“He delivers the afflicted by their affliction
and opens their ear by adversity.
He also allured you out of distress
into a broad place where there was no cramping,
and what was set on your table was full of fatness.”
– Job 36:15-16
One of the essential truths of Job is that we simply can’t understand the depth and breadth of God’s thinking. He is all-good, all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful and we definitely aren’t. He knows when a tough spot now is essential for your growth and development, your spiritual protection and maturity, and quite possibly, the salvation of people generations from now. We simply can’t think through all these things.
Which leads us to this truth that makes us scratch our heads sometimes, even as some part of us grudgingly understands…. God can use affliction – suffering, difficulty, pain, weakness, sorrow, loss – to rescue us from greater affliction! The truth is, we usually lean into God far more deeply in hard times than in easy times. We often look for (and find) God’s presence most diligently when we’re walking through the valleys of life. We often understand what Jesus did for us better after experiencing betrayals, rejections, oppositions, and sufferings that are small compared to what He went through for us. Our faith grows faster when it’s tested and we hold firmly to it, seeing for ourselves that God is always faithful.
While we could wish that no affliction was required, most of us benefit, grow, and mature through the hard seasons of life. If your faith isn’t tested by fire, you will always question whether it will sustain us in a bigger fire. After the fire, you know the quality of your faith and the faithfulness of your Lord. The attention-focusing power of hard seasons in life can also steer us away from far greater afflictions we may be tempted to get ourselves into through foolishness, sin, or unbelief.
This promise is true. If Jesus is your Lord, then God is working and active for your good during hard seasons. In due time, God will bring you out of all your distress and into the glorious feast that is His unending presence. The great celebration that never ends with Jesus your Messiah. The beautiful, open “broad place” where there is no suffering, no sense of imprisonment, just freedom and eternal joy in Christ. #FollowJesus