When I wrote my Job post a year and a half ago I had no idea that so many Christians would get upset by me telling them that God does not take away his good gifts. (To be honest, I wasn’t the first to say that. I stole that revelation from Romans 11:29: “God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” So if it makes you angry, take it up with the other Paul.) If you missed that post, here’s the short version; God does not give and take away. The only thing He’ll take off you is your sin, shame, and sickness.

I also had no idea that Tom Tompkins was writing a little gem entitled Understanding the Book of Job. In his book, Tompkins places the blame for Job’s woes squarely at the feet of the Devil:

Much of what Job’s friends told him exactly what we hear to today… While Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar did not condemn God, they did accuse and condemn Job. They were wrong to do so as it was not God or Job’s fault that the terrible events had taken place. Let’s not forget that none of these men had a revelation of the Devil. If the name “Satan” had been mentioned to any of them, they probably would have responded with “Who?” (pp.86,95)

“How convenient to blame the Devil,” you may say. “Surely God could have stopped Satan. Surely God set Job up by boasting about him.” Actually neither is true. Read the Job account in a literal translation such as Young’s and you will see that Satan came gunning for him:

And Jehovah saith unto the Adversary, “Hast thou set thy heart against My servant Job because there is none like him in the land, a man perfect and upright, fearing God, and turning aside from evil?” (Job 1:8, YLT)

Satan had set his heart against Job. “So why didn’t God stop the Devil?” Good question. We might also ask, “Why doesn’t God stop earthquakes or famines or wars?” The answer is, not everything that happens is God’s responsibility. He left the planet in Adam’s control and Adam handed it to the Devil. Satan went for Job because he could. When God said, “All that he has is in thy power” (Job 1:12), He wasn’t handing Job over to Satan – God doesn’t do deals with the Devil! – He was simply stating a fact. The whole unredeemed “world is under the control of the evil one” (1 Joh 5:19).

You have it better than Job

Job wasn’t saved. He wasn’t filled with the Holy Spirit. He had some understanding of God but he was also a fearful and superstitious man filled with self pity and not a little self-righteousness (see Job 32:1).

Don’t ever compare yourself to Job! Jesus didn’t die on the cross to give you Job’s life but His life. It is Christ who lives in you, not Job. As Tompkins explains in his book, God does not inflict death and sickness on us to teach us stuff. God is more than capable of disciplining (i.e., training) us through His Word (2 Tim 3:16).

One of Job’s friends, Eliphaz, reasoned that Job was being afflicted on account of his sins. This same line is often heard today. When things go wrong we pray, “Lord search me and see if there be any wicked way in me.” When there are problems within the church, we hunt for “sin in the camp.” Do you realize how absurd this is? If God really judged us according to our sins, who could stand? If God was in the business of punishing sin in the camp, there wouldn’t be any camp!

Only a man ignorant of Jesus and His work on the cross would say that God punishes us for our sin. Eliphaz was such a man. God said of him, “You have not spoken concerning Me rightly” (Job 42:8). Anyone who says your hardships are God’s punishments is, like Eliphaz, not speaking of God rightly.

Later, Eliphaz suggested that Job would receive the blessings of God if he was worthy of them. Indeed, Job began to think exactly this way. “Look at all I’ve done.” This is equally absurd. God is not beholden to any of us. God blesses us in accordance with the riches of His grace, not the merits of our performance.

Why is Job’s story in the Bible? It is not there so we can look to him as a role model (we have Jesus!) but so that we might learn from his example. Those who don’t learn by example tend to learn by experience and experience is a harsh teacher. For those of you who would rather not learn the hard way, here’s the lesson: It is always Satan’s intention to harm us; it is always God’s intention to bless us. When you confuse the latter with the former, your reality will be defined by a lie making it virtually impossible to receive all that God has for you.

If you relate to God on the basis of obligation and performance, then you will falsely interpret life’s hardships and spiritual attacks as works of God. Instead of submitting in faith to the unconditional love of the Father and resisting the devil, your unbelief will lead you to submit to the devil and resist the One who loves you. It’s a recipe for disaster that is played out a thousand times every day by those who relate to God as Job did – with superstition and fear.

God does not desire your sacrifices

For as long as Job lived in fearful religion, trusting in the sacrifices of his own hands, he was setting himself up for disaster. “Those who cling to idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.” But when he finally shut up and repented of his stupid theology, he opened the door to the blessings of God. The lesson we take from Job is worth repeating: the Devil is bad but our Father is good and He loves us and desires to bless us. This book will help you see that.
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Related posts:
- Does God give and take away?
- The Christchurch Earthquake: 4 questions Christians can answer
- see all E2R’s book reviews here

At the airport we heard the announcement that all flights to Christchurch had been cancelled. On our way home we heard that there were likely to be many fatalities and injuries. We prayed for God’s peace to be on the city and for wisdom for the search and rescue teams. Already there have been a few stories of miraculous escapes and rescues. But as I write this, some six hours later, the number of dead is 65 and climbing.

This Sunday New Zealanders will go to church looking for answers. The pressure on pastors to deliver a message of hope in the face of disaster will be enormous. For some questions there will be no answers this side of eternity. We serve a God of mystery and we live in a time of uncertainty. But here are four questions that every Christian should be able to answer at a time of crisis such as this:

1.    Is God judging Christchurch?

No, no, and a thousand times no! After last year’s earthquake several Christians told me that God was judging Christchurch for its sins. The logic usually runs like this: There was a move of God in Christchurch in the late 1960s and 1970s that led to much fruit (including me!). But since then the church has withered and darkness has flourished. Connect the dots and it’s easy to see that God has had enough, that these earthquakes are His divine judgments for the sins of the city and the apathy of the church.

Only they’re not. How do I know? How can I be so sure of God’s purposes for Christchurch? Because I’ve seen Jesus! And because Isaiah 54:9 tells us that God is not angry with Christchurch or any other city. The three chapters of Isaiah 53-55 are a prophetic picture of the new covenant forged in the blood of Christ. At the heart of that new covenant is an oath made by God Himself, a promise never again to be angry with us. If there’s one thing we can stand on in this brittle world, it is the steadfast assurances of our Father. Read it, then take look at the next verse:

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed.” (Is 54:10)

Just look at the language God is using here. It’s as if He was anticipating that in times of shaking we would naturally think He had abandoned us. But He is saying, I have not!

It’s true, Christchurch did have a sin problem. But God dealt with it 2000 years ago at the cross. The cross – not earthquakes – is God’s remedy for sin. The sins of Christchurch were forgiven, done away with, and abolished long before the first settlers walked the Bridle Path over the foothills (Heb 9:26, AMP). If God were judging Christchurch for its sins, then heaven help us all, for it means the cross was not the one-time solution that the Bible says it was (Heb 10:12).

2.    Is this earthquake an “act of God”?

You might think so if you work for the Earthquake Commission. In the insurance industry, the phrase “act of God” is used in a legal sense to describe events that are outside of human control. In other words, you can’t sue anyone for an earthquake. But despite the phrase, it doesn’t follow that you can sue God. He’s no more responsible than you or I. If you were to take Him to court claiming He was at fault, your case would be thrown out for lack of evidence.

You might say, “But God made the planet and the tectonic plates. Surely He is the first cause of all things and therefore personally responsible for the death and destruction in Christchurch?” I disagree. God is on the throne and nothing will ever change that. But He is not in control of everything that happens here on Planet Earth.

Think about it. God is not willing that any should perish, yet people perish. The fact that Jesus raised people from the dead tells us that some people die prematurely. In the Old Testament when bad things happened, people like Job blamed God as a matter of course. But this was not the message Jesus preached (see Jn 10:10). Sickness is not from God. Death and destruction are not from God. We live in a world where God Himself occasionally has to rebuke storms (Lk 8:24). Sadly, stuff happens and people die. It’s a tragedy that is not helped by playing the blame game.

We live after the cross, so we have no excuse for being confused about these things. God is good and everything He does is good. He never gives us bad gifts and He is not the author of evil (Deut 32:4). If the earthquake were an act of God, then you’d be sinning by helping the hurting and the homeless. But it wasn’t and you’re not.

Does God use earthquakes? You bet. He used an earthquake to free Paul and Silas from prison (Acts 16:26). But don’t confuse bad stuff that happens with redemptive outcomes. And don’t buy into the “God is sovereign” mantra either. This is nothing more than old fashioned fatalism that leads to passivity. The last thing Christchurch needs right now is for Christians to be cloistered away wringing their hands wondering whodunnit?

3.    Doesn’t the Bible say there would be more earthquakes in the last days?

In Matthew 24 Jesus prophesied that “earthquakes in various places” would be associated with “the beginning of birth pains.” Earthquakes often followed major events in the Bible. When Jesus died there was an earthquake (Mt 27:54) and when He rose there was another one (Mt 28:2). About half a dozen earthquakes feature in the book of Revelations. You don’t have to be a theologian to see a connection between significant spiritual events and natural phenomena. But whatever your particular brand of eschatology, these scriptures should not be used, as they often are, to scare people into making decisions for Christ. Why not? Because fear is a poor basis for any relationship.

God is reaching out to Christchurch (and your city) with love. God is not a fear-monger. God is love. If we use fear to motivate people to turn to God, we are misrepresenting His true nature. There is a temptation to manipulate hurting people into making an emotion-charged decision for Christ. Don’t do it. Romans 2:4 tells us that the most effective means for leading people to repentance is a revelation of His goodness. How do we reveal that? By preaching the good news, healing the sick and comforting the broken-hearted. Dark times provide us with an opportunity for letting Christ shine through us.

4.    What message does God have for Christchurch at this time?

There’s nothing like an earthquake to get people’s attention. Do you know that God has entrusted us with a special message for the people of Christchurch? It’s called His message of reconciliation. This is how He might say it at a time like this:

“Christchurch, I love you, I love you, I love you!

“I love you so much that I sent my Son to die on the cross to do away with sin. Through Him I have reconciled you to myself. I am not counting your sins against you and I am not judging you. You are weary but I am your rest. Take comfort in the arms of my everlasting love for you. I am your Rock, your Fortress and Deliverer. I am your eternally secure Stronghold.

“Cities will come and cities will go, but my love for you is everlasting. The mountains and the hills will be shaken and removed, but my unfailing love for you will never be shaken. Be comforted and rejoice! The covenant of my peace that I have made with my Son on your behalf will never be removed.”

Redeem the time. If you meet someone from Christchurch, don’t condemn them with a false “gospel” of judgment. Love on them. Reveal the Father to them. Cantabrians have had five straight months of bad news. They need to hear some good news and you have some. Tell them about God’s unshakable covenant of peace. Let them know that some of their questions have wonderful answers.
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Related posts:

“You see then that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (Jas 2:24)

In Part 1 of this study we saw how a preacher of works could misuse this verse to drive people back under law. In Part 2 we learned that James and Paul (in Romans 4) were probably both writing in response to something that Jesus had said about the “works of Abraham.” What were these works? Abraham believed and was fully persuaded that God would deliver on His promises, even when reality said otherwise.

A few points to clarify before we press on:

• James quotes Genesis 15:6 when he says that “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him with righteousness” (2:23). What works are listed in connection with Genesis 15:6? Only one: Abraham believed God.
• James, like Paul in Romans 4:3, says that Abraham was counted righteous when he believed and before he was circumcised and before he had tried to sacrifice Isaac.

Now we are ready to study the four most “difficult” verses in James 2:

21. “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22. “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
23. “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.
24. “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”

The key verse in this sequence is verse 23. Remove this verse and you have a text to support a grace-killing theology of works. (And if you preach works, you’d better put human sacrifice on your to-do list – see verse 21.) But verse 23 cannot be removed! Verse 23 says that Abraham was counted righteous when he believed and before he offered Isaac on the altar. Verse 23 is where James says, “I’m with Paul on this matter of righteousness.”

So why does James confuse us by mentioning the thing Abraham did later at the altar? Why not just say, “Abraham was credited righteous when he believed?” The reason has to do with his audience. Which was who?

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.” (Jas 1:1)

James was writing to Jews. Why is this significant? Because being Jews, they already knew that Abraham was credited righteous when he believed – they were Jewish! They knew the Torah inside and out. So why did they need to be reminded? It’s my conviction that James was writing to address an epidemic of unbelief.

The dynamic duo: Paul and James?!

The traditional view is that Paul wrote about faith and James wrote about works. It’s up to us to balance their teachings and to find a middle ground. Only you can’t put faith in both grace and works. What man calls balance, God calls mixture. There is no middle ground – you’re either resting in faith or you’re engaged in dead works. Anything not done in faith is sin (Rms 14:23). No, the issue is not faith versus works, but faith versus unbelief.

In the beginning of his letter James talks about the testing and proving of your faith. He’s asking, how’s your faith? or are you expressing your God-given faith? God gives us faith for a reason – that we might reveal Him and His will on our planet. When believers step out in faith, heaven comes down. When they don’t, nothing changes. Faith that takes no risks is dead.

What are we supposed to do with our faith? Well, for starters, James says we can ask for things:

1:6 “Let him ask in faith…”

4:2 “You do not have because you do not ask.”

The number one reason why prayers aren’t answered is because prayers aren’t asked. God loves us and wants to reveal Himself to us, but He waits to be asked. When should we ask?

5:13 “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.”

You would think that is obvious, but it’s not. Many suffer in silence. Many just sit there and take it thinking that it is God’s will for them to suffer. James is saying, have a little faith in God! Here’s my paraphrase of James 2:14:

“What does it profit, my brothers, if someone says he is fully persuaded regarding God’s promises but then does nothing about them, never steps out, never takes a risk? Can such ‘faith’ make any difference in his life? Can it sozo (save, heal or deliver) him?”

James makes it clear in this verse that he is talking about more than who’s saved and who’s not. Throughout his letter he lists things we can ask God for, including healing, deliverance, wisdom, indeed, every good and perfect gift which comes from the Father. Why ask?  So that we might be His firstfruits, His trophies of grace, His living testimonies of transforming power (Jas 1:18).

Whose glasses are you wearing?

A performance-oriented believer will come away from James with a list of things to do for God. But one who is standing firm on grace will come away inspired to pursue God and to prove His will through prayer:

5:16-17 “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain…” (NIV)

I live in one of the rainiest cities on earth. It seems every Sunday during winter it’s pouring with rain when it’s time to go to church. Yet we never get wet. Why not? Because my 5 year old daughter knows how to rise up in her God-given authority and rebuke the rain. She doesn’t ask God to take the rain away; she just commands the rain to stop and it does. She is fully persuaded that Christ in her has authority over the rain and that it’s not His will for us to get soaked right before church.

Two preachers, one message

I’ve said that Paul and James were on the same page regarding grace. How do I know? Because James says things like “we’re righteous” and “Elijah was a man just like us.” To the Jews, this would’ve been scandalous! How could James compare us to Elijah? Maybe if we dedicated our lives to serving God, maybe one day, if we were really good, we could become like Elijah. But no, James says the great prophet Elijah is like us. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. If you thought the prayers of Elijah were powerful, how powerful do you think our prayers will be seeing we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness? Be encouraged – your prayers avail much!

So why aren’t we seeing more miracles? Because we’re not praying for things! We’re not asking! Our faith is locked up inside, reduced to a mere set of beliefs about what God can do, not what He wants to do right now. We dither over questions like “does God allow sickness?” or “is it God’s timing to heal this person?” It’s funny, but Jesus never seemed to be uncertain about these things.

By the way, is James saying that the more we pray, the more likely our prayers will be heard? Does God reward our praying effort? He does not. Jesus told us not to pray like those who think they will be heard “because of their many words” (Mt 6:7). No, James is saying we should pray as a people who are fully persuaded regarding God’s will. When you are fully persuaded your prayers will be bold and effective.

Unbelieving believers

I know you will find this hard to believe, but I have heard of Christians who claim to have faith, but they don’t heal the sick. “Now listen,” as James would say, if you are fully persuaded that God heals the sick, then act on that persuasion and start healing the sick!

5:14: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray…”

What so special about the elders? Well hopefully they will be fully persuaded that God wants to heal you! Elders lead by example. I led a church in Hong Kong for 10 years. When sick people walked in I would offer to pray for them like this: “I’m not praying because I’m supposed to pray. I’m praying because I fully expect you’re going to get healed right now.” The person I was praying for might not have been fully persuaded that God heals, but I was, and people got healed – not all of them, but certainly more than would’ve been healed if no one had prayed. That reminds me of something Bill Johnson often says:

“I learned a long time ago that more people are healed when you pray for more people!”

Some people are not entirely sure that God still heals the sick. They’re in two minds about this healing business. They are not fully persuaded. When they pray people don’t get healed and their doubt becomes self-fulfilling. James writes about this:

“Let him ask in faith, with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (Jas 1:6-8)

What limits our faith? Unbelief, or to use James’ words, doubt and uncertainty. To the degree that you are uncertain about God’s will, to that degree you are handicapped by unbelief. The devil wants you uncertain, but God wants you to be sure about His good will (Rms 12:2). If you’re not sure, then James says, “Pray, ask God for wisdom – and ask confidently! – receive what God gives you, then act on it.”

Finally, James 2:24…

The essence of James 2:24 is this: a believer isn’t one who merely believes God in his heart, he reveals God through his actions. The difference between you and your unsaved neighbor is not just a set of beliefs, it is the life of Christ in you and revealed through you. You not only think differently, you act differently and what you do flows from what you believe. If you don’t believe God heals the sick, you won’t pray for the sick and they won’t get healed. You are no different from your unbelieving neighbor in this regard. But if you do believe that Jesus provided for our healing 2000 years ago (1 Pet 2:24), then you will pray for the sick and you will heal them.

To the church James is saying, don’t just believe God, reveal Him! Speak to your mountain, heal the sick, drive out demons, raise the dead! If you are fully persuaded, that God can heal the sick, but you don’t pray for the sick – something is wrong. Your faith is not being expressed. It’s lifeless, powerless and incomplete. It’s like a fig tree that never bears fruit. If you are fully persuaded that God will do what He promised, then act on it and receive your miracle. Why wait? Abraham didn’t linger. He got up early the next morning and marched off fully persuaded that God would raise the dead.

We haven’t been called to do works for God, but to do the works of God. The work of God is to believe in Jesus (Jn 6:29). He who believes Jesus saves will be saved and will save others. He who believes Jesus heals will be healed and will heal others. If you are fully persuaded that Jesus is our wisdom from God – that He is our righteousness, our holiness, our redemption, and our victory – it will be evident in how you live.

Faith resides in the heart, but the fruit of faith can be seen. Abraham was credited righteous when he believed in Genesis 15, but his faith was seen when he offered Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22. His faith was made complete or consummated by what he did. Again, this is not a challenge to get busy for Jesus, but to abide in Him. You can bear no fruit by yourself. Only God can do the work of God. Our role is to rest in Him, trust Him, and reveal Him. When we do that His kingdom comes, the blind see, the lame leap, and the dead rise. Sometimes it even stops raining.

So far in this study we have been looking at the faith of righteous Abraham. In Part 4 we will look at the faith of unrighteous Rahab.

Related posts:
- Jesus’ Medicine: Tastes like Ribena
- How do we pervert the gospel of Christ?
- When Heaven Invades Earth, by Bill Johnson

“Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Ex 4:11, NIV)

This time we can’t use the excuse, “the speaker didn’t know Jesus,” or “this is what God looks like from a distance,” because it is God himself who is doing the talking.

Neither is this an obscure scripture recorded by some prophet whose name no one can remember. These words were spoken to Moses by the Lord out of the burning bush. It’s one of the most famous dialogues in the whole Bible!

But does God really make people deaf, mute and blind? And if he doesn’t, how are we to account for this Scripture which seems to say that he does? Surely God is good and his word is true. Thankfully we don’t have to choose. God is very good and the Bible is accurate.

Here I will outline four reasons proving that God doesn’t make people deaf, mute and blind. Working from this foundation, I will then give you an interpretation for this “problem” scripture that is consistent with God’s character. As we will see, instead of setting limits to God’s goodness, this Scripture massively affirms that God is good and that he loves us.

God does not give people physical handicaps

1. Whenever we have any confusion about what God might or might not do, we should look to Jesus. Jesus is the “perfect imprint and very image of God’s nature” (Heb 1:3, AMP). Can you imagine Jesus going around and making people deaf, mute or blind? No. In fact, Jesus did the exact opposite:

“Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.” (Mt 15:30)

“People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘He has done everything well,’ they said. ‘He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’” (Mk 7:37)

Jesus did not make healthy people sick; he made sick people well. And Jesus is just like his Father (Jn 14:9).

2. If God is not making people deaf, mute or blind, who is? Physical ailments are a part of the death-dealing curse we inherited from Adam. God made man glorious, good and immortal, but man rebelled and chose the way of death. Sickness in any form is part of the corruption that we chose, not the life God gave us (Gen 3:19).

Physical handicaps can also be demonic in origin:

“When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. ‘You deaf and mute spirit,’ he said, ‘I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.’ (Mk 9:25)

Physical illness and handicaps also arise from guilt and self-condemnation.

“My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly… My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body… I am like a deaf man, who cannot hear, like a mute, who cannot open his mouth.” (Ps 38:4-13)

Some people are born disabled. Others become disabled as a result of accidents, injuries and sickness. Wicked people were blinded by Elisha (2 Kgs 6:18), Paul (Acts 13:10) and angels (Gen 19:11). But these were relatively rare instances of godly men and angels prevailing over evil (see Is 54:17). An angel rendered Zechariah mute for a time (Lk 1:20) and Saul was temporarily blinded by a light from heaven (Acts 9:9). But no one has ever been crippled by God.

3. In the passage above, God is speaking to Moses. If God was in the business of afflicting healthy people with physical disabilities and imperfections, surely Moses would not have later said this about God’s character:

“He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” (Deu 32:4)

Even without knowing Jesus, even living under the Old Covenant, Moses knew that God is the author of perfection, not imperfection. God is good and everything he does is good. He is light and in him there is no darkness at all (1 Jn 1:5).

4. Here’s a simple question: Is there deafness, muteness, or blindness in heaven? Of course not. If God does not permit these things in heaven, why would we think they are his will here on earth? Isaiah prophesied that one sign of the kingdom of heaven coming to earth would be the end of physical handicaps:

“In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.” (Isa 29:18)

God is not an under-cover agent. He doesn’t operate one way in one place and another way in the other. He is the unchanging Rock. His will on heaven is the same as his will for earth. Moses knew it, the prophets declared it, and Jesus showed it.

What did God really say in the burning bush?

The Scripture I quoted at the top of this post comes from the New International Version of the Bible. Let’s take a look at the same scripture as translated in the New King James Version:

“So the LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD?’” (Ex 4:11, NKJV)

Did you spot the difference? One version says “the Lord makes him deaf or mute,” while the other version says “the Lord makes the deaf and the mute.” Big difference! God does not make people deaf or mute, but he does make all people – including those who, for whatever reason, happen to be deaf or mute.

If you have grown up with a physical handicap or deformity, you may think that you are a mistake. Perhaps society has told you that you are an imperfection or a drain on its resources. But you are not! God’s message to you today is, “I made you! You are mine and I am with you!” God is not surprised by your weaknesses. He knows you inside and out. He knit you together inside your mother’s womb. God made you and everything God makes is good.

God’s abilities are greater than your disabilities

Moses considered himself a handicapped person. He complained to God, “I am slow of speech and tongue” (Ex 4:10). Evidently he had some kind of speech impediment. Perhaps he stuttered. Whatever it was, his impediment caused this prince of Egypt do draw back from speaking in public. Look at God’s response to Moses’ complaint:

“I made mouths and I made yours! Go, I will help you speak.” (Ex 4:11-12, my paraphrase)

There is a double revelation for us here. God is both our Maker and our Helper. You are not a cosmic accident and you are not helpless. You are God’s handiwork and he is with you!

Moses was slow to get it, but eventually he learned to rely on God’s goodness in his hour of need. After years of trusting in God’s help, Moses declared to the whole assembly of Israel:

“He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he… Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?” (Deu 32:4,6)

God doesn’t make people deaf and mute, but he did make you. In whatever state you find yourself in, know that he is your Father and Creator with abundant grace to help you and heal you.

Related posts:
- Does God give and take away?
- Building ramps for the mentally ill
- God is good, but how good is he?

In the first part of this study on God’s gifts, we looked at a sincere lady in the Bible who mistakenly believed that God gives us bad gifts like death and poverty. Today I want to look at a man who had a slightly different problem. He believed that God gives us good gifts only to take them away again. You can probably guess that I’m talking about Job. Job had this one really bad week when his livestock were stolen, his servants were slain, and his kids were killed when a house fell on them. For some reason, Job thought God was behind his loss for he said:

“The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:21)

If there was ever a scripture that has led to some screwy notions about God’s character, it’s this one. Anyone who has suffered loss has probably heard this verse. It’s often quoted at funerals. We even sing songs about it. For some strange reason people seem to find comfort in believing that God is responsible for their loss.

Now don’t get me wrong – I love Job’s attitude. He’s saying that whatever happens in life, he’s going to praise the name of the Lord. He’s no fair-weather believer. But Job still said some dumb things about God. Later on in the story Job would come to regret his choice of words saying “I spoke of things I did not understand” (Job 42:3).

But the question stands: Does God really give and then take away?

Any picture we have of God needs to be informed by Jesus Christ. Jesus is the “radiance of God’s glory, the exact representation of his being” (Heb 1:3). To get a good understanding of God’s character, we need to look to Jesus, not Job. Can you imagine Jesus stealing or killing? Of course not. So how is it that some people think that God was responsible for Job’s loss?

Now you might say to me, “but Paul, it’s in the Bible, it’s right there in black and white – ‘the LORD gave and the LORD has taken away’.” Let me put it to you like this. If you want the very best insight into God’s character, are you better off looking at:

(a)    Jesus, who said “anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9), or
(b)    Job, who had only heard of God but did not actually know him  (see Job 42:5)?

It seems obvious to me that Jesus is the better choice. Form your views of God by looking at the things Jesus said and did.

As we saw in Part 1, Jesus came to reveal God the Great Giver. Have you been given something good? Then see God as your source. He gave it to you:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (Jas 1:17)

Who’s robbing you?

But what if you have suffered loss, like Job? He lost his health, his wealth, and his family. The temptation may be to blame God for your loss, as if God had a change of heart. But God is not fickle. He does not change like shifting shadows. He is an extraordinary giver who never takes back his gifts.

“God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty – never canceled, never rescinded.” (Rms 11:29, MSG)

So if God is doing the giving, who is doing the taking? Again, Jesus provides the answer:

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (Joh 10:10)

We ought not to be confused about these two different roles. One is a giver, the other is a taker. If you have been given something good, then give thanks to God. But if you’ve been robbed, don’t blame God. He’s not behind your loss.

Humans are spectacularly slow learners. From the beginning of human history the devil has been trying to steal or ruin everything God gave us and yet there are still some who think that God is the thief! God gave us authority over a planet and the devil took it. God gave us freedom and the devil somehow got us to choose the way of slavery. God gave us eternal life, health and glory, and we lost it all. But thank God for Jesus who took back what the devil stole!

Karma versus grace

If you think that God gives and takes away, then you’ve missed the point of Jesus. Jesus came to reveal a generous Father and to destroy the work of the Thief (1 Jn 3:8). Jesus came that we might have life to the full, not to the half.

If you think that God gives and takes away, then you have more faith in karma than grace. Karma says what goes around comes around. If you’re healthy now, you’ll likely be sick tomorrow. If you’re prospering now, poverty’s waiting just around the next corner. When disappointments and hardships come, you won’t be surprised. You’ll just throw in the towel and say, “I knew it was too good to last.”

The world works according to the principle of give and take, but God just gives. The only thing he’ll take off you – if you let him – is your sin, your shame, your sickness, your worries and your fears. He takes away those things that harm us and only gives us good things that bless us.

Are you a Job or a David?

Both Job and David were robbed. Both were greatly distressed and surrounded by foolish men who gave bad advice. But unlike Job, David did a very Jesusy-thing and took back what was stolen. Why did David fight back when Job quit? We are told that David “encouraged himself in the LORD his God” (1 Sam 30:6). In his pain David considered God’s goodness and realized that God was not behind his loss. He understood that it was not God’s will for him to suffer and, so strengthened, he fought back and prevailed.

I wish I could go back in time and get to Job before his friends did. I would say, “Job, God didn’t kill your kids! He didn’t steal your livelihood and make you sick. You’ve been robbed! The devil is having a go at you. Don’t sit there in the ashes and cry about it, get up and fight! Are you a warrior or a weakling? Are you a victor or a victim?”

The church will never see victory if we think God is behind our suffering. If we think God is robbing us we won’t even resist. We’ll let the devil waltz in and plunder our families all the while singing “He gives and takes away.” Funny, but I can’t imagine Jesus or David doing that.

For too long we have been incapacitated by uncertainty which is really just another name for unbelief. Don’t look to Job, look to Jesus! Jesus was never confused about who was giving and who was taking.
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Thankfully we serve a Greater King than this usurper! We worship a servant-King who gave His life that we might live whole and healthy:

“He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing.” (1 Pet 2:24, MSG)

About 10 years ago I heard a pastor of an Australian church say that mental illness was a big need in their city. I was young and strong back then so the picture that came into my head was that he lived in some crazy town of wackos. Now I know better. Depression is one of the giants of our day. I’ve heard it said that in modern society one in twelve people suffers from some form of mental affliction. If you have 60 friends, chances are that five of them suffer from mental illness. Do you know who they are?

For many people mental illness is taboo. It’s the sickness no one talks about until it’s too late. In face-conscious Hong Kong you won’t know that a person is suffering until they’ve thrown their kids out the window then leapt after them. Mental illness is bad enough, but keeping it wrapped up in secrecy and misunderstanding only makes it worse.

There is a huge opportunity for churches to make a difference in this area. How do we do this? By building ramps. Just as we have access ramps for wheelchairs we need ramps for the mentally ill. By ramps I mean we need to make it as easy as possible for the hurting to come in and find comfort and friendship and healing. Here are 5 ramp-building ideas:

1. Send the message: “come as you are”. People who struggle should not be told they are only welcome when they’re feeling “up”. If blind people are allowed to bring their seeing-eye dogs to church, then people who suffer from depression should be allowed to bring their black dogs. Of course we want to get rid of the dogs. But I’ve studied the Bible and learned that people who came to Jesus were much more likely to get healed than those who stayed away.

Are we making it easy for people with bipolar disorder, agoraphobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, OCD, ADHD, etc. to come to church just as they are? Or are we sending the signal that you must be walking in victory every single day? We need to get real.

2. Cultivate transparency and reality. Think about the sicknesses that are getting prayed for in prayer meetings. If the majority of them are physical ailments and you don’t live in the third world, something is wrong. Chances are that those struggling with mental disorders are keeping quiet out of embarrassment or fear.

People outside the church will pay thousands to have a caring counselor listen to their struggles. In the church we listen for free. Create a safe environment where hidden weaknesses can be talked about. We don’t gather around our problems – we meet around Jesus – but bringing problems into the light is the first step towards healing and deliverance. Be quick to listen, slow to speak, keen to pray.

3. Become dealers in hope. Hope is the first casualty of depression. People who suffer from mental disorders often battle to see hope in their situation. When the battle is in the mind, perspective is easily lost. So what hope can we give to sick people? Isaiah 53:5 tells us that Jesus died for us that we might be free from sin and sickness.

I really love Joseph Prince’s take on this scripture. He says that Jesus identified with us in our frailties so that we might identify with him in glory. Don’t identify with your illness. Identify with Jesus. When the doctor speaks a negative diagnosis remind yourself that “as Christ is, so are we in this world” (1 Jn 4:17). Jesus is not depressed. Jesus is not anxious or stressed. Make Jesus your hope.

Incidentally, never tell a sick person that God made them sick to teach them something. He didn’t. Do tell them that the Greek word for salvation covers every aspect of life including healing. On what basis are we healed? On the basis that Jesus was wounded for us (Is 53:5). Stand with them on that promise. In his book So You Think Your Mind is Renewed?, Cornel Marais says:

“Healing is not our privilege, it is our right. Jesus didn’t suffer and die for you to have the privilege of maybe being healed. He died so that you could be well.”

4. The strong need to help the weak (Rms 15:1). Some in the Bible were so helpless that they needed determined friends to rip open roofs to break through to Jesus. We need to cultivate a similar attitude of perseverance when we come along side those who are struggling. Have faith for their healing, be fervent in praying on their behalf and don’t give up. Celebrate victories but don’t throw in the towel if there are set-backs.

A literal reading of James 5:16 says that the energetic prayers of the righteous are effective. That is an awesome promise to stand on. But take care not to impart guilt or condemnation if the person you’re praying for doesn’t feel as passionate or as chirpy as you do. And don’t tell them to throw away their medication if they don’t have a conviction about it. Encourage them in the Lord but don’t put pressure on them. Be the ramp that lifts them up to Jesus.

5. Encourage them to step out of their comfort zone. Some people aren’t going to get healed the first time you pray for them, or the second time. Does this mean they’re to sit on the sidelines of life waiting for their healing? Absolutely not. God can use us for His glory no matter how strong or weak we feel. In fact, God can use us more when we’re weak than when we’re strong (2 Cor 12:10). He surely used Paul:

“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers.” (2 Cor 1:8-11)

As Steve McVey has recently said, you can be very low emotionally and still be strong spiritually. I would go further and say that you can be depressed out of your skull and still be a menace to the enemy. You may not be able to lift your head but you can still lift your hands saying, “Lord, here I am, use me.”

A whispered prayer of praise in the midst of suffering is worship in its purest, truest form. It’s an act of faith that defies circumstances and says “no matter what happens, He is worthy and I will praise Him.” It’s my conviction that God finds this kind of faith irresistible. When His children who are in pain praise Him, He is moved. Prisons tumble, graves open, the dead rise, and the depressed rejoice. He is the glory and lifter of our heads (Ps 3:3).

The punchline? In trying to become entertaining we have lost the way and become useless to those in pain. Every pastor needs to watch this…

The one thing that will change us pastors is first-hand experience of pain. Having had a small taste myself in recent months, I can tell you it has profoundly changed me. I’m still gung-ho but I’m MUCH more dependent on the grace of God. A typical Sunday begins with me crying out to God for grace just to get through the morning. I never needed to do that before. My experience is that His grace does come and I do what under normal circumstances would be impossible.

I suppose I should say something wise like “His grace is sufficient” but sufficient seems such a small word. It’s like saying to a starving man that food is sufficient. I have found that God’s grace is often the difference between me functioning or not. It’s the difference between staying in bed and preaching the gospel. God’s grace is like oxygen – I don’t last long without it.

I want to build a church that is a haven for those in intense pain and where those who are healthy are prepared to rip holes in roofs to get their sick friends to Jesus. I have two messages to send; (1) if you’re hurting, come just as you are, and (2) if you’re healthy, comfort the weak and help them to find their strength in Jesus.

Thanks to the bloggers at Christian Theology for posting the video. And thanks to Christian for making the video. If you ever read this I want to tell you that God still has a purpose for your life. His plans are not thwarted by illness or brokenness. Indeed, His plans often seem to be accelerated by what we would consider set-backs. Joseph was sold into slavery – God used that. David was branded a terrorist – God used that. Job lost his family, his health and his wealth – God used that. His enemy and yours will tell you that you that “this is the end”. But I have found the light of God’s love is most easily seen in the dark places of private anguish. He has not stopped writing His story in your life.

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Related posts:
- Jesus’ medicine – tastes like Ribena
- Building ramps for the mentally ill
- Life doesn’t have the last word (when you’re walking in the spirit)