-Martin Luther King, Jr.
Table of Content:
- We Are Not Safe from Troubles because of Faith in the Lord
- In the Spiritual Journey, Doubt Comes
- Doubt is the Path to Faith
- Let us trust in our Living Savior
It is so wonderful to thank the Lord in times of joy and victory.
But in the midst of grief, frustration, and severe crisis, is it still good to thank the Lord? Yes.
It is necessary to be grateful to the Lord in crisis because in this time God proves His love and power. Genuine trust is most effective in times of crisis.
Today we are experiencing various crises in which our faith in God is really weakened.
This pandemic is one of the most difficult for us, many are weak in faith and there are also those who continue their faith to walk by faith in God.
I can only say, don't let this situation control your life. "Stand up and walk again", it's hard but so, you just don't really want to do it because there's something or you think you're asking yourself "can I still do it?".
Your life can only be transformed by putting trust in God.
Let's study the life of Job. Job 5:7 says, "Surely trouble shall come upon man, as the spark of a fire in a furnace."
The job went through crises without a second, so that his soul languished. And who doesn't? It is clear from the Bible that he lived righteously, but he suffered.
He had lost everything: his home, his fortune, and his health.
We Are Not Safe from Troubles because of Faith in the Lord
At first, Job was steadfast. "Will you really be righteous?" his wife asked. Curse God and when you die!"
But he replied: "Will you receive only a blessing from God? Will, we do not receive it if he gives us suffering?"
One song says,
"Christian life is not just hallelujah."
We must remember that we are not safe from troubles because of faith in the Lord. Yet faith in God provides us with the strength to face trouble.
Trouble is only really a problem when we allow it to bother us. Faith floats whenever we can do nothing but trust that God knows what He is doing.
There are times when God removes the material things we build on so we can learn to rely on Him.
If we have too much money, we may not know Him anymore. If we have never failed, we may have become overly concerned about ourselves.
If we were always strong, we might think we were Superman. Although money, success, and health are blessings of God, they can cause the Lord to be second only to our lives.
God wants us to make Jesus the anchor of our souls. Like the anchor of a ship, we cannot be shaken by Jesus' own weight.
In the Spiritual Journey, Doubt Comes
Did you know that glory is a Hebrew word meaning “weight”
When we seek the glory of God, it means we seek the weight of God in our lives. Job, despite his faith, came at times when God seemed weightless.
Job underwent cycles characterized by moments of doubts.
We are all on a spiritual journey. On this trip, we will definitely pass by Doubt Avenue.
Miguel de Unamuno said,
"Life is doubt, and faith without is nothing but death."
Robert Schuller said:
"Faith is doubting the doubts... when we learn to doubt our doubts and have faith in our Christian faith, doubt can be a constructive power."
Thomas had faith in Jesus, but he wanted to confirm that faith by settling his doubts. When the disciples said they had seen Jesus, he said, “I will not believe until I see and touch the nails in his hands, and until I put my finger on the wounds that and on his side ”(John 20:25b).
It is skepticism that seeks truth. Jesus did not reject Thomas for this. That was Jesus' opportunity to convince Thomas.
Jesus said, "Look at my hand. Put your hand to my side and do not doubt any longer, but believe." Thomas did. And performed a miracle; faith overcomes doubt! "My Lord and my God!" exclaimed Thomas.
That was the most astounding confession of all time. It was a confession borne out of doubt.
Doubt is the Path to Faith
Job preceded Thomas. Whenever Job struggles with his doubts, his faith heats up. After lamenting that he had been forsaken by all, he was able to say, "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and at last he shall stand upon the earth".
After arguing with God, he was able to declare, "I will tell God everything I have done, in approaching him I have nothing to be ashamed of."
I was shocked at Job’s audacity. You would think he would say to God, "Which of the two: stop me or explain why You are doing this to me?" God's silence astounded me even more.
He did not rebuke Job. He did not directly answer Job's question. But God gave Job a glimpse of His greatness and infinite wisdom through a series of questions. Often, God does not answer our questions.
What He provides is a perspective, similar to the artist’s perspective; impression of depth and distance and not details.
Finally, Job said to God, "Then I knew you because of what others said, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. So now I repent, ashamed of all that has been said, in dust and ashes. , I sat down ”(Job 42:5-6).
Job realized the sufficiency of God. Keep in mind, "Even though we lose everything, we will have everything if we have Jesus. If we have everything but lose Jesus, we don't have anything."
Let us trust in our Living Savior
If Job trusted, we could too, and more. Why? Because the New Testament answers Job's questions. What Job did not know we know because of the Bible.
Job dreamed of a mediator between God and him: "But between us, there is no mediator, that he may judge us" (Job 9:33). It is revealed in 1 Timothy 2:5, please read its verse.
"Does a man exist again if he dies?" Job questioned (Job 14:14). God's answer in John 11:25-26, please read the verse.
Job failed. “If I just knew where he was, I would go to him wherever he is,” he said (Job 23:3). Aren't we so blessed to have found the savior through Jesus? Says John 14:6, please read the verse.
Despite his questions, Job believed. And because of that, God gave him more grace than ever before. Like Job, we too can overcome our doubts, no matter how great they are or how severe the crises are.
Because Jesus is greater than our doubts.
Guide:
Have you ever come to a time of doubt?
How did you overcome them?
What advice would you give to those in crisis in their lives?
Share your ideas in the comment section.
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