The Best Kept Secret

He said, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." She said, "Curse God and die!" These statements were made by a husband and wife viewing the same circumstances. They had both just lost every one of their ten children, their business, their income, their help, and their future. In time their friends would turn against them and he would lose his health. His wife would doubt God's goodness, encouraging her husband to turn his back on his Lord and give up. And yet, somehow, he maintained his hope and trust in the unchanging character of a sovereign God. The story of Job and his misfortunes is classic because it was the first of its kind to be penned down and shared. And though countless others have experienced similar trials since then, he responded properly without a precedent.

Met with loss, our theology determines our reaction to the storms God allows to rage from time to time. A theology of suffering expects hurricanes to blow through one's life, reducing what we've valued down to the concrete pad, so God can build something of much greater value - in light of eternity - in its place. A theology of thanksgiving permits us to shout heartfelt praises to a God who sends tribulations, because we understand that they bring about perseverance, proven character, and hope. And they do not leave us disappointed, because the buzz of the saw reminds us that the mansion is still under construction, but God will finish every work He starts.

It's easy for me to look at Job's wife and speak critically of her, because I've read the end of the story. But she had no way of knowing what God would finally bring about. She had just lost her identity, as the wife of a wealthy, respectable man. She had lost not one or a few but all of her children. Along with this, every source of their abundant income had been wiped out, with no prospects for recovery, especially as she watched her husband's body begin deteriorating. She had to listen as their family friends teamed up against them and tried to blame some hidden sin for their state of affairs. And of course, she didn't know the end of the story, as we do now. She lived it.

Maybe you are "living it" right now. You are caught up in a cyclone of confusion and trials - pertaining to your husband or children, your church, your business, or your uncertain future. What will you choose to think about God while you endure your storm? You have the great privilege of being able to read the final chapter in the book of Job and see what the Lord, "finally brought about" (James 5). We know now that God was faithful to send His Son, Jesus, just as He promised. We know now that Jesus calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee. We know now that though Jesus died, God raised Him from the dead. The end of the story makes the middle not only more bearable, but also more exciting.

But even if you are living it, and the end of the story remains a mystery, be encouraged to know that you can learn to be content - at peace - no matter the circumstances going on in your life. The apostle Paul had every right to be discontent, according to our standards today. With no place to call home, no wife, no children, and no job, he finds himself in prison, chained to a Roman guard. He admits that he knows what it is like to have plenty, but at the same time he reminds his readers that he also knows what it is like to be hungry. Through it all, he has "learned to be content, whatever the circumstances." The writer of Hebrews 13:5 says, 'Be content with the things you have, for He (Jesus) has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you.'"

Why are we to be content? Because in Christ we have every reason to be fully satisfied. In Psalm 16, David reminds us that "In Your presence is fullness of joy." Job said, "Blessed be the Name of the Lord." Here he expresses a sense of awe-filled worship, completely unaltered by adversity. After spending 15 years in a Romanian prison, Voice of the Martyrs founder, Richard Wurmbrand, made the statement that he missed the time spent with the Lord alone in that lonely, torturous, infested, disease-ridden place. Here at the bottom of a pit, he learned the secret of contentment.

So what is the secret? It is all wrapped up in discovering that suffering, that loss, empties us. When we are emptied of all we love and value, but fill our mouths up with complaining, not much of Jesus can fill our cup of longing. But when we cry out, "Blessed be the Name of the Lord," and "Thank you Jesus," we are filled up to overflowing with Him, and satisfied at last.

I often hear women complain - about their husbands, their children, their homes, their jobs, their bodies, their extended families, their health, their finances. It seems to be in the fabric of our beings to complain. We criticize the Israelites for being discontent in the desert, but we complain when the air conditioning breaks.

The keys to contentment are given in the pages of scripture. I close with one: Proverbs 19:23 - "The fear of the Lord leads to life: the one rests content, untouched by trouble." I don't believe that the promise means that we will not be troubled if we fear the Lord. I believe instead that it means that our contentment is protected if we reverence Him properly. His presence, his promise to never leave, his character are all safe places where we can find contentment no matter what circumstances befall us. Let us pursue Him and learn as Paul did HOW to be content.

To be continued....