The Reason for Trouble
This is an end-time passage:
Isaiah 54:16-17 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy. No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord , And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord .
Believers often quote this passage to each other in times of trouble, "no weapon formed against you will prosper." Forgetting that in the very same passage God takes credit for the spoiler as well as the victor! Many people find great comfort in the words, and many more find great increases of faith come through a trial and seeing the truth of these words up close and personal. When you learn the lesson of these words the hard way, you rarely forget them. These words will find their fullest expression in the years leading up to the time the Lord returns.
God is in the business of revealing Himself to us...and ourselves to us...in times of tribulation. Job was afflicted BECAUSE of the maturity and strength of His walk with the Lord:
Job 1:6-12 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord , and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person. ” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord .
If God were not perfectly powerful to preserve Job, this would have been evidence that God was a maniac. BUT, God IS perfectly powerful to preserve. The truth is, we often ascribe too much power to satan, not enough power to God, and little responsibility to ourselves. This leaves us two very dangerous emotions: fear and pride. Fear of what the enemy might get away with, and pride...that we would tell God how the kingdom He forged with His words really works.
It is not an even match between satan and God. The yin and the yang is a lie. Evil isn't a force equal and opposite to good. Evil is the absence of good...it is darkness. God is good and He is the light of mankind:
John 1:3-5 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Satan's realm is darkness...the absence of light. If you turn off all the lights in your hour, and cover the windows...make it completely dark...the tiniest light will still defeat darkness if you turn it on. Darkness has never beat light...by nature it never can...darkness is nothing but the absence of something. Light is something...it is power...and the smallest amount can instantly destroy the darkest dark...in fact the darker the darkness...the more powerful the tiniest light shines. The power available to a finite and created satan is INFINITELY less than the power of the uncreated infinite God.
So why all this trouble in the world? If God is so good and strong...mighty to save...why would He allow trouble to touch good and bad alike? Job...the man prized by God, said it best:
Job 42:1-4, 6 Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
Job's confession WAS the point. The highly prized Job was touched in a way no one expected, because the brilliant uncreated God knew this was the way Job would see Him in light that was life altering, and because God felt like demonstrating something about his beloved man to the kingdom of darkness.
Satan accused Job, and God rushed to Job's defense. If you think God is at your disposal to dispense comfort, you will not see Job's story this way. BUT, if you see God as the brilliant and perfectly powerful creator who really does know best how to increase the depth of His relationship with the object of His love and school His enemies at the very same time...well then you will see the events like Job did. "Before I thought you were awesome...now I KNOW you are awesome. Forgive me for missing it for a second there...I will never forget again who You are"
Satan said "Job is a soft loser. He's only on God's side because you give Him comfort. Take away his comfort and he will hate you like I do." And God said "you don't know men like I do. I'll put my money on Job, satan...you don't know love like I do." Of course, God ALWAYS makes good bets. Not everyone has the privilege of the esteem of God like Job did. It wasn't really a fair bet. Only satan's blinding pride would allow him to believe God might be wrong about a person. God would only boast in someone with a heart toward God like Job's. I want to be a man like Job.
God isn't supposed to be my comfort dispenser...He is my Father of infinite wisdom, love, and power. He has made Himself available to me if I would like. I want to know Him on His terms...I want to be a good bet....I want Him to be proud of me...to delight that He made me...like Job.
Any child coddled in comfort from the day they were born turns out to be a train wreck of a person. They are miserable to be around because they believe the world is at their disposal. No parent in their right mind would intentionally destroy a child's life like that. Adversity causes people to mature and see truth.
God has a big plan for me that will unfold over trillions and trillions of years. He isn't nearly as interested in my temporary comfort in the "birth canal" of my first 70 or 80 years as He is in my long term success as a priest, king, and son for the next trillion trillion years...and that will STILL be just getting started. But, do I really believe I will live forever and that God knows more than I do about how to get me ready for that? Or has fear and pride convinced me that I need to invent my own theology where God only does safe things for me and increases my fame, my wealth, and my health...my comfort.
The truth is, God has a bride He is getting ready to marry...to join His life to so they might be one. He has a generation He see's like Job. He is going to reveal Himself to them and He is going to school satan one last dramatic time. You see, to this day satan is still accusing the objects of God's delight, but God has said "you don't know her like I do." This another end-time passage:
Revelation 12:10-12 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
God is right. He only makes good bets. But unlike Job, we have been given a huge heads-up. When you are given more, more is expected of you. This is what Jesus said about the time we are about to enter...this is an end-time passage (there are over 150 chapters dedicated to this theme in the Bible):
Luke 12:47-48 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
Those who prepare...and there is MUCH to do (if you don't know what I am talking about, you should be concerned, because Jesus is very interested in you being prepared)...will flourish through the time coming. Those who do not prepare will run a very big risk of quitting on Jesus. Jesus' plan is so intense, that many will be offended and quit. Speaking privately to His disciples, Jesus said this:
Matthew 24:10-13 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
So I must ask myself: does my eschatology agree with God and his clear and knowable plans, or do I search for Bible verses to make me comfortable but at the same time increase confusion? Would God tell me to prepare and "be ready" clearly in His word over and over if no one could really know what to prepare or be ready for? Do I teach things to others that will get them ready to stand like Job, or do I lead them in such a way that they will be confused and offended at Jesus' plan? These are important things to consider as the intensity is obviously increasing.
Isaiah 54:16-17 “Behold, I have created the blacksmith Who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy. No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord , And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord .
Believers often quote this passage to each other in times of trouble, "no weapon formed against you will prosper." Forgetting that in the very same passage God takes credit for the spoiler as well as the victor! Many people find great comfort in the words, and many more find great increases of faith come through a trial and seeing the truth of these words up close and personal. When you learn the lesson of these words the hard way, you rarely forget them. These words will find their fullest expression in the years leading up to the time the Lord returns.
God is in the business of revealing Himself to us...and ourselves to us...in times of tribulation. Job was afflicted BECAUSE of the maturity and strength of His walk with the Lord:
Job 1:6-12 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord , and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person. ” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord .
If God were not perfectly powerful to preserve Job, this would have been evidence that God was a maniac. BUT, God IS perfectly powerful to preserve. The truth is, we often ascribe too much power to satan, not enough power to God, and little responsibility to ourselves. This leaves us two very dangerous emotions: fear and pride. Fear of what the enemy might get away with, and pride...that we would tell God how the kingdom He forged with His words really works.
It is not an even match between satan and God. The yin and the yang is a lie. Evil isn't a force equal and opposite to good. Evil is the absence of good...it is darkness. God is good and He is the light of mankind:
John 1:3-5 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Satan's realm is darkness...the absence of light. If you turn off all the lights in your hour, and cover the windows...make it completely dark...the tiniest light will still defeat darkness if you turn it on. Darkness has never beat light...by nature it never can...darkness is nothing but the absence of something. Light is something...it is power...and the smallest amount can instantly destroy the darkest dark...in fact the darker the darkness...the more powerful the tiniest light shines. The power available to a finite and created satan is INFINITELY less than the power of the uncreated infinite God.
So why all this trouble in the world? If God is so good and strong...mighty to save...why would He allow trouble to touch good and bad alike? Job...the man prized by God, said it best:
Job 42:1-4, 6 Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
Job's confession WAS the point. The highly prized Job was touched in a way no one expected, because the brilliant uncreated God knew this was the way Job would see Him in light that was life altering, and because God felt like demonstrating something about his beloved man to the kingdom of darkness.
Satan accused Job, and God rushed to Job's defense. If you think God is at your disposal to dispense comfort, you will not see Job's story this way. BUT, if you see God as the brilliant and perfectly powerful creator who really does know best how to increase the depth of His relationship with the object of His love and school His enemies at the very same time...well then you will see the events like Job did. "Before I thought you were awesome...now I KNOW you are awesome. Forgive me for missing it for a second there...I will never forget again who You are"
Satan said "Job is a soft loser. He's only on God's side because you give Him comfort. Take away his comfort and he will hate you like I do." And God said "you don't know men like I do. I'll put my money on Job, satan...you don't know love like I do." Of course, God ALWAYS makes good bets. Not everyone has the privilege of the esteem of God like Job did. It wasn't really a fair bet. Only satan's blinding pride would allow him to believe God might be wrong about a person. God would only boast in someone with a heart toward God like Job's. I want to be a man like Job.
God isn't supposed to be my comfort dispenser...He is my Father of infinite wisdom, love, and power. He has made Himself available to me if I would like. I want to know Him on His terms...I want to be a good bet....I want Him to be proud of me...to delight that He made me...like Job.
Any child coddled in comfort from the day they were born turns out to be a train wreck of a person. They are miserable to be around because they believe the world is at their disposal. No parent in their right mind would intentionally destroy a child's life like that. Adversity causes people to mature and see truth.
God has a big plan for me that will unfold over trillions and trillions of years. He isn't nearly as interested in my temporary comfort in the "birth canal" of my first 70 or 80 years as He is in my long term success as a priest, king, and son for the next trillion trillion years...and that will STILL be just getting started. But, do I really believe I will live forever and that God knows more than I do about how to get me ready for that? Or has fear and pride convinced me that I need to invent my own theology where God only does safe things for me and increases my fame, my wealth, and my health...my comfort.
The truth is, God has a bride He is getting ready to marry...to join His life to so they might be one. He has a generation He see's like Job. He is going to reveal Himself to them and He is going to school satan one last dramatic time. You see, to this day satan is still accusing the objects of God's delight, but God has said "you don't know her like I do." This another end-time passage:
Revelation 12:10-12 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
God is right. He only makes good bets. But unlike Job, we have been given a huge heads-up. When you are given more, more is expected of you. This is what Jesus said about the time we are about to enter...this is an end-time passage (there are over 150 chapters dedicated to this theme in the Bible):
Luke 12:47-48 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
Those who prepare...and there is MUCH to do (if you don't know what I am talking about, you should be concerned, because Jesus is very interested in you being prepared)...will flourish through the time coming. Those who do not prepare will run a very big risk of quitting on Jesus. Jesus' plan is so intense, that many will be offended and quit. Speaking privately to His disciples, Jesus said this:
Matthew 24:10-13 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
So I must ask myself: does my eschatology agree with God and his clear and knowable plans, or do I search for Bible verses to make me comfortable but at the same time increase confusion? Would God tell me to prepare and "be ready" clearly in His word over and over if no one could really know what to prepare or be ready for? Do I teach things to others that will get them ready to stand like Job, or do I lead them in such a way that they will be confused and offended at Jesus' plan? These are important things to consider as the intensity is obviously increasing.
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