CrossPurposes 285 When you are overwhelmed

Hello friends, I trust you have hope in the midst of the fear and craziness which produces 'the tormented music of our world'. It's been a long time since you last heard from me. 

Recently one of my dearest friends wrote to me to thank me and encourage me for something I wrote over a year ago. He's always been one of my 'encouragers', and he added an attachment which I've included here because it was so on the money for me.

God is not done so we do not lose heart:  

"Jason Meyer: I can imagine people reading this interview who are overwhelmed. What would I say directly to them if I were sitting across from them? I’d say “don’t lose heart because God is not done.”

If we saw a stadium in the early stages of being built when it’s just a big hole in the ground, we’d doubt the architect’s design if we thought the work was done. In the same way, we have to remember that we can’t judge our Father’s design for your life because it’s not finished yet. He’s not done.

We see this same point time and time again as we read the Bible. God wasn’t done when Joseph was in prison, when Jeremiah was in the pit, or when Jonah was in the fish. He wasn’t done when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were in the fire, and when Daniel was in the lion’s den. He wasn’t done when Pharaoh was oppressing the Israelites, when Haman was plotting against Mordecai, when Herod was killing infants, and when Saul was persecuting Christians. He wasn’t done when Sarah’s womb was barren, when Ruth was a widow, and when the virgin Mary was told she would bear a son. He was not done when Naaman had leprosy, when Bartimaeus was blind, and when Lazarus was dead. He was not done when Noah built an ark, when Aaron made a golden calf, and when David took a census. He was not done when Goliath taunted the armies of Israel, when Jezebel killed the prophets of Israel, and when the Babylonians destroyed the temple of Israel.

And don’t forget that he wasn’t done when Jesus was rejected by his hometown, betrayed by Judas, deserted by his disciples, denied by Peter, tried by the Sanhedrin, condemned by Pilate, mocked by the soldiers, nailed to the cross, and buried in Joseph’s tomb.

The tomb is empty. Our Saviour is risen. Our God is working all things for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). What more evidence do you need? God isn’t done with you. It doesn’t matter where you are or where you’ve been—God is not done so we do not lose heart."

Jason C. Meyer (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church and associate professor of New Testament at Bethlehem College and Seminary, USA

Peace, my friends. God is not done… so we do not lose heart!  

Fred