Surviving a Crash
Job 1:13-22; 2:7-10; 38:4-11
Sermon Outline
Bible Truths and LIFE Applications
Tragedy, heartache, and difficult times … we have come to expect them in our lives. We know that even those of us who follow God faithfully are not immune to life’s “crashes.” We must realize that the real test of our faith is found in how we deal with the hard times in our lives.
How can you “Survive a Crash?”
1. Keep your faith in God. (Job 1:20)
• Remember … God sees the “big picture.”
• Remember … you can only see the “snapshot” that is your life.
• Don’t become devoured by bitterness.
• Be careful where you place the blame for your situation.
2. Pray. (Job 1:20-21)
• Sometimes, our first reaction to tragedy is to withdraw from God.
• Don’t cut off your personal communication with God.
3. Maintain your complete trust in God. (Job 1:22)
• Remember that you do not have a single thing that was not given to you by God.
• Every day, every moment, and every relationship is a gift from God.
4. Beware of bad advice. (Job 2:7-10)
• Even people really close to you can have some really stupid advice.
• If it doesn’t sound like it is from God, you can believe that it isn’t.
5. Wait upon the Lord. He remains in control. (Job 38:4-11)
• You are a child of the Most High God!
• Your side has already won the race!
• God is waiting for you at the finish line … on the other side of life’s crashes.
One Last Application
Remember … you are not immune from life’s “crashes.” But you don’t have to deal with them alone, either. God is on your side … and so are we!
Sermon Transcript:
Surviving a Crash
Job 1:13-22; 2:7-10; 38:4-11
The days are winding down in my current series, “It All Comes Down to the Finish Line…” Before we get into today’s study, let me first review a little from our lesson on dealing with stress, “Hanging on Through Life’s Turns.” See if you can remember a little of what we learned two weeks ago.
A Little Review from “Hanging On Through Life’s Turns”
1. Live a life of joy.
2. Exercise patience.
3. Trust in God … really trust in God!
4. Focus on God’s blessings. Remember how He is working in your life.
5. Remember your “pit stops!”
I hope that little review jogged your memory some and helped you to recall some previously learned lessons. Now it’s time for us to move on to another topic. So, let me tell you a story…
Opening Illustration
A young man, who had worked for years on the railroad, wanted a job as a signalman for the railroad. For his interview, he was told to meet the inspector at the signal box. The inspector asked him, “What would you do if you realized that two trains were heading toward each other on the same track?” The young man said, “That’s easy. I would switch the points for one of the trains.”
The inspector then asked, “What if the lever broke?” The young man said, “Then I’d jump down out of the signal box and I’d use the manual lever over there.” Next, the inspector said, “What if the lever had been struck by lightning?” The young man said, “Then, I would run to the signal box and phone the next signal box to let them know what was happening.”
The inspector continued on, “What if the phone was busy?” The young man said, “Well, in that case, I would rush down out of the signal box and use the public emergency phone at the crossing up there.” Then, the inspector said, “What would you do if the public emergency phone had been vandalized?” The young man said, “Oh, well, then I would run into town and get my uncle.” That answer puzzled the inspector. So, he asked, “Why would you go get your uncle?” The young man answered, “That’s simple. Because he’s never seen a train crash before.”
Contributed by: Lyndon Marcotte to sermoncentral.com
Unlike that young fellow’s uncle … most of us have seen a train crash before. Now, I’m not talking about a train that runs on tracks. I’m talking about those classic moments in our lives when things go so terrible wrong, when things get so bad, that the best way to describe the moment is simply to call it what it is … a train crash in our life. Have any of you ever had one of those before? Sure, you have! And, I can pretty much guarantee you … no matter how well things may be going right now, there is sure to be another one sometime in your future. It may be sooner … or it may be later … but somewhere, someday, you are going to have to deal with another crash in this race of life and faith that we are all running in.
Of course, it’s easy to tell you that trouble will some someday … but, then again, most of you know that. What you may not know very well, however, is how to deal with those crashes in life in a solid, victorious, and biblical way. That’s what I hope to teach you today as we look to the Word of God for guidance in Surviving a Crash.
Now, if you had to describe one person in the Bible who endured pain, suffering, destruction, and difficulty in truly biblical proportions, whom would that person be? That’s right, Job.
Well, today, we are going to take something of a “crash course” … that pun is definitely intended … in the life of Job. We’re going to talk just a little about what happened to him … we’re actually going to read about it. But mostly we are going to focus upon how he dealt with the tragedy and difficulty that he encountered in his life. Hopefully, as we look at his decisions and actions, we can be better equipped to survive a life-crash when one comes.
Many of you will recall that Job was an ancient, righteous man. God allowed Satan to test Job to demonstrate that Job really was a faithful man of God who would not turn his back on God, no matter how bad life became.
I want us to read a few select verses to get a summary of what happened to Job and what we can learn from his example.
Read: Job 1:13-22; 2:7-10; 38:4-11
So, what can we learn from the life of Job?
Bible Truths and LIFE Applications
Tragedy, heartache, and difficult times … we have come to expect them in our lives. We know that even those of us who follow God faithfully are not immune to life’s “crashes.” We must realize that the real test of our faith is found in how we deal with the hard times in our lives.
How can you “Survive a Crash?”
1. Keep your faith in God. (Job 1:20)
Can you imagine the torment that Job was going through? He lost everything. He lost all of his livestock, and all of his servants … even his family … his children. Everything that made him wealthy and everything that fulfilled him in his life was gone.
Most of us have suffered tragedy and loss in our lives. We have lost a loved one, or a job, or income … maybe some of you have even lost your home. But few of us have lost everything …. Totally and completely everything but the clothes that we are wearing.
That happened to Job. And what was his response? He fell down and worshiped God. Oh, he wasn’t happy about what was happening to him. He tore his robe and shaved his head as a symbol of his complete hurt and agony … but he still worshiped God. How hard must that have been? And yet, we must seek to do the same thing in our lives. No matter what happens to us … no matter how difficult life becomes, we must never stop praising and loving our Lord.
Testimony: Mary Hodge in the face of cancer.
• Remember … God sees the “big picture.”
God is in control. We cannot know the mind of God.
• Remember … you can only see the “snapshot” that is your life.
Self does not want us to see past ourselves. So, we can never truly see the “big picture.” We must trust God in that.
• Don’t become devoured by bitterness.
• Be careful where you place the blame for your situation.
People often times like to take the credit for themselves when things go well, but God is the first one they blame when tragedy strikes. Be careful who you blame. In fact, it is best not to lay blame at all.
2. Pray. (Job 1:20-21)
Job lost everything. Yet, he laid down on the ground before God and prayed. And it wasn’t just any prayer. It wasn’t, “Oh God, make this all go away. Make it all right. Make my children come back to me. Make my life better.” No, he acknowledged that God was truly in control. God gave, and God took away … and that’s just the way it was.
When your life crashes, you need to pray. Now, it’s okay if you don’t know exactly what to say. Sometimes you hurt so badly that you really don’t know what to say. And that’s okay … because Jesus is there to take up the slack and pray for you.
Personal Testimony: Katie and surgery … groaning.
• Sometimes, our first reaction to tragedy is to withdraw from God.
• Don’t cut off your personal communication with God.
3. Maintain your complete trust in God. (Job 1:22)
As Job struggled with his pain and suffering, He never lost his trust in God. He never lost his faith. He never lashed out against God. He didn’t shake his fist to heaven and scream at God. He was humble, and he held tightly to his faith.
How hard is that? It is so difficult! Because when we crash and burn in life, we want to blame someone. We want to scream at God. And if things are truly bad enough, Satan gets in our ear and begins to whisper, “You know, if God was really there, and if He really loved you, He wouldn’t have let this happen…” And sadly, people begin to doubt the faithfulness of God … even well-intentioned Christian people.
• Remember that you do not have a single thing that was not given to you by God.
• Every day, every moment, and every relationship is a gift from God.
**Gift of Salvation – Explain, offer, pray.
Transition Illustration: A doctor goes to a party one night and sees one of his patients out on the dance floor with a beautiful woman. The doctor goes up to his patient and asks, “What are you doing?” The patient responded, “I’m just following your advice!” “What advice?,” the doctor replied. “You told me to find a hot mama and be cheerful.” The doctor responded in disbelief, “That’s not what I said. What I said to you was that you had a heart murmur and you need to be careful.” (Paul W. Powell)
Contributed by: Lynn Floyd to sermoncentral.com .
You know, sometimes advice can get us into more trouble than we’re already in, can’t it? So, that story reminds us that when we are dealing with a crash in life, we need to …
4. Beware of bad advice. (Job 2:7-10)
Job suddenly got some bad advice. And, from all people, it came from his wife! She looked at him, sitting there scraping the pus from his sores, languishing in filth. And she lashes out at Job! She pretty much says, “You still believe in this God of yours! What an idiot! You just need to curse God and die!”
Have any of you ever received some bad spiritual advice before? Now, I’m not just talking about the typical bad sources. You need to be really careful about getting your spiritual guidance and advice from the TV, or from the internet, or even from books. But you don’t even have to go there to get bad spiritual advice.
• Even people really close to you can have some really stupid advice.
Job learned that lesson, didn’t he? This bad advice can come from a very close friend or family member. It can even come from a respected Christian or mentor? And why? Because people are fallen … people are fallible … and often times we are not very wise.
• If it doesn’t sound like it is from God, you can believe that it isn’t.
Be sure to check your sources. Be discerning and careful about accepting spiritual advice.
Finally, as we seek to survive a crash in life or faith, we need to …
5. Wait upon the Lord. He remains in control. (Job 38:4-11)
I want you to notice that these words are directly from the Lord. God uses powerful images and words to demonstrate who He is, and how vast His power is. He laid the foundations of the earth, poured out the seas, and set the clouds in the sky! He is God, He has always been in control, and He always will be!
So, if you’re caught up in one of life’s crashes, you need to wait upon the Lord, because He has not left you. He is still in control. You might not be able to see or understand what is going on in your life, but God is in control. DO you know what that means to you and to me? If you are in Christ Jesus …
• You are a child of the Most High God!
• Your side has already won the race!
• God is waiting for you at the finish line … on the other side of life’s crashes.
It may be bad right now. You might think that life, as you know it, is over. You may not be able to see any hope on the other side. But there is hope. There is joy. There is peace. And there is victory … in Christ Jesus!
Closing Illustration
After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Startled by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother’s wings.
The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings. She could have flown to safety but refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. She had been willing to die so that those under the cover of her wings would live...
Contributed by: James Botts to sermoncentral.com .
Friend, please understand, that Jesus will not leave you. He will not forsake you. No matter how bad things may see, He will still be with you. In fact, He loves you so much, that He was willing to take upon Himself the suffering and death that you and I really do deserve. He was willing to go to the cross and give His own life, so that we might never have to even taste of the death and separation from God that we would experience without Jesus.
Friend, no matter how ad things may get, you can always trust in God to remain at your side. But you must remain true to Him!
1. Keep your faith in Him.
2. Pray!
3. Put your complete trust in God.
4. Watch out for bad advice.
5. Wait upon the Lord. He is still in control.
Prayer and Challenge
*Pray for those who are suffering.
One Last Application
Remember … you are not immune from life’s “crashes.” But you don’t have to deal with them alone, either. God is on your side … and so are we!
