COLOSSIANS 1:9-14-And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
From a human vantage point, life is full of many uncertainties, many sudden calamities, and twists and turns that don’t always turn out good. We only need to recall exhibit one to prove these realities–Job. Here is his life pre-calamities:
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It maybe that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually (Job 1:1-5). Life is good for Job. Investments doing well. Family is healthy. Smooth sailing. Now we observe Job in the midst of catastrophe:
Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong (Job 1:13-22)
The lesson for today and one needing to be revisited often is, for the Christian, there are no uncertainties or surprise calamities in our lives. We live under the sovereign control of our God who is our Redeemer. That does not mean pain, loss, or sorrows, as exhibited in Job’s life, will be absent. But no matter what happens to us, whatever loss, at the end of the day, we remain God’s children and the truths of today’s scripture also remain–redemption and forgiveness. Yes, we may indeed lose everything and everyone in our lives on earth, but the most precious and important things will never be lost–our salvation and relationship with the Lord. Cling to these when unexpected, but sovereign, losses or trials come into our lives.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for when all is said and done, no matter my lot in life, to be Your child is all that matters.”
QUOTE: “In all of life’s difficulties, sorrows, losses, and disappointments, remember they are only for a season.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim