Tuesday, 21 September 2021
Title: Why is God Not Helping?
By: Shaun Ling
Text: Job38:36
“Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind?”

One of my most painful moments was when I got a message from my mother informing me that my father had passed on in hospital. He had been in hospital for over a month and we (and other friends) had been praying for his recovery. When the death certificate was finally issued, the cause of death was stated as “nosocomial infection” which meant my father’s death was caused by a separate infection while recovering in hospital. Ironically, the very place where he sought relief was also the place that had caused his death.

When painful moments come into our lives, we are often told to pray to God to seek mercy. We are told that God has the power to heal. The Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. But all too often, we find that God does not answer our prayers. And honestly, I find myself questioning God and being angry with Him. I am annoyed that God does not respond to my pleas for mercy or answer my questions.

Job was exactly in this same position and without a doubt, he had the right to question God as he was a righteous man and even in his suffering, he did not curse God. In Chapters 29 to 31, Job asserts his innocence and demands that God explains the injustice that he sees is happening to him. When God finally responded to him in Job chapters 38 to 41, God takes Job on a virtual tour of the universe and asks Job questions on how every detail fits together – the sunrise, the habits of animals and plants. Indeed, God’s response has more questions than answers. In essence, God tells Job that Job has only a limited perspective of God’s world and that God is in fact, in control and is aware of every detail.

I sincerely believe that if you are going through heartache and pain, God invites you to bring your grief to Him and that He indeed cares for your every need. As our Father, He will not give you a snake if you ask for a fish and neither would He give you a scorpion if you ask for an egg (Luke 11:11-12). Yet, the challenge for us is to continue to trust even when He seemingly does not respond.

We may have to be satisfied – that this side of eternity – we will not get all our answers and like Job, we need to trust in a God that is timeless; an all knowing, compassionate and loving God. Perhaps, maybe perhaps like Job, questions do tell us more than answers could ever do.
Prayer:
Father, You are truly an infinite God and we ask this day that You give us a sense of Your majesty and greatness. In our own little world, sometimes we fail to acknowledge that You have the big picture and we are truly sorry. So, help us to trust that You are a God who cares, who listens to us, who shows Yourself to us; and even in grief and pain, You are there for us. Amen.

班底浸信教会
每日灵粮
星期二, 2021年9月21日
标题：为何上帝不帮助？
作者：林世勋执事
翻译：陈晓佩姐妹

经文：约伯记38:36
“谁将智慧放在怀中？谁将聪明赐于心内？”

我最痛苦的时刻之一是当我收到母亲的消息，告诉我父亲已经在医院去世了。他住院一个多月了，我们（和其他朋友）一直在为他的康复祷告。当死亡证书最终签发时，死因是 “医院感染”，意思是我父亲的死是在医院康复期间因另一种感染造成的。讽刺的是，他寻求缓解的地方，也是导致他死亡的地方。

当痛苦的时刻临在我们的生活时，我们经常被告知要向上帝祈祷寻求怜悯。我们被告知上帝有医治的能力。耶和华拉法，医治的上帝。但是很多时候，我们发现上帝没有应允我们的祷告。老实说，我发现自己质问上帝并且生祂的气。我懊恼上帝没有回应我的恳求或回答我的问题。

约伯也在同样的处境，毫无疑问，他有质问上帝的权利，因为他是一位义人；即使他在苦难当中，他也没有咒诅上帝。在第29到31章中，约伯声称自己是无辜的，并且要求上帝解释他所看到发生在他身上的不公义。约伯记第38到41章，上帝终于回应了他。上帝带约伯进行一次虚拟的宇宙之旅，并问约伯每一个细节是如何联系在一起的问题 － 日出、动物和植物的习性。的确，上帝的回应包含的问题多于答案。在本质上，上帝告诉约伯，约伯对上帝的世界只有一个有限的观点，而事实上，上帝掌控一切，并且晓得每一个的细节。

我由衷地相信，如果您正在经历悲伤和痛苦，上帝邀请您把伤痛交托给祂，祂确实关心您的一切需要。作为我们的父，如果您求鱼，祂不会拿蛇给您；如果您求鸡蛋，祂也不会给您蝎子(路加福音11:11-12)。然而，我们面临的挑战是，即使祂似乎没有回应，我们也要继续信靠祂。

我们可能必须感到满足 － 在这世上 － 我们不会得到所有的答案。像约伯一样，我们需要相信一位永恒的上帝；一位全知、怜恤和慈爱的上帝。也许，像约伯一样，问题比答案能告诉我们更多。

祷告
父啊，祢真的是一位无限的上帝，我们今天祈求祢让我们感受到祢的威严和伟大。在我们自己渺小的世界里，有时我们无法意识到祢掌控全局，我们真的感到很惭愧。所以，请帮助我们相信祢是一位关心我们、倾听我们、向我们启示自己的上帝；即使在悲伤和痛苦中，祢也在我们身旁。阿们。