Fixing Life or Finding God: Which Most Haunts Your Soul

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Fixing Life or Finding GodWhich Most Haunts
Your Soul?
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Background to question 1In many Bible
passages, particularly in the Psalms, we discover
numerous promises and assumptions that God will
make our way successful and happy.
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"I trust in Your unfailing love. I will rejoice
because You have rescued me. I will sing to the
Lord because He has been so good to me" (Psalm
135)
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". . . You guard all that is mine. The land you
have given me is a pleasant land. What a
wonderful inheritance" (Psalm 16 5f)
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Our ancestors trusted in You, and You rescued
them. You heard their cries for help and saved
them. They put their trust in You and were never
disappointed (Psalm 224-5)
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"You are my King and my God. You command
victories for Your people" (Psalm 444)
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". . . the Lord hears my voice. He rescues me and
keeps me safe from the battle waged against me. .
. Give your burdens to the Lord. And He will take
care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip
and fall" (Ps 5517,18,22)
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"Let the whole world bless our God and sing aloud
His praises. Our lives are in His hands, and He
keeps our feet from stumbling" (Ps 668-9)
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"O God, Your ways are holy. Is there any god as
mighty as You? You are the God of miracles and
wonders! You demonstrate Your awesome power among
the nations" (Psalm 7713-14)
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Question number 1 In light of so many
promises of God's unfailing love for His
children, should we not assume that God has a
good plan for His children to delight us with
success and happiness?
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• Background to Question 2
• In many passages of the Bible,
• particularly in the Psalms, the reality
• of life is portrayed as terribly painful.

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Psalm 13 O Lord, how long will You forget me?
Forever? How long will You look the other way?
How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,
with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will
my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me,
O Lord my God! Restore the light to my eyes, or I
will die."
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Psalm 221-2,20 "Why do You remain so distant?
Why do You ignore my cries for help? Every day I
call to You, my God, but You do not answer. Every
night You hear my voice, but I find no relief". .
. "Rescue me from a violent death spare my
precious life from these dogs."
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Psalm 4412,13,17-23 "You sold us - your
precious people - for a pittance. You valued
us at nothing at all. You caused all our
neighbors to mock us. We are an object of scorn
and derision to the nations around us. . . . All
this has happened despite our loyalty to you. We
have not violated Your covenant. Our hearts have
not deserted You. We have not strayed from Your
path. Yet You have crushed us in the desert. You
have covered us with darkness and death. If we
had turned away from worshiping our God or spread
our hands in prayer to foreign gods, God would
surely have known it, for He knows the secrets of
every heart. For your sake we are killed every
day we are being slaughtered like sheep".
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Psalms 551-6 David writes again "God. . .
please listen and answer me, for I am
overwhelmed by my troubles. My enemies shout at
me, making loud and wicked threats. They bring
trouble on me, hunting me down in their anger. My
heart is in anguish. The terror of death
overpowers me. Fear and trembling overwhelm me. I
can't stop shaking. Oh, how I wish I had wings
like the dove then I would fly away and rest!"
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Psalm 6611-12 "You captured us in Your net and
laid the burden of slavery on our backs. You sent
troops to ride across our broken bodies. We went
through fire and flood".
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Psalm 771-10 "I cry out to God without
holding back. Oh, that God would listen to
me! When I was in deep trouble, I searched for
the Lord. All night long I pray, with hands
lifted toward heaven, pleading. There can be no
joy for me until He acts. I think of God and I
moan, overwhelmed with longing for His help.....
Has the Lord rejected me forever? Will He never
again show me favor? Is His unfailing love gone
forever? Have His promises permanently failed?
Has God forgotten to be kind? Has He slammed the
door on His compassion? And I said, This is my
fate, that the blessings of the Most High have
changed to hatred.'"
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Question 2 In light of so many Biblical
presentations of reality as terribly painful,
even for God's most obedient children, should we
not assume that God has a plan for His children
to overwhelm us with trouble?
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Background to Question 3 Which of the
two desire IS stronger in you?If both desires
go unmet in your life, which one does your soul
demand more than the other?
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1A.  Loss of respect from a friend1B.  Loss of
intimacy with God
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2A.  Find a job that pays the bills2B.  Find
God who supplies all your needs
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3A.  An invitation to attend an exclusive event
which you like3B.  An invitation to an
exclusive meeting with God to pray
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4.  You get into a fight with your mate, a
family member or a friend. What matters most to
you in the middle of the fight?A.  To prove
your point, relieve the tension or find a
solutionB.  To find God satisfying reflect
His character right now
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5.  You fall into deep depression, so severe
you enjoy little to nothing about life. What
driving purpose governs your behavior?A. 
To find a doctor, a diet or other cure to relieve
the depressionB.  To find God satisfying and
continue serving Him no matter how bad it gets
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Question 3 Is our appetite for God much
weaker than our appetite for this life? Are we
more interested in solutions to life's problems
than to seeking our satisfaction in God ? Are we
more concerned to fix life than to find God?
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1.  In light of so many promises of God's
unfailing love for His children, should we
not assume that God has a good plan for His
children to delight us with success and
happiness?2.  In light of so many Biblical
presentations of reality as terribly painful,
even for God's most obedient children, should we
not assume that God has a plan for His children
to overwhelm us with trouble?3.  Is our appetite
for God much weaker than our appetite for this
life? Are we more interested in solutions to
life's problems than to seeking our satisfaction
in God ? Are we more concerned to fix life than
to find God?
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The answer to question number 1 is YES
regardless of the answers to the other
twothe Bible clearly announces that God IS
good and GOD will not disappoint us. Whether all
of life appears otherwise, we must agree that
this IS what the Bible claims is true of God - He
is ultimately good and ultimately will not
disappoint us.
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But the answer to question number 2 is true
(life IS terribly painful) . . . .BECAUSE
number 1 and 3 are true. Life is terribly painful
BECAUSE God is good to us AND because our
appetite for God is much weaker than our appetite
for this world.
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And the answer to question number 3 is true
because we do not believe number 1 is true
but we believe, from experience, that number
2 is true. Our appetite for God is much smaller
than our appetite for this world BECAUSE we don't
believe that God is really good and will satisfy
our deepest longings and we do believe from our
own experience that life is terribly painful.
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Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more
than anything on earth. My health may fail, and
my spirit may grow weak,but God remains the
strength of my heart He is mine forever. But
those who desert Him will perish, for You
destroy those who abandon You. But as for me,
how good it is to be near God! I have made the
Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell
everyone about the wonderful things You
do.Psalm 7325-28