Another day knocks at our door to continue another page of our life. It will bring new mercies and strength to help us hurdle over all of its challenges, wisdom to choose the best course in the journey, joy to enjoy every single moment and God’s protection and blessings to have not only a wonderful day but a blessed day. Unfortunately, we have an adversary to contend with even in every blessed day.
The roads we walk are frequently roads of suffering and sometimes hard to navigate. God’s ways often seem difficult, steep and narrow, but the destination is more than worth it. “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4: 7-8) God uses pain to inspect us, correct us and to perfect us. He is building our faith and with each level it requires sacrifice. “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2: 13)
The Spirit will always lead us in the right direction. “Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.” (John 16: 13) We don’t always like the trials handed out to us, but take good courage when it starts to get hard and unbearable. We must remember the Word that God delivered to us for when we most desperately need it. We must pray and pray some more and fast if we have to. God will show up and see us through. “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1: 9) So when fear and doubt start to creep in, take a moment to pray. Pray hard and let Him know what you’re facing. Remind Him of what His Word says and have faith the He will deliver you.
We don’t always feel God’s presence but His promises do not depend upon our feelings. They rest upon His integrity. The process is temporary and the promises are permanent! He doesn’t always stop bad things from happening but that’s never been part of the promise. The promise is that He will always be there with us, always present in our circumstance, never to leave nor forsake us.
The hardest trials, the most severe ones are the ones that hurt us the most! They bring confusion, helplessness, anxiety and fear. But even during our worst fears we have a Savior Who wants us to rely on Him as we suffer persecution and tribulation. “That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.” (1Thessalonians 3: 3-4) We put our trust, hope and faith in God to deliver us, to take care of the situation at hand. God has His own timing and His own way of handling the matter which may be contrary to what we desire. When we don’t get our way it stirs up all kinds of mixed emotions and even disappointments sometimes. It’s that feeling of one’s hope or expectations being unfulfilled.
Sadness and depression set in when our expectation for a desired outcome is squashed. It is a feeling of being let down especially when we thought that we deserved something and it didn’t happen. The situation turns out to our dissatisfaction. The outcome is not what we wanted or expected. Anger, rage and fury can set in and destroy our faith and trust in God. These negative emotions hinder our walk with God therefore, making our lives unfruitful. He is always fair and gracious to those who obey and live to honor Him. He reminds us that life will not always be easy or comfortable, yet He lovingly warns us to be watchful and to anticipate hardship. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (2 Timothy 3: 12) He also assures us that His presence is constant, He would faithfully support us and that He will reward us.
Have we ever disappointed God? Can we?? We have had many failed attempts to live right. What about the times when we rejected God, the disobedience, the broken promises and the vows we didn’t keep? Yes, we make mistakes, we sin, we lose our way, but God still loves us even in our wretchedness. He still forgives us. He still molds us into what He created us to be. And though God knows that we are just dust, He still cares for us and is concerned about us. So let us strive to never do anything to displease our Creator Who loves us more than we’ll ever know. “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4: 30)
God sends trials to test you, to build your faith and trust in Him as well as for all types of reasons. “And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no. And He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that He might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” (Deuteronomy 8: 2- 3) “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” (1 Peter 1: 6-7)
Situations that turn life upside down can often shift the perspectives to right side up. Meaning, the thing that you suffer now could produce something for God’s glory further down the road. Remember the story of Joseph? He went from the pit to the palace back to the pit to another palace. His brothers did him wrong but in the end God meant it all for good. We have doubts and questions that we may not always understand but we trust and believe in God anyway.
It's very important to know what you’re getting and what you deserve when hardships arrive. The stories of Job and David are prime examples of that statement. Job was a man that was good, upright, wealthy, feared God and avoided evil. He had 7 sons and 3 daughters who partied every day at each other’s house. But Job offered sacrifices for his children daily. “And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.” (Job 1: 5) God had blessed Job on all sides but Satan went before God to destroy all that he had. God granted permission and Satan went to work. Job lost everything in a matter of minutes. He was besieged with the rapid-fire arrival of various messengers who kept delivering to him bad news which eventually culminated in the stunning report that his children were dead. “While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” (Job 1: 18-22)
Job could have been disappointed but he chose to bless God in all of his suffering even after all that he had just went through. Even as Satan afflicted him with boils all over his body, prompting his wife to make a nastily unwise and ill-advised comment: “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” (Job 2: 10) Through it all, Job had to be taught, and he learned a few lessons about who God was and still is, which worked out for his good. “So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses. He had also seven sons and three daughters.” (Job 42: 12-13) God had given Job twice as much as he had. Sometimes our children, people, family and life in general are going to disappoint us but we still continue to pray until the situation changes according to God’s will. Pray to pull down strongholds and barriers that are in the way. Pray to open the eyes of those who have lost their way. Pray for whatever the situation is. Moms and Dads, don’t ever stop praying for your children. There is hope in all circumstances, so have faith in God. Be patient and let God be God. Sometimes our disappointments may need for God to work situations out. He may have to administer some type of corrective action in order to work the thing out that you prayed for.
As for King David, he had an affair with a married woman, Bathsheba, who had gotten pregnant by him while her husband Uriah was away in a war. David set him up to be killed so that he could marry Bathsheba. “And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.” (2 Samuel 11: 27) The sin that David committed will be dealt with accordingly as God saw fit. He sent His servant Nathan to confront King David. “Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised Me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.”
And though David repented, there was still a price to be paid for his behavior. “And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died…” (2 Samuel 12: 22-24)
Now, when David was told that the child had died he got up and went about his day. “And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.” (2 Samuel 12: 22-24) God had blessed him and Bathsheba with King Solomon but his indiscretion with Bathsheba cost him a child and a slew of curses that he had to contend with for the rest of his life. As I stated earlier, we must know the difference between what we are getting (Job) and what we deserve (David). I’m not saying that the child deserved to die but what I am saying is that David sinned against God and set into motion events that affected other people.
When we suffer, is it for our service, sacrifice and devotion to God? Is it that He has something waiting for us, perhaps a gift? Or is our suffering for a sin that we have committed? If so, we can expect God to punish us for our wrongdoing when we are disobedient to His Word. “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” (Colossians 3: 23-25) “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” (1 Peter 4: 15-16)
There is no God like our God. We have so much to be thankful for in spite of the circumstances that trouble our Spirit. Sometimes hardships and difficulty doesn’t mean that you are off course but that God is preparing you. Seasons of comfort don’t transform you into who God desires you to be. It’s the confusing season, the pressing and pruning season, the times when everything seems stripped away. Guard your heart, your words and thoughts when you are tempted to lose hope. Trust God through the process. There is no breakthrough without a battle but God continues to protect, provide and deliver us. Sometimes we don’t understand why things happen the way they do but I know in the end that God has a plan and it’s always for our benefit. Believe that God already has that problem worked out. The waiting period is the time to establish our allegiance to Him by obeying Him and keeping His commandments. Your enemy is watching your every move as he sets up road blocks to keep you down. He is armed with many strategies. The fight is real as we try to restore, replenish and refocus our hearts on our God Who faithfully remains the same in all our circumstances.
We should never be bitter or angry at God for disappointments. People of both genders, as well as all races, ethnicities and economic backgrounds experience disappointments. No one has it all together. We are all living and learning, winning and failing, hoping and praying. Rejoice over your blessings and the fact that God has never failed us. When we were down and out He gave us songs of deliverance to encourage our hearts and loving memories of how He graciously and miraculously came to our rescue. The Bible is God’s truth. It’s all about Him, His Son, His ways, His blessings and His wrath. Meditate on them and give yourself fully to Him.
Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. May we look beyond the surface of our circumstances to God’s eternal purpose and everlasting Kingdom. Move forward in the promises and the peace of God. We know that His Word is true and His rewards are certain, both here and now as well as in the life hereafter. Whenever we long for the past perfection of the Garden of Eden comfort your heart with the hope of the New Jerusalem that awaits us. We will see Jesus as He is with forever shouts of Holy, Holy, Holy!
May the level of our worship rise to the level of God’s faithfulness and may He be glorified through it all.
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