IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL

 IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL

Job 14:14-17 “If mortals die, can they live again? This thought would give me hope, and through my struggle I would eagerly wait for release. You would call and I would answer, and you would yearn for me, your handiwork. For, then you would count my steps, instead of watching for my sins. My sins would be sealed in a pouch, and you would cover over my iniquity. NLT

Job was overwhelmed by his troubles. He was miserable. His sufferings dominated his life. His friends were no help to him at all. In fact, they only made things worse for they were judging him for his struggles instead of comforting him through them.

The one thing that helped Job is hope. Job was able to endure his sufferings because he believed that there was much more to life than his present sufferings. He believed that even if he were to die in his sufferings, it would be worth it all because he would see God and be with Him.

We cannot predict or control our sufferings. They come without regard to who we are. They come in varying degrees. Some of us suffer a lot, some far less. No amount of self-will can make them go away. What matters is how we handle ourselves when they come.

As children of God, we have hope. We understand that this life is not the end of the story. Our lives may fall apart and rot away, but we have hope. No matter what we may have to deal with in this life, we have eternal life with Christ on the other side of our lives. No amount of suffering can take our hope away from us. We have God’s guarantee that better days are ahead for us.

Dear friend, don’t give up; don’t buckle underneath the heavy load of suffering. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. He is the author of our salvation and He is the finisher of it. He has in store for you a life that is beyond your ability to comprehend in its glory. The life that waits for you in heaven is pure, without sin and any of its side effects on life. This life is a joyous life without any suffering or pain. It is an eternal life of celebration of life in God.

Look up, dear friend, it is worth it all. Someday soon we shall see Jesus!

ARE YOU READY TO DIE?

 ARE YOU READY TO DIE?

Job 14:5 “You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.” NLT

God is in control. We will not live a day longer or less than God has determined we will live. This truth should cause us to pause and think.

God does not tell us the date on our death certificate. He withholds from us the details of when and how we will leave this life. Graciously, He spares us from the anxieties we would live with if we knew the details. There could be no peace in daily living if all that was on our minds was when and how we would die.

Not knowing the details should inspire us to not waste our time on earth. We are given just so much time on earth to be right with God and prepare for our deaths. Our tomorrow may never come. Each day and moment is a precious gift of God. If we squander it, we will not see God except from afar.

The issue before us today is our readiness to die. Since we don’t know when that will be we must be prepared at all times for our death. It is foolish to think that there is plenty of time left for us to get right with God. It is foolish to think that we can determine when we will turn our lives around and live rightly before God.

God knows when you will die, you don’t. God knows whether or not you will even be able to choose to live for Him later in life, you don’t. God alone knows how many more opportunities you have to get it right. Are you ready to die?

SILENCE IS GOLDEN

 SILENCE IS GOLDEN

Job 13:5 “Please be quiet! That’s the smartest thing you could do.” NLT

Sometimes just shutting up and being quiet is the best thing we can ever do. There are times in which to say anything just makes matters worse. Job’s friends simply didn’t understand this simple truth. They insisted on telling Job what he was doing wrong to cause all his troubles. They insisted that his physical problems were caused by his spiritual problems.

Sometimes we think we know so much when in reality we know so little. We can easily show our ignorance by opening our mouths. We often do more harm than good when we offer advice that is misguided. Sometimes a troubled soul just needs a listening ear. They need others to not try to fix them, just understand them. Sometimes we need others to just be there to show support and concern, nothing else.

We can learn much by just being quiet. When we are quiet we can listen with our hearts instead of just with our minds. We can gain an understanding of what troubled souls are feeling and thinking. We can learn how to pray for them in their troubles and then perhaps offer godly advice when it is right to do so.

If you want to be a real help to those troubled in life, learn to be quiet. Not everyone needs your wisdom nor welcomes it. Ask the Lord to help you bridle your tongue. Ask Him for wisdom to know when to be silent and pray and when to offer wisdom and guidance. Ask Him to keep your heart humble enough so that you don’t have to be the savior of troubled souls. And, ask Him to forgive you for those times you have done more harm than good by opening your mouth instead of just being quiet and waiting on Him on behalf of others. Ask Him as well to know when you do need to speak up.

SLOW TO UNDERSTAND

 SLOW TO UNDERSTAND

Job 12:4-5a “Yet my friends laugh at me. I am a man who calls on God and receives an answer. I am a just and blameless man, yet they laugh at me. People who are at ease mock those in trouble.” NLT

It is easy to do, in fact, most people do it. We are quick to find fault with one another and slow to understand one another. There is a tendency to blame one another for our difficulties instead of supporting each other as we go through them.

Not all troubles are caused by wrong living. Troubles are a natural by-product of living in a fallen world. Many times we face troubles that have nothing to do whatsoever with the condition of our hearts. Bad things do happen to good people; it’s just a part of living.

The issue is not why troubles come, it’s how we handle our troubles that matter. We can internalize our troubles, feel sorry for ourselves, and blame God for them. Or, we can turn to God and seek His help through them. Sometimes God will alter circumstances to get us out of trouble and sometimes He will send others alongside of us to help us. If we trust God, He will show us the way to handle our problems and a way out of them.

I like Job’s confidence in his relationship with God. He was accustomed to God answering his prayers. Why? He was a just and blameless man. He lived so close to God that there was no doubt whatsoever in his mind that his troubles had nothing to do with how he lived. Oh, but that we would have such confidence before God! Oh, but that we could say that when we pray God answers our prayers! Oh, but that we could say that we live just and blameless lives!

What needs to change in order for you to make such claims about your relationship with the Lord? It is God’s desire that all of us live blameless lives before Him. In order for that to happen, we must be willing to let Him change us in any way He chooses. We must seek to please Him in every area of our lives. We must always strive to do what is right before Him.

Others may not understand us; they may even mock us. But living just and blameless lives before God is our highest calling and greatest need in life. It is the way of the cross and no one will make it to heaven unless they walk it.

EXAMINE ME, O GOD

 EXAMINE ME, O GOD

Job 7:17-18 “What are mere mortals, that you should make so much of us? For you examine us every morning and test us every moment.” NLT

Have you ever asked the Lord this question? I know I have. It is a mystery to me why the Lord pays so much attention to us. Knowing what I know about me, I would think He would have much better things to do than to bother watching over and helping me. I would think that my struggles with sin would be my problem and not His. But, I have found that what I think doesn’t really matter. God is deeply involved with each of us. He cares about us and one of the ways He shows it is by examining our souls.

Even though it may make us uncomfortable at times, we should welcome God’s examinations. It is important for our souls’ sake to have our sins brought to light. We need to regularly have an attitude check. We need to have our misconceptions and wrong ideas gotten rid of. We need to constantly be reminded of just how much we need the Lord. We need to constantly be put back on the pathway of holiness.

The Lord shows He cares for us also by testing our faith. How else are we going to be made strong in faith? How else are we going to know how strong our faith really is? It is in the testing times of life that faith grows. We can grow in our understanding of faith without the testings, but we will never grow in faith without the testings.

We are the objects of God’s love. He created us in love to love us and for us to love Him in return. That is why we are here. We don’t deserve God’s attention, but I am so thankful we have it. Let us strive to never spurn or take for granted His love. Let us strive to act like we are loved by Him and strive to act like we love Him. Let us strive to live in such a way that when the Lord examines our hearts, we will not be found wanting with hearts full of sin.

SIN AND SUFFERING

 SIN AND SUFFERING

Job 6:14 “One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you have accused me without the slightest fear of the Almighty.” NLT

Job’s friends were sitting with him in his misery. They were there to try to help him get through this very rough time of his life. But, they were doing more harm than good. They had the idea that Job’s misery was caused by Job’s problems with God. They were certain that God was punishing Job for sinning against Him.

Many of us have similar notions. We see our trials and troubles of life as God’s punishment for our sins. We believe that the more holy we are the less trouble we are going to have. We strive to be as good as we can be so that we will avoid the disasters of life.

Job knew better. He didn’t understand why things were as they were, but he knew it wasn’t because of sin. He knew the integrity of his heart. He knew that there were no issues going on between God and himself. He knew because he made it a point to take care of his soul. He pursued godliness in his heart. He worked hard at keeping his heart right with God.

We need to be careful when we judge the heart of others. We are often mistaken in our judgments. It is not for us to accuse others of sin. God alone has that right. We can point out things that we see that are obviously sin, but that is as far as we dare go. We have no authority or right to condemn others. We must respect God and let Him take care of His own business. He does not need our doing His work for Him, nor is it welcomed.

It is good for us to befriend each other in troublesome times. It is good to come alongside each other as a helper. It is good for us to show our compassion by doing that which is good. Kindness to a suffering soul is the best medicine you can ever give. Don’t add salt to a wounded soul. If you don’t know how to help with kindness, don’t say anything.

ANCHORED IN CHRIST

 ANCHORED IN CHRIST

Job 6:10 “At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.” NLT

We need to learn from Job. In spite of his enormous physical and emotional pain, he did not deny God. He trusted and believed God no matter the circumstances of his life. He did not take the easy way out and blame God for his troubles. It is easy to use God as a scapegoat. It is much harder to hold on to God no matter what comes our way. It is easier to let go of God than it is to hang on. It is easier to not believe in what God has promised than it is to act out what He has promised in the storms of life.

We are most vulnerable when we are in pain and suffering through very difficult circumstances and Satan knows it. He will try his hardest to get you to doubt or deny God’s Word during those times. We don’t like suffering or pain.

A hymn that I grew up with asks the question, “Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?” How can we be sure it will hold? The answer lies in what we do in the calm seasons of life. It is then that we must invest our lives in Christ. It is then that we must pursue a deeper walk with Him. We must be faithfully and diligently into the Word, studying it and praying over it with a desire for greater understanding of it. We may sort of get by with giving the Word a nominal place in our lives when things are going well, but it really shows up when the storms come. The same thing holds true with our prayer life. The time to really develop a strong connection with God is when things are calm and going well.

Seek the Lord out and never be satisfied with anything less than an intimate walk with Him. Don’t play games with your soul. The closer you get to the Lord while things are calm, the better you will be able to cling to Him when things get rough. You will discover that you won’t doubt in the dark what you know to be true in the light. You will discover that your anchor will hold in the storms of life.