STRUGGLE: WHEN LIFE MAKES NO SENSE
Getting Through What You’re Going Through – Part 3
Rick Warren
August 17-18, 2013
Shock - Sorrow - Struggle – Surrender – Sanctification - Service
“Because you (sinned)... all your life you will struggle.” Gen. 3:17
LIFE IS A STRUGGLE - 3 WAYS
o WE STRUGGLE WITH OTHER PEOPLE
Every relationship is broken by sin.
Competition – Conflict – Misunderstanding – Disappointment
Jacobstruggled his entire life!
- brother Esau– stole his brothers birthright & blessing
(Gen 25:22, Hosea 12:3)
-withtwo wives(Gen. 30) – the case against polygamy!
Note:Not everything reported in Bible is affirmed...
-in-laws(Gen. 31:1-2) Jealous & cheated each other
-12 sons(Gen. 37-50) Very dysfunctional family due to favoritism
o WE STRUGGLEWITH OURSELVES
Your biggest battles- inside you.
Fears, compulsions, flaws, weaknesses, sins
Jacob struggled with insecurities.. place in his family
his conscience..
ROM 7:15-23 “I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate... No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't...But there is a law at work within me that is at war with my mind.” (NLT)
o BUT OUR REAL STRUGGLEIS WITH GOD!
Why? 1. We doubt God’s wisdom (my kids)
2. We want to be in control! Be God!
Hosea 12:3b“As a man Jacob struggled with God.”
JACOB’S ACTUAL WRESTING MATCH
GEN. 32:23-30“Jacob sent his family across the Jabbok River but he stayed behind, alone. That night, a Man came and wrestled with him until daybreak.
Pun: Jacob=YAY bok Wrestling=YAY bek Jabbok YA bok
So YAY bok YAY becked God at Yah bok!
o Runningfrom God all his life So God We’re going to the mat!
When the Man saw that he wasn’twinning the struggle, he hit Jacob on the hip, and it was thrown out of joint. The Man said, ‘Let me go; daylight is coming." Jacob said, ‘I won't let go until you bless me.’
o “wasn’t winning” - Ever been in a no-win struggle?
oGod could have easily overwhelmed him but lets the struggle go on! WHY?
oGod loves for you to wrestle with him? It’s face-to-face!
The Man asked ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he replied. The man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have struggled with God and with men, and you have won;so your name will be ISRAEL.”
o Strange request! God obviously already knew!
A confession & self-revelation!
Jacob = “deceiver/manipulator”- all his life
Q: If you - named for your greatest character fault-
What…your name be?
- Jacob willing to struggle. Didn’t walk away from God
- He knew what he wanted. God’s blessing!
- He was persistent “I won’t let go....”
- He admitted he was the problem
So- he was given a new identity
Israel = “struggled with God /Prince with God”
In changing you- God does his deepest work in your identity.
How you see yourself-- affects everything in your life.
“THEN Godblessed him there. So Jacob called the place
Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face and yet
my life was spared.”Genesis 32:23-30
An important story
HOW TO WRESTLE WITH GOD AND GET BLESSED!
The reason we can argue with God is because God cares.
Loves... sympathetic ... not apathetic... not detached
1 PET.5:7“Cast all your care on Him; for he cares for you”
PATTERN of LAMENT all thru Bible
Complain– usually as a question: Why? When? How long?
Appeal –to God’s nature , his character, who he is
Remind - Godof his promises & his reputation
Expresstrustin God’s wisdom (in things I don’t understand)
1.COMPLAIN: TELL GOD WHAT I THINK IS UNFAIR
OR PAINFUL.
A lament IS a complaint! Almost a demand: DO SOMETHING!
PS.142:1-3(David)“ I call to the Lord for help; I plead with him. I bring him ALL my complaints; I tell him all my troubles. When I am ready to give up, he knows what I should do.” (TEV)
Tone varies: sadness, anger, fatigue, disappointment,scared
but always from the heart – passionate!
CARD: Examples: Job 13:14-25, David- Ps.13:1-5
Heman - Ps. 88, Jeremiah 12:1-4, Habakkuk 1:120 2:1
Q: What are you tired of tolerating?
2 Keys: Complain TO God, not against Him (Moses/Israelites)
IN FAITH “Without...” Expect an answer!
PS. 55:17Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, andhe hears my voice!”(ESV)
2.APPEAL TO GOD’S NATURE
You are good...loving...kind..fair.. see everything ..
all-powerful... So help me!Jer:“Nothing is too difficult for you
2 CHR. 20:6-12"O Lord, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. O our God, did you not ... give this land t forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? ... But now 3 others nations are trying to drive us out.... O our God, will you notjudge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."
Ex:Abraham(Gen.18:22-32) Moses (Ex. 32:9-14)David (Ps. 143)
Hezekiah (1 Kings 19:15-19)
What’s happening doesn’t sound like something you’d do”
Jehoshaphat – 2 Chron. 20 - ARE you not,, did you not...will you..
3.REMIND GOD OF WHAT HE’S SAID!
God loves to be reminded of his promises: YOU SAID...!
If you don’t keep your promises, it’s going to look bad!
Jer: You’re going to get a bad reputation!
Ever feared a reunion? Jacob learns Esau w 400 men1
Gen. 32:9-12Then Jacob prayed, "O God of my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac— you told me to return to my land and to my relatives, and you promised to treat me kindly. I am not worthy of all the faithfulness and unfailing love... but O Lord, please rescue me from my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to kill me...But you promisedto treat me kindly and to multiply my descendants...”(NLT)
4.EXPRESS MY TOTAL TRUST IN GOD
I trust his goodness... wisdom ... love... plan...
evenin the bad things that happen that I don’t understand
Job 13:15 “Though he slay me, yet I will trust in him.”
Hab 3:17-19“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; and even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; and even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will still rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. The Sovereign Lord is my strength!” (NLT)
The way you win a fight with God is by surrendering!
I surrender my unanswered questions and in return
I get his blessing & comfort & power instead!
Declaration of dependence
End of Jacob’s story:
GEN 32:31“The sun rose as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.”(NLT)
o After you’ve wrestled with God, he blesses you, but you’re given a reminder to depend on him the rest of your life.
o That ended his life-long pattern of running away.
Bow
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
o In what areas are you struggling with God?
o Where have you been afraid to give up control?
o Where have you doubted God’s wisdom?
o What do you need to admit about yourself?
PRAYER: “Dear God, you know all the things I struggle with. My fears, addictions, weaknesses, relationships, regrets...
Today I’ve realized that my other struggles, are all really rooted in my struggle with you. I have doubted your wisdom and I have tried to play God. Like Jacob I’ve tried to manipulate things to feel more secure. I realize that your blessing comes not from trying harder but in surrendering the things I don’t understand...and the things I can’t control... to you. Thank you that you are a good God. (salvation)
CARD: EXAMPLES OF STRUGGLE
JOB: ‘I’ve lost all hope, so what if God kills me?I am going to state my case to him... Now listen to my words of explanation. I am ready to state my case, because I know I am in the right.
...Are you coming to accuse me, God?... Speak first, O God, and I will answer. Or let me speak, and you answer me. What are my sins? What wrongs have I done? What crimes am I charged with?Why do you avoid me? Why do you treat me like an enemy? Are you trying to frighten me? I'm nothing but a leaf;
you are attacking a piece of dry straw.” Job 13:14-25 (TEV)
DAVID: ‘O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?How long must I strugglewith anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, my God!...I trust in your unfailing love.” Psalm 13:1-5 (NLT)
HEMAN: My life is full of troubles, and I am nearly dead. I am like a man with no strength... You have taken my friends away from meand have made them hate me... My eyes are weak from crying. Lord, I have prayed to you every day... I have called out to you for help; Lord, why do you reject me? Why do you hide from me? ... I have been weak and dying since I was young.
...You have taken away my loved ones and friends.Darkness is my only friend.” Psalm 88:3-18 (NCV)
JEREMIAH "Lord, if I argued my case with you, you would prove to be right. Yet I must question you about matters of justice.Why are the wicked so prosperous?Why do dishonest people succeed? ...they do not really care about you. But, Lord, you know me;you see what I do and you know how I love you.
... How long will our land be dry... Animals and birds are dying
because of the wickedness of our people, who think you don’t
see what we are doing." Jeremiah 12:1-4 (TEV)
HABAKKUK: “O Lord my God, you who are eternal—is your plan in all of this to wipe us out? Surely not! O Lord our Rock, you have decreed the rise of these Babylonians to punish and correct us for our terrible sins. You are perfectly just in this. But will you, who cannot allow sin in any form, stand idly by while they swallow us up? Should you be silent while the wicked destroy people who are more righteous than they? Are we but fish to be caught and killed? ... Will you let them get away with this forever?... I will climb up into my watchtower now and wait to see what the Lord will say to me and how he will answer my complaint!” Habakkuk 1:12-2:1 (NLT)
JACOB BACKGROUND VERSES
“Before Jacob was born, he struggled with his brother”
Hosea 12:3 (NLT)
“While Rebekah was pregnant, the babies struggled inside her. She asked, ‘WHY is this happening to me?’" Gen. 25:22 (NCV)
“Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, ‘Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.’ And Jacob noticed that Laban's attitude toward him was not what it had been.” Gen. 31:1-2 (NIV)
“The messengers returned to Jacob and said, ‘We went to your
brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, with an army
of 400 men! Jacob was terrified at the news” Gen. 32:6-7 (NLT)
“Then Jacob prayed, "O God …O Lord… I am unworthy of all
thekindness and faithfulness you’ve shown me… save me I
pray… for I am afraid…” Gen. 32:9-11 (NLT)
you know me;you see what I do and you know how I love you.
... How long will our land be dry... Animals and birds are dying
because of the wickedness of our people, who think you don’t
see what we are doing." Jeremiah 12:1-4 (TEV)