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Day 146 Job 7:17 What is man, that thou should magnify him? And that thou should set thine heart upon him? 18 And that thou should visit him every morning, and try him every moment? 19 How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? 20 I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? Why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself? 21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? For now, shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be. When trouble comes your way, and you can’t find an answer, what do you do? Do you wallow in self-pity? Do you seek your friends for answers? Do your friends volunteer answers for your problems? Well-meaning people always have an answer for the troubles facing you. Satan came to God again and asked Him to allow him to touch Job’s flesh. God allowed Satan to touch him but told him he couldn’t kill him. As soon as Job sat in pain and misery, his wife told him he should curse God and die. Wonderful woman. Job answered his wife with a question. Is it fair to get good things from God and not bad? Then Job’s friends showed up with their answers to his misery. He listened and responded. He didn’t answer them directly but turned to God for answers. As Christians, you know you should take all your concerns to God. Yet, often you wallow in self-pity, wondering where God is in your trouble and why you’re facing so much pain. Sometimes, you reason Jesus suffered and so should you. After all, the apostles praised God for allowing them to suffer for Christ. Not all trouble is from God. He allows Satan to test you. Don’t give up when you can’t find answers. Don’t wallow in self-pity or make your friends miserable with your complaint. Instead, seek God. It’s easier to complain than to pray. It’s easy to become depressed and anxious by everything you face. It’s hard to turn to God when life presses in on you. It’s hard to sing praises when you see nothing to sing about. It’s easy to sit in your home and do nothing. It’s easy for me to sit here and bring words that make you scoff because I don’t know the trouble facing you. No, I don’t. Yet, I know every time I praised God when trouble hit; He lifted the burden from my shoulders and took it on Himself. He helped me see it wasn’t anything I did, but the trouble came from Satan. When you know where your trouble comes from, it becomes easy to praise God. Depression and anxiety have no place in your life. You can kick self-pity out the door. You can turn the complaint into prayer. You can praise Him. You might not get the answer right away. Job didn’t. But you know the answer is on the way. You only need patience while you go through the testing. Let’s pray: Father, forgive me for voicing my complaint when Satan comes against me to destroy me. Help me praise You when I don’t want to. Help me pray when I don’t want to. Help me see the trouble for what it is: devised by Satan. Help me tell him he has no place in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 5 November 2021 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay.