Why is this happening to me?
Jeremiah 18:18-20; 20:7-9,11-13
MOTIVATION
Jeret "Speedy" Peterson got into the 2002 Winter Games
through the back door. This week he's storming the front gates riding a
"Hurricane."
Peterson is a freestyle aerialist, and the Hurricane is his signature trick.
The three-flip, five-twist maneuver has the highest degree of difficulty
(4.9) in a sport where even the easiest trick requires skiers to blast up to
50 feet in the air and land on a steep-pitched hill. Think of it as high
diving on skis into a frozen pond.
"When I get to the start, my heart is racing, the adrenaline is
pumping," the lanky Idahoan says. "I have to calm myself, take a
deep breath, focus and turn to go."
He'll reach 45 mph as he approaches the biggest of three kickers, the icy
ramps that launch him skyward. As he nears the kicker, he'll raise his arms
above his head like a football referee signaling a touchdown.
"At that point I'm just concentrating on the timing of my arm drops and
twists," he says, "trying to lasso my adrenaline."
Staying in control is essential in a sport where the tiniest error can result
in a major injury. Peterson knows a lot about what can happen when a
freestyle aerialist crashes. He made the 2002 U.S.
Olympic team because female aerialist Emily Cook was buffeted by an
unexpected wind gust as she launched off a kicker at the team's Lake Placid, N.Y.,
practice facility two weeks before the Winter Games. She made a hard landing
on the edge of the launch area, ripping tendons and snapping bones in both
feet. Cook could not compete in Salt
Lake City, so team alternate Peterson got her
ticket.
What drives these athletes to perform such tricks knowing the possible
risk?
Are they injured because they are bad athletes? Why?
What are some of the "risks" involved in doing the right things
for God?
EXAMINATION
Think of recent news stories that describe someone facing difficulty for
doing the right thing.
How do you typically respond when you face
difficulty, especially if you are doing the right thing?
As he trekked
toward the village, Lingappa* wondered how he would be received.
Twenty-six years ago, these villagers beat him when he shared the good news
of salvation in Jesus Christ.
The itinerant Indian evangelist worked his way through 101 villages in the
northern part of Karnataka state. Religious extremists always attacked
Christian evangelists here. He drew a deep breath and entered the village.
"This time, I found 27 people following Jesus!" Lingappa was
amazed. How had so many come to Christ? "I asked a man who had brought
him to Christ, and he said someone had given him a tract on a bus, and he
accepted Jesus," Lingappa recalls. "He began sharing Jesus with
many people, and his friends were coming to the Lord. They read Scripture
portions and gathered each week to study what Jesus said!"
And this village wasn't the only one. "I could see the hand of God in
every village I visited," Lingappa says. "God has opened the door,
and things are not like they used to be. To my amazement, I saw the Holy
Spirit was preparing many homes and individuals to receive the gospel."
Lingappa stands amazed. He tells about visiting another village, where he
sang a Christian song while children and their parents gathered. The school
headmaster came forward and offered to feed him lunch if Lingappa would tell
him more about Jesus.
"He took me home, and after I shared my testimony, he accepted
Christ," Lingappa recalls. "Then he took me to the village where
his kin lived. He told me none of them had ever heard of Jesus."
Sharing the gospel is a great thing to do. How would you have responded
had you been beaten by someone simply for sharing the Good News?
Why did Lingappa go back to the village?
Does everything always work out this well when you suffer for doing the
right thing? Why?
APPLICATION
Think of specific situations in which you can take a stand for God and godly
principles yet face persecution or ridicule (for example, a True Love Waits
commitment).
Read this partial
interview (from Go! Magazine published electronically by the North American
Mission Board) with Natalie LaRue (now married) of the former group LaRue who
took a stand for sexual purity and True Love Waits:
Go!: Speaking
of honesty, was waiting until you were married really worth it?
Natalie: The longer I'm married, the more I realize how important
waiting was! It was an incredible gift to give something to my husband that
I'd never given anyone else. You know, I'd dated other guys before I
met Rob [Natalie's husband], and many of those were good experiences. But I
did have my heart broken a few times. And though I'd never had sex, I had
kissed some of those guys and given parts of my heart in other ways. I didn't
realize what an effect that would have on me. When you're dating, I think a
lot of people don't realize that someday they'll have to sit down across from
their fiance' and tell them, "Hey, I said these things or kissed this
person." I know I didn't realize it. And there were plenty of things I
wished I could have taken back. It was hard for Rob and me to admit there
were already little pieces of our hearts missing before we could even give
them to each other.
Go!: It sounds like you're talking about intimacy. There's the physical
intimacy of sex, which you'd committed to wait for. But there is also
emotional and spiritual intimacy.
Natalie: Exactly. It was hard enough to know that I'd opened my heart up
to some guys before my husband. It would have been really tough if I'd given
away more. Intimacy is just as spiritual and emotional as it is physical. But
one thing I could say to Rob was that he was the first time, and the only
time, I'd given my whole heart to someone. He was the only one to get all of
me, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Rob's story is a little
different than mine. He didn't grow up a Christian and had some things in his
past that we had to work through. It wasn't easy. We talked and prayed a lot.
But in the end, even those things are covered by Jesus' grace. Past mistakes
can cause us to really dig in to our commitment to God and to our covenant to
purity. Go!: Speaking of the finish line, now that you've crossed it,
what advice or encouragement do you have for those who've just begun their
marathon of sexual purity?
Natalie: It's so hard when you're in high school to be different than
everyone else. What you want most is to fit in. It's tough to not have sex
when everyone around you is doing it and telling you that you can't be cool
or normal if you don't. I had some friends who went to a public high school
and everyone teased that group of girls. They even called them the
"Jesus Freak Virgins." You'd think theyd be totally embarrassed,
but when it came down to it, most kids really respected those girls because
they stood up for what they believed in.
Part of getting through high school is the struggle to find your identity, to
somehow become totally yourself. So taking a stand for virginity, for sexual
purity, is one way to do that. It's a way to show the people at your school
that you are different and that being a "Jesus Freak Virgin" is
about more than just being cool. It's about being who God created you to be.
Of course it's difficult, but it's worth it.
The other advice I'd give is to be patient and be friends with lots of people
of the opposite sex. While these friendships helped me guard my body, I was
also guarding my heart. And I was finding out what kind of man I wanted to
spend my life with. God showed me a lot of qualities and traits that
way. I poured out my heart to God, told Him my needs and wants and
desires for a husband. And God met those. He didn't let me down! So I'd just
encourage kids to trust God with their desires and hold out for the one He
brings into their life. It's so worth it.
What do you think of Natalie's
comments about the pressures/ridicule you face for taking a stand for True
Love Waits and sexual purity?
How does the truth of God's Word help you face ridicule for doing the
right thing?
Is it wrong to ask God "Why is this happening to me?" Why?
.See you Sunday, Bring a friend.
