By Chris WittsSunday 28 Jul 2013Morning Devotions with Chris WittsLifeReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
There is an interesting book on the market that tells people how to deal with life’s worst-case scenarios. The name of this book is The Worst-Case Scenario Handbook. It might be something that you would want to look into for yourself. Here are just a few of the chapters contained in this book.
• How to escape from quicksand
• How to fend off a shark
• How to survive a poisonous snake attack
• How to escape from killer bees
• How to wrestle free from an alligator
• How to deal with a charging bull
• How to land a plane
• How to survive if your parachute fails to open
• How to survive an earthquake
• How to survive when adrift at sea
• How to take a punch
• How to win a sword fight
• How to jump from a moving car
Now,it is possible that you will never face any of the scenarios I have mentioned. But,it is possible that you could find yourself in the same place that Job found himself. Job was a person we read about from the Old Testament .. a good man who served God and did the right thing. In his mind,the worst thing that could happen had happened. He lets us know that even when life was good and things were going his way,he was always afraid that this very thing would take place. What Job faced in his life was his worst-case scenario. What he endured was horrible,but what he learned was priceless.
Let’s face it,we all have a worst-case scenario in our minds. Sometimes,those very things happen to people we care about … At the very least,there will be times when the bottom will fall out of your life and you will enter the valley of affliction. The Bible explains his life story – he wanted to serve God,and that was his motive – and what a wonderful example. God was obviously using Job to show others by the genuine man he was. He was prosperous,wealthy and very generous to others ..he had 7 sons and 3 daughters ..but one day all his wealth was destroyed and his children were killed. He endures this dreadful calamity with great struggle and questions of “why did God allow this to happen to me?”. His wife cursed him and his friends told him to stop complaining. He faced a worse case scenario.
Job lived a good and godly life,still calamity came. His was a life blessed by God,but still trouble stalked his life. Even during the good times of life,Job lived in anticipation of his worst-case scenario becoming a reality. Evidently,our friend Job was a worry wart! Thank God,most of the times our worries are ill-founded! However,there are times when life will bring with it a worst-case scenario:
“A young boy was driving a hayrack down the road when the wagon fell over in front of a farmer’s house. The farmer came out,saw the young boy crying,and said,”Son,don’t worry about this,we can fix it. Right now dinner’s ready. Why don’t you come in and eat with us and then I’ll help you put the hay back on the rack.” The boy said,”No,I can’t. My father is going to be very angry with me.” The farmer said,”Now don’t worry,just come in and have some lunch and you’ll feel better.” The boy said,”I’m just afraid my father is going to be very angry with me.” The farmer and the young boy went inside and had dinner. Afterwards,as they walked outside to the hayrack,the farmer said,”Now,son,don’t you feel better after that great meal?” The boy said,”Yes but I just know that my father will be very angry with me.” The farmer said,”Nonsense. Where is your father anyway?” The boy said,”He’s under that wagon.”
It would do us good to remember this morning that a good life in not a hedge against trouble! Being godly does not guarantee that we will be free from calamity! We seem to have the idea that when we live right,we are entitled to all the blessings God will send down to us .. This is just not the case! Some of God’s most precious saints have endured the greatest of afflictions! Paul – 2 Cor. 11:23-28; Daniel – Dan. 6; The Hebrew Three – Dan. 3; David and all the trials of his life! Even the Lord Jesus was called “a man of sorrows.”,Isa. 53:3. Why should we feel that we are to be exempted from the difficulties of life? Job 14:1 says “Life is short and sorrowful for every living soul”. Job learned some very important lessons about God in his life time:
THE CLASSROOM OF JOB’S LIFE
A. He Learned Lessons About The Person Of God – Chapters 38-41
B. He Learned Lessons About The Purposes Of God – Chapters 3-37; 42:1-5
C. He Learned Lessons About The Power Of God – Chapters 38-41; 42:10-12
1. He learned that no area of life is safe from difficulty or disruption.
2. He learned that God’s purpose in trial is not to break us,but to grow us. He does not want to punish us,but to perfect us! Often,the best lessons in life are learned in the furnace of affliction. (The disciples in the storm,Mark 6; The Three Hebrews in the furnace,Dan. 3; Daniel in the lion’s den,Dan. 6,etc.) None of these would have ever learned what God could do until they were put in a place where they needed Him to do it!
3. He learned that God’s purposes and plans for our lives are often beyond our comprehension,Isa. 55:8-9. “The Lord says ‘my thoughts and my ways are not like yours. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth,my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours'”.
4. He learned that God is absolutely sovereign in all of life – Nothing happens to you or me without His permission,Rom. 8:28; says “God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves Him. They are the ones God has chosen for His purposes”. Psa. 37:23.says “if you do what the Lord wants He will make certain each step you take is sure”.
5. He learned that in the end,all things worked out right – The Bible is clear when it tells us that “The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.”,Rom. 8:18. In the end,all of life’s up and downs will be perfectly blended into just what God intended for us in the first place.
6.. No matter how bad things become,they will not last forever. Therefore,as you travel through your valley,remember that they exit is always just right ahead! Remember,this did not come to stay,but it merely came to pass.