FACING AN UNEXPECTED TRIAL

JEREMIAH 17:5-10

Introduction: Have you ever found yourself frustrated at the one who brought you bad news rather than trying to understand the one from whom the news originated? In other words, have you ever been frustrated with the mailman?

Some people live lives full of constant frustration at the mailman. The broken washing machine becomes their object of frustration, or a broken computer, a child, a grumpy boss, a rebellious student, an unreasonable teacher, a demanding parent, cancer, abuse, a parking space, etc.

These can often become the daily “giants” of our lives and defeat us continually. But, we need not be defeated!

What we must learn to understand is from whom these trials come and for what purpose they are intended.

When we read the Word of God(The Bible) we quickly realize that a lot of God’s people went through some very difficult trials.

As we read about these very common people going through these trials, we can not help but notice the fact that they remained UNBELIEVABLY CALM during those times!!!

Ex: drop me into a den filled with hungry lions and....you will hear my shouts from miles away!!!

Ex: strong men grab me and start walking to throw me into a fiery pit!!!

Were these men and women in the Bible somehow not filled with fear, did they have no feelings of concern?

No, they had a source that continually nourished and strengthened them. And, they accepted the “postmen” that God chose to use.

When we read the book of Job, we read it as though the veil has been removed from the unseen world, and we are given insights into that which our circumstances alone cannot provide. We see both the power of our adversary, and we also learn of his absolute powerlessness apart from the permission of our loving God.

Job’s “mailmen” brought news of both blessing and brokenness. Let’s consider it.

Job 1:14–19 KJV 1900

14 And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: 15 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. 16 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, 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. 17 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 18 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: 19 And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote 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.

I. Decide to Look beyond the Postman, Package, or Problem

Job Saw the Providence of God

PROV´IDENCE, n. [Fr from L. providentia.]

1. The act of providing or preparing for future use or application.

Providence for war is the best prevention of it. [Now little used.] Bacon.

2. Foresight; timely care; particularly active foresight or foresight accompanied with the procurement of what is necessary for future use, or with suitable preparation. How many of the troubles and perplexities of life proceed from want of providence!

3. In theology, the care and superintendence which God exercise over his creatures.

Noah Webster, Noah Webster’s First Edition of An American Dictionary of the English Language. (Anaheim, CA: Foundation for American Christian Education, 2006).

A stronger demonstration of grace could hardly be demonstrated than that which was demonstrated by Job.

But consider first who brought about the need for grace. Was it God or was it Satan?

Turn and Read-Job 1:6–12

Job 1:6–12 KJV 1900

6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. 7 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.

Again, in chapter two, this scenario is repeated.

Turn and Read-Job 2:4–9

Job 2:4–9 KJV 1900

4 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5 But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. 6 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. 7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 8 And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. 9 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.

Job wisely understood that Satan had no authority over him apart from his almighty Father. Job trusted in the Providence of God. He confessed this by saying:

Turn and Read-Job 1:21–22

Job 1:21–22 KJV 1900

21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, And naked shall I return thither: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord. 22 In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

The word providence is a compound word. Pro meaning “before” and video meaning “to see.” The word carries the idea of “to see beyond.”

Job was able to see beyond what had been delivered to him and make a connection between his circumstances to His God.

God had given Job grace to receive the blessings. God would do the same for His trials.

Illustration: During the last Olympics we were continually presented with the parents of the athletes observing their children competing. While they were obviously human parents, and concerned for their children’s well being, they were possibly at the height of their parental experience as they watched their children exert themselves to the very limits of the human body and come out victorious.

Regrettably, some accuse God of being unloving when testing and trying His children. Yet, just the opposite is true.

Illustration: Several years ago, peaches were given a “lye bath” that would remove the skin from the peaches and reveal the fruit. God often places us in our own “lye bath” to peel off that which would cover the real fruit.

Are you looking past the mailman to what God may be trying to remove in order to reveal real fruit?

· Are you snapping back and being childish with your own children?

· Is God removing your financial health to remove your longing for things?

· Is He bringing petty trials in your life because He is seeking to remove your over-sensitiveness to people and events?

· Is God giving you authority to which it is difficult to submit because He is revealing your own lack of submission?

“Look beyond the problem, package, or mailman and see the Providence of God”

II. Determine to Look past the Delivery to the Deliverer

Turn and Read- Philippians 4:6–7

Philippians 4:6–7 KJV 1900

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The word careful here means “anxious or troubled.” How does this happen. It happens when we look past what has been delivered to us and we consider again the goodness of the Deliverer.

This is the story of the Bible—God, wisely placing in the paths of His children, those things that bring about His purpose and plan.

Psalm 37:23 KJV 1900

23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: And he delighteth in his way.

The word ordered here simply means “prepared.” God has prepared a path for you to follow. Don’t resist it. What He delivers is for us to receive and it is for our good—even when we are in the heat of the drought!

Isaiah 58:11 KJV 1900

11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, And satisfy thy soul in drought, And make fat thy bones: And thou shalt be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

Hudson Taylor said:

How the tendency to resentment and a wrong feeling would be removed, could we take an injury from the hand of a loving Father, instead of looking chiefly at the agent through whom it comes to us! It matters not who is the postman—it is with the writer of the letter that we are concerned; it matters not who is the messenger—it is with God that His children have to do.—The Works of J. Hudson Taylor, Hudson Taylor

We often think that Job should have said, “The Lord gave, and Satan hath taken away.” It is what, at times, we think or say. Yet Job understood that all things come from God. And, God’s intention for Job was good, regardless of Job’s circumstances.

Note:It would help us to remember that Satan is a servant, not a master. Even He cannot operate outside the permission of God. Satan cannot force a person to make a choice, he can only tempt that person to sin…. It ALWAYS COMES DOWN TO PERSONAL CHOICE!!!!

Some like to quote Romans 8:28 as a salve for their own sinful choices. Sadly, this is not a proper use of Scripture.

Romans 8:28 KJV 1900

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

John 14:15 KJV 1900

15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 15:10 KJV 1900

10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

“To them that love God” = “Those who keep His commandments”

Note-if your “conscience” leads you to do something that violates the Word of God; then your conscience is WRONG!!

God can, and often does, use our foolishness to highlight His glory, but He is under no obligation to do so. And, we should never succumb to the wrong thinking that God made us sin to bring about His good will for our lives.

This does not mean that we are to blame God for the consequences of our sinful choices. Judas sinned and God certainly used it to accomplish His purposes, but Judas received the consequences of His sin.

It is wrong to say, “I disobeyed God, but it is actually good that I did.” No. God, in His goodness may bring about good, but the sinful, willful, disobedient action is not to be cheerfully accepted as good.

Note- it is also wrong to get so wrought up with the situation and not look to God…God has/had a reason to allow a trial into your life…the question now is…what are you going to do with this “package” that has been delivered to you?

III. Declare that God Knows Exactly What Package You Need, When You Need It

God knew the package that Job needed when He delivered trial, pain, loss, and suffering. God also knew what Job needed when He restored to Job two-fold what He had first taken away. And, more than this, Job was able to say:

Job 42:5 KJV 1900

5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: But now mine eye seeth thee.

Isn’t that what you also desire, to have more than just know about God, but to know Him?

Paul prayed:

Turn and Read-Philippians 3:10

Philippians 3:10 KJV 1900

10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

Romans 8:28–29 KJV 1900

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Conclusion:

Jeremiah 17:5–8 KJV 1900

5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. 6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

Psalm 1:3 KJV 1900

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

What trial are you facing today?

How are you going to face your TRIAL today?

Has he arrived carrying a package that you are unwilling to accept? Maybe that package remains even today at your front door and God is asking you to sign for it, to receive it, and to thank God for sending it, whatever it may be.

If you have never accepted Christ as your Saviour, then the trials that God has brought into your life are to bring you to HIM!!!