God is a Constant in a World Full of Variables
In mathematical equations, there are constants and variables. A constant has a fixed numerical value, while a variable may be unknown or can variate. In the formula d = 2r; 2 is a constant whereas, r and d are variables. To solve the equation, you work out the problem until you define the variables. In math, once you solve variables, you can build skyscrapers or balance budgets. In science, when you isolate and know the variables, you can cure diseases or develop all sorts of effective medicines.
The point being, if you solve the problems by working out the variables until they are known constants, you’re left with a reliable formula or process, and sometimes a scientific law.
In mathematical equations, there are constants and variables. A constant has a fixed numerical value, while a variable may be unknown or can variate. In the formula d = 2r; 2 is a constant whereas, r and d are variables. To solve the equation, you work out the problem until you define the variables. In math, once you solve variables, you can build skyscrapers or balance budgets. In science, when you isolate and know the variables, you can cure diseases or develop all sorts of effective medicines.
The point being, if you solve the problems by working out the variables until they are known constants, you’re left with a reliable formula or process, and sometimes a scientific law.
Spiritual Equations
How does this apply to spirituality? Let’s look at some examples:
Sickness x b = Health
a + Financial Hardship = More Than Enough
Depression x Fear + c = Joy
The constants are known. In these cases, the constants are personally experienced. The result or solution is known. But the variable is unknown. How to reach the desired solution is unknown because there are variables.
In these equations, we know God has something to do with the variables, but we’re not sure how He changes the other constants to come to these favorable results.
Here’s the short answer; you’re not going to know.
The problem is this; we think we know what God needs to do to change the unfavorable constants into favorable solutions and results. We try to define the variables in our understanding and end up limiting God’s potential solutions for those variables.
When you try to define God’s responsibilities for Him, you narrow the options He can bring about in your life. In other words, if you think one thing needs to happen, but He wants to do something else, you may close off your heart to the option He’s trying to bring to you.
You may miss the wisdom or direction He’s trying to give you because you are focused on the reality of the constant or your preconception of how to solve the variable.
God Is Unlimited
God is unlimited in His capacities and solutions. He can bring about answers and favorable solutions in ways we can’t imagine. It’s best to allow God to be God and simply trust that He will be God in your life.
Now, you can do this;
You can add your knowledge of who God is to the equation. Acknowledge the variable but also acknowledge what you know about the character of God. In other words, as you’re waiting for God to solve a, b or c, you can think on what’s true of Him.
For example; we know that God is powerful. We know God is a provider. We know God is a healer. We know God is a redeemer. We know God is willing to meet all our needs according to His riches in glory. We know He has defeated the enemy on our behalf. We know that we are in right standing through the sacrifice of Christ. We know that His spirit is in us leading and guiding us into all truth. What else do you know?
So we conclude that we can expect God to solve these equations in a manner that’s consistent with what is known about him. The more you are persuaded of God’s constants, the more you can relax and trust that He is working to solve those equations for you.
So basically, stop trying to figure it out and trust him.
A Warning
The more you try to figure out your life’s equations in your understanding, the less you will be open to His working in your life’s equations. When you add the cares of this world to the equation, and the deceitfulness of riches to the equation, you cause yourself not to be able to receive His solutions.
When you depend on money as your provider, when you look to the government for fix things for you, you limit yourself from perceiving God’s answers. When fear overrides faith, you may even stop looking to God to solve those equations for you.
Be At Peace
There are things you can do to make sure you are primed to receive His solutions. One thing you can do is think spiritually.
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14
So you could say the spiritual mind does receive the things of the spirit. “Receive” is the operative word. The spiritual mind RECEIVES the things of the spirit, and even KNOWS the things of the spirit.
You will not work out your own life’s equations and end up with correct solutions if you try to figure them out with natural logic. If God’s solutions seem illogical to you, you know you are thinking carnally or naturally. If God’s solutions or promises seem plausible to you, you are thinking spiritually. Keep on thinking that way. In other words, stay in faith.
Sometimes faith is a fight. It’s a mental battle to push back rationality, fear, doubt, and emotion in favor of God’s word. Jesus tells us that worry, anxiety, and natural thinking actually limit the growth of his kingdom into our lives. (Mark 4)
Stay open, stay in faith toward God, suspend your desire to work out your life;’s variables with your natural thinking.
God is alive, He is active, He is moving on your behalf, He is bringing you solutions that establish His favorable will in your life. Allow Him to do so by not factoring doubt, fear, and worry into the equation, thereby limiting what you can receive from Him.
I’ll end with a question, what can you do to stay in faith toward him? Go ahead and do that.
How to Hear God in a Crisis
Do you want to know how to hear God when it's hard to hear God? Here’s how; if you know what he said, you'll know what he is saying. You don't need a NEW word; you need a LIVING word.
What Is God's Word?
The word "word" is the Greek word, logos. It's where we get the word logic. Logos also refers to the character of the speaker of that word. God's logos is how he thinks, how he treats people, and how he organizes everything he does. It's his way. God has a way about him; that way is his logos.
The logos of God manifests in different ways. We have the written word, which is God’s commandments, instructions, poetry, doctrine and history. The written word reflects the logic and character of his being. The written word can be used to keep us grounded when we feel like we receive a fresh spoken word from God.
Another aspect of the logos of God is Jesus. Jesus is the Logos of God, made flesh. If you could squeeze God's way of thinking, how he behaves, and how he lives his life through time into a human being, that's Jesus.
Do you want to know how to hear God when it's hard to hear God? Here's how; if you know what he said, you'll know what he is saying. You don't need a NEW word; you need a LIVING word.
What Is God's Word?
The word "word" is the Greek word, logos. It's where we get the word logic. Logos also refers to the character of the speaker of that word. God's logos is how he thinks, how he treats people, and how he organizes everything he does. It's his way. God has a way about him; that way is his logos.
The logos of God manifests in different ways. We have the written word, which is God's commandments, instructions, poetry, doctrine, and history. The written word reflects the logic and character of his being. The written word can be used to keep us grounded when we feel like we receive a new spoken word from God.
Another aspect of the logos of God is Jesus. Jesus is the Logos of God, made flesh. If you could squeeze God's way of thinking, how he behaves, and how he lives his life through time into a human being, that's Jesus.
Jesus is what it looks like for God to be human. And Jesus himself is dependent on the words that God has and is speaking.
Living On God's Words
When Jesus was tempted in the desert to prove his identity through external performance, he said: "man does not live by bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
Matthew 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." 4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'"
Our immediate reaction to this statement is to think we need to be able to hear what God is saying, especially when we're in trouble. This statement sends us down the path of feeling like we have to be able to listen to what God is saying right now, at this moment. That's partially true, but it's not limited to that.
You may have noticed it's difficult to hear God when you're under pressure. It's hard to live from peace and hear God's wisdom and guidance when the world seems to be crumbling around you.
The good news is if you are intimately familiar with what God already said, you can know what he is saying and what he will say.
God repeats himself. God repeats himself. ;-)
God will not change; he will always be who he is. You can count on that. It doesn't matter if he said it 3000 years ago or 3 seconds ago, his word and his promises are still trustworthy.
Hearing Under Pressure
So it's pretty simple, if you're in trouble or under pressure, you can look at what God has said until it becomes alive in you now. You'll know the word is alive in you when it becomes believable. When it's believable, all things are possible.
When God's word is alive in you, you begin to see his options and hear his leading. The word of God can lie dormant in your intellect, but it's up to you to open your heart in such a way that it gets in your heart and connects with his living spirit.
Yes, God will speak to you. Yes, God can and will give you a new word, but it will always validate his written word.
Become Intimately Familiar with His Written Word
I started wrestling in 5th grade and continued through high school. In high school, we practiced 3 hours a day during wrestling season. We'd spend an hour on mat drills, then an hour on take-down drills, then we would wrestle for an hour. By the time we were in an actual match, we were so familiar with the moves they came naturally. I rarely had to think about which move to use. The position determined the moves. I had several options in my arsenal to choose from, no matter the situation.
The written word of God is like this. If we know it intimately, God has something to work with. He may or may not quote chapter and verse to you, but he will certainly speak a concept that is consistent with something that's already written.
Know the word. If you know his written word, you will hear his active voice more clearly. When the two come together is where you choose faith, open to his grace, and move forward.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (more on this in the full sermon above)
Notice the progression, the word starts in the spirit, makes its way to the place where the spirit meets the soul, then it works its way from the soul into the joints and marrow. The bone marrow is the innermost aspect of the human body.
The word of God is seeking to make its way into our entire being. It's up to you to yield to his word in your inner man. When you yield, it becomes alive and nourishes every aspect of your being. It becomes wisdom and guidance for specific things in your life.
When we engage the word at this level, it will hide in our hearts and our minds until we need it.
God's word, his logic, his promises, his character will work its way into our entire being and, at just the right moment, will spring forth and touch our lives in so many ways.
God is unlimited, he has infinite potentials to be God in our lives, but if we do not renew our minds in his logic, we will miss his leading and be limited to our best efforts.
Get In The Word
I want to encourage you to get in His word. Know scripture. I don't mean from a legalistic perspective where you have to read so many hours a day but know the concepts. Know the big picture of what Jesus accomplished and your identity in him. Then you can dig deeper into the nuanced instruction and wisdom.
You may not always understand what you're reading, but you're tucking away God's logic in your heart for him to breathe on it when you need it.
YouVersion has a great app. I recommend downloading their app and subscribing to the free Bible Project reading plans.
You don't need a NEW word, you need a LIVING word.
If you're in a crisis and need to know what God is saying, become moved by what he has already said. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The Truth About Suffering and Tribulation
You might suffer, even to the point of losing your life, for preaching the Gospel. In that situation, God promises that he'll comfort you. Paul teaches us that if we find ourselves under religious persecution, we can turn to God and be strengthened. As we're strengthened, it helps us persevere, and we come out with hope and patience. But you can not say that God will mess around with your life's circumstances, to make you suffer, to teach you patience.
This blog contains highlights from the sermon “The Truth About Suffering and Tribulation” by Clint Byars. We encourage you to watch the full message.
““Do you finally believe?” Jesus replied. “Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!””
God is not the author of your suffering. It's not in his script for your life. Tribulation and suffering are in the world, but they're not from God. If you should find yourself suffering religious persecution, God promises that He will comfort you.
These two passages address the issue of suffering.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction (tribulation), so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction (tribulation), with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction (tribulation) we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that "was to” (was meant to) make us (But that made us) rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.
Verse 9 can be a little confusing; here's how it reads in the original language.
Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that made us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
We usually read it this way.
But that was meant to make us rely not on ourselves…
The word "meant" is implied unnecessarily. The implication is that God purposed or allowed them to suffer, so they would rely on him and not themselves. But what Paul is saying is that it happened, and their response was to rely on God.
It's a subtle nuance, but it's an important one. When we find ourselves suffering due to persecution, our response should be to rely on God for comfort. And when we're comforted, we can then comfort others because we know that God will comfort them too.
It clearly says God will comfort us in suffering, but it does NOT clearly say the suffering was from God, you have to read that into the text.
God is not the author of our suffering. He comforts us when we find ourselves in it. And the only kind of suffering that God says we must endure is for preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of Jesus.
Suffering With Christ
2 Corinthians 1:5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.
1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
Aren't we supposed to share in Christ's sufferings? In other words, if Christ suffered, aren't we supposed to experience the same things?
It's a fair question; let's look at what Jesus endured.
He was persecuted for saying that God was his father.
He was called a blasphemer for claiming to be the Messiah.
He was arrested by Rome on the Jew's behalf, for claiming to be the Messiah.
Once arrested, he was beaten and tortured.
He was nailed to a cross.
He was made to be sin for us.
He passed into the grave from which he rose again.
You could be persecuted like Jesus was persecuted, but only partially. You may be persecuted for preaching that Jesus is the Messiah. You may be arrested and beaten for preaching the Gospel. You may be killed for not rejecting your faith in Jesus. But you cannot suffer for your own sin, Jesus did that for you. You can not be beaten to gain healing, by His stripes you were healed. And God will not kill you as a sacrifice for the salvation of the world.
The only suffering that we can share in is the preaching of the kingdom of God
Life's Circumstances
There is no Biblical context for God, causing someone to suffer through ordinary life circumstances. Here's my point; some teach the illness, job loss, lost property, sick children, and depression are part of God's plan, so you'll suffer and turn to him.
There is no Biblical corroboration for the idea that God will cause adverse situations in your life to make you suffer and learn patience or become more holy. People make that stuff up.
People find themselves in difficult circumstances and wonder why God allowed it or what he's trying to teach them. In difficulty, we often turn to God and come out of it more dependent on him. Because of the outcome, we wrongly assume God allowed it for that desired end. That sounds logical, but it's unbiblical, there is no case of God treating people that way, ever. You may say, "what about Job," I address that in the video above.
Conclusion
You might suffer, even to the point of losing your life, for preaching the Gospel. In that situation, God promises that he'll comfort you. Paul teaches us that if we find ourselves under religious persecution, we can turn to God and be strengthened. As we're strengthened, it helps us persevere, and we come out with hope and patience. But you can not say that God will mess around with your life's circumstances, to make you suffer, to teach you patience.