The story goes that President Wilson once received a call in the middle of the night from a civil servant who informed him that one of his appointees had just died. The caller said, "While I'm sure we are all saddened by this news, I would like to know if I can take his place." There was a pause at the other end of the line before the president replied, "It's all right with me, if it's all right with the undertaker." The man was anxious to take the officials place in the government, but I doubt that he had any desire to take his place in the casket. I got to thinking about that story and how in our journey with God here on earth, we embrace any and all blessings that pass through the hands of God to us. But when there are hard times...not so much. Job was a man who loved God and God blessed him. But Satan wanted to use Job as a demonstration that Job
loved God only for the good things that he had received. He told God that it wasn't love, it was pure economics. You get good stuff, you think God is good and worthy of your love and adoration. You get trials and hardships, you drop that love and adoration stuff. God allowed Job to be tested by Satan. And in doing so, Job got hurt, emotionally, physically and spiritually. His wife, looking at what had happened to her husband, told him to just give up and die. That it wasn't worth it. And Job said something remarkable. He said "Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?" I know that we live in a broken world and that sin is the cause of so much pain and suffering. But I don't know why it happens to people that just seem to be walking the walk and talking the talk of God and then they end up in the hurt locker. Suffering is not necessarily a punishment or a sign of God's displeasure.....but it is a part of the human journey. And faith is not merely about receiving blessings but it is about holding on to our trust in God even when life hurts and we don't know why. The promise of God is that he is with us in all of this, good and bad and that in those dark and hard times, when we keep our faith and focus on God we demonstrate a profound trust in his sovereignty and purpose for our lives. It isn't easy to trust when we are hurt and grieve. If it was, everybody would do it. But only those who have a faith immersed in the personal experience of God's love will be able to do this. And in doing it you honor the God of all creation. Here's our Bible verse for today...
Job 2:9-10 Then Job's wife said to him, "Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!" (10) "You speak as a foolish woman speaks," he told her. "Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Remember I'm praying for you,
PJ
loved God only for the good things that he had received. He told God that it wasn't love, it was pure economics. You get good stuff, you think God is good and worthy of your love and adoration. You get trials and hardships, you drop that love and adoration stuff. God allowed Job to be tested by Satan. And in doing so, Job got hurt, emotionally, physically and spiritually. His wife, looking at what had happened to her husband, told him to just give up and die. That it wasn't worth it. And Job said something remarkable. He said "Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?" I know that we live in a broken world and that sin is the cause of so much pain and suffering. But I don't know why it happens to people that just seem to be walking the walk and talking the talk of God and then they end up in the hurt locker. Suffering is not necessarily a punishment or a sign of God's displeasure.....but it is a part of the human journey. And faith is not merely about receiving blessings but it is about holding on to our trust in God even when life hurts and we don't know why. The promise of God is that he is with us in all of this, good and bad and that in those dark and hard times, when we keep our faith and focus on God we demonstrate a profound trust in his sovereignty and purpose for our lives. It isn't easy to trust when we are hurt and grieve. If it was, everybody would do it. But only those who have a faith immersed in the personal experience of God's love will be able to do this. And in doing it you honor the God of all creation. Here's our Bible verse for today...
Job 2:9-10 Then Job's wife said to him, "Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die!" (10) "You speak as a foolish woman speaks," he told her. "Should we accept from God only good and not adversity?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Remember I'm praying for you,
PJ