In trial, let your faith radiate by recognizing God’s sovereign causes. God is sovereign over the natural calamities that come into our lives and He is sovereign over the people in our lives. Recognize that He may allow them into your life to try your faith. Think about the people in your life. Do you have some difficult people in your life? Recognize God’s sovereign allowing of them into your life as a cause to test your faith and let your faith radiate as you are around them. Treat them with kindness, love, and patience even as they treat you harshly. Hang tough!
In trial, let your faith radiate by being real with your emotions v. 20. In verse 20, Job got real with his emotions. I think some of us have the impression that showing emotion during trial is a sign of weakness of faith. Baloney! Some of us think that we have to be strong and not show emotion, but I believe that can make our faith seem brittle and intangible to people. Job’s show of emotion makes his faith real because the Scripture says, “In all this, Job did not sin.” Big boys do cry.
In trial, let your faith radiate by making yourself worship the Lord. In the same way that Job made himself worship the Lord, make yourself worship the Lord. Why? Worshipping the Lord in trial will strengthen your faith. Romans 4 recounts the story I told you earlier about Abraham being promised a child at 100 years of age. This was a test of Abraham’s faith in God and his faith grew strong in worship. Verse 20 reads, “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” Abraham’s faith grew strong as he worshipped God by giving glory to God. Making yourself worship God in trial will strengthen your faith because you will take your eyes off your circumstances and put your eyes on a glorious God who can do all things.
The Sovereign Lord wanted to prove Job’s faith…but not to Himself, but to Job. Folks, we live in a world that is looking for any reason to criticize your faith, but in trial or tragedy your faith can shine in an undeniable way, perhaps like no other way. It is through the proving of our faith in trial that our faith becomes real to other people.
A Grief Observed is a non-fiction reflection from author and theologian C.S. Lewis on the process of grieving for his wife, who died of cancer after three years of marriage. He kept a journal throughout the months immediately following and very candidly described his resulting anger and bewilderment at God, his observations of his impressions of life and his world without her, and his process of moving in and out of stages of grieving and remembering her. He ultimately came to a revolutionary redefinition of his own characterization of God, and gained the ability to live gratefully for the gift of a true love. You may want to revisit his life story in Shadowlands as we continue through this series on His Sovereignty Over Us.
written by one of our partners in ministry at FBC, Dr. Dick Ivey
FBC Celina, TX 