Suffering Brings Us Closer to God…If We Let It
Job lost it all. Job 1:20 says he fell to the ground in
worship. Wait! He lost it all and he worshiped! That is character! Right now
the mom of NFL player who was killed while in the drunk drivers car when it
crashed (forgive me, I’m sports illiterate- I don’t know the names)…the mom is
glad the driver was reinstated to the Cowboys. That is character. A mom who
befriended the boy who shot and killed her son, and treated him like a son…has
character. Job 1:21-22 says, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may
the name of the Lord be praised. In all this, Job did not sin by charging God
with wrongdoing.” His wife even asked him in Job 2:9, “Are you still
maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die.” I love Job’s response, “You are
talking like a foolish woman. Do we accept good from God and not troubles?” Do
we do that as well…complain, complain, complain.
The beginning of school has started and I have already done
my fair share of complaining! Communication seems to be lacking in several
areas, but instead of rolling with the punches, I seem to be complaining. That
is not character! If I could do it
all again, I think I would just speak the positive and not get caught up in the
conversations.
Question…Has anyone ever changed their character in good
times? In good times, everything seems to be going well. Everyone is happy and
content. Why change that? In troubles, the yuck
of our hearts shows through and we see what we need to scrape off...if we
are paying attention and not just asserting our rights. That is why we should
welcome trials. It shows us how to be closer to God by being more like him. So,
when suffering and trials come, look deeper than just the hurt and find out
what God so desperately wants you to develop in your life. He wants your
character stronger like Jobs.
Suffering brings us closer to God if we let it. The two ladies I mentioned, I bet they are happy, at peace and feel closer to God than if they were bitter, angry and cursing God. Suffering
can also drive a wedge if we let it. Choose to build your character or die
trying to be independent from God thinking you deserve only good.
1 comment:
Good thoughts. Building character to me is an ongoing project; one that can so quickly be damaged if we aren't cautious. I find that I don't nearly complain as much as I did not so long ago...thank you Lord for your immense influence.
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