Making It to the End of the Month

Deuteronomy 8:1-20; 1 Timothy 6:1-21; Proverbs 30:1-33

I. Life Is Hard

A. God made an ideal world, but He cautioned against crossing Him.  "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:17)

B. The struggle for life became exhausting and bitter on the day humanity chose its way over God's way.   "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;" (Genesis 3:16-17)

C. Sin's consequences reach beyond people to every realm under human care; every creature will suffer until the final restoration of all things.  "For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." (Romans 8:20-22)

D. Sin stands in the way of the good life. "Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you." (Jeremiah 5:25)

E. There is no safe place to hide from God; no realm is neutral and nothing in reality exists apart from the consequences implicit in God's law.  "But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store." (Deuteronomy 28:15-17) "If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." (Psalm 139:8)

II. Rough Times Serve Providence

A. Sometimes God goes out of His way to make life hard just so that believers will understand the ultimate theological facts of life; this is the message of the 40 years in the wilderness.    "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live." (Deuteronomy 8:3)

B. When people begin to see the connections between sin and self-inflicted sorrow, they begin to appreciate the marvelous mercy of God. "I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands." (Genesis 32:10)  "He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich." (Proverbs 21:17)

C. The inner person compounds the curse; improvement can only begin once people understand the source of sorrow.  "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man." (Mark 7:21-23)

D. The struggle keeps people from making life even worse.  "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." (James 4:3)

III. Evaluate Life from the Heart

A. Each sorrow comes with a lesson and a new direction.  "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." (Ephesians 4:28)

B. Even abusers and troublemakers become blessings when they drive the understanding believer to prayer.  "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;" (Matthew 5:44)

C. God is never far from His people, even in the worst of circumstances; study to find God in all things.  "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." (Philippians 4:6)

D. No sorrow or struggle is fully understood until it brings a believer to grace.  "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered." (Matthew 10:29-30)  "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)

+ Dr. Edwin P. Elliott