Through Thick and Thin

Hello, my friends, and God bless you! As always, he is ready to speak into your life as you open your heart to him. Let's tune in to his holy Word in James 5:7-12. Open it up and pray, asking God to help you hear what you most need to. Then read it a couple of times through. By the way, if you read the blog from work and don't have a Bible handy, you can read it online at sites like: www.biblegateway.com.

So what is God saying to you here? Is he encouraging you, challenging you? What seems to be standing out in my mind today is this:

Job is an example of a man who continued to trust the Lord in sorrow; from his experiences we can see how the Lord's plan finally ended in good, for he is full of tenderness and mercy. (v. 11 TLB)

Reading the story of Job (that's pronounced Jobe) always makes whatever problems I'm facing pale in comparison to his multiple tragedies. Yet his story is there in the Bible so that we can wrestle along with him with the questions that tug at our hearts during difficult times. "Where is God? Why has he allowed this to happen?" And it actually leads us to realize that the question needs to be turned around: "Where is Job? Where am I when difficult things happen?" It's not God who's on trial; it's us. Will we only trust God when things go our way?

Job's experience models how perseverence pays off in our spiritual journey. While we may have lots of raw emotions and ask our questions, the important thing is that we never lose our trust in God. He's so much wiser and only he sees how everything is moving towards the good purposes that he has for us and all who love him. Yes, Job suffered a lot. His life did not go the way he thought it would. And for a while he felt like God had let him down, at best, or was even against him. But he never quit pursuing his relationship with God. And in the end, he experienced an amazing turn-around in his life.

That's the promise for me, for you, for us all. God's goodness is constant. And while circumstances won't be consistently good, he is. In the end, if we stand strong and refuse to let go of God, we'll see just how good his plans for us really are. Hey, he's not through with me, and he's not through with you!

You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. (v. 8)

Father, I certainly don't always understand why things go the way they do. But today I reaffirm my trust in you. You are good all the time. Your plans will eventually prove to be so much better than I could have worked out on my own. You are my hope and I will not let anyone or anything pull me from you. I can't wait to discover the ultimate good that you have in store! I'm on this adventure with you through thick and thin, through good times and adversity. Amen.

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