Page 12 - Good News July 2012 paper
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             FOUR SIMPLE CONCLUSIONS           purpose for your life. If this were not true, the Bible would
          Our  text  ends  with  these  amazing   not be true. “And we know that all things work together for
          words: “In all this, Job did not sin by   good to those who love God, to those who are the called
          charging  God  with  wrongdoing”     according  to  His  purpose”  (Romans  8:28).  Eventually,
          (verse  22). He  didn’t  ask  why,  he   God turns every minus into a plus.

          didn’t accuse God of not loving him,   If you don’t come to believe this, you will eventually give
          he didn’t claim his rights, he didn’t   up your faith. When tragedy strikes, the tendency is to
          curse God, and he didn't give up his   search for a cause, a reason, an explanation, a chain of
          faith. He simply said to himself, “If   events stretching back into the past that would explain
          God takes something away from me,    the  catastrophe  you  now  face.  But  as  you  search  for
          I will thank him that I had it to enjoy   causes, you will go back, and back, and back, until at last
          for just a little while.”            you come to God. And if you do not eventually conclude
          As  I  ponder  this  remarkable  story,   that  what  happens  to  you  somehow  flows  from  God’s
          four conclusions come to mind.       loving purpose for your life, you will sooner or later give
                                               up your faith altogether.
          1.  Undeserved  suffering  often
          comes  to  righteous  men  and       4. Trials are designed to draw you nearer to God.
          women.                               The one great Biblical purpose for trials is not, “Why did
          This  is  surely  an  obvious  lesson,   this happen to me?” The deeper question is, “Now that
          and  although  we  have  heard  it   this has happened, will I remain loyal to God?”
          before,  we  need  to  hear  it  again.   And that brings us back to A. J. Gossip’s sermon and the
          Three times the text emphasizes that   great question, “When life tumbles in, what then?” If we
          Job  was  a  righteous  man.  What   turn away from our faith in times of trouble, what shall we
          happened  to  him  did  not  happen   turn to? Have we not lost enough without losing that too?
          because of any moral fault or hidden   When life crashes in against us and all that we value most
          sin in his life.                     is taken from us, if we then give up our faith, where will we
          It is a human tendency when tragedy   go and what will we do?
          strikes to believe that if we had only   Pastor Gossip put it this way in his sermon: “You people
          lived a better life the tragedy would   in the sunshine may believe in God, but we in the shadow
          never  have  happened.  Sometimes    must believe in Him. We have nothing else.”
          that is true, but more often it is not.  If   Steve Brown tells about a seminar one of his associate
          the  story  of  Job  teaches  us  any-  pastors was leading. During one session, the associate
          thing,  it  is  that  sometimes  godly   pastor said that because God is love, no matter how bad
          people suffer unexplainable losses.   things  get,  Christians  should  praise  him.  Afterward,  a
          Terrible  things  sometimes  happen   man came up to him in great agitation. “Dave, I can’t buy
          to God’s people.                     it. I can’t buy what you say about praising God in the midst
                                               of  evil  and  hurt.”  Then  he  went  on  to  say  what  many
          2. God is the Source and Owner of all   people secretly feel. “I do not believe that when you lose
          you have.                            someone you love through death, or you have cancer, or
          God is the ultimate Source of all that   you lose your job, that you ought to praise God.” After a
          you have, and He has the absolute    moment’s  silence,  the  associate  pastor  replied  very
          right to take that which belongs to   simply, “What alternative do you propose?”
          Him. Your house? It is His. Your job?   We do not gain if we turn away from God in the time of
          It is His. Your future? It is His. Your   trouble.  If  we  turn  away  from  God,  we  lose  our  only
          health? It is His. Your children? Yes,   ground of hope.
          even  your  children  are  His.  They
          belonged  to  Him  before  they  ever           CORDS STRONGER THAN STEEL
          belonged  to  you. Your  husband  or   As A. J. Gossip came to the end of his sermon, he said, “I
          your wife? Yes, even your husband    don’t think you need to be afraid of life. Our hearts are
          or  your  wife.  All  that  you  have   very frail; and there are places where the road is very
          belongs to God. And in the end, you   steep and very lonely. But we have a wonderful God.”
          will give it all back to Him.        Indeed we do. And as the apostle Paul puts it at the end of
          Sometimes He will take back some-    Romans 8, What can separate us from the love of God?
          thing sooner than you would like to   Nothing  at  all.  Not  life,  nor  death,  nor  tragedy,  nor
          give it. But that is His absolute right,   heartbreak, nor suffering. We are forever connected to
          for He is God.                       His love with cords a thousand times stronger than steel.
                                               Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in
          3.  Your  personal  trials  relate  to   Christ Jesus our Lord.
          God’s purpose for your life.         The question remains. When life tumbles in, what then?
          Your  personal  trials  can  never  be   Through our tears, we rest our confidence in one great
          caused  by  blind  fate  or  bad  luck.   truth. He who brought us this far will take us safely home!
          They  all  somehow  relate  to  God’s   Dr. Ray Pritchard,  http://www.keepbelieving.com
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