"There was a man in the land of Uz,
whose name was Job;
and that man was perfect and upright,
and one that feared God, and eschewed evil."
(Job 1:1)

Many scholars agree that Job is probably the oldest book of the Bible. It seems appropriate, then, that the oldest portion of Scripture immediately addresses the age-old question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

Job is introduced to us as a very wealthy man (1:3), and one that God Himself regarded as "perfect and upright." His net worth in modern currency could have exceeded $5,000,000, which makes his morality all the more remarkable. After all, how many present-day millionaires "hold fast their integrity" (2:3) as Job did? And yet even when he lost everything, Job's heart-cry seemed to be very much in line with Paul's in Acts 20:24, "None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy . . .to testify . . . of the grace of God."

Most of us have been encouraged by Job's story at some point in our lives. Here was a man who had what many people spend their entire lives striving for: money, friends, family, and plenty of possessions. He achieved his culture's version of the American Dream, and yet his first priority was never keeping up with the Joneses; it was walking with his God.

Of course we all know the story of what happened next. In a matter of moments, nearly everything Job claimed as his own was stripped away. The most tragic loss was that of his children:

"...there came also another, and said,
Thy sons and thy daughters were eating
and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house:
And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness,
and smote the four corners of the house,
and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead."
(Job 1:18-19)

That's when Job realized this was more than just a bad day. The Lord Himself had indeed "put forth His hand, and touched all that he had" (1:11). In what had quickly become the darkest moment of his life, Job was understandably overwhelmed with grief. He tore his clothes, shaved his head, and collapsed to the ground. And yet even as he faced circumstances that would no doubt be unbearable for many of us, Job looked to heaven and cried out, "the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord" (1:21).

In the days that followed Job lost his health, the support of his wife, and eventually that of his closest friends. But as he sat among the ashes scraping his boils with a piece of broken pottery, he asked rhetorically, "What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (2:10).

What astounds me about Job's spiritual strength is that it doesn't seem to be something he acquired during his trial like most of us. His acceptance of God's sovereignty was immediate, not eventual. Here was someone who had figured out during the good times what many of us are forced to learn in the bad times: that God is all we really need. He held everything loosely, except for his relationship with God.

You may never face a valley as dark as Job's. You may always (or never) be blessed with good health, financial security, and supportive family and friends. Either way, remember that Job's story is not about a man who lost everything, but about a man who found everything he needed in God. When everything and everyone else in his life proved unreliable, he found his strength in the everlasting arms of the Lord (Deut. 33:27).

"A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh."

              -Luke 6:45

Your attitude says a lot about what’s in your heart. If your actions are corrupt, then the chances are an even greater problem has already developed beneath the surface. To prove it, simply look around you at the culture in which we live: despite their best efforts to perfect the outward appearance and impress those around them, the evidence continues to overwhelmingly prove that something is desperately wrong which just can’t be covered up with Maybelline.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.”

                    -Matthew 23:27

Like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, it seems to me that many modern-day Christians are so consumed with perfecting the outside that they pay little or no attention to what’s actually causing their problems. Of course there’s nothing at all wrong with examining one’s life in the light of God’s Word (Psalm 139:23-24), but we should also be careful to realize that self-sufficiency is just as much a problem as any other sin in the Book (Proverbs 3:5), and thus rely more on God than we do ourselves. The answer to our many problems cannot be found in our own sense of determination, but in our whole-hearted reliance on God to provide us with the strength we indefinitely lack.

What are you battling? Jealousy, bitterness, or a lack of self-control? Regardless of your struggle, let me take this opportunity to remind you that the same grace which delivered your soul from the amazing bondage and penalty of sin (Ephesians 2:1), is the very same grace which offers to deliver you from the trials of today. In the words of Peter, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the Godly out of temptations.” (II Peter 2:9)

 

 

In Psalm 46:1, God is described as “our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Like a modern-day storm shelter built to protect us from the physical elements of nature, our God is One Who provides us with a spiritual shelter when trials come even though the storms themself often continue to rage around us. He doesn’t speak peace to every wind that blows our way, but offers His continued presence and protection even during the most difficult of circumstances (Matthew 28:20).

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him."

                                                       -James 1:12

Trials, believe it or not, are some of the most important moments of our life according to Scripture. If our faith was never tested, how would it grow? If our hope remained unchallenged, how would we ever know it to be real? Even the crown of life promised to those who love the Lord is, as James wrote, something that only trials allow us to obtain. Of course we shouldn’t go around looking for valleys to walk through, but, when we do find ourselves in one, we should realize that it was sent our way to bring about patience and completeness in our walk with God, and continue to praise Him for Who He is (James 1:2-4). After all, God wouldn’t have reminded us through His Word to praise Him as many times as He did if it were always an easy thing to do (I Thessalonians 5:18).

Perhaps lately it seems as if the “valley of the shadow of death” has become your permanent home (Psalm 23:4). The rain won’t stop pouring, and it feels as though this trial will never end. Don’t worry; it will. God will one day wipe away all tears from the eyes of His children, and there will be no more death, sorrow, pain, or crying (Revelation 21:4). In the meantime, though, let us learn to cast all of our cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7); He cares for us more than we’ll ever know.

 

 

Out of all the verses found throughout God’s Word, few have been more inspiring than Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  It’s not that we ourselves have any strength worth mentioning, but rather that the source of our strength, Jesus Christ, is omnipotent and empowers us to be “…more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” (Romans 8:37) When we rely on God to give us the victory, we have all the power in the world backing us up.

“...and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers.”

                      -2 Chronicles 13:18

When Abijah went to war against Jeroboam in 2 Chronicles 13, anybody would’ve told you he was bound for defeat. His adversary had an army twice the size of his own (v. 3), and even then they fell into an ambush and found themselves surrounded by the enemy. They were outnumbered, outwitted, and, by all indications, going to lose and lose miserably. Yet because they relied on God and made Him the captain of their army (v. 12), they were victorious in their battle and walked away with a renewed understanding of what it really means to trust God. After all, if we can trust Him with our eternity, shouldn’t we be able to trust Him with our today?

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.”

         -Psalm 121:1

Perhaps you, just like Abijah, are fighting for what seems to be a lost cause. When you look around, all you see is the enemy, and it seems obvious that you are outnumbered. If so, be reminded of the words of Elisha when he found himself is a similar situation in 2 Kings: “Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” (2 Kings 6:16) It turned out they weren’t outnumbered at all. In fact, heaven’s angels were surrounding them and ready to help win the battle, and they’ll help you win yours too.

“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

                      -I Corinthians 9:27

Paul was a busy man. He was constantly preaching the Gospel (I Corinthians 9:16), traveling to new places (Galatians 1:21; 2:1), and doing his best to encourage those he’d already converted by writing numerous epistles to churches throughout the region. He had such great responsibility that it’s amazing he had time for anything but the ministry and yet, in this passage, we find he was very aware of the fact that his own spirituality could not afford to be neglected in his efforts to bless others. His point was simple: what good would it accomplish if he disqualified himself from the race he was telling others they needed to run? 

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

           -Mark 8:36

So many times our circumstances make it difficult for us to spend more than a little time each day in personal, 1 on 1 time with God. It’s hardest when these distractions come in the form of ministry opportunities and obligations (or sometimes perceived obligations) to others. Whether it’s a sermon to prepare, a prayer meeting to organize, or even a blog post to write, it’s easy to forget about the fact that, when you’re constantly pouring yourself into the lives of those around you, you must take the time to be refilled yourself. Truthfully, if we do as the disciples did and “forget to take bread” (Matthew 16:5), we simply won’t have the strength to feed anybody else.

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.”

             -1 Corinthians 9:24

While I’ve never really been involved in racing, I know from my limited observation of the sport that, when you’re disqualified, you’re no longer allowed onto the track. You can’t come up behind a struggling contestant and urge him or her to keep going; you’ve lost your platform and are confined to watching helplessly from the sidelines. Likewise, being able to minister successfully requires that we ourselves stay in the race so we will be able to help those without strength keep moving forward and, eventually, cross the finish line. Are you in good shape?

"Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:
With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah."

                            -II Chronicles 32:7-8

If I had a dollar for every time I quoted from this passage, I would be rich. To me, it perfectly illustrates the fact that if we have God on our side, then we have nothing to fear. Though they were surrounded by the Assyrian army to the point that they could not so much as leave the city, Hezekiah and his men put their trust in God and knew that they would not be forsaken. King Hezekiah understood what many of us have yet to learn: when God is fighting our battles, we will always win.

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"

                            -Romans 8:31

The problem we often face is that when trials and tribulations come our way, we look at our own weakness and conclude we are doomed to failure. Convinced that we aren't strong enough to gain the victory, we throw our hands in the air and give up. But the Biblical way of handling such situations is to remember that "greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world." (I John 4:4) If we depended upon our own strength, we would lose every time. We've got to let the Lord fight our battles if we want to be victorious.

"Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?"

                            -Luke 14:31

 As Christians, we will always be outnumbered. But by trusting in the Lord, we can be victorious despite our often discouraging circumstances.

"And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.
And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of God called Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.
Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation.
And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink."

                            -Genesis 21:14-19 

I know this passage is somewhat lengthy, but I have something I really want to share with you out of it that has been on my heart the past two or three days. First, though, let's take a quick look at what has just taken place:

Earlier in this same chapter, Abraham had hosted a feast for his new son, Isaac. Whether it was out of jealousy, or just plain hatred, Ishmael (Abraham's other son by Hagar) began to mock and make fun (v. 9). Of course this offended Isaac's mother, Sarah, and she requested that Abraham send them away. So he did. The next morning he gave Hagar some food and water and sent them out, "...and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba." (v. 14) After wandering about for quite some time, their water supply ran dry and Hagar placed Ishmael under a shrub and went to cry, afraid that her son was going to die of dehydration. The angel of God then appeared to her and promised that Ishmael would not only survive, but that he would become the father of a great nation (the Ishmaelites). The Bible says that after these things, "...God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water..." (V.19), and she and Ishmael were thus saved from death.

What I find so intriguing about this story is that the Bible doesn't say God miraculously created a well; He simply showed her one that was already there. It's quite possible that this well was only a short distance - perhaps even within eyesight - from where she was crying, certain that they would both die. She just didn't see it.

How often do we do the same thing? We go through difficult situations in life, and we feel as if all hope is lost and that we aren't going to make it through, while all the time the answer is right there in front of our faces; we just aren't seeing it.

If you are going through a hard time, and you don't feel like you have the strength to keep going, remember Jesus' words in John 4:14: "...whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." The well of salvation never runs dry.

"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst."

                            -John 6:35