Life can be unrelenting, and when the circumstances conspire to overwhelm us with sorrow, grief or frustration, it can seem as though God has fallen asleep on us. But it is in that helplessness that God wants us to trust that He will always see us through the gale.

approximately two weeks before cyst

Evans passed away she she kept calling

Jesus Jesus Jesus and then she said to

me write this name down he said write

his name down it wasn’t making sense to

me she was saying Jesus Jesus write his

name you’ve got to write his name down

so I found a piece of paper Elizabeth

was with me and in the bedroom and I

wrote down the name Jesus on a piece of

paper and showed her and when I showed

her the name Jesus she said it’s okay

now

[Applause]

[Music]

turn your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 40

Isaiah chapter 40 verses 27 through 31

why do you say old Jacob and assert o

Israel my way is hidden from the Lord

the Justice due me escapes the notice of

my god do you not know have you not

heard the everlasting God the Lord the

creator of the ends of the earth does

not become weary or tired his

understanding is inscrutable he gives

strength to the weary and who him who

lacks might he increases power though

youths grow weary and tired and the

vigorous young men stumble badly yet

those who wait for the Lord will gain

new strength they will mount up with

wings like eagles they will run and not

get tired they will walk and not become

weary and now Lord give me strength as I

seek to give your people strength from

your word help us no matter what we’re

going through to see more of you in

Jesus name all God’s people said

amen couple of weeks ago one of my

granddaughters stopped eating for four

days she refused to eat nothing that the

parents were doing was inciting her to

eat

of course now they’re becoming very

worried and very concerned and kept

prodding what is going on why won’t you

eat and then she said to her parents I

don’t know what’s happening to our

family the trials that we’ve gone

through had robbed her of her appetite

she said I don’t know what’s happening

to our family as you know these

seventeen months have been the most

difficult time of my life lost my

brother my sister my sister’s husband my

niece my father in November my wife in

December two weeks ago Priscilla had one

half of her left lung removed because

cancer was in the lung

my daughter crystal has a suspicious

growth that we’re trying to get some

clarity on so it’s been one thing after

another

in a concentrated period of time causing

my granddaughter to raise the question

in the words of Marvin Gaye what’s going

on so much so many tears so many

unanswered questions one thing after

another and many of you know what it is

to have one thing after another to

struggle with the pain of life’s

realities that are inescapable and if

you’ve not been here yet keep living

[Applause]

because life has a way of throwing

curveballs

the unexpected sometimes you even get

hit by the pitch God’s people were

struggling in Isaiah 40 there was

struggling bad as this chapter

prophesied the Babylonian captivity and

it speaks about their struggle and they

asked in verse 27 or they say my way is

hidden from the Lord and the justice

dumi escapes the notice of my god what

they’re asking is God what’s going on

God where are you don’t you see my pain

my way is hidden from you you don’t see

what I’m dealing with because if you saw

it you would not let it happen like this

this way this long and this much the

justice do me it’s not fair this isn’t

fair

I shouldn’t be hurting like this crying

like this struggling like this

discouraged like this where are you God

and while we could all be spiritual and

pretend we never think that way there

are those times in our lives when God

seems to be conspicuously absent

unlocated Oh Joe put it this way he says

I look north and couldn’t find it

I looked east I look West I kept I kept

looking and I couldn’t find it the

absenteeism of God the sense that my way

is hidden from him he doesn’t see what I

see feel what I feel and understand what

I’m going through and while we can

intellectually know better it doesn’t

change the broken hearts the shed tears

or the enormous pain of life’s reality

these people thought that God had failed

them that if relinquished is on his

covenant promises there are those times

in life when it looks like God is

letting somebody put a rake over your

soul where you push the panic button and

you feel let down where you’re no longer

singing the gospel you’re singing the

blues

because sadness has overtaken you and

celebration is just not where your

emotions are they needed God to

intervene

in the circumstances that was causing

them pain I don’t know what your

circumstance is today probably most of

you have one or who’ve had one or you’re

headed toward one whether it’s

unfulfilled dreams desires that have not

come through pain that have not been

relinquished hurt that won’t go away

this is what they were facing where are

you God when my world is falling apart

when God speaks into their situation he

does not speak scientifically

technologically academically or

philosophically he speaks theologically

because he raises the issue in verse 28

do you not know have you not heard the

everlasting God the Lord the creator of

the ends of the earth does not become

weary and tired his understanding is

inscrutable he says when your world is

real evidence members of Oak Cliff is

falling apart this is not the time to

run from him this is the time to run

together