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"Allowing God to Be God"
Life has a tremendous amount of problems: health, relationships, work problems. And in the midst of these, what can you expect from God. What can you expect God to do?

We can expect God to do just what he has promised us to do. The question is then, “Has the great God of the universe promised us a problem-free life, a hazard-free existence?”

There are some today who say that if you have enough faith that that’s the kind of life you can have. Paul had something to say about this in II Corinthians 12. In the first six verses of this chapter, we find Paul in Paradise, a very interesting section of scripture where Paul describes a situation of being caught up “into the third heaven into Paradise.” Obviously he is talking about himself there. He said that he was allowed to see things which he was not able to tell others about.

Obviously he was caught up into the throne room of God. He was able to see glories of the majesty of God. In II Corinthians 5:8 and the first chapter of Philippians, Paul talked about the fact that he would rather be with the Lord than to be here on earth. Obviously he knew something from the experience he had with God that caused him to have that kind of desire to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

First of all, Paul explains that kind of experience that he had in going to Paradise. Then as he goes on in this passage, he says that because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, “... for this reason to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, to keep me from exalting myself.”

Paul said that God in his wisdom allowed him to be afflicted in some way, and we are not sure if the problem he had was with his eyes — some think that — or whether it was a persecution that he went through. We are not really sure what it was. But Paul had some kind of a problem that God allowed into his life. “A messenger of Satan” was allowed to buffet him.

It reminds us something of what Job went through. So Paul had this tremendous problem, and we find that Paul petitioned God, prayed to God, three times (II Corinthians 12:8). “Concerning this, I entreated the Lord three times that it might depart from me.”

He prayed once — nothing happened. He prayed again — nothing happened. He prayed the third time, and he got his answer, and God said, “No.”

God said “no” to his request. God was not going to take away the affliction. He was going to allow Paul to continue with the problem that he had. Then Paul goes on to explain for us why God did that, why God allowed him, this great missionary, this great man who was used by God, this man who had given his life to the Lord, who wanted to do nothing but serve God, and yet God says, “Paul, you are going to continue on with that problem; you are going to continue on with your affliction. I am not going to remove it from you.”

Paul said he asked God three times to remove it, and God said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you for power is perfected in weakness.”

Paul added, “Most gladly therefore I will rather boast about my weaknesses.....” (why?) — “... that the power of God may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties for Christ’s sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul said, “Most gladly therefore I will rather boast about my weaknesses (about my problems, about these afflictions that God has allowed to continue with me) because I know that God has a purpose in them. In my weakness then I find his strength made perfect, his power is perfected in me.”

It’s amazing that he could come to that point and say, “Most gladly,” in the midst of the problems that he was going through.

As I look at this passage, I realize that there are many tremendous applications from this for us today. Paul teaches us something about what God really has for us in the midst of the pressures of life, the problems of life, the afflictions, the trials, whatever it might be, that God has a purpose.

From this passage we see that God does not promise his own a life of happiness, a life of health, a problem-free existence, free from hassles and pressures. It’s just not there. Because sin is in the world, we still have these problems surrounding us. They can still come to our individual lives and cause us great problems.

It is interesting that in Romans 8, Paul said that one of the ways that we know that we really belong to the Lord is that we suffer with him. Not only does the Spirit himself bear witness with our spirits and allows us to know that we belong to God, but also that we undergo certain sufferings in this life. And because of that, we realize that we are heirs of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

Suffering, problems — they take various forms in life. It can be a physical problem. It can be that you, because you are a Christian, are shunned by someone that you really thought so much about, a loved one. It can be something else that has come to your life. And as we examine the scriptures, we have to ask ourselves the question, “What will God do for me, what will God do for you in the midst of your problems, in the midst of your afflictions, in the midst of your suffering?”

God will do what God has promised to do. And as I look at scriptures, I have come to the conclusion that the promises of God have basically to do with the spiritual truth, the spiritual impact that God has upon us so that no matter what we might be enduring in life, I can still know that I belong to God forever because of what God has done for me through Jesus Christ.

It was twenty-five years ago this coming January that I understood the truth of Jesus — who he is and what he has done for me. I was in business in Toledo, Ohio. I used to think that if I lived a good life one like Jesus lived, that in that day when I came before God, that he would look at my good life and say, “Welcome. You tried to do the best you could do.” That he would accept me because I tried to be a good person. By God’s grace he allowed me to understand that no matter how hard I tried to live a good life, I cannot measure up to his perfection. God, in his love, revealed to me what he has done for me through Jesus Christ.

It is amazing. I had gone through college. I was in business. I had been around church and I had never grasped the significance of what God had done for me through Jesus. I used to think that Jesus was a good man, not understanding that Jesus Christ is God who became flesh, the eternal God of the universe, the second person of the Godhead. Two thousand years ago he left the glory with the Father and the Spirit and he came to this earth, took upon himself that human body, loved that perfect life, and then went to the cross. I never understood the cross either.

Until one night God put it together for me, and suddenly I understood that when Jesus Christ was on the cross, he was there in my place — the Son, allowing the Father who knew all about me even though I lived years later, the Father put my sins upon him.

You see, sin is our problem. “All we like sheep have gone astray for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We don't measure up to God’s standard. We have transgressed his laws in deed, in word, in thought. And God cannot accept us the way we are. But because he loved us, he put our transgressions upon his beloved Son and he punished him. He crushed him. He put him to grief, pouring out his wrath upon him so that my final judgment was taken care of two thousand years ago by Jesus. He died. He was placed in the tomb and on the third day, he rose from the dead.

That good news came to me twenty-five years ago, and suddenly I understood that when Jesus was there, he was being punished in my place. God, being a just God, must punish my sins. Because he loved me, he put them on Jesus and punished him in my place. When I trusted in Christ as my Savior, the Father forgave my sins, and gave me the gift of eternal life. Now, no matter what I go through, no matter what problems may come to me in life, I know that I belong to the eternal God of the universe. I know that there is therefore no condemnation to me because I am in Christ Jesus.

That same trust can be yours, that same excitement can be yours through faith in Christ, through knowing him. And it is in Christ, understanding the spiritual truth that I have in him, understanding the relationship that I have in him, that is able to keep me going no matter what might come to me in life.

Since being a Christian, I have had many problems -some very difficult ones, but God in his grace has seen me through them. In the midst of them, I have known that my redeemer lives, he is the one who is able.

That is what Paul understood — that God did not just take away the problems. God did not give him a hassle-free existence. He did not cause him to live a life that was without problems. When we are afflicted, when we run into these problems, we should petition God in faith. It may be his will to take away the hurt, the pain, the affliction. That very well may be God’s will. But, as with Paul, it may not be his will. At that point we can learn much from Paul.

You see, Paul realized that that was not God’s will for his life. So Paul got excited about what God could do in his life, even in the midst of that kind of problem. He got tremendously excited. He said that when I am weak, that’s when the strength of God, the power of God, really gets hold of me and my life is what God wants it to be.

And that can be true about you as you take hold of the truth that we have in Christ.

Jesus said, “In the world you are going to have tribulation, but in me you are able to have peace.”

That’s what God has promised to you if you understand who Christ is. Take hold of the fact that in him you have life, that in him you have that greater frame of reference, that in him you have reality. That nothing can take away that real life which you have which is in Christ. There is nothing greater to understand than that. Nothing that can bring more peace, peace which comes because you know what is yours, because you belong to the Lord of the universe, because you understand what he has done for you. In Christ Jesus there is nothing greater than having that peace.

Many times I have been filled with anxiety, worried about this or that, and suddenly I begin to think through and ask myself certain questions like, “To whom do you belong? Who is in control of this universe? Who is in control of my life?”

And I realize what God is, that he is not going to allow anything to come into my life that isn't according to his purpose for me and that he is able to give me all that I need to do what he wants me to do. As I think that through, I am able to have peace even in the midst of my problem, in the midst of the pressures of life which all of us experience on a daily basis.

God says that is what he wants to do for you, as you really take him seriously, as you think through what is yours because you belong to Christ Jesus. Peace which comes from understanding his truth.

The second thing God wants to do in the midst of the problems and afflictions of life is to teach us perseverance. Peter wrote about that in I Peter 1:6-7, that we might truly in the midst of the problems not fall apart, that we might not waver but that we might understand that he is the Lord. As Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.” I understand that he is the one who has the words of eternal life. I understand that he is the one who has the words of eternal life. I understand that he is the one in whom I have real life. Therefore I will keep on keeping on. I am going to continue trusting and obeying him. As I do that, that’s when I get close to him. That’s when I am able to really know more and more of him and experience more of the greatness of his life, contemplating his majesty, spending time with him, recognizing that he is my God — I am his child. There is no life anything close to that that the world has to offer. That’s what God has for us in Christ Jesus as we persevere in the midst of our trials, as we do not fall part but comprehend what he wants for us, that we truly do belong to him and we show it as we live out our lives.

James in the first chapter of his book talked about the fact that afflictions as they come to us and as we respond properly are those things which can cause us to be all that God wants us to be (purity of lifestyle). God wants to refine us through the furnace and cause us to become more like himself.

So if you are going through some kind of problem or affliction, God says that he has a purpose for it. Paul knew that and Paul was drawn closer to the Lord, not only to get to know him more but to become more like him.

But the thought that Paul got so excited about which he writes in this passage was the power, the power of God. “When I am weak, then am I strong.” Then it’s God’s power which does rest in me, upon me,

God’s power manifested in and through my life. Power that is made known in patience, made known in love, made known in caring for others. As you read about the Apostle Paul, you realize how much he did love others and how much he cared for them, and how much of an impact his life had upon them — the power of God was made known in and through his life.

That’s what God can do for you. He can give you that kind of power even in the midst of your problems as you take hold of him.

I have a dear friend down in my church in Boca Raton. His name is Charlie Waters. Charlie is a man in his forties. He is dying with cancer; he has terminal cancer. He should have been dead actually a year ago — that’s what the doctor said. Charlie is a man of tremendous faith and courage. He comes into our services and he just radiates the life of God, and the love of God. It’s really a privilege to know Charlie.

Charlie takes treatment for his cancer down in Miami, over in Tampa, and up in Gainesville, It’s too painful for him to ride in a car so he rides his motorcycle across the state. There goes Charlie. You know Charlie has told me as we have talked about it, “This is so exciting to see what God is doing. When I went to that clinic over there in Tampa, I asked God to give me an opportunity to share the love of Christ with those doctors.” Well, right now four or five of those doctors have come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. They have entered into the eternal kingdom of God because of Charlie’s testimony.

One doctor said, “You know, Charlie, when you came here I didn’t want you in the clinic because you were too far gone and I didn’t think we could do anything for you.” Now that man has come to know Christ as his Savior because of Charlie’s testimony.

When I look at Charlie, I say, “Charlie, from the world’s standpoint, you should be over sitting in a dark corner somewhere saying, ‘God, why have you done this to me?’ shaking your fist at God.”

Yet Charlie knows, that in Christ, he has everlasting life. And Charlie says, “Lord, I want your power even in the midst of my suffering,” and he suffers greatly (the pain). “Even in the midst of that I want to have an impact for you. I want my life to count.” And Charlie is having an impact on many, many lives.

I remember one day asking him to go to see a woman in our church who is dying of cancer. He got so excited. He said, “Thank you, thank you for giving me this opportunity of ministering to that woman.”

You see, your life can have that same kind of impact. That’s what Paul understood.

God has never promised us that he is going to do what we want him to do. He has promised us that he will do what he wants to do. You see, we don’t control God. God is the one who controls us, and in the midst of it, he wants us to allow him to be God. That’s the only way to a life that is worthwhile, to know that he is God, to be excited about that.

About seven years ago, my wife contracted encephalitis. She had a cold at first, and then the flu, and then suddenly she couldn’t talk right and then she went into a coma and was in a coma for several days. In the midst of that, I said, “Lord, what do you have in this?” What happened was that I prayed that God would heal her. People prayed all over this country. Then one day she just woke up. She began to recover.

As I think back on that time, I realize that I didn’t know during those days when she was in the coma, what God was going to do. But I knew that God was God and whatever he did was right. He called upon me to trust him.

That’s what he calls upon you to do also. To know that he is God and to take him seriously. To know that as you do that he will work his power, his life in you. He will do that which he wants to accomplish through you. There is no greater life than knowing that you belong to the God of the universe and that he is able to work in you and through you to have an impact upon others for eternity.

That’s what I see Charlie doing on a consistent basis until that day when, as he says, he “graduates and goes to be with the Lord.”

That’s the kind of life that God can give to you also. He wants you to enjoy him, his fullness. The reality of knowing the living God, of having his peace, of persevering in your faith, of being made more like him in that purity, of experiencing his power on a consistent basis, as you trust him, as you obey. That’s the kind of life that God has for you. Paul understood it. Paul, who lived that kind of life, had that kind of impact upon others that God wanted him to have because Paul allowed God to be God.

That’s what God calls upon you to do also. Therein is life. Therein is reality. Therein is power.

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