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PRAISING GOD FOR DETOURS #3

CONTENT IN CATASTROPHE

Once in a while, a letter comes into our Voice of Prophecy office that is virtually impossible to take in emotionally. This one comes from a girl named Melissa.

"I come from an abusive family," she writes. "I was sexually abused and raped and became involved in abusive relationships. I became addicted to drugs and alcohol and tried many times to kill myself. I have two children who are wards of the state because I neglected them. I tried to raise them the right way, but I ended up doing what my mother did because that's all I knew."

If you were our Bible counselor, Jan Judd, how would you answer this Melissa? But here's even more:

"I've never opened up my heart like this to anyone before, but I had to tell you that I murdered my youngest daughter. It was a result of the rape and I was high on drugs. How could God ever forgive me? How can He spare my life because of this horrible crime? It's amazing that I didn't get the electric chair or life without parole. I have been given the sentence of manslaughter and aggravated child abuse." And then the one glimmer of light: "I am enrolled in the Discover Bible guides and this is a learning experience. He has blessed me with a second chance to live again."

Well, our radio series title for this week is: PRAISING GOD FOR DETOURS. And here's a woman who has been sent on an agonizingly long trip in every wrong direction. This wasn't where Melissa should have ended up! She's slowly, one step at a time, finding a walk with Jesus now . . . but what a tragic journey into the wilderness!

There's a theme text we all should memorize, whether we're in prison like Melissa, or simply treading water on the outside, wondering how much longer before God is going to allow our ship to come in. It's found in Philippians chapter four, one of the greatest passages in all the Bible. Every single verse is memorable, and memorize-able, but here's verse 11 for today:

"I have learned," Paul writes, "to be content whatever the circumstances."

That's it! "Wherever I am," he says, "no matter what surrounds me, what problems, I can be content there." You know, pastors sometimes quote this verse with a bit of tongue-in-cheek, but they use the King James Version when they do so. Here's why. It reads like this:

"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

You know, in terms of geography, pastors don't always get to choose what "state" they'll be in. Or what town within that state. Here in California, there are a few "dead" places you could be assigned, like Death Valley. And pastors tease each other: "If your baptism graph doesn't start to climb, or your offering and mission-giving totals, you're going to find yourself trying to be content in Death Valley." And sometimes it's no laughing matter when a pastor is abruptly transferred to a parish that is, to put it kindly, a spiritual challenge. The wonderful magazine for pastors entitled Leadership is replete with stories where faithful men and women of God are placed in circumstances that are exceedingly difficult, either financially or politically or both. And this verse comes ringing through: "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

Speaking of our friend Melissa, who wrote that poignant letter from prison, do you know where Paul was when he wrote this marvelous letter to the Philippians? He was in jail too! That's right. On several occasions, he wrote Bible epistles while incarcerated. Actually, when writing this letter, he was probably under a fairly minimum-security kind of "house arrest" in Rome. But he also wrote from the dreaded Mamertine dungeon, where things were anything but comfortable. And yet Paul is able to write about contentment, about trusting that God knows what He's doing regarding detours and orange cones.

In fact, if you go back to Philippians chapter one, some Bible versions actually have this heading: "Paul's Chains Advance the Gospel." Notice, beginning in verse 12:

"Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ."

Paul was a fairly well-known inmate there in Rome, actually, as you can discover when you read the book of Acts. And so everyone in the prison, or palace guard, knew that he was in jail for Jesus. His very existence there is a Christian witness. All the guards on Cellblock D and in the prison cafeteria and laundry are aware of his connection with Christ. But he goes on in verse 14:
"Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly."

So here's a second reason for contentment. Paul's being in prison has galvanized the early church! His friends on the outside are saying to themselves and to each other: "Look at Paul! Look at his courage, his witness. If he can be strong for the Lord in prison, the least we can do is hold the banner high out here!" And so Paul actually begins this letter saying, in essence, "This is fantastic! The Lord is using this opportunity to really spread the good news of Jesus. God, if this is a detour, it's working out to be a very good one."

Well, friend, that may sound unrealistically cheerful. And I'm sure Paul himself, as he languished in prison, and as he was beaten, and put in stocks — which happened, by the way, right here in Philippi — and was shipwrecked, I'm sure contentment was a hard thing for him as well. In fact, I know so . . . because his own language gives it away. Notice again:

"I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

"I have learned this," he confesses. Did this spiritual attitude come naturally to him? No! Of course not! Remember, Paul was a brash, ambitious, hard-driving persecutor of Christians before he became one himself. He was used to power; he was used to throwing his weight around. Now, to be on the other side of the stick, to be the guy they put chains on instead of the other way around — this had to be a hard and humbling experience. He had to learn this new way of thinking, of believing that his God knew best, that the orange cones directing him to the right or to the left, or into jail without passing go or collecting his $200 . . . that those orange cones were there to lead him in the path of God's choosing. He finishes off the thought in verses 12 and 13:

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." And then this inspiring confession: "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength."

If you've ever read through his prior letter, the second one to the Corinthians, just a few pages earlier, you're aware that this same Paul confesses that he had a mysterious malady which caused him ongoing frustration. Three times, he admits, he begged God to take away this thing, this whatever, which surely must have seemed to be a detour to him. Some scholars conjecture that it might have been poor eyesight, which, in those days was pretty much incurable aside from a miracle of God. It would have been very difficult to be "content" with that blurry vision. But Paul gets this answer from God:

"My grace is sufficient for you."
And Paul, through years of developing the gift of trust, of faith in that grace, had learned to be content.

There's a wonderful Old Testament story that speaks volumes to us about contentment. Back in Exodus chapter 14, there's an escape-proof moment where Pharaoh has the Children of Israel right where he wants them. The Red Sea is before them, mountains to the left, and the right, and his whole Egyptian army is sweeping in behind them. It's the classic "pincer" move, the perfected squeeze play. Pharaoh knows it, and the doomed Israelites know it too. They begin hollering at Moses: "You brought us out here to die, you nut! Why didn't you leave us alone back in Egypt?"

And Moses, perfectly calm, perfectly content, says to them:

"Do not be afraid." And now, this is terrific: "Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you."

The King James is even better:

"Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord."

And that's a message for me, friend, and for you. When we're tempted to be afraid, or angry, or discontented over the detours in our life: "Stand still." Just rest in Jesus, and know that He has everything under control. He may rescue you now, He may rescue you tomorrow, or He might rescue you when He sends His Son on that greatest rescue trip of all time. But when the time is best, when it's right, you can know that He'll push all those orange detour cones to the side, and bring you safely home.