Artwork by Douglas Kallerson.
Psalm 42:5
For I Shall Yet Praise Him
Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; 14 and a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 when the Sabeans raided them and took them away—indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19 and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong. -Job 1:13-22
In 1776, and under a completely different context, Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet called The American Crisis. It was a call to stir up the American army, which had faced defeats as they faced the British during the Revolutionary War. In his words, Paine wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” It was such a poignant and stirring line that it has remained embedded in the American psyche ever since. It was also a key impetus for inspiring the army to cross the Delaware and attack the Hessian Army stationed at Trenton, New Jersey, becoming the American’s first significant victory of the war.
Job faced the times that tried his soul, and he prevailed over the battle that Satan brought against him by remaining steadfast in his faithful devotion to God, despite the inordinate amount of loss he faced.
But Satan was not through with him as Chapter 1 closed out. Rather, he continued to incite Job to sin against the Lord by attacking his physical body, covering him with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. All he was left with was potsherds to scrape his miserable, festering skin, pain from each swipe of a boil, and a nagging wife who implored him to “Curse God and die.” The latter being the greatest punishment of all. And yet, his words back to this treacherous woman vindicated his faith that God was just –
“But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” Job 2:10
In 1979, Steve Martin starred in the movie The Jerk. He was a white boy born as a poor black child, lacking any skills or abilities that could elevate him out of a life of mediocrity. And yet, through a series of events, he became extremely wealthy. But as such things go, it was all lost just as quickly as it appeared. When their downfall came about, he said to his wife, played by Bernadette Peters, that it was just money, and they could make more of that. Her response was, “I don’t care about losing all the money. It’s losing all the stuff.”
Is that what our life is to be remembered for? Stuff?
For me, it is Monday, 7 October. It is 4:30 am, and I have walked the dogs, read the Bible (over two cups of coffee), and quickly surveyed a property that has been our home since 1993 and the home of my father for another fifteen or so years beyond that.
In the previous ten days, we have gone through the most significant flooding of our lives. Dad moved onto the island in 1948. There have been storms, and there have been times of green grass and then high tides, but there was never a time where the high tides overflowed the island and completely swept away the green grass as it retreated… until late September of this year. And yet, within just a few days of that ending, we are set to face another hurricane, most likely as a direct or near-direct hit. Monday morning at 2 am, the forecast places the storm upon arrival as a category 3 with a significant storm surge.
The only question is whether it will veer a bit south, a bit north, or come directly at us. Each has positives and negatives concerning winds and tides, but none appear appealing at this point. And more, this storm will not just affect the coastal homes of the west coast of Florida as Helene did. Rather, every person in this church – even Ron and Shannon, who live many miles north and far inland will be on my mind because of the track once landfall is made.
Every person in this church is a burden upon my mind as I sit in the dark and type. Along with them are family and friends throughout the area. But what else does this day represent? A storm lies ahead, but 365 days ago, on this day, a storm of a different kind swept through parts of Israel when they were brutally attacked by a terrorist force bent on killing the people of Israel.
The Islamic forces of Hamas murdered, raped, and tortured the people they encountered. We have time to at least prepare for the next few days and decide what we will do as the storm approaches. Those people, like Job, simply faced the satanic onslaught as it came about, and they had to face the consequences of it once it had passed by. Many in Israel found out what was truly important at that time. And the nation as a whole had to decide what to do about what transpired. Their response, and the battles they continue to face, are a part of the unfolding drama of the prophetic scenario known to God all along.
As for those of us in the path of Hurricane Milton, time will tell what the result of its passing will be. As for Helene, we – meaning my father, Hideko, and I – have gone through that. It was a truly trying ordeal. As we watched the house fill with water, we heard appliances – one after another – fail. The washer-dryer unit, which wasn’t even running, came on and started to churn. Within a couple of minutes, it burned up. A freezer in the garage sparked and died.
The waters rose more and came into the house. Suddenly, there was a heavy smell of ozone, and the refrigerator gave off some scary rattling noises and died. What could we do? I got Dad to come from his house to ours, we all retreated upstairs, and we waited to see what the outcome would be.
Throughout the night, something kept happening that I will never forget. I called it “the sound of car death.” Different houses have been built on different levels of dirt brought in from the mainland in hopes of beating such an event, but for most, it wasn’t enough.
As the minutes turned to hours, again and again, there would be the steady beeping noise of a car alarm as the waters began to reach the electronics. The beeping would continue for a while and then become erratic, like a child who wasn’t getting his way over the toy he wanted Mommy to give him. And then, within a few minutes, the whining would stop… the car had died.
The next morning, and for the next days afterward, we saw Porches, Lamborghinis, Maserati’s, and other cars worth more than our house towed away to be made into other useful things, like razor blades and tin cans. One could almost hear the repetition of the words of Bernadette Peters… “It’s losing all the stuff.”
Along with the cars, tons and tons (and tons) of household goods were carried out to the roadside and heaped unceremoniously in piles that I eventually called “the walls of sorrow.” Scrappers came through each day, taking whatever their eyes alighted on. That reduced the level of junk a bit. But the walls of sorrow continued to grow for the next week as people came into town to survey the damages in these, their winter homes.
As a side note to highlight our own situation, and something you might find comical, as we watched the things stored up for a lifetime slowly being destroyed by the waters, I remember seeing a brand-new pack of Bounty paper towels bobbing around in the garage. Hideko had bought them just a couple of days before, and they were unopened when the storm hit. The ruin of those paper towels affected me more than almost anything else. We had used the washer/dryer for a year (it was Hideko’s retirement present).
We had used the refrigerator for eons. It was set to go anyway. The sofa had been slept on innumerable times, and every dog we had with us for thirty years probably threw up on it a dozen times in order to stake its rightful claim over it. But those Bounty towels were never opened. It was like taking $20.00 and just lighting it on fire. The waste seemed so… so… so pointless. Surely, these are the times that try men’s souls. The loss of the HMS Bounty didn’t seem as important to me as the loss of those paper towels call Bounty.
We have to consider each event as it comes, process it in whatever way it affects us, and then live with what happened. This is true for something as insignificant as a big pack of Bounty towels that wound up on the side of Midnight Pass Road without ever having served the purpose for which they were made.
As I sit here on Monday morning, I wonder if the coming storm will lift up those towels and the tons and tons of other things sitting out there, as yet uncollected, and deposit them, once again, all over our property.
And what about the people in the church? The storm is coming, and each one of them will probably face it to some extent. Will these, my family in Christ, be ok? All I can do is type, pray, and place my hope in the Lord’s hands for each of them.
The psalmist gave us words to consider in such times –
1 As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
While they continually say to me,
“Where is your God?”
4 When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go with the multitude;
I went with them to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and praise,
With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance.
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me;
Therefore I will remember You from the land of the Jordan,
And from the heights of Hermon,
From the Hill Mizar.
7 Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.
8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song shall be with me—
A prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will say to God my Rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a breaking of my bones,
My enemies reproach me,
While they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 42
The rest of the week, like our very next moment of existence of each moment we live, is unknown to me. And so, shall I fret as we await the coming storm? Shall I call out and curse God if things don’t go well? Shall I throw a temper tantrum at the God who created all things and who temporarily gives them to us to enjoy?
Rather, I have determined now that in whatever comes, I shall yet praise Him. He alone is worthy of that. He alone determines the end from the beginning. When Sunday morning arrives, if it arrives for us as individuals and for us as a church gathering, I would hope that regardless of what transpires, each of you will say, “The Lord is my Rock. He is my Fortress, my Defense, my Hope, and my Hiding Place. Through the days of my life, I shall yet praise Him.”
What is stuff? For the most part, it is a distraction from our relationship with God. If we are wise, we can incorporate the things of our lives into that relationship. When a large and delicious meal is set before us, we can thank Him for it. Should we be in a foxhole with C-rations, we can thank Him for that. And if the week ahead finds any of us eating a meal provided by Samaritans Purse as we sit under a tent, having lost everything, we can thank Him for that as well.
Life, the spark of life that impels us forward, is not about stuff. Our lives will be judged based on our response to the things that occur around us and the situations in which we interact throughout our days, not on the amount of stuff we collected and idolized. If our responses and interactions acknowledge the goodness of the Lord while we are in the land of the living, He will justly and adequately reward us according to His goodness in relation to our faith. It is Monday morning for me as I type.
I am already trying to process the week ahead in ten thousand possible permutations of what could be. I am already mourning with those who are mourning. I am already burdened with those facing loss. I am already grateful for the storm that… that didn’t happen (oh! To pray and dream!).
To pass this week, as with each day of our lives as they occur, I am looking forward to it with the Lord as a part of it. Cursed God and die? It shall never be! You speak as one of the foolish women speaks!
In the Revolutionary War, many men gave everything to secure a land and a freedom for those who followed. On October 7th, 2023, many of Israel saw the futility of life without God as loved ones were taken from them.
When Hurricane Helene pushed north in late September, lives were uprooted, towns and villages were swept away, and many lives were lost. Some were faithful Christians, while others rejected that path. Eternal destinies were set as lives were extinguished through raging floodwaters.
In Butler, Pennsylvania, a president was spared while Corey Comperatore lost his life protecting his family. Corey was a saved believer in Christ, no one is really sure about President Trump. Which is in the better position right now? Life is about choices.
Now, another storm is just ahead. And if this sermon is given on Sunday, the 13th of October, it will be just behind. It has been my main goal and purpose in life these past years to prepare people for just such an event, actually, for the choices that should be made before such an event. Why do bad things happen to “good” people? First and foremost, the question is flawed. Jesus Himself told us this –
“Now behold, one came and said to Him, ‘Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?’
17 So He said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.’” Matthew 19:16,17
The words of Jesus speak of an ultimate standard of goodness. The same word, translated as good, is used to speak of people elsewhere in a comparative sense. Jesus says in Matthew 12 that a good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good things. Barnabas is called a good man in Acts 11:24.
These and numerous other examples are given as comparative uses of the word good. But in the eyes of God, apart from His Son, there are none truly good. The defect of sin remains in us, and we are prone to being anything but good.
However, if we go by the comparative sense of the word, we can and do ask why God allows the good to suffer. We question how God can be just when evil things happen to us. But consider the premise! Where do we live? Some of us chose to live in Florida. Now that… that is good.
We enjoy the benefits of the land we have chosen to live in. And. yet, there is not a person with a modicum of reason in his head who doesn’t know that Florida is prone to hurricanes. Should we move here and suddenly expect to be exempt from such an ordeal now that we have graced this land with our presence? What about those in Asheville, North Carolina? They moved in, and all was good. They lived their lives with God or apart from God as they so choose. Their choice of home was “good,” and they were “good” in whatever comparative sense filled their heads.
But is it reasonable to expect God to send the floodwaters upon Asheville and exempt the “goodest of the good” while sweeping away the less “good” because they weren’t quite as good as those gooder than them?
When a person goes water skiing, there is a chance that he will –
Have a heart attack.
Get bit by a shark and bleed out.
Get run over by the boat that is supposed to pull him along for a day of fun.
Hit a rock or a dock and come to a sudden end.
Etc.
Are these things God’s fault? Is God expected to bubble-wrap humanity so that they are free from such things? If God said, “No, I don’t want you water skiing. It’s just too dangerous,” you would shake your fist in His face and tell Him to mind His own business.
You probably did it with your own parents a time or two when they told you “No” over something not so intelligent that you were planning to do. But when your boyfriend slams into a dock and dies from sudden trauma, there is always God to blame… to question… to be angry at for allowing such a thing to happen. “I hate God. He took my wife from me.” I have personally heard this. Maybe you have, too. It is always God’s fault when tragedy arises, but it is almost never to His credit when the good things of life come about. “I achieved!” “I won!” “I earned!” “I built!”
How rare and wonderful it is to the ears of the Lord when someone gets his “I’s” corrected, and he finally sees things properly and as they should be. Why do bad things happen to good people? They don’t. Good things happen to us despite our lack of any true goodness.
Only in Christ, and only by the power of His goodness, can we even be looked at by God with the slightest hint of favor. If you don’t believe that, try reading Genesis 6. In fact, let’s see about all those comparatively “good” people and what God thought of them at that time –
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:5-8
After only fifteen hundred years of man on earth, he had so corrupted his ways that there was no remedy left but to destroy him. And so, in the year 1656 Anno Mundi, the rains fell, the great storehouses of the deep, filled with the wrath of God, exploded forth, and the world went into a cataclysmic period of complete destruction.
All of the “good” people, comparatively speaking, on the planet didn’t measure up. Today, there are “good” people in Tel Aviv. Mom says, “He’s a good boy, and I am so proud of him and his husband.” In Los Angeles, there is a “good” District Attorney, respected by his colleagues and by every criminal he fails to prosecute. His walls are lined with awards and accolades, he wields power and authority, and he is a “good” man, comparatively speaking. In North Korea, there is a “good” leader, worshipped by his people as a living god and who wields complete authority over his “good” people.
Kamala Harris is a “good” person who will defeat evil Trump, who has come to destroy the “good” way of life introduced by those on the left. Donald Trump is a “good” person who wants to protect the “good” values of Americanism and democracy.
Each person before the flood was “good” on some unknown curve that was established within his own mind or within the minds of those around him. Each person on the planet today thinks he is “good” in some comparative way.
Why do bad things happen to “good” people? Ask those of the pre-flood world. Ask those who were in the seats of United Airlines Flight 175 that flew into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001, at 9:03 am. Or better yet, ask those who flew that plane into the tower.
Why did some of us suffer loss this past week? Why are my father and Doctor Bridges 91 years old while others have died at 87 or… 21, or… 3? Where does our standard of “good” come from? If it isn’t from God, then we have a faulty impression of goodness. And when we carry this impression around, of course, we will blame God when our favorite animal dies. “O God is so cruel.”
We have spent the entire life of that dog, from the moment it was a newborn puppy until the last moment of its life thinking about how great it is that we have this dog, never considering thanking the God (the God we don’t believe in) for allowing us to enjoy it while it is alive.
But the moment the dog dies, we blame God, tell Him that we hate Him (even though we don’t believe in Him!), and angrily and sadly bury it in the back yard. And then we go in and have a big steak for dinner, never considering that the cow on our plate was just as much a unique animal as the dog we just buried.
Last year my “good” wife (the best in fact ☺️) got cancer. Should we have blamed God for interrupting our “good” life? Last year, our house plumbing – all of it, water and sewer – exploded. Our “good” lives were upheaved. Should we have blamed God?
Twice in three weeks, we are facing possible complete annihilation of our home. Should we just give up, raise our fists to the heavens, and blame God? We are “good” people. Why doesn’t God give us a break? What about the “bad” guy down the road? Should God put up a wall to protect us and wash him away?
Why do bad things happen to “good” people? Because we make choices in a world of uncertainty. We choose to live in Florida. We choose to live in Sarasota. We choose to live on Siesta Key. We choose to continue to stay in a house that was built 76 years ago with substandard building materials. We choose the cars we drive, the workplace we go to each day, the route we take to get there, the store we shop at, and so much more. Life is a stream of choices in a world that is preset for certain events to occur at certain times to direct the course of history as it marches toward an inevitable conclusion that is already recorded in the pages of God’s word.
We have the overall blueprint, but we lack the details. And so, we make choices… “good” people (well, comparatively) in a fallen world. Many chose not to come to church today, or any Sunday in fact, and worship the Lord who created them.
Some choose to rob, murder, rape, and so forth. And yet, there is someone out there who will say, “He is a good person. He didn’t mean it.” They will rationalize away the crimes based on their past lives, the unfairness of the skin color they were born with, or for a thousand other reasons, and they will appeal to society that they are “good” people.
What happened to you this past week? Did you suffer loss? Praise the Lord for what you had. Thank Him it wasn’t worse. Did someone you know die? Thank the Lord that you were blessed to know that person. Did you come out unscathed completely? Praise Him for the blessing and pity those who were dealt a different hand.
It’s Monday morning. I’m sermon typing. I was just sent photos from a friend in Israel. Twice this week, he had to go into a bomb shelter while missiles flew in from the north. He sent pictures of bomb craters, a bombed-out car, pieces of shrapnel, windows pelleted with holes, etc.
In the next message, he said, “So I hear that the hurricane that’s coming tomorrow will push 18 feet of water from the shore line and 2-3 feet up beyond sea level. Are you guys evacuating?” He’s being bombed from the skies at random times and from random angles, and he is concerned about us in Florida. Does this “good” guy deserve the hatred leveled against him simply because he exists as a Jew (a Jesus-believing Jew, BTW) in the land of Israel? Is his concern for us in Florida rational while he actually faces greater uncertainty from moment to moment than we will in the days ahead? One thing is for sure: if we are alive and able, on our respective days of worship, that is where we will be – Yosi and me, on other sides of the ocean, praising the same Lord who has granted us the time and places of our lives in His presence.
We will be worshiping, praising, and serving the Lord who gave us this temporary, uncertain life. It is a life filled with loss – floating Bounty paper towels, if you will – that is completely uncontrollable. But it is a life worth living in the presence of God no matter how bad it gets, and no matter how good it can be.
We will praise Him in the storm, and we will thank Him for the abundance. He is the Creator and we are the created. The pot has no right to complain against the potter, “Why did you form me like this?” He formed us. We must live within the parameters of existence for which we are formed.
These may be the times that try men’s souls, but these are the days of our lives. We have to live them. And so, let us live them in a way that honors God. We have every right to mourn. Jesus wept. He surely wept over the madness of rejecting Him for the things of this world. He has come to show us the very heart of God the Father. Instead, we blame God the Father… for everything bad. And we ignore Him during the times when all is good.
Jesus wept. We, too, can mourn. Abraham mourned for the loss of Sarah. David mourned over the loss of Absalom. Why? Everyone else thought he was a loser, and indeed he was. He usurped his father’s throne, came after him to kill him, and wound up dead himself. And in his dying, David mourned –
“O my son Absalom—my son, my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!” 2 Samuel 18:33
What prompted David to so tenderly love such an unlovable person? What force, what thought, what eternal love impelled God to send His Son to die for such unlovable, unworthy, unholy creatures as us? What kind of love impelled the God who destroyed the entire world by the flood to send Jesus to die for billions and billions of Absaloms?
The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell.
It goes beyond the highest star
And reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled
And pardoned from his sin.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
When hoary time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;
When men who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call;
God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.
Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
-Frederick M. Lehman
For some, these indeed are the times that try men’s souls. But is our life about a bunch of stuff? Is it about petting puppies while having steak? Is our life about the house we live in, the refrigerator we possess, or the car we drive?
And why do bad things happen to good people? It’s because God has allowed it to be so. Though He slay me, yet I will trust Him. He is God, I am the work of His hands, and so I will trust Him. May this be your state as well? Today and every day, let us entrust our souls to God, who formed and fashioned us for His purposes.
And may He be glorified on our lips, in our actions, and throughout our days. May it be so. We have a meeting with Him in due time. May that day be one of joy and rejoicing because of the simple faith that pleases Him more than anything else.
Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Thank God for Jesus, who truly makes us “good” in the sight of God. Because of Him, we can forever plumb the mysteries of why things are the way they are, knowing that all things meet a plan and a purpose that extends far beyond our current days of uncertainty, sadness, and loss.
Closing Verse: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. -Romans 8:28-30
Next Week: Judges 20:36-48 An amazing story to tell, line by line… (No King in Israel, Part IX) (56th Judges Sermon)
The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who judges His people according to their deeds. So, follow Him, live for Him, and trust Him, and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.
Hallelujah and Amen…