Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Hard Times Come to Everyone

So...it's been well over a year since I've blogged anything. I've come to a point that I usually just publish my thoughts on Facebook. I figured I would take the opportunity to blog instead for a change.

Today I sit here in rather dire straits financially. I'm working towards getting my disability started, a process that I'm told takes quite a while. I have a dual purpose in writing this blog. I hope to encourage others who are struggling, and I also intend to look back on this in the future when I'm not struggling to see how far God has brought me.

Not one Christian is immune from trials. The Apostles were martyred for their faith-talk about hard times!!! Anyone with a small knowledge of the Bible knows that God tests people many times before He blesses them. I don't know His reasoning for that, and perhaps none of us will ever know the mind of God this side of Heaven.

A common theme that runs through the Bible is faith. Starting in Genesis with Abraham, we find God requiring His servants to have faith. Abraham was in what appeared to be a hopeless situation. He was too old, as certainly was Sarah, to have a child in the natural. God certainly seems to have a habit of waiting until things seem impossible before He does His work, doesn't He? It had to be a miracle!

What about Joseph? There's a hopeless case if there ever was one! His brothers wanted to murder him out of jealousy. They settled instead for selling him to traders. He went into slavery in Egypt. He was falsely accused of sexual misconduct and thrown into prison. How many of us would have given up at that point? I can sure say I would be tempted! Many of us would be asking God what in the world was He thinking? "God, you've given me all of these dreams, yet here I sit in prison accused of something I didn't do!" Yes, I can see myself saying that if I found myself in that position. Don't say it wouldn't tempt you. Joseph held tight to his faith. We have the benefit of hindsight to show us where Joseph ended up, something Joseph did not have. It wasn't like he could open up the book of Genesis and see how things turned out. We know how things turned out. God made his dreams into reality, and Joseph wound up second in command of Egypt!

Poor Job. He lost his children and his health. His wife told him to curse God and die. His friends accused him of harboring sin in his life. Some friends, eh? Satan just knew Job would curse God and renounce Him. In spite of everything happening to him, Job held to his integrity and trusted God. We know what he had to say-even if God killed him, he would still trust Him. That is some faith, folks! We all know how Job's story ended. Just like Joseph, though, Job didn't have the benefit of picking up the good ole KJV or NIV and seeing how his story ended. No! He had to have a faith walk. What happened in the end? God showed up, showed out, and He restored Job double for his trouble! Again, God let Job be in an impossible situation before He worked a miracle.

King David. A man after God's own heart. The inspiration for this blog I'm writing. We read in I Samuel 3 how God grew tired of Saul and told Samuel to go to the house of Jesse to anoint a new king. We know the story. All of Jesse's sons, save David, appeared before Samuel. Not one of them was the new appointed king. David was tending sheep! The sheep tender was to be the new king of Israel. Samuel anointed him king, and David took the throne the next day. Oh, wait, you say that's not how it happened? Well, darn it, you're right! David endured trials and tests long before ascending to the throne. Saul wanted him killed due to jealousy. David was on the run quite a while attempting to escape from Saul. Do you think perhaps David grew weary? I'm sure he did. Perhaps he even asked God what was going on and said he didn't understand what God was doing. In the end, David took the throne of Israel as God had promised.

Look, I could sit here for hours and talk on this subject pulling reference after reference after reference. A.W. Tozer is quoted as saying that God never uses a man greatly until He hurts him deeply. Is it fun? Not at all. No one likes trials and tribulations. We'd rather hear about prosperity and blessings. No doubt God does bless and give prosperity, but He also allows trouble to come our way. We may never understand the exact purpose of why He allows things, but we can be assured it is in our best interest. I don't think God has a problem with us saying we don't understand or praying for understanding as to why He is doing something. In the end, however, we have to trust God and let Him do his work. Hold tightly to your faith-it will be worth it all!!!