A Closer Walk

    "No stars gleam as brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky. No water tastes as sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand. And no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs through adversity. Tested faith brings experience. You would never have believed your own weakness had you not needed to pass through trials. And you would never have known God's strength had His strength not been needed to carry you through," Charles Spurgeon, 1834-1892, often referred to as "The Prince of English Preachers."
"There is hardship in everything except eating pancakes," also Charles Spurgeon. Both these quotes came from the same mind and were spoken with the same mouth. We see the humor in the second quote but the truth also. The first quote is filled with truth and wisdom from the phrase "No stars gleam..." all the way to the phrase "...carry you through." These quotes, and a multitude of other quotes from Mr. Spurgeon came from a website called "goodreads." Mr. Spurgeon makes his point with truth, wisdom, and some good use of words and wording. Trials do indeed make the stars brighter, the water sweeter, and the triumph greater when it or they are completed.
"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil...Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him," Matthew 4:1 and 11 NASB. We have read about the temptation of Jesus, and if it has been awhile you might want to go read it again. We may have heard sermons preached about the temptation of Jesus. And it is clear from verse one that Jesus being in the wilderness was not an accident. He did not just stumble into this. His temptation was God ordained.
"There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God, and turning away from evil," Job 1:1 NASB. Satan and God had a dialogue about Job and God offered Job to Satan to be tempted. "Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like Him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil," Job 1:8 NASB. Satan responded. "Then Satan answered the Lord, 'Does Job fear God for nothing? Hast Thou not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Thy hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse Thee to Thy face,'" Job1:9-11 NASB. Any wonder that Satan is referred to in the Bible as "Our Accuser"?
Job's God, our God, had erected a hedge to surround him and his family and his possessions. This hedge did not accidentally grow up. God made it and placed it. And He made it to surround Job and his family and his possessions. So how was Satan able to destroy Job's family and his livestock and servants? The hedge had to be moved. Who moved it? Since God made it and placed it, only He could move it. Notice please that the Lord did not remove the hedge, he simply moved it closer to Job. As we continue to read Job's first and second chapters we learn that he lost all his children, his servants (except those that brought the message of destruction), and all his livestock, and eventually his health. But the Lord left him his wife.
Did Job stumble into all this affliction? No. Was he being punished for something he had done wrong? No. Was he being punished for some sin he had committed? No. Was this affliction the result of some folly on Job's part? Not that either. Then why? We and Job are not given an explanation of why this all happened to him. As far as we know Job went to his grave not knowing why these things had befallen him. Was God wrong to allow Satan to harm Job and all that he had? Is God ever wrong? Is God, our God, ever wrong? If He is then he is not God. Period. God can't be wrong or he can't be God.
Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil. Not an accident. Job was afflicted by Satan. Not an accident. If we read the entire book of Job, we discover in Chapter 32 that Job did harbor self righteousness in his heart but he apparently did not know this. And if we read to the end we find out in the last chapter that God not only replaced what Job had at the beginning, but He returned it twofold. "And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job after he had prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had twofold," Job 42:10 NASB. Oh, and God provided Job with more children as well. Then, "And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning..." Job 42:12 NASB.
So, as Mr. Spurgeon said, "There is hardship in everything except eating pancakes."