One of the things we all can agree about is that life is full of trouble. Job in the Old Testament said it this way, “Man born of woman is short of days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). If anyone had a good picture of trouble, it was Job.
Think of all Job went through. He lost all his possessions, he lost his children, and then he lost his health. No wonder he complained to God.
The Book of Job shows things you can do when trouble comes to your life.
First, find someone you can trust and pour out your soul to that person or persons.
We all need friends. We need people who will care for us when the times are worst. We don’t have to have someone who can fix our sorrow; we simply need people who care.
This is why I always push people toward a small group of people who know God and are willing to help other people go through life. In our church we call these “Bible Fellowship Groups.” These are small groups that center around God and his Word. They are people who know, pray for, and love one another.
You simply must have people around you. You cannot handle the troubles of life alone.
Second, ask people to pray for you as you go through your difficulty. These may be the same people to whom you pour out your soul, or it may be a larger group like a church who will call your name in prayer before the Father.
I often tell people, “We are sustained by the prayers of God’s people.”
Third, let God redeem your trouble. The word redeem means to buy back. To let God redeem your trouble means that He takes it and brings good out of the hurt and difficulty of your life.
For Job, it meant truly meeting God. Job said, “I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5-6). This experience led Job to repentance and a closer relationship with God.
If we will allow Him to do so, God will take even our trouble and use it to mold our character and to grow us in relationship with Him.
Fourth, use what you’ve learned about trouble and pain to help someone else. Paul reminded us, that God “comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction” (2 Corinthians 1:4).
Doing these things will help you, and it will also be a blessing to others.
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