When God Allows It

0:00 God, we thank you that all week long you've been making ways, opening doors, providing in times of need. And God, we've come into your house this morning to simply say thank you for being the God above our lives. God, we don't just thank you for how you've shown up in our lives, oh God, but we thank you for how you've shown up in the life of the miracle that I hold on my left and on my right. God, I thank you for the testimony of my neighbor, God. And I don't know what stands in front of them this week, but right now, oh God, I squeeze that hand to let them know that they have the strength, the resilience, and the power that they need to make it through whatever lies ahead. Come now, oh God, and send a word in this place. Speak, oh God, because we need to hear from you. And we know, oh God, that as we hear from you, we'll be careful to give your name all the glory, the honor, and all the praise in Jesus' name. Come on, loose those hands.

0:55 Put yours together. And make a joyful noise to the Lord, for this is the day that the Lord has made. And we've come to rejoice and to be glad in it. While you're yet celebrating, won't you help me give God thanks for the greatest pastor in the world? Come on, even in his absence, let's let him hear us in Houston. And as we pour some love on the Reverend Dr. Howard John Wesley. To him, to the leadership of this church, to all of my colleagues in the gospel ministry, and to each and every one of you, my sisters and brothers, who walk by faith and not by sight. It's just good to be in God's house one more time. Amen? If you're hungry for a word, I invite you to come with me to the prophecy of Joel. Joel chapter 2. We've been in a series this month called Growing in Truth, looking at various thematic themes over the course of these few weeks, opened by discussing communion and then forgiveness.

1:54 and this weekend we close that series by dealing with the topic of suffering. Suffering and there is a text in the lectionary readings for this weekend coming from Joel chapter 2 beginning at the 23rd verse that I pray will speak to us hopefully in some new ways.

2:16 Joel chapter 2 beginning at verse 23 you'll find words similar to these.

3:32 Thus far, the word of God. As you take your seats this morning, I want you to pray with me on the subject, when God allows it. When God allows it. beloved on Friday I was blessed to celebrate 27 years of life and this year I've got so much to be thankful for but I can barely wrap my mind around it but the one thing that I've been grateful for above everything else this year is God's protection this birthday my mind was fixated on all the things God has protected me from. Dr. Judy, I kept thinking about what the old saints used to say. God has kept me from dangers seen and unseen. I woke up Friday thinking about how God has covered me on every road trip and on every plane flight. I couldn't help but to bless God when I considered the ways that God has protected my health and covered me with the community that surrounds me in prayer. I thought about how God has protected me from my own dumb decisions and foolish choices. I thought about all the times God protected me from enemies who wanted to bring me down. I am grateful for God's protection.

4:56 But this year has also been a year of reflection. Some of you have heard me preach in this place on Sundays, but more often than Sundays, I stand in this pulpit on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Fridays during the funerals of our beloved family and friends. In megachurch ministry, we are often called to the high honor of attempting to comfort families in their time of unbearable heartbreak. And so often when I stand here, my eyes are bouncing back and forth between a casket beneath me and the stained glass Jesus above me. And in those moments, I'm forced to wrestle with the peculiar and the haunting beauty of God's protection. Mark, I've come to a point in my life when birthdays are bittersweet celebrations. How could something so sweet like God's provision and protection feel so bitter when I start to think about all the people who didn't get the same chance. Three times this year, I sat in the funeral services of individuals who didn't make it to see age 27. So yes, I celebrate God's protection, but I also have to sit with the pain of what God didn't prevent. The bittersweet nature of life forces us to rejoice in God's protection, yet we also have to struggle with the moments when God allows tragedy to strike.

6:28 If we're honest, even the most faithful among us can admit that we struggle in that space between celebrating God's goodness to us and questioning the suffering around us. The death of a loved one, the loss of a job, natural disasters, untimely diagnosis, terror and famine all force us to wrestle with the peculiar nature of God's promises. And yet, it is in these moments when our faith is pushed to the brink that we begin to develop a newer and healthier understanding of God. I know this sermon may be uncomfortable for some today, but if we want to grow in our faith, we've got to have some difficult conversations and sit in the darkness and wrestle with the fact that God does not always operate in the way that we expect God to operate. Every Sunday can't be filled with prophetic promises and relationship advice.

7:26 Sometimes we've got to deal with the reality of suffering. God, I know you've been good to me, but why would you allow this to happen? And it's with this in mind that we journey to the words of the prophet Joel. And there in the second chapter, we find a word that is challenging yet empowering. He says in verse 25, I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you. The churchy among us have heard it in the old King James. I will restore the years that the locust has eaten, the canker worm, the caterpillar, the palmer worm, my great army which I sent against you. These words have often been paired with shouts of acclamation and praise. God is going to repay us. God is going to restore us. God is going to give us back the years that we lost while we were struggling and suffering and crying out for help. God is going to do something in our near future that will make all of the pain of the past worthwhile. God is going to restore the years. And I know that this is fundamentally good news, but this week as I contemplated our theme of growing in truth, I was forced to ask a question of God. God, I'm grateful that you are going to restore the years, but at the end of verse 25, God, you admit that you sent the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter against me.

9:08 God, for years, I thought that it was the devil who was wreaking havoc in my life. I thought that Satan was the one throwing all of this in my direction. But here you are admitting that you see these things from your hand. And now I'm glad that you're going to repay me. I'm glad that you're going to restore me, but God, I have to ask the question, why would you repay me for what you could have just prevented? God, why are you restoring when you didn't have to tear it down in the first place? God, I want to thank you for healing me, but if the pain could have been avoided, then it leads me to ask the question, why would you allow it in the first place? What do we do when God allows it? How do we process God's promises when God's promises have been set on the other side of our pain? Some of you don't want to hear this, but I pray that I'm talking to a few folks in here who've been sitting on the margins of faith and hopelessness.

10:08 And for those of us in here who want to celebrate God's goodness, yet we wrestle with God allowing the destruction and the terror and the suffering around us. For those of us who wonder why God allows it, I want to offer a few insights from the book of Joel that I believe will help us to press on in the days ahead. Now, I cannot answer the timeless question, why do bad things happen to good people? If someone could succinctly answer that question, all of us preachers would be out of a job. I cannot explain the why behind your suffering, but I pray that these insights may give you a little extra strength to hold on while you're waiting for the promises of God that sit on the other side of your suffering. Joel turns to some hurting people and he says, Oh, children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God. Joel says, here's what I need you to do while you're waiting on the promises that sit on the other side of your pain.

11:09 I need you to rejoice your way to productivity. It seems so simple, but rejoicing is a key ingredient to the restoration of your soul. To rejoice simply means to make yourself glad, to make yourself happy. When we make a deliberate decision to be glad in the midst of our pain, it opens our eyes to new possibilities, and those possibilities make a way for greater productivity. I wonder how many folk in the house can admit that you produce something in your season of brokenness that you would have never been able to create in your season of calm. When we rejoice, we find a way to bring productivity out of our pain. We make music in the madness. We paint masterpieces in the misery. Pain is the birthplace of creativity. Just as God formed this world out of a dark and desolate void, and just as you were formed in the darkness of your mother's womb, God is going to form something in the darkness of your despair that will be fearfully and wonderfully made.

12:17 Whenever I can't make a sense of my suffering, and whenever I wonder why God allows things to happen, I'm compelled to consider the journey of our people. I think about all of those who lost their lives in the mid-Atlantic slave trade. I think about the horrific abuse of those who survived and how this nation's economy was built on the backs of their labor. I think about the dehumanization of generations of their descendants who to this day cannot convince America to believe in the fullness of our humanity. God, why would you allow this? couldn't get the answer, but God said, Elijah, look at what's been birthed by a people who found a way to rejoice in the midst of unimaginable pain. Without a doubt, our people have produced the greatest art this world has ever seen, and we ought to observe how the ancestors were able to form such beauty out of the crucible of their suffering. It was that great father of black theology and my dear professor James Cone who when speaking of music wrote that rhythm and dance point to the experience of liberation as ecstasy. That is the ability of the people to step outside of their assigned place and to affirm their right to be other than what is now possible in their history. In making art we literally step outside of our historical constraints Our creativity shakes us loose from the physical, social, and emotional shackles that society uses to bind us down.

13:58 With every stroke of creative genius, we fly another mile above the dehumanization that attempts to bury us. Hear me, somebody. I want you to rejoice your way to creativity and productivity because your art will last longer than the pain you experience. not only that but your art will sustain you in the midst of your pain and even better than that art will compel you to imagine a life beyond the dimensions of your pain that's why when you're hurting you ought to go to an art museum when you're about to lose your faith you ought to sit in the back of choir rehearsal and let these melodies soothe your soul when you're visiting regions of this world that have experienced great hardship you ought to taste the cuisine and discover the beauty of life that was forged out of the darkness. I don't know what art is going to come out of this moment.

14:52 I don't know what business plan you're going to produce in this season. I don't know what act of service or kindness you're going to give to the world, but I dare you to give birth to something. Do not let the creative capacity of this moment go to waste. When God allows it, you have to rejoice your way to productivity, and also you have to remember that future promises begin with past tense provisions. You will notice when you look closely at Joel's words that most of the promises offered in chapter 2 are listed in the future tense. The fleshing floors shall be full of grain. The vats shall overflow with oil. I will repay you for the years. You shall eat in plenty. You shall know that I am in the midst. These are all future tense promises. But before you hear what God has in store, Joel offers in verse 23 a reminder of what God has already done. God has given the early rain for your vindication. He has poured down for you abundant rain. Yes, I need you to be excited about what God is about to do, but in this season of hardship, it's crucial for you to be aware of what God has already done. So, even when I haven't seen the threshing floor full of grain and the vats overflowing, I know that I've already seen the rain and I've got confidence in what God is about to do based on what I've already seen God accomplish. Hear me, church, God's promises will always sound so elaborate that believing them can be a struggle. That's why every day you've got to be intentional about pulling God's resume so that you can remind yourself of what God has already provided.

16:41 Sometimes it's hard to believe that joy will come in the morning, but then I remember that God has already given me a spirit of love and power and a sound mind, so I have no reason to be fearful about what's coming in the morning. Sometimes it's hard to wait on the Lord, but then I remember that God already gave the race, not to the swift or to the strong, but to those who endure until the very end. sometimes it's hard to believe that God would send his son to die on a cross for sins I have yet to commit but then I remember that I'm already fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God so even in my worst failure God won't let my life go to waste There is an interconnectivity between God's promises for my future and the provisions God's already made in my past. And as you mature in your faith, you ought to begin to see a track record of God that allows you to hold on when you feel like letting go.

17:46 God, this week I wanted to give up, but then I thought about the doors you opened 15 years ago that I never deserved to walk through. God, last night I wanted to throw in the towel, but then I thought about how you lifted my spirit after all the years of abuse and molestation. God, the other day I was ready to take my life, but then I remembered the last time you made a way when I could not see a way. My God would not go to all of that trouble to deliver me in my past just to let me give up in this season. I still believe that I will see the goodness of the Lord not in heaven but in the land of the living. I will see miracles, signs, and wonders in the year of our Lord 2020. I don't believe he brought me this far to leave me. we've got to rejoice our way to productivity.

18:43 We've got to remember that future promises begin with past tense provisions. And then catch this third one. You've got to recognize that problems come in many flavors. Notice what Joel says in that 25th verse. I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, the cutter, my great army which I sent against you. He doesn't just say I'm going to repay you for the years of your suffering. He specifically takes the time to list out the variety of the sources of pain. The swarming locust, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter. Why is this important? Because you need to know that God notices the specifics of what you're going through. Bobby, the reason why we often struggle to believe God's promises of restoration and healing is because we don't think that God notices the details of our pain.

19:46 In seasons of suffering, we trick ourselves into thinking that God doesn't care about me or God forgot about me. And Joel says, no, actually God has been paying attention to the details of your pain. God sees how the locusts have stolen your joy. God sees how the hopper has ruined your career and your finances. God sees how the destroyer has attacked your health and broken up your family. God sees how the cutter has choked out your faith and your self-esteem. God sees you in your place of suffering. You are not unnoticed. And here's the good news. Just as there is variety in the sources of your pain, there's going to be variety in your healing and restoration. That's why you can't imagine what your recovery is going to look like, because God's going to do it in a multifaceted way that you won't be able to comprehend.

20:43 Can we go deeper? Not only does the variety remind me that God notices me, Variety also teaches me to never judge anybody Because I don't know the layers of what you might be going through If I can see how the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter And the locust have been operating in my life Then I ought to be reminded that you're probably dealing with multiple levels of chaos in your life And it wouldn't be fair for me to judge your response to one thing When I can't see the other three things that you're wrestling with somebody in AlphaTreat needs to hear this the greatest gift we get in a season of suffering is a sensitivity to the suffering of others if I can't make sense of what I'm going through how dare I look at your life and judge you for how you're responding to your chaos it's a shame for us to look at co-workers who make a mistake on the job and then vilify them when we don't even have a clue about the family drama and the financial anxiety that they're dealing with. It's a shame for you to end a friendship over somebody's busy schedule and you haven't even taken a second to pray about all of the balls they're juggling in every other area of their life. It's a shame for you to judge somebody for the way they worship in church when you don't know the hell they had to climb out of just to make it into the house of God.

22:11 Your suffering ought to make you more sensitive to the struggles of the people God has placed around you. I don't know why I had to go through this. But because I did, I'm going to be more sensitive to you when I see you going through something else. We've got to go. I've got to get out of here. But when God allows it, I need you to rejoice your way to productivity. Remember that future promises begin with past tense provisions. Recognize that problems come in many flavors. And then I need you to realize that you don't deserve this.

22:55 You don't deserve this. I told you at the top of the sermon that I've only been around 27 years, but 27 years has been long enough to teach me one thing for sure. You did not earn the suffering you experienced. In the same way you get blessings you don't deserve, you'll experience pain you don't deserve. I said in the same way you get blessings you don't deserve, you'll experience pain you don't deserve. I appreciate this passage in Joel because it forces us to wrestle with that classic question of suffering. Is this what I get because I sinned? Is my suffering payment for my transgressions? Many of us have become victims of bad theology that seeks to convince us that our suffering is the direct result of our mistakes. Over the years, we've ascribed this parental language to God, and in turn, we've allowed God to become an abusive parent rather than a loving one.

23:56 So we think that every time we sin, God gives us a spiritual timeout or whooping so we can pay the price for our mistake. But when you grow in faith, you realize that's not how God operates. God does not allow your past choices to write the story of your future. God's too loving for that. I came to deliver somebody's self-esteem from that dangerous yet common question, what did I do to deserve this? I know it makes logical sense to blame yourself for the misery you encounter, but God is not Santa Claus. God doesn't give gifts for every piece of good behavior, and he does not force you to experience pain for every piece of bad behavior. You did not earn your suffering. The reasons behind God sending the locust, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter are too complex to be boiled down to one mistake that you've already repented for.

24:53 That's why I love what Joel says in that 26th verse. You shall praise the name of the Lord, your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. God has dealt wondrously with me. God doesn't deal with me practically or fairly or analytically. God deals wondrously with me. God doesn't operate with equations and metrics. You don't buy your way to salvation, and you don't pay a fine for every shortcoming. God is too wonderful for that. Let me see if I can make it plain. Ralph, I remember back in my teenage years, I had some really bad theology, a shallow understanding of God. So when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, in a way, I started to think that maybe this was my fault. As I began to wrestle with the idea of her being sick and the possibility of her dying, I began to think that all of this was happening because I hadn't been a good son.

25:54 I thought this was the punishment I was going to get because I neglected to spend time with her and show the affection towards her that I know she deserved. So I thought that God was about to take someone from me because I hadn't been a good steward of the relationship God had given to me. I don't know why I'm sharing this, but I believe there's two or three folk in here today who've been blaming tragedies on yourself. And God is trying to tell you, you don't deserve this. This is not your fault. It's going to be difficult. It's not going to make sense. but someday over the horizon, you will be able to see how I was working all of this together for your good. I wonder if there's anybody in the building who's glad that we serve a loving God rather than a petty God. In this world, I've encountered some vindictive people and some manipulative people, but my God is too loving for that. My God operates differently. He deals with me wondrously, and the wonder rarely makes sense, so I just choose to lift up my hands and surrender to the sovereignty of God. God's ways are not my ways, and God's thoughts are not my thoughts. I may not understand the pain I felt yesterday, but I know the new mercy I experience tomorrow won't make any sense either. I may not understand the hell that I'm going through right now, but I also know that heaven won't make any sense. He deals with me wondrously.

27:27 I'm done, but there is an additional promise at the end of the passage. And my people shall never again be put to shame. What an amazing God we serve. Not only will you recover from the pain, but you won't have to carry the shame. today I want to extend an invitation to somebody who is hurting or struggling because you've been carrying the weight of a season on your shoulders you've been carrying a mistake you've been carrying guilt you've been carrying hurt tragedy or you've been carrying shame God says I may not fix it all overnight but here's what I do know I have somebody who will help you to carry it so you don't have to carry it all by yourself my sister my brother we don't want you to leave this house of worship without having a relationship with the Savior that we know that's able to lift every burden, heal every hurt, and bind up the broken pieces of our wounded spirits. So as our deacons come to the altar and as we stand all over the sanctuary, we simply call this our moment of invitation. This is your chance, my sister, my brother, to simply step out into that aisle, walk down here, and meet us at the front of the church. And we promise you that we will introduce you to a relationship that will change your life for the better. So my sister, my brother, if that's you, won't you come today? Come meet the Jesus we love about. Come to this church family as our choir sings and as we join with them. God is calling somebody to come today. My sister, my brother, won't you?