Trouble Brings Joy

“My brothers and sisters, you will have many kinds of trouble. But this gives you a reason to be very happy.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1:2‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Why does trouble make you happy?

“You know that when your faith is tested, you learn to be patient in suffering. If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1:3-4‬ ‭ERV‬‬

The enemy shows a counterfeit to joy and happiness. He shows relationships that are going perfect, promotions in jobs, wealth, beautiful houses, free time to watch TV, lots of food, perfect health, ... you name it. The enemy says that these things provide joy and happiness. Then he flips things around and interprets suffering in the wrong way.

Satan lies and says that suffering means that God is not able to provide all that you need. He says that broken marriages, rebellious children, financial hardship, health problems are symptoms that God is not big enough and kind enough and does not love you enough to take care of your troubles.

He started those lies with Eve and she fell for it. He tried the same lies with Jesus and Jesus quoted the word and the devil fled!

“If I had not found joy in your teachings, my suffering would have destroyed me.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭119:92‬ ‭ERV‬‬

What a powerful truth! We need an arsenal of scripture to quote and claim when troubles come and they will. If I want to be all that God wants me to be, I need suffering in my life. As paradoxical as that may be, the way to grow in the Lord is to allow suffering in our life and dig in deep with it. If I say that I want to be like Christ, point my eyes in the right direction.

We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:2‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Every time we pray, picture Jesus at the right hand of God’s throne and thank him for paying the price it took him to get there. He counted it joy! Let us count our suffering as joy to get us where we want to be.

Why did this happen to me?

“Some were laughed at and beaten. Others were tied up and put in prison. They were killed with stones. They were cut in half. They were killed with swords. The only clothes some of them had were sheepskins or goatskins. They were poor, persecuted, and treated badly by others. The world was not good enough for these great people. They had to wander in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the ground.”
Hebrews 11:36-38 ERV

Our pastor is about 6 months into the book of Hebrews. This was a verse from Sunday that may be the most important thought I have had lately. I had written about it yesterday morning and the IPad deleted it when I finished it. I always think that this is the enemy trying to delete a powerful message so I will try again. 

These verses were written about faithful saints...not the wicked. Let that thought sink in. This was taken from the "faith" chapter. How many times have you thought "why is this happening to me?" How often have you thought that the suffering that you are experiencing is unfair because you are a follower of Christ? We have this erroneous thinking that God owes us blessings because we are living right. On the contrary, with Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, there are decisions made in heaven that confound us but should never cause us to lose our faith in the wisdom of God. 

The power of these verses is wrapped around this truth...heaven is NOT here on earth. These saints believed that their extreme joy was waiting for them in heaven and not on earth. A death, an illness, a divorce, a job loss, a wayward child are not a cause to doubt the love of a Heavenly Father. God has the best plan for us. You can't always understand it but you can trust him. His promises are ultimately seen and experienced in heaven. 

“God was pleased with all of them because of their faith. But not one of them received God’s great promise. God planned something better for us. He wanted to make us perfect."
Hebrews 11:39-40a ERV

It's Okay to Be Totally, Incredibly, Overwhelmed Sometimes

“I wish my suffering could be weighed and all my trouble be put on the scales. They would be heavier than all the sand of the sea! That is why my words are so crazy. God All-Powerful has shot me with his arrows. My spirit feels their poison! God’s terrible weapons are lined up against me. (Job 6:2-4 ERV)

I have read through the entire Bible for about 40 years. The seasons of my life are marked by what book I am reading. When it is June 1, then that means I am starting the book of Job. Just like if it is October 1, I begin the New Testament...and in June, I am so excited because I read Psalm and Proverbs. Back to the topic...

Of all the verses, why in the world would I pick these for today? Because right after I read these, I always thank God that he allows us to read about a guy that was crushed...and he lets me hear that it is okay to whine and complain for 40 chapters of the Bible!

To be honest, this morning I do not feel crushed or broken like Job. But when life deals a really hard blow, I know that God does NOT expect me to walk around with a smile on my face and a cheery disposition, acting like nothing is wrong. When Job' s friend gave him wrong information about his suffering, it is okay that Job cried out to them and asked them to just be quiet:).

"I wish you would just be quiet. That would be the wisest thing you could do." (Job 13:5 ERV)

God does not expect us to walk around like robots, mimicking the perfect words to others, telling others that we are "fine." We can grieve. We can lay on the floor and cry. We can sob while we are talking to God and tell him how depressed and hopeless we feel. God does not love us any less and he is not disappointed in our lack of understanding of why we are going throughout this suffering. 

However, what Job did was to continue to cry out to the One who does have all the answers. He knew who holds eternity in His hands. And in the midst of his intense pain, he knew that this life on earth is temporary and that there is an eternity and he cries out...

"I know that there is someone to defend me and that he lives! And in the end, he will stand here on earth and defend me. After I leave my body and my skin has been destroyed, I know I will still see God. I will see him with my own eyes. I myself, not someone else, will see God. And I cannot tell you how excited that makes me feel! (Job 19:25-27 ERV)"