“ARE YOU READY FOR THE TOUGH TIMES? Job 1:6-22
(Begin series – “Life is Tough – God is Good”)
INTRO – What is your definition of a tough time? The toughest thing you could think of possibly going through? Well, guess what? That very thing could happen to you.
When I went to seminary at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1986, 1 of the first things they told us during student orientation was that if a hurricane ever headed toward New Orleans, we needed to get out as fast as we could b/c there was the possibility – however remote – that if a hurricane hit, it would flood the city in an unbelievable catastrophic event. Water would be pulled out of the lake, levees could rupture, and b/c the city was constructed below sea level, the city would fill up like a bowl. Thought – “That would never happen.” And it didn’t happen while we were there, although Hurricane Florence, a very weak storm, did brush by New Orleans in 1988.
But 19 yrs. later, the unthinkable happened. This week as I worked in NO cleaning out vacated student apts. at the seminary, I saw the lingering effects of the tremendously tough times that Katrina has brought to hundreds of thousands of people. We had some measure of tough times here, but nothing compared to the immeasurable suffering & tough times that coastal residents are continuing to endure.
In a message entitled, “What Katrina Can Teach Us,” Max Lucado stated, “We were barely into the new millennium when we saw towers falling in NYC & planes crashing into the Pentagon & the PA farmland. We saw bombs over Baghdad & witnessed the ancient land of Abraham become a war zone. You’d think we had seen enough, but then came the tsunami – a roaring wave that sucked life & innocence out to sea. And now the fruits of Katrina. A city sitting in 20 ft. of water. Citizens hacking their way onto roofs & helicopters hovering over neighborhoods. Optimistic rescuers, opportunistic looters, grateful people, resentful people – we’ve seen it all.”
I disagree w/ Lucado on his last statement. We have NOT seen it all. I’m not a pessimist or a doomsday prophet, but we’ve not seen it all. And we won’t see it all until Jesus returns to take His people out of this sinful, suffering-laden world. Jesus Himself said in Jn. 16:33 – “In this world, you WILL have trouble…” So the question is: Are you ready for the tough times that will come into our lives? When the next hurricane or earthquake hits, the next bad doctor’s report comes in, the next family crisis or job loss comes, the next time your sense of support, safety & security is gone, will you be ready?
Job was a real biblical person who went through some of the most unimaginable tough times in anyone’s book. He was a man who was extremely successful by the world’s standards. He had great material wealth & enjoyed respect among his peers. He deeply loved his children & prayed for them constantly. He was a very devout believer who faithfully served God.
But as one commentator said, “Sooner or later, everyone identifies with Job” (David McKenna, Communicator’s Commentary, p.15). Here he is, losing nearly everything he had, dealing with some of the hardest things anyone could possibly deal with. How could he do it? How could he make it through these tough times?
Job was ready for the tough times b/c he was close to God.
Job’s faith wasn’t a “foxhole” faith, a faith he relied on only when times got tough. His faith wasn’t a faith of convenience, a Sunday morning-only faith. His faith wasn’t shallow & undeveloped. It wasn’t weak, wimpy, or wavering. It wasn’t like one wealthy businessman who said, “On the weekend, my priorities are God, family, & business. When I arrive at the office on Monday morning, the order is reversed.”
Job’s outward life did not contradict his inward faith. Rather, he was, according to God’s own statement about him in v. 8, “blameless & upright, a man who fears God & shuns evil.” “Job was not perfect or w/out sin…he had put his trust in God for redemption & faithfully lived a God-honoring, sincere life of integrity & consistency personally, maritally, & parentally” (MacArthur, MacArthur Study Bible, p. 697).
Simply put, Job was close to God. He walked w/ Him consistently, grew in his devotion & dedication to Him, his fear of Him, & his desire to walk in holiness before Him. This devotion to God did not prevent Job from experiencing tough times, but his devotion did prepare him for the tough times.
A deeply devoted relationship to God will not exempt you from going through the tough times that come. The tough times WILL come, either through the natural course of events or through direct assaults from Satan & his forces. The tough times might come to your life as the result of someone else’s sinful actions. The tough times might come when you are living as close to the Lord as you ever have, loving Him as passionately as you ever have, worshiping Him as fervently as you ever have, serving Him as faithfully as you ever have:
- And the cancer might be growing in your body right now;
- the son/daughter might be rebelling against you right now;
- the spouse might be planning the divorce right now;
- the pink slip might be on its way to you right now;
- the drunk driver might be on the road right now;
- the fire might be smoldering in your attic right now.
Although a close rel. w/ God won’t insulate you from the tough times, that close rel. w/ God will go a long way in preparing you to deal w/ those tough times when they do come. Consider what the Bible says:
- “When you pass through the waters, I will be w/ you; & when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isa. 43:2-3)
- “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit – but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.” (Matt. 7:24-25 MSG)
o Notice that even though the carpenter was smart & built on the rock, the storm STILL came on him.
- “I have told you these things so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace & confidence. In the world you have tribulation & trials & distress & frustration: but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you & have conquered it for you.]” – (John 16:33 AMP)
- “Who shall separate us from the love of X? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through HIM who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:35-39 NKJV)
Listen to this testimony from one of our own church members (Cathryn’s testimony).
Job’s close rel. w/ God did not keep him from suffering, but it did prepare him for the suffering that did come to his life. And it helped him keep the proper perspective as the suffering grew:
His life was not tied to his material possessions – v. 13-17 – There’s nothing inherently wrong w/ having nice material possessions. But all too often, our perspective gets out of focus b/c we place so much emphasis on the accumulation of “stuff”, whether actual material possessions or money in the bank. Our lives are consumed w/ getting more & more things, so much so that it becomes our life, our security, our life.
Job had worked hard to build up his portfolio. But when it was all stolen from him or burned up, he was still able to stand. He was still able to say, “blessed be the name of the Lord.”
His life was not tied to his earthly family – v. 18-19 – This is a hard one! Imagine if this weekend your kids were visiting some friends who lived in Evansville, IN. This morning at 2 AM, a tornado swept through, destroying homes & killing 7 people. Your kids were there, sleeping peacefully after enjoying some fun w/ their friends. But now, they’re gone. Your phone rings, interrupting your sleep w/ the dreadful news that your children – all of your children – are gone.
Does it get any worse than that? But that’s exactly what Job encountered. I’m not minimizing the tremendous loss he endured – the pain, the tears, the agony, the numbing emptiness. But even in this, Job knew that “the Lord gave, & the Lord has taken away.” His life was not tied to his earthly family & he was still able to say, “blessed be the name of the Lord.”
His life was not tied to his public image – There are always questions that arise when someone is suffering. “Why?” “What did they do to deserve this?” And many times when we are going through our own times of suffering, we want to keep it to ourselves b/c we don’t want anyone to think that we’ve done something wrong that has brought this suffering on ourselves. We’re so concerned about what others think about us that we wallow in our private pain just to try & save face. Some of you walked in here this morning w/ your Sun. morning mask on when there’s a storm raging inside.
Friends, let’s go ahead admit it – There will ALWAYS be those folks who are going to prejudge us when we’re suffering, going to cast a sideways glance at us, get in a corner or on the phone & talk about us. That’s tragic, but it’s going to happen. We just can’t worry about those folks & let their perception of us keep us from doing what we need to do to deal w/ the suffering & pain that is tearing us apart.
Job’s life was not tied to his public image. It didn’t matter what others thought. He was still going to worship God & proclaim, “The Lord gave & the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
His life was tied to God – v. 20-22 – This is what made it possible for Job to make it. And this is what will make us ready to deal w/ the tough times that are going to come our way in this life. If you’re going to be ready for the tough times, make sure that your life is securely linked w/ God through a personal, ongoing, growing rel. w/ Christ.
Are YOU ready for the tough times?
