Facing Catastrophe

"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." - Richard Bach

We usually don’t understand why God allows us to go through difficult seasons of life.  Scripture teaches that Job had done everything in his power to live for God and do what’s right, but Satan decided to target Job to test how faithful he’d be to God once catastrophe came his way.  So Job lost it all: his wealth evaporated, his kids were taken from him and his body was afflicted with disease.  Many of us are in pain when we get a little sunburned, but Job had boils on his body that brought indescribable pain.  To make matters worse many of Job’s friends assumed he’d done something to deserve his loss and pain.  His wife told him to, “Curse God and die—and maybe that would have been the easiest thing to do—but Job refused to listen to his critics.  Job continued to serve God even through total ruin and despair.  It’s no surprise that God heard Job’s cries and restored everything and even gave him “twice as much as before” (Job 42:10).  In the same manner, whenever you go through difficult seasons you must continue to place your faith in God knowing that ultimately He will bless you.   

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles (Psalm 34:17, NIV).