Are there not some days you wish you could climb back under the covers because whatever you touch there seems to be a problem? Could this be this day for you? Where nothing seems to be going right?
And you question, where is God? Such was the conversation I was having with a dear friend who has been questioning where God is, as he has dealt with so much illness and pain over the past year.
Where is God? Does He not see your pain, my pain? And then my friend’s son reminded us both about Job. I encourage you to read Job 1. Here are some verses from the Book of Job.
1 There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. 2 He had seven sons and three daughters. 3 He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.
7 “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan.
Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”
8 Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”
9 Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. 10 You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! 11 But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”
12 “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
Many of us do not want to hear about evil. But evil is real, and Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. We will never fully understand why we suffer and what causes our suffering or why we are chosen. But there is one thing I can say, we grow through our suffering. Our suffering allows us to draw closer to God. For in those dark periods we learn to depend on God.
From Romans 5:1-5 Apostle Paul reminds us, “5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
If only we could hold on to these verses when we are confronted with suffering. We are offered peace, grace, endurance, hope, love; all through God and His Son Jesus Christ. But in the midst of our suffering, our human side takes over. We want the suffering to either not begin or to end very quickly.
Let us therefore put our trust in God and His Son Jesus Christ, that they will see us through any difficulties we are experiencing in our lives. Hold on to the promises God has made to us; hold on to His unchanging hand; hold on to His love for us. Where is God you might ask? He is right there, holding you up through your trials.
Enjoy "God will make a way" by Don Moen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zo3fJYtS-o
Despite all that Job went through, he did not curse God. It was the one thing Satan wanted him to do. Remember, God is on your side.