When You Question God's Plan
by Tom Goodman
September 9, 2015
We wonder why bad things happen to good people, but we also wonder why good things happen to bad people.
Asaph did. He was the court musician for King David, and some of his compositions are in the book of Psalms. One of them, Psalm 73, is his cry of bitterness that bad people seem to be doing just fine while faithful people suffer.
He wrote the poem looking back from a position of renewed faith, but he admits . . .
My feet had almost slipped;
I had nearly lost my foothold.
To him, the life of faith was an upward climb to the heights. But bitter suspicion of God was like a stumble that would have sent him tumbling to his death.
When the upward path of faith got unsteady, what secured him? He wrote . . .
When I tried to understand all this,
it troubled me deeply
till I entered the sanctuary of God.
In other words, he went to a place where he could reflect on God's character and promises. It was from that perspective that he reassessed the unfairness of life.
We question God's plan sometimes. The problem isn't just that bad things happen to us. No, what's galling is when bad things happen to the obedient while good things happen to the disobedient. This Sunday, we'll look closely at Psalm 73 to see how to keep up the climb of faith in those times. It's the second week of our series, Sacred Blues. We're looking at selected psalms where the faithful poet reached up to God out of the midst of hardship. See you at 10!
The "Get Anchored" Dinner is this Wednesday! On September 9, 6:30pm, join me for an introduction to the Anchor Course. The Anchor Course is designed for those who are trying to make up their mind about Christianity, and also for those who
want to explain the faith to others. The "Get Anchored" Dinner will introduce you to the 8-week study that begins September 16, 6:30pm. An RSVP to the September 9 "Get Anchored" Dinner is strongly encouraged. Contact Lisa at 512-345-3771 or
email. Learn more at www.Hillcrest.Church/AnchorCourse.
The Hillcrest Institute begins this week! Find a course and register at www.Hillcrest.Church/HILL.
Prayer Walk. On Saturday October 3, from 8-10am, we'll treat you to breakfast tacos and give you an assigned area to pray over. Don't miss it!
--Tom
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