The Bible tells us that a believer is like gold or silver that must be tried in a furnace to remove all the impurities in the metal. What is that process of refining silver? Psalm 66:10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have … More The Refiner’s Fire
John Piper preached a sermon, “He Saw the Grace of God and Was Glad,” from Acts 11:23. Here is an excerpt; please read or listen to the entire sermon at DesiringGod.org The Grace of God Uses Suffering In other words, the good news about Jesus Christ came to Antioch because of persecution. Barnabas saw this … More John Piper: The Grace of God Uses Suffering
C. H. Spurgeon comments on Psalm 11:5 “The Lord tests the righteous” from The Treasury of David: “The Lord trieth the righteous:” he doth not hate them, but only tries them. They are precious to him, and therefore he refines them with afflictions. None of the Lord’s children may hope to escape from trial, nor, indeed, in … More Spurgeon: Are you seeking to avoid a blessing?
John Piper, in a sermon on Job 38-42 What we have seen so far, then, is that Job’s suffering has a twofold explanation: its purpose at the outset was to demonstrate God’s value and glory, and its ongoing purpose was to refine Job’s righteousness. His suffering is not punishment. It is not a sign of … More A Gathering Storm and God’s Rebuke of Job
John Piper explains Elihu’s view of suffering in Job 36:6–15 The helpful thing in these verses is that Elihu makes clear that there is such a thing as a righteous person who still has sin that needs to be revealed and rooted out. To call a person righteous does not mean that the person is … More The “Righteous Sinner” Gets “Refined”
The consequences of Israel’s disobedience in Joel’s day were hitting hard- for both man and animal. A combination of locusts and drought had destroyed the crops. Everyone was suffering. Additonally, the shortage of food had affected the cycle of temple sacrifices and festivals (Joel 1:16). The hungry cattle lowed pitifully, and the starving sheep bleated … More Panting After God
As we’ve been reading the book of Job in November and December, I have a heightened awareness of suffering and how we need to be prepared spiritually WHEN, not IF, we are blindsided by circumstances in our lives that threaten our faith. Pastor Matt Chandler, lead pastor of The Village Church in the Dallas area, … More “My Heart is full…I am Thankful”
Dr. Kim Riddlebarger helps us understand Job 25-26: In Job 25, we have the very short and final speech from Bildad, along with Job’s response. After three increasingly heated exchanges, Job and his friends have clearly run out of steam. But like trains passing on parallel tracks, Job and Eliphaz have been speaking past each … More The mysteries of God’s providence and wisdom
Dr. Kim Riddlebarger comments on Job 24: Job does not understand. How can God allow the strong to exploit the weak? When will judgment befall them? Why? When? How? None of this fits with Job’s hope in a coming redeemer. It is not until we come to Job 24:22-25 that Job’s “thinking out loud,” comes … More Haunting Questions
Dr. Kim Riddlebarger continues his commentary on Job: Job returns to the theme of his sins. In 14:1, Job reminds us, “man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure. Do you fix your eye … More The suffering Job is pointing us to such a mediator and vindicator, Jesus Christ.
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