We Don't Deserve Anything

So many people have recommended podcasts to me in the last few years, so in the interest of branching out and growing I decided to find one. I searched for the best Christian podcasts and read each description carefully. In the end I decided on "The Bible Recap". To say that this podcast has transformative effects on the mind and soul is putting it lightly. If you have never read through the Bible in its entirety, or it has been awhile or if Sunday School as a child is the last time you've read some of the books, I would say this is the best place to start.

Now its about time I get to my point. A year ago when asked who in the Bible I would want to meet, I answered Job, without really understanding his full story. A couple weeks ago I tackled it through the podcast and it felt like God had put Job on my heart a year ago preparing me for the pain I would feel more recently. If you are in a place of struggle or challenge, you might find the story of Job to be a comfort in this time.

So Job, he was dealt a just a few unfortunate turns in life, but He didn't curse God about it, even when his friends were saying he deserved everything that was coming to him. The truth is we all sin, we all deserve to be punished, but our amazing God shows us mercy. Then to add to this potential delusion that we have, that because we are Christians and that at least we believe in Him, we convince ourselves that we deserve only the good in life or not to suffer or to prosper; that is the effect that God's grace often has on us. Grace is when we get what we don't deserve, which truthfully is everything in life. That was a really hard lesson to swallow. Especially when we find ourselves in hard times, we think that what we are dealing with is unfair and that we deserve to be doing better, to not have to endure this struggle.

The hard message to get from all this is that we have a loving God, who does not want us to be sad or struggle, but he also allows those things to befall us at times. What we need to recognize is that in time good will come even though we don't deserve it in the least. It can be hard not to question when facing tragedy and suffering but there is a purpose and God will bring you joy if you allow Him to do so.