Tag Archives: hope

Job, chapters 6-10

“I reject this life of mine. It is all the same.”
~Job 9:21,22

Discouragement is one one of Satan’s chief, most effective tactics.
If we do not believe our service to God makes any difference, we are in danger of making self-centered choices instead of responsible ones.
While the loss of Job’s material possessions, his health and his family did not shake him to the point that he incurred sin, it did make him question his relevance.
“If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression and be cheerful,’ I would still be afraid because of all my pains, and I know you would not find me innocent. I would be found guilty. So why should I struggle in vain?” (Job 9:27-29).
Job’s faith was starting to struggle, and if he kept on that course, his endurance would have suffered the consequences.
Heightening his challenge was his insomnia, which was so bad in itself that he preferred the peace of death over his unrelenting misery (Job 7:3,4,14).
In his defense, Job ignored the origin of his trials and erroneously attributed them to God (Job 7:17,18).
But because Jehovah knows just how much pain one individual can really bear, He eventually stepped in to adjust Job’s point of view (Jas. 5:11).
How wonderful it is to understand God’s word and know that ‘He is faithful and will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear’ (1 Cor. 10:13).
Through a clear understanding of Job’s experience, we can find comfort and hope and even endure the seemingly worst of trials, including deep depression (Rom. 15:4).
We can appreciate how relevant we really are to God and resist Satan’s tactic to make us think otherwise (Prov. 27:11).

2 Kings, chapters 12-15

“As some men were burying a man, they saw the marauder band, so they quickly threw the man into Elisha’s burial place and ran off. When the man touched the bones of Elisha, he came to life and stood on his feet.”
~2 Kings 13:21

Although the Bible mentions other resurrection accounts,* this is only one of two resurrections realized directly by Jehovah God (the other being that of Jesus) (1 Cor. 15:3-6).

Elisha had already been buried when this second cadaver was thrown into his grave, and since there is no consciousness in the grave, the resurrection should be credited to Jehovah, not Elisha, who to this day has no idea that his bones resurrected a man, because he is dead (Eccl. 9:5).

That Jehovah should be so merciful as to restore a random dead man’s life to him demonstrates God’s power and will to resurrect the millions of people who have been swallowed up by death (Ps. 141:7; Acts 24:15).

This will shall be carried out under Christ’s rule when his kingdom blessings have reached the earth (Matt. 6:10).

*The other resurrection accounts can be found at: 1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:32-37; Luke 7:11-17; 8:40-42; 8:49-56; John 11:38-44; Acts 9:36-42; 20:7-12.

1 Samuel, chapters 26-31

David was very distressed, because the men were talking of stoning him, for all the men had become very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself by Jehovah his God.
~1 Samuel 30:6

When David and his 600 men came home from pretending to ally with the Philistines, they found their village had been raided by Amalekites (1 Sam. 27:2; 29:9,10; 30:1-5).

Thus David faced a revolt from the men who had been very loyal up to that point.

Instead of fleeing, panicking, giving up, or attempting to eliminate the instigators, David “strengthened himself by Jehovah his God.”

After inquiring of Jehovah, he led his men to seek out their kidnapped families and they liberated them (1 Sam. 30:8,18,19).

This is an example of how hard it can be at times for our elders to carry out their roles in the congregation, since sooner or later they all have to make unpopular decisions and face the scrutiny of others.

Instead of becoming embittered or depressed, elders can take refuge in their strong relationship with Jehovah and continue to find joy in carrying out their ministry (Ps. 31:1).

Deuteronomy, chapters 32-34

“Moses was 120 years old at his death. His eyes had not grown dim, and his strength had not departed.”

~Deuteronomy 34:7

I had the opportunity to share this passage with an elderly woman in the ministry last week.

She is in her late 70s and has been undergoing cancer treatment for the last three years.

She still has two more years of treatment before she can go back to her “normal” life.

The medication she takes has very painful side effects.

She cannot usually sleep at night and her bones hurt constantly.

I’ve known her for a little over a year and every time I visit her, she complains about the pain and wishes she could just let herself die.

Our initial visits were all about why God allows pain and suffering, whether life is ruled by karma or random chance.

In later visits we focused on God’s kingdom, the hope that one day earth will be without any pain, suffering or even death.

As we talked last week about Moses’s end-of-life, we noted that Moses did not start his life’s major work until he was about 80 (Acts 7:20-36).

So, even in old age, we should not face life with an attitude of giving up, as if the best is already behind us.

In my friend’s case,  she does not have the strength she had 15 or 30 years ago.

But she contributes so much to her family’s and neighbor’s quality of life just by being there, enduring, joking around with them.

Now she has finally learned God’s reasons for allowing pain and suffering, understanding that he is not the one to blame for our lamentable state.

Through that understanding she no longer feels angry at God, so whatever the future holds for her, she can be at peace, knowing he has her best interests in mind (Jer. 29:11).

Moses knew Jehovah “face-to-face,” and perhaps none of us will ever enjoy that privilege (De. 34:10).

But we can imitate the faithful attitude Moses demonstrated up until his last breath, even as he looked at the entirety of the promised land, conscious that he was not to enter it (De. 34:4,5).

‘For God is not unrighteous so as to forget our work and the love we show for his name,’ ‘therefore, do not give up, but even if the man we are outside is wasting away, certainly the man we are inside is being renewed from day to day,’ (Heb. 6:10; 2 Cor. 4:16).