At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." Job 1: 20-21
It is easy to worship God on the mountaintop and even then we can forget. But in the valley when all seems against us and unfair that is when worship can become difficult. Here Job loses all of his children and wealth and his response acknowledges the second truth from our key verse today. When hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Job's wife would mock Job and suggest that he curse God and die. Job's response should be part of our prayer life:
He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. Job 2: 10
It is vogue to consider all the bad times in our lives as an attack from the enemy. Now, the enemy may surely be attacking; God allowed the enemy to afflict Job. But we can fall into the trap of removing God and the role He may have in our circumstances as well. Why would God allow such times in our lives? For His glory. If everything in our lives were mountaintops then we would start to believe that we had something to do with it. Let's be real. When do we rely upon God more? It is about God being strong in our lives; not ourselves. The Apostle Paul would suffer from a messenger from Satan what he referred to as a thorn in his flesh. Many have tried to postulate what that thorn may be. Perhaps he suffered from a physical ailment. Perhaps he suffered from the haunting memories of when he persecuted the church. I think that God specifically left the identity of the thorn unknown as a message to us all. The thorn is not nearly as relevant as our reaction to it. Here was Paul's reaction:
To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2Corinthians 12: 7-10
Paul does not discuss what the thorn is. But he has ascertained why God has allowed it. He was given great revelation. He has seen things that no man should have been allowed to see. He understands that this could lead to great conceit; great pride. Thus the Lord allowed the thorn to remind him of whom he relies. It is through weakness that the power of Christ rests upon him.
The same principle works in us today. When we face weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and difficulties we need to be less concerned with what they are as we should be with who God is in relation to them. Who God is in our lives. It is not about our strength but the power of Christ in us. When that power is manifest in us, we can face any challenge and overcome it. When we are too busy asking "why me" we lose sight of "why God." He has a reason for refining us always:
This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The LORD is our God.' " Zechariah 13: 9
Refining is the process of removing impurities from metals, such as silver. The Lord is likewise seeking to remove the impurities within us. That is not easily achieved during times of prosperity but rather in the valley when we truly seek God. When we do, we will realize the third truth from our key verse nothing in this life is certain.
We can become too enamored with the world and the empty promises it makes. It is the instability of the world that leads to the seasons we must navigate. God will always use everything for His glory and our good. We need to be happy when times are good. God did not mean for us to live our lives in sackcloth and ashes. If we are happy when God blesses us it will lead us to stand firm when hard times strike. To see the hand of God in every situation in our life. To greatly rejoice despite our circumstances:
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1Peter 1: 6-7
The seasons will come and go. Whatever you are going through you are only going through. David only walks through the valley of the shadow of death. We need to be happy in the prosperity God has blessed us with, stand firm during the refining trials and remember that in this life nothing is certain. Only beyond this life do we find certainty. In God, His Word, and the eternal life He has so graciously allowed us to partake of.
Reverend Anthony Wade June 29, 2010
