Allen Webster

Topic(s): Blessings, Pain & Suffering, Prayer

Abe Lincoln said, “I have often been driven to my knees by the sincere conviction that there was no where else to go.”

The nobleman from Capernaum whose son was about to die had just about given up hope (John 4:46–54). The baby he had first held shortly after birth, the boy he had wrestled with on the floor of their living room, the son he hoped would care for him in his old age, was about to precede him through death’s door.

Perhaps friends came by and told him about a miracle they had seen at a relative’s wedding at Cana some weeks before. News about Jesus often spread fast to those who had needs (Mark 2:1–3; 6:55–56; 10:47). This man Jesus could do some amazing things. Maybe He could help the boy.

At first, he likely dismissed it as wishful thinking, but then he came to see it as his last ray of hope. What could it hurt anyway? He could ask. All Jesus could do is say, “No,” or try and fail. Either way, it couldn’t hurt. The boy was dying anyway. Besides, just maybe . . . So “when he heard that Jesus was come . . . into Galilee, he went unto him” (John 4:47).

You’ll Get There . . .

If you haven’t yet been to the place where you didn’t know where to turn, you’ll get there. You will be in a hospital waiting room or a funeral home or a police station or at the scene of an accident or a doctor’s office or bank or courtroom, and know (perhaps for the first time) that you don’t have all the answers.

Man is born to trouble (Job 5:7; Genesis 3:17–19; Ecclesiastes 2:17, 23; John 14:1–2; cf. 1 Corinthians 10:13). “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). Like this nobleman, it may involve your son or daughter. While Jesus was on earth He was often approached by parents who were desperate for help with their children (Matthew 9:18; 15:22; 17:14–15; Luke 7:2). Some of the most heart-gripping requests in Scripture come from parents who had sick children (Luke 8:41–42; Mark 5:23, 35–36).

The natural question at such a time is, “Why? Why?” The word why is found 282 times in the Bible. Job asked, “Why died I not from the womb?” (Job 3:11–12; cf. 3:16, 20, 23). Gideon asked it (Judges 6:13). The psalmist asked it (Psalm 42:9; cf. 27:9; 71:11). Jeremiah asked, “Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever?” (Lamentations 5:20; cf. 1:12). Jesus asked it: “Why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). It is still asked by a thousand passionate voices.

• From the sick room—“Why this illness?”

• From the cemetery—“Why this death?”

• From blood-soaked battlefields—“Why this loss?”

• From the lips of the oppressed—“Why this suffering?”

• From the burdened—“Why this weight?”

But remember, why is an easy question to ask and a hard question to answer. God’s people live on promises, not on explanations. Nowhere in his book does Job deny the Lord, curse Him, or question His holiness or His power. In fact, God’s justice was Job’s real problem: how could such a holy God permit such awful calamity?

Riches, power, influence, station, and education do not exempt us from such trouble (Job 1:3; Deuteronomy 8:5–20; Proverbs 23:5). The father of the sick boy in Capernaum was a nobleman, yet his son still got sick. Think of Abraham, David, and Solomon, who all had both riches and troubles.

And God will already be there . . .

One day you may find yourself in a similar situation and you will think, “I’m in deep trouble. What am I going to do? Who can help me now?” There may be a parent to ask or a friend to call or an elder to counsel, but sometimes they are just as helpless as we are. Jeremiah said, “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23).

God is everywhere; therefore, He is near everyone (Psalm 139:7–12). But there is a special sense in which God is with His children (1 Peter 3:12; Psalm 23:3–4; Isaiah 43:2, 4). Was God not present in Daniel’s den of lions? (Daniel 6). Was God not present in Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego’s fiery furnace? (Daniel 3). Was God not present in Paul’s Philippian jail? (Acts 16).

It is at times like these that the Lord invites, “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me” (Psalm 50:15; cf. 78:34). God is there for His people in trouble.

The psalmist said, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). God is a Helper—a present Helper; a Helper that can be found; a willing Helper; and a Helper that is always near. We could not even invent a better Helper: He knows everything, has every power, is everywhere, and loves everybody!

Jesus turned to the Father in prayer in life’s hard spots. While on the cross our Lord addressed God three times—first, fourth, and final statements. His first, middle, and last thoughts were on His Father. It does not surprise us that the first word that Jesus uttered on His cross was a prayer, for prayer had been His habit from youth. We expect to hear Him pray under these frightening circum-stances. Even those who refuse to pray when the sea is smooth, generally pray when their sea is whipped by a storm.

Jesus is a Physician who never disappoints (Job 13:4; cf. Isaiah 1:5–6; Jeremiah 8:22; Matthew 9:11–12; Luke 8:43–48). When dismayed or distressed with the fear of wrath, the force of temptation, or the weight of affliction, we should apply to the Physician of our souls, who never rejects any, never prescribes amiss, and never leaves any case uncured. To Him we may speak at all times (Matthew Henry, Comment on Job 13).

We should not give up hope, even when life gets dark. If we feel God is not paying us any attention, we should read the passages that say He remembers us (Genesis 8:1; cf. Psalm 106:4; Luke 23:42). There are times when God seems to hide Himself, but we may rest assured that He is there (Job 23:3; Psalm 10:1; 13:1–3; 89:46; Isaiah 8:17; 45:15; 1 Timothy 6:16).

For Job, God seemed to stand at a distance and frown upon him. Job thought that he wanted to argue with God, but when he got the chance, he declined (Job 40:1–5; cf. Psalm 43:1). Where can we find the Almighty? (Job 23:3; Isaiah 55:6–7; 2 Corinthians 5:19–20; Hebrews 4:16). “Blessed be God, we may know where to find Him. He is in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself; and upon a mercy-seat, waiting to be gracious” (Matthew Henry, Comments on Job 23).

But before you go . . .

We need to develop faith in God before tragedy comes. Since trouble can come to any life at any time, now is the time to act. We must prepare for the storm while the weather is still calm (Job 3:26; Psalm 143:11; Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). Sometimes trouble comes when least expected (Job 30:26; 3:25–26; 29:18; Jeremiah 8:15; 14:19; 15:18; Micah 1:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:3).

If we refuse to listen to God’s Word in good times, He will refuse to hear us in bad times. One preacher began a popular sermon with the words, “You may find this strange, but I never want to hear God laugh. Why? Because it’s always a sad day when God laughs.” The text was:

Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity (Proverbs 1:24–26).

The Bible mentions God laughing four times. Each time the one who hears it wishes he had not. If I hear God laugh, I must have:

• Rejected His counsel (Proverbs 1:24–33).

• Sided with a wicked ruler (Psalm 2:2–4).

• Mistreated the needy (Psalm 37:12–15).

• Persecuted the righteous (Psalm 59:2–3, 7–8).

Go ahead, now, and get on speaking terms with God. He will be there for you later.

God was there for the nobleman’s dying son; He was there for Job.

If you get to know God now, He will be there for you when you don’t know where to turn.