What Do We Expect?---Day 233 Through The Bible

                                  We tend to expect good things in our lives, however, Jesus said in the

                                                    world we will have tribulation.  How do we deal with this?

Job 35:1-36:33

Elihu—a young man, continues speaking to Job:

Elihu reiterates the belief that if you do what is right you will only reap good things, which is simply not true. Solomon pointed out in Ecclesiastes 9:11, that "time and chance happens to them all". Jesus asked if those present thought the eighteen men upon whom the tower of Siloam fell were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem. Of course they were not--this disaster would have been fatal to whomever might have been there when the tower fell.  We are all human and we can all perish given the right circumstances.  

The examples of those who do wickedly and yet flourish, certainly disprove Elihu's theory. We see David pondering this seemingly baffling state of affairs many times in the Book of Psalms. We are reminded that we cannot base our beliefs on a magic formula or principle such as this one. Our faith must be in God regardless of whether we experience blessings or whether we experience trials.  Our lives are not about physical blessings, but are about a relationship with Almighty God made possible through His Son, Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit. Think about it---the fact that there have been and continue to be martyrs for Christ, refutes the idea of a "prosperity gospel".

We live in a fallen world and as believers we are caught in the midst of a spiritual battle between good and evil. If we are led to believe that our problems are over when we become Christians, we are being misled and are in for a shock. Jesus does not mislead us--He is the Truth (John 14:6).  He warned in John 16:33, that in the world we will have tribulation.  That is reality—that is the truth.  Whatever assessments we make of our situations, they must come under the umbrella of Truth or we are kidding ourselves!  Our relationship with God will no doubt include physical blessings, but is not dependent upon physical blessings. If our goal in being saved is physical blessings, we are attempting to build a spiritual house on the sand and it will fall (Matthew 7).

Psalm 99:1-9

This little three-word-phrase in verse 1, "the Lord reigns"---puts everything in perspective for the believer.  It gives us comfort and peace in the midst of the turmoil and chaos of a fallen world.  Verse 2, reminds us that “He is high above all the peoples”. It doesn’t matter what our economic status, our political status, or our leadership status, whether we’re a king or homeless on the streets.  It doesn’t make any difference where we live on this earth—the Lord reigns over all and we ALL have reason to "tremble" as verse one says.  While it is true that we do reap what we sow, as Elihu pointed out in the Book of Job, God’s plans and purposes trump even that. God is holy and definitely worthy of our worship!

Proverbs 23:22-25

Verse 23, says to “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding”.  These are foundations that our lives must be built on so that they do not crumble. God is in charge and we are to wisely line up with His plan and purposes by the choices we make.  God had blessed Job’s life because of His integrity and obedience.  However, God allowed all Job’s blessings to be taken away for a season. Job summed it up by saying, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21).  We may not understand, but the more we understand about God's love and His power and the fact that His ways are far superior to our ways, the easier it will be for us to trust Him.

I Corinthians 4:1-21

Paul says we are “stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (v. 1-2).  He says it is nothing to be judged by people or even a human court, and that he doesn’t even judge himself (v.3).  He cautions us to “judge nothing before the time”, that God will reveal what is in our hearts.  (Judging involves assessing that which we cannot see, i.e. the intents of the heart—motives.) 

Dr. Stanley says this, "None of us are in a position to judge the motivations of the human heart. While the Bible does instruct us to react in certain ways to particular kinds of behavior (see I Cor. 5:2), we are never to judge anyone's intent."

Paul's words in I Cor. 4:11, show what his life as a Christian was like, "To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. . We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now".  There's no hint of a "prosperity gospel" here!  Are we better than God's Apostle?  Paul wrote to the Philippians in 4:11, that he had learned to be content regardless of his circumstances.  Job as well as Paul suffered in this life and so will we to one degree or another.  Paul had met God on the road to Damascus. Job "feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1), but evidently had never met God as Paul did. It seems that Paul perhaps displayed a more positive attitude in his suffering than Job did. Paul's outcome was execution, while Job's life and possessions were restored.  Could it be that the better we know God the better we will be able to endure trials?  Paul continued in verse 12, to say, "Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure". (Paul was also filled with the Holy Spirit.)

The outstanding lesson for me in today's study is the importance of knowing God and knowing that He reigns.  We can only trust those we know to be trustworthy.  Our faith is not a "blind faith", but is based on the truth about God, His love, and His faithfulness toward us, as revealed in His Word.  It is also based on the fact of His power which He has given us in the Holy Spirit.  Indeed, "The Lord reigns; Let the peoples tremble"!  Yet, as the people of God, we can find comfort and hope in this truth!