When God doesn't seem fair

As we go into the book of Habakkuk, we see a picture of impending negative circumstances coming upon Habakkuk's people. Habakkuk's name means to embrace or wrestle. Which do you do when things go bad in life? Do you reach for God and hold on tight? Do you wrestle with Him about it all? Habakkuk teaches us how to be secure enough in our prayers to bring our raw emotions and questions to God. He also shows us the distinction between bitter cynicism and believing confrontation: One is a denial that refuses to believe and embrace God. The other is a holy wrestling match that refuses to let go no matter what. Habakkuk tackles tough questions while holding tightly to His God. We can learn much from his kind of faith. I will spend the next three weeks exploring the story of Habakkuk. Join me here and on weekends @ NCC to take the journey.

GOD, WILL YOU DO THE IMPOSSIBLE?

Matthew 19:26 (NLT)

Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible."

Mission impossible for me has always been to move to this city where we knew practically no one, with practically no money or formal training in church planting and plant this church. Our vision was to be in the interior of Vegas, not on the outer edges where the more affluent people almost always live. Our first several months we met in a hotel meeting room near paradise & twain. If you look at most thriving churches they normally go to the suburbs of the city to where new growth is taking place and wealthier families go to escape the brokeness that often accompanies life closer the to center of town. Our dream was to go into it not away from it. We have faced every kind of challenge along the way-spiritual attack, physical exhaustion, relational heartache, and financial hardship. Each time God has seen us through. So you would think that now I am totally filled with faith to face any challenge right? Not exactly!

If I were honest with you, I would admit that I have wrestled with doubt a lot lately. Once again our church has come upon very hard financial times. 4 straight weeks of deficit giving has left us at the breaking point. I have seen this several times before but this current financial climate in our country has turned this challenge into "my mountain" or my "mission impossible". I know how hard many of our people are struggling right now.

Just yesterday I was speaking with a man in our church who manages a fine dining restraunt in Vegas and he told me in tough times the first thing to go in people's budgets is eating out. Just then I could almost hear they voice of they enemy saying, "No. It is not eating out, it is giving. Your church isn't going to make it this time". He wants me to believe that people don't care about God's church. He wants me to believe that people will lose faith, that they will get nervous and hold tightly to what they think is thiers. He wants me to think that we will have to close the doors. Will I believe these lies and allow a sense of defeat to settle in on me? NO!

God will somehow get us through. Last night about 40 people gathered and prayed for unity in our body. I am praying that God will give us "one heart" in our giving. I am asking you to believe God for the "impossible" in this journey as we continue to build a church where many said it could not be done. It was impossible ten years ago when we started and it is still impossible now.

GOD, WILL YOU DO THE IMPOSSIBLE?