| Why is There a Worm in My Apple? |
 Life really stinks sometimes for all of us and a lot of the time for many of us. Why is it that I try really hard to do my best, be a good person, even believe in and accept God as the one who saves me from sin, and I still battle discouragement, disappointment, stress, and hard times? I bite into what seems like a bright, shiny, crisp, delicious apple only to find it soft and mushy and my mouth full of brown stuff when I was expecting crispy, delicious fruit. And to beat it all – I can only see half the worm in my apple – blagghhhaahhhh! Life can be tough. And no, Jesus never promised us a rose garden or a suffering-free life. In fact, many of the people in the Bible really had a rough go of it at times. However, as we analyze their lives and the principles for handling the stresses of life, we will find some biblical principles that just may guide us right to the truth of the abundant life that can be lived in the midst of suffering, disappointment, depression, discouragement, and tragedy. A real worm in our apple is when we feel the lowest of lows called depression. Depression is not a result of sin or wrong done, but part of life and must be met honestly. One of the characters from the Bible who fought depression was Elijah. And Dr. God prescribed some very good remedies and solutions for dealing with it. Through Elijah’s example, we will seek to find ways to avoid or recover from depression, as well as understanding those who battle it in our lives. Eat enough apples and you will eventually bite into a worm – live enough life you will experience deep hurt. Hurt and tragedy rock our world and our theology and shake our belief in the love of God in our life. We only need to read the first two chapters of the book of Job, a character in the Bible, to develop serious questions about God’s love and care for us as humans. In this message, we will look at the questions that haunt us when life throws us painful curves, and we will look at God’s answers to Job’s questions to find the biblical principles for dealing with life’s painful curves. We have all heard the old saying: “One rotten apple spoils the bunch.” When it comes to sin and mistakes in our lives, this is so true. Our most common way of attacking sin and mistakes is to not deal with it. We feel that if we ignore it, it will just go away. However, just like apples, one area of rottenness in our lives will only further infect the other areas of our lives until our character is compromised and our relationships are damaged. In the Bible the life of King David illustrates this perfectly. David sinned – made a mistake – then tried to hide it. Dealing with sin takes courage and faith, something that we humans are scared of attempting. However, there is hope as there always is in the Bible. Ever bitten into a perfectly good looking apple only to find out it had no taste? It was such a disappointment: a perfectly good looking apple with no taste . . . GRRRRRR. Not dissimilar to the disappointments of life is it? You have the ideal life: college degree, perfect job, hot or hunky spouse, 2.5 kids, rambler home on an acre of ground – life looks good. Then the bottom drops out – you get fired, your spouse walks out, your friend stabs you in the back. Conflict happens and you are left with an apple that has no taste. What do you do with life’s disappointments? Paul, the author of many books in the Bible, was on fire to light up the world for Jesus. The next thing Paul knew he was beaten, stoned, thrown into prison, rejected, betrayed, and alone. He was disappointed and had nowhere to go. But in this message we will look at the many principles he left us in the Holy Spirit inspired Bible for dealing with disappointment. |