God loves us deeply, but he has a bigger view of our lives than we can imagine. Sometimes He sends His people a crisis in order to bless others. Job was severely tested and faced a tremendous crisis. In one day, he lost all of his children, much of his wealth, and he experienced great devastation. Then he lost his health and was in great agony. It was so severe, that most of us likely can’t identify with such great grief. Job never found out why this all happened to him. Yet, God knew that he would pass the test. He would never have allowed this to happen to Job if he doubted his steadfastness and the trust he knew Job had in Him.
We read “Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?’ So Satan answered the LORD and said, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’ ”(Job 1:8-9). “But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!’” (Job 1:11).
Well, that may have been the case for the great majority of people – it’s easy to question God’s master plan when we are grieving or in pain – “but not for My servant Job.” God knew this and allowed this trial to come over Job. The outcome of this trial? God richly blessed Job and brought him incredible prosperity afterwards but, in addition, Job’s crisis was a tremendous blessing for others. How many people over the thousands of years since have taken great courage and comfort from this story! Many who found themselves in a crisis, have found comfort and thought, “Maybe I have it bad, but Job had it worse, and Job persevered.” They follow his example and persevere. People sometimes think bad things happen to them as punishment, but by Job’s example, they may realize that the crisis they are in has nothing to do with punishment. Even the blameless face crises at times. Jesus knows our sorrow and was a “man of many sorrows” too; we are not alone in our trials and dark times. God knows all things and He is with those who are his own. He is with them even in the dark valleys. And as with Job, every crisis will have an end.
We know that Jesus was tempted but remained without sin. He faced the greatest crisis of his life in the garden of Gethsemane and up to the time of the crucifixion. Again, His crisis was a gift for us. The blessing of His crisis is that we can obtain salvation. Jesus was exalted and is seated at the right hand of God. As in the case of Job, His crisis is a blessing, still thousands of years later. Indeed, the word blessing is too weak to describe the eternal life and benefit mankind has through the sacrifice of Christ.
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:9-10).
“Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:17-18).
Let us consider another crisis. God tested Abraham and asked him to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac (Genesis 22). That was perhaps the hardest thing that Abraham had ever done. All the crises in his life were easier to handle than this matter. Any of us who are parents know the deep love we have for our children. What an unspeakable trial! And yet Abraham passed the test. This was not a temptation because:
“God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone” (James 1:13).
What is the difference between a temptation and a test?
1. A temptation is an attempt to snare you or to make you fall. Example: A fisherman tempts a fish by the lure attached to his fishing rod. It is intended to fool the fish and catch it.
2. A test is there to teach or to foster growth, and can be a gift – even when it doesn’t look like one. As a teacher, I did not give tests to my students until I had taught them and was confident that they could pass the test.
God knew Abraham was able to pass the test He gave him and wouldn’t have given him the test if Abraham was not ready for it. Abraham knew that through Isaac he would become a great nation. Yet Isaac had no children yet. So how could God’s promise come to pass if he sacrificed Isaac? Abraham did not know, but he believed God would do what He promised. He trusted in God’s guidance and His plan.
The Hebrew writer tells us that “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead” (Hebrews 11:17-19).
The Jewish Rabbis call this story the Binding of Isaac. God did not condone the sacrificing of humans. We read of King Ahaz that “he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out from before the children of Israel” (2 Kings 16:3). The sacrificing of humans was an abomination to God. So, this story of Abraham makes no sense without understanding it as a metaphor and foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, who — as the Son of God, Son of Abraham, and Son of David — paid the ultimate price by being the sacrifice for our sins. Because of Abraham passing his test, a great blessing has come to all nations.
Even today, the way God’s people handle crises can be a great blessing to others. After the well-known Canadian hockey player, Paul Henderson, was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a rare, often deadly form of cancer, he said that he is certain that the Lord would not have allowed him to get this cancer if God knew he couldn’t handle it. He also said his illness has allowed him to talk freely about his faith. His attitude in this health crisis is a blessing and encouragement to many people. How could your own struggles be understood or contextualized as a vessel for learning, healing, and blessing for those around you?
If you are in a crisis, commit it and yourself to the Lord. Know that He is with you in your pain, but that He also has a greater plan for you and there is a lesson in every valley you walk through. Ask Him to give you the strength to pass the test and be a blessing to others despite the dire circumstances.
Gerhard Mielke
Hamilton, ON
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