Well, Praise The LORD! That Makes Life Interesting!

When life serves up a catastrophe, I would like to get to that point of faith in God that I can say something like, "Well, praise the LORD! That makes life interesting!" So my company got sold and I may lose, probably will lose, my job. What an interesting life you do give me, Lord!

Yeah, that sounds just, um, not at all like what my reaction was when my job was the one terminated. That time was a tough blow for me, emotionally and financially, and I didn't always have that faithful response and loving words in my heart we might expect from the follower of Jesus. I had to work hard on the seventy times seven forgiveness our Lord commanded. In fact, I'm still working on that 490 times as the recent events back at the ol' barn do tend to give rise to the bitterness now and again.

So, the Lord Jesus has left me in a position of experience and acquired wisdom (From Him, thank you, Lord!) with which to comfort others who face the same circumstance. An article coming out today speaks of executive compensation and it mentions millions of dollars, much like what happened with a certain set of retention bonuses in my day. (And at least one of the persons involved is the same fellow as back then.) More experience, hard won and provided graciously by our Lord and Savior for me to use in helping others.

Answers I have, or do not have as the case may be. When David asked why the wicked prospered in their way, he did not get that definitive answer we seek. I don't know either, nor do I know that any of the big money receivers are even wicked by the Lord's definition. I don't know why some of us lose our long-held positions or why others prosper at the same time. The first does not necessarily mean that one is righteous, just as the second may not make the latter wicked. Like David though, we who believe can cry out to the Lord our frustrated sense of injustice and receive no answer as to why. Our Lord keeps His own counsel, and sometimes He holds it close. What we can receive is comfort from His wonderful Spirit, His marvelous Word, and from His most excellent children saved by Jesus. That last one is me, and you, and every one who believes in Jesus, most especially those of us who have suffered similar circumstances not so very long ago. We get to help out the Comforter! What a great and humbling privilege!

May God be forever praised!
Bucky