Choices in the Midst of Tragedyby Pastor Fee Soliven

Job 1:6-22Sunday MorningMarch 9, 2014

 1 Peter 4:12-1312 Beloved, do not think it strange

concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing

happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is

revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

Job 1:6-226 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves

before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to

Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth,

and from walking back and forth on it.”

8 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?“ 9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does

Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around

his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed

the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the

land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" 12 So the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all

that he has is in your power;

only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of

the LORD. 13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were

eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house; 14 and a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were

plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them,

15 when the Sabeans raided them and took them away--indeed they have

killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell

you!" 16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up

the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have

escaped to tell you!"  

17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans

formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the

servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!"

18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house,

19 and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck

the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are

dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!“ 20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And

he said:

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of

the LORD." 22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

What unwise choices do people make in tragedy?

1. They leave God out of the tragedy.

 2. They ask good questions but seek answers in the wrong places.

 

“Let’s buckle up and just keep moving.”

Deuteronomy 29:29"The secret things belong to the LORD

our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our

children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

3. They Harbor Anger

Ephesians 4:26-2726 Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor

give place to the devil.  

4. They Focus on Someone to Blame

James 5:14-1614 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and

the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that

you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails

much.

What Right Choices Should You Make In Tragedy?

1. Believe That God Is Sovereign Over all

Psalm 103:19"The LORD has established His throne in heaven, And His kingdom rules over

all."

Job 42:1-21 Then Job answered the LORD and

said: 2 "I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.

   

Job 42:10"And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as

he had before."

Job 42:16-1716 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. 17

So Job died, old and full of days.

2. Trust God in your tragedy, even though you don’t understand it

 

Isaiah 55:8-98 "For My thoughts are not your

thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My

thoughts than your thoughts.  

3. Believe God will bring something good out of the heartache.

Romans 8:28"And we know that all things work

together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called

according to His purpose."

4. Be thankful for what you had and don’t dwell on what you’ve lost.

 

Philippians 3:12-1412 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which

Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to

have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are

behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,

14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ

Jesus.

5. Learn something that will help yourself as well as others.

2 Corinthians 1:3-43 Blessed be the God and Father of our

Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who

comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with

which we ourselves are comforted by God.

6. Meditate on Scripture rather than feed on the pity others have for you.

Psalm 119:105"Your word is a lamp to my feet And a

light to my path."

Psalm 57:1-21 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make

my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by. 2 I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things

for me.

Psalm 55:22"Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."

7. Overcome this tragedy through the power of God

Romans 8:31-3931 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall

bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.

 

34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is

also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed

all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who

loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor

height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus

our Lord.