Rev. Dan Polecheck - Universal Life Church Ministries - Older Blog Posts - Why Have You Forsaken 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 Have You Forsaken Me?
Originally Posted Jun 25, 2020
Original Blog Post

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34)

We can hear the anguish in Christ’s cry from the cross.

I have felt that kind of despair in my own life. Though God will never literally forsake me, I have felt forsaken, abandoned, betrayed by those I loved. I have questioned where God was in my pain. And I have wondered what good could ever come from my suffering.

Because of the cross, we who have felt that pain, who live with unanswered questions and sleepless nights, can unreservedly rejoice. Out of the worst evil imaginable, the sinless Son of God on the cross, God brought about the greatest good ever known.

Genesis 50:20 is a stunning reminder, that what man means for evil, God means for good.

Out of the worst evil imaginable, God brought about the greatest good ever known.

In my own life, through the lens of Scripture, I can see that God has brought the greatest good out of the hardest events. But I say that in retrospect. At the time, none of my suffering felt even vaguely positive.

Sobbing by my mother’s casket, after a horrible car crash, was devastating. Hearing the doctor say that my body was deteriorating, and then watching it happen, was agonizing.

None of those trials felt redemptive. None of them could be celebrated. None of them even made sense. I never could have imagined that God would bring something beautiful out of my pain. I felt that my pain was deforming me. That I would forever be marred by it.

I was sure my best years were behind me — before “this” happened. When I laughed easily and often. When I wasn’t burdened with the memories of all that had gone before.

And yet somehow, even in those horrifying trials, God was doing something. Something extraordinary. Something I could have not have planned or foreseen. He was doing something in me that could not have happened any other way. It was strange and beautiful — wonderful and unexpected — the handiwork of God.

Out of the most crushing pain and terrible despair, God was bringing glorious triumph.

Instead of deforming me, my pain strangely deepened me. It increased my capacity for God. And for joy. It made me see the world through different eyes. Eyes of faith and not eyes of hopelessness. It helped me recognize that what I was going through was just a snapshot in time. One day my life will be totally transformed.

While my circumstances will undoubtedly change one day, what changes most profoundly in my suffering is me. The very struggles that I thought would break me are what God used to purposefully shape me.

That shaping did not happen instantaneously. It took time and trust. At first it seemed like nothing was happening — nothing but disillusionment and defeat. It honestly felt like Satan was wrecking my life.

Similarly, to the disciples on that terrifying Friday, it must have seemed like Satan was victorious. Their Savior was crucified. Their dreams were dead. Their hopes had unraveled. Maybe evil really had won.

And then everything was silent for two long days. It may have seemed like nothing was happening — nothing but disillusionment and defeat.

But in the wisdom of God, when life looked darkest, it gave way to the dawning of the purest, most brilliant light.

The Crucifixion reminds me that God’s perspective is infinitely greater than mine. Much of what is really happening is unseen. While it may look otherwise in the moment, Satan will never be victorious and evil cannot win. God always has the last word.

What Satan means for evil, God means for good. Always.

So if you feel forsaken and have no idea where to turn or what to do, trust that God is using that very struggle. If life looks like a hopeless mess and every day is a fight to survive, trust that God will one day gloriously prevail. And when he has, when you are on the other side, trust that God will have done an incomparable work in your soul.

Then you will have learned how to rely, truly rely, on God who brings beauty from ashes.

Your life and walk with him will be more beautiful than you ever imagined. And somehow, through your pain, you will be transformed. And when you are, when you see how God has changed you, you will never want to go back to the way you were before.

You will understand that nothing can thwart God’s plans for you. What now appears to be evil will result in your eternal joy. And the staggering triumph of Resurrection will fall afresh on you.

Rev. Dan Polecheck - Universal Life Church Ministries - Older Blog Posts - At Your Wit's End

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.

At Your Wit's End
Originally Posted May 31, 2020
Original Blog Post

How many times a day do you get frustrated? Lots? It happens so easily, doesn’t it? Driving along, you come across bumper-to-bumper traffic, which makes you late for an appointment. Or your pen runs out of ink at the wrong time, or the battery in your car dies, or the supermarket closes just as you pull into the parking lot. I’m sure you can think of lots of experiences like this.

There’s just no escaping it. All of us, one way or another, must deal with the problem of frustration. No matter what kind of life you lead, plans will go wrong and opportunities will be lost. It’s just the way life is, unfortunately. I like the story of Thomas Edison who struggled to produce the incandescent light. In his laboratory he had 523 light bulbs that didn’t work. When someone said, “Think of all the time you’ve wasted,” he said, “It wasn't wasted, I found 523 ways it couldn’t be done.” He channelled his frustration positively.

Maybe you have made promises to yourself or to God not to let this be a problem, e.g. I’m going to control my temper, be nicer in traffic or I’m going on a diet. Or I’m going to be more mindful of the needs of others and be less self-centered.

This can be serious. I read of a social worker who wrote in a newspaper: “One of the reasons there is such an increase in drug use is because people find it increasingly difficult to deal with frustration. They can’t take it any more”.

How Jesus Handled Frustration

I’m interested in the way our Lord Jesus handled frustration. When frustrating things happened to him, he knew how to turn the situation into an advantage, and so can we. Let me take you back to an incident in Matthew’s gospel when Jesus received devastating news about his cousin, John the Baptist—he had been put to death.

We read in Matthew 14: 13-21:
As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed the sick.
That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”
But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”
“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.
“Bring them here,” he said. Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

Don’t Let Frustration Have the Last Word

Jesus wanted to deal with the pain and grief of the news of John, and that was fair enough. He wanted to be alone to work through his grief. But what happened next? The crowds saw where he was heading and followed him via land from many villages. In other words, they had interrupted his day and his plans.

How did Jesus respond to this? With frustration and anger? No, not at all. He used the interruption to heal those who were sick and miraculously feed a multitude. When his plans were hampered, he simply made bigger ones. What a terrific way to handle frustrating situations.

Jesus was the master at adapting and learning to use the situations which came upon him, sometimes unexpectedly. Frustration does not mean defeat. So, don’t let frustration have the last word in your life.

Rev. Dan Polecheck - Universal Life Church Ministries - Older Blog Posts - I Pray For Patience And I Want It Now

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.

I Pray For Patience And I Want It Now
Originally Posted May 22, 2020
Original Blog Post

“…so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.” (Colossians 1:10-11)

Do you consider yourself to be patient? Our daily lives require us to exercise patience, whether the issues we face are small or big. An unexpected expense, dealing with a difficult co-worker, experiencing conflict with a friend or getting sick are all situations that require us to be patient, and it is often easier said than done.

Unfortunately, we cannot control every aspect of our lives. The way others treat us and the situations we find ourselves in are sometimes simply beyond our control, and we have to find ways to cope with them.

So, how can we be patient in seemingly impossible circumstances?

Romans 12:12 says, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” In life, we will face trials. However, as believers, we can find hope in knowing that we have a loving God who is in control of our lives. When we put our trust in His perfect plan rather than our own, we do not need to feel anxious, worried or impatient.

In addition, we do not have to struggle to find patience within ourselves. In fact, when we call upon God, He can give us the strength to be patient. While we may not understand the waiting period we are in, we can rest in the fact that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him. Rather than trying to make things happen, we can let go of the reigns and give Him the power in our lives.

If you are in the midst of a season of waiting, remember that God’s plan is greater than anything we could imagine. As His children, He does not withhold good things from us. When we give our lives to Him and are faithful in prayer, He will work through us in incredible ways.