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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
The loss of employment and/or income is one of the most distressing events in life, especially for those supporting a family. Foreclosure on the family home or having to declare bankruptcy due to u...
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Maryann Pope
I believe God uses trials on earth for 2 reasons. 1st, it is to totally rely on His presence in it. 2nd it is to be able to council someone else when they go through it. He uses his children to help each other. We are all one body. Of course, his children may be being tested to help at the same time. When his children or other believers see another struggling, we should feel compassion and do whatever is our means to help, not just recite, 'I will pray for you, brother or sister'. Remember the good Samaritan story? The other is to show the struggles of earth and desire the peace of heaven. Being too comfortable on earth makes heaven 'OK', but not somewhere I would rather be. Advice is easy and not respected unless that person has been there and has gone though it, and God rescued. Also, if you are in bankruptcy and foreclosure without a job, a lower paying job really has nothing to do with pride, but it would more than likely not pull you out of your situation. 1st pray for God to bring to you Christians who can help you. 2nd, do something for someone else that you may be able to help, even if it is a word of encouragement. 3rd, listen to God's small voice. Sometimes we are so burdened down, we can't even hear him.and last, be a witness for God, in your trial. Let others know you are waiting on God and He will pull you out. I know, I have been there. It isn't easy but He will never leave you nor forsake you. GOD BE WITH YOU.
Meluleki Maphosa
This is a very tough question that faces every Christian, in fact it has faced everyone who has ever believed and been faithful to God since Adam. Therefore addressing it goes to the very root of the Christian faith and our understanding of God and what He expects from us. I believe that a clearer understanding of God by all His creatures changes our attitude to the problems we face. In Gen 4:8 we read that Cain killed his younger brother Abel, but have we ever asked ourselves the question what thoughts passed through Abel’s mind when he was being killed? What thoughts preoccupied Eve and Adam as they mourned the loss of 2 sons in one day? What Noah must have felt when his friends and relatives drowned in the flood? How Job and Mrs. Job felt when they lost everything including 10 children at one go? When a whole nation of people who worship God morning and evening are enslaved and brutalized by cruel slave masters? I could go on but I think these are sufficient examples of pain and suffering that faithful people of God went through. What is worse is that in some of these cases God kept very silent. Is God there at all? If He is there why doesn’t He do something to help His children as they suffer? Is our faith in vain? I admit it is not possible to remove all doubts and misunderstanding about God’s role in all this, but perhaps a fresh look at our problems from a higher level will help. Mat 10:8, Luk 12:4&5 imply that even if I suffer and die on this earth, I shouldn’t be afraid. I can be persecuted even unto death in this world but I shouldn’t fear my persecutors or the temporal suffering here on earth, as long as my relationship with God (who is able to destroy the soul) is alright. That further implies that God prioritizes my relationship with Him above everything else. Instead of Him attending to the job loss, death, sickness or pain, He would rather attend to my spiritual welfare first then attend to my physical needs. The story of Job fascinates me. Firstly why would it be the first Book of the Bible to written by Moses? I think it’s because those are the questions which Moses and the Israel were asking themselves. To strengthen their faith God reveals a window into the goings on in heaven which Job lived and died without even having an idea of what was taking place at a cosmic level. The key to the whole saga was that in his ignorance of the bigger picture Job remained faithful to God. He said “Even though He slay me yet will I trust Him”. The little that he appears to have understood of God, he faithfully believed and wouldn’t be swayed even by the most extreme torture an evil being like satan could visit on him. John 17:11-18 Jesus prayed for us to be able to endure the pain of this world. He reminds us that we are going to be acquainted with pain, sorrow and suffering because we are in this world. I think understanding that there is a bigger picture to everything that happens helps us deal with the pain, sorrow and death that we always encounter. By the way the suffering isn’t always by Christians but even those that don’t believe in God. More importantly I believe that God also suffers with us when we suffer, as a father feels the pain of his children. What I think is even more painful is the fact that He is constrained to help when He has the power the act. I think that requires extraordinary discipline and self-control. Why? Because God is engaged in resolving the problem of sin first and foremost. If we cooperate with God in this exercise we make it so much better for Him for to help us. When faced with big problems let us remember Ps 50:10 which tells us that our God is rich beyond measure. When He doesn't act it is not because He lacks the means but because He sees the bigger picture. Ps 73 warns us about comparing ourselves in our suffering with the wicked who appear to prosper continuously and never suffer misfortune. The bigger picture is that see their very unpleasant end.
Janice Burton
I am sorry that you are facing a tough time. That is hard on anyone. In tough times, we reach out to those who can help meet our immediate needs and also like Michael said, it might mean taking a temporary job or alternative living for awhile. But be very, very clear that trust in God is not circumstantial, we don't trust God because of what He can do for us. Trust in God is based solely on the fact that "He Is God" and loved us enough to sacrifice His comfortable place in Heaven to come and die for us. We trust Him in hard times because He is greater than the problem and has overcome the world and all its chaos, trials, problems, evil, etc. In hard times say, God, I Still Trust You." That faith statement in God's ear might just be the start of His domino blessings in your life. Try it :-)
RICK PORTER
Everything humans have in life is a gift from God. Breath, health, rain, the sun, moon, and stars.You didn't say whether you were a believer or not, just questioning when things go wrong for us if we are believers why does God let that happen is the sense I get from your question. The answers given are good with Biblical wisdom.I have experienced in my life that decisions I made financially were sometimes not the best and brought a strain with them. In all cases, God did not miraculously cause those problems to be solved right away but did provide me a way to repair my mistakes with hard work and desire to repair them. God's Word says that even if what happens to us is a test He will provide a way.1 Corinthians 10:13. That word temptation can be rendered test also. Look in God's Word at all the examples of heartache, chaos, hurt, and troubles that even God's greatest servants experienced. We are never exempt from trouble but we are promised that the Escape Maker and the Pain Taker is always there for us. Eternity is more important than anything on this earth, material possessions or wealth and success. Hebrews 13:5. God will bless His Own, so how can we trust God in hard times, the same way God loved us when we ignored Him.Romans 5:8-10.
dee scott
As above, everything we have is a gift from GOD. I was in your shoes (due to illness) about 10 years ago. No income, owned 3 homes, and couldn't pay because I couldn't work. My credit cards kept me afloat for about a year until they caught on then nothing. My medical bills were through the roof. When I moved out, I sold everything I owned which lasted me about 3 months but believe it or not all the stress was gone and my relationship with God increased (not out of need but love). I stayed ill for almost 10 years and almost died 3 times. I thanked the Lord everyday for another day. Between 1999 and early 2017 I had 20 surgeries and the Lord healed me. I never gave up or got angry, I just lifted up all my pain and troubles to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in thanks for Jesus promising me that I would join him in my mansion after the mercy, not judgement. I am happy to say I am rebuilding my life and will move into a house I purchased in January which I will share with the Holy Trinity and continue showing God that I live for HIM not me---I don't need a lot of stuff, just his LOVE, LIGHT, and MERCY.
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