In Max Lucado’s book, The Eye of the Storm, he tells the story of Chippie the parakeet. "Chippie never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage, singing a song into the air; the next second he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.
"His problem began when his owner decided to clean his cage with a vacuum. She stuck the nozzle in to suck up the seeds and feathers at the bottom of the cage when the nearby telephone rang. Instinctively she turned to pick it up. She had barely said hello when--ssswwwwwpppppp! Chippie got sucked in. She gasped, let the phone drop, and switched off the vacuum. With her heart in her mouth, she unzipped the bag.
"There was Chippie!! Alive but stunned!! Covered with heavy gray dust. She grabbed him and rushed to the bathtub, turned on the faucet full blast, and held Chippie under a torrent of ice-cold water, power washing him clean. Then it dawned on her that Chippie was soaking wet and shivering. So she did what any compassionate pet owner would do: she snatched up the hair dryer and blasted him with hot air.
"Did Chippie survive? Yes, but he doesn't sing much anymore. He just sits and stares a lot. It's not hard to see why. Sucked in, washed up, and blown over! It's enough to steal the song from any stout heart." Life is like that sometimes. You never see it coming, but life just sucks you in, washes you up, and blows you over.
Sometimes we like Chippie are sucked into the vacuum of vicious vicissitudes of circumstances, washed over by worries and weariness, and blown over by the winds of burdens and buffets. That is exactly what happened to Job. He did not see it coming; he certainly had no reason to anticipate what was coming. There was even no way he could prepare for what came. In 1988 there was a story that introduced the Winter Games that was fascinating. It was the story of how blind skiers were taught to ski. They took them on the flats and paired them with skiers who could see. The blind skiers followed the directions of the skiers who could see. They shouted commands, left, right, slow. Then they took them on the slopes and came down right beside them. The blind skiers crossed the finishing line without an incident. A reporter interviewed a couple of them and asked them, how could they manage to do that without knowing what was ahead of them. He asked, were you not afraid? The blind skiers said, no not really. We learned to trust the eyes of those who could see, and follow their commands.
That seems to be the sentiments of Job, he was blind to where life was leading, he was without sight or sense of what life was doing. Have you been there? Job’s experience and those skiers experience are actually our own. Perhaps even now, some feel like Chippie, life is sucking you in a vacuum, washing you over with cold and callous circumstances, blowing you with the heat of horrendous heartache. Welcome to the club of reality living. Welcome to the journey of faith and trust. Perhaps the words to this hymn are meaningful.
I trust in God wherever I may be,
Upon the land or on the rolling sea,
For, come what may, from day to day,
My heav’nly Father watches over me.
I trust in God, I know He cares for me,
On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea;
Tho' billows roll, He keeps my soul,
My heavn'ly Father watches over me.
Here are the words Job says: verse 10 But he knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
When we seek to understand what Job is saying in the Word, it is insightful and instructive.
I. He (God) Knows that Trials can Challenge Your Faith! But he (Job) Decided not to let Trials Change His Faith.
You have to determine in your spirit, in your mind, in your faith, I will not change my faith. I will not let life’s challenges cause my faith to decrease. Afflictions will have an affect upon you, disappointments will depress you. Failures will frustrate you. Problems will permeate your space of living. But you have to decide to place your faith over your fears, worship over worries, positive over the negative, possibilities over impossibilities.
A. This Faith Trusts when it is Tried!!!
Thou He slays me – Yet I will trust Him!!!
Faith in God does not mean that my life is exempt from darkness.
Either He will provide a flicker of light or He will hold your hand in the darkness and guide you through.
B. This Faith Testifies when it is Tested.
Out of all of Job’s experiences, the pain, the grief, the rejection, the humiliation, the hurts, the accusations, Job did not loose his testimony of faith.
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away…
I know my Redeemer liveth and He shall stand at the latter day.
One of our greatest challenges in life as people of faith is not to let the negatives of life make us negative. We as people of faith have to not allow the mishaps of life to make us misunderstand the goodness of God.
When life is unfair – He is still fair!!
When I am down – He is still the God of my ups!
When I am experiencing severe testing – He is still the God who satisfies my needs!
Faith in God cannot be determined by the season or circumstances. (He knows that trials can challenge our faith – but we must decide not to change our faith.)
II. He Knows that Life’s Troubles can be Living Triumphs!
Thomas Kelly said that the caliber of a man’s /woman’s real faith is found in his / her ability to meet the disappointments successfully, enriched rather than narrowed by it. What you go through can be used to:
Enrich you not enrage you!
Conquer you or you conquer it!
Make you victorious or make you a victim!
You will decide to be a champ or a chump!
You can praise your way through or you can wallow in your pity!
When He gets through – we will come forth. The fires of life will:
Produce purity in you!
Produce purpose in you!
Produce power in you!
Life’s fires just help to manifest your strength and weakness.
Periodically I use the microwave, and the other day I asked if a particular dish was microwave usable. My wife said, I am not sure but look under the bottom and it will tell you if it can handle the heat. It indicated it could, which meant it had been through the fire! It was a way of saying it’s been proven, it’s been tried, it’s been tested.
When God is with you, He pours into you what you need to endure, he pours into you the stuff that keeps life fires from consuming you. When God pours His faith into you, it becomes the very thing that sustains, supports, and supplies you with what you need to handle whatever you are facing.
