Shall we accept good from the Lord, and not trouble?

26 July - Ex-employee kills 19 persons in a knife attack at a care center for people with mental disabilities in Sagamihara, Japan

22 July - 18 year old kills 9 persons in a shopping mall in Munich, Germany

20 July - US airstrikes in Manbij, Syria kill 73 civilians, mainly women and children

15 July - Truck driver in Nice, France kills 84 persons as he plowed through crowds with a lorry

And this is only in the last two weeks. There were bombings in Belgium, mass and racial profile shootings in the United States, floods in Ghana and many other disasters worldwide since the start of this year. Many people are worried about their safety, and the safety of their loved ones. Others question how  a loving God can allow all this evil and destruction to take place.

Allow me to share some insights that came out our Youth Adults Sunday School class study on the book of Job a couple weeks ago:

*We do not have any control over loss

*God does not always act in the way we think He should. This causes us to struggle to make sense out of the challenges we face in life

*God sets limits to what Satan can do. He cannot act unless God gives him permission

*There is a heavenly scenario that is behind the earthly circumstances in our life

*Job never got an answer to the "why" question from God. "Why" assumes that you can understand the answer

*Job understood God's sovereign authority

*Job understood that his identity was not defined by his possessions

*Job recognised God's hand on his life in the midst of his loss

*Nothing is wrong with mourning your loss

*If we don't recognise that all we have comes from God, we will try to blame others when we suffer loss

*God is never wrong for taking anything away from us

*Satan does not stop his attacks against believers. He is never satisfied

*Our response in devastating situations show why we really love and serve God

*Even though Job did nothing to cause Satan's attack on his life, there was purpose behind it

*God has a plan for our lives, and it may not always be pleasant, or in alignment with our plan

*Job's wife struggled with faith vs. practicality. Her recommendations were based on what made sense in her mind, rather than on faith

*Job's friends earned the right to speak about his disaster because they showed sympathy and their wilingness to empathise with Job. They were willing to put aside their own agendas to mourn with him. Sometimes we are too quick to speak when persons suffer loss

*Adversity is not just a part of life, but it is a part of knowing God. Jesus Himself experienced suffering, so we cannot escape it

*That which produces pain, produces life. The suffering of the cross produces a type of humanity that never existed before - humans who have the very presence of God living in them, through the Holy Spirit

*It is not sinful to have and acknowledge our emotions in times of distress, even though what we say may not always line up with truth. We need to be careful, however, about how we act based on our emotions.

*Our emotions are connected to our thoughts and beliefs. If our emotion is based on a thought or belief that is not truth, we need to replace that thought or belief with truth.

*Our behaviour as Christians must be consistent with truth, irrespective of our emotions

*Good or bad is linked to the purposes of God, not His character

*Bad does not necessarily mean we have done something wrong; it depends on God's purposes

*We must leave space for people to go through the grieving process because they are human. There is no time limit for grief, and they may go through ups (don't get too exuberant when they do)  and downs (don't lose hope when they do)

*The law of cause and effect does not always apply in the face of disaster i.e. wicked men -> bad things happening. There are times when God intervenes

*Job had a desire to see God in the midst of his mess

*We should seek to know God for ourselves instead of depending on the multitude of advisors

*Only God's purposes can give meaning to the circumstances of life

As much as Job was upright and blameless, he struggled when faced with suffering, feeling hopeless as he came to the end of himself. He could not depend on his past track record - all he could do was hold on to God.

In the face of suffering, we must keep in mind that the only good thing we have in this life is God. Suffering causes our understanding of God to change. It is God's way of processing us. The fact that God sometimes allows us to be crushed, instead of just letting us die, means that God has a plan for us.

Job didn't just focus on the disaster he was experiencing - he acknowledged that his suffering came from God. He didn't think that he was evil because he was experiencing something bad. In spite of the darkness he was experiencing, Job had desires in his heart, and this gave him hope.


Questions for reflection:
*How is our relationship with God affected when He takes away what we feel we have a right to? (health, job, life)

*When God looks at our life, what is his testimony about us? (Have you considered my servant Job)

*What is our reflex action in times of unexpected tragedy? (Job's was worship)

*When we deal with difficult situations, do we hold fast to God at the end, or is our faith weakened?

*What do we do when our faith is not practical? (Is our practicality going to be surrendered to our faith?)

*Are you more or less inclined to love God, knowing that suffering is a part of life with Him?