Editor’s note: Tame Your Thoughts Online Bible Study with Max Lucado begins September 22nd and we welcome you to join us as we learn to master what we think about! Sign up today and learn to do battle taking every thought captive and tame your thoughts!
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She looked younger than her sixty-plus years. I came to know her age because she came to tell me her story. I attended a conference in her area and stayed around to sign books at a local store. I do not recall which book she wanted autographed, but I clearly recall her expression: somber. Eyes tear-filled. Reflective. As she handed me the book she explained, “It was my husband’s favorite.”
“Was?” I asked.
“Yes, was. He died six months ago.”
I asked her to explain. She did.
Married in their early twenties. Three kids. Happy life. Great career.
Then, at age forty, he began to experience some weakness in his hands. He made his living as a mechanic, so he noticed quickly. The diagnosis could hardly have been worse: ALS — a degenerative disease that, in time, atrophies muscle and renders the victim disabled.
He soldiered on. Bravely. Doggedly. Kept showing up, doing work, carrying his load. But soon he couldn’t grip pliers or twist a screwdriver. Then came the wheelchair. Home health care. Breathing treatments. He lived but could scarcely move.
She stayed with him through it all. He was age forty at diagnosis and sixty at death. She supported him for twenty years. Half of her married life. One-third of her natural life. Never leaving. Ever praying. Never doubting that he would get better.
But he never did.
As she finished the story, she brushed away a tear and touched my hand.
- “Why, Pastor Max? Why?”
“I can’t say that I know,” I told her.
“That’s okay.” She handed me the book. “We read from this together many times.”
I opened it to the interior page, wrote her name, signed mine, and then added this inscription: “Until we know why.”
We don’t, do we? We don’t know why. When it comes to the hurts and heartaches of life, we have ideas, opinions, convictions, and beliefs, but the words of the apostle are ours:
We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. — 1 Corinthians 13:12 MSG
At some point the fog will blow away and we will see it all, understand it all, comprehend it all. But until then we are candidates for despair, unwitting targets for the downward spiral of disbelief. How many lives of faith have crashed against the rocks of disappointment with God? How many days of joy have evaporated in the heat of unmet expectations?
We expected a long, happy marriage. We got a husband with ALS. We expected a family. We got an empty crib. We expected stability. We got transfer after transfer. It’s not that our expectations are unfair. They are simply unmet.
No area demands vigilance more than disappointment with God.
Unmet expectations are the ground zero, the Roswell, New Mexico, for UFOs. The untruth (God isn’t aware) creates a false narrative (God doesn’t care), which leads to a tragic overreaction (God isn’t even there).
We all have pain. Some sufferings we deserve. Many we do not. Deformities? Death of a child? Wartime atrocities? What do you do with these? Your answer determines much about the person you are. Why are some people bitter, angry, and harsh, while others are tender, receptive, and kind? Much of the answer is found in their response to pain.
Scripture makes three clear statements about affliction. First, there is no pain-free option.
In the world you will have tribulation. — John 16:33 ESV
Note that Jesus said, “You will have,” not “might have,” “could have,” or “there is a potential that you will have.” No, you will have tribulation. This world resembles a jungle far more than a playground. Pain is part of the package.
Second, everyone does something with their pain. Numb it. Alcohol. Workaholism. Pornography. Obsess over it. Wear it on your sleeve. Let it define you. Run from it. But it always catches up.
Pain is prevalent. Everyone deals with it. No surprise there. But you might be surprised to know that...
Third, pain displays God’s glory. We exist to make a big deal out of God. We do not exist to promote self, gender, race, political persuasion, or denomination; we exist to broadcast God’s glory. Regarding humanity, God declares,
I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them. — Isaiah 43:7 NLT
We are to God what the moon is to the sun: a light reflector. Alone we have no light, but properly positioned we cast God’s light into the dark night we call this world. We billboard God. We are placed here to flaunt his excellencies. And
- nothing glorifies God greater than suffering.
Jewels shine brightest when set against dark velvet. Anyone can glorify God when the days are easy, but when the days are tough? Understanding your pain in the context of God’s glory may be the salvation of your sanity. This is what Job discovered.
Do you recall his story?
A World Unraveled
There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless — a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. — Job 1:1 NLT
Scripture could hardly describe a more righteous man than Job. He would rise up early in the morning and offer sacrifices for his children. Why?
‘Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.’ This was Job’s regular practice. — v. 5 NLT
The guy was squeaky clean. If sin was grease, his character was Teflon. Then the strangest thing happened. Satan issued God a challenge:
Do You think Job does all that out of the sheer goodness of his heart? Why, no one ever had it so good! You pamper him like a pet, make sure nothing bad ever happens to him or his family or his possessions, bless everything he does — he can’t lose! But what do You think would happen if You reached down and took away everything that is his? He’d curse You to Your face, that’s what. — Job 1:9–11 MSG
Satan suspected ulterior motives. The devil could not imagine that Job served God out of love. After all, no one serves Satan out of love. The servants of Satan want something out of Satan: pleasure, power, privilege. Satan is unacquainted with a pure heart. He challenged God to test Job.
Call it a cosmic case study, a divine demonstration.
Call it what you want, but God stood with Job and Satan came against him.
And Job became the central character in an analysis of human suffering. Within short order, he lost property, wealth, and children. Yet his faith did not wilt.
Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” — Job 1:20–21 NLT
So far so good.
In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God. — Job 1:22 NLT
But don’t get your hopes up. The book of Job has forty-two chapters. We are only in chapter 1. Cracks in Job’s armor appear in chapter 7. He declares to God:
Why make me Your target? Am I a burden to You? Why not just forgive my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone. — 7:20–21 NLT
Pain became a swarm of termites on the trunk of Job’s faith. He grew defensive.
If someone wanted to take God to court, would it be possible to answer Him even once in a thousand times? — 9:3 NLT
Only a few pages ago, Job worshiped God. Now he wondered if he could get a fair hearing from God. What chance do I have? Not one in a thousand. The affliction began to eclipse his view of God.
He grew defiant.
I will say to God, ‘Don’t simply condemn me — tell me the charge You are bringing against me’. — 10:2 NLT
Then again:
God might kill me, but I have no other hope. I am going to argue my case with Him. — 13:15 NLT
He wants his day in court. He wants to file his complaint.
But it is God who has wronged me, capturing me in His net. — 19:6 NLT
Job went from worshiper to critic, defender to cynic, determined to doubtful. He demanded an answer. God obliged. The explanation can be summarized in one sentence: You wouldn’t understand if I told you.
Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:
Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?.. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line? What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? — Job 38:1–7 NLT
God’s point? Job, you are out of your league. You don’t know what you are talking about. Answer a few questions, and then we will have a conversation about suffering.
Who took charge of the ocean when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb? — v. 8 MSG
Have you ever ordered Morning, ‘Get up!’ told Dawn ‘Get to work!’ — v. 12 MSG
Do you know the first thing about death? — v. 17 MSG
Do you have any idea how large this earth is? — v. 18 MSG
Question after question crashed like wave upon wave upon Job, until finally the beleaguered man begged for mercy, humbled himself, and said:
I know that You can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I — and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’ I had only heard about You before, but now I have seen You with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance. — Job 42:2–6 NLT
What comforted Job? What settled his soul? What attribute of God brought peace to Job? God’s love? Mercy? Kindness? No, it was God’s sovereignty — the declaration that God runs the show, and only He knows what He is doing.
Excerpted with permission from Tame Your Thoughts by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.
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Your Turn
Are you puzzled by the pain in your life? Has it left you baffled? You’re not alone. We may not know God’s inscrutable plans until we reach Heaven, but we can be awed by His supremacy and His sovereignty. He knows what He’s doing! Join us September 22nd for the Tame Your Thoughts Online Bible Study with Max Lucado. Sign up today! ~ Devotionals Daily