In search of God

Job 53:15-21, ‘But those who suffer He delivers in their suffering; He speaks to them in their suffering. He is wooing you from the joys of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. But now you are laden with the judgment due to the wicked; judgment and justice have taken hold of you. Be careful that no one entices you by riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside. Would your wealth or even all your mighty effort sustain you so you would not be in distress? Do not long for the night, to drag people away from their homes. Beware of turning to evil which you seem to prefer to affliction.’ Suffering causes discomfort to us and we try as much as possible to avoid it. But we should not despair when faced with suffering because suffering brings perseverance and perseverance builds hope and hope gives us joy in the Lord Jesus Christ that though we suffer now, it is only for a short while and our reward awaits us, those that ...

Psalm 27:13,14, ‘I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.’ We are by nature impatient expecting what we want when we want it, but God in His divine wisdom, having seen the beginning from the end knows what is good for us and when it is good for us. Therefore our time might not be God’s time. For some of us, we allow doubts and worry to creep into our minds, making us sad and miserable. We stop believing in the promises we have received from God and then try to make it on our own, do things our own way, often leading to pain and suffering. Abraham and Sarah had to wait for years to receive the promised son, but somewhere down the line, they got tired and tried to do things their own way that brought suffering for them. Let us learn to be patient and faithfully wait for God to fulfill His promises to us.

Habakkuk 3:17,18, ‘Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crops fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour. Our current circumstances might be dire, we might be facing imminent death, destruction might be upon us but at that moment, we should not be overcome by fear or despair but we should rejoice in the Lord. Why? Because He lives and He is our Savior and it does not matter what the situation is, He is going to save us. When the world seems to against you, your friends betray you; your enemies surround you, rejoice in God, shout and sing songs of praise. Do not allow yourself to cower into a corner in despair and self pity but rejoice in the Lord for your salvation is at hand. Just like Paul and Silas who were in prison in chains, in pain, when they rejoiced in the Lord, their chains fell off, the chief ja...

Habakkuk 3:16, ‘I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. It takes great trust to patiently wait for a disaster that is fast approaching us when the Lord asks us to but this is what we ought to do in the face of trouble. We need to cast our cares upon him, place our hopes in Him, even when we are overrun by fear of death, and trust in Him that we shall overcome and get to see the end of the calamity facing us. We should face our problems not only when we are courageous but even when in fear, our knees trembling, our heart pounding, and our instincts telling us to run because we are not alone and trust in Him just like Joseph and He will bless us with His Grace no matter our current circumstances

Habakkuk 3:2, ‘Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. Often when we are faced with tough times, trials and tribulations of this world, we feel forsaken by God lamenting and crying out to Him, asking why He has forgotten us. We focus so much on the current crisis and the darkness enveloping us in the pit we are in that we forget about the crisis that we had faced in the past and how the same God we are crying out as having forsaken us helped us then and lifted us out of the pit that we were in. The God we serve is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever and therefore if He has saved you once He will do it again. All we need to do is be patient and trusting. Whenever we are faced with these situations and we feel despair creeping in, remind yourself of the times past, that you have seen the saving arm of the Lord in your life. Our God is a merciful God and He will show...