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When the World Caves In
How
to Cling to God When the World Caves In
.
Job
knew God's sovereignty is interwoven with His love. Job counted on God's
promise of resurrection. Job looked ahead, counting on his Lord's promise to
make all things bright and beautiful in the life beyond - He knew that
eventually all pain, sorrow, tears, adversity, and death would be removed. Job
endured the brokenness of today by envisioning the beauty of tomorrow. He
rested his adversity with God without feeling forced to answer why. Perhaps you
are beginning to get bruised by falling rocks. Maybe the avalanche has already
fallen . . . maybe not - God's power in Job's life is the same power you can
draw on in your life
by
Pastor Chuck Swindoll
Step into the time tunnel with me and let's
travel together back to the distant land of Uz . . .
Wherever it was, Uz had a citizen who had
everyone's respect, because he was blameless, upright, God-fearing, and clean
living.
He had 10 children, lots of livestock, plenty
of land, numerous servants, and a substantial stack of cash.
No one would deny
that he was "the greatest of all the men of the east" (Job 1:3 NASB).
He had earned that reputation through years
of hard work and honest dealings.
His name was Job, a synonym for integrity and
godliness.
Within a matter of hours, without
announcement, adversity fell upon Job like an avalanche of jagged rocks.
He lost his livestock, crops, land, servants,
and — if you can believe it — all 10 children.
Soon thereafter he lost his health, his last
human hope of earning a living.
I plead with you, please stop reading.
Close your eyes, set your imagination free,
and identify with that good man who was crushed beneath the weight of
adversity.
Now turn to Job 1:21, to an entry he made in
his journal soon after the rocks stopped falling.
With a quivering hand and a grieving heart he
wrote:
"I came naked
from my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what
I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!"
Following this incredible statement,
Scripture adds:
In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming
God. (Job
1:22)
Right about now, I'm shaking my head.
I'm asking myself, How in the world could he
handle so calmly such a series of ordeals mixed with grief?
Think of the aftermath: bankruptcy, pain, 10
fresh graves . . . and the loneliness of those empty rooms.
Yet we read that Job worshiped God; he did
not sin, nor did he blame his Maker.
The logical questions are: Why didn't he?
How could he keep from it?
What kept him from bitterness or even
thoughts of suicide?
At the risk of oversimplifying, I suggest
three basic answers, which I've discovered from searching through the book that
bears Job's name.
First, Job claimed God's loving sovereignty. He
believed that the Lord who gave had every right to take away (Job 1:21).
In his own words, Job stated such:
"Should we
accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" (Job 2:10)
He looked up, claiming his Lord's right to
rule over his life.
Who is the fool that says God has no right to
add sand to our clay or marks to our vessels or fire to His workmanship?
Who dares to lift a clay fist heavenward and
question the Potter's plan? Not Job!
He knew God's sovereignty is interwoven with
His love.
Second, Job counted on God's promise of
resurrection. Remember his immortal words?
"I know that my
Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has
decayed, yet in my body I will see God!" (Job 19:25–26)
Job looked ahead, counting on his Lord's
promise to make all things bright and beautiful in the life beyond.
He knew that eventually all pain, sorrow,
tears, adversity, and death would be removed.
Knowing that "hope will not lead to
disappointment" (Romans
5:5),
Job endured the brokenness of today by envisioning the beauty of tomorrow.
What a relief this brings! Job didn't feel
obligated to explain why. Listen to his honest admission:
"I know that you
can do anything, and no one can stop you. . . I was talking about things I knew
nothing about, things far too wonderful for me." (Job 42:2–3)
He looked within, confessing his inability to
put it all together. He rested his adversity with God without feeling forced to
answer why.
Job's story reminds me of many Insight for
Living listeners whom we hear from regularly — people who've endured much and
write to tell us thank you for helping them build the firm, biblical foundation
they needed when calamity arrived.
In particular, John and Lynn Hampton come to
mind. These believers survived extreme adversity by drawing strength from God's
"righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10 NASB).
Perhaps you are beginning to get bruised by
falling rocks.
Maybe the avalanche has already fallen . . .
maybe not.
Adversity may seem 10,000 miles away, as
remote as the land of Uz. That's the way Job felt a few minutes before he lost
it all.
So, review these thoughts as you turn out the
lights tonight, my friend . . . just in case.
God's power in Job's life is the same power
you can draw on in your life.
Pastor
Chuck Swindoll
has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of
God’s Word. Since 1998, he has served as the senior pastor-teacher of
Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience
extends beyond a local church body. As a leading program in Christian
broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s
leadership as president and now chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary has
helped prepare and equip a new generation for ministry.
https://insight.org/resources/article-library/individual/how-to-cling-to-god-when-the-world-caves-in
