Dear Missionary Lady,
Greetings in the name of the God of the impossible. That is an incredible thought, that God can do what man can’t imagine as possible.
Lesson #47. There are trials we think we can't get through, but God can bring us through anyway. Our trials are not always as hopeless as we think. The final verse of the book of Job reads, “So Job died, being old and full of days” (42:17).
This conclusion is not what Job expected. Through the dark days of his trial, he never thought he would live to see old age. He never thought he would recover from his illness. He probably never expected to again see prosperity, financial blessing, restoration with family and friends, or a new set of children. Quite to the contrary, Job had firmly believed his days were numbered and would end in pain.
Job had often revealed his expectations. He didn’t see the point in continuing to fight when the end seemed certain. “What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?” (6:11). Job thought that his life was quickly drawing to an end, and he had no hope of recovery. “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope” (7:6). “Mine eye shall no more see good. The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not” (7:7b-8). “I loathe it … my days are vanity” (7:16). “My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me” (17:1).
Job was wrong. He did not die of his illness. He did not even battle the effects of his illness for the rest of his life. He did return to days of joy. His friends did still see him for many more years. His grave would remain empty for quite some time, while he returned to an unexpected life of prosperity. God was able to accomplish an outcome that was beyond Job's expectation.
In the midst of a trial, it is only God who knows what the outcome will be. Esther and all her people seemed doomed to death through genocide. Esther was presented with the challenge of appealing to the king. She did not know what would happen. As she prepared to take her life into her hands by going unbidden to the king, she stated, “if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). God gave Esther favor with the king, and God magnificently delivered the entire nation.
Under penalty of death, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego were commanded to bow down to an idol. Because they could not obey this edict, they remained standing and risked their lives. When the king confronted them before casting them into the blazing furnace, they expressed their conviction that God was able to deliver them. They did not know if He would deliver them, however, evidenced by their admission, “but if not” (Daniel 3:18). They faced the possibility that their obedience might result in death, but God miraculously intervened and delivered them.
Paul was on a ship with 275 other people. They were in the midst of a horrific storm, and they did not expect to escape. They had already given up trying to steer the ship. They had thrown the cargo overboard, and they had even discarded the tackling of the ship. All hope of being saved was abandoned. Because of God's promise to him, Paul was the only one who expected to survive. He told the others, “I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me” (Acts 27:25). 275 people had no hope of survival, but God delivered every one of them.
These are just three more examples (out of many) that illustrate God’s ability to deliver even in the most desperate and impossible situations. The truth is that “with God nothing shall be impossible” (Luke 1:37). There is no night so dark that God cannot bring light. There is no pit so deep that God cannot lift someone up. There is no pain so sharp that God cannot heal. There is no impending disaster that God cannot avert. There is no power in heaven or earth that can defeat God.
Even when humans see no hope and no possibility of deliverance, God is not limited. He “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20). We might acknowledge God’s power but still think we are doomed because of our own weakness. Not so. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). The strength of God can supersede the weakness of man.
Will God give deliverance in every trial here on this earth? Will every situation be resolved with temporal release? No. Hebrews 11:36-40 reveals that some deliverance will be achieved only in eternity. But what is God’s normal? “After that ye have suffered a while” (1 Peter 5:10). “Though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations” (1 Peter 1:6). “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment” (2 Corinthians 4:17). “He hath smitten, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1). “I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place” (Psalm 118:5).
We can be in the most intense and impossible situation imaginable. “Though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Psalm 46:2). Even there, we can hope in God’s ability to deliver. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). While acknowledging that God’s plan might not include deliverance (“but if not”), we can be confident that He is able to deliver, even when our human eyes see no possible solution. Job died as an old man. God is able to do the unexpected!
What a triumphant ending to a wonderful book. Thanks for accompanying me on my journey. I have so much enjoyed going through it again, and many times God’s truth has met needs in my own heart. I’m a little sad to come to the conclusion of this study, but thankful that the rest of God’s Word also contains wonderful truth. May God show Himself strong in your lives this week, even accomplishing what seems impossible.
Love in Christ,
Peggy Holt
member at Open Door Baptist Church in Lebanon, PA
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