All in Faith/Trust
Exit stage left Satan, off to do mischief somewhere else.
Job had indeed passed Satan’s tests without sinning (1:22; 2:10), but the suffering he continued to experience was surreal. His children had been crushed in a whirlwind (1:19), his livestock raided or burned by fire from the sky (1:15-17), his servants put to the sword (1:15,17), his skin afflicted with sores from head to toe (2:7).
Ah, Job I thought as I contemplated the Womenary calendar last fall—not exactly the most uplifting book. Now wasn’t that just typical of 2020! But what better time than the present to consider the reality of suffering with all the ups and downs of that year and the February deep freeze of this. Let’s jump on into the deep end ladies, as suffering is indeed a deep subject.
While driving home from a stressful trip on a quaint country road, I set the cruise control in my car to 71mph. As I travelled along enjoying the scenery and peacefulness, I got distracted and looked down to fiddle with the car menu. I glanced back up at the very last second to avoid hitting a car stopped dead still in front of me. I felt like God tapped me on the shoulder just in time. Thankfully, no accident occurred.
I have a friend whom I greatly admire professionally. She is one of the best in her field. She has stated emphatically to me that she is not a believer in Jesus Christ, but she has also stated that she is searching for truth. More than once she has remarked that her mind is filled with questions and that she is frustrated, even angry about her lack of answers. She has determined to continue seeking answers to the big questions in life—answers that she says may never come.
How do you respond when God does the unexpected? I am a planner. Before I begin something, I like to determine a plan of action and approximately how long my task will take. In a recent assignment, I thought I knew the plan of action, and I had an idea of the amount of time that would be involved. But then God did the unexpected.
Have you ever had to run to keep up with God? Recently, I was part of a group that was given an assignment of great magnitude. Each of us felt the weight of this responsibility, and we fervently sought God, asking Him to make His will known. Following God one step at a time became our group’s heartfelt desire. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
Many “several years ago” when I had a hard body and long hair, I did some mountain climbing and rock climbing. During those times, I heard many climbers making pleas and promises to God such as: “Help me, Jesus! Lord, if you just get me off this mountain, I promise I will never do this again.” Sometimes during climbing the fear level on a Richter scale of 1 to 10 can be a 25.
The Lord led us to move to the Fort Worth area after living my entire life in East Texas. How exciting! What an adventure! Okay, Lord, lead and direct our path! It seemed so easy. Our house sold in one day. We began packing.
Have you ever taken on a project that felt impossible? You don’t know where to start. It feels overwhelming. There are too many steps in the process. Certain things have to happen that are out of your control in order to accomplish it
I play a little game with my son where I ask him how much I love him. He replies in numbers. The joke is that he usually says, “zero” or “one.” Then I correct him with the craziest number I can make up, which is undoubtedly unscientific, followed by tickles and laughter. There is no number that can express quantitatively how much I love my children. Though we play silly games, my son knows that I love him. He believes it. He trusts me, he trusts in my unfailing love.
Have you ever had a conversation that helped you reframe a current circumstance? Recently my husband’s comments about a difficult situation provided me much-needed perspective.
My older daughter was given a cell phone when she started getting involved in a lot of drop-off events. When we gave her the phone we also included with it a set of rules that we expected her to respect and obey.
Zechariah had a vision from the Lord. It was set up similar to a court setting and standing on trial was Joshua, the high priest. Zechariah saw the angel of the Lord and Satan standing next to Joshua ready to accuse him for his wrong doings.
My six-year old daughter was in the bathroom staring in the mirror with tears rolling down her face. She was torn with emotions of fear and courage trying to wiggle out her extremely loose tooth.
I love singing worship music while in the car listening to the local Christian radio station or at church during worship service. I just love to sing!
The endless cacophony between Job and his four friends is over and God essentially tells Job to be still: who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?” Indeed! And with that the LORD beckons His servant Job (42:7,8)—servant having the connotation of the one I trust, who worships me (Strong’s)—to come in close: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). You see, Job had to step away from his circumstances to know the One who was in control.
King David ran from his enemies more than once. Perhaps he wrote the words of Psalm 63 while running from an angry King Saul. Maybe, he wrote these thoughts while fleeing from his own son, Absalom. Both scenarios seem awful! I’ve driven through the Judean wilderness in an air-conditioned bus. I’ve also viewed it from the ruins of Masada, King Herod’s winter palace. Both times the wilderness appeared formidable. Thoughts of hiding there terrify me.
Jesus often said two words when calling His disciples: “Follow me.” Jesus emphasized that entering into a relationship with Him involved more than belief. It also involved commitment. Jesus said, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23). Upon belief, you and I begin a journey with Jesus that lasts for eternity. He leads; we follow.
Endless summer days. Texas heat. Drought. We hadn’t seen rain for weeks. The grass struggled with its gray hue, and flowers remained wilted in spite of my effort of moving sprinklers around to keep them watered. I prayed daily for rain to come.
