The ups and downs of life

 

*Elijah, for example. In one chapter, we see him calling down fire from heaven on the ridge of Mount Carmel. Turn a few pages and he’s hiding under a juniper tree wishing he were dead.

In the first chapter of Job’s book, we see him rich and respected, on top of the world. Happy home. Happy wife. Good health. Great wealth. A few verses later, he went through difficult time. 

Consider the patriarch Joseph. He’s pictured in Genesis 40 rotting in prison; turn the page and he’s the Prime Minister of Egypt.

When John the Baptist started preaching, he instantly became the most successful and renowned evangelist in four centuries. But when we next see him, he’s sending word to Jesus from prison, asking, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3)

In Matthew 16, Peter heard Jesus saying to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah.” Five verses later, he heard the same voice say, “Get behind Me, Satan!”

In 2 Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul talked about being caught up into the third heaven; a paragraph later he’s burdened with his thorn in the flesh.

In Revelation 1, the aged apostle John was banished from church and country, sentenced to lonely exile on a penal island; but by verse 10 he was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, caught up in heavenly visions to see the splendor of the enthroned Christ.

 King David, wrote  many Psalms. We love his writings because he seems to have known all the ups and downs of life as we do; and there’s a Psalm to match our every situation. Psalm 30 is an excellent example. It begins: “I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up.”

The Hebrew term David used for “lifted up” is the same word that was used for dipping a bucket down into a well and drawing up water. David was saying, “Lord, you reached into the grave and pulled me right out. I was almost gone.” Furthermore, notice the word “extol.” It means “to lift up.” The psalmist was saying, “I will lift You up in my praise, Lord, for You have lifted me up in Your mercy.”

David went on to describe how God had taken him from hurting to healing (verses 1-4); from weeping to joy (verse 5); from prosperity to poverty (verses 6-7); from mourning to dancing (verse 11), and from silence to singing (verse 12). He ended by saying, “You turned my wailing into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to You” (verses 11-12, NIV).

Psalm 30 simply reflects Scriptural realism. Life isn’t ideal; troubles hit us hard; we can be cast down. But God is faithful; His compassions never fail, for great is His faithfulness. He is all we need, our All-Sufficient Savior, our All-in-All. Whether we’re up or whether we’re down,Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

What ever be the situation now.. REJOICE IN THE LORD.... 

*David Jeremiah