Funny How Life Works
By Pastor Tom Anderson
Michael Jr. is one of the premier comedians in America today. He is also a Christian believer who’s written a book titled Funny how life works. He is convinced that God uses the setbacks of life to set us up for the punchline.
He was once doing a show in Indiana when a heckler began to shout out, “Michael, why do all black people look alike?” He tried to ignore him, but he got louder and everyone in the largely white audience heard him, and they froze. Michael didn’t know what he was going to say until he said it, “We don’t all look alike, you just need to cut the holes in your sheet a little larger.” The crowd split open in laughter and even the heckler gave him a standing ovation!
In life we have our hecklers–sometimes the worst ones are inside our heads. Oftentimes you can take the hecklers as confirmation you are walking in God’s direction. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ” We need to address the “hecklers” in our minds who tell us we are failures, losers or just no good. We can’t let ourselves be conformed to the voices of this world but be renewed in our minds (Romans 12:2) Once the bad thoughts have been confronted, we need to be able to replace them with God’s word.
Michael Jr. quotes scripture from memory and has a great storehouse in his mind. The Holy Spirit brings these words to his mind when he’s facing difficult moments. He knows the scriptures and brings them to bear on the heckling voices in his mind. This is just how Jesus drove out the master heckler, Satan. He quoted the scriptures at him. See Matthew 4.
Growing up, Michael was the only kid in the neighborhood with a dad. The other kids' parents bought them all kinds of expensive stuff, but Michael's father never did. They would complain to him, and he’d just respond, “One day you’re going to see what happens to them.”
It happened. One day a friend came by in a brand-new Trans Am T-top. He was wearing a brand-new pair of fancy black Reebok shoes. (Later it turned out the car was stolen.) Michael was impressed. His friend wanted him to go for a ride and Michael was sorely tempted but he heard his father’s voice in his head, “One day you’re going to see what happens to them.” So, he returned to his grass cutting chores. That night he was stunned to see the news of his friend’s high speed car accident that took his life. The T.V. cameras clearly showed the same black Reeboks he had so deeply coveted only a few hours before.
This is the power of a godly father’s voice in their sons’ heads. Michael did not even know Jesus at the time, but the Father used a father’s voice to redirect him and save his life. Michael says, “You’ve got to listen to the Father’s voice! Don’t make calculations, just trust God and watch.” He adds, “There are three ways to know it is the Father’s voice to you: One it will always line up with scripture. Two, it is confirmed by other like-minded believers who know you; and three, you have a sense of peace about it.” Michael’s story reveals to us the power and enduring influence of godly fathers who open their children to hear God’s voice in wisdom and guidance.
