Reflecting God –
Embrace Holy Living - “Why Do Good People Suffer?” – Monday, 24 March 2014 - Scripture:
Job 4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,
2 “If someone ventures
to talk with you, will you be grieved?
But who can withhold himself from speaking?
3 Behold, you have
instructed many,
you have strengthened the weak hands.
4 Your words have
supported him who was falling,
You have made firm the feeble knees.
5 But now it has come
to you, and you faint.
It touches you, and you are troubled.
6 Isn’t your piety your
confidence?
Isn’t the integrity of your ways your hope?
7 “Remember, now,
whoever perished, being innocent?
Or where were the upright cut off?
8 According to what I
have seen, those who plow iniquity,
and sow trouble,
reap the same.
9 By the breath of God
they perish.
By the blast of his anger are they
consumed.
10 The roaring of the
lion,
and the voice of the fierce lion,
the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
11 The old lion
perishes for lack of prey.
The cubs of the lioness are scattered
abroad.
“Why Do Good People
Suffer?” by Mallory Sauer
Why do bad things
happen to good people? Quite simply, when sin entered the world, it set the
stage for sorrow and pain, and the result was a messed up world filled with
troubles.
Job was a man of
“blameless and upright” character (Job 1:1). Therefore, the idea that God
“punishes” people with earthly trials because of their sinful actions is not
always true. He “sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew
5:45), but only those who put their hope in the Lord can truly find the
strength to overcome hardships and discover the inevitable joy that follows
Completely surrendering
our problems to God and relinquishing our death grip on them is the real
challenge. Like a child too afraid to jump into a pool, even with the assurance
that his father will catch him and keep him from drowning, we cling to our safe
complacency and refuse to trust our Father with control. If we look back on
other trials of life, we discover that God actually never left us and proved
His love for us in doing so. Praise God for that hope!
Hymn for Today:
“A Shelter in the Time
of Storm” by Vernon John Charlesworth
1. The Lord’s our rock,
in Him we hide,
A shelter in the time
of storm;
Secure whatever ill
betide,
A shelter in the time
of storm.
Refrain
Oh, Jesus is a rock in
a weary land,
A weary land, a weary
land;
Oh, Jesus is a rock in
a weary land,
A shelter in the time
of storm.
2. A shade by day,
defense by night,
A shelter in the time
of storm;
No fears alarm, no foes
afright,
A shelter in the time
of storm.
Refrain
Oh, Jesus is a rock in
a weary land,
A weary land, a weary
land;
Oh, Jesus is a rock in
a weary land,
A shelter in the time
of storm.
3. The raging storms
may round us beat,
A shelter in the time
of storm
We’ll never leave our
safe retreat,
A Shelter in the time
of storm.
Refrain
Oh, Jesus is a rock in
a weary land,
A weary land, a weary
land;
Oh, Jesus is a rock in
a weary land,
A shelter in the time
of storm.
4. O rock divine, O
refuge dear,
A shelter in the time
of storm;
Be Thou our helper ever
near,
A Shelter in the time
of storm.
Refrain
Oh, Jesus is a rock in
a weary land,
A weary land, a weary
land;
Oh, Jesus is a rock in
a weary land,
A shelter in the time
of storm.
Thought for Today:
“But may the God of all
grace, who called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have
suffered a little while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”(1
Peter 5:10).
Prayer Needs:
Many people in New
Zealand will come to know Jesus the Christ (Yeshua the Messiah) and receive the
fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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