Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Preparing for Troubles Ahead

Scripture Text: Job 3; Job 4; Ezekiel 14:12-14

Have you ever had one of those days when nothing seems to go right? You know those days when you think it would have been better to just stay in bed? Well Job was having one of those days times 1000. He laments that he was ever born, that the day of his birth even existed.

To that one of his friends responds with a message that basically says, suck it up Job we all have bad things happen to us. Bad things do not only happen to the wicked, they happen to all people. The measure of the moment is not the bad that happens but the response we have to it.

As we shared in our last entry we have had some hard days. Never have we gotten to the point of wishing our wedding day never happened. I wish there would never again be a difficult day for our marriage but that does not seem like reality. There will be days when those we love die. There will be days when things are just difficult. Still there will be days when hurt and disappointment are at every turn. We cannot control what the days of the future will bring.

What we can control is how we will respond to the challenges that lie ahead. Our preparation for those days is the journey we are on now. Can you imagine how Job would have responded if he had not tied his heart to the heart of God? Investing in our marriage through time together is essential to being prepared to weather the storm. Taking the time to study the scriptures together, to pray together, and to simply be in conversation about our day-to-day life as well as the major parts of life. All of these are the work of preparation for the challenging days.

As God reminds us through the prophet Ezekiel, no one else can do this preparation. No one else can do the work of righteousness in our lives, it is work that we must invest in ourselves. It is our hope in sharing this journey through the Scriptures with all of you, that we can be a part of your preparation for whatever the days ahead hold. Of great value is that it is helping us to prepare for whatever the days ahead bring.

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