How desperate have you been? Have you faced a terminal illness? Feared for your life? Did you think you would lose the house or your job or your marriage? Have you lost a dream or had to choose a new one? Been rejected by a close friend? Stood on the edge of a cliff, oneContinue reading “Who Will Help You?”
Category Archives: Adversity
Mountains.
“I lift my eyes to the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, The Maker of Heaven and Earth.” Psalm 121:1-2. These lines are well-known. You may recognize them from various songs. They convey the idea that when you are hurting and broken, you look to the horizon, toContinue reading “Mountains.”
War.
Nothing is more intense than war. A soldier’s entire life may seem dull when he reflects on three or four days spent fighting for his life and the lives of his brothers-in-arms. War is INTENSE. Men die on your left and right. Near misses make you wonder how you survived. You may not eat someContinue reading “War.”
Be Prepared.
The Boy Scout motto is “be prepared.” It’s a code to live by, because urgent situations come up that require preparation. The moment when someone’s heart stops is not the moment to learn CPR. What will you do when you witness a car accident? What if your house is on fire? Being prepared means havingContinue reading “Be Prepared.”
Bittersweet: Joy During Pain.
“Bittersweet” indicates the odd mix of pain and joy. The death of a loved one may be bitter, but if death follows a long illness, the grieving sometimes consider it sweet that the suffering is over. God can bring sweet satisfaction during suffering. Just ask the persecuted. They sometimes experience an intimacy with God theyContinue reading “Bittersweet: Joy During Pain.”
Have You Been Desperate for Rescue?
The people of Israel were desperate. Pharaoh was cracking the whip, forcing them to do hard work for long hours. Those who resisted endured the lashings—and then had to get back to work anyway. Pharaoh put cruel slave drivers in charge. The usual rule: be as cruel as you have to be, but don’t injureContinue reading “Have You Been Desperate for Rescue?”
God Will Rescue You–But Not Always in the Way You Might Have Hoped.
A friend turned his back on God thirty years ago. Today he is suffering a terminal illness. Another friend is convinced God may be using the illness to reach Doug, to bless him, in fact. What do you think of that? Can God “Bless you” with a disease that kills you? Can a terminal illnessContinue reading “God Will Rescue You–But Not Always in the Way You Might Have Hoped.”
Mutually Exclusive.
“Mutually exclusive” refers to two things that cannot both be true. Each one excludes the other. For example, result A may happen, or B may happen, but not both. A single coin toss may result in heads, or tails, but not both. Faith sometimes requires us to accept two possibilities that appear mutually exclusive, suchContinue reading “Mutually Exclusive.”
Job Encouraged Himself in His Faith.
Job is famous for his patience. James writes, “You have heard of the patience of Job” 5:11. A better translation of “patience” is the archaic word, “longsuffering.” The man endures. Job is also a gifted administrator, running a massive farming and trading enterprise. He is RICH. Moreover, he is godly, wise, and a devoted fatherContinue reading “Job Encouraged Himself in His Faith.”
Your Arm’s Too Short to Box With God!
Job lost his riches, his ten children, and his health. And Job was a man so righteous that God told Satan there was no one like Job on the whole earth (Job 1:8, 2:3). Clearly a man that righteous deserved an easy life. But God had other plans. So is God unjust? Job’s friends wereContinue reading “Your Arm’s Too Short to Box With God!”