September 26, 2024 - Good Morning! It's Thursday, September 26.
We continue today with a week-long series on what the Bible has to say about dealing with disappointment.
The Bible uses a variety of tools to teach us - from the poetic phrases of the Psalms to the doctrinal statements of Romans to the prophetic language of Revelation. But, if you're like me, your strongest link to God's Word is through the stories.
These stories, and the characters who inhabit them, come into our lives very early. We were told them at bedtime by our parents. We heard them in Sunday School class. Stories like Noah and the Ark, Daniel and the Lions, David and Goliath. These living stories, these living characters, spoke to us as children. And they continue to speak to us today.
If you were to make a list of Bible characters who suffered disappointment, then Job would have to be on it, maybe at the top of it. The Word describes Job as " a man who was righteous and upright, who feared God and shunned evil". But, by the end of his story, Job had lost his wealth, his health, his children - catastrophic loss, unimaginable loss. And still, he was able to say, "I know that my Redeemer lives!".
Many of us, after encountering loss, tragedy, challenge, end up losing faith. We question God. "Why did you allow this to happen?" - "Why me?" - "Why do bad things happen to good people?" These questions don't have easy answers. Some see times of trial as a test, a test of our faith. That was certainly true in the story of Job. His faith proved not to be based on circumstances, not related to what God could do for him. Job praised God - even in disappointment - simply because God was worthy of praise.
"I will praise the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth." Psalm 34:1
Meet you back here tomorrow,
Bro. David
dmathis@fbccenter.org
