“Life Is Not Always Fair, But God Is Always Faithful!”
1 Kings 20:23-28
David P. Nolte
If a child doesn’t get the birthday gift that had been requested, he or she may cross their arms, stick out the lower lip and proclaim for all to hear, “It’s’ NOT FAIR!”
When someone else gets the promotion, the unprompted may stomp and lament, “It’s just not FAIR!”
When the doctor says, “It’s not good news.”we may close our eyes and mutter, “It really isn’t fair!”
We don’t get what we want, someone else gets it, we don’t like our circumstances, we feel left out and overlooked and say, “That’s not fair!”
Well, think about it: (A) whoever said things were always going to be fair? And (B) what seems unfair to one person seems totally just to another.
Life is NOT always fair! Life is not ALWAYS fair! Life is not always FAIR!” BUT GET THIS: LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS FAIR, BUT GOD IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL! If you get nothing else today, get this: LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS FAIR, BUT GOD IS ALWAYS FAITHFUL!
Life is not always fair, but God is always faithful! The Bible says, “Understand, therefore, that the LORD your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes His unfailing love on those who love Him and obey His commands.” Deuteronomy 7:9 (NLT)
And, “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NLT).
The text for the sermon is, “Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him, ‘Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they. Do this thing: remove the kings, each from his place, and put captains in their place, and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.’ And he listened to their voice and did so. At the turn of the year, Ben-hadad mustered the Arameans and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. The sons of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the country. Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Because the Arameans have said, ‘The LORD is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys,’ therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.’” 1 Kings 20:23-28 (NASB).
Life is not always fair, but God is always faithful. Because that is true, I want to present three truths related to God’s faithfulness to hold onto when life seems unfair.
I. GOD IS GOD ON THE MOUNTAINS:
A. The Arameans missed the truth that while God, not gods, is God of the mountains, His sovereignty and power are not confined to just the heights.
B. We can associate God with mountains because some significant things took place on mountain tops:
1. Abraham passed the test of faith when he was willing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah.
2. Moses was given the Law on Mount Sinai.
3. Moses’ brother, Aaron, died and was buried on Mount Hor.
4. Moses died on Mount Nebo.
5. Jesus did much of His teaching to the 12 on the Mount Of Olives.
C. Jesus meets us in what can be called “our mountain top experiences:”
1. Things are running smoothly at work and home and school.
2. We are well and robust and feel goooood!.
3. The car runs, the roof doesn’t leak, the bills are paid and on and on!
4. God is with us when life is good and He enjoys our joys with us.
D. We wish life could always be on the mountain top – high above the hubbub and turmoil, the conflict and strife, the pressures and distresses.
1. We are like Peter when he, James and John were with Jesus on the mountain top and He was joined by Moses and Elijah. Peter said, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Mark 9:5 (NASB).
2. But it was not His plan to abandon the valley, so they made their way down.
3. The song said,
“Life is easy, when you’re up on the mountain
And you’ve got peace of mind, like you’ve never known
But things change, when you’re down in the valley
Don’t lose faith, for your never alone.
We talk of faith way up on the mountain
But talk comes easy, when life’s at its best
Now its down in the valley, trials and temptations
That’s where your faith is really put into the test.”
E. A little boy named Tony is an illustration of tested faith. Tony’s downstairs playroom held the toys and games that four-year-old boys love. He wanted his ball, so he stood at the top of the stairs and said, “Dad, I want my ball but it’s downstairs.”
“Well, just go downstairs and get it.” But to turn on the playroom light, Tony would have to descend the stairway, step into the shadowy playroom, then reach for the light switch.
“But, Dad,” he said. “I’m scared of the dark.” “Tony,” dad said. “You know what’s in the playroom. Everything in there’s the same in the dark as it is in the light.” ‘But, I’m scared.’
“Okay,” dad said. “I’ll walk down with you to get the ball. How’s that sound?” A grin replaced Tony’s frown.
He bravely started down the stairs and seconds later Tony was happily throwing a Nerf basketball through a hoop.
Tony could descend to the basement -- the valley – because he knew his dad was with him as he had been upstairs-- on the mountain top.
If you trust God upstairs on the mountain top, God will give you courage to face and overcome your fears of the darkness in the basement or valley. He is there with us in the valley even with it’s fears and conflicts and injustices. Life is not always fair, but God is always faithful.
II. GOD IS STILL GOD IN THE VALLEY:
A. Valleys are not always bad places or harmful places or fearful places. But for the purpose of this sermon, valleys stand for the low and hard and dark times of life. Valleys would be things like:
1. Sickness and age related weaknesses.
2. Grief, sorrow, and brokenheartedness.
3. Loneliness, isolation, and betrayal
4. Depression, anxiety and phobias.
5. Failures, losses and futility.
B. Any time things go wrong and we are in pain would be a valley for us.
C. But Dr. Carlton Buck, former pastor of First Christian Church in Eugene, said to a group of us, “If you walk with God on the mountain tops, He will walk with you in the valleys.” He meant:
1. If you don’t forget God when life is easy, He won’t forget you when life is hard.
2. If you are faithful to Him in times of joy and plenty, He will be faithful to you in times of sadness and want.
3. If you walk with Him when life is sunny, He will walk with you when life is in shadows.
D. An illustration of this comes toward the end of Charles Dickens’ “Tale of Two Cities,” a story of the French revolution. Every day there was a procession through the streets of Paris of prisoners on their way to the guillotine. In one of the processions was Sidney Carton, a brave man who was now giving his life for his friend.
Beside him there was a young girl. They had met before in the prison, and the girl had noticed the gentleness and courage of the man’s face. She said to him “If I may ride with you, will you let me hold your hand? I am not afraid, but I am little and weak, and it will give me more courage.”
So they rode together, her hand in his; and when they reached the place of execution there was no fear in her eyes. She looked up into the quiet composed face of her companion, and said “I think you were sent to me by heaven.”
In all the dark valleys of life, our Father, the God of all comfort, in the person of the Holy Spirit, is at our side.
E. We needn’t hate or fear the valleys. As the song declares,
“For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He’ll make them right.
And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times
The God of the day, is still God in the night.”
III. GOD IS GOD WHEREVER WE ARE:
A. It ticked God off when the Arameans said, “Their gods are gods of the mountains, therefore they were stronger than we; but rather let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we will be stronger than they.”
1. God is God everywhere.
2. He is not confined to the Mountains or valleys or the Israelites.
3. David said, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,’ Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.” Psalm 139:7-12 (NASB).
B. God is with us
1. In storm and sunshine.
2. In the darkest night and the brightest day.
3. In the deepest woe and the loftiest joy.
4. In familiar hangouts and unknown places.
5. In the dry desert and the verdant meadow.
6. In problems and in resolutions.
7. In the hospital and in the home.
8. In the graveyard and in the school yard.
9. On the mountain top and in the valley.
C. God is there and He is still God!
1. James said of His immutability, “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” James 1:17 (NASB)
2. God said, “For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Malachi 3:6 (NASB).
D. It’s like the wedding vow says, “In sickness and in health, in riches and in poverty, in joy and in sorrow and for better and for worse” God is there and is still God.
E. It was dark ink the room except for a small night light. Billy had been very ill and his mother and dad took shifts sitting by his bed. Once in awhile he would waken and would call out, tremulously , “Mom?” Or “Dad?” and when the parent in attendance said, “I’m here Billy. Go back to sleep.” Billy would feel secure and would sleep.
When he was well again he said he knew that he was okay as long as he knew mom or dad was near by.
We need to know that God is near – on the mountain tops, in the valleys, and wherever we are. God is still God. He will never leave or forsake us. Life is not always fair, but God is always faithful. You can take that into your valley and be safe.
