Tuesday, June 27, 2023.
THE TRUTH ABOUT SUFFERING (1)
Read: Job 5:1-7
[1]“Call out now; Is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?
[2]For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one.
[3]I have seen the foolish taking root, But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.
[4]His sons are far from safety, They are crushed in the gate, And there is no deliverer.
[5]Because the hungry eat up his harvest, Taking it even from the thorns, And a snare snatches their substance.
[6]For affliction does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble spring from the ground;
[7]Yet man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward.
MEMORISE: If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it? (Amos 3:6).
EXPOSITION
We may not fully understand all that is happening in this world, but one thing is sure: God understands. This alone completely explains the mystery of suffering. Suffering is a state of acute or extremely sharp pain. It is misery or intense unhappiness resulting from affliction. This can be spiritual, physical psychological, emotional, financial, or otherwise. It is as a result of denials and loss of certain essential rights and needs. The case of the Patriarch Job is a vivid example.
There are some undeniable facts about suffering. The first one is that which, every man/woman is born into (Job 5:6,7), meaning that none is immune to it ( Job 14:1,2). Though, it is never a pleasant experience, it is a test every leader or anyone aiming at getting to the peak of God's programme for his/her life must pass. In a deeper sense, it came as a consequence of sin (Gen. 3:16ff). But for sin, man would have been living eternally comfortably. It comes as a result of breaking God's laws and sometimes as divine curse (cf. Gal. 3:13).
Satan is a principal factor when it comes to suffering. He is our opposer and afflicter (Job 1:1ff; 2:1-7ff; 1 Pet. 5:7-9). The joy is that, God allows the devil to inflict suffering on His people, sometimes, not because He doesn't have the power to stop it, but He desires to prove His supremacy over Satan in our lives (Amos 3:6; Rom. 8:28). Take the case of Job, for instance. God allowed the devil to do his worst in relation to His servant, Job, but whether Job knew it or not, God was in the background moderating everything. He would shame the devil in relation to Job, in the end. Are you passing through any difficult situation? Don't give up on God; He would soon come through for you (Rom. 8:28,35ff).
SUGGESTED HYMN FOR TODAY: CAC GHB 874
1. I have found a Friend in Jesus,
He's the everything to me,
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul;
The lily of the valley, in Him alone I see
And I need to cleanse and make me fully whole.
In sorrow He's my comfort in trouble He's my stay,
He tells me every care on
Him to roll:
He's the lily of the valley,
The Bright and Morning star,
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul
Chorus:
In sorrow he's my comfort,
In trouble He my stay
He tells me every care on him to roll:
He's the lily of the valley,
The Bright and Morning star
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.
2. He all my griefs has taken, and all my sorrows borne;
In temptation He's my strong and mighty tower;
I have all for him forsaken, and all my I dols torns
From my heart,and now He keeps me by His power.
Though all the world forsake me,
And satan tempt me sore.
Through Jesus I shall safely reach the goal:
He's the lily of the valley, the
Bright and Morning star,
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul.
3. He will never, never leave me, nor yet forsake me here
While I live by faith and do His blessed will;
A wall of fire about me, I've nothing now to fear
With His manna He my hungry soul shall fill.
Then sweeping up to glory, to see his blessed face
Where rivers of delight shall ever roll:
He's the lily of the valley, the
Bright and Morning star,
He's the fairest of ten thousand to my soul
Amen.
PRAYER POINTS:
1.Thank God Who has given you a friend in Jesus.
2. Ask for the comfort of the Holy Spirit in your life's situations.
3. Ask for more of God's grace to overcome all trials.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: Psalms 71:17-73:20
