03272021 No Human Answers

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our wise God. God knows and understands things about which man has no clue.

Lesson #31. Sometimes man will not be able to come up with an answer for suffering. Job tried. His friends tried. They went back and forth in rounds of argument. They repeated the same statements over and over. But they were left without accurate assessments or solid conclusions.

Their failure was evident. A fourth friend, Elihu, a younger man, had sat and observed this extended discussion. He had heard the accusations. He had heard Job's defenses. "Also against [Job's] three friends was his wrath kindled, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job" (32:3).

Elihu appears to have been a more objective observer. He was analytical. He followed the debate, and he declared that the friends had lost the debate. "Yea, I attended unto you, and, behold, there was none of you that convinced Job, or that answered his words" (32:12). Elihu realized that Job had raised valid defenses that the friends had been unable to adequately address.

The bottom line is that neither Job nor his three friends, with all their effort, had been able to provide a satisfactory rationalization for Job's suffering. Finally they quit trying. "They were amazed, they answered no more: they left off speaking. When I had waited, (for they spake not, but stood still, and answered no more)" (32:15-16). Even with the experience and insight of their "days" and "multitude of years," (32:7), they gave up trying to understand and explain.

Such difficult answers cannot come from man; they can come only from God, and only as God chooses to reveal them. Elihu was present for a reason. In fact, each of those friends was there for a reason. Through the conversation, God was teaching. He was revealing the inadequacy of man to understand such difficult puzzles. And through Elihu, He was preparing Job (and the readers) to understand His truth.

When Elihu begins to speak, we finally start to get some insight. Elihu claimed divine help in understanding and answering. "But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding" (32:8). "My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart: and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly. The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life" (33:3-4). "For truly my words shall not be false: he that is perfect in knowledge is with thee" (36:4).

Was Elihu correct that he was speaking for God? I think so. His words give more and better answers than everything that had gone before. More importantly, after Elihu spoke, God spoke, and God repeated and reinforced much of what Elihu had said. Elihu was the warm-up, the introduction, the one who prepared the way for God's words. In the end, Elihu was not identified by God as one of the men for whom Job had to intervene due to faulty words.

The coming chapters (and lessons) will provide us with Elihu's God-directed insight and its accompanying encouragement. It is actually encouraging to reach this point in the book where finally things start to come together. We will begin to be lifted from the darkness and confusion and to be shown the hope and truth of God. That truth came, however, not through human reasoning and effort, not through the experience of age, not through the interpretations of men, but only through the guidance of God.

When we look for answers and clarity, we must beware of trusting in our own understanding or that of our friends. We must pray for God Himself to reveal truth to us; otherwise, our "answers" are only guesses that may fall short of truth. Our own answers may be deeply unsatisfying, but God can give answers with meaning and substance.

May God give you stability and assurance as you walk with Him this week, and a deep trust in the One who knows and understands all things.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

03202021 Insult to Injury

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our gentle God. Even when God designs or allows difficult circumstances, His heart overflows with love. His intention is to support our spirits even if no one else does.

Lesson #30. Suffering ordained by God can lead to additional suffering at the hand of man. Job did not understand why God was doing what He was doing, but he did not doubt that God's hand was at work. Job often acknowledged God's sovereignty and oversight in relation to his trial, including in 30:11: "Because he hath loosed my cord, and afflicted me." Job said that God's action led to actions by others; this verse begins with the word "because." Because of what God was doing, others were emboldened to act, and their actions caused additional pain for Job.

They mocked Job (30:1). They taunted him and belittled him (30:9). They hated him, withdrew from association with him, and spit on him (30:10). They cast off restraints (30:11). Whole families used his weakness as a time of opportunity (30:12). They made his path even harder, and profited from his losses with no one to curtail them (30:13). They rolled toward him in a broad, overwhelming attack (30:14). They worked terrors against him, destroyed his reputation, and ate up his resources (30:15).

Why do people do such things? Primarily, I refer to unbelievers, which is who Job is talking about. The reasons for such actions stem from the lusts and weaknesses of the flesh that controls them. Sadly, similar responses sometimes come from other Christians, for the same reasons. Following are some possible motivations or rationalizations for adding insult to injury.

First, awkwardness. Sometimes people have a hard time seeing someone else in pain. They don't know what to say or do. They may even have an instinct that the situation calls for compassion, but they are not comfortable with showing tenderness. They may feel guilty that someone else is suffering while they are not. Perhaps instead of offering a response that feels awkward, they respond with something easier and less personal, even insensitive or cruel.

Second, fear. People might be afraid that by association, bad luck will rub off on them. Maybe association with someone who is in a bad situation will cause damage to one's own reputation or lower his prestige and standing in the eyes of others. Self-preservation is a strong motivation, and people will work hard to protect their own interests.

Third, selfishness. Helping someone who is suffering requires energy. It requires commitment to thinking of how to help. An intention to help might require one's own resources to be expended or depleted. Especially if the need seems like a bottomless pit, people don't want to commit an unqualified amount of resources.

Fourth, greed. People will rationalize away the circumstances to do what helps their bottom line. (The Chaldeans are selling camels cheap; I won't ask questions about where they got them. Job is no longer selling sheep, which leaves the market wide open for me.) If someone else's loss is my gain, so be it. People are opportunistic in the hopes of getting ahead.

Fifth, carnality. When strong Christians are in places of respect and leadership, there is a trickle-down effect on those around them. Society at large is held to a higher standard. Morality and righteousness are expected of those who don't want to live that way. So if Christians can be brought down, that lowers the unwelcome expectations and demands on others.

Sixth, faithlessness. People who don't believe in God or who choose not to follow Him do not want to be confronted with evidence that He is real or that a relationship with Him is valuable. Seeing a Christian who is suffering gives fuel to their fire, offering "proof" that Christianity doesn't work. Now they can speak a little more confidently in deriding Christianity and in declaring that they were right not to choose it.

Where do those considerations leave us? First, this gives us pause to evaluate our own responses. Do we help those who are hurting? Do we intentionally support? Are we willing to say something even though it is awkward? Are we willing to give of our resources to meet a need? "Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees" (Hebrews 12:12).

Second, we ought to have an understanding and compassionate response to those who react wrongly. Each of us is aware of how strong the pull of the flesh is; it often influences us to do wrong. So when people act wrong, if we can recognize that they are trapped in their sinful flesh, then we can better handle the wrong things they do. Even as they injure us, we can pray for them and desire their salvation, because we understand that their need is deeply spiritual. "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Romans 8:7).

Third, we can have perspective, remembering Who is more powerful. While the actions of men might be painful, they are not the most important. "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?" (Psalm 118:6).

Fourth, we can rejoice and take hope in knowing that while man might not have mercy on those who are suffering, God has mercy and compassion. "Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth! He raiseth the poor up out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill" (Psalm 113:6-7).

Fifth, we can remember that time will prove the wicked wrong. They think they are seeing proof that following God isn't worth it, but by God's grace, in time their observations will change. As they see God uphold us through the insupportable, they will be intrigued, and we will be able "to give an answer to every man that asketh [us] a reason of the hope that is in [us]" (I Peter 3:15). Trials in a Christian's life don't prove that faith is foolish; they actually prove the opposite!

May you sense God's gentle care this week, even as He gives you grace to minister to the needy around you.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

Archived letters: www.dearmissionarylady.blogspot.com.

03132021 Dealing with Loss

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of the God of resources, who supplies all that we need for all that we face. Without Him, life would often be completely overwhelming.

Lesson #29. It is natural to mourn our losses and to long for the blessings of the past. Some losses are abrupt and others are gradual, but whether our losses strike us harshly in the face or whether we see them only as we ponder, life does have losses.

We often want life to be as it has always been. We remember the blessings of the past, times when life was better, perhaps even our walk with God seemed sweeter and our growth seemed more dynamic. Upon consideration, we are sometimes shocked to realize how drastically our lives have changed even in a short space of time. (Wow, does that describe the past year!)

Job's life changed very quickly and dramatically. He implored his friends, "Mark me, and be astonished, and lay your hand upon your mouth. Even when I remember I am afraid, and trembling taketh hold on my flesh" (21:5-6). Job's reversals were so dramatic that they staggered the mind. Job was deeply disturbed to realize what his life had been like just a few months earlier. His friends were easily able to observe the changes caused by tragedy and illness.

Later Job shared his sense of loss related to his changed situation. "Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; when his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness; as I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle" (29:2-4). Job perceived a great loss, falling from the prime of life to hanging at death's door, and falling from sweet fellowship and blessing with God to a sense of alienation. Job shared several aspects that used to be true that he now missed. He remembered when God was with him (v. 5). He recalled when his children surrounded him (v. 5). He considered when blessings abounded (v. 6). He recollected when he was respected and held in high esteem by others (vs. 7-10) and when his testimony was admired (v. 11).

Job wasn't wrong. These losses had happened, and his losses were indeed great and worthy of sorrow. Sorrow over losses is not wrong. God has made us to feel our losses; it is part of being human. On the other hand, sorrow should not completely ruin us. We must exercise careful evaluation and godly thinking so that our sorrow does not lead us into poor decisions or a life of despair. Following are some considerations that might come into play.

Sometimes our memories are faulty. Especially when times are tough, we want to remember the "good old days," and sometimes we glamorize them. Because time has passed, we sometimes forget the amount of struggle that was mixed with the pleasant memories. Later joy and blessing can sometimes cover or obliterate past pain, and sometimes we remember what we want to remember. (Exodus 16:3; John 16:21)

Sometimes our evaluations of the present are faulty. Job was right about most things; he really had lost his children, his material blessings, and his reputation, but he had not lost God. Job didn't sense it at the time, but God had not abandoned him. When our mind and emotions are in a dark place, we tend to evaluate everything through that dark perspective. We might selectively ignore some facts that don't fit our sense of despair. When we are crushed by a great sorrow, it can be difficult to get our minds to expand beyond our immediate context of pain and gloom. (I Kings 18:22; I Kings 19:10,18)

Our knowledge of the future is uncertain. We cannot assume things will always continue the same or worse than they are now. It is uncommon for life to be constant and unchanging. In general, life is filled with variation, times of blessing interspersed with times of trial. Because things are bad now, that does not mean they will always be that way. How would Joseph have survived with that mindset? How would any of the Hebrews 11 heroes have survived if they could not look forward with hope? (Ecclesiastes 3:1f; I Peter 5:10; I Peter 1:6, Psalm 30:5)

Our interpretation of blessing may be lacking. There are different levels of blessing - some physical, some social, some material, some spiritual. While one level of blessing may be decreasing, another level may be rapidly increasing. Sometimes our awareness of losses in one area can blind us to other areas of growth. It may require some perspective or some extra effort, but we should strive to see the gains as well as the losses. It is natural to long for the familiar past blessings, but we don't know if the future blessings will be greater, although they might be in different areas. We may not see the blessings until time has passed, but God is often in the process of bringing them. In fact, when we finally do see what God has done and what He has brought us through, the realization can be staggering, bringing abundant rejoicing. (II Corinthians 4:16; III John 1:2; Hebrews 12:11)

Our submission to God must allow for discomfort. God's Word repeatedly reveals that sorrow and trouble are part of life in this fallen world. God has made it pretty clear that trials and struggle are the pathway to growth. None of us likes sorrow or pain, but we have to be able to trust the good and wise God who ordains it. We have to be willing to accept loss, knowing that God uses it to accomplish His work. (James 1:3-4; I Peter 5:5-6; Jeremiah 18:4-6)

Our discomfort cannot cause us to forget truth. When we are struggling and sorrowing, then more than ever we need to remember truth. Feelings and facts are often great foes. Erratic emotions can wage war against the truth that would stabilize us. Here are just a few truths to cling to when sorrow and loss seem overwhelming, as they seemed for Job. "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee" (Isaiah 43:2-3). "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me" (Psalm 23:4). "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope" (I Thessalonians 4:13). Our loss can indeed be great, but with God we always have comfort and hope.

May God support and comfort you in your losses, and may He give you joy in seeing the great work He has accomplished through them. Keep walking forward.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA

03062021 Elusive Wisdom

Dear Missionary Lady,

Greetings in the name of our wise God. I'm so glad His wisdom exceeds my own! And I'm thankful that such a wise God helps me along my path.

Lesson #28. Valuable but elusive wisdom is found in fearing God, who is its source. Who needs wisdom in the midst of trials? Only everyone. Wisdom is essential, but man is often left with the helpless statement: "I don't know what to do." In chapter 28, Job gives a wonderful treatise regarding wisdom.

Although Job doesn't start here, I want to start with the recognition of the extreme value of wisdom. Job describes it as priceless. "It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx, or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold. No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold" (vs. 15-19). Wisdom is valuable because it is indispensable. Wisdom makes the difference between knowing or not knowing how to handle life, and the impact of that knowledge is vast.

Wisdom is necessary, but it is hard to find. Job asks the question, "Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding?" (v. 20). Man does not naturally have wisdom. "Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air" (v. 21).

Job gives an extended description and build-up to illustrate how elusive wisdom is. His approach is that there are lots of things that are hard to access that man has nevertheless accessed. Verses 1-11 develop this illustration. He talks about resources hidden deep in the earth, such as silver, gold, iron, and copper. He describes how man finds ways to mine those valuables. Man melts it or carves it out of rock, he searches far and wide, he sinks shafts deep into the darkness, even hanging in precarious positions to gather the resources. In his quest for these valuables, man goes where birds cannot go and where beasts do not venture. He overturns mountains, diverts channels of water, and successfully gathers these resources for his own benefit.

Truly man's ability to achieve what he wants is phenomenal. Out of greed, necessity, or desperation, man has accomplished much that seems impossible. But finding gold and sapphires is one thing; finding wisdom is something else entirely. Job concludes his recounting of man's successful efforts with this reality: "But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding? Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the living" (vs. 12-13). Man knows gold is valuable and knows where to find it, but when it comes to wisdom, man fails to grasp the value and cannot find it in all the regular treasure houses. It isn't in the depths of the earth or the sea (v. 14).

Where then is wisdom? "God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof, for he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven" (vs. 23-24).

When God made the earth and designed the weather patterns, He displayed His wisdom (vs. 25-26). Ever since the creation of the world, wisdom has belonged to God. "Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out" (v. 27). Wisdom has always been with God, fully known by Him, designed by Him, and declared by Him.

So man needs wisdom, and God has wisdom. How do the two connect? "And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (v. 28). Wisdom is neither man-created or man-discovered. Wisdom is divinely created and divinely revealed. Man will not find wisdom except by seeking it from God. Man must be so humble, so dependent, so reverent toward God that he desires to know God's truth above all else and to walk in God's ways instead of his own. A man thus dependent and dedicated to God will find wisdom.

In the midst of a trial, what does that look like? Something like this humble prayer: "Father, I don't know what to do, but I want to do the right thing, because I love and fear You. I don't want to mess this up, but I need Your help. Please guide me."

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5). God doesn't want us to do the wrong thing either. He wants us to do the right thing, to have victory, to please Him through our trial. A God with such desires will gladly give wisdom to those who humbly and dependently seek it. May God's wisdom guide, comfort, and support you this week.

Love in Christ,

Peggy Holt

member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA