Early this year a young man was dreaming and planning about saving
enough money to purchase a large screen HDTV in the near future. Then,
he was laid off, his dream was shattered. Some of us are so happy
when we find a person we like. We dream of being each other's best
friends, may be even a life-long partner. Several months later, the
relationship goes sour and our dreams are broken. When we first got
married, we dreamed of a perfect marriage in which we are best friends,
communicating with and supporting each other. Yet a few years later,
we started to drift apart and are now like two strangers living under
the same roof. A shattered dream. Or, the new parents dreaming of
the child growing into a godly person. However, their hearts are broken
by the child's secular choices in his adult life.
Some of us have come this morning with different broken dreams. How
we handle these shattered dreams depends on how we see God. This morning
we want to explore a simple truth that God uses our shattered dreams
to help us understand that he is our greatest treasure.
I. Christian life is a growth from infancy to adulthood.
Let's take a look at two passages. 1 Peter 2:2, "Like newborn babies,
crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation…"
Here Peter is encouraging believers to drink spiritual milk, that
is, God's word, so they may grow in their relationship with God. If
not, they'll remain spiritual babies.
The other passage is: 1 Corinth 13:11, "When I was a child, I talked
like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When
I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." Paul uses the analogy
of a child to explain Christian growth. A child thinks and reasons
differently from adults. As we mature, we put away childish ways of
thinking and reasoning.
These and other passages in the bible clearly tell us that Christians
grow from a spiritual infant to an adult. In different stages of growth,
we learn to handle our disappointments differently.
II. A child sees God as the father who can solve all our problems.
One unique characteristic of a child's thinking is how he views God.
His view of God affects the way he looks at his world. To a child,
God is the greatest father. Some of you remember the essay your wrote
in 1st or 2nd grade on "my Hero". To many children, their father is
the greatest. Why? When my bike is broken, he will fix it. If he can't,
he'll buy me another one. He fixes computers and furniture, of course
with duct tape. My father "helps" me with my science projects. My
dad helped me with my first derby-racing car. My father carries me
on his back and takes me to wherever I want to go. Whenever I am in
trouble, he is like that US Cavalry coming at the last minute to rescue
me.
Imagine this scenario. A 5 year old is playing outside with his friends.
When nature calls, he runs back home and go to the bathroom upstairs
and locked the door. Then he finds out that for some reason he can't
unlock the door. He starts crying for help. Dad comes up and shouts,
"unlock the door!". Since there seems to be a problem with the lock,
the father goes outside, gets a ladder and climbs into the bathroom.
The moment he unlocks the door, the boy runs downstairs and continues
to play with his friends.
What is this father to this child? Dad is the one who can fix all
my problems so I can continue to enjoy my life.
Now fast-forward 22 years. This young man/woman just received his/her
Ph.D. degree. On the first page of the thesis are these words: A thesis
submitted to the faculty of …Univ. in a partial fulfillment of the
requirement of Doctor of Philosophy. What goes on in his mind? After
all these years of sweat and tears, I've completed the requirements
and am finally on my way to fulfill my dreams.
Now fast-forward another 10 or more years. This young man is now
married with children. Then, his marriage hits rock bottom. What are
the first things that come to his mind? Where is God? Why doesn't
he come into my locked room and open the door for me, fix the problems,
restore my dreams so my life can return to normal? What have I done
wrong in this marriage? If only I love my wife more sacrificially,
or more sensitive, then I would not be in this jam today. Yes, I will
go to the marital counseling sessions, take Sunday school classes
on how to have a successful marriage, and take all the notes when
the pastor preaches on the 7 principles of a fulfilled marriage. If
only I could meet all these requirements, then my daddy up there will
come and open the door so my life can get back to normal.
Or, it is 2 am and you are still waiting for your teenager to come
home. You call the police station and ask if they have seen a green
Honda. What goes through your mind at that time? What have I done
wrong as a parent? If only her father and I were not divorced. If
only I had spent more time with her, then this would not have happened.
If only I am more consistent in my Christian faith, then things would
be different around this house. At 5am, she showed up. Of course I
am angry. Where have you been all this time? Don't you know how worried
I was? Who were you with?
You also tell yourself that you will take her to see a counselor
to find out what the problem is. You are even willing to take counseling
classes so that this will not happen again. If only I complete all
these requirements, then my jammed door will be opened and my life
can go back to normal again. So I'll have joy again.
Does this sound familiar? This is how a child views God. God is the
greatest father who will come and get me out of trouble. He'll come
into my little room and open the door so I can go out and enjoy my
life. I'll do whatever he wants me to. I'll keep all those rules and
principles so he'll come and open my door so my life can return to
normal. As you listen closely, isn't this what the OT laws are? If
you keep all these regulations and rules, then life will be fine.
To live like this is quite painful, isn't it?
III. An adult sees God as the greatest treasure.
If the above is a childish view of God that one is to put away, then
what is the mature view? Let's go back to the 5 year old situation.
You are locked up in the bathroom. You cry for help and the father
comes through the window. Instead of unlocking the door, he simply
sits down beside you.
Isn't this true with life? When our marriage hits a rock, when our
dreams are shattered by that 2am phone call, we scream and cry out
to God: come and get me out of this mess, so I can return to normal.
But you know what? Yes, sometimes he does open the door for us, but
very often, he simply comes and sits next to us, talking and listening
to us, comforting us. I don't know about you, but I want out!! I want
him to open the door so I can return to normal and enjoy my life.
Instead, he just sits there with me.
Let's listen to these words by David and Habakkuk. Psalm 46, "God
is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore
we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall
into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the
mountains quake with their surging…. The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress." The earth did not stop shaking,
nor did the waters stop roaring. Yet, David knew the Lord Almighty
was with him.
Psalm 23:4, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your
staff, they comfort me." In the valley of the shadow of death, that
darkest of all dark places, the Lord was with him.
Psalm 42:1,2, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul
pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and
night, while men say to me all day long, ''Where is your God?" In
great sorrow and distress, or in today's terminology, when David was
depressed, his soul yearns for God.
Psalm 73:25, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing
I desire besides you." David was not seeking the abundant blessing
God could and did bestow on him, he was seeking God himself. The greatest
treasure for David was God and not the treasure God could give him.
Habakkuk 3:17, "though the fig tree does not bud and there are no
grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce
no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the
stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my
Savior." In the midst of famine and poverty, the prophet Habakkuk
was not asking for prosperity, instead he rejoiced in the Lord. His
joy was not based on what he owned or didn't own, but on God his savior.
What if whenever David and Habakkuk got locked up in that little
room, they cried and God immediately came to let them out? We would
not be reading these verses. Of course, there are numerous times when
God would come in and open the door for his people. However, very
often, out of his sovereign will, he simply comes in and sits down
by our side, holding our hands, listening and talking to us, wiping
our tears. You see, a mature faith, an adult-like faith in God is
one that desires God more than what he could give us. An adult understands
that God himself is our greatest treasure. God uses those shattered
dreams in our lives to awaken our deepest desire of wanting to be
close to him.
I think of Christian parents who have done their best to train and
love their children, but they made life choices contradicting their
parents' values. They prayed everyday for their child. Yet, God did
not come in to open the door, instead he came and sat there.
A wife who did her best to love and be submissive to her husband.
She literally raised the children alone. However, the husband never
showed appreciation and instead constantly issued harsh demands. Oh
how the she prayed that God would change him so she can breath a little.
But, God simply came in and sat down by her, holding her hands and
wiping her tears.
A husband loved his wife sacrificially, but the wife was unresponsive.
Or the wife wanted so much to make the marriage work, but the husband
showed no interest and wanted a divorce. Yes, these individuals prayed
hard and asked God to come in to open the door so life can be normal
again. God simply came in and sat down with them.
A single parent, exhausted by having to work and take care of two
growing kids. Or a single person longing for a life long partner.
You have prayed and asked God to bring the right person to you, or
you to the right person. He did not open the door, he just came and
sat with you.
You are out of a job. You pray hard that God will open a door for
you, so your life can return to normal again. So you can go back to
enjoy the blessing God will give you. Instead, he came in and sat
by you.
Why would a loving God do this? If our understanding of the scripture
is correct, God wants us to understand the truth that it is more important
to have him than have all the riches he can give us. He is our greatest
treasure. He wants us to sing like Habakkuk, "though the fig tree
does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive
crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep
in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the
LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior."
If this is true in our lives, when we are in that dark valley, when
our children have gone astray, or our spouse has left us either physically
or emotionally, when we are lonely, there is still an inner peace
and joy. Because God the father is with me, with him by my side, what
else do I need?
In such moments, he wants us to listen to his words found in the
Bible and talk to him. He wants to reestablish and strengthen his
loving relationship with us. He wants to deeply forge in our hearts
that the greatest treasure is not what he can give us, but the great
treasure is God himself. He wants us to be still and know that he
is God. This is what the shorter catechism means: the chief end of
man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Conclusion:
How are you handling those disappointments and shattered dreams in
your life, especially in your family? Are you like that 5 year old
child, screaming and yelling, asking God to come into your locked
room and let you out so your life can return to normal and continue
to enjoy the blessings God can give you? Or are you like an adult,
knowing that he has already come into your locked room. Out of his
sovereignty, instead of opening, he simply sits down by your side.
The young man who was laid off wrote: During those 2 months, I have
seen many of my weakness and how much I need God. I have also experienced
the peace and joy from God that I never experienced before.
You know, through such situations, he is arousing in our souls a
deeper desire for him, that which only he can fulfill. And as we listen
and talk to him, we will begin to understand that the greatest treasure
is not the blessings God can give us, but God himself. The highest
goal in life is to enjoy him forever.
(NOTE: the seed thought for this message was from a devotion by
Larry Crabb)
