Sunday Message Summary, 13 August 2023
When we go through times of pain and tragedy, it often does not make sense to us. It is at this time that we don’t know how we feel or how to feel. Similarly, Job and his wife did not understand when they were going through a life tragedy of ginormous proportions, when everything they had was taken away (Job 2:9 AMP). There are times as children of GOD when we will be puzzled and confused, but this does not mean that GOD does not know nor understand. We therefore should not despair, draw back or give up (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NKJV). When we are going through what we are going through, it matters what we fix our minds on. We need the right perspective at all times.
Job’s wife was consumed by the feeling of the moment and totally forgot about GOD. She was dazed in the pain and lost perspective. This is why we should not look at the things that are seen, but we should look at the things that are unseen. We should not focus on the injustice we are going through because the things that are seen are temporary (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NKJV). We should not focus on what we are going through but we should leave it to GOD in prayer. We need to maintain a godly perspective, viewing everything in the light of eternity. We need to balance what we are going through with the Word of GOD, having a sense of proportion and not going to the extremes. At the end of it all, everything works out for an eternal purpose.
Our light affliction is working for us and not against us (2 Corinthians 4:17 NKJV). Therefore, we should not faint nor lose heart when we go through trials, but when something we don’t like happens, we should praise GOD all the more. Satan will up the stakes for the sake of making us forget about GOD, but we should not be complaining and cursing GOD amid trials, never forgetting who we are in GOD. We are persecuted but we are not alone, and we are not forsaken by GOD. We should not be spiritually foolish or ignorant (Job 2:10 AMP), but we need a balanced view of GOD, ourselves, and the life that happens to us (the ever-changing fortunes of life). We do not know everything, so it is impossible for us to have a say in everything. Ours, therefore, is to look to GOD and pray (Deuteronomy 29:29 AMP).
GOD has not shielded us from going through trying times because there is a season and a time for every purpose. It is the trials that we go through that produce patience and character in us (James 1:2-3 AMP; Romans 5:3-4 AMP). There is thus a vast difference in spiritual maturity between a person who has gone through things and a person who has gone through nothing. Furthermore, to inherit the promises of GOD, we don’t only need faith, but we need the patience that is produced by the trials we go through (Hebrews 6:12 NKJV). It is trials that bring about the purpose of GOD in our lives (James 5:11 NKJV/ESV). Trials produce for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17 NKJV), so when the righteous endure and persevere, they come out the other side glorious and shining (Proverbs 4:18 NKJV).
We should not be spiritually foolish or ignorant, but we need a balanced view of GOD, ourselves, and the life that happens to us (the ever-changing fortunes of life).
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