All Sermons
Be Still
Series: FB LIVE
Do You Trust Me?
Throughout my education, I’ve been blessed to take some really great classes. One class that was particularly memorable was several years ago called “Providence and Suffering.” As you can probably guess, most of the class dealt with trying to explain God in the midst of tragedy and suffering. Not an easy task. There were a lot of great moments and discussions in the class, but one of the best came when we talked about the book of Job. If you’ve read Job, you know the basic story: wealthy Godly man has his life destroyed by a series of tragedies instigated by Satan and allowed by God.
At the height of the story, Job’s possessions, children, and health are all gone. Even his wife and friends have failed him. Job cries out to God over the period of several chapters in anger, frustration, and accusation. The odd thing is, God never really answers Job’s questions. In the later chapters of the book, God speaks directly to Job, and instead of answering Job’s questions, God questions Job on Job’s knowledge of creation and his ability to understand difficult things. After this one-way conversation, God rewards Job’s faithfulness with a restoration of health and property, along with more children. Yet, the questions still remain. The professor went on to discuss his belief that the story of Job isn’t so much about a nice neat ending where everything is “returned” to Job (although that is typically how the book is taught/preached). The core issue in Job is will Job trust God in the midst of his questions and difficulty? I thought that was a great perspective, and one that translates to so many of our own situations. There are all too often no answers or resolutions to the difficulties we experience in life. Hardship and societal issues go on without end, and we are often left with unanswered questions. What God wants to know, is will we trust Him in spite of the questions? Will we trust Him when there are no answers (or at least satisfactory ones), when we don’t get what we want out of life, when we’re faced with disappointment?
Will you trust God, no matter what?
-Scott McFarland
