Back in
college, I had a biblical studies professor, who didn’t seem to believe at all
in the Bible he taught his students about. I remember he would pick out stories
and difficult passages, and challenge us to try to figure out God’s thinking or
logic.
“If God is so good, why is there evil in the world?” he would ask, along with a litany of other tough-to-answer queries.
This guy seemed to have a certain skepticism and distaste for the Bible, which is why it was confusing to me that he would be an instructor in studies related to religious matters, specifically pertaining to Christianity.
He also loved picking on me, testing me, working to break me down in order to diffuse the passion I had for the word of God. I was an outspoken Believer then, just as I am today.
Well, one day, we got into a heated exchange about the life of Job. The debate didn’t escalate because of me, but rather, due to the open disrespect of a classmate who thought the pages of Scripture contained a bunch of useless mumbo jumbo, fabricated stories, and manmade accounts.
When my instructor questioned me about why God allowed Job, someone He loved, to go through an inordinate amount of suffering, and if I thought the Lord was some sort of sinister deity who took pleasure in the pain of others, I didn’t know what to say, except, what I believed.
So I spoke about how God allowed us all to be tested—even His son Jesus who was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days. I added that there is no temptation or testing of any kind that would be more than we could reasonably handle.
Trials perfect us, build us, and strengthen our faith.
For some reason, this incensed my college classmate, who went off on me, the professor, and spewed out all kinds of hateful and venomous rhetoric against God. He told me how “stupid” I was for believing such hogwash.
Part of his problem, I gathered, was the fact that God didn’t guarantee that His followers would skip through the lilies and daisies, always walk through abundant green pastures, and live a trouble-free life as a result of our devotion to Him.
He wanted to hear that our faith would insulate us from trouble, not give us the power to go through trouble and then, come out victoriously.
This angered student wanted a guarantee that committing to God would keep you out of the lion’s den, instead of keeping the mouth of the lion closed while you were in what would typically be a fatal situation.
He wanted to be assured that faith would stop someone from being thrown into the fiery furnace, instead of bringing them out of a furnace that was turned up seven times hotter with no burns, or even a scent of smoke.
My dear rival could not reconcile human suffering with God’s sovereignty and there was no use trying to make him understand something that he had no desire to comprehend, nor open his mind to.
What I did not admit to Him at the time, however, was that I used to think that if God was on my side, I would not have any opposition or adversity either. That might sound silly to mature believers who know life doesn’t work that way. But I truly felt like loving the Lord, living for Him, and doing His will, would create this invisible force field around me—or some sort of translucent protective bubble—to insulate me from life’s ills, problems, and adversities.
I just knew in my heart (or thought I did) that the favor of God would protect me everywhere I went from unpleasant circumstances.
But then I lived a little, grew up, and matured in my understanding of what it means to serve the Lord. Thank God, with growth came illumination and revelation, because having that naïve and faulty perspective could have caused me to walk away from God in the thick of it all.
Today, I have come to the correct conclusion that anyone who expects to endure the hardness of life must come to as well: we all go through hard times, but God will bring us out in time, if we don’t quit.
His favor is not what shields us from the storm, but it is what keeps us from being destroyed by it while we’re in it.
So if you’re going through a fierce battle, I want to stir up Psalm 66:10-12 NIV into your cup of inspiration. It says, “For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.”
When you drink down the contents of your cup, you will be reminded that, even though, sometimes, you will have difficulties, tests and trials, rough seasons, and turbulent times, the story doesn’t end there.
After you have suffered a while, God will bring you out.
The favor of the Lord is on your life. He has empowered you to go through. It is the Lord who fortifies your spirit, stabilizes your mind, comforts you in adversity, and wraps you in His arms when it all seems overwhelming.
So don’t mourn because you have to go through this.
Instead, rejoice because you know you’re coming out of this better, stronger, and greater.
Now let’s pray.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!
God, I wish there was some way I could escape trouble, heartache and pain. Everything within me desires to get around having to go through such a rocky season. But I know You never promised me that every day would be easy, or that I would never have to face challenges. Even still, trials are hard to handle. But today, instead of focusing on the struggle, I’m looking to You, the author and finisher of my faith, to restore, deliver, rescue, and bring me out at the appointed time. Until then, I’ll wait on You, trust You, and praise You for the manifestation, for I know it’s on the way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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