This blog is long over due. Not because I haven’t posted one in a while but because God has continuously given and shown me these last two weeks what that truly means. For those who don’t know the story of Job I would recommend reading it. Job is a great example of what it means to have full faith in God through the good the bad and the ugly. In Job chapter one it says that Job was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil”. Job was a very wealthy man, owning 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, and 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys and many servants. That’s a lot of livestock by today’s standards so just imagine how much it was really worth around 1650 BC- 1500 BC.With the command of Jesus, Satan was ALLOWED to tempt Job to show that he will remain faithful to God and not curse his name. Once Jesus gave the word, the devil begins to attack Job. He not only lost all of this wealth and livestock but he also lost all of his children and his health was taken from him.
Over the last two weeks I have been dealing a lot with WHY do these horrible things happen to such good people. Especially people who live there lives in pursuit of Christ. Last month in Latvia I met an amazing West African man names Mensa. At the age of three Mensa was running up to his mother coming up from the market and his legs calapsed from beneath him. Mensa has not had full function of his legs since then. This week I met a Ukrainian man named Max. 10 years ago Max was riding his bike with his friends in the wooded area. Max’s breaks went out and he went flying off of a hill and broke his spine. He is now paralyzed from the waist down. Two years ago my great friend Thomas was in the car with his friends and was ran off the road by an angry driver. Everyone in the car was ejected and all but one passed away. Why do things like this happen daily to people serving God? Why did my mom get cancer at 43? Why do murders live to 100? Why do rapist have great health and strength? From my very narrow view point it seems the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer. I just don’t understand this crazy world that we live in, it seems everything is so backwards. I’ve had a crazy couple of weeks and I’ve had so many questions that need answers and frustration with seemly no outlet. One day last week thinking about Thomas I broke down. Fortunately my team was there for me and where they’re to pick me up off my face. That is why it’s so important to have an army of believers around you to point you back to Christ and give you perspective. (That’s another blog in itself but we will stay focused for now). But as I cried and prayed I was reminded by a booked called “Don’t Waist Your Life” by John Piper. The Lord Jesus said: “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:25) Also in James 1:2-4 says “2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, [a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. When God ALLOWS the enemy to start attacking you physically, mentally, or emotionally, this is not the time to give in or give up. This is the time to push in like Job and remain faithful. Remember the Devil does not move a muscle without the consent of out Father nor can he test you without the Lords consent. He gives and takes away and like a beautiful Ukrainian woman once told me one month after loosing her husband is “The question is not WHY lord, but the question should be what’s next lord.”
