Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
Today's Passage: Job 2
Memory Verse: Job 2:10
The Easy Button. Remember those commercials? Staples released commercials that told office personnel it will solve all their in-office problems. Got a broken printer? Use the Easy Button. Is the copier jammed? Just use the Easy Button. The commercials were so convincing, viewers couldn't help wishing there was an easy button for all of life's problems.
If there were an easy button, would God want His people to use it? I don't think so. As a matter of fact, I believe He'd be totally against it. Simply because tthe Easy Button (as it were) would quickly become a 'bail-out' device that would leave little to nothing for the exercising of faith. With the Easy Button around, how could God use trials to build character in us? How would we develop a resistance to the enemy's attacks? The honest answer is we'd be void of things like Godly character, faith, and resistance. Think about it, although we don't actually have an Easy Button, we still employ the same approach to our trials,don't we? For instance, if we were to experience a financial struggle, we wouldn't wait for God to move. We'd go borrow the money and use His tithe to pay off the loan (Easy Button). If we're single and get lonely, we wouldn't wait for God to connect us to who He wants us to be with. Instead, we'd hook up with the first person who paid us attention and use His worship to make them feel loved (Easy Button).
So God in fact wouldn't like the Easy Button because it'd make life too easy. And mature Christians know an easy life is a faithless one. See, God knows because of sin, our lives will never be easy. But through Him, we can have an easy "living". I'll explain. Satan will never let us have peace. And he won't let our marriages prosper. He won't allow us to have a clear path to health, nor will he offer us financial freedom. Actually, the only thing he could do is make sure the words EASY BUTTON were permenantly branded into the palms of our hands. God, on the other hand, does something the Easy Button can't. He vaccinates us. To be vaccinated is to be exposed to the thing in order to build a defense against it. Which means God doesn't take away the harshness of life, He builds within us a defense against it. He wants our end result to be like Job. In chapter 2, he went from having it all to losing it all in mere moments. But Job had had his vaccine. Therefore he was able to fight off the urge to curse God. His resistance (through his faith in God) caused him to experience fullness of joy in the midst of great pain.
So get rid of the Easy Button mentality. Not only is it a temporary intervention, it doesn't actually work. Let God build your faith through situations that challenge you. Don't worry! He won't let you fall. I know it'll be uncomfortable. I know it won't make you popular. It will, however, make you stronger. And strength is what you need. You don't need another bad relationship or expensive leg-up. You need resistance. You need strength. You need faith. And all that has already been provided.
Prayer: Gracious Father, I thank You for taking care of me. I realize that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I don't have to fear because You are with me. Your presence gives me the resistance I need to stand. So, I resist fear, worry, depression, and failure in Jesus' name. Amen.
Today's Passage: Job 2
Memory Verse: Job 2:10
The Easy Button. Remember those commercials? Staples released commercials that told office personnel it will solve all their in-office problems. Got a broken printer? Use the Easy Button. Is the copier jammed? Just use the Easy Button. The commercials were so convincing, viewers couldn't help wishing there was an easy button for all of life's problems.
If there were an easy button, would God want His people to use it? I don't think so. As a matter of fact, I believe He'd be totally against it. Simply because tthe Easy Button (as it were) would quickly become a 'bail-out' device that would leave little to nothing for the exercising of faith. With the Easy Button around, how could God use trials to build character in us? How would we develop a resistance to the enemy's attacks? The honest answer is we'd be void of things like Godly character, faith, and resistance. Think about it, although we don't actually have an Easy Button, we still employ the same approach to our trials,don't we? For instance, if we were to experience a financial struggle, we wouldn't wait for God to move. We'd go borrow the money and use His tithe to pay off the loan (Easy Button). If we're single and get lonely, we wouldn't wait for God to connect us to who He wants us to be with. Instead, we'd hook up with the first person who paid us attention and use His worship to make them feel loved (Easy Button).
So God in fact wouldn't like the Easy Button because it'd make life too easy. And mature Christians know an easy life is a faithless one. See, God knows because of sin, our lives will never be easy. But through Him, we can have an easy "living". I'll explain. Satan will never let us have peace. And he won't let our marriages prosper. He won't allow us to have a clear path to health, nor will he offer us financial freedom. Actually, the only thing he could do is make sure the words EASY BUTTON were permenantly branded into the palms of our hands. God, on the other hand, does something the Easy Button can't. He vaccinates us. To be vaccinated is to be exposed to the thing in order to build a defense against it. Which means God doesn't take away the harshness of life, He builds within us a defense against it. He wants our end result to be like Job. In chapter 2, he went from having it all to losing it all in mere moments. But Job had had his vaccine. Therefore he was able to fight off the urge to curse God. His resistance (through his faith in God) caused him to experience fullness of joy in the midst of great pain.
So get rid of the Easy Button mentality. Not only is it a temporary intervention, it doesn't actually work. Let God build your faith through situations that challenge you. Don't worry! He won't let you fall. I know it'll be uncomfortable. I know it won't make you popular. It will, however, make you stronger. And strength is what you need. You don't need another bad relationship or expensive leg-up. You need resistance. You need strength. You need faith. And all that has already been provided.
Prayer: Gracious Father, I thank You for taking care of me. I realize that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I don't have to fear because You are with me. Your presence gives me the resistance I need to stand. So, I resist fear, worry, depression, and failure in Jesus' name. Amen.
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