My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change: For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin of them both? -Proverbs 24:21-22

Here we see some practical advice concerning contentment. We are told to “meddle not with them that are given to change.” That is, don’t get involved in the affairs of those that are continually seeking an upheaval, a revolution, or any sort of uprising. But even though these verses were originally meant in a political sense: to submit to God-given authorities over us, we can also apply the principles to many other areas of life; and the message is clear: stay away!

Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. -Exodus 23:7

Chances are most of us haven’t been part of a major political rebellion of any sort. (Those of us living in the United States have been blessed with a mostly peaceful and stable government structure with a minimum of “revolutions” in the past 225+ years, excepting the civil war.)

But some areas where we probably will encounter “those that are given to change” would be in our employment, or in our family, or in our church. You know the type: restless, discontent, always complaining, and always seeking to change things.

• In a job, a worker like this would most likely not last very long: stay away.

• In a marriage, a potential spouse like this would most likely have trouble remaining faithful: stay away.

• In church, a parishioner like this would most likely leave after a short time: stay away.

In nearly every area of life, even in imperfect circumstances, those that show patience and longsuffering are—in the long run—happier than those that tend to bounce around and go from discontentment to discontentment.

Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go: Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul. -Proverbs 22:24-25

For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. -Proverbs 24:16

Beyond the simple message of this verse, there’s also a hidden source of joy. A just and righteous man falls down seven times. Seven times!? Surely we are not beyond hope if we’ve fallen or struggled with something, if even a just man can fall seven times, and yet rise up again.

The joy comes in adjusting our expectations. Trouble comes upon the best of us: but it’s all in how we deal with our adversities that determine our character. For Jesus has said:

In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. -John 16:33

If we go about life expecting nothing but an easy and smooth path, our expectations are foolish and unbiblical, and we’ll inevitably be brought either to correct them, or become bitter and angry at the unexpected circumstances.

God has said that even the righteous man falls seven times, and yet for all that, he is still able to get back up. God does not forsake us or leave us. He does not cast us off. Even the fact that one who has fallen seven times can still be called “just” or “righteous” is encouraging.

But we are not to be like the wicked, who, when they fall, have no remedy or recourse, and are doomed and defiled without Jesus. The Bible says that they fall into mischief, and have no one to help them back up.

Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. -Proverbs 6:15

We have a means of rising up from our struggles, both within our ourselves through our will, and with God, through confession.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. -1 John 1:8-9

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. -Philippians 4:13

Here’s a well-known Bible verse, and one that certainly deserves a closer look. Upon first glance, a few things come to mind:

1.) I can do – how God accomplishes His will

2.) All things – the scope of God’s strength

3.) Through Christ – the source of our strength

©iStockphoto.com/kycstudio
It is Christ that strengthens us.

I can do…

First off, we see at the beginning of the verse, “I can do…” and also at the end, “strengtheneth me.” Through this, we understand partially how God works in a believers life. Notice Paul did not write: “Christ can do all things for me.” Or, “Christ can do all things on my behalf.”

It is very true that there is one crucial thing that Christ had done for Paul, and that He has also done for each one of us: Christ has paid the penalty for our sins; this was God’s riches at Christ’s expense.

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. -Romans 5:6

Looking at the above verse, it should be noted the word: when. That is to say, there was a specific time when we were without strength, but now that we are saved, we have abundant strength. In our everyday life, as Paul writes, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). Notice it is actually Paul that is performing the works, but it is Christ that is giving him the strength to do them. God delights in this divine teamwork. He is wanting to show His power and strength through the weakness and frailty of human flesh.

All things

Secondly, Paul writes that Christ gives him strength to do all things. He didn’t say, “I can do most things through Christ, but there are some things, and some areas where I’m unable to follow the Lord.” Truly, so long as we walk in God’s will, nothing shall be impossible for us. The Lord has promised to even move mountains on our behalf: if it so happens that God’s will would require such an act.

[V]erily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. -Matthew 17:20

And if it’s truly Christ that is strengthening Paul, and if nothing is impossible to those that follow and walk in God’s ways, then weakness in ourselves would only serve to show God’s strength more clearly. Paul saw this during a hardship of sickness, and wrote:

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. -2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Through Christ

Last, Paul writes of the source of his strength: it’s Jesus Christ. And more specifically, Paul is enabled to perform God’s will through the power of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promised to send to His followers as a Comforter after He was to ascend into heaven.

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. -John 14:26

Paul is very confident in God’s power. This brazen confidence is pleasing to God, so long as it is directed solely toward God. Faith in one’s self is merely arrogance, but having faith in the one who dwells within you—God’s Spirit—is godly living.

So we, knowing both the will and the power of God, ought not to shirk back into helplessness and indifference, but press onward in full confidence of Christ’s power.

Jesus
Others
You

Above is an acrostic that shows the priorities of a Christian—listed in order—to find true joy. The beauty of an acrostic is that they’re so easily remembered; I first heard this JesusOthersYou acrostic nearly ten years ago, and I still think of it often. For our Lord Jesus has said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. -Matthew 22:37-40

I enjoy woodworking, and I turn wooden bowls and other objects on a lathe as a hobby. A few days ago, as I was talking to my dad, and I told him of the peculiar and somewhat prized wood that is known as burl.

Burls on the side of a tree.

Basically, a burl is an irregular growth of wood on a tree. It doesn’t look all too great  from the outside: but on the inside, many interesting grain patterns and knots can be seen. They’re prized in wood-turning because they make very interesting and ornately-detailed bowls.

On the inside, burls can be detailed.

As I was speaking of burls, my dad told me that he had seen one nearby, on a tree alongside the road. And not only that, but that the road was to be torn up soon, and with it the tree.

I pondered whether I should go and see if the tree’s owner wouldn’t let me go and cut off the burl from his tree.

Soon, the road project had begun, and there was a big red X painted on the trunk of the tree. Surely the tree would be cut down soon—and with it the burl—and it would most likely be ground into tiny wood chips.

Still, I pondered the possibility of the burl. I figured I still had a little bit of time left, so I didn’t bother to ask or try and retrieve the burl myself.

Then, the very next day, the tree was gone; I felt as though I had lost something of value.

God views our souls in the same way

I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between that burl—something that the world sees as being of little to no value: an eyesore perhaps—and God’s redemption of mankind.

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. -1 Corinthians 1:26-29

And furthermore, how we ought to view others, in three ways:

1.) Not by outward appearances, as man sees, but inwardly as God sees.

2.) As being marked with a big red X, knowing that without accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ, they are surely bound for destruction.

3.) That their demise is imminent, and that not even the next sunrise is guaranteed: by the next morning, they could be gone.

And I couldn’t help but think: if only I had simply asked the owner of the tree, I’m sure he would’ve obliged, seeing as how the tree was absolutely doomed as it was. If only I had simply asked, it could have been mine for the taking. Instead of becoming refuse wood chips, there could have been a beautiful and detailed wooden bowl.

If we would only ask God to give us fruit from His harvest field, others would be plucked out of the grips of hell and Satan, and brought up to an eternity of glory in heaven with God.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. -Matthew 7:7-8

And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands. -Genesis 41:57

Here we see agricultural hardship, and eventually, extreme financial hardship. The people in Joseph’s time ended up virtually selling themselves—their lands, and all that they had—to Egypt, because of the famine that was throughout the land.

©iStockphoto.com/LilliDay
What is happening in the world today?

But beyond this one instance, there are many other examples of famines—global “recessions” if you will—in the Bible. Sometimes, God brings judgment on the land for its sin: “there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites” (2 Samuel 21:1).

But many times, the cause for widespread hardship is completely unknown. Like natural disasters and other inexplicable accidents, it can be chalked up to nothing more than living in a sin-cursed world. “And unto Adam he said . . . cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life” (Genesis 3:17).

It happens to the best of us

As in the example quoted above with David, who had famine from the consequences of the previous king, (Saul), so too we sometimes are unwittingly made participants in a famine or a recession.

Take the example of Abraham, (then called Abram), who was in no way immune to the curses of a famine:

And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land. -Genesis 12:10

Even though there were no actions done by Abraham, (or at least, none that we know about), that would bring about a famine upon himself, he was still effected and troubled by it, just like everyone else. But another important point is what he did: he was forced to leave his home and go to a different land. The Bible says he went down (temporarily) into Egypt while the famine was occurring in his own land.

A change of plans

In a nutshell, not only do famines and certain universal hardships and “recessions” happen quite commonly in history, but they are also an incredible inconvenience to everyone involved.

No one is exempt from the difficulties, and they can be so serious, that an entirely new and different lifestyle sometimes has to be adopted. Take a look at examples of famines in the Bible, and note their frequency, the innocence of the specific people involved, and what they had to do in response to it:

• Abraham went through a famine, as quoted above, and had to leave his home and stay in Egypt for a while.

• In the very next generation, Isaac was also subject to a famine, and had to make a change in his lifestyle. “And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar” (Genesis 26:1).

• After this, in the following generation, again, there was a severe famine lasting for seven years in the land, and Jacob and all his entire family (seventy souls in all), moved up, and relocated into Egypt.

• Another famine struck the land in David’s time because of the sin of the previous king: Saul; and David had to make an atonement for his wrongdoing.

• A famine occurred in the latter days of Israel, before they were taken away captive. And the prophet Elisha tells a woman to move: “Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years” (2 Kings 8:1).

God can use bad circumstances for good

It should be noted that even in most of these instances, where most of the sufferers of the famine were innocent, they still were not delivered from the pains and difficulties of the trials. But one thing that God did do for them was bring about a blessing through the hard times.

Many of the people listed above, upon moving, or pondering a move, or pondering a major lifestyle change, began earnestly seeking God, and praying for help; and in all of their trials, God answered their prayers, and many of the people grew closer to God as a result.

Even if we cannot hope for difficult times, we should learn to expect them: they will undoubtedly come into all our lives. We should not get bitter or angry, but simply accept the hand that has been dealt to us. We should not let universal troubles overwhelm us and defeat us, but neither should we deny that the problems are real. We should simply accept it as being from the Lord.

But not only should we accept things, but lean upon God: now more than ever, and look unto Him to bring good and blessing out of the confusion and hardship of a recession or famine.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. -Romans 8:28

And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. Now the name of the man was Nabal . . . [who] was churlish [rude] and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of Caleb. -1 Samuel 25:2-3

Here’s quite a character: his name is Nabal. You might say he’s the stereotypical rich jerk. It wasn’t that he was simply rich, but as the Bible says, he was churlish, that is to say, he was rude and lacked civility, and most likely treated those around him poorly. By all accounts he was arrogant, and probably abused his authority and used his riches in an oppressive way.

But worst of all, Scripture goes on to say that he was hard-hearted. One of his servants said of him: “for he is such a son of Belial [the devil], that a man cannot speak to him” (1 Samuel 25:17).

Imagine that: that there would be a man with such a sore and unpleasant demeanor that no one could even so much as speak to him. But I don’t think this simply means that he was ill-tempered, but that he was also stubborn, and couldn’t be reasoned with. That is, if by chance he would stop and listen to another’s counsel, he would not be dissuaded from doing evil, or be convinced of any wrong-doing.

Simply put, Nabal had a hard heart. And shortly thereafter, God gave him a reward that was fitting of his heart.

Nabal’s demise

In the Bible account of Nabal, David comes and watches over Nabal’s sheep and provides protection for his workers. Then afterward David sends messengers to Nabal asking for a favor, and Nabal’s reply is so rude and offensive that David is then determined to wipe out all that Nabal has because of his ignorant lack of gratitude in all that David had done for him.

Luckily, Nabal’s wise wife takes gifts and apologies to David, and saves Nabal’s entire estate from certain destruction—a destrcution that Nabal was still entirely unaware of, given his hard heart and inability to listen to those around him. But when his wife explained what had happened, God finally rendered to this man what he deserved:

But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the LORD smote Nabal, that he died. -1 Samuel 25:37-38

The one with the hard heart himself became as stone, and only a few days later he perished.

A fatal flaw

A hard heart is a fatal flaw. It is basically arrogance and pride, to the extreme. But the trouble is, pride causes blindness, and most people who have a hard heart don’t know that they are proud. We would call it something other than pride: we would say that we’re “principled,” or “focused,” etc.

But the key is seeing the situation from God’s perspective, and what He sees is pride, plain and simple. “An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin” (Proverbs 21:4). When we look at ourselves from God’s vantage point, our pride seems vile; and not only that, but God seems much more holy: He’s much bigger than He is in our simple minds, and we should seem much smaller.

This lifting up of God, and lowering of ourselves, is the very principle behind worship. Worship helps us to see God from a divine perspective, and helps us to see ourselves from a more unbiased and unflattering perspective: from the viewpoint of God.