Turning Challenges into Fertilizer for Faith
Life is full of challenges, and many difficulties arise without any direct contribution from the person affected.
Life operates on a rhythm of ebb and flow, like the tides of the ocean. Some days things are good, and some days every little thing is a problem, and you find yourself experiencing one setback after another. That is the story found in Job. It is a narrative of an individual who suffers incredible losses but finds a deeper relationship with the Lord after enduring horrendous challenges.
Job loses 500 oxen, 500 asses, many servants, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, and 10 children. His initial reaction is to enter into a time of mourning all the while proclaiming, “naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
However, time passes, as time will inevitably do, and Job is suffering physically as he grieves his significant losses. His mental anguish is intensified by unresolved grief, the questioning of misguided friends, and a wife who voices her deep doubt and anger.
In his deep grief, Job sets an example of how believers can transform grief into fertilizer that will fuel grief. Job does three things that we can do, as believers, to engage pain, suffering and disappointments head-on:
1. Job confessed. You must admit that you are in a situation that you cannot handle on your own. You must expose the raw place so that healing can begin (Psalm 6:2A (AMP) “Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak.” The second part of confession is to admit that while you are weak, there is someone greater than you (Job 42:1A “I know you can do all things…). There is no lack of compassion or power in God.
2. Job acknowledged that God’s will had to be done. The Lord’s Prayer acknowledges that God’s will has to be completed in the earth and that we agree with God’s plan. Believers say they trust God, believing his will is beneficial to them.
We can stand on that truth because the Scriptures tell us that God has thoughts of good toward us and to give us an unexpected end (Jeremiah 29:11). God’s divine will is to extend grace to believers as they encounter these challenges and to grow each believer toward spiritual maturity and understanding (Job 42:3 “…therefore Have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for, which I knew not.).
3. Faith comes by hearing. The Word of God brings about faith, and the Spirit of Grace enlightens us. As we grow in faith, we can make the same pronouncement that Job made in 42:5 (NLT): “I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.”
Believers are not exempt from life challenges and loss. However, believers can endure life challenges by taking consolation in the fact that we are never alone in the struggle.
The “load” of adversity is made lighter because grace abounds in adversity, and at the end of each battle, there is stronger faith. It is faith that has been fertilized by adversity.
St. James AME Church is located at 360 Dorothy St. in Charleston and worship service is held on the first and third Sundays of each month at 11 a.m. You may also join us on Zoom at pastorv.com.
