I’d like to share with you an event that happened to a real-life couple. This couple was well-respected in their community. They were independently wealthy. They had a large family by today’s standards, 10 children to be exact. God had blessed them abundantly. But their world was turned upside-down seemingly overnight.
In a freak accident, all 10 of their children, who had come together for a social event, were tragically killed at once. Then, due to unforeseen circumstances, this couple lost all of their wealth in a single day. As if this wasn’t enough, his health began to fail.
Now the point I want to make here is that although this husband and wife both experienced these same life events together, their responses to these events were very different from one another.
The wife responded by suggesting to her husband that he curse God and die. But Job’s response was, “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
We all experience trials and tragedies in our lives. In this respect, we are all the same. The differences lie in our individual responses to these events. Those who focus on their circumstances...well, their emotions tend to fluctuate in sync with said circumstances. But others recognize that while their circumstances may have changed, God has not. He’s just as good now as he was before, and this is their focus.
Now I’m not suggesting we should somehow be impervious to emotion. We’re still human. It’s natural to feel like the writer of Psalm 42:9 when he wrote, “I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” We all ask “Why?” at one time or another.
Even Job asked, “Why?” But if you read through the entire book of Job, nowhere does God ever answer that question. Job simply had to trust God. His own words were, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15).
“Trust in God.” We all say it, usually while giving advice to someone else. But it can be very difficult to put it into practice in our own lives. We all want to have the victory, but many often forget that all victories are preceded by battles. If you want to see a rainbow, you might have to get wet first. If you want to see a sunrise, you may have to wait through a dark time. To experience God’s healing power, you may have to first experience some pain.
Possibly the greatest example of trust in scripture is found in Daniel 3:16-18:
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
Notice that they believed God was able to perform a miracle in their situation, but their decision wasn’t contingent upon that miracle actually taking place. Their unconditional trust in God is encapsulated in those three little words at the beginning of verse 18, “But if not...”
I wonder how many of us today can demonstrate that level of trust.
“I know God can deliver me from my situation, but if not...”
“I know God can save my family, but if not...”
“I know God can heal this cancer, but if not...”
God did NOT prevent those three young men from being thrown into the fire that day. But here’s the thing. He went in with them and saw them through their ordeal.
No matter what tragedy befalls you, it is not an indication that God has forsaken you. That is a lie from the enemy to be rebuked. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” (Psalm 23:4). You’re not sent in; You’re led through!
Still more promises:
Hebrews 13:5 (KJV) ...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Matthew 28:20 (KJV) ...lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
If we can remember these things going into our situation, it will be a lot easier to praise God in spite of our circumstance.
If most any one of us was arrested on false charges and incarcerated without due process, our first response would probably be to lawyer up. But when it happened to Paul and Silas, they had church.
It’s a lot easier to walk by faith when you remember that your steps are ordered by the Lord.
David had this all figured out. He went from being Israel’s biggest celebrity to Israel’s most wanted all in the space of four chapters. His king and mentor was now seeking to take David’s life, and David was on the run. Seeing his friend was against him, he sought refuge with his enemy, the Philistines. When King Achish turned him away, David left Gath and headed for the hills.
On the way, he crossed the Valley of Elah, where, not that long before, he had defeated Goliath. Such contrast. How often are our greatest victories thrown in our faces during our lowest moments to remind us of how bad things have gotten?
When David finally arrived at the caves of Adullam, he did was most of us would probably do in his situation. He crawled into a hole in the ground. However, most of us would not have done it with the same attitude as David. You see, it was during these events that David took out his writing instrument and wrote the first verse of Psalm 34:
“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
David was not in denial of his situation. He was in acknowledgment of an unchanging, ever-present God who knows the end from the beginning. And He’s good all the time!
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