“Sometime later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.”
Farmers in southern Alabama in a certain area were accustomed to planting one crop every year: cotton. They would plow as much ground as they could and plant their crop. One year the dreaded boil weevil devastated the whole area. The next year the farmers mortgaged their holdings and planted cotton again. As the cotton began to grow the insect returned and destroyed the crop, wiping out most of the farms.
The few who survived those two years of the boil weevil decided to experiment. They planted something the following season they had never planted before: peanuts. The peanuts proved hardy and the market proved so strong the farmers reaped profits that enabled them to pay off all their debts. They planted peanuts from then on and prospered greatly.
They spent some of their new wealth to erect in the town square a monument to the boil weevil. If it hadn’t been for that insect, they would never have discovered peanuts. They learned that even out of disaster there can be good things happening.
There is hardly a home or a family in which some type of difficulties and tragedies have not occurred. For many it becomes the means of growth and development in ways they could not begin to understand any other way. For others it becomes an experience from which they never recover.
I am hesitant to talk about facing tragedies or hard times because each person and family does so differently. We have various personalities, experiences, and faith levels. There are no right feelings or uniform paths that all should experience. There is the tragedy of Ukraine that affects the whole country and ten thousands of people. There is another when there is a death in the family of a loved one, a child or a spouse. Then there’s, like Job in the Bible, someone who loses everything in one day - all his possessions as well as his whole family and finally his health. It is another thing when someone loses his or her employment. All are very real and a multitude of problems can surround a person beyond belief and be overwhelming.
In our series on Elijah, we saw how he stood up to King Ahab, believing in a God who was alive and sovereign. He believed God was in charge not the King of a government nor other men. He committed himself to obedience as a servant of God. He believed in God’s word and promises and would pray to that end.
Lord is not in the business of making us rich and glamorous, nor famous and problem- free. The Lord is in the business of making us into the image of Jesus and wants us to experience all that we need to grow into loving and trusting servants even through calamities. He is preparing us for heaven.
This week we will look at reactions in tragedies that allow some self-evaluation and faith.
Prayer: Lord, I submit to Your Word. Teach me Your decrees that I might say with the Psalmist, "It was good for me to be afficted that I might learn Your decrees.
