“Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of troubles” (Job 14:1)
The whole of human life is full of SERIES of an unending problems and battles. The problems besetting man are too numerous. Thus, man, from birth is faced with challenge of a constant battle to overcome life’s problems. From cradle, (birth) to adulthood, man is incessantly forced to contend with forces, spirits, human, beings circumstances, difficulties, and challenges that are bent on hindering his free-flow in life. Life is very fragile, and very temporary. Yet it is full of troubles, problems and battles.
Our opening text says “man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of troubles” (Job 14:1). But there is a consolation for the believer. In the Book of Psalms 46:1, we have a dependable and very reliable promise from a loving heavenly Father to His own children.
“Yahweh is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Will anything be more comforting than that? Truly, life is full of troubles: fear of the future, fear of death, financial crisis, marital problems, problematic children, sickness of all kinds, fear of failure, joblessness and failed ambitions, numerous bills to settle, accommodation problems, insecurity, uncompleted projects, and frustrations, family problems and extended family relations to cater for etc. The list is unending.
WHEN WILL THIS BATTLE BE OVER?
The question is when will this battle be over? How will one over-come life’s battles? When did it start and how will it end? The truth is, this battle started from the fall of Adam and will continue until man is reinstated. All the great men and women that lived in this world, none was immune to this battle – the battle to survive! Not even the rich like Solomon. Not even the most holy person like Elijah, “The rich also cry” is a truism of life.
One would ask, where is Elohim amidst all these problems, challenges and battles that man is going through: both the innocent children, the righteous ones and the faithful are not exempted. Even the Bible says; “All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked: to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean… “this is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all…” (Eccl. 9:2-3). Where is Elohim in all these things and why does He allow it so? Elohim is still on His throne in heaven, patiently waiting, restraining Himself until mankind has fulfilled 6,000 years of human experience in going his own way the way that leads to unhappiness, pain, suffering, tragedy and death. Man must learn certain lessons before Elohim will intervene and reverse the situation. Until then, the Spirit cries out; “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his Elohim, and he shall be my son” (Rev. 21:7). Man was created to need Elohim. He cannot live his full life, fulfill his mission or be happy, unless he keeps himself in a right relationship with his Creator. All humans have this great lesson to learn. It is the one supreme lesson of life. To learn it, and conform to it, is the purpose of life and human existence. Of course, to get a clear answer to that age-old question, “why does Elohim allow man to go through all vicissitudes of life, suffering and pain, and the battles of life”; we need only go back to His Word the Scriptures!
A BATTLE THAT MUST BE FOUGHT
The battle of life is a battle that must be fought no matter who you are. It is true that the whole of human life is an unending series of battles. Man is constantly faced with, and being bombarded with so many obstacles and hindrances bent on obstructing the free flow of life, these battles have come to be, and man is bound to face it.
It does not matter whether you are willing to enlist in this battle or not, all it takes to be engaged in the battle is to be born into this world. And, from birth you are sure to incessantly contend with enemies, forces and circumstances that would not want you to advance in this life or even to live.
No wonder Job lamented: “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). Many are prevented from fulfilling their destiny because of these troubles or battles of life. Many are prevented or at least delayed from inheriting their Elohim ordained possession/position because of these hindrances. In our ignorance, we attribute our plight to lack of love from Yahweh our Creator. We think the Creator hated us or does not love us, that’s why we are going through the hardship, obstacles and difficult conditions we find ourselves. But we do not know that our Creator is continually willing to help us fulfill the yearning of our heart.
Consider what Yahweh said in Jeremiah chapter 29, verse 11: “for 1 know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith Yahweh, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end”.
THANKING HIM IN ALL THINGS
The Bible made us to know that Yahweh is good and all creatures testify to that. He equally assured us in His Word that His thoughts and plans for us are only good and not evil. Therefore, certain responses are required of us as His children especially as we go through these battles of life.
One of our responses to Yahweh regarding His goodness is to seek to understand His will in all our experiences in the battles of life. Our failure to understand Yahweh, His WAYS and His WILL can cause us to unnecessarily pass judgment on Him in times of adversity. When it is well with us, we are happy and thankful to Him. But when the experiences are unpleasant, we murmur complain and condemn Him.
The cheering news is that Yahweh has promised to stand by us and to fight for us, to help us, and to deliver us (Isa. 41:10 13. Heb. 13:5-6).
It is obvious that we cannot fight this battle alone and win. We need help from above, the Ocean Divider, the Ancient of days, he Author and finisher of our faith, to be by our side as we fight this battle. When we give Him first place in our life and plans, He takes control of our life and steers it safely to the place of fulfillment of His purpose for our life.
Thus, we are able to win the battle of life and land victoriously at our eternal home – His kingdom. And there, we shall hear him say to us, “welcome thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Master”.
At such times in our life, we tend to question Yahweh our Creator. We question, “is Yahweh still alive, is He still on the throne and in charge? Is He truly good and fair?”
We ask, if Yahweh is alive and good why does He allow us to go through this experience? This type of questions are usually asked because we do not understand the WAYS and the WILL of Yahweh Almighty.
This is why it is necessary for us to desire to seek to understand His WILL, in all circumstances of life, so that we can relate to Him as He is and appreciate what He does. The attitude of the Psalmist should be the attitude of everyone of us in our response to Yahweh regarding His goodness (Psalms 25:4, 9). We need to ask Yahweh to teach us His ways because in knowing them, we can understand Him better and appreciate Him in all our circumstances.
Instead of us to be worried, frustrated and disappointed with Yahweh because of what we are going through, we need to ask Him to teach us His WAYS and His WILL concerning our experiences, and whatever problem or difficulty we are going through in the battles of life.
Let us therefore be open to Yahweh and allow Him to reveal His WILL to us in the various circumstances and difficulties we go through. If we do, we shall get to understand, like the Psalmist, that “Yahweh is good and He does good”.
Giving thanks to Yahweh in all things as we were instructed in 1Thess. 5:18, means that we are to give thanks to Yahweh in whatever condition, circumstance or experience we are going through in life, whether pleasant or unpleasant.
In all circumstances and for everything we go through in the battles of life, the Word of Yahweh enjoins us to always give thanks to Yahweh because it is in agreement with the will of Yahweh concerning us. In other words, it is the will of Yahweh that we should give thanks to Him, no matter what we are passing through and no matter how painful and unpleasant the condition we find ourselves because we do not know what GOOD He wants to work out for us from that unpleasant and painful experience.
We should remember that He had already stated emphatically that, “All things work for good to those that love Yahweh, called according to His purpose”-Rom 8:28. Therefore, in the circumstances you go through or you find yourself, patiently wait for the good that He will work-out of it for you for your good indeed! Since He has said it, no matter how bad the condition is watch out for the good that will come out of it for you. His Word can never fail. He said it and He does it. Testimonies abound to that. Yours may be the next if you patiently endure to the end, to see what hides behind that so painful and unpleasant experience you are passing though.
GIVING THANKS IS SUBMISSION
Giving thanks to Yahweh in all circumstances can also be understood as a submission to his will. The “Thanks” is therefore a confession of the supremacy of Yahweh over our lives and all circumstances and also a confession of the fact that He is still in charge and in control. As one who is in charge and in control, He has not abandoned us in our circumstance rather, He is always at work even in all our circumstances to CAUSE His goodness to be multiplied unto us so as to put a smile on our face at the later end.
Therefore, when it is well with us, we should confess and acknowledge that Yahweh is in charge and in control. And when it is not well with us, we should also confess and acknowledge that Yahweh is in charge and in control.
This is because Yahweh is always with His children in all their experiences in life. He never leaves nor forsakes them. This is why we should still give thanks to Him in the darkest moments of our life. Another way of understanding the “Giving of thanks to Yahweh in all circumstances” is to see it as a total submission of one’s life and circumstances to Yahweh for Him to have His way in our life. Submission here is a confession of man’s helplessness and inability to understand and handle his problems as well as an acknowledgment of Yahweh’s ability to intervene in our circumstances and work out His purpose for our life.
BREAKING THROUGH IN THE BATTLES OF LIFE
Battles, barriers and problems are common things in life. Whether one is a believer or not, there is bound to be one form of problem or the other to battle with. The good news, however is that “though many are the afflictions of the righteous, Yahweh delivers him out of them all”. A sinner, however, has plenty problems, difficulties and barriers. They hardly go away no matter how hard he tries or attempts to brave it.
Adverse circumstances sometimes usually manifest through collapse of business, devastation, affliction or calamity caused by enemies, oppression of people by their rulers, etc.
But, “they that trust in Yahweh shall be like mount Zion which shall never be moved”, “Yahweh is our strength, a very present help in times of trouble”. “In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Ps 126:1, Ps 46:1, Rom8:37)
Hold on to the promises of Yahweh. An end is coming to your problems and battles! (MZ).
C.C.Emeka
