Distant

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When God Seems Distant

Psalm 10:1

"Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?"

Have you ever felt that God was not near you? The Psalmist felt the same way. He asked God, "Why standouts thou afar off, O LORD?" When you are going through rough times, it can certainly seem that God is very distant. During these times we must be careful to take the right steps so that we avoid getting bitter at God, or quit serving Him.

First, when God seems distant stop looking at yourself. One of the reasons you would feel that God is distant is because you have your eyes on yourself. When your eyes are on yourself, you won't be able to see that God is near because you are looking at yourself. Any time a person has their eyes on themselves they will have a pity party.

Second, when God seems distant stop looking at the wicked. This is a great mistake that many make when they are going through rough times. Many will look at the heathen and think that the heathen never have hard times. This is exactly what the Devil would want you to do. What you don't realize is that the heathen have hard times just like you do. Do you think the Devil is going to advertise the hard times that the heathen face? Of course he isn't. He is going to put his best foot forward to deceive you. Though it may seem that the heathen never have hard times, you can rest assured that they have heartaches just like you. Matthew 5:45 says, "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." Notice that everyone has rough times. It is dangerous to start comparing the Christian life to the life of the wicked when God seems distant. When God seems distant, where you place your perception will determine how you make it through the rough times.

Third, when God seems distant be sure to place your eyes on the works of God. When the Psalmist took his eyes off of himself and the heathen, he then was able to see the works of God. Verse 16 says, "The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land." Yes, God still works when you think that He is distant. God's works don't depend upon how you feel. God still works even when He may seem distant.

Last, remember God's promises when God seems distant. God promised in Isaiah 41:10, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Notice that God promised to be with you. That promise never fails. Though God may seem distant, His promise tells you that He is near you. We also know from Titus 1:2 that God cannot lie. Therefore, you can count on God's presence being near you even when you think He is distant.

Christian, you will go through times in your life when God will seem very distant. It is in these times that the depth of your Christianity will be tested. In these times don't rely on your feelings for they will lie to you, rather rely on the promises of God for they are unchanging and will be the very thing that will help you through your tough times.

Avoiding

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Avoiding Potential Temptations

1 Chronicles 14:12

"And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire."

Avoiding potential temptations is important to the success of your Christian life. David understood this importance, and he took some great steps to avoid these potential downfalls. It was a common occurrence for the heathen to take their gods to war as a belief that their presence would cause military success. God knew that this was the heathen's practice, so He commanded in Deuteronomy 7:25, "The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God." David obeyed this command and burnt the heathen gods so that they would not become a lure to the children of Israel.

It is important that every Christian learns to destroy potential temptations that could destroy them. One of the reasons many Christians fall into sin is because they allow potential temptations to stay in their presence. This is foolish because nobody is able to consistently be in the presence of temptation without it eventually overtaking them. If you don't want to yield to temptation, then you should destroy those things that could be potential temptations.

First, you ought to destroy those things that are potential temptations for everyone. There are some things that can tempt you because you are involved with their activities. For instance, when you are involved in sports leagues you could be tempted to miss church for a championship game. Being involved in a sports league is not sinful, but when they have games that would cause you to miss church, then they become sinful. You would be better off not joining the league so that you won't be tempted to miss church. You may say that you would never miss church when the pressure is not upon you, but when that pressure is applied, you could easily yield to the temptation by justifying one church service as not that big of a deal. This is just one area that I have used to illustrate temptations that everyone could face. Whatever could be a potential temptation in your life should be avoided.

Furthermore, you should destroy those things that are potential temptations unique to yourself. If you used to be involved in some sin, then you have a temptation that is unique to that sin. I recall a story about a young man who used to go to places where women would display themselves in a wicked manner. After this young man got saved, he was riding in the car with his pastor when they were about ready to pass by one of those establishments. This young man bent over and put his face in his lap and asked the pastor to let him know when they were past a certain street. The pastor asked this young man why he buried his face in his lap. The young man responded by telling the pastor that before he got saved he used to frequent a place that they drove by, and he found that the best way to avoid being tempted by this place was to never look at it again. He said when he was driving by himself, he would arrange his driving route so as to avoid driving by that place. You must do the same thing this young man did with any temptation that is unique to yourself. You must destroy any potential temptations that could cause you to go back into sin.

You know what you are tempted by or what could tempt you. If you want to avoid the sin that the temptation tries to lure you into, then destroy that temptation and you will destroy the possibility of committing the sin that that temptation would cause.

Leadership

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When Leadership Falls

1 Chronicles 10:4

"Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it."

The responsibility that leadership holds is greater than one would imagine. Most leaders have no idea how many they influence. There are two times when you will find out the influence of a leader: at their death, or if they fall. When Saul fell, it influenced many in an adverse way. I find that the same influence Saul's falling had on others is the same today when a leader falls. Let me show you several unfortunate results that happen when a leader falls.

First, it will cause others to spiritually die. Verse 5 shows us that when Saul killed himself his armourbearer committed suicide as well. Many times when a leader falls you will find people who will no longer serve the LORD. Many become so disenchanted with serving God after a leader's failure that they will never again step foot into a church. This is sad!

Second, when a leader falls it will affect their family. Saul did not die alone, but he had three sons who died with him. Many leaders who fall in sin never take into consideration the affects it will have on their family. If you love your family, you will avoid sin. Those who let sin destroy them may have to face the punishment for their sin, but they will never experience the deep hurt that the family must deal with. They not only have to deal with it personally, but they usually have to face the questions from outside the family as well.

Third, when a leader falls it will leave many brokenhearted. Think of all the people who were brokenhearted when Saul fell. The impact of a leader falling will hurt many. Those who greatly admired the leader will be hurt dearly. Yes, they will continue to go on, but the immediate hurt and questions will be substantial.

Fourth, when a leader falls it will give many an excuse to compromise. Verse 7 shows us that many people left their inheritance after Saul's death. We will never know how many people have compromised because a leader fell into sin. Though one's fall is never an excuse to compromise, that does not mean that it won't happen. You will always find many who will use their leader's failing as an excuse to compromise.

Fifth, when a leader falls it gives the heathen ammunition to back their ways. When Saul fell, the Philistines took his body and hung it up in the temple of their gods. We must understand that sin always brings reproach to God's name. Sin always hurts the cause of Christ.

Every leader needs to consider the ramifications of their actions. If you fall, many will fall with you. Every leader needs to consider their actions as to how it will affect those whom they lead. I believe many leaders would never commit sin if they would consider and understand the affects of their actions.

However, if your leader falls, instead of using it as an excuse to commit sin, use it as motivation to step up and do more for the cause of Christ. Verse 11 shows us that the men of Jabesh-gilead used Saul's failure as motivation to do right. If your leader falls, you are needed more than ever to step up. Unfortunately leaders will fall, but when they do, use it as a challenge to stay away from sin and to help more people for Christ's sake.