Rev. Dan Polecheck - Universal Life Church Ministries - Older Blog Posts - Why Me?

Before I started this blog I was writing for a blog on the Family Worship Center - Algoma Campus website. This is a copy of one of those posts with links to the original blog.

Why Me?
Originally Posted May 10, 2020
Original Blog Post

God grows us up spiritually in hundreds of different ways, but the most effective method may be allowing us to endure situations that demand the character we need to cultivate. Could He deliver us from those difficult situations? Of course He could, but He loves us too much to short-circuit our sanctification. God doesn’t always deliver us from our difficulties, but He does deliver us through them.

The best way to cultivate patience is to be put in a situation that demands it, lots of it. How about courage? Well, it’s not the absence of fear—that’s for sure! What about love? There is no greater opportunity to exercise the love of God than to be surrounded by enemies.

You can’t even exercise forgiveness if you’ve never been wronged. And if you need more patience, courage, love, or mercy? Don’t be surprised if you find yourself in a situation that demands even more of it.

I’m not suggesting that God proactively puts us in those situations, but He often allows them because they’re part of our maturation process. Again, the umbrella blessing is not an immunity card. It’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card either. We’re still subject to the law of sowing and reaping. And we still live in a fallen world, which means we’ll experience our fair share of pain and suffering.

Plus, God is not a helicopter parent. Just like Joseph, Esther, David, and Daniel, we will experience personal setbacks and seasons of suffering. The good news? It will be for our good and for God’s glory.

The last thing I want to do is make light of the difficulties anyone has endured. I actually want to validate them. It seems like every news cycle these days brings new allegations of sexual harassment or sexual abuse. If you’ve been the victim of that kind of abuse, it’s more than just news. Those stories trigger memories that trigger emotions that are incredibly painful. If you’ve experienced the heartache of a miscarriage, a baby’s cry can pull your heartstrings and produce profound sadness. If you’ve walked through a difficult divorce or gotten a grim diagnosis from a doctor, it feels like a thousand-pound weight sitting squarely on your shoulders.

I don’t know what challenge you may be facing, but I do know that God’s grace is sufficient. That grace can be experienced in a thousand different ways. Sometimes it’s manifested through thoughtful friends and wise counselors. Sometimes it’s a day at the beach or a mountain hike. And, of course, it’s a relationship with the God who will never leave us or forsake us.

"Be strong and courageous.Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

He’s the God who gives beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.

"And provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." Isaiah 61:3

How do I know this? Because Scripture says it, and I’ve experienced it. I’ve walked through the valley of the shadow of death more than once, and I’ve seen God redeem unbearable pain and unimaginable suffering. I’ve also watched God turn some of the worst days of my life into some of the best.

Why me? Because He loves me!

Rev. Dan Polecheck - Universal Life Church Ministries - Older Blog Posts - Let Go, Let God

Before I started this blog I was writing for a blog on the Family Worship Center - Algoma Campus website. This is a copy of one of those posts with links to the original blog.

Let Go, Let God
Originally Posted May 6, 2020
Original Blog Post

“Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39

On November 12, 1859, a French acrobat named Jules Léotard performed the very first flying trapeze act at the Cirque Napoléon in Paris. As a teen, Jules tied ventilator cords over his father’s pool, where he practiced his midair maneuvers. His new art form wowed circus audiences, in part because it was done with no safety net. His close-fitting outfit caught their attention too! Jules Léotard is responsible for—you guessed it—the leotard.

The trapeze quickly became the featured act of the big-tent circus because of its inherent intrigue, the faultless timing necessary to pull it off, and the beauty of aerial ballet. In traditional trapeze, the flyer and the catcher climb tall ladders to small platforms, approximately forty feet in the air. The flyer has a fly bar. The catcher has a catch bar. And when it’s time for the flyer to let go, the catcher gives the signal.

Miguel Vargas is a fifth-generation circus performer who does training for Cirque du Soleil. According to Vargas, who’s been a trapeze artist since age seven, the greatest challenge when trying a new trick is the mental block—it’s hard to let go of the fly bar, because you’re about to do something you’ve never done before, forty feet in the air.

Letting go of the fly bar goes against every natural instinct, and the same is true of living generously. Our natural inclination is to hold on to what we have with tightly clenched fists. The mental block? Again, enough is never enough! You’ve got to overcome that mental block if you’re going to let go of the fly bar and flip the blessing.

Is there something you need to let go of? Is there something you’re holding on to out of fear, not faith? Like the Rich Young Ruler, you may think your savings account is your safety net. But it may be the very thing keeping you from flying. Or maybe you’re safeguarding your time instead of volunteering it. Perhaps it’s time to let go of your time, talent, and treasure in greater measure and see what God can do!

“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all,” said Martin Luther. “But whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”

Reprinted from Mark Batterson

Rev. Dan Polecheck - Universal Life Church Ministries - Older Blog Posts - God Will Show You The Next Step

Before I started this blog I was writing for a blog on the Family Worship Center - Algoma Campus website. This is a copy of one of those posts with links to the original blog.

God Will Sghow You The Next Step
Original Blog Post

Worry always concerns things that might happen in the future. You don’t need to know everything about your future. You only need to know where and when to take the next step.

I hated being in second grade, so I asked my father why I had to go to school. He explained, “So you can get to third grade, and then fourth grade, and then later to high school, then college, and then you’ll get a job to support your family.”

That was NOT what I needed to hear! I was just trying to get through the next day at school, and now my dad was adding even more burdens on me for years to come. It was too much information for me to handle.

That’s why Jesus told His disciples, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). To make life easier, He would reveal things to them a little bit at a time—as they needed to know it. God leads us one step at a time. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” God gives enough light to your feet to take the next step. The light keeps moving with you as you take each step, which lights the path to your destination.

After the prophet Elijah stopped the rain in Israel, God led him to the brook Cherith. After the brook dried up, God told him to take the next step—go to Zarephath (1 Kings 17:1-9). The Lord didn’t speak to him about taking the next step until Elijah needed to know it.

When Joshua was leading the people into the Promised Land, they wondered how they could cross the Jordan River. God told Joshua to tell the priests, who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant, when to take the next step. When the priests arrived at the Jordan and took the next step into the river, the waters parted for them to cross over (Joshua 3:8-4:18).

God isn’t going to reveal everything that will happen in your future, but if you will seek Him, He will tell you when to take the next step. It’s called walking by faith (2 Cor. 5:7).

Reprinted from Kent Crockett's Devotionals