In Matthew 14, we find Jesus getting into a boat to leave for “a desert place apart” where he could be alone. He had just received word that John the Baptist had been beheaded and buried. And now he was so moved by this news that he felt the need to be by himself and pray.
Any discussion on suffering and trials must begin with the most troubled, distressed, despairing believer of all time. The man I’m talking about was a righteous, faithful, God-loving servant, devoted to prayer and worship. Yet, when sorrow and trouble overwhelmed his life, this same man began to sound like an atheist.
At the very height of his suffering, this servant concluded the following: “If I had called, and he [God] had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice. For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.”
"The word of the Lord came unto Jonah...saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord" (Jonah 1:1-3). We know Jonah's story. He's the man who tried to run away from God. The Lord gave Jonah a mandate to preach judgment to the city-nation Nineveh. But instead of warning Nineveh, Jonah fled.
If you claim not to have any enemies, I'd like to make you an offer. I want to sign you up to write a book explaining how you managed to get this far in life without having a single person oppose you. Your book would surely be a bestseller.
You could describe how nobody has ever been jealous, envious or hostile toward you. You could explain how no one has ever tried to interrupt your plans, wreck your goals or derail your future. You could tell how no one has ever injured you, kept you from a desire, or orchestrated a destructive offense against you.
Who do you name as your closest friends? Believe it or not, this question is a matter of great concern to the Lord. And that's because your friendships speak loudly — both to God and to the world — about the condition of your heart.
"He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay. He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me" (Psalms 18:16-19).
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications:
"And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn" (Zechariah 12:9-10).
I am going to make a very shocking statement, and I mean every word of it: I really do not know God! That is I don't know Him in the way He wants me to know Him.
How do I know this? The Holy Spirit told me. He whispered to me, lovingly; "David, you really don't know God in the way He wants you to. You really don't allow Him to be God to you."
Let me introduce you to the most troubled, distressed, despairing believer of all time. He was a righteous, God-loving man — yet when sorrow and trouble overwhelmed him, he sounded like an atheist!
At the height of his suffering he said: "If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he hearkened unto my voice. For he breaketh me a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause" (Job 9:16-17).
"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:5-6).
