A Crutch For When Life Doesn't Make Sense

I was going to cover a different topic this month but within the last couple of weeks, a friend of mine lost her 9 year old Daughter in an accident and it reminded me of a “discussion” I’ve had with several people through the years.

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed. —2 Corinthians 4:8

You may remember a few years back when Jesse Ventura the former governor of Minnesota said that “Christianity is a crutch for weak minded people”. His comment brought outrage from several religious organizations. It didn’t bother me much though, the man has a long history of being an idiot and has always had a string desire to be in front of a camera or in the spotlight. After all he was a professional wrestler for many years, maybe he got hit in the head too much. :-) Also, I don’t have to answer for his statements or decisions and what he believes has no affect on what I believe. There are other skeptics and atheists that say that the Christian faith is nothing more than a crutch—that the only reason people claim to trust Jesus is that they are weaklings who have to make up “religion” to get by?

A story about a doctor in one Far Eastern country spent 2 ½ years in jail being “reeducated” because he professed faith in Christ. Then, after his release, he was arrested again—this time for his efforts at his church. Maybe those skeptics haven’t heard about Paul. After trusting Christ, he was arrested, flogged, mocked, and shipwrecked (2 Corinthians 11:16-29).

These are just a couple of examples, one modern and one from biblical times. These believers were not looking for a crutch. No, they had something deep and essential in their hearts. They had a personal relationship with God—a relationship born of faith in the work of Jesus on the cross. As a result, they became children of the King—eager to sacrifice everything for the privilege of proclaiming Him. They were not limping along looking for something to hold them up.

I had the misfortune of performing CPR on my infant Son many years ago. I couldn’t revive him and he passed away. A couple of days later we buried him and for quite some time we had to deal with the loss and pain that accompanied the loss of a child. It was a very difficult and traumatic time in my life and caused me to be upset with God and even angry at times. I thought, I’m just starting in the ministry and have devoted my life to following you and trying to bring others to you. Is this how you’re going to provide for me? Why can’t you do this to regular people out in the world and let bad things happen to them? Why me? In many ways it shook my foundation as a Christian and caused me to question God’s direction and motives.

Though I still do not understand all of the reasoning behind why God allowed me to go trough that and many other troubles/trials since then, I know without a shadow of a doubt that; He loves me, He see’s the whole picture, and He’s in charge and control of everything. Even if I never get to understand it while I’m here on Earth, He had a reason for it and if I give my life to Him, I’ve got to take the bad He allows my direction if I’m going to take the wonderful things He sends my way. I also know that whenever I’m at a low point, I can turn to Him and He will comfort me and take care of my issues. No matter how large or small. He’s the rock and foundation of my life, nothing that comes my way can destroy the foundation.

A crutch? Hardly, faith in Christ is not about safety and caution. It’s about believing Jesus and trusting Him no matter what. It’s about taking up a daily cross (Luke 9:23) and living for the Savior.

I also can take comfort in knowing that no matter where I am, God will always be there with me. In Psalms 120:1 it says, “In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He heard me”.

Detective Allan Pinkerton became famous in the mid-1800s by solving a series of train robberies and foiling a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln as he traveled to his first inauguration. As one of the first agencies of its kind in the US, the Pinkerton National Detective Agency gained even more prominence because of its logo of a wide-open eye with the caption, “We Never Sleep.”

There is no better feeling than knowing you are protected and secure. You feel peaceful when the doors are locked and all is quiet as you drift off to sleep at night. You feel safe. But many lie awake in their beds with fearful thoughts of the present or dread of the future. Some are afraid of commotion outside or of a spouse who has been violent. Some cannot rest because of worry over a rebellious child. Others are anxiously listening to make sure a seriously ill child is still breathing.

These are the times when our loving God encourages us to cry out to Him, to the One who will neither “slumber nor sleep” (Psalms 121:4). Psalms 34:15 reminds us that “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.”

Pinkerton may have been the original “private eye,” but the One who really has the eye that never sleeps is listening to the cries of “the righteous” (Psalms 34:17).

Some who have gone through traumatic times in their lives go on a journey and search for something to ease pain, fill a void, somewhere to turn for help, comfort, or relief from the situation. Often it ends up being alcohol, drugs, sex, etc. all are a temporary fix to the problem and more often then not they cause more issues for one to have to deal with. The only sure fire fix for this is having a relationship with Jesus Christ. I can vouch that He’ll always be there for you and nothing you’ve done or can do is too bad for Him to want to have a relationship with you. When you think your life is shattered and there’s no way to get fixed again, love heals your heart and the provider and sustainer of love and hope is Jesus.

Before you sleep, just gently lay
Every troubled thought away;
Drop your burden and your care
In the quiet arms of prayer. —Anon.

We can sleep in peace when we remember that God is awake.

How Can I Keep From Singing?
Chris Tomlin

There is an endless song
Echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring

And though the storms may come
I am holding on to the rock I cling

How can I keep from singing Your praise
How can I ever say enough
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing

I will lift my eyes
In the darkest night
For I know my Savior lives

And I will walk with You
Knowing You'll see me through
And sing the songs You give

How can I keep from singing your praise?
How can I ever say enough, how amazing is your love?
How can I keep from shouting your name?
I know I am loved by the king, and it makes my heart want to sing.

I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And fall down again
I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me, Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I'll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne

How can I keep from singing your praise?
How can I ever say enough, how amazing is your love?
How can I keep from shouting your name?
I know I am loved by the King, and it makes my heart
I am loved by the King, and it makes my heart
I am loved by the King, and it makes my heart
Want to sing

I can sing
_________________________________________________

2 Corinthians 4:8 (New International Version)
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;

2 Corinthians 11:16–29 (English Standard Version)
I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not with the Lord’s authority but as a fool. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

Luke 9:23 (ESV)
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Psalm 121 (NIV)
I lift up my eyes to the mountains - where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip - He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you - the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm - He will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Psalm 120:1 (NIV)
I call on the LORD in my distress, and He answers me.

Psalm 34:17 (ESV)
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

Psalm 121:4 (ESV)
Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Psalm 34:15 (ESV)
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry.