June 25, 2006 - Job 3-4 and Acts 7:44-60
Even though there is great hope for everyone who knows God, we still get depressed and sometimes bad things happen to us. This is not a contradiction. It is a part of being human, and it gives us the opportunity to trust God even more. In other words, God is able to bring something wonderful out of the worst circumstances, if we will trust Him. That is the source of our hope in Him. It is not that we think no difficulties will come, but He is able to make us victorious over the difficulties of life. Let God speak to you about this victory as we read these passages today.
Job 3 and 4 show us that Job went into a cycle of depression after all of his losses. We call this the "grief process." Job had lost loved ones, possessions, and his health. Any one of these things could have brought on this process, but all three happening at once made it even worse. Of course, he felt down and discouraged. That is a part of depression. Depression is a part of the grief process. Some days a depressed person does not want to get out of bed or to see anyone else. Job was that low. In addition, he began to have many questions. That is part of the grief process, too. We wonder why. The problem is that we may never know why. We must leave why to God. We must ask God what we need to do to come through the process and to come out healthy on the other side. He will lead us through each step faithfully as we trust Him and His Word to guide us. In Job's case he did not have a Bible to read, but he had friends to help him with God's will. They were not always right at assessing Job's situation, but they did give him some good insights. In chapter 4 Eliphaz assures Job that a man can't be as righteous as God. (v.17) He was saying that even though Job could not understand why these things had happened, he could be sure that God was not making a mistake. If a mistake was made it was made by Job. Have you come to that place in your life yet? Do you know that God is always right, and if there is a problem, it is with you, and not with God? That is the foundation for letting God help you through any crisis or loss. Just trust that God is good. He loves you so much. He is there for you.
Think about that with Stephen in Acts 7. He gets stoned to death. How is that a hopeful situation? God took care of him to the maximum. He took him to heaven to be with his Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, our ultimate hope in Christ is knowing that this world is not the end, and that since we know Christ, we will go to be with Him whatever happens here. That takes the sting out of anything Satan can throw at us. In Stephen's case it was his death that started Saul thinking about Jesus, too. God brought something else wonderful out of his death. He began drawing Saul to Himself, so that one day he would be known as the Apostle Paul. Doesn't that give you great hope? God can bring great good out of the worst situations of life.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 5-7 and Acts 8:1-25.
Job 3 and 4 show us that Job went into a cycle of depression after all of his losses. We call this the "grief process." Job had lost loved ones, possessions, and his health. Any one of these things could have brought on this process, but all three happening at once made it even worse. Of course, he felt down and discouraged. That is a part of depression. Depression is a part of the grief process. Some days a depressed person does not want to get out of bed or to see anyone else. Job was that low. In addition, he began to have many questions. That is part of the grief process, too. We wonder why. The problem is that we may never know why. We must leave why to God. We must ask God what we need to do to come through the process and to come out healthy on the other side. He will lead us through each step faithfully as we trust Him and His Word to guide us. In Job's case he did not have a Bible to read, but he had friends to help him with God's will. They were not always right at assessing Job's situation, but they did give him some good insights. In chapter 4 Eliphaz assures Job that a man can't be as righteous as God. (v.17) He was saying that even though Job could not understand why these things had happened, he could be sure that God was not making a mistake. If a mistake was made it was made by Job. Have you come to that place in your life yet? Do you know that God is always right, and if there is a problem, it is with you, and not with God? That is the foundation for letting God help you through any crisis or loss. Just trust that God is good. He loves you so much. He is there for you.
Think about that with Stephen in Acts 7. He gets stoned to death. How is that a hopeful situation? God took care of him to the maximum. He took him to heaven to be with his Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, our ultimate hope in Christ is knowing that this world is not the end, and that since we know Christ, we will go to be with Him whatever happens here. That takes the sting out of anything Satan can throw at us. In Stephen's case it was his death that started Saul thinking about Jesus, too. God brought something else wonderful out of his death. He began drawing Saul to Himself, so that one day he would be known as the Apostle Paul. Doesn't that give you great hope? God can bring great good out of the worst situations of life.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 5-7 and Acts 8:1-25.