Shipwreck in the Faith

Happy Sunday. Last week I ended with a prayer request for a young man named Sam. So many of you have reached out to me to let me know that you are praying. Thank you. Specifically, he needs prayer for pain management, for it to just go away.

Prayer is so powerful, and I truly believe in it, but, but sometimes our prayers aren't answered. Today we continue our study on backsliding. Through the years I've encountered people who just quit praying. Their prayers were not answered the way they wanted to, and they just gave up.

I recall sitting with a father and mother whose young daughter had died. She just turned seven, second grade. Mom and dad were mad, mad at God, mad at the world. They told me that they didn't even know if they believed that there was a god anymore. Their faith, if they had much, was shaken to the core.

Backsliding can often occur when Trouble Comes, when a big wave hits. It's an a age-old problem. In the book of First Timothy, Paul uses an interesting phrase about people who drift away. They're called shipwreck concerning the faith, or shipwreck in the faith. When we get off course, there's a great danger that we will be far, far away from where we ought to be, far from home.

Close to 3,000 years ago, a great prophet named Elijah walked Among Us. In chapter 17 of the book of First Kings, Elijah is a house guest in the home of a widow and her son. While he is there, the woman's son dies. She's in a tough spot now: no husband, no son. She's without a man in a man's world.

Women had very little to security or very little say so. She was mad, confused. She was broken. This lady had been a great hostess to God's prophet, and now her son was dead. And I want to read to you verse 18 from chapter 17 of First Kings, what she said to Elijah.

She said, "What have you against me, oh man of God? You come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son." She blames Elijah, and of course, by association, she blames God. She also thinks it may be her own fault, partly, when she says, "you've come to me to bring my sin to remembrance." Her mind is reeling. Her world is upside down. Her thoughts are all over the place.

When we hurt, when Trouble Comes, our faith can be shaky. Hers indeed was, and honestly, I get it. Over the years I've seen tragedy cause people to drift away or to cause them to draw close. Difficulties will move you one way or another in your spiritual Direction.

This woman is moved toward anger and blame, anger at God, anger at Elijah. She's moved in the wrong direction. The Widow's Faith seems to be dying with her son. Often that's how it starts: a phone call, a diagnosis, a divorce, a heartbreak. People who are not strong in their faith are subject to call it quit because they're not biblically prepared.

Soon we'll look at the question, can you lose your salvation? Can people walk away from God? That'll be in the weeks ahead. But back to those who still believe and quit praying, or quit church, or quit growing. What can cure this downward spiral of spiritual decline?

Well, let me tell you how this story ends and tell you what Elijah did. Elijah took her son, cried to God, and the boy came back to life. Now, obviously you and I cannot do that. That gift is not available today. Oh, at times I wish I could. I'd stay at Children's Hospitals and heal each and everyone.

Sadly, that's not something that I can do. However, I love what Elijah did not do, and we can learn a lot there. He did not argue with a woman. He did not try to fix her the theology. He did what he was able to do. He blessed her. God blessed her, even in her anger.

Sometime when people are in the middle of a downward spiral, at the time when they are hurting the most, we can open our big mouths and try to fix them then and there, and sadly that often makes the problem worse. Honestly, I think the best thing that we can do is listen and love and serve and do what we can. Time for healing will come. Broken people need love before they need correction. They need a hug more than a theological debate.

If you know someone that's shipwreck in the faith, I encourage you to pray for them. Maybe now is the time to talk. If you are yourself far away, please know that God still has his arms open wide for you. Maybe you don't understand why something happened. It's likely you never will on this Earth.

You need to understand that God can handle your questions, that God loves you. In fact, he loves you so much that he sent his only son to die just for you. That too is a great mystery. Today I choose God.

Pray with me. God, I pray for those who come to mind that have had tough ways to go, people who have suffered just difficulties that are hard for me to even imagine. And I also think about those who have walked through the fire and have come out stronger, closer to you. Father, we would all agree, I think, that we need you. We need what you can give us in our joy and in our pain.

We pray for those that are hurting. We pray for those that are shipwreck. We pray that we can help bring them closer to you. In Jesus name we pray, amen. God bless. Thanks for being with me today.