My disaster has come from the hand of the Lord. (Job 12:9)

Have you ever questioned God about all the pain and suffering that we endure in this life? I’m sure that many people ask this question. We can investigate the book of Job about this. Job went through horror and most people say that Satan was in control of that. Well to say that says that God is not in control of Satan. The devil has a limit to what he can do. If he is allowed by God to do things or situations arise in our lives that seem to be ungodly, we must reconsider if those things are truly disasters.

I read a story that someone wrote that explains much about suffering and it goes like this;There was a man who had a huge beautiful piece of colorful rock in his possession. A friend of his came one day and removed the rock from the man’s property and the owner allowed it because he trusted his friend to return it. The man who took the rock brought it to his workshop and crushed the rock that his friend loved. Not only did he crush it but he put the crushed fragments through a furnace time after time. The owner of the rock came to pick it up one day to bring it back home and was devastated to find his prized possession was destroyed. He accused his friend and said,”this disaster has come from your hand!” The friend turned and went to his work table to present him with a bar of pure gold that was entrapped in the rock, unknown to the owner. He handed his friend the gold and said,” you have accused me wrongly for I saw the potential in the rock and I worked hard at removing all that was hindering the true beauty of what was hidden. The man wept and embraced his friend as he understood what he was saying as he saw the gold bar.

The same is with us. We blame and accuse God wrongly as we walk through trials, fires and tribulations in this life but God knows the end from the beginning. He is perfecting in us all the gifts and beauties He has planted in our innermost selves. Those fires purify us to shine as pure gold for His glory. We are being conformed to the likeness of His Son Jesus. That we may know Him and the fellowship of His sufferings. We are all destined for greatness, for our destiny is in Him. Do not be dismayed or discouraged, but rather rejoice in the God of your salvation. He is present to heal, to deliver and to walk you through pains and sorrows, not only take them away. There is a reason for this present trial. See it through and reap the reward of being molded by the Master Potter.

Pastor Michael Cannatello

lazarusministry.com