05/20/2024
Seeing God in every good thing about us is a gift, but being able to see Him in our troubles is truly a blessing. When we see God in our distress it calms the spirit and reassures us because we grow in our absolute faith in His goodness. E.M. Bounds expounded on this by saying that if we can find God in our troubles that "we are warranted in taking them to God in prayer and seeking to get the greatest spiritual benefits out of them." So many of us only see our problems in a negative light, and miss the fact that they too benefit us.
I am amazed when people who sing the words "He has the whole world in His hands" on Sunday believe that God isn't actively working in their troubles on Monday. The book of Job has no equal when it comes to teaching us about worshiping in the face of adversity and it shows us that God is absolutely engaged in our everyday hardships. Although it was Satan that sifted Job, it was God who took all Job’s trials and hardships, and increased his faith through them. He also taught all of us who witnessed what was happening to look at our own tribulations for the Lord. If we look at our own troubles, we will see that God is actively teaching us in each of them.
“Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.”
Job 12:9-10 KJV
Seeing God as He walks with us down the tough stretches of road, and worshipping Him in the face of every challenge we meet, is incredibly comforting because we are acknowledging that God not only has the ability to help us, but has total dominion over our problems; from the minuscule to the enormous He is there. Job understood this and he took comfort in it...
“And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job 1:21 KJV
So when we sing that God has the whole world in His hands we should look for Him, and His will, in our troubles too. Just as we search out His will in all the other aspects of our lives we should search for Him when we are suffering and straining. God is good in all things and there is no malevolence in Him… not even when He allows Satan to sift us. We should stop believing that God has taken His hand off of us when we face trials, because He is there with us amidst them, and is leading us through them.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”
Psalm 23:4-6 KJV
“O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Psalms 107:1 KJV
So as we face our troubles today let's look for the hand of God in them, and if we are having trouble seeing him with your eyes then let's listen for His voice with our ears, and if we can’t hear Him, then let’s seek the lingering fragrance of His presence with our noses; and if none of these leads us to Him then let’s stretch our hands upward and pray that He touches us and makes Himself known in our hearts. He is most assuredly there. No aspect of our lives is beyond His control or purpose, and bringing our distresses before Him is the appropriate course we should follow. The Psalms and many other scriptures stress this repetitively; Psalms 34, 107, 118, 136 to name a few... This is a lesson being drilled into us over and over again in His Holy Word because it is central to our belief, and instruction in faith.
“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever
O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
Psalms 136:1, 26 KJV
Jesus who is our great rabbi and High Priest, reiterated this as well...
“And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”
Matthew 19:17 KJV
So today let's bring our troubles to the Lord in prayer with full confidence in his presence, goodness, ability, and desire to draw us close to Him through them. Let's gather strength from the fact that He will never abandon us, and like Job let's resist the temptation to curse Him for our hardships and discomfort.
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Hebrews 13:5 KJV
In the end His will is all important, and we can rest assured that it will be carried out. Our troubles will bring us closer to Him, and His goodness will be apparent in these hard times, if only we will have faith and patience as we endure them.
“Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”
Ecclesiastes 7:8 KJV
May God bless you in your trials, and may you find His presence as you traverse the hard patches while traveling the road of faith with Jesus.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for being with us in every hardship we face. Thank you for giving us the lessons in faith that can only come through our suffering, and having faith in every storm. Lord help us to not only endure these challenges, but to step eagerly into them, just as Peter did when he stepped out of the boat and walked through the raging sea to reach Jesus. So often we forget that Peter walked on water that day, and that you were there… help us not to forget. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who was, and is, and is to come, and that you were, are, and will always be with us; always. Teach us the hard lessons Lord, and increase our faith and belief as we walk through the valleys and chasms they present us. Open our eyes that we might see you there, our ears to hear you reassuring us, our nostrils so that your sweet scent fills them, and our hearts so that we can love you more… even as we tremble under the crushing load of the world’s troubles. You are merciful Father and never allow us to endure more than we are able, and provide us escape when the temptations become too great. In you we receive grace, and the comfort that can only be found in you. Give us this day all that we need, and the strength of faith it takes to reach out in acceptance of your gifts and miracles. Give us the faith of Job. Call to us as Jesus did Peter, and lift us up should our faith begin to falter. Hear us as we call out to you from within every trouble, and hear the expectation in our voices, because we believe wholeheartedly that you are there with us. Praised be your name always, and to you let all the glory for every lesson we learn be given. In every storm we find you, and in every trial and temptation we come to know you better. Hallelujah, you are our God and great are your lessons that teach us of your character as they make us to be more and more like your Son Jesus Christ.
Amen
Rich Forbes