Jan

5

Hazards of dealing with trials

Filed Under Christian Living, Holiness, Prayer 

A believing friend who is being treated for rapidly advancing cancer wrote in his e-journal today about some scriptural examples of people who succeeded and failed in dealing with fiery trial:

“Let us not be
…Hezekiah and pray for long life
…Asa and only turn to physicians
…Job’s wife and have contempt
…Jonah and long to die.
Let us be like Paul, who chose contentment And most like Jesus, who suffered obediently”
The first four people illustrate some hazards of dealing with trial.

  1. Hezekiah’s hazard – Focus on loss instead of on gracious provision. Hezekiah focused on future years lost rather than past years provided in grace. “Am I to be robbed of the rest of my years?” (Isaiah 38:10).
  2. Asa’s hazard – Reliance on medical advice to the exclusion of God’s power. Asa, a good king of Judah, became so focused on medical advice for his disease that he forgot his total dependence on God. “Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians. So he died in the forty-first year of his reign.” (2 Chronicles 16:12-13). John Piper writes in “Don’t Waste Your Cancer,” “Cancer does not win if you die. It wins if you fail to cherish Christ. God’s design is to wean you off the breast of the world and feast you on the sufficiency of Christ.”
  3. Job’s wife’s hazard – Bitterness toward God for fiery trial. She said “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” (Job 2:9) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). Our Savior became a curse for us. There is no curse, no condemnation for those who are in Christ.
  4. Jonah’s hazard - Giving up the fight. Jonah concluded that the fight was not worth it “Death is certainly better than living like this!” (Jonah 4:7) Satan will use trials to lead us into isolation and solitude instead of deepening and strengthening our relationships with others.

Listen again to my friend: “Asa’s example probably hits closest to home for me these days. Thank God for surgical therapy, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy - we are using them all. But God help me to remain focused on my need for Him, knowing Prayer Therapy is the best therapy of all!”

Comments

One Response to “Hazards of dealing with trials”

  1. Allies with your enemies? : The Sweet Dropper on July 18th, 2007 7:46 am

    [...] this year I shared some thoughts from the e-journal of Buddy Wood, who lives in the Washington, DC area and is the brother-in-law of one of the members of FPC. Buddy [...]

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