IN PAIN… I’LL SEEK TO FOCUS ON HIS FAITHFULNESS
IN PAIN… I’LL SEEK TO FOCUS ON HIS FAITHFULNESS
“What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient? Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze? Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?” —Job 6:11-13
Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. —Job 7:7
What emotional swings Job was going through. He did not have any strength. He did not have any hopes. He did not see any prospects ahead of him. He was losing his patience. He didn’t have any power to help himself. His success was gone. All was dark within his sight. He did not think he would be happy ever again.
This is what happens when we don’t understand what God is doing behind the scenes. We don’t have perspective in our pain. We allow the pain to pivot our thinking according to our understanding. We seek to understand from our vantage point. This is impossible as we cannot understand God’s big and final picture of this age… or even of our lives.
What do we do when we are in painful situations? We need to “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Psalm 46:10-11). Even in the midst of painful situations, we are safe in His hand— “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30). Yes, in difficulty we need to remember this and that—
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” —Romans 8:37-39
So, brothers and sisters, fellow followers of Jesus, let us be encouraged by our Lord God Almighty who said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5) and that He would be with us “always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
I am grateful, Dear Father, to know these things. May I live faithfully for You by the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son Jesus. Yes, may I remember that You are always with me! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgpaULjZOl8