them not to eat (they were sort of like me hiding behind my mother’s chair) -- they were hiding behind a tree in the garden. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." Genesis 3:8-10

Here at the very beginning of the earth, Adam and Eve were "afraid" (verse 10) Well, what do you know?  I guess humans always have had the tendency to be scared.  It is strange that Adam mentions the nakedness but not his disobedience from which the whole ordeal started.  Just as soon as they were out of God’s will, something awful happened.  Why do you think Adam was afraid? Adam saw the nakeness and realized he had sinned. He knew God would be displeased - he was afraid of his broken fellowship with God.   

Adam’s inner peace was replaced with fear.  Breaking fellowship with the Lord is a scary place to be.  I know some people live right there most of their lives, getting farther and farther away from God.  A wise man said that you are free to choose your own decisions but you cannot choose your consequences.  Adam here made his decision and he had to live with the consequences -- and boy, oh boy, these were some really serious consequences that were passed down to all man-kind.  Sometimes these things of our own making seem to be lurking there like a big shadow in the dark that comes right up to us and shouts, "boo!"

2.  Things That Seem Bigger Than We Are:  We are all familiar with the story of Goliath.  In 1 Samuel, Goliath challenged Saul and all of the Israelites.   Here comes that HUGE giant of a Philistine and it sent shivers through out all of the strong men that were in the Saul’s army.  It says in 1 Samuel 17:11, "When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid."  Why were they greatly afraid?  They saw no man able to accept the challenge.  You see, the Holy Spirit had left King Saul because of his disobedience to God and to the Prophet Samuel.  Now the whole army was afraid - often sin affects more than just the person who commits it.

      Have you ever had something come in your life that was just bigger than you are? An extremely heavy burden that you've had to bear?  To you, it looks like a monster in the dark with its big fangs looming over you. Things that are way bigger than us and make us feel tiny in comparison are things that make us afraid.   

We need to realize that we serve and love a God that is bigger than we are - and He is bigger than any challenge or trial that we could possibly face.  (Romans 8:18)  Through this verse, the Lord once again reminds us that it is not about the circumstances (the trials, difficulties, persecutions, sicknesses, etc), it is about our perspective (glory, heavenly home, Jesus, eternal life).  We may never fully understand why things happen but, as Christians, we aren’t called to understand, we are simply called to trust that God knows what He is doing.

I want to encourage you, whatever trials you may be facing (or will eventually face), keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep your mind fixed on the hope that we will have eternity with Him. When you have the right perspective and eyes only for the Lord, it makes it easier to patiently endure anything that comes your way.

3.  Things That We Don't Understand:  Look at Mary, the mother of Jesus in Luke chapter 1. The angel came to her and told her that she was chosen to carry the Christ-child. Certainly Mary had reason to be afraid. She didn't understand what was happening. "And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. " Luke 1:29, 30

Can you image Mary asking the angel, “Why is this terrible thing happening to me?  Do you know what this will do to my family?  Do you know what it will do to my reputation?”  Mary had the grace and courage to accept God’s plan and will for her life.  Then she just trusted Him day by day.

I think that the things we don't understand sometimes are the scariest. It's hard to deal with those things because we don't know how to process it or see it in a tangible form. It's like the howling sounds of the wind on a dark and stormy night shrieking at us.

How to Respond When Life Doesn't Make Sense.  As with every disappointment, we have a decision to make when trouble or disaster strikes. How will we respond?

· The first part of responding correctly when life doesn't make sense is keeping our focus on God.  We can choose to focus on exactly why God has allowed this situation and how it came about, or we can focus on trusting God for the next step.   Col. 3:2

· It is important to remember His infinite love for us. The presence of pain and disappointment in our lives does not mean that He does not love us. It actually means that God loves us all the more.  I Peter 1:6-7

· Prayer is very important.  We must turn to him for help and guidance.  Psalms 121:1

There are lessons that we must learn through difficult circumstances that we could learn only by going through them.  Remember the story of Job? He lost his family, his wealth, his health, and · his friends but grew closer to God. Ultimately, for Job's faithfulness the Lord blessed him with a larger family and more wealth than he'd had before. We must look for the lessons that God has in store for us during our trying times. It is all part of growing.

4.  Things That Give Us Immediate Danger:  The story of Peter stepping out of the boat and walking on the water comes to my mind.  Remember when he first stepped out  and headed towards Jesus. He was doing really good until he took his eyes off of the Lord.  "But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? Matthew 14:30, 31   

Peter's fear was of immediate danger. He really thought he was going to drown right then and there if the Lord didn't help him. It was not the violence of the winds, nor the raging of the waves, which endangered his life, but his lack of faith.

Don't you hate those immediate danger situations? They are scary -- sometimes it seems your life passes just before your eyes. Several years ago, I was driving four ladies to Yalta for ladies retreat.  It was raining and another car almost hit me head on. I then lost control and skidded across the lines.  I remember everything going in slow motion.... There was ‘Immediate Danger’ - but God protected us - just as He was there for Peter.

You might be in the middle of one right now. It's like gigantic ocean waves are staring at you in the face and starting to cover you until you feel you can't breathe anymore.  But as a child of God, we must remember that everything that happens to us is in His plan - His will.

Isaiah 43:2 says “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”  This was a general promise to Israel and it is a promise to us.  Whenever and wherever you should pass through water or fire, God will protect us. Fire and water are often used in the Scriptures to denote calamity.  But God has proven throughout the Bible and throughout your Christian life that He will not fail us. 

5.  Things we have no control over  - In I Kings 17:10-16 there was a widow and her son fetching sticks to make a fire.  The prophet Elijah met her and asked for something to eat.  She told the prophet that she had nothing to share and this was going to be their last meal.  Elijah told her something very important in verse 13 “And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.” This was certainly putting the widow’s faith through an extraordinary testing.  Elijah was asking her to take her last meal to give to a stranger, of whom she knew nothing.  This last cake was vital in keeping her child from dying -- I don’t know many of us would do that. 

I believe this un-named woman had “Great Faith”.  She had no control of the future, she had no control of the famine that was happening in Israel, she had no control over the death of her husband but she trusted the Word of the Lord.

       We have no control over:

· Future  John 14:1-4                     

· Health - Psalms 18:2              

· Finances - Psalms 37:25

There is a song in our hymnbooks that go like this... “Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand.  But I know who holds tomorrow. And I know who holds my hand.”  

Conclusion:  There are always going to be things that are going to scare us and make us afraid, even as Christians.  Fear is an emotion we have built in us as humans but we shouldn't let fear overtake us.  How do we do that?   The Bible has the answer. "Be strong and courageous."  God told that to Joshua three times in Deuteronomy 31 and three more times in Joshua 1. This phrase appears thirteen times in the Old Testament. You see, back then, as today, fear was a common ailment. 

· What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.  Psalm 56:3

· For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  1Timothy 1:7

· Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.   Isaiah 41:10 

Maybe you are going through life hiding under the covers, and you've been under there so long that you feel you can't breathe. Your heart's beating so loudly you can't hear the Lord's voice anymore.  Give your fears to the Lord and rest in His arms and let Him comfort you.  God will give you that peace and calm in a way that only He can do. When those scary things rear their ugly head or go bump in the night, that's a good time to trust in Jesus.

         Bubble Gum

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?  it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.  Matthew 5:13 

     Every time I go into Meganom or Ashan, I see a variety of gumball machines.  Kids love gumball machines. We have 5 children, and they were always asking for a coin to put into those beautiful enticing machines to get gum.  We had a rule at home, “No chewing gum inside.”  I can’t even remember how many times I had to get gum out of our daughter’s hair.  I tried ice, peanut butter, and even vegetable oil -- and sometimes ended up using scissors.  It was a sticky MESS! Getting gum out of kids’ hair (or even the dog’s coat) was always hard.  Then there was the gum on the floor or carpet. Yep, no gum inside there OR at church!

     However, chewing gum can also be quite entertaining.  It is tasty and has an appeal - especially for children.  When I am tired, a stick of gum helps me not to yawn.  If I need a quick boost for my breathe, the minty taste will refresh it.  Chewing gum after you eat will help clean your teeth (especially since you don’t carry tooth-brushes with you in your purse).  I started thinking about the properties of chewing gum of all things.  Even though it is sticky and messy and I think we can learn some lessons from it.

1.  Don't Get Stuck.  Gal 6:9: And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 

     I remember one day I walked into our living room and there was this huge glob of pink bubblegum stuck in our new carpet.  Of course when I asked the children, all five children said “I don’t know!” or “It wasn’t me!”  I think we had an invisible #6 child that seemed to get all the blame.  So, we made all five of them work on it until it was gone.  They picked at it until the carpet almost had a hole in it.

     Sometimes we get stuck in our spiritual walk.  It seems we are stuck in a rut.  Yes, we attend church and read our Bibles but we don’t seem to be growing spiritually - we feel blah so to speak.  Just like the children picking at the gum on the carpet, we must be consistent.  We must be diligent until we become unstuck.  The Word of God has promised us that if we just stay faithful, if we just stay obedient, if we will serve Him, He will bless.

     We need to look around and see what is getting us stuck. Is there something holding us back in our walk with the Lord? ____ Is there unconfessed sin? ____ Is there something we haven't been obedient about? ____ Is it our attitude that needs adjusting?  ____

Stuck people see no fruit from their labor and the temptation to return to a previous way of life will be powerful.  When you realize you are stuck, don’t quit (as our verse tells us).  Just keep on keeping on.   Be faithful (Heb. 10:23), actively pray (1 Thess. 5:17) and seek God's face (Deut. 4:29).  You can't stay stuck or you will not accomplish anything for Christ.  

     When I'm stuck, I find that if I start looking outward and meeting the needs of others it helps tremendously in prying me loose. Be encouraged. Your efforts are making a difference. Don’t quit.

2.  Don't Lose Your Flavor.  2 Cor. 2:15  For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:

      When we first moved here, our kids complained that most of the gum they bought only tasted sweet for just a few seconds. It lost its flavor rather quickly.   One young lady at our church used to ask us to bring her “Big Red” chewing gum back from America.  It tasted like cinnamon and it lasted a long time! 

We need to make lasting impressions.  Imagine the footprints you would leave behind from walking through a freshly poured concrete sidewalk. Now, imagine your children and grandchildren as wet cement; what footprints will you leave in their lives?  Eph. 4:1-3 talks about living a life worthy of His calling.  When Jesus saved us, he didn’t just save us for heaven. He saved us to live for him, and to do works in his name.  Think of all the women Bible characters that have made lasting impressions: Ruth, Esther, Deborah, Lydia ______________________________________… little did they know the impact they would have for women through the ages. 

     How about you?  Do you feel like life has chewed you up and you seem to have lost your desire to serve the Lord?  Infuse some flavor into your life by getting back to walking and talking with the One who can sustain you.  Read your Bible more.  Pray more.  Draw closer to the Lord and allow Him to encourage you and breathe new life into you.

3.  Don't be Distracting.  Luke 10:24  “And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things”

    One time in school, our teacher told us if we could chew gum and didn’t look like a cow, we could chew gum in class.  Well, every kid tried but nobody passed the test.  Gum in someone's mouth can be the most distracting thing when they are talking with you. It throws us off focus.

     Martha was distracted - her focus had been on service.  What was Mary’s focus? Being near Jesus and listening to Him speak.  Martha’s focus had been practical while Mary’s was more spiritual.  However, Martha’s focus was not entirely bad as service is needed - but there is a time that our focus should be on spiritual.  Jesus knew this, so when Martha confronted Him in exasperation, He paid attention to her.   He heard her words, but more than that He redirected her focus: “But one thing is needful….” (Luke 10:42). The one thing she needed was Him.

     Today the distractions are so much more different than before.  Cell phones and computers have sidetracked many today. Sometimes I think that Satan invented cell phones to distract us from what God would have for us.  It is so distracting to try and carry on a conversation with someone who can’t seem to take their eyes off their phone. I've see people in church play with their phones instead of listening to the word of God being preached.

     Distractions are everywhere, tugging on our arms, filling our eyes and tickling our ears -- anything to try and lure our hearts and minds off the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus told His followers that spiritual distraction begins with hearts that have grown dull, ears that are hard of hearing, and eyes that are closed (Matt. 13:15).  Using the illustration of a farmer scattering seed, Jesus compared the seed that fell among thorns to a person who hears God’s Word but whose heart is focused on other things. “… The care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” (v 22)

     

4.  Don't play with it.   1 John 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. 

     I can’t begin to tell you how many times I told my children to stop playing with their gum, “Keep it in your mouth.”  Playing with gum is usually the culprit of many accidents. We love to play games, it is part of the playful spirit God has given each and every one of us. But sometimes, when it comes to our relationship with God, the games we play don’t bring us joy and laughter.  

     The true church of Jesus Christ is not a religious institution which welcomes everybody, it is the body of Jesus Christ that is set apart (holy) unto God.   We are the bride of Christ and we have been redeemed by faith.  It is our DUTY as Christians to warn those who have not received Christ, to warn them in love but to warn them nonetheless how they are in danger of the terror of the Lord.  Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:11, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." The Apostle says that when he stops to think about the coming of the judgment of God, he get busy sharing the gospel. This was the command of Christ; and this is our responsibility!

      Read Luke 6:46.  It is a warning to those who are comfortably seated in the church or who think they are -- but in reality they are not.  This is not a warning to outside people. This is a warning to us who are involved in the church to be sure that it's real.  And I think it only fair that we stop and really approach this with a sense of sobriety and earnestness, to understand how we stand in view of God right now as individuals.

The following verse is carved on an old marble slab in a cathedral of Lubeck, Germany. It dates back to the 1400’s (800 years ago) and it goes like this,

             “Thus speaketh Christ our Lord to us:

You call Me Master and obey Me not,

You call Me light and see Me not,

You call Me the way and walk Me not,

You call Me life and live Me not,

You call Me wise and follow Me not,

You call Me fair and love Me not,

You call Me rich and ask Me not,

You call Me eternal and seek Me not,

You call Me gracious and trust Me not,

You call Me noble and serve Me not,

You call Me mighty and honor Me not,

You call Me just and do not accept My justice.

If I condemn thee, blame Me not."

Obedience is what service is about.  Calling Christ “Lord” or anything else is not enough, it is doing the will of God that is the answer.

5.  Don't Pop!  2 Cor. 4:16-18  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, an which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

     Have you ever been going along in your walk with the Lord and everything seems to be going smoothly.  Then all of a sudden someone or something hits you like a ton of bricks?  You got that dreaded phone call.  Or you hear that someone has talked badly about you.  Just like my children would love to pop their sibling’s bubble when they least expected it, your bubble pops.  It seems like all the air in you escapes. 

     This verse tell us that we should “faint not”.  The Greek word here means “to be weary in heart” or “to lose courage”.  In verse 1, Paul says he faints not!  The idea is perseverance -- being persistence throughout the Christian life. Like a runner lasting to the end of the race, the Christian is to keep going and keep trusting Jesus.  We can get so easily distracted by the things that Satan hurls at as, that we sometimes fail to see the bigger picture of eternity. There are three steps that these verse give to help us.

A.  We are being renewed.  The first reason to not lose heart is shown through a comparison between the outward man and the inward man. The outward man (the old man) belongs to this world, that is riddled by sin and is slowing dying. The inward man (the new man) belongs to the world to come, is being made more and more like Jesus -- she is being renewed. 

     Every day, we are becoming more like Jesus.  Often, we often focus on external things: appearance; beauty; bettering ourselves.  But in itself, this is futile. We are focusing on the wrong things!  Don’t pop - Jesus is renewing us.

B.  We will obtain glory.  The second reason to not faint is shown through a comparison between the troubles we face (light, affliction, moment) and the glory to come (glory, weight, eternal).  Paul compares the trials of life to the glories of heaven!  What is the glory? It's the beauty, wonder, magnificence and splendor of God.  And we get to share in that!  We must get through the hard stuff but keep going. Don't lose heart - know that something better, infinitely better is coming!

C.  We will live forever.  The third reason to not to deflate is shown through a comparison between what is temporary and what is eternal.  Remember the things we see here and now will not last: Pain, troubles, sorrow, grief, hobbies, earthly riches.   These things are temporary. To focus all our attention on these things is to fail to see big picture!  We need to learn to keep our eyes on eternal values: What are some of these? ________ ______________________________________________________

We can't allow other people or circumstances to pop our bubbles.  We have to just keep on doing what we know is right and serving the Lord to the best of our ability.

Conclusion:  I hope we can avoid some of the traps of being gummed up in life.  I don't want someone to look under a desk someday and find me in a wad, dried out, and stuck fast.  I know I need to start by drawing closer to the Lord.  I have to pray more and stay in His Word more. 

I want my life to count for the Lord.  I want to make a difference.  In order to do that I have to remember that the Christian life is all about being that salt and light of the earth.