How to Handle What You Can’t Handle
Read Job 1:14-17
I was getting dressed for one morning, and suddenly the words on a can caught my eye and caught my attention…
As they did, I picked up the can of shaving cream, and read the words on the label…
over and over again…
In fact, those words have me reading labels these days, on everything…
Those words said;
Warning; contents under pressure, Do not puncture or incinerate….
Do not throw into fire…It even said, keep out of the reach of children…
Harmful or fatal if swallowed…
And the words caught my attention, because they summarize the situation going on in so many lives of the children of God….
Many today are living under pressure…They are on the verge of an explosion…
They are just a few degrees away from losing it…
They can’t stand the heat, but they don’t know how to get out of the kitchen…
The pressures and the trials of this life are destroying them…
They are living under pressure, wondering just how much anyone is expected to take…
Many of them ought to wearing a sign this morning, saying:
Warning, stay away…Warning… danger approaching…
There are times when I could wear a sign, even you would wear a sign…
But what would your sign say…?
Life is one thing after another….One problem, on top of another problem,
and people are trying to figure out, how to handle what they can’t handle…
Everybody in here has heard about the problems of Job.
We know his story…We have heard it so many times before…
We know how trouble came his way… in spite of how righteously he tried to live.
Job found himself the victim of a malicious scheme of Satan, who was engaged in a battle with God, and who trying to destroy the life of one of God’s children.
He tries to do the same thing to you, that he has consistently tried to do to God’s children down through the years.
Satan comes among us and when he shows up… with one thing on his mind,
And that is a scheme to bring down, to destroy, to tear up the life of another child of God.
And don’t you forget… Satan still comes among us…
Satan still shows up, wherever the sons and the daughters of God get together…
Satan still shows up…. in your family, and my family…
In your life and my life… Satan still comes among us….
As I was preparing this message, thoughts filled my mind, concerning the things that are going on all over the world.
Just look at the world all around us…People are living under pressure,
Struggling under pressure….
Striving under pressure…There is Unprecedented violence….
A lack of morals and discipline…
No rules, No ethics, No accountability…
And it seems everybody is singing Frank Sinatra’s classic…”I did it my way”…
But what will you do, when trouble comes your way…?
When trouble comes on top of trouble…When trouble comes in abundance….?
What will you do, when you don’t know what to do…?
And when trouble comes out of nowhere for no apparent reason…?
The scripture tells us, that Job was a perfect and an upright man…
One who feared God and stayed away from evil…
But still trouble came…The scripture tells us, that Job believed in God so much that he prayed everyday…
He worshiped at every opportunity…He paid his vows before the Lord…
And he offered acceptable sacrifices unto God…Job was so righteous, before God, that he sacrificed… in case his children sinned…
But still trouble came…
And it didn’t just come, it came in abundance…
the scripture says, it came, while he was yet speaking…Look at the text with me…
In verse 14-15…God’s word says,
And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the donkey’s feeding beside them. And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away;
yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
What a way to start your day…
For in the 16th verse we see that before he had time to react to one thing, something else happened…
Before he had time to get himself together and get back on his feet…
Something else happened…
Has that ever happened to you…?
Do you find yourself in getting in trouble, while you’re already in trouble…?
Do you find yourself, trying to get up, only to be knocked down again…?
Are there times when it looks like the more you do good, the more evil comes your way…?
Look at Job…For while the messenger was yet speaking…Trouble came again…
Job 1:16
While he was yet speaking, Another messenger came,
and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep,
and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
I ‘m sure somebody would be quick to tell Job to trust in the Lord, and everything would be all right…
Somebody would tell Job, things were going to be all right, just hold to God’s unchanging hand…
And that’s the easiest thing in the world to do, as long as it’s not you standing in Job’s shoes…
That’s good advice until it happens to you…But how do you handle the things you can’t handle…?
What will you do, when he comes for you…When trouble comes… misery comes…
Disappointment comes…Tears come…?
Evidence tells us, we aren’t all waiting on the Lord….
Alcohol sales and drug sales tell us, we aren’t all waiting on the Lord…
The murder statistics…The domestic violence reports, and the divorce court records,
Tell us, we’re not all trusting God to turn it around…
Evidence tells us, We’re not all trusting God to make a way somehow…
We’re not just standing still to see the salvation of the Lord…
But most people are trying to figure these things out on their own…
People are becoming increasingly impatient...They are seeking their own solutions...
Trying to find their own way….Trying to make sense of things that make no sense at all…
But I still remember my Grandmother telling me “Michael you need the patience of Job... slow down… Let God work it out…”
And it took me a while to realize what she meant...
But Now, I understand…For We are impatient people…We want results,
and we want them right now.
We want everything in a hurry. We don’t want to wait for anything.
But I want you to know today, God knows just what he is doing,
and God not only know what we need…he knows just when we need it the most.
But in this hurry up, do it now, I’m tired of waiting…world that we live in,
so many have forgotten how to wait.
And if the Lord doesn’t come when we want him, then we don’t think he comes on time.
You see, we have become so accustomed to having things our way, And when they don’t go our way…we get upset, and lose focus of the true and living God.
We want instant cures for everything, from a tooth ache to heart break...
And we find that waiting is difficult, in a world where you can zap your food in the microwave, and eat a hot meal in a minute...
Waiting is difficult…in a world where emotions are more important than values…
Waiting is difficult, in a world where we are accustomed to having everything here and now...
waiting is difficult…In this hurry up...Give it to me now…Get it done now…
Let’s go now…world we live in…
Waiting is difficult... when walk up tellers, ATMs and drive up windows,
put money at your finger tips 24 hours a day.
Waiting is difficult in a world where you can get eyeglasses in an hour...
Waiting is difficult in a world where you can take your picture in a minute,
Scan it and send it around the globe in a matter of minutes…
O yes, We are a world that is on the move, and a world that’s in a hurry...
We want everything faster, more rapidly than we had it the day before...
we want quick fixes, quick results, quick satisfaction…we want instant grits,
instant coffee…Instant stimulation…Instant gratification…
and for us, waiting is difficult,
It’s hard to wait, in a world where you can eat your breakfast in Atlanta...your lunch in Chicago...your dinner in Los Angeles. And have a midnight snack in Hawaii.
Yes, we want it, and we want it now.
We want God to move, and we want God to move now.
But Job reminds us this morning... that you can’t hurry God…
and that there is a blessing in learning to wait on the Lord.
And Job is not some super saint with a big X on his chest…
Or with a bat cave, or batmobile…
He was no different from you or me.
He had his good days and his bad days...
He had his ups and his downs...
Job had his hard trials and tribulations...But he learned how to wait.
Yes waiting was hard…Anticipation was uneasy, but he waited anyhow...
There were times when he cursed the day that he was born, but he learned to wait.
He waited, even though his life was full bad news...He waited, even though his days were full of trouble.
He waited, even though the more he tried to do right, the more trouble came his way...
Remember what we said…Job had been minding his own business, taking care of his 3,000 camels...feeding His 7,000 sheep...plowing with His 500 yoke of oxen...
He was minding his own business...Living every day the best that he knew how to live...
Going to church… Serving God…Praising God…Worshipping God…Paying his tithes…
Serving the Lord with gladness…
But trouble came…And it came While he was yet speaking…
Right there in verse 17…it says,
there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men,
and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
This great wind is the eastern desert wind called “sirocco”…It blows with the force and the fury of a tornado…
And Job is being hit from every direction…
The wind from the east…lightning from the west, Chaldeans from the north,
Sabeans from the south,
Job was having one of those days, when he felt like he had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, and probably wished he hadn’t got up at all.
Job found himself trying to handle things that he couldn’t handle…
Just about the time he thought things would get better, They went from bad to worse…
But he didn’t do what we do…He didn’t go see the root man…The soothsayer,
The crystal ball reader…The loan shark…The lady of the evening, The man down on the corner…The bartender, The drug dealer…Or The pawn shop,
He didn’t even let his fingers do the walking through the yellow pages,
But God’s word says, Job arose, and tore his clothes…and shaved his head,
and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped God,
Job didn’t complain about what he had lost…What had been taken away, Or how pitiful, and sorry his life was,
Job didn’t fuss and fight…Job didn’t panic and get in a heated rush…
Job didn’t allow his outward circumstances, to destroy his inner peace of mind…
In the midst of trouble, In the midst of his Trials and tribulations…When he had to handle things that he couldn’t handle…
Job turned adversity into adoration…Job turned problems into praise…
Job kept his eyes on God…
Friends, we all need to remember where trouble comes from…
Trouble comes the devil…
Help comes from God…Persecution comes from the devil…
Victory comes from God…Destruction, and misery, Jealousy and hatred…Envy and strife…Grief and pain comes from the devil…
But peace and sweet relief comes from God…
The devil wants to turn good days into bad days, Smiles into frowns,
And laughter into tears…
Have you ever had one of those days lately...When it looks like trouble comes on top of trouble...?
Job lost everything…In one day Job went from prosperity to poverty…
From riches to rags…From popularity to obscurity…
In one day, Job went From the greatest man in the land, to a man who a beggar wouldn’t want to trade places with…His whole world came tumbling down…
He lost his sons, He lost his daughters, He lost his wife…
Not a life time, but in one day...everything that could go wrong, went wrong...
Job could have gone out and tried to track down the Sabeans...
and the Chaldeans...
Job could have gone out and protested and told the world how unfair life was…
Job could have complained about how bad things were going in his life...
But he didn’t go anywhere...
He fell down on his knees...and Job worshipped the Lord...
He said the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, but blessed be the name of the Lord.
When I first heard his story, I thought… Job had to be crazy…
And I confess, I still have some growing to do….
Yes, there have been times, when I would have tried to get even with somebody…
When I looked at Job I thought there must be something wrong with this brother...
I thought he must have been a wimp…A pushover…For not fighting back…
But I can see clearly now…When I see people who lose their job and go crazy...
When I see people who lose their homes and go crazy…When I see people who lose a husband, Or lose a wife, and they act like they have lost it all…
All because they don’t know how to handle things that are going on in their lives…
I remember this story.
Here is a man who lost everything that he owned…Every child that he had…His livelihood...And Satan still wasn’t through...
Let me hit him with my best shot...
He tried everything he knew how to try…
He used every trick up his sleeve, and every weapon in his arsenal…
But God was still in control…
God allowed Satan access to Job... but God knew just how much Job could bear.
God tolerated Satan’s attacks, But God knew Job’s breaking point…
In every life, there will be times of trials and tribulations,
There will be times of persecution...Times of pain.
But God is still in control...
God still has the power of Satan under his control...
God has set boundaries that he cannot pass...
Not only that, God knows what’s in each one of you…
God knows how you will respond...God knows what your breaking point is…
God knows even when you don’t know yourself.
And this story of Job reminds every one of us, that loving God does not mean that you will never suffer again...serving God doesn’t exempt you from trouble,
Praising God does not mean that you’ll never have to deal with trials and tribulations again...
But in the midst of it all... tragedies will come...Calamities will come...Disasters will come…Setbacks will come…Pain will come...Illness will come…
Satan will come…
But when he comes… God comes also…
I hear God saying, I’ll never leave you…Nor forsake you…And greater is he that is within you, than he that is within the world…
Through it all… your life can be a testimony to the presence and the power of God…
Instead of running, we should be saying, Use me Lord...
Instead of complaining, We ought to be giving God the praise…
Instead of bending and breaking…We ought to stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord….
Let the world see the God In you…When the walls are closing in on you...
When world is crashing down around you...
I’ve learned how to lean and depend on Jesus... He’s my friend and he’s my guide…
I’ve learned how to lean and depend on Jesus…For I found out, that if I trust him, he will provide...
Job was a praying man...A God fearing man, who loved the Lord.
He was a man who feared God, and who stayed away from evil.
Job remembered what so many forget…
Job realized that when you’ve done all that you can do…When you’ve tried the best you could…When you have given it all you’ve got…
Wait on the Lord…and be of good courage…for he shall strengthen your heart.
Somebody here today has been praying and still no change...
The God we serve, offers hope right now...The God we serve, can help right now...
Outside the tomb of Lazarus, I heard Jesus say ’I am the resurrection and the life, whosoever believeth in me though he were dead, yet, shall he live again,’
Jesus has the power over life and death...tragedies and triumphs...Jesus has the power to raise up and tear down...To save and destroy...
And whatever situation life has placed you in today, whatever corner you’re backed up in…whatever you are fighting against…
Blood pressure, Heart problems, Marriage problems…Sickness, Poverty…Disease,
Persecution…Affliction…
He says give it to me... I’ll bear it for you...give it to me, I’ll share it...
If there’s a need in your life, I will take it, if you just give it to me...
Trouble will always come looking for us..
Jesus…also had trouble that came his way…It was out on a hill called Calvary...
Where they nailed him high and stretched him wide...Trouble came looking for Jesus…
Yes, trouble came…Suffering came…Misery came…Bloodshed came…Spears and thorns came…Soldiers came, Looking for Jesus…
But Jesus didn’t fight back…Instead of fighting back, he hung there and he died…
I heard him saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do...
They forced that crown of thorns on his head...and He died on that Cross for you and for me.
He took all the troubles for all of us upon himself, and He asks you today to surrender your troubles to Him.
I encourage each one of you to turn your troubles over to Christ Jesus, so you too can have the courage and peace that Job had in his life.
God Bless!
