每日靈脩 – 2024 年 8 月 31 日
當我們問上帝爲什麼
作者:Tim Dilena
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如果你有機會問上帝一個「爲什麼」的問題,你會問他什麼?爲什麼這種糟糕的事情會發生在我身上?爲什麼我媽媽去世了?
那關於個人失敗的問題呢?這就是我們在馬太福音 17 章中發現的。門徒們在他們被賦予權力去做的事情上失敗了,他們不知道爲什麼會失敗。他們曾試圖治癒一個年輕人的兒子,但沒有成功,於是那個男人帶着他的兒子來到耶穌面前。「耶穌斥責那鬼,鬼就從他身上出來了,那孩子立刻就好了。那時門徒暗暗地來到耶穌面前,說:『我們爲什麼不能趕出那鬼呢?』耶穌對他們說:『因爲你們的信心小。我實在告訴你們,你們若有信心像一粒芥菜種,就是對這座山說:『你從這邊挪到那邊』,它也必挪去,並且你們沒有不能作的事了。』」 (馬太福音 17:18-20,ESV)。
我喜歡門徒提出的問題。如今人們完成任務後不會這樣做。很少有人會要求批評來讓自己變得更好。我們生活在一種只會責怪他人而不會自我反省的文化中。
耶穌對門徒的回答令人震驚且多層次。耶穌說,最大的問題是信仰;然後他告訴他們(和我們)什麼可以啓動芥菜籽大小的信仰:祈禱和禁食。跟我一起來。禁食不是爲了引起上帝的注意而絕食。禁食爲上帝創造了空間。在門徒的時間段內做飯不是去全食超市或好市多;這是一項需要一整天的時間,包括殺死動物並將其烹飪。禁食意味着創造空間來祈禱和聆聽上帝的聲音。
當一個人禁食時,他們就給了上帝更多的時間,而當你有更多的時間與上帝相處時,相信我,上帝在你的生活中會變得更重要。這就是爲什麼我相信你可以禁食許多不同類型的事物,而不僅僅是食物——社交媒體、電視、某些活動——併爲祈禱騰出空間。
獲得信仰的途徑是祈禱和禁食。私人的「爲什麼」不僅幫助了門徒,而且在我們需要對那些無法改變的事情采取一些行動時也給了我們深刻的洞察力。
在底特律市中心教會擔任牧師三十年後,蒂姆牧師在紐約市布魯克林會堂服務了五年,並在路易斯安那州拉斐特擔任牧師五年。他於 2020 年 5 月成爲時代廣場教會的資深牧師。
DAILY DEVOTIONAL – August 31, 2024
When We Ask God Why
By Tim Dilena
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If you had a chance to ask God a 『why?』 question, what would you ask him? Why did this bad thing happen to me? Why did my mom pass away?
How about a personal failure question? That’s what we find in Matthew 17. The disciples failed at something they were empowered to do and did not know why they’d failed. They had tried to heal a young man’s boy and were unable, so the man brought his son to Jesus. 「And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, 『Why could we not cast it out?』 He said to them, 『Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 「Move from here to there,」 and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.』」 (Matthew 17:18-20, ESV).
I love that the disciples asked their question. People don’t do this today when they finish a task. It’s rare to find someone asking for critique to get better. We live in a culture that will blame others but not inspect ourselves.
Jesus’s answer to the disciples is astounding and multi-layered. The big issue, Jesus said, is faith; then he tells them (and us) what can get mustard seed sized faith kick-started: prayer and fasting. Track with me here. Fasting is not a hunger strike to get God’s attention. Fasting creates space for God. To make a meal during the disciples’ time period was not going to Whole Foods or Costco; it was an all-day affair that involved killing an animal and cooking it. Fasting meant creating space to pray and hear from God.
When someone fasts, they are giving God more time, and when you get more time with God, trust me, God gets bigger in your life. That’s why I believe that you can fast from many different types of things and not just food — social media, television, certain activities — and create space for prayer.
The way you get a grain of faith is by praying and fasting. A private 『why』 not only helped the disciples but also gave us great insight for when we need some movement on things that won’t budge.
After pastoring an inner-city congregation in Detroit for thirty years, Pastor Tim served at Brooklyn Tabernacle in NYC for five years and pastored in Lafayette, Louisiana, for five years. He became Senior Pastor of Times Square Church in May of 2020.