Words of Encouragement
“He will never allow the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).
What a time to be alive! It is a time of economic meltdown, a time when natural disasters are at an all time high, a time when everything seems to be falling apart. People are struggling everywhere to make ends meet. So, my beloved, if the economy has hit your finances, or you have lost your dream job, or illness has taken a toll on you or some other disaster has come to you, then these words of encouragement are tailored for you.
We are in the field of harvest. For years, many have planted the seeds of disregard for God’s laws, (Galatians 6:7; cf. Ezekiel 7:5). Divine justice demands satisfaction. Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America, correctly stated, “I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and His justice cannot sleep forever.”
When people turn their backs on God, God responds in kind with disasters, one after another. This is the fact of history. Consider the people of Israel: they abandoned God for many years, and in response, “God troubled them with every kind of disaster” (2 Chronicles 15:3-6). By the way, God makes claims to be responsible for all disasters: “I am the LORD… The One…creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these” (Isaiah 45:7; cf. Amos 3:6; Ecclesiastes 7:13-14; Psalm 104:4).
(See Disaster: God’s Warning Bell by Moses C. Onwubiko.)
My beloved, knowing that God is directly or indirectly responsible for every disaster or suffering, knowing that He uses it as a wake-up call (2 Chronicles 15:3-6), or as a means for spiritual development (Hebrews 5:8-9; cf. Job 23:10; James 1:2-4), we pause to honestly ask ourselves, how is our spiritual life? If our spiritual life is not what it ought to be, there is hope. We need to jump-start our spiritual life that the time of refreshing might be granted us according to the riches of His grace (Psalm 119: 67, 71; Isaiah 55:7). Butif our spiritual life is on course, and still we have been hit hard with any kind of suffering, herein is a word of encouragement: GOD IS IN CONTROL!
We can count on His promise:
Son of man, if a country sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I [God] stretch out My hand against it, destroy its supply of bread, [economical downtrend]…even though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job [or any believer of spiritual integrity], were in its midst [in that nation], by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves, declares the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 14:13-14).
That is good news! God will safeguard His own even in times of national disasters. He will deliver the righteous through their suffering. The Bible tells us: “Cast your burden upon the LORD... He will never allow the righteous to be shaken” (Psalm 55:22; cf. Proverbs 10:30; Exodus 9:26).
So my beloved, no matter what we are going through, let us know that our “Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25), that He knows what He is doing in our lives. Let us be still as He works out His plan for and through us. He is faithful! We may not understand what He is doing.
It may not be making sense to us; however, we should never forget that God never makes a mistake. He will perfect His plan for our lives. So, let’s make Job’s words of assurance of God’s faithfulness our own, “God knows the way I take [God knows every aspect of my suffering]; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
He will see us through, no matter what. That is His character: The Holy One of Israel!