Our Reaction Matters

“For he will not lay upon man more than right; that he should enter into judgment with God.” (Job 34:23 AV)

Elihu is completely correct here.  Not so much in the application for Job, but true nonetheless.  Elihu’s comments are in the context of assuming the trials of Job are sin related.  Again, like his three friends, he is completely wrong.  Like Job, however, Elihu seems to utter words of profound wisdom without even knowing the implications of what he said.  The above statement is also true of afflictions of faith.  It is also true of persecutions and other trials.  God does not allow to be laid upon us more than is right.  Putting it another way, God does not allow us to suffer more than we can handle.  The second phrase implies if God did indeed do such a thing, there would be cause to judge Him as unfair, unethical, or downright mean.  The first phrase is what the Spirit wishes us to consider.  Again, the LORD will not lay upon us more than that which is right.  The LORD will not allow us to endure more than is appropriate.  He will not allow us to suffer above that which we are able.  God is kind and merciful.  He knows what we need.  Sometimes the need is affliction.  In particular, what the Spirit wished us to consider is our reaction to such times.  If we take by faith the truth of the above principle and couple it with the truth God has a purpose and plan for everything, then the proper response to the deep waters of life should be joy and gratitude.  That is easier said than done. 

Recently, I read the autobiography of Adoniram Judson, a missionary to Burma.  His life was so prolific, he literally changed that nation and brought it into the modern world.  The LORD used him to translate the Bible into the Burmese language and standardize their language by providing a dictionary and grammaticarian.  Rev. Judson started several churches but never saw more than one hundred converts in total.  At least directly from his own efforts.  His largest contribution was opening up Burma to the gospel and brokering peace between Burma and England.  This paved the way for freedom of religion and Burma soon become one of the freest nations to permit Christianity in Southwest Asia.  To this day, Rev. Judson is honored by Christians and non-Christians alike for being that instrument God used to bring their nation out of the uncultured condition they were in, to a nation that was respected and admired among most.  This did not come easy.  The trials of Adoniram are legendary.  He spent several years in captivity in deplorable conditions.  He lost several children to fever and lost two wives as well.  He himself suffered great physical difficulties in the last third of his life or so.  When he returned to America, at first he was treated as a celebrity.  As his stories turned more to the spiritual needs of the Burmese and less to all the trials of the mission field, American churches lost interest.  All this and much more Adoniram was asked to endure.  What made these times profitable to the furtherance of the gospel was Adoniram’s reaction to these hard times.  He never felt worthy to suffer such things for the glory of God.  He reacted with humility, gratitude, and resolve.

God will never give us more than we can handle.  Whether we believe this or not does not change the circumstances.  We can be bitter and angry, but the situation remains.  We can be full of fear and doubt, but our lives remain the same.  Our reaction to our life’s situation does not change the nut and bolts of it.  It may make our situation appear worse than it is.  But it is what it is.  Job lost his family, his wealth, and his health.  Regardless of his ability to cope, his kids were not coming back, the wealth that he lost would not be returned, and his health will eventually deteriorate anyway.  What we could do, which Job forgot to do, is to react in humility and gratitude to that which God allowed.  Elihu states what God allows is right.  Job couldn’t justify this because he could not see a purpose in it.  If he could have taken by faith these things were designed by God for a reason that serves Him and ultimately helps Job, he would have had an easier time of it.  How we react will go a long way in how we endure.  The first step is giving God the benefit of the doubt.  What He did or allowed is right.  It always is.  Start there and go from there.  Amen and Amen.