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I have spent 32 years in the pastorate and I have discovered some principles.
The first is that the ability to apply a message is not in the genes. In other words, just because one becomes a Christian does not mean that you can automatically apply the truth of scripture. Scripture is taught to us by the Spirit not via human wisdom.
Secondly, I have come to realize that there is a problem in every pew. Every Christian is struggling with some sort of problem, whether it is emotional, marital, financial, mental, psychological, physical, recreational, or inter-relational. Many years ago I decided to start a collection of biographies of great men. So I started with the presidents of the U.S. In spite of their greatness, every one of them had problems. We all have problems that we must deal with in life. In light of that, may I suggest something -- begin to study your Bible in terms of the problems of people.
Imagine, someone comes to you and says -- I'm discouraged, can you offer me any hope? What is the Christians normal response? I'll pray for you. Is that Biblical? Why of course, the Bible talks all the time about the power of prayer. There are 500 references to prayer and 100-recorded prayers in the Bible. But let me ask you – If a person comes to you discouraged, If the first step to overcoming discouragement is prayer, what verse in the Bible tells you that? I've never found it.
Or if someone comes to you with a guilty conscience, does God have a cure for a guilty conscience? Where would you turn in the Bible to find it? What I am trying to impress upon you is the fact that we need to begin to study our Bible's in terms of God's cure for the problems of people. Now I must confess, this idea did not originate with me. Andrew Blackwood and Homer Kent wrote books on Life-situation preaching. McCormick talked about problem solving preaching. Wayne Oates, a famous pastoral counselor, spoke often of therapeutic preaching. And a book that I dearly loved was written by Roy Laurin called "Meet Yourself in the Bible".
The third principle I have come to realize is that the only way to find out what problems people have is to mingle with people. The Bible says we have an obligation to 'bear one another's burdens" You can only do that if you fellowship with people and be prepared to help them by studying your Bible. Get the pulse beat of Bible characters for there are 2,930 of them. There are thirty different Zecharias', twenty different Nathan's, and fifteen different Jonathans. Don't just find out when they lived or where they lived but what problems they had and how God answered there problems. I must warn you, that there are dangers to always studying your Bible in terms of the problems of people.
So be careful you do not substitute psychology for Christianity. Be careful you don't get so involved with your horizontal issues that you neglect the vertical ones. Be careful you do not become more sensitive to your needs then you are God's resources. Be careful you do not apply scripture to situations where the scripture is taken out of context, because a text without a context is just a pretext. You should compare this type of Bible study to castor oil -- good if taken periodically but not on a regular basis.
Now let me ask you a question. We are only a few months into the new year and how many of you have had a disappointment to deal with? Sure you have: Someone you were really counting on didn't pull through, your computer broke down, your favorite team lost, the water heater went out or you had some physical problems.
How does one handle disappointments? Does God have a cure? I believe so. In fact, the cure is found in Exodus 15: 22-27.What's taking place? Two million people on the march from a land of bondage to a land of blessing and they experienced three days of waterless wandering. All of a sudden, a messenger comes back and says there is water ahead.
So they hasten on, quicken their steps and come to the pool. After three days without water you don't say to someone, do you have a Dixie cup? No, they went down, cupped their hands and splashed water up to their faces. What did they find? The water was bitter. After 3 days of waterless wandering and the word comes back that there is water ahead and you get down on your knees, sip the water and find out that it is bitter, isn't that a disappointment?
So what did they do? The first thing they did was grumbled and murmured against Moses (v.24). Was Moses responsible? Nope. Then why murmur or grumble against him? He was the closest. When we face a disappointment, what do we usually do first? Whosever the handiest, gets the blast, right? Wives, what happens when your husband comes home from work after having a disappointing day? Husbands, what happens when things did not go well in your wife's day? Mom, what happens when the kids face a disappointment at school? Employees, what happens when the boss is disappointed?
So what is the first step supposed to be when one is faced with a disappointment? Determine the person behind the disappointment. It wasn't the fault of Moses but it was God. Who was leading them? Who opened the Red sea? Does it not change your perspective on the disappointment to know God's behind it.
"Too many of us miss the silver lining because we were expecting gold" Verse.25 says "There He tested then" (proved them, if you would). Reminds me of Samuel Plimsoll (1824-1898) A British reformer who helped get the Merchant Shipping Act of 1876 passed. That act required all ships to bear a mark known as the Plimsoll mark to indicate the maximum load line. It restricted the amount of cargo that a ship could bear and made shipping safer. In fact, I understand that if you go to the Navy yards today -- you will still see the mark on the bows of a ship around the water line. In God's sight, each of us has a similar invisible mark.
The burdens and responsibilities that God gives us may seem unbearable, but he knows our Plimsoll line and keeps His everlasting arms underneath us and by His grace we can bear them without sinking. I Cor. 10:13 says God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. He will never overload you past the Plimsoll mark. Then why the testing? That's the second step in the cure for disappointment. Search for the purpose behind the disappointment. Maybe a change of attitude, drawing you close to him, teaching you to trust him for everyday needs. So in v.24 you have the person behind the disappointment. In v.25 the purpose behind the disappointment. In v.26 it says God showed him a tree. What kind of tree is in v.25?
I looked it up in one of Dr. Gleason Archer's books. He is renowned in geography, topography, land development, and archeology. Do you know what I found out, there are no trees there. All the scholars say there are not any trees in that area but Jehovah showed him a tree. Did you notice that Jehovah did not cast it into the waters? God showed him a tree, but he had to cast it into the water. God will never do for us that which we can do ourselves. For example, if you want to know the scriptures, read them. God is not going to write them in the sky when you need them. I remember my first church. It was just a small church of 30 plus people. The first week there the furnace broke down in the parsonage. The second week the water heater went out.
I was driving back and forth from Lancaster for my final 15 weeks of school and 13 of those 15 weeks my car broke down. I thought, maybe this was one big mistake. On the 15th week on top of Frankstown Road, a verse came to mind: "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled nor let it be afraid."
In just a few years that little church grew to over 200. God taught me that if I get to know the scripture during the sunshine, it would be available in the shade. Moses cast the tree into the water and the waters were made sweet. When? When God's prescription was followed.
So what do you do when you become disappointed? Determine the person behind the disappointment. Decide on the purpose for the disappointment. Do a search for God's prescription and follow it. And what will be the results? Verse 27 says then they came to Elim. What was at Elim? Twelve wells of water and 70 palm trees. But that was at Elim and Elim was just beyond Marah. Listen, You can never come to Elim unless you first of all know how to meet the disappointment of Marah.
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The Rev. Dr. James Barnes is currently the pastor of White Memorial Church in Milroy.