Every breath we take or receive?

All of life - our own and the planets' - requires energy to operate. Where there is no energy, there is no life.

Some of the main sources of energy are the sun, wind (air), fire, electricity, magnetism, atoms, flowing water, food (for our personal energy), etc. Without these, there is no energy or life, much less the pleasures or conveniences of life.

But more importantly is understanding that we are not the cause of any of these. 

Yet we have complete access to - if not regular use - of virtually all of them. They are always available for our use and benefit. And this reveals the heart of our true condition. 

Are we the cause of these or the means by which they exist? If not, then ²who or what is? Since there is no life without these, wouldn't it be important to know what or who is, and acknowledge this, and be grateful to the ²provider of them?

Are we grateful for these resources, or do we take them for granted because they are always available or accessible? 

Do we assume they are ours to use whenever, wherever, and however we want or see fit? Do we ⁴demand to have them without interruption and ⁴become angry when we don't and are cut off from them or they from us?

Because we always have use of or access to these, we live life as if we ¹always will. But will we?

Why do we approach life this way? 

If we take these resources for granted, this is due to not recognizing that all we are and have are gifts; i.e., they are available to us because something or ²someone other than us provides and sustains them (and could also rightfully and easily not provide them or even remove them).

Would it be wrong for a parent to deny their teenage child the use of their valuable car or beach house for some reason? 

Easy access or use of something is not the same as ownership no matter how easily or long that use has occurred or continues. We forget over time, use of these only continues because of love, not as a right.  

If we truly understood and believed that everything is a gift - vs a right - we would wake up every day grateful for all we are and have down to our very breath. These are all gifts! But most don't wake up grateful. Many (maybe most) whine and complain about what they don't have or have lost. Many live in a perpetual state of victimhood, having a pity party.

Most assume all we have is rightfully ours merely because we have ongoing use of them. They are not gifts on loan but the fruit of time plus chance and ours to use as I see fit. They may even get upset if you suggest otherwise.

Instead, if we lose these blessings of life, we get angry and even bitter as if it's our right to have them. And if others have greater access to or use of them, we become envious.

To pray before we eat and say "thank you for the bounty we are about to receive" should be our approach to all of life. When we wake up, we should ³thank God for the very breath we take in and for the use and enjoyment of everything else we depend on to sustain our life. And also grateful for our 5 senses that allow us to take in and experience all the good things around us, instead of being angry if we lose them.

Why? We are not the cause or the one who maintains these things (or could even if we wanted to), but simply the recipients and beneficiaries. We should be grateful!

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Footnotes:

¹which is why death is such a shock and blow to us. We simply take life for granted until we or someone else we care about no longer has it.

The fact that death is such a shock indicates how much we take all we are and have for granted. Life is not a given but a gift which is owned, controlled, and maintained ultimately by someone else, not us. We may be able to manipulate things to go the way we want, but only to a limited time or degree -  never fully. We are ultimately not in charge and are dependent on these for our very existence. 

Because we do not constantly ponder and appreciate the gifts of life, it shows how resistant (rebellious) and arrogant we are to seeing the true nature of things.

²Contrary to the consensus of much of the scientific community, I propose there is a Creator. Granted, this is a posture or position of faith. But so is a materialistic worldview, which requires more faith than believing in intelligent design, i.e., the things we observe align more with the existence of a Designer than their happening by random chance. For more on this, click here. 

³like David, we should say, "...this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. 

And if, like Job, we experience loss we should say, "...the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." 

When we truly recognize this, we will be full of gratitude every morning when we rise and take another breath.

When we see things correctly and as they truly are we will wake up saying...

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Psalm 118:24 ESV

⁴To whom are we making these demands to and becoming angry with? Isn't it curious that most of us blame God when things go wrong, while at the same time ignore Him most of our lives or when things go well. Or we deny He exists at all? This reveals how arrogant and ungrateful we are!

Is God angry at evil?

Is God angry at ¹evil? Absolutely! If he were not angry about one person abusing another he would not be loving to the one being abused. Injustice is a real thing. Justice matters to God because we matter to God. 

God is just if only because it is wrong to hurt another. We know this is true instinctively and all too well, especially when we are harmed and abused and on the "short end" of being mistreated. The essence of the 10 commandments is treating others as they - and we - ²ought and wish to be treated. Whether that involves God in the first 4 commandments or our fellow humans in the last 6.

In addition, treating others in an unloving fashion matters to the mistreated and also to God himself. Why? Because we bear His image and He therefore greatly loves/values us. To hurt one of us is like a slap in the very face of God. It would be like someone defacing or destroying the Mona Lisa (currently valued at over $780 million). Leonardo da Vinci (or the present owner) would not be too happy if they did, would he?

The beauty and wonder of God is He knew we could never repay others for all the damage (marred pictures) we caused. His love for us is so great that he took out his anger for our abuse of others upon himself, in and through the death of Christ. He did this out of his deep love for those who are like him to spare us from having to go through this ourselves. 

The just consequences of our mistreatment of others fell on Christ. If this isn't love, nothing is. Because of Christ, we are no longer required to pay for all the pictures we have (or yet may) marred and damaged. God did this for us.  

And as important as all that is, that is only half of it. He also offers to credit us fully with Christ's life of perfect faithfulness of loving God and others in exchange for our life of unfaithfulness... if we will accept his offer.

For a related discussion on the necessity of judgment, click here. 

For a further discussion on God assigning his righteousness to us, click here. 
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¹Evil - רַע   (pronounced ra) (948c) in the Old Testament Hebrew; from the same as H7455; evil, distress, misery, injury, calamity: 

— adversity (7), calamity (4), disaster (2), evil (94), harm (2), harmful (1), hurt (1), ruin (3), surely (1), trouble (2), unpleasant (1), wickedly (1), wickedness (1).

²By the way, who is the nut job that came up with this notion that there is no right or wrong and morality is a myth? We know in our gut this isn't true. This is why movies like Star Wars are so popular around the world. Instinctively humanity believes there is good vs evil no matter what your world view or religion. This is also why treating others as we wish to be treated resonates with us and is echoed in all religions.

It's about consequences, not shame.

When you blow it, how do you feel? How about when you blow it again and again in the same area? 

Do you grit your teeth, buckle down, and say, "I am not going to do that again" and then do it, anyway? 

So what's the solution? How can you find the strength to not mess up again?

Motivation to obey Christ has ¹everything to do with consequences and nothing to do with feelings of guilt or shame. God doesn't chide, shame, or reject us when we do wrong. We should never seek to obey God out of shame or fear of rejection ... but it is certainly wise to do so out of fear of correction. This is the essence of fearing/respecting God.

A truly loving parent will always correct their child when they do things harmful to others or themselves. And it will hurt, but that is not rejection. In fact, it's just the opposite. Those who God loves, he corrects. It is precisely because God wants what's best for us that he corrects us.  

A truly loving parent never stops loving us, no matter how stupid we act. Do they like it - or do you, if you are a parent - when we (or our kids) make poor choices? No. 

Are parents greatly grieved by these harmful choices? Definitely. Angry? Possibly. But not at us but for our sake and the sake of others. If God is mad, it is only because we are doing things that are destructive to ourselves and ²others. He is not mad at us but angry over the harm it causes ourselves and others. If we are his child, God is for us, not against us.

Not just destructive to us...

Disobedience is also dishonoring to God. To treat God with disrespect or low regard says to others God must not be worth loving or is that great. He's not important enough to pay attention to. This is a very harmful message or way to approach life. This is a problem, not for God, but for those who think God is not worth pursuing due to our not pursuing God as we are designed to. 

When we don't pursue God as we should - and He deserves - others will ask: 

If God is loving, how can those who call him Father be so unloving, e.g. how can such a loving parent (God) have such a spoiled brat (us) for a kid?

If He is great, how can those who call Him Father pursue things other than God and find greater meaning, joy, and life in them instead of Him?  

If God is the greatest, wisest, most powerful, and loving being of all, why aren't his children pursuing him more? 

We must ask ourselves if we are perfectly loved by God, why are we so unloving. Why doesn't his love create in us a love and compassion for others similar to the love and compassion he shows us? 

This occurs only because we don't truly know the nature of his love and how great it is. To say it another way, we may have heard of his love and know about it, but we haven't yet fully "bought-in" to it i.e. we don't really believe He loves us that much. 

Love, as well as consequences, should move us

What about our love, gratitude, or faith? Don't they have something to do with why we do or don't obey God?  

Of course, those who complain about a believer's lack of love use this as an excuse and justification for their own indifference to God. But in reality, they refuse to see the problem is with all of us, not God; with our unbelief and refusal to enter into and participate in God's love, wisdom, and power extended to us in Christ, not because God's love isn't fully extended to us as his adopted children i.e. the problem (our being unloving) lies within us and not within God.

Faith is always a part of obedience (obedience is the fruit of faith). As we mature and experience God's love, wisdom, and power, we begin to discover from first-hand experience he is good, all the time, and worthy of our complete trust and faithfulness. In the hard times and blessed times, he is always good, loving, wise, and patient. This creates gratitude on our part and a response of love to his love, wisdom, and goodness toward us. These experiences of His love always create growing confidence (trust/faith) in the goodness of his directions and His ways of handling our lack of trust in him.

For a further discussion on the uselessness of feeling guilt and shame click here.

For a further discussion on why God hates evil click here. 

For a further discussion on the "anatomy of motivation" to obedience click here. 

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¹I don't mean "everything" in the sense it is the only thing that motivates us to pursue God. Love, trust and a desire to honor (glorify) God are key motivators as well. These fall on the positive side of what moves us to pursue God. For more on this click here.

I am referring to the negative side. When it comes to the reason we are not to sin, it should be to avoid the pain of consequences, not the shame of failure or fear of rejection.  

²We often assume he's against us when he is for others, but he's for *both us and them; just like he is for both himself and us. Our happiness is intertwined with the happiness of others. God first, then others.

We are inter-relational beings because God is an inter-relational being as Father, Son, and Spirit. For more on this point, click here. 

Pain, humility, and knowing God

Is there any connection between knowing God, humility, and pain? At first we may not think so. 

Let's take a closer look. 

Since humility is key to knowing, seeing, and experiencing God, we should embrace and receive, with thanks, anything that helps humble us, including and maybe especially pain and suffering.  

Instead of bristling at pain and pursuing ¹anything we can find to distract or relieve us from it, we should embrace struggles and be grateful for them. They are a vital means of drawing us nearer to God. 

Knowing God is far more significant and beneficial than short-term relief from our struggles (though it often doesn't feel that way at the moment). Seeing and knowing this enables us to receive suffering with gratitude.

In short, the reason we are to be thankful for our struggles (vs complaining about them) is they ²can be and usually are a primary means of strengthening our understanding and relationship with God who is the source of life, love, and all things i.e. pain ²can be a very unpleasant means to the greatest and most desirable and pleasant end - our increased union with God and the joy and happiness we find in Him. So while the loss of things we rely on for comfort or pleasure are painful, they become the very means by which we are drawn closer to God, the Source of life, love, and all things. 

Thankfulness is the best indicator of humility. Humility is the key to seeing and knowing God in all His infinite love and glory.

How do we discover God's love in our pain? click here

For a further discussion on the primary role of pain click here

For a further discussion of how God uses evil for our good click here...and here.

The greater the evil the greater the opportunity for healing/

grace click here.

For a discussion on the key lesson from the book of Job, click here.

For a discussion on the value of paradox, click here.

For a discussion on the necessity of humility click here

For a discussion on the fallacy of the health and wealth gospel Click here

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Footnotes:

¹drugs, alcohol, and sex are some of the more obvious and most common diversions. But diversions can also be more socially acceptable pursuits, such as recreation, career, entertainment, material possessions, food, power, control, fame, or anything else pleasant that will help distract us or relieve us from pain. Boredom is also a form of low-grade pain. 

This is not because created things we use to bring us pleasure are bad. God created us for pleasure but in, by, and through Him. But when comfort or pleasure in itself (the opposite of pain) becomes a higher pursuit than God, it is contrary to our design of finding greatest happiness in God and what He provides. 

²Actually pain and struggle is a primary means to our increasing maturity and greater union with God when received with thanksgiving. I say "can" because it depends on us trusting that God is using our pain for our ultimate good (even the pain caused by our failures or the failures and offenses of others). Otherwise, suffering will only make us angry and embitter us. 

"See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;" - Heb 12:15. No one likes being around a bitter and angry person - except maybe others who are the same way... "birds of a feather flock together..." as the saying goes.  

It should be mentioned that the author of Hebrews was writing to people going through intense persecution and suffering at the hands of others.

Hebrews 12:6-8 ESV

⁶For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” ⁷It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? ⁸If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons... 

Hebrews 12:11 ESV

¹¹For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 

Other passages that directly or indirectly address this vital truth... 

James 1:2-4 ESV

²Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.  

Ephesians 5:20

"...giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,"  

1 Thessalonians 5:18

"Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 

Colossians 3:17

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." 

Philippians 4:6

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." 

This last passage is particularly interesting because we often go to God in prayer for relief from difficulties, yet God says we should give thanks for those circumstances we find no relief from i.e. don't just seek God for relief, seek God himself and be grateful for everything that aids you in knowing Him better, especially difficulties. 

Romans 8:28-29 

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29] For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he (Christ) might be the firstborn among many brothers."

The good that God is achieving in all things (vs 28) - both hard and comforting - is making us more like His Son (vs 29), not necessarily improved circumstances.

The necessity of dependence

The very acts of eating, drinking, and breathing are daily reminders that we ¹depend on things outside ourselves for life. 

They also remind us of how fragile life truly is when we can not access these basic essential resources.

When we stop to consider it, the most basic things necessary for life comes to us from ²without, not within. If we do not partake of these physical resources, we die. We usually don't give this much thought until the threat of their absence presents itself.

This is not only true physically but spiritually as well. Without God - and these physical resources which are created, sustained, and provided to us by Him - we cease to ³function as we were designed to. But we are not just physical beings but spiritual also. Why? Because we are created in God's image and He is Spirit.

So we are sustained by God through the material things we must have for life. Without God, these things would not exist, and neither would we.

No amount of resistance to dependence or the desire to be ²independent - "free" - of our physical or spiritual needs (or limits) will change our dependence. We may ignore, resist, or deny it, but to do so ultimately leads to death - physically and spiritually. 

To continue receiving and benefiting from what we must have for life requires acknowledging our ongoing need for and dependence on them and their Source. Otherwise, it will lead to continued separation from the very Source of life and ultimate separation from all created things after this present existence.

Even though we often despise ²dependence, in the above examples dependence is good, not bad, because it helps sustain our lives.

Every day and every breath are gifts. They are not guarantees or rights we can demand or become angry over losing. Without God and all He provides, only death is certain, not life because He alone is the Source of life. 

But humanity by and large ignores or rejects God. Instead we should be grateful for our life and all it offers and seek to use it to honor the Giver of all we have and are. To Him belongs all honor and respect.

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Footnotes:

¹Even though eating, drinking, and breathing are activities of dependence, we all love a good meal when hungry, a cold refreshing drink when thirsty, and fresh air when we are suffocating or couped up in a place where the air is stale or unpleasant. We grow to love and appreciate these even more when we have gone through a period when they were not readily available or temporarily unavailable. 

This is why suffering the temporary loss of these gifts gives us a whole new perspective on life and appreciation for these basic needs and the gifts offered to meet them. Who hasn't heard of someone's entire outlook and approach to life forever changed because of a near-death experience from the lack of one or more of these resources? This kind of event causes a major shift in our view of life and the world. 

This is true of hard circumstances as well. Those who have lost their freedom of some kind - e.g. politically, physically, healthwise etc. - (or some other gift of life) appreciate it all the more when they get it back. 

Eating, drinking, and breathing are so much a part of our lives we do not see or treat the use of them as "acts of dependence." But this doesn't make them any less so. It simply indicates how much we take for granted the good things we have. It is only when we do not have them that we fully appreciate their value and the reality of our absolute life-or-death dependence on them.

In fact, isn't this the value of suffering? It humbles us and makes us aware of our true status of being dependent creatures, i.e. it brings our self awareness and understanding of who we are more in line with reality - a "reality check" if you will. 

Reality is good, however, not bad. Living in the "real world" maximizes our flourishing and minimizes harm to us and others. Living in a delusional world eventually leads to permanent loss of the good gifts we enjoy each day but take so much for granted.

Embrace the reality of your dependence. In the long run, your life will flourish more because of this. This, in part, is what the bible means when it says we find life through death. Death to a false sense of independence, leads to life. To truly live we must die first.

No one likes pain or suffering and many use its existence to justify being angry at God, when in truth these are the organic result of rejecting dependence on our Creator and His creation. Pain is designed to bring us back into alignment with our Creator and remind us of our absolute dependence on Him for our very breath. There is actually a very good reason suffering and evil remain in this life. 

It is not the gifts we despise, but our general dependence we dislike. We wish to be free of all "restraints." However, wouldn't we all be better off if we learned to embrace all the ways we are dependent in the same way we do these everyday gifts (breath, air, water, food etc) we usually take for granted, i.e. with gratitude?

It is worth noting that Christ characterized Himself as the bread and water of life. This implies we need far more to experience real life than just what this physical life offers. As believers, these are comforting promises, and we gladly embrace this truth about Christ.

²We are told in scripture that our very breath comes from God. Not only our breath but everything we are and have are gifts from our Creator, regardless of whether we acknowledge this or use them as God intends and designs.

Unfortunately, not acknowledging this ultimatetly leads to the permanent loss of these gifts and all blessings of life. If we reject the Giver of these things, we eventually lose both the Giver and the good gifts He gives. Why would he continue to extend them to us, if we refuse to acknowledge they come from Him?

To continue having and using the gifts without acknowledging the Giver would be living in a delusion or lie. To stay on or abandon this path is our chosing, no one elses.

³When not aligned with our Creator, we not only cease to function well, but we ultimately go into eternity on this same course - i.e. without Him - but also without access to the creation we presently enjoy. For more on this click here.

The absence of God's presence

The absence of God's presence is the essence of hell. ¹Hell is anywhere God's presence (and provision) is not.

People live in ³rebellion to God every day. How? They do not acknowledge God as the Source of love and life (breath); the Creator and Sustainer of everything! 

Instead, they live as if God is irrelevant; that the blessings of life are their right to have and do with as they please, as if someone owed it to them; i.e., they are entitled to these blessings. And if they don't get what they believe they deserve, they become disillusioned, angry, or bitter. This is the approach to life many ²choose to take and live by daily.

And if they never come to the place where they acknowledge His relevance, value, and significance, they will continue on that same trajectory and path throughout their lives.

As a result, God will honor that choice throughout eternity as well. God doesn't send people to hell. They are already on that path unless and until they choose to put their trust in Him.

If the absence of God's presence is hell, then what is the fullness of God's presence? Bliss, paradise, a continual feast, i.e., heaven.

For a further discussion on why many are disillusioned with God, click here

For a discussion on the key to answered prayer, click here

For a discussion on whether hell is literal, click here. 

For a further discussion on how hell is a continuation of our current path, click here

For a discussion of whether we are rebels to God, click here.

For a discussion on whether God's wrath is reasonable, click here

For a discussion on how death and hell are totally defeated, click here 

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Footnotes:

¹this is not necessarily a specific location - though it may be. But it is a disposition or attitude of rebellious distrust (all distrust of God is rebellion to Him. It is asserting that God is a liar and not who He claims to be as all-loving, wise, powerful, and everywhere present). 

Objectively, God is everywhere present. Nothing functions or even exists without Him. But if we willfully turn away from God, then for us, God does not exist and is not present. God is not dead, but to us He is.

In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, notice the rich man did not regret his rejection of God, nor did he resent God for his being in his present state or desire to turn to Him even in his torment. He only wanted water to relieve his thirst - he only wanted God's gift - not God Himself.

Is this not also true of humanity in general when we go through great pain? God is not our end, but the means to another end...relief. This is often the reason we pray. We don't want God; we only want the gifts (blessings) of God to comfort us in a time of need. 

"...You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." - Jas 4:2b-3 ESV

Luke 16:23-26, 28, 30-31 ESV

"...and in Hades, being in torment, he (the previously rich man) lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.

And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’

And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

²this choice is laid out in Rom 1:18-23 (emphasis added).

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness (i.e., which springs forth from rebellious distrust of God) suppress the truth. 

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God (He is irrelevant) or give thanks to him (their choice), but they became futile in their thinking (they thought they could make life work on their terms, not God's terms i.e. they thought they could be their own god, like Adam and Eve) and their foolish hearts were darkened. 

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images (their choice) resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." 

³The following passage lays out the nature of our rebellion. These are comments made to Job by Elihu in Job 35:6-16. The fourth and only "friend" of Job whom God did not rebuke, unlike the other 3, suggesting that his comments to Job were on point.

Elihu talking to Job:

"If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him (God)? And if your transgressions are multiplied (many), what do you do to him? If you are righteous, what do you give to him? Or what does he receive from your hand? (This is also quoted by Paul in Rom 11:35). Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself, and your righteousness a son of man - i.e., your bad or good deeds affect only men, not God. You can not give to Him or take away from Him anything He is or has by your actions.

Because of the multitude of oppressions, people cry out; they call for help because of the arm of the mighty (those stronger than us, who oppress us).

But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night, who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’ - i.e., there is no gratitude to God for all the gifts we receive or trust in God when we go through challenges. We don't want God. We only want relief from our pain by using all the gifts He gives and enjoy daily without giving Him thanks or acknowledging Him as the giver.

There they cry out, but he does not answer, because of the pride of evil men (who believe God is not there or is irrelevant, until we are suffering). Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it - Why? Because we don't really want God; we only want His blessings - the comfort and relief from pain His blessings bring us.

How much less when you say that you *do not see him, that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him! - i.e. we demand He respond the way we think He should when we are in pain - but our complaining does not impress God or cause Him to respond. 

*People don't see or acknowledge God because of their arrogance, not because He's not there.

When we approach God this way, we will always be waiting for a response, because He will not respond to our arrogant demands. Only He is God, and best knows what we need, not us. Humility is more important then relief.

And now, because his anger does not punish, and he does not take much note of transgression - i.e., because God has not dropped the hammer on Job for his complaining and demands - Job opens his mouth in empty talk; he multiplies words without knowledge.”

To Job's credit, at the end he responded correctly...

Job 42:1-6

Then Job answered the Lord and said: 

“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.  

‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ 

Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 

‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ 

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes - (I change my view of you and my attitude towards you).”

For a discussion on how all things in life are a gift click here.

Shifting hope

We can get frustrated (or angry) with the struggles of life because intuitively we know pain and struggle is not what we were originally created for. We were ultimately created for a relationship of infinite, uninterrupted love, joy and bliss; not merely finite (limited/temporary) relationships or relationships with things finite.

We long for a relationship of ¹infinite love. When we can not find it we go after anything else we can "get our hands on" to give us that sense of love, glory, meaning, value etc. Yet we never truly find long term what we seek. We only experience tastes of it in "fits and starts." 

Even for those blessed enough to be in a healthy relationship(s)... one(s) they are truly grateful for, it still is not enough. We long for more because we were designed for more...far more. 

Until we realize what we long for will not and can not be found in this life, we go through life constantly disappointed and always frustrated. 

Only when we come to a place that we know what we really long for is not here but yet to come, does the frustration subside. Our hope shifts and we enter into a true and lasting hope and begin to pursue all other things in light of this new hope. 

Rom 5:2  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4  and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 

Rom 8:20  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  24  For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25  But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Heb 11:1  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 

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¹Once true (perfect, infinite, uninterrupted) love is awakened, we desire more with even greater intensity and ultimately with everything that is in us. 

Usually the closest we come to this is when we "fall in love" for the first time. But it isn't sufficient because perfect, infinite, uninterrupted love is what we are designed for. This is our ultimate and true hope and only this love will do.

What reveals our heart most

If we want to know the true condition of our heart two things reveal it better than anything; ¹great adversity and great success. 

Great adversity either humbles us or embitters us. Great success either makes us proud or grateful.

When you go through great adversity, how do you respond? Do you get angry and blame others or shake your fist at God? Or do you step back and reflect on how this too comes from God's hand for your good and seek to respond in a way that honors Him?

When you have a really good day (or season) where everything lines up circumstantially and everything you touch turns to gold, how do you respond? Do you start feeling and thinking that you are better than others or are you humbled that God has been good to you and cleared your path?

If you are inclined to feel anger during adversity or pride from success, what is the solution? It is actually the same for both; God's love. As we trust more and more in God's love and allow it to seep deep into our souls - whether in success or struggle - we are freed from trying to get love or affirmation elsewhere. We are not drawn away from God by the praise of men, because God's embrace means far more. 

We also question God's good intentions behind our hardships less. As our trust in God matures, we recognize more and more that the struggles and blessings of life are only from his wise and gracious hand. 

Great success or great suffering may darken our hearts or make us wiser and more humble, but they will never leave us where we were.

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¹what is the difference in these very different responses? Humility. Those who respond positively recognize all they are and have comes from their Creator. Those who don't, believe they are alone and must make life work on their own. No one is there to help them or cares about them more than they can or do.

The latter is a lonely path we are not designed to travel. We are created for relationship, but not just any relationship will do. Only one with the infinitely loving, wise, and all-powerful Creator,  who knows us better than we know ourselves. 

Advancing in pain

The age-old question is if God is good, why is there so much pain. 

But maybe that's the wrong question and the answer is not what we usually think. Maybe God allows pain to remain to humble us and help us see our need for Him, with the long-term goal of our spiritual advancement and ultimate gain. 

Christ said, "...What does it profit us if we gain the whole world but lose our own soul?"

Wouldn't the opposite also be true? What if we lose the whole world and gain our eternal soul? Is this not far more valuable than having the things of this world? How we answer these questions may determine our ultimate destiny and is therefore well worth asking.

While pain is ultimately the fruit of our rebellious distrust of God, He still uses it for our good. If God could not bring good out of evil (and the pain it causes), evil would not exist. Christ's death would be the ultimate example of this profound paradox. 

Acts 2:23 "this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."

What a mystery that God used lawlessness to bring to us the greatest gift of eternal restoration to the Father who is the Source of life! 

Therefore, we must not allow suffering to discourage or shame us, or ¹cause us to fall into self-pity e.g., "You're a loser! Why keep trying? Just quit!..." etc. 

But we must embrace pain and embrace God and His love for us in our pain and failures for our advancement to occur (God is for us, not against us. Nothing separates us from God's love...Rom 8:31-39). 

"...Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in ²hope of the glory of God. 

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 

and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us..." - Romans 5:2-5 ESV 

As long as we look at loss, failure, or mistakes as losing and not stepping stones to advancing, we will not embrace them with thanks, learn from them, and let them develop our maturity and advance our walk with God. When we recognize our losses, failures, and mistakes are vital to our spiritual advancement, we embrace them with gratitude and experience God's grace, mercy, and love in them. 

Having our identity and value rooted in God as the bedrock of our existence - and the very Source of love itself - frees us from seeing failure or loss as losing. The whole mindset of the Bible is that ³failure is a necessary stepping stone to progress and maturity. 

"When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives, my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realise that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence..." - Jas 1: 2-8. J B Phillips translation. 

This is foundational to understanding and embracing pain with thanks instead of becoming disillusioned, angry, or bitter over suffering and seeking to manipulate our circumstances to avoid it. 

The importance of humility

Another vital key to the value of loss or failure is humility. To understand we will never reach the maximum potential we were created for without God (which failure or loss helps us to see) causes us to look to Him in greater dependence. Greater dependence on God as the Source of life, love, and all things is the essence of humility. Only through humility can we reach the potential God intends and designs us for.

Christ himself, who deserved far better, did no less... i.e. he experienced the greatest suffering and humility. And that for our benefit as well as His Father's glory.

"...Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Philippians 2:5-11 ESV

How do we discover God's love in our pain? click here

For a further discussion on the primary role of pain, click here

For a further discussion of how God uses evil for our good, click here...and here.

The greater the evil the greater the opportunity for healing/

grace, click here.

For a discussion on the key lesson from the book of Job, click here.

For a discussion on the value of paradox, click here.

For a discussion on the necessity of humility, click here

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Footnotes:

¹nor let pain embitter us. At the root of anger is the belief that we know what is best for us - and/or the world - better than God. Yet we are finite, not all-knowing or all-powerful. Only God is infinite in these things. 

And not only so, but he is also all-loving. He not only knows what's best (all-knowing) and does what's best (all-powerful), but wants it for us also (all-loving).

But many object and say, "How can God be all-loving and continue to allow all this pain in the world? What proof do we have that He is all-loving?" 

Glad you asked! He became a man just like us and fully embraced our pain so that we might ultimately be free of it forever.

² "...we rejoice in hope of the glory of God..." What a curious expression. What is it about the glory of God that gives us hope? To explore this further, click here.

³This is contingent on our seeing failure as a means by which God can ultimately advance us. If we do not, it will embitter us.

Misplaced hope… Unfounded anger

One of our greatest challenges in handling the pain and suffering of this life is we place far too much value on the comforts of this life. In fact we often place ultimate value in them. We long for something in this life that God has not promised and then are surprised when we do not find it. We look for life that is pain and trouble-free when it is not promised. At least not yet. In short we seek the full bliss of heaven on earth now when it is yet to come. 

There is nothing wrong with seeking comfort or pleasure in itself. We were designed for it. The question, however, is a matter of expectation and how or when do we legitimately obtain it. 

Psa 16:11  You make known to me the path of life; in your presence, there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. 

We find legitimate and true pleasure only in and through God. 

We are told that we, (along with this earth) are broken and in bondage. That in this life we will encounter thorns and thistles and ultimately death itself. Yet we are always shocked when our "heaven on earth" is rudely and often interrupted.

We must remember that Christ stepped out of the bliss of His eternal glory and communion with the Father into our broken world of pain. He did this to free us from our brokeness and pain so He could ultimately unit us with him in his new heaven and earth of bliss. This is our true and ultimate hope, not heaven on this present earth of brokenness and bondage. And this ultimate bliss is yet to come. But make no mistake, it is coming - and only because of Christ. 

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them.

They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God.

‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.” - Rev 21:1-4

If we find ourselves angry at God for the pain and suffering of this life, it is due to our rebellious attempt to make life work independent of God and our refusal to recognize our dependence on Him for all things and the need to be restored and reunited to him in this life resulting in ultimate freedom from pain in the next life.

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. 

In the world you will have tribulation. 

But take heart; I have overcome the world." - Christ. - Joh 16:33  

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. 

Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." - Rom 8:18-25

But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" - 1Co 2:9  

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." - John 14:1-3

For a discussion on how we have the kingdom but not yet fully click here