Monday, May 20, 2013

A Response to Suffering and Sorrow – Finding Comfort through Job



“Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept evil?”
(Job 2:10)

It is never easy accepting painful circumstances in our lives.  Adversity is guaranteed to come and go while we usually find ourselves kicking and screaming against any of it.  The child in us prefers to only live out the happy ending of a fairy tale.  At this point of life and in my faith, I am confident that the life I have this very day is the life God has ordained for me.  No matter how difficult things may be, through whatever today brings, I know it holds an opportunity to learn, to grow, and to overcome.  In spite of knowing that, it’s still not easy to endure suffering and sorrow. 

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Stand on Your Knees! The Sun WILL Rise after the Night

I have been observing that there seems to be a sudden surge of utter despair overcoming people.  This life is full of ups and downs.  Living this life carries with it the promise that not only will we face joys but that we will also face great sorrows.  It seems to me too many people are being tempted to give up in total hopelessness rather than endure and push through with perseverance.  It truly breaks my heart.  As all these things happen, I am reminded of something I wrote a long time ago and eventually posted on this site in the post God is Hope.

I am currently 44 years old.  I have faced my share of joys and sorrows.  I’ve had my share of trials and sufferings—as a child, as a youth, as a young adult, and as a full grown adult.  I have faced the death of loved ones.  I have faced the heartache of being forsaken and abandoned by those who had previously claimed to love me.  I have felt the bitter sting of hatred from those I love deeply.  Some of the trials have certainly felt like much more than I wanted to endure or felt like I could endure.  Some of the trials lasted a short time (days or months) while others went on for years, which felt to me like an eternity.  During some of those trials, I was tempted to give up all hope and despair completely.  My spiritual enemy and adversary of God, the devil, lied to me and tried to convince me to give up hope and to give up my faith in God.  There were times when the spiritual enemy even tried to convince me that death was better than life. 

Who brings utter despair knocking on the door of our soul?