When It Happens To You

-June 26, 2024-

Good morning beloved, happy Wednesday,

“But now it comes upon you, and you are weary; It touches you, and you are troubled.”

(Job 4:5).

Little did Eliphaz realize at the time that his words would spark the debate, “Why do the righteous suffer?” Or as we may say, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” The other related question is, “Why do good things happen to bad people?” We are living in a broken, sinful world. Things happen, but how do we respond?

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were the three friends of Job who came to comfort him. They sat silently on the ground with him for seven days. Then Job spoke first. Once he did each of them responded and in affect accused Job of sinning, though they had no evidence of his wrongdoing. In the end, God had the last word and dealt with Job and rebuked his three friends for being completely wrong.

Today’s verse brings up a very important issue: how do we handle hardships when they happen to us? So many times we help others, comfort others, and encourage others who are going through great pain and suffering. We may visit them in their homes or hospital rooms, pray for them, and do all we can for them. This is what Job did. He was a helper, now he needed help.

Job 4:4 says, “Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have strengthened the feeble knees.” Now, it happened to Job and he got very discouraged, but he never blamed God nor did he lose his integrity. He is forever known for his patience.

How do you respond when it happens to you? When you are the one in pain; you are the one who is troubled; you are the one who is grieving? God uses our afflictions to develop our patience, endurance, perseverance, empathy, caring, and compassion. It gives us a whole new perspective when it happens to us!

There are many people who see what we are going through and how we are handling it. It is a real opportunity to be a testimony for Christ in the midst of our suffering. Am I going to fall apart or am I going to fall on God? Is my faith going to carry me through or my faith going to fail at the crucial hour?

I found a mug in my cupboard that was given to me years ago. It has several quotations on it by Ellen M.Cuomo regarding faith. My favorite one is so telling. It says, “Faith is holding on when you want to let go. It is letting go when you want to hold on.”

This quote really spoke to my heart. There are times when I am hurting so bad I just want to let go and give up; and conversely there are times I want to hold into my own will, my own ways, my own plans, my own solutions, and I just need to let go and let God handle them.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for who comes to God must believe that He is, and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

Have a blessed day trusting the Lord and clinging to Him. Stay safe and healthy.

Faith doesn’t look for a way out; it looks for a way up.

Dean