A Life in Exile

It doesn’t take much to see there is a lot of suffering in this world. Rarely does a Sunday pass that someone in my life group at church doesn’t request prayer for themselves or a loved one for an unexpected illness, accident, divorce, or job loss. People are hurting. People are dying. This world often leaves a lot to be desired.

Yet, for those who follow Christ Jesus, we know this is the way of things. It’s been this way since Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Jesus relates the troubles of this world to the reason for His coming, death, and resurrection, when He told the disciples: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 ESV).

Still, knowing that trouble is a reality of this life doesn’t make it any easier. What do we do when we are hurting? What does God offer?

The ever-present help in times of trouble

I think about Job, Jonah, David, and others in the narrative of the Scriptures. They were faced with horrific trials. Sometimes they were brought on by their own sinful actions, but at other times, they suffered at no fault of their own making. What did they do? They turned to God.

Sitting in his grief and anguish, Job sat and waited on the Lord to act. Jonah, stuck in the belly of the fish, prayed to the Lord. David, hiding from Saul, cried out to God in his pain. In these and other examples, God made himself known.

The sons of Korah set the stage in sharing this truth with their psalm:

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:1-3, 11)

The idea that God is our help, means that He is our go-to source of comfort and strength when we’re hurting or in trouble. My favorite verse is Psalm 73:25. I memorized it long ago, but only in the past several years have I considered the emotions expressed before and after.

When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:21-26, emphasis added to verse 25)

Do we consider God our only desire when our souls are embittered by trials and pain? Just as the psalmists declared God as their refuge and strength, God declares Himself to be the one who helps us.

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” (Isaiah 41:13)

Is God enough?

We can read these and other verses and trust in God to be our help in times of trouble, but when the hard times come, do we believe them? When we’re in the midst of heartache and trials, is God’s presence enough, or does it leave us less than satisfied?

How do we know that God’s not enough? We look for other ways to end our pain. Sometimes it’s in the way we pray to God. Are we acting entitled in our calls to Him to end our pain, heal our wounds, and restore our loss, or do we lay our struggles at His feet, allowing Him to teach us through them, let His will be done, and use even this for His glory?

Jesus always comes when invited. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20). The question is: Are we inviting Him to be with us through the trial or just as a solution to it?

Can we say with Job: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)

Or with Habakuk?

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. (Hab. 3:17-19)

In this world we will have tribulation. In this world, loved ones will die. Yet, for all who claim Christ as Lord, we must remember that this world is not our home and a better day is coming. In the meantime, we rest in Him, our salvation, our strength, our refuge, our help in times of trouble. Desire His presence above all, and He will see you through. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (Ps. 23:4)

He is enough.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Wednesday Wisdom, click HERE, or check out these posts on turning to God in times of trouble: Making Sense of Suffering, Embrace Suffering, How Long, O Lord?, The Bitter and the Sweet, Coming Through the Trial, and Questioning the Abundant Life.