Posted by GWENTORRES on September 17, 2008 at 1:07am
Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy (James1:2, NLT).Dear friends:Frankly, I do not like adversity, and probably no one does. Yet whenadversities come, we can always count on God to see us through them andbless us from them.When I read Job I get blessed. God allowed Job to go through incredibletragedy and heartache. Think of the millions of people who benefit fromJob's testimony.Job said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him" (13:15, KJV).That kind of radical trust pleases the Lord. While we may not lookforward to adversity, we know when we get through it we will be a betterservant for the Lord.Many people are shining examples of this. For example, I remember awoman who lost her son in a tragic accident, and her husband was veryill. Then one of her sweet, loving sons, raised in the church, announcedthat he was a homosexual. It went on and on, one problem after another.But when I heard her speak, she spoke with joy, thanksgiving and praiseto God. There were many people in that audience who were having problemsof their own who heard her and were blessed and encouraged by her trustin God.Trusting God, Job went through his problems, and came out the otherside. We can always count on God to see us through to the other side. Wecannot see the other side with our physical eyes, but we can see it withour spiritual eyes -- with the eye of faith. "The just shall live byfaith" (Romans 1:17, KJV).As with Job, God allows us to be tested, although He is not the authorof evil, which is Satan's job description. When trials come our way, asthey do in a fallen world, let us echo Peter: "In this you greatlyrejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer griefin all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith -- of greaterworth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire -- may beproved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when JesusChrist is revealed" (1 Peter 1:6-7, NIV).By the way, a possible key as to why Job suffered is in his ownconfession: "What I feared has come upon me" (3:25). Fear, which is theopposite of faith, can produce a spiritual condition which Satan,through adversity, can see as an invitation to visit. Let us not befearful, but faithful.Yours for fulfilling the Great Commission each year until our Lordreturns,
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