INTRODUCTION
I was on a spiritual high when I was stationed in Valdosta, Georgia with the U.S Air Force. I was in a Bible believing, Bible teaching church and my relationship with Christ was at a peak. In 1998, I got out of the Air Force and moved my family back to Florida. My spiritual life flourished for a while and I actually got the opportunity to help start a new church, filling in as interim pastor for almost a year. But in the year 2002, I came crashing down from the top in a hard way. Almost overnight my relationship with God seemed to become a thing of the past. As a result, my spiritual life fell to an all time low. I am ashamed to admit it, but there were times that I didn’t want to go to church at all. If it wasn’t for my wife and children I probably would have left the church completely. I fell under a dark cloud of spiritual depression that I just couldn’t seem to get out from under. I started doubting God and his direction in my life. I even questioned if God had anything to do with the direction of my life. In a nutshell, I was miserable.
It has been three years now and although it has taken a long time, the wounds have started to heal. I feel as if I am making my way back up the mountain, be it ever so slowly. I firmly believe that God allowed me to crash to the bottom so that I can take what I have learned and not only apply it to my own life, but share it with others as well. He has shown me that there are multitudes of people who know Jesus, yet have fallen away because of something that happened to make them grow angry, bitter or even depressed. In most cases, they know their relationship with God is suffering, but the pain runs so deep that they can’t even make themselves care.
How about you? Do you fall into this category? Do you feel as if God has deserted you and left you to fend for yourself in a cruel world? Does your heart ache so much that you wonder if the pain will ever stop? Then please listen to this message and allow God to heal your broken spirit.
I. WHAT CAUSES US TO CRASH TO THE BOTTOM? (this is not an exhaustive list)
A. GETTING HURT BY THE ACTIONS OF OTHERS
1. BETRAYAL – Nothing cuts deeper than being betrayed by a friend. Unfortunately, it happens all too often between Christians and non-Christians alike.
2. LIES – Sometimes it comes from a friend, sometimes it comes from an unknown source. Wherever it begins, when someone tells a lie about us it hurts. What makes it worse is when those we know and love hear it and believe it. In my own life, this is what sent me on a downward spiral.
3. HYPOCRISY – Who hasn’t heard the old expression about too many hypocrites being in the church? For some people, watching church members willingly commit sin and then file in on Sunday to worship God is too much to handle. Even long time Christians sometimes find it difficult to cope with the hypocrisy that permeates the church of today.
4. CHURCH POLITICS
i. Preaching – It’s easy to pick apart a pastor and the way he preaches or leads the church. To some, it becomes a favorite pastime. To others, it is a reason to leave the church and never come back.
ii. Music – This is probably one of the most controversial subjects in the church today, and a medium that Satan uses to hurt and injure Christians on a weekly basis.
B. GETTING HURT BY THE ACTIONS OF GOD
Is it sacrilegious to say that we have been hurt by the actions of God? It certainly sounds like something we shouldn’t allow to come from our lips, but it still happens nonetheless. A lot of times people blame God when bad things happen to them. A prime example would be the hurricanes or the tsunami of last year. But I’m not only talking about natural disasters. Christians sometimes have an extremely hard time when God doesn’t answer their plea for help during times of distress. It’s definitely a true statement that we can get our feelings hurt when God doesn’t do what we think he should have done. The truth is that God answered the prayer, but we weren’t satisfied with the results. The following is a list of seemingly unanswered prayers that can turn a person’s life inside out (this is not an exhaustive list).
1. The death of a loved one.
2. The diagnosis of a life threatening disease.
3. Unbearable physical suffering.
4. Wayward children.
C. OTHER ACTIONS THAT HURT US
1. Divorce.
2. Mental, physical or sexual abuse.
3. Church split.
4. Financial distress.
D. GETTING HURT BY THE ACTIONS OF OURSELVES
1. Sin – sometimes our pain is self inflicted.
i. Open sin.
ii. Secret sin.
* Pride – Romans 12:3. It took me a while to realize this, but I believe one of the main reasons I fell so hard and fast was because I thought more highly of myself than I should have. I looked at my relationship with God and thought it was strong, but in actuality it was weak and shallow.
II. WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF THE FALL? (This is not an exhaustive list)
A. The desire to read the Bible and pray is hard to find or doesn’t exist.
B. Going to church becomes a chore, slows down dramatically or ceases completely.
C. There is no yearning to be around other Christians.
D. Compassion towards others begins to fade away.
E. Old sins start to creep back in.
III. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET BACK TO THE TOP?
I wish I could lay out a simple plan that would make getting back to the top as easy as turning on a light switch. The truth of the matter is that even though getting to the bottom can be very sudden; finally getting back to the top of the mountain can take weeks, months, or even sometimes years. What we have to do is learn to look at our current situation through the eyes of God. We have to keep our eyes and hearts focused on him and his Word and trust him to help us out. At the same time we should rest assured in the fact that he understands what we are going through.
A. RECOGNIZE THAT FALLS ARE INEVITABLE– 1 Peter
1:3-6
1. “Though now for a season” – God tells us here that there are some tough times coming. But he reassures us that they are only for a season. He doesn’t expect us to stay there for the rest of our lives. But how long is a season? I think that depends on the person and how they handle their circumstances. In order to move on we have to be willing to deal with some of our own feelings:
i. Bitterness
ii. Hate
iii. Forgiveness
• We must forgive others
• We must believe that God will forgive us
2. “If need be” – God will allow us to go through hard times if he sees a need for it.
3. “Ye are in heaviness” – It is OK to be in heaviness or to feel down about something. Some Christians think that they have to be jolly and happy all the time. That’s just not true. This entire verse teaches us that we just might end up in heaviness. The best part about it is that it will only be for a “season”.
B. ACCEPT THAT GOD HAS HIS REASONS – 1 Peter 4:12,13
1. GOING THROUGH TOUGH SITUATIONS… will help us know how to help others - v.12. God says that we shouldn’t think it as some strange thing when adversity finds us. A lot of people don’t like to hear it, but there is a reason for the suffering that takes place in our lives.
ILLUSTRATION
The U.S. Navy has a Special Forces team called the SEALS. It takes a lot to become part of this elite group. One of the many physical challenges that SEALS in training must complete is called “surf torture”. Basically the entire class must wade into the surf zone to their waist line and then sit down with arms linked. The whole time they are there the waves crash into them, hence the term “surf torture”. The biting cold water quickly sucks out all of the body’s warmth and before long, the entire class shivers in unison as the waves crash over their heads. The plan calls for submersion to the brink of hypothermia, then the trainees get pulled out for some calisthenics to warm up - then back in the surf for more conditioning. The training session has been proven a very successful way to teach prospective SEALS how to mentally fend off the effects of hypothermia.
I’m quite sure the trainees don’t enjoy the surf torture and all of the physical agony that comes along with it. However, recognizing the onset of hypothermia and knowing how the body reacts under such extreme conditions may one day be the difference between life and death. That is exactly what God is doing with us. By putting us through his own version of “surf torture”, he is preparing us for something that may come along in the future. We might not like what we are going through, but there will come a day when we will have to take what we have learned and apply it to our lives or the life of someone else.
2. GOING THROUGH TOUGH SITUATIONS…will give us a reason to be joyful – v.13. This verse tells us that when Christ’s glory is revealed we will be glad with “exceeding joy”. That literally means we will leap for joy at his coming because we have been partakers in his sufferings.
C. ALLOW GOD TO TAKE THE LEAD – 1 Peter 5:10
Too often we try to figure out a way to get out of our current situation; by doing so we fail to allow God to work it out. If you are under spiritual depression today, if you hurt so deeply that you wonder if you have any feelings left, then please stop trying to do it your way and allow God to work in your life.
The first part of this verse reminds us again that we don’t have to stay on this road forever. It says, “After that ye have suffered a while”. But God doesn’t just leave us hanging from the gallows with no hope of rescue. He continues on by telling us what he will do for us.
1. GOD PREPARES US. He will “make you perfect”. This literally means that he will “make you what you ought to be”. Isn’t it comforting to know that even when God is shaping us into what he wants us to be that he is still holding us in his loving hands?
2. GOD HELPS US STAND OUR GROUND. He will “establish” you. Some ancient soldiers used to have spikes on the back of their boots so they could literally dig in their heels and stand their ground during battle. If we allow him to, God will help us dig in for battle and stand our ground when difficulties arise.
3. GOD STRENGTHENS US. He will “strengthen” you. The Greek word, sthenoo, is only found in this verse and it means “to strengthen”. There just isn’t any better way to say it.
4. GOD PUTS US ON A FIRM FOUNDATION. He will “settle” you. This means he will “put you on a firm foundation”. There is no stronger foundation than Jesus Christ and when we stand on him we know that we are standing on solid ground.
CONCLUSION
Are you tired of feeling like a dark cloud is over your head?
Do you long to feel the way you used to feel about your relationship with God?
Are you willing to forgive and allow God to work in your life?
Are you willing to accept forgiveness from God?
Are you willing to stop trying to figure things out and let God take control?
If so, you are ready to allow God to:
PREPARE YOU
HELP YOU STAND YOUR GROUND
STRENGTHEN YOU
PUT YOU ON A FIRM FOUNDATION
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Psalm 51:17
